Los Alamos Mid School (78)

The Los Alamos Mid School team (#78) is from Los Alamos. This year they've submitted a project titled Space Debris: How Much is Too Much?.

Team Members:

 * Wilbur Wang
 * Katherine Wang

Sponsoring Teacher:

 * Pauline Stephens

Proposal
http://mode.lanl.k12.nm.us/get_proposal1112.php?team_id=78

More and more of the space around our planet Earth is being taken up by something called space debris. Space debris is the waste leftover from broken satellites, space shuttle parts, and equipment from space missions. Although, only five percent of the debris is a threat to space launches, it is predicted that space debris will turn into a major problem in the future. Since, there is no effective method to get rid of the debris right now, we would like to model this issue.

Our goal is to find the probability of space collisions depending on the quantity, distribution, and shape of the debris surrounding the Earth. We will visualize the 3D movement and distribution for different amounts of debris. Next, we will calculate the probability of the collisions of the rocket launches. Based on this result, we should be able to find how much debris is too much.

Interim Report
http://mode.lanl.k12.nm.us/get_interim1112.php?team_id=78

Problem
As the number of satellite and shuttle launches increases, space debris becomes a hazard for astronomical research. Space debris is anything left over from a satellite or a shuttle that orbits earth. Because the debris is impossible to get rid of, it endangers many of the working space units orbiting or launched from Earth. It is predicted that within the coming years, satellite crashes will occur more often. As the amount of space debris increases the amount of collisions may rise as well. To a certain extent, it will be impossible to retain a successful launch.

Our goal is to program the debris orbiting Earth and the launching of probes to space. We intend to find the probability of satellite and debris collisions to the total number of launches, predicting how much debris will prevent or eliminate successful launches from Earth.

Problem Solution
We plan to create a 3D model using Starlogo TNG. Three agents will be present in the model. The first being the debris, the second being the launched bodies, and the third being Earth. The debris will orbit Earth in circular patterns. The shuttles launched will travel from Earth. As the rockets get further from Earth their speed will increase until they reach their maximum speed. We then hope to calculate the number of debris collisions to the number of total launches, making sure to change the total debris and the total launches.

Progress to Date:
So far in our model, we have created earth rotating on its axis and the rocket launches shooting out of Earth. We have accomplished increasing the speed of the rockets as they enter space and created a steady speed as the trajectory reaches space.

The debris we have modeled orbits earth in a circular motion. Because, the debris is very close to Earth, Keplers law has little effect on it. This knowledge makes it accurate for us to program the debris’ motion.

Expected Results
Our team hopes to find how much debris will prevent or limit the amount of launches from Earth.

Sources:

 * 1) http://orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/
 * 2) http://www.universetoday.com/35190/space-debris/
 * 3) http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/reports-says-space-debris-past-tipping-point-nasa-needs-to-step-up-action/2011/08/31/gIQAo6WTuJ_story.html
 * 4) http://www.space.com/12894-space-debris-nasa-frequently-asked-questions.html
 * 5) http://www.aero.org/capabilities/cords/debris-basics.html

Introduction
Hello Team 78!

I am a sophomore at New Mexico Tech and i am pursuing a degree in computer science. I decided to major in computer science because i was interested in how computers work, and i want to learn how to use them to create solutions for complex problems. I currently work in my department as a student researcher for EPSCoR. Someday i want a career in a workshop, programming robots. I have been involved in programs similar to Challenge/GUTS in previous years, however this is my first year on the feedback team.

Progress
I see that your group has made good progress on the computational model of space junk collisions. The key interactions have been identified and refined. Goals are well defined, writing in project description is very clear.

Some progress to be made:

Determine scaling of the rocket vs the size of space junk particle. Will there be pieces of different sizes? Speed of rocket during liftoff and speed of particle should be modeled fairly accurately.

Mentors
I didn't find a specific mentor in your proposal. Does your team have one?

Model
Your computational model is well refined and progress sounds promising.

Does your group have a mathematical model? If not, one idea would be to compute the probability of collision during a series of launches.

Face to Face Evaluation
Remember that you will have a face-to-face evaluation later this month!

Utilize this Judges' rubric used for for the Expo judging, in April, to organize your posts.

Good work guys! You have made great leaps in progress! I look forward to the outcome of your model!