MISSION TO MARS

We decided to explore on Mars because it was the easiest to land on. Other planets had an atmosphere or core that could burn or crush you. My team was hoping to go to Mars to start planning life on Mars, so we could start a human race there. We hope to learn more about the environment there and it's source of water and sun.

ME AND MY TEAM DECIDED THAT WE NEEDED

• Landing gear that was able to land on Mars' rocky surface
• Extra supplies of gas and food
• An escape ladder in case of emergencies
• A control panel to start liftoff and land softly
• A research room to log their discoveries and to check back with the space station

PARTS OF A PARACHUTE

WHY PARACHUTES ARE IMPORTANT TO THE SPACECRAFT

Test #1: Size
In this test we controlled the material of the parachute, the load, and the length of the suspension lines. Our variable was the size of the parachute. My team made and tested the medium sized parachute.

RESULTS FOR TEST ONE

• Our time was 1.52 seconds
• Our time was 1.93 seconds
• Our time was 2.13 seconds
• The average of all our times was 1.86
• Overall, after having all the groups test the different sizes, the largest parachute had the longest time

Test #2:Length of Suspension Lines
In this test we controlled the size of the parachute, the material of the parachute, and the load. Our variable was the length of the suspension lines. My team made and tested the medium length of the string, 13 inches.

RESULTS FOR TEST TWO

• Our time was 2.40 seconds
• Our time was 3.13 seconds
• Our time was 2.68 seconds
• The average of all our times was 2.83 seconds
• Overall, after having all the groups test the different lengths, the longest string, 21 in. had the longest time

Test #3: Material
In this test we controlled the size of the parachute, the length of the suspension lines, and the load. My team made and tested the garbage bag material.

TEST THREE RESULTS

• Our time was 2.33
• Our time was 2.88
• Our time was 2.64
• The average of all our times was 2.61
• Overall, after having all the groups test the different materials, the plastic bag material had the longest time

FINAL PARACHUTE!!

ME AND MY TEAM USED...

• The largest canopy because it can catch the most air and slow the parachute down
• The medium length suspension lines to leave more room for the air to be caught
• The plastic material because it wasn't too heavy so it would drop quickly, and it wasn't too light where the air would go through it

FINAL PARACHUTE RESULTS

• Our time was 3.92
• Our time was 3.58
• Our time was 3.10
• Our average was 3.53
• Overall, our parachute was amazing!!!!

If I was to make another parachute using anything I wanted to, I think that I would do the largest parachute possible, to be able to catch more air, maybe even larger than the ones we had. I would use the longest possible suspension lines to increase the drag when dropping the parachutes. I would use the plastic material again, because I felt that that material really worked well and that it was not to heavy and not to light.

Paragraph
I learned a lot in the process of making and testing these parachutes. I learned that scientist's trials didn't always go well. Scientists and engineers change a lot of things in the process of making something. They don't just test it once and decide it's perfect. They test it several times and change a lot of things. And then they test again. And again. And again. They test until they think it's good enough. But there is no such thing as being good enough. Or perfect. But that to me, is the funnest part of engineering. Knowing you can make things better. Overall, I learned that no parachute, or anything else, will be completely and utterly perfect.

PARACHUTES!

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