the GREAT LUNAR EXPEDITION FOR EVERYONE (GLEE)
McKinley to the Moon
By Jovan Champ
Before I get into our first official week I'll give background on the preparations preceding this. In preparing to Kick-off the GLEE team we first had to sign up which could also be considered the start of the club. While waiting and hoping to be accepted we worked to learn about each other and aimed not only to build the LunaSat but to learn about our own specific career goals and interests.
In the week of October, 9th, 2022 we started on our first module for the GLEE team. To start we learned about the very distinct parts of the LunaSat that give it its function. We learned that putting together the LunaSat requires us to understand a number of small parts. Also we must eventually conclude what kind of data we want to pull using the LunaSat. Seeing as we recently started, there are a few hiccups but I know as we go on we will find even footing. Getting into the LunaSat I think we’ve all come to realize despite how small it is it’ll take quite a bit of work in order to properly not only build it but also understand it. As we go on I hope to see our understanding of it deepen and our appreciation for it grow.
Our McKinley to the Moon team (above) receives our LunaSat kit (below) in October 2022. Let the programming begin!
By Kalen Bates
In a recap of module 1 we learned of the parts in detail on the LunaSat and what they control or do.
In module 2 we defined the components/key features of the arduino in a busy week of planning. We plugged the usb from the LunaSat in our computers and played with the code to get the feeling of what to do. We programmed the code to say "Hello World!"
That's all from your weekly Techites ✌
Our team member, Nicholas, works in Ms. Deutsch's classroom (right).
By Loron Hill
Module 3 is all about solar panels. Solar panels are used because they are small, lightweight, and cheap. We also get to upload code to the Lunasat and see if the solar panel is working by watching the LEDs blink. We enjoyed doing Activity 3.2 because it was fun experimenting the solar panels. Overall, it was a pleasant experience because of the hands on work.
The bigger the pencil, the better the notes! Josiah (left) and Loron (right) work on the Module 3 after school.
By Ms. Deutsch
Today M2M had the privilege to present at an outreach event with the NASA Planetary ReaCH program at the Shaw Neighborhood Library in Washington D.C.. The purpose of this effort was to conduct workshops to assist planetary scientists better engage Black and Latinx youth in planetary science in community settings. ReaCH held a workshop at the Applied Physics Lab in Laurel, MD open to educators and scientists. Following the workshop, they held a public event at the library during which workshop participants were able to practice the strategies and activities used during the workshop.
M2M had a table where we presented about the awesome things we are doing at McKinley Tech! At our booth we presented about the GLEE program, the different components of the LunaSat, the sensors on the LunaSat, and why we are using a LunaSat to complete this mission. Many scientists from the other booths and community members attending the event stopped by to learn about our mission. We loved getting to answer the questions about what we're learning and also got us very excited to share our findings with the community. Many people gave us great ideas about what we can hope to measure with our LunaSat and pushed us to think about what we will actually do with that data.
In addition to having our own booth, we also got to explore the others ran by the ReaCH volunteers. Some of our favorites included learning about how craters impact the surface of the Moon and how to build a safe launching mechanism for astronauts. It was super inspiring to meet all of the other scientists and gave us a glimpse into our futures!
We want to give a huge shout out and thank you to ReaCH for including us in this amazing event and can't wait to hopefully partner again in the future!
The team sets up our booth and presents our GLEE work to visitors!
Loron explains different components on the LunaSat.
Hanna, Kalen, and Eden represent at our booth!
Jovan, Loron, and Bejamin take a break to toss the Moon.
By Josiah Smith
Today in GLEE Club we reviewed module 4 as a group so that everyone had an equal experience on how the power of the LunaSat would work. The group tested the effects of the solar panel by watching the graph that displays the amount of power it gives off. For our light source we used a lamp since it hasn't been a good sunny day in a long time. To further increase the variety of the test, the lightbulb was at an angle in the lamp to see the variation of the power received by the solar panels depending on the angle of the light.
Shoutout to Loron who took the lead on the Module and stayed day after day to figure it out. He even helped lead the class discussion when it was time to share his understandings with the whole group. We found that the LunaSat works based on the intensity of the light on it which we tested by covering the solar panel with various materials such as bubble wrap, a hand sanitizer bottle, and a hand. The transparent materials didn't decrease the efficiency of the solar panels nearly as much as a solid object did. The angles also change the power generated by the solar panels. When the light shines directly on the solar panels, the power generated is the highest and varies depending on how well the light at that angle hits the panel.
We tested the change in voltage read by the solar cell (black rectangle on the LunaSat on the right) based on the angle of light source (Ms. Deutsch's desk lamp!).
By De'niyah Dickerson
This week's lesson was on the temperature sensor. We worked on "Temperature Data" and "Heat Transfer". In this lesson we learned the difference between conduction, radiation, and convection and how it transfers heat. Conduction is when you're touching it, like touching a stove. Radiation is when you're not touching it, like holding your hand above the stove. Convection is when the heat flows through air. We also performed the different heat transfers with the satellite and documented how the Lunasat reacted differently depending on the light source and how close it was to the sensor. We found that conduction heated up the Lunasat the most and fastest.
By Eden Evans
During module 6 we learned about the magnetometer. The magnetometer is a hall effect sensor that measures magnetic fields in the 3 axes which are x,y, and z. We learned that the lunar regolith affects the magnetic fields of the local region. This can be used to learn more because it will help learn the composition of the lunar regolith. To demonstrate this we used a magnet and lunasat to see what materials and thicknesses to see how strong the magnetic field was.
By Hannah Floyd
In module 7 we learned about the capacitive sensor and how it measures using dielectric constant. We learned that you use the dielectric constant to measure the composition of the lunar regolith, which is just dust and rocks. In the activities we used the capacitive sensor to see how it increased or decreased depending on the liquid we used.