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Hi I'm Ken Schopf from the Laurel School in Shaker Heights,
Ohio and you're watching NASA Now!
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Hi, I'm Maria, and welcome to NASA Now!
In this episode, we're going to learn more
about how engineers used the engineering design process
to develop a concept rover that might one day go to Mars.
That's ahead, but first check this out!
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What is engineering and why is it important?
Engineering combines science and mathematics
to solve real-world problems.
And engineers?
Well, they're people who have scientific training and use
that training to design and build products, machines,
systems, and structures.
Engineering helps us solve problems
and improve the world around us.
It also lets us improve existing solutions
by making them stronger, safer, and more efficient.
So the next time you hit a golf ball
or use your smartphone think
about how engineering helped make that possible.
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An aerospace engineer is just one
of many specialized careers at NASA.
Here to talk more about what they do is Jennifer Keyes
from NASA's Langley Research Center.
She'll also tell us about how a cup led to the development
of a concept rover that might one day help us explore the
surface of Mars.
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So an aerospace engineer is someone that deals with flight.
Everything from flying in our own atmosphere here on Earth
to flying through space and even flying on other planets.
We can design new concepts.
We can design things that are actually going to be built
and sometimes we're lucky enough to even get to actually build
and then fly our designs.
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Some of the ideas for the projects that we work on come
from seeing a problem that really needs to be answered.
Other times what we work on is directed
from our colleagues at NASA headquarters.
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Two of our engineers were watching a replay of one
of the Mars landings when the rover came
down through the Martian atmosphere in one
of these big balloon airbag structures and it bounced
and bounced and bounced, and then the rover would...
it would unfurl and the rover would drive off
and it had these little tiny wheels.
And they thought, look at how much more ground it covered
when it was bouncing than it did on it's small little wheels.
So we worked with some of the designers here at Langley
and actually came up with wind tunnel models
of our various concepts.
So this is affectionately known as "Tumblecup" because it looks
like it has all of these cups.
Again, you know, so just picture, you know,
our coffee cups in here.
. . We were able to hook this to a balance in our wind tunnel
and then blow air onto the model
and measure how much would get pushed by the wind.
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We started working with JPL that had worked
on inflatable Tumbleweed Rovers,
and they've actually built several of their models
to nearly full scale and have taken them down to Antarctica,
tethered them to a spot and have let them roam by the wind
in Antarctica for several weeks on end
to see how far they travel and what they can pick
up for sensing and temperature all these different sensors they
could put on.
It was a great project overall.
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Having something that's blown by the wind and can track
where it's gone, can sense temperature,
can sense even the chemicals that are in the air
or the chemicals that are in the soil all
of that can build a better understanding
of what a whole region of Mars would look
like versus just sending a static package or a small rover
that would only be able to explore a small area.
In theory, Mars Tumbleweed could traverse a large area
and really get us even more information.
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What is the engineering design process?
Simply put, the engineering design process is a series
of steps that help guide engineers to solve problems.
The first step is to ask.
Clarify the problem.
Find out exactly what you are going to create or do,
as well as the design or construction limits.
For example, you might design a capsule made of plastic
that will protect a raw egg on impact from a drop at 10 meters.
Step two. Imagine or brainstorm.
You and your team should come up with
as many solutions as possible.
They can be simple, complex or even a little crazy.
At this point, there are no bad ideas.
Step three.
Plan. Select the most promising idea and sketch it out.
This helps you visualize the design before you build it.
Step four.
Create. Build the model using the plan your team developed.
Step five.
Experiment.
Test the model your team created.
Measure and record your results.
Step six. Improve.
Evaluate the model's performance based on the measurements
and results you recorded.
Ask what worked, what didn't work
and what could be improved to work better.
Be sure to list any problems and possible solutions.
Then, try to find ways of improving the model
to give better results.
Be sure to change only one variable before re-testing.
Well that's it for NASA Now.
Visit our Facebook page and leave a comment.
We'll see you next time on NASA Now!
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NASA Now comes to you from the Virtual Campus
at NASA Explorer schools.
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