Transportation Team
Martian Environment and Challenges
The construction of the Mars colony will be a long-term project and will require the
transportation of many goods. The Space Shuttle Discovery is being considered to transport
goods to the space station. Will this work for trips to Mars? You will likely need to make
modifications. You also need to think about a new transportation system to take the settlers to
the Red Planet. It will probably be a two-stage journey, with the second stage launching from the
space station.
Once the explorers arrive on Mars, they will need transportation to move around the settlement.
They will also need transportation outside the settlement for short periods while conducting
experiments. When designing your vehicle, you must consider:
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The vehicle will have to travel across a very diverse terrain.
It will be used to transport probes and other equipment to
conduct experiments.
It will need to transport scientists and engineers to test sites.
Weather instruments may be mounted on the vehicles.
Activity
Your team is responsible for designing and constructing a working prototype (model) of a
transportation system for the Marsville colony. Your system must take into account the terrain of
the planet as well as the weather conditions. Vehicles for scientific experiments will need to be
very reliable to provide safe movement around the planet. The design of the vehicle must include
some form of power that would allow the researchers to be away from the settlement for a
period of time. An alternate or backup power supply would be required.
Use the Team Blog to find out about other team's transportation requirements. The water supply
team may require your services to move water to the colony. Energy sources to power the
vehicles might be limited and will need to be considered in your overall plan.
Getting Started
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Define the requirements of your system.
Examine how these are currently met on Earth.
Explore the limitations/opportunities of the Martian environment.
Gather feedback from other teams and mentors using the Team
Blog.
Design and construct your working prototype using the
requirements listed below.
Evaluate the design. Does it provide the greatest good and the
least harm to the persons and things affected?
View the Transportation Tips to learn more
System Requirements
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System model must be no larger than 1 metre x 1 metre x 1
metre.
It must include a working component such as an electrical switch
to turn a fan on and off or doors that open and close using a
simple hydraulic system.
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Prototype must incorporate at least four Mars facts.
Materials used should be as representative as possible of the
materials that would be used for the real design.
System should work under the conditions of the Martian
environment.
System should operate with other life-support systems within the
colony.
Questions to Ask
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How many different ways do we transport people and goods here
on Earth?
What infrastructure do these methods require in order to function
properly?
What are the strong points of each of these systems? What
limitations do they have?
What goods will have to be transported to Marsville?
What will have to be moved within the colony?
How can the transportation system be developed to
accommodate these needs?
What form of energy could be used for the transportation
systems?
What materials will need to be brought from Earth for the
transportation system?
What considerations will need to be made regarding durability of
the vehicles?
What form(s) of energy would be most suitable for a Mars land
vehicle?
What groups or agencies could you contact for further
information about your topic?
Tips for Building Transportation Systems
Here are some ideas to help you learn more about your life-support system. Make sure you
divide up the topics and share your findings on the Team Blog.
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Look at the many types of local transportation systems on Earth.
How do they work and why?
Find out how transportation is addressed in remote parts of
Canada (in the mountains, areas separated by water) and relate
this to the Martian terrain.
Research various forms of space travel. Examine the early types
of rockets, spacecraft, landing vehicles and the Space Shuttle
Discovery.
Create a database of information about forms of space travel.
Ask an online mentor to add information in the Team Blog.
Find out how NASA is getting materials into space to build the
International Space Station. Write or email NASA and the CSA for
information or visit their Web sites. Compare these methods with
what will be needed for the construction of a Mars colony.
Discuss how the people and all the equipment are going to get to
Mars. Consider the time element involved.
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Work on draft plans for your transportation system and check
these plans with other groups across Canada who are also
working on this topic. Make working diagrams (to scale!) and
send these to other groups to see if they can duplicate your
model(s).
Write detailed assembly instructions to be used by other workers
on Mars. Remember, no additional information or materials will
be available once they get there. Test the accuracy of your
instructions by sending them to another team.
Experiment with using different forms of energy for the vehicles
on Mars. Use the same design with different energy sources and
compare results. Look at how Sojourner (the Mars Rover) was
powered when it landed on Mars.
Test the vehicles on the contour map of Mars to simulate the
variety of terrains. Record the information on a spreadsheet
program. Will the vehicles be able to travel over all different
types of ground?
Test the vehicles in sand and water to determine what mass the
vehicles can carry.
Challenge the transportation teams across Canada to replicate
your experiments.
Invite a mechanic or engineer to the class to discuss problems
with construction and testing of vehicles.
Find the cost of creating each vehicle by assigning a monetary
value to the different design materials. Enter the data into a
spreadsheet program. Use this information to create the most
cost efficient vehicle -- but make sure it still works!
Work with the other system teams to see what transportation
needs they are going to require.