(ORIGINAL A1-SIZED POSTER FOR DISPLAY BOARD) SPACE SUIT MATERIAL INVESTIGATION (ORIGINAL A1-SIZED POSTER FOR DISPLAY BOARD)

(ORIGINAL A1-SIZED POSTER FOR DISPLAY BOARD) ROCKET FUEL INVESTIGATION (ORIGINAL A1-SIZED POSTER FOR DISPLAY BOARD)

(ORIGINAL A1-SIZED POSTER FOR DISPLAY BOARD) CRATER INVESTIGATION (ORIGINAL A1-SIZED POSTER FOR DISPLAY BOARD)

(ORIGINAL A1-SIZED POSTER FOR DISPLAY BOARD) EGG-LANDER INVESTIGATION (ORIGINAL A1-SIZED POSTER FOR DISPLAY BOARD)

Results & Observations SPACE SUIT MATERIAL INVESTIGATION Which material or combination of materials will make the best space suit? INTRODUCTION Space suit materials are important for protecting astronauts in space from harmful ultra-violet (UV) radiation, changes in temperature and space debris when carrying out spacewalks. The tests we carried out were: 1. UV Radiation Test 2. Thermal Conductivity Test 3. Tensile Strength Test We tested a small range of materials to find which materials were best at these three jobs. The materials we tested were: cotton wool, aluminium foil, polystyrene and bubble wrap. 1) UV RADIATION TEST: Test which material blocks light most effectively. Materials & Methods We held each material against a standard laboratory desk-lamp and ranked them according to which material blocked light most effectively. Results & Observations Test Material UV Ranking 1:best UV blocker 4:worst UV blocker Aluminium Foil  1 Cotton Wool  2 Polystyrene  3 Bubble Wrap  4 We found that aluminium foil was the most effective material at blocking light whilst bubble wrap let the most light through. Cotton wool was also quite effective at blocking light. Conclusions On the basis of this test, aluminium foil, or a combination of aluminium foil and cotton wool, would provide the best protection for our astronaut against the effect of UV radiation.

Results & Observations SPACE SUIT MATERIAL INVESTIGATION 2) THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY TEST: Test which material will keep iced water the coolest and heated water the warmest over time. Materials & Methods We used each of the four materials to insulate lidded plastic pots and placed a hole in each for a thermometer. We placed water and ice cubes into one set of pots (Experiment A) and heated water into another set of pots (Experiment B). In each experiment, we also included a plastic pot with no insulation as a control. We measured the temperature of the water over time and recorded this at regular intervals, tabulating our results and using the data to plot a graph for each experiment. Each of our groups compared results find a class average. Fair Testing We discussed fair testing in this experiment and decided in each pot we needed to keep: the same volume of water, the same number of ice cubes (Experiment A) and the same starting temperature of heated water (Experiment B). The testing pots and lids used were all identical. Results & Observations When we plotted our average class data on line graphs for each experiment, these were our findings: Experiment A Experiment B Conclusions Our results showed that cotton wool and polystyrene were the two most effective materials in both experiments. Therefore a combination of these materials would provided the best protection for our astronaut against changes in temperature in space.

Results & Observations Impact Mass Supported (g) SPACE SUIT MATERIAL INVESTIGATION 3) TENSILE STRENGTH TEST: Test which material is the strongest. Materials & Methods Each group made a template by cutting a hole in a flat piece of cardboard. We then secured each testing material in turn to the testing template and dropped weights of increasing mass from a measured height onto the material. We recorded the final mass in grams that each material could support. We ranked the materials according to which material could withstand an impact from the greatest mass. Fair Testing In our fair testing discussion we decided to keep the height of the drop the same for each material and we used the same types (size and shape) of weights. We also kept a vertical angle of drop onto each test material. Results & Observations When we tabulated our average class data, these were our findings. Test Material Impact Mass Supported (g) Strength Ranking 1:strongest 4:weakest Polystyrene > 1300  1 Bubble Wrap > 1000  2 Cotton Wool 250  3 Aluminium Foil 100  4 Conclusions Our results showed that polystyrene and bubble wrap were the two strongest materials and that cotton wool and aluminium foil were much weaker. OVERALL CONCLUSIONS From the three different tests in our investigation, no single material showed all the properties that would make a good space suit. We therefore concluded that some combination of these materials would offer a good solution. UV RADIATION TEST AF The Venn diagram shows that cotton wool (CW) and polystyrene (PS) were the most useful materials as they were ranked first or second in more than one test. Of the four materials tested, these two materials should definitely form part of a combination of materials in a space suit. As aluminium foil (AF) is reflective, this may also be an important material in protecting the astronaut against harmful UV radiation. CW BW THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY TEST TENSILE STRENGTH TEST PS