Sonar Mapping: What is Sonar Mapping?  Sonar mapping is a technique used to study the distance between objects. Sonar creates sound waves that hit a surface and reflects the sound back so the distance can be studied. Sonar mapping is mostly used to study the ocean floor and other objects underwater. Magma and Mini-Mag: The Final Build and Tools:  The design of this rover will be similar to the NASA Curiosity rover.  Magma is about 3 meters (10 ft.) in length, 2 meters (6 ft.) in width and weighs about 900 kg (2,060 lbs.).  Magma will have many tools at its disposal for any situation that may come up during the mission.  The tools that Magma is equipped with are: Headlights Mast Camera System (MastCam) Ultra-High Frequency Heat Rejection System A sonar A cable A mini rover*: The mini rover attached to Magma will be called “The Mini-Mag” (TMM). The Mini-Mag is 1 meter (3.2 ft.) in length, 1 meter in width and weighs about 27 kg (60 lbs.). It’s main objective will be to explore smaller caves that Magma can’t reach for a short period of time. The Dangers of Humans Exploring Lava Tubes:  The dangers are very high for humans to explore lava tubes on Earth, therefore exploring lava tubes on Mars would be close to impossible. Workers sent to study and explore lava tubes are risking their lives because the surrounding areas are known to be very rocky and unstable. With a Rover, the risk of human life is eliminated. Magma would be the best bet to study lava tubes on Earth and on Mars. The Objective:  The objective is to design a rover with the ability to map lava tubes on Mars using sonar technology.  Magma will have to decide whether the lava tubes are a livable place for humans and also determine the length, diameter and safe areas of the lava tube.  The rover would measure the distance from one entrance of a lava tube to the central point. The central point is where all the lava tubes connect with one another. The Idea:  This project initially started off with the design of a rover without a purpose. After further consultations, a rover with a purpose emerged. This rover will explore lava tubes on Mars and decide whether the lava tubes are a livable area. The name of the rover is Magma.  The purpose of this project is to study lava tubes on Mars. If lava tubes prove to be a livable area, there can be a space colony on Mars. Contributors: Dr. Siva Thangam Prof. Joseph Miles Sponsors: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) NASA New York City Research Initiative (NYCRI) Stevens Institute of Technology (SIT) Works Cited: Michael Creech NASA Intern: Epic_Challenge_v02_Rob_Ambrose...ppt MRC_Report_Final.docx en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lava_cave en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_rover en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Pathfinder en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Exploration_Rover en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Science_Laboratory en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lava_tube Lava Tubes: What are lava tubes?  Traditionally, lava tubes are paths that lava travels through beneath the Earth’s surface. When a volcano erupts, all of the lava in the tunnel is expelled. When there is no lava and the rocks in the tunnel have cooled, you get a long cave like path which are called lava tubes. The Design:  AutoCAD will be used for the rover design. AutoCAD is an engineering design software that allows an individual to draw many figures. This software is one of the many programs made by the Autodesk company. The Power Source: What type of power source is Magma going to have?  Previous rovers used solar panels as their power source. Since there is no sunlight in lava tubes, solar panel utilization is useless.  Magma would be powered by a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG). An RTG is a type of generator that produces electricity from a decaying isotope called plutonium-238.  The RTG will be utilized because the rover is going to be traveling in a dark place. Due to the lack of sunlight in lava tubes, headlights will provide another source of light. Communications: How will Magma send information back to Earth?  Like all the other rovers Magma will have the ability to communicate with Mars orbiters. The Ultra High Frequency technology allows the rover to communicate (transfer information) to the orbiters. The information from the orbiters goes back to Earth. In order for Magma to transfer any information, it would have to leave the lava tube so it can get a clear signal to send information. Calculations: The velocity Formula: V=D/TThe Kinetic Energy Formula: K=1/2mv^2 Distance =mass (m) = 15 miles900 kg Time =velocity (v) = e+003hrs5.7078e-004 Velocity =kinetic energy (K) = e-004 mph E-5 joule