Challenge To Mars

Travel to deep space and back again with The Mars Challenge, a nonfiction graphic novel for teens about the science and logistics of a manned mission to Mars. Nadia is a teen with a dream: to be the first woman on Mars. But to get there, she's got to learn all she can about the science of spaceflight. It's a good thing her friend Eleanor is an Attitude Determination and Control Officer—basically, she pilots the International Space Station! Eleanor takes Nadia on a conceptual journey through an entire crewed mission to Mars, and explains every challenge that must be overcome along the way; from escaping Earth's gravity well, to keeping the crew healthy as they travel through deep space, to setting up a Mars base, to having enough fuel for the trip home! In The Mars Challenge, writer Benjamin A. Wilgus and artist Wyeth Yates bring the reader on a thrilling interplanetary voyage and clearly illustrate the scientific concepts and complex machinery involved. Humans can reach Mars in our lifetime—this book explains how it can be done.

A Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer traverses the vast physical and cognitive distances between earth and Mars, offering an informed vision of the future of Martian exploration. "Mars Beckons" is a fascinating synthesis of myth, history, politics, and high technology, written with the momentum of a grand adventure story.

Mars Outpost provides a detailed insight into the various technologies, mission architectures, medical requirements, and training needed to send humans to Mars. It focuses on mission objectives and benefits, and the risks and complexities that are compounded when linked to an overall planet exploration program involving several expeditions and setting up a permanent presence on the surface. The first section provides the background to sending a human mission to Mars. Analogies are made with early polar exploration and the expeditions of Shackleton, Amundsen, and Mawson. The interplanetary plans of the European Space Agency, NASA, and Russia are examined, including the possibility of one or more nations joining forces to send humans to Mars. Current mission architectures, such as NASA’s Constellation, ESA’s Aurora, and Ross Tierney’s DIRECT, are described and evaluated. The next section looks at how humans will get to the Red Planet, beginning with the preparation of the crew. The author examines the various analogues to understand the problems Mars-bound astronauts will face. Additional chapters describe the transportation hardware necessary to launch 4-6 astronauts on an interplanetary trajectory to Mars, including the cutting edge engineering and design of life support systems required to protect crews for more than a year from the lethal radiation encountered in deep space. NASA’s current plan is to use standard chemical propulsion technology, but eventually Mars crews will take advantage of advanced propulsion concepts, such as the Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket, ion drives and nuclear propulsion. The interplanetary options for reaching Mars, as well as the major propulsive maneuvers required and the trajectories and energy requirements for manned and unmanned payloads, are reviewed . Another chapter addresses the daunting medical problems and available countermeasures for humans embarking on a mission to Mars: the insidious effects of radiation on the human body and the deleterious consequences of bone and muscle deconditioning. Crew selection will be considered, bearing in mind the strong possibility that they may not be able to return to Earth. Still another chapter describes the guidance, navigation, and control system architecture, as well as the lander design requirements and crew tasks and responsibilities required to touch down on the Red Planet. Section 3 looks at the surface mission architectures. Seedhouse describes such problems as radiation, extreme temperatures, and construction challenges that will be encountered by colonists. He examines proposed concepts for transporting cargo and astronauts long distances across the Martian surface using magnetic levitation systems, permanent rail systems, and flying vehicles. In the penultimate chapter of the book, the author explains an adaptable and mobile exploration architecture that will enable long-term human exploration of Mars, perhaps making it the next space-based tourist location.

Mars Curiosity. It could be NASA's last chance to set wheels down on Mars until the end of the decade: last August, a rover named Curiosity touched down inside Mars' Gale Crater, carrying 10 new instruments that will advance the quest for signs that Mars might have once been suitable for life. But Curiosity's mission is risky. After parachuting through the Martian atmosphere at twice the speed of sound, Curiosity will be gently lowered to the planet's surface by a 'sky crane.'

Congratulations! You’re on Mars Base Alpha, the first human outpost on the red planet. Don’t relax, though. It’s not all roses and unicorns up here. Mars isn’t called "The Bringer of War" for nothing! You’ve just been rained on by a meteor shower and it’s up to you—you!—to put your LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT robotics skills to work to save the day, and the base! And that’s only the beginning of the challenges that lie ahead. LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT: Mars Base Command is a book of challenge. It’s about challenging yourself to design and build robots to solve problems, tough problems. Taking a similar approach to best-selling LEGO author James Kelly’s other books, this book presents a series of four challenges in the setting of mankind’s first-ever manned base on the planet Mars. Each challenge begins with a backstory to set the scene. You’re given instructions for constructing a playing field, including devices that your eventual robot must manipulate. Your job is to build a robot that will execute the challenge and garner you the most points. The book requires the LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT Education Resource Set. Scoring sheets are included that allow for the book’s use in educational and group settings. Teachers can base lesson plans around the different concepts taught in each challenge. Groups and clubs can choose to run mini-competitions in which teams or individuals compete against each other in a race to save the base. LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT: Mars Base Command is an excellent choice for an individual, a group, or a teacher wishing to learn about and have more fun with LEGO’s best-selling robotics platform. Please note: the print version of this title is black & white; the eBook is full color.

How can a 10 pound bird bring down a 150,000 pounds aircraft? How would you feel if you were the captain on that aircraft, responsible for 155 souls? What would you do to prevent the disaster? How would you communicate with other crew members and the passengers? How would you determine where to try to ditch the plane in an unprecedented situation? How would training and experience influence your decision? What lessons can we learn from Captain Sullenberger's calm actions which incredibly saved all lives onboard? Successful Ditching of US Airways Flight 1549 on Hudson River by Captain Chesley Sullenberger and First Officer Jeff Skiles on January 15, 2009 - This edition provides all the details of this incredible event, transcripts of pilot's communications and the final results of a thorough investigation. They analyzed in great detail the aircraft, the accident, the damages; the personnel on board and on the ground, their training and their communications, their actions during the accident; the survival aspects, the birds, the meteorology and more. Finally they drew their conclusions and put together their recommendations based on the results of the examination, to prevent similar events in the future.

Weighing as much as a small car, a rover named Curiosity rolls quietly around Mars. Scientific instruments pack its body and cluster at the end of a mechanical arm. An arrangement of lenses and instruments tops its mast, like a face. To the many NASA workers involved in Curiosity s mission on Mars, the rover is not simply a robot, but an astronaut bravely exploring an alien place. Curiosity s instruments collect data and its cameras take images of the Mars landscape, including self-portraits, in vivid color and detail. As it roams and explores, Curiosity will help find the answers to such age-old questions as has there ever been life on Mars? Could there be one day?