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Mars Base

This 'mousetrap' may save lives: Students create mechanism to regulate IV fluids for ch... - 0 views

phys.org/...dents-mechanism-iv-fluids.html

scibyte47 MedicalTreatment

shared by Mars Base on 16 May 12 - No Cached
  • team of Rice University freshmen took a mousetrap and built a better way to treat dehydration among children in the developing world.
  • goal was to regulate the amount of fluid delivered to children so we could prevent over-hydration and under-hydration
  • designed to be used in severely underdeveloped parts of the world, where conditions can be pretty primitive and they may not even have electricity."
  • ...12 more annotations...
  • physicians have mentioned to us that they would like a tool that can better moderate IV-fluid delivery to children, who are often connected to adult IV-bags
  • it is of critical importance that the appropriate amount of fluid is delivered."
  • In understaffed medical settings, monitoring IV-fluid delivery to patients can be a challenge
  • device designed by the IV DRIP team is inexpensive; it costs about $20 to manufacture
  • mechanical, durable, autonomous and simple-to-operate volume regulator that uses a lever arm with a movable counterweight similar to a physician's scale to incrementally dispense IV fluid.
  • uses the change in torque as an IV bag is drained of fluid to set off a mousetrap-like spring that clamps the IV tube and cuts off the flow of saline solution or other prescribed fluids
  • Tests have shown the device dispenses fluid within 12 milliliters of the desired volume in increments of 50 milliliters.
  • device can be mounted on a wall or attached with clamps to a portable hospital IV pole
  • the clamp goes off and it folds the tubing in a V-shape, the way you would crimp a garden hose to make the water stop coming out
  • most time-consuming part of assembling the device was calibrating the counterweight and determining the precise spacing of the notches the counterweight falls into and holds as the fluid drains
  • This summer
  • four of their prototypes to Malawi and Lesotho, respectively, to test them under practical field conditions
Mars Base

Space Exploration By Robot Swarm - 0 views

www.universetoday.com/...ace-exploration-by-robot-swarm

scibyte47 robot space exploration AsteroidMining

shared by Mars Base on 16 May 12 - No Cached
  • one researcher from Stanford University is suggesting we unleash a swarm of rover/spacecraft hybrids that can explore en masse.
  • been developing a concept under NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Program that would see small spherical robots deployed to small worlds, such as Mars’ moons Phobos and Deimos, where they would take advantage of low gravity to explore — literally —  in leaps and bounds.
  • similar to what NASA has done in the past with the Mars rovers, except multiplied in the number of spacecraft (and reduced in cost.)
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • were one spacecraft to fail the entire mission wouldn’t be compromised
  • robots would be deployed from a “mother” spacecraft and spring into action upon landing, tumbling
  • hybrid rovers could also help prepare for future, more in-depth exploration.
  • exploration of small bodies would help unravel the origin of the solar system and its early evolution
  • evaluate the resource potential of small bodies in view of future human missions beyond Earth.”
Mars Base

SpaceX's First Mission to the Space Station: How It Will Work | Dragon COTS 2/3 Flight ... - 0 views

www.space.com/agon-space-station-flight.html

scibyte47 SpaceX iss PrivateSpaceTravel

shared by Mars Base on 16 May 12 - No Cached
  • SpaceX's unmanned Dragon capsule is due to deliver food, supplies and science experiments
  • SpaceX is one of two companies with NASA contracts for robotic cargo delivery flights (Virginia's Orbital Technologies Corp. is the other), but is the first to actually try a launch
  • Here's how the robotic mission is expected to play out:
  • ...50 more annotations...
  • Step 1: Launch
  • from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. SpaceX has use of the facility's Space Launch Complex 40
  • The initial ascent is powered by Falcon 9's first stage, consisting of nine SpaceX Merlin 1C rocket engines
  • Step 2: Main Engine Cut Off/Stage Separation
  • At a little before 180 seconds into the flight, the Falcon 9's first stage engines will cut off, and the first stage will drop off, falling back to Earth
  • the booster's second stage engines should start, further propelling the vehicle into orbit.
  • Step 3: Payload Separation
  • Around 9 minutes into the flight, the Dragon capsule should separate from Falcon 9's second stage and orbit on its own
  • capsule will deploy its solar arrays to start soaking up energy from the sun
  • Dragon is on its own and must maneuver using its onboard thrusters
  • Step 4: Orbital Checkouts
  • Dragon will begin a series of checkouts to make sure it's functioning as designed and ready to meet up with the station
  • test out its abort system to prove it can terminate its activities and move away from the space station if something goes wrong.
  • demonstrate its performance in free drift phase, with thrusters inhibited
  • Teams on the ground will lead the vehicle through tests of
  • Absolute GPS (AGPS) system, which uses global positioning system satellites to determine its location in space
  • Step 5: Fly-Under
  • fire its thrusters to perform a fly-under of the International Space Station
  • to 1.5 miles (2.5 kilometers) below the outpost
  • make radio contact with the station using a system called the COTS Ultra?high frequency Communication Unit to communicate.
  • Dragon will also test a secondary locator system called the relative GPS system, which uses the spacecraft's position relative to the space station to establish its coordinates
  • the six-person crew inside the orbiting laboratory will be monitoring their new visitor
  • use a crew command panel onboard the station to communicate with the capsule and send it a command to turn on a strobe light.
  • After completing the fly-under, Dragon will loop out in front, above and then behind the space station to position itself for docking.
  • Step 6: Rendezvous
  • during Dragon's fourth day of flight, the spacecraft will fire its thrusters again to bring it within 1.5 miles (2.5 kilometers) of the space station
  • there, NASA's Mission Control team in Houston will run through a "go-no go" call to confirm all teams are ready for rendezvous
  • If everyone is "go," Dragon will inch closer, to about 820 feet (250 meters) away from the space station.
  • series of final checkouts will be performed to make sure all of Dragon's location and navigation systems are accurate
  • If all looks good, Dragon's SpaceX control team on the ground will command the vehicle to approach the space station
  • When it reaches 720 feet (220 meters), the astronauts onboard the outpost will command the capsule to halt.
  • After another series of "go-no go" checks
  • approach to 656 feet (200 meters), and then 98 feet (30 meters), and finally 32 feet (10 meters), the capture point.
  • Step 7: Docking
  • Mission Control will tell the space station crew they are "go" for capturing Dragon
  • astronaut Don Pettit will use the station's robotic arm to reach out and grab Dragon, pulling it in to the bottom side of the lab's Harmony node, and then attaching it.
  • The next day, after more checkouts, the crew will open the hatch between Dragon and the station.
  • Over the coming weeks, the astronauts will spend about 25 hours unpacking the 1,014 pounds (460 kilograms) of cargo that Dragon delivers
  • none of the cargo is critical (since this is a test flight),
  • capsule will arrive bearing food, water, clothing and supplies for the crew.
  • Step 8: Undocking
  • Dragon is due to spend about 18 days docked at the International Space Station.
  • the station astronauts will use the robotic arm to maneuver the capsule out to about 33 feet (10 meters) away, then release it. Dragon will then use its thrusters to fly a safe distance away from the laboratory.
  • Step 9: Re-entry
  • About four hours after departing the space station, Dragon will fire its engines to make what's called a de-orbit burn
  • will set the capsule on a course for re-entry through Earth's atmosphere
  • spacecraft is equipped with a heat shield to protect it from the fiery temperatures of its 7-minute re-entry flight.
  • Step 10: Landing
  • due to splash down in the Pacific Ocean to end its mission
  • There, recovery crews will be waiting to collect the capsule about 250 miles (450 kilometers) off the West Coast of the United States
  • Mars Base on 21 May 12
     
    Mission Overview
Mars Base

Commercial Spaceship Builders Ponder Future Without NASA Funding | Space.com - 0 views

www.space.com/-space-taxis-nasa-funding.html

scibyte47 SpaceX iss PrivateSpaceTravel

shared by Mars Base on 16 May 12 - No Cached
  • SpaceX is one of several aerospace firms who are competing for NASA funding under the third and final phase of NASA's commercial crew development program
  • Proposals for this stage of the competition, called Commercial Crew integrated Capability(CCiCap), require companies to present a complete launch system — rocket and vehicle — for consideration
  • company is facing some stiff competition from other aerospace firms, including Boeing and Sierra Nevada Corp
  • ...6 more annotations...
  • NASA is expected to announce at least two recipients for CCiCap funding awards in August.
  • even if SpaceX is not selected for the final round of NASA funding, a crewed version of the Dragoncapsule will not be mothballed
  • Boeing
  • willing to continue that at that level? I doubt it — maybe at some lower level, but I really don't know."
  • Alliant Techsystems (ATK)
  • the company will not stop developing the launch system if they are not selected by NASA.
Mars Base

Private Rocket Launch Heralds New Commercial Space Era | Space.com - 0 views

www.space.com/spaceflight-spacex-launch.html

scibyte47 SpaceX iss PrivateSpaceTravel

shared by Mars Base on 16 May 12 - No Cached
  • the firm and NASA warn against placing too much importance on one test flight.
  • flight is part of NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) Program,
  • The program is aimed at spurring the development of private spacecraft to replace the cargo-carrying capacity of the retired space shuttles.
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • Dragon is designed to need only relatively minor modifications to house humans
  • NASA has contracts with additional companies such as Blue Origin, Boeing, Sierra Nevada and United Launch Alliance to develop man-rated vehicles to transport astronauts to the space station.
Mars Base

Easter island heads have bodies!?? | Thinkbox - 0 views

www.thethinkbox.ca/...aster-island-heads-have-bodies

scibyte47 EasterIsland

shared by Mars Base on 16 May 12 - No Cached
  • Excavations of the bodies have been going on for many years
  • generally accepted that the statues were made sometime between 1250 and 1500 AD
  • controversy surrounding why the bodies are buried. Was it time and erosion, or were they buried on purpose
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • soil surrounding the bodies for so long has preserved interesting carvings
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