Lego T.C. Logo and Telecomputing Team up for Classroom Excitement. by Denny Hanley
Students learn Science best when they are actively engaged doing "real" Science. Using Lego T.C. Logo and telecommunications with young scientists in your classroom can provide "real" excitement to solve "real" problems related to one of NASA's most exciting projects; "The Mars Mission." The Challenger Space Shuttle tragedy led the American people and NASA to re-examine the risks of manned space exploration. A new emphasis on unmanned probes, satellites, data collecting devices, and surface rovers emerged. It is not surprising that research and development in these areas has increased dramatically with promising results. Although humans in space will be necessary, under certain circumstances we can still "boldly go where no one really needs to." The JPL, (jet propulsion laboratory) has been working on an exciting project for the Mars mission. Their objective is to construct a "Mars Rover" vehicle that will enable scientists to explore, collect samples, survey and map the surface of Mars by remote control from the Earth. The vehicle is called "Robby." The objective of this lesson is exactly the same as the scientists at JPL with one exception; the vehicles will be constructed using Lego T.C. Logo kits. For this project you will need : 1) A telecomputing connection with access to the Internet. 2) The Lego T.C. Logo program. 3) Plenty of imagination, (student provided). Step 1: Research The current research and possibilities of the future in space can be explored in a very dynamic and exciting way right in your classroom using an array of resources on the Internet. The type of site and their addresses are listed below. In addition, Telnet sites are briefly described as to their relationship to the project. FTP sites containing files specifically supporting the research phase of this project are discussed in greater detail. Telnet Sites 1) NASA Spacelink Spacelink.msfc.nasa.gov or 128.158.13.250 This is an interactive site in which students are able to research the current status of every NASA project, including the Mars mission. 2) SpaceMet SpaceMet.phast.umass.edu or 128.119.50.48 This is an interactive site with a wide variety of information on space exploration and space history. The information on the lunar rovers of the Apollo missions will be applicable to this project. 3) Lunar Planetary Institute LPI.JSC.NASA.GOV or 192.101.147.11 This site has general information on astronomy and specific information on planets. Read information on Mars. FTP Sites 1) NASA Archives ftp to AMES.ARC.NASA.GOV or 128.102.18.3 This FTP site has many documents that you can download on space and related topics. Articles on JPL's research on "Robby" can be located using this file sequence; SPACE/MARS.ROVER/mr10.26.90. Download all files beginning with "mr", which stands for Mars rover. 2) Washington University ftp to WUARCHIVE.WUSTL.EDU This ftp site has a wonderful collect of Gif graphics that can be downloaded. Detailed NASA photos of Mars taken by Viking 1 from a distance and on the surface of Mars are available. Additionally, there are photos of lunar rovers on the moon and surface landers on Mars. The directory sequence for each is listed below. 1) Mars: Gif / astronomy / L / lander2 2) Lunar Rover on the Moon: Gif / astronomy / L / lunarrover 3) Lander on Mars: Gif / astronomy / M / mars These files and telnet research will be very helpful and exciting for your students to get an idea of the task and the objectives facing scientists in their endeavor. It will also set the stage for this project. Step 2: Brainstorming It is important that students get a clear understanding of the problems facing them and other scientists in trying to put a "human presence" on the planet Mars. Students will need to brainstorm on the human qualities that can manifest themselves in machine form. Such as: mobility, sight, sound, communication, grasping and retrieving objects, and the ability to act, react, and interact with the environment. The students should not be concerned with the limitations of the Lego/Logo equipment at this point. The important thing is to let the ideas flow. The students will need to make value judgements as to which attributes would be essential to a Mars Rover. Those that are deemed necessary would be kept while the others would be discarded. After finalizing the list of attributes, the students are ready to enter the construction and testing phase of the project. Step 3: Construction and Testing As the students begin to experiment with different designs that will meet the necessary attributes they felt were important, they will also be constantly testing their ideas. Some possible areas that could be tested and measured are: 1) Maneuverability - forward, backward, turn. 2) Speed - m/sec 3) Strength - (Incline test) What is the greatest angle the Rover can climb a 1 m incline. 4) Durability - (Cliff test) What is the highest cliff, (in cm) that the Rover can drive off while remaining intact and mobile. 5) Special Features - Ability to measure distance in cm or m. Ability to "feel" objects and react. 6) Programming - The extent and quality to which categories 1-5 are controlled by the computer. Of course these are only a few possible ideas. Your students will supply variations of their own that only they as "real" scientists would think of. Step 4: Sharing the Data Students need to share their test results and descriptions of their Rovers with their peers within the class, and possibly with colleagues from another class for comparison. Using Electronic mail they could quickly share testing results and basic designs. They could also be encouraged to suggest improvements to each other and offer programming advice. They might even exchange programming codes. The results of the entire project could be electronically mailed to JPL scientists for their examination and comments. They would be interested, supportive, and grateful for the student efforts. Step 5: GO TO MARS If the proof is in the pudding then there will have to be a "Mars Mission" in your classroom. Students would build a Mars landscape and operate their vehicles without being able to actually see them. After all isn't that what "real" scientists do?
