Friday, May 28, 2010

11:30am Blog Update!!

Been working for almost 4 hours! :)

Here is the copy of our essay. Unfortunately I cannot save the document on this blog so you are going to have to read the text here...I will see if I can come up with a different, more reader friendly, way to get the text on here! For now, though- here is the text!



Molokai Mahina MoonBot Essay
Since 1959, people have been yearning to go to the moon. The first lunar mission was by Luna 1 on January 2, 1959 and completed by the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union has since launched twenty-eight additional lunar missions. Americans have launched a total of thirty-six lunar missions. Through previous explorations we have learned, amongst other miscellaneous things, there is water ice, helium 3, 1/6 gravity, and only a small amount of atmosphere on the moon. We have learned a lot from the moon and are gaining more knowledge with each trip.
The first American lunar mission was performed by the Pioneer 4 which was only meant as a fly by mission. So far lunar exploration has evolved from orbiting the moon, to crash landing on the moon, to soft landing on moon, to man walking on the moon. The next step in our journey to the moon is to build and reside there.
With water ice on the moon, we can create oxygen so we are able to sustain life on the moon. On earth helium 3 is used for fuel, on the moon having access to helium 3 is important because it means we can make fuel there instead of transporting large quantities of fuel with us. The 1/6 gravity will not only help people exercise with more ease but will also help us launch from the Portal to Mars launch pad with less effort and friction. Little atmosphere on the moon will make exploring and documenting the history of the moon easier.
The Soviet Union and the U.S.A have been in a Cold War inspired space race since 1959. Their goal is to be the first country to put a man on the moon. The Soviet Union’s Luna 1 took pictures of the far-side of the moon. Apollo 11 was the first U.S.A. space craft to land on the moon; this was in 1969. The next orbiter the USA has scheduled to go to the moon will be the G.R.A.I.L. in September of 2011.
The Molokai Mahina team believes that the key to future space exploration is a biodome on the moon. The biodome we are hoping to build on the moon will be an autonomous and completely green structure. Inside our state of the art facility we will have a Lunar Lounge which will include a residential, fitness and agricultural division. We will also have an additional space development portion called “Portal to Mars” which will allow scientists to develop and construct a launch pad to Mars further increasing our abilities to explore space. This biodome is a necessity to expand space travel and enhance man kinds understanding of the world beyond ours.
The materials we will use to construct our biodome are titanium, aluminum, and carbon fiber. We chose these materials because they are light in weight making them easy to transport. They are also exceptionally strong which will make them a dependable and reliable material. We will also mount solar panels onto the outside surface of the biodome to collect sunlight and power our entire facility. Because there is very little atmosphere there will be no shortage of sunlight. Even during the long lunar night we will have a reserve of energy that we can use. Inside all of our buildings we will include bubble windows to illuminate the interior softly without a harsh direct solar light source protecting us from the intense sunlight and providing us with a means to grow food. There will also be solar distillers to provide water that is more pure than bottled or tap water for the people who are staying in our biodome. Solar toilets are perfect for remote areas and require no plumbing or water. In addition the waste can be recycled and used for compost. It is difficult to determine the cost of this facility, but in general the cost of these materials are about 1/3 the cost of conventional construction.
Inside our Lunar Lounge we will have a fitness facility set up for morbidly obese people to begin achieving their health goals. It will be easier for obese people to get off on the right foot with their weight loss goals with 1/6 gravity because it relieves some of the pressure on their joints, and also allows their hearts to pump easier. There will be onsite doctors and physicians to monitor each person’s health status. The location of our facility will help to eliminate many of the distractions that they may face on earth such as fast food restaurants that they may be tempted with on earth.
Our Agricultural Division will include our green house and farm area. We will grow and harvest all of our own produce and the bubble windows will help us achieve this goal. Our farm area will contain chickens and various other farm animals for us to get eggs from and also meat. We will also have a compost area, including a worm farm where we can dispose of our non-hazardous waste. Having healthy organic food available at virtually no cost will be instrumental in making this facility survive.
The Portal to Mars, a separate area of our biodome will serve as a way to transport humans to Mars and beyond. The main benefit of having a launch pad on the moon is that we can actually build and test the launch pad right there on the moon instead of having to build it on earth and transport it in pieces. Having the Portal to Mars in the same biodome as the Lunar Lounge allows the scientists to work on the launch pad for longer periods of time because we predict, based on previous data, that humans could survive in protected environments on the moon for about four weeks before their bones begin to become brittle.
The reason we chose to do a fitness facility on the moon is because health is a very important aspect of life. Without good health our lifespan would be shorter and we wouldn’t be able to live to our full potential. The moon is a great place to take advantage of your health goals. You can lose weight, your heart and body are able to work without as much effort, your muscles are able to work more freely, and you don’t experience some everyday problems like heartburn.
Weight loss is very easy to accomplish on the moon. Because of the 1/6 gravity your able to exercise without your excess weight acting as a burden to you exercising. This will let you do full body aerobic exercises like running, swimming, and dancing which you may not be able to do on earth.
On the moon your heart and body are able to work without as much effort. This is because with less gravity they don’t have to hold the body’s weight and therefore it has an easier job. This also helps people with cancer because the less gravity speeds down the blood flow which slows the spread of cancer through the blood.
Another advantage of being on the moon is that your muscles are able to move and strengthen themselves with ease. With the excess weight lifted off of you, you can participate in activities such as dancing, run on a treadmill, or do resistance exercises all which may have been hard for you on earth.
Overall the moon is a GREAT place to reach your fitness goals. You can maintain a healthy body weight here and participate in many exercises so on your return to earth you can continue your established exercise routine and maintain your healthy habits. This will make you happy and your body happy utilizing one of the universes many resources that has a lot of potential…..the moon.
When you arrive back on earth you will feel the immediate effects of your new healthy body. Since you have already established the basic foundation of a healthy exercise and eating program it will be easy for you to maintain these habits with minimum change when you arrive back home. The earth has more gravity than the moon so you would not be able to maintain your same intensity levels but with less weight on your body you will be able to complete the same tasks you that you did on the moon. As for your eating habits you wouldn’t have to change anything, just continue eating healthy. You will feel very good with your progress and if you continue your exercise and eating program you can continue to live a healthy live.
With the Lunar Lounge and Portal to Mars on the moon there are no limits on what we can accomplish.

2 comments:

Syd said...

Super essay! Lots of detailed information to go with your creative video to bring it all together. Excellent!

Kimberly said...

I want to be the first one at the Lunar Lounge--already reserving my spa treatments!