Youth for Space Challenge – ODYSSEUS II Contest
Project Worksheet
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 In order to summarize and highlight the key aspects of your entry to the Odysseus II
Contest, you are advised to submit alongside your Project, the Project Worksheet that
you will find below. Please take into consideration the following suggestions in order to
complete the Worksheet correctly and enable the evaluators to better understand the
scope and methodology of your work. Be aware that the parts of the Worksheet
correspond to the assessment criteria.

All parts of this form must be filled.

The Odysseus II Contest project worksheet could be completed in any EU official
language.

Enter your text in the respective boxes provided in each section.

The overall content of the worksheet should not exceed 3,000 words (excluding
literature references). The maximum length of each section is shown in the
beginning of the section.

Replace the footer “Title of the project” with the title of your project. Write the
category you are competing in along with the name of your team (if you compete
in the Pioneers category).

In all boxes remove the guidelines before adding your text.
Good Luck!
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Project Title: .......Pi-Mars.........................................................
Topic in which the entry is submitted: Space
Science.......................................................................................................
Team Name: Pi Explorers.....................................................
(for Pioneers category)
Contestant’s Name(s): ......................................................
(for Explorers category)
Abstract (max. 400 words)
We have chosen to do this project because one main reason: the cost our
project is small compared to other major projects, such as the Curiosity
Rover. Our idea is to drop more of our modules on Mars Surface, to measure
parameters which would eventually help astronauts find out conditions on
Mars in a fast manner. This project contains all the instructions for building
our module, such as guidance for the space capsule's dimensions and total
cost. We have also included the computation of atmospheric speed and total
mass of the module. We expect that our module is very competitive because
of these reasons (including building availability).
Key Concept of the project
Perhaps the most important advantage of our project is the price necessary
to achieve it, about 150 USD. In comparison to other projects, such as
Curiosity rover, we manage to obtain scientific results such as temperature,
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humidity and pressure on Mars, at a very low price. The purpose of obtaining
them is to ensure that astronauts who will land on the planet will be in optimal
conditions and that devices used will withstand in the condition of live
monitoring. Also, on the way to Mars in the Atlas V rocket we will measure
those parameters and show them live to avoid a disaster.
Methodology for implementation
Pi, which is powered by a 10000 mAh battery, after it has been deployed.
Also, all its 40 pins are used to connect to the Top Hat module, that has a
8x8 led matrix, and humidity, temperature, and pressure sensors attached to
it. Our main test concluded to poll the values of the humidity, temperature,
and pressure every second, and to mark down the values for further
evaluation. In the first tests after writing and debugging the code, we wanted
to see if our sensors were working properly, and to analyse how would the
Up-Time of the Raspberry Pi was affecting out results. Judging by the fact
that our Raspberry Pi doesn’t have a heatsink, and by the results of the test,
we concluded that we have to run our tests as close to power-up for optimal
results, as processor-made heat cannot be ventilated, and it could affect our
readings (a ventilator might drop our registered temperatures). In the next
test we wanted to see how a quick increase in temperature would affect the
other sensors’ readings, by using a hairdryer. The humidity started to drop,
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and the pressure stood at a normal level. We also realized that the
temperature was an indicator of how far the hairdryer was from the
Raspberry Pi board. This simulation showed us how would temperature
change in the Atlas V module, but also during the drop.
Social Relevance
The current social relevance is the fact that our module would be available
at a very cheap price tag, and it could even be used on Earth, without the
capsule, of course. This would have a major impact on the modern society,
as almost everyone would afford this device.
Sustainability
The sustainability of our planet would be improved, because our module
helps people gain information about many parameters, and the general
quality of the environment. This would lead to a major attitude change from
the people, who would become more responsible here on Earth, and
possibly, on Mars.
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Findings and conclusions
We did carry out a couple of tests, from which two are detailed below:
-
We exhaled air over the sensors for 10 seconds, with 2 seconds
between each measuring, concluding that the humidity rose very
fast, while the temperature started to rise noticeably.
Number/Sensor
Humidity
Temperature
Pressure
1
45.3904
23.2063
1014.6569
2
48.6330
23.2816
1014.6564
3
54.2479
23.5416
1014.6479
4
61.9427
23.7060
1014.6745
5
67.4297
23.8512
1014.6569
-
We blew hot air over the sensors for 5 seconds, with one second
between each measuring, concluding that the humidity started to go
down, while the temperature rose steadily.
Number / Sensor Humidity
Temperature
Pressure
41.2604
31.8199
1011.1152
1
2
41.0856
31.8199
1011.1152
3
40.8965
32.3494
1011.1040
4
40.8073
32.8425
1011.1430
5
40.5396
32.8790
1011.1386
Such measurements should provide accurate weather predictions, such as
storms or droughts on Mars.
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References
https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constanta_gravita%C8%9Bional%C
4%83
https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legea_atrac%C8%9Biei_universale
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drag_coefficient
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmosphere_of_Mars
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/drag-coefficient-d_627.html
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