Boston Debate League Adapted From NASA NASA Exercise: Survival on the Moon.

Boston Debate League

Adapted From NASA

NASA Exercise: Survival on the Moon

• There’s not enough oxygen on the moon to light a match, in fact the moon has no atmosphere.

• The moon and most of space is a near “vacuum”- an area that is empty of any matter (stuff).

15 – Box of Matches

Since the moon does not have polarized, magnetic poles a magnetic compass is worthless.

The moon does not have polarized, magnetic poles because the moon does not have a molten/liquid iron core. Magnetism is a result of moving electrical charge. Liquid metal has an electric charge and when they move in a core it creates a magnetic field. This is how Earth’s magnetic field.

14-Magnetic Compass

Not needed unless on the dark side of the moon. As you are on the light side, it is too hot to use.

To deal with this dramatic range in temperature, spacesuits are heavily insulated with layers of fabric and then covered with reflective outer layers. This minimizes the temperature differences between when the astronaut is in the sunlight and when in shade. Space suits also have internal heaters and cooling systems, and liquid heat exchange pumps that remove excess heat.

http://www.universetoday.com/19623/temperature-of-the-moon/

13-Portable Heating Unit

This is the bulkier of the two food concentrates. Almost too heavy to justify carrying. The calories would help though.

12-One case of dehydrated milk

This could possible used as a means of self-propulsion.

The Moon has 1/6 the Gravity of Earth partially because it has less mass than Earth, and because of this when you jump up you can jump a lot higher and you could even shoot a pistol and the kick back could help you propel yourself.

Also, if you somehow got booted off the moon, in space there would be nothing to push off of to move so you would have to propel yourself somehow and a gun could help with that.

11-Two .45 calibre pistols

• This could be used as a distress signal when the mother ship is sighted.

• On the moon, since there is no atmosphere, you are basically standing on top of a rock inside of a vacuum. Without air or some other medium (material) sound waves cannot travel and thus could not be used to signal anyone. However, light, and other forms of electromagnetic radiation (e.g. radio waves, microwaves, gamma rays) can travel in a vacuum. So this would work.

10-Signal Flares

• CO2 bottle in military raft may be used for propulsion for the same reasons before.

• Also, it could be used to protect you from the heat or to help transport the injured.

• Unfortunately it’s kind of bulky.

9- Self-inflating life raft

The silk could be used to protect you from the sunlight, a form of electromagnetic radiation.

On earth the atmosphere and the Earth’s magnetic field both protect us from a lot of bad electromagnetic radiation. There is no protection from this in space.

8- Parachute Silk

Needles connected to vials of vitamins and medicines, etc. will fit specialized hole in NASA space suit.

7-First aid kit, including injection needle

Useful in scaling cliffs and tying the injured together so that they do not get lost.

The moon has a lot of craters, which are caused by asteroid (big rock) collisions. The make the moon look like Swiss cheese.

6-Fifty feet of nylon rope

For communication with mother ship (but FM requires line-of-sight transmission and can only be used over short range).

Since space is a vacuum only electromagnetic radiation like radio waves can help you communicate a message. No one will hear you scream…unless you scream into a walky-talky.

5-Solar powered FM receiver-transmitter

This is an efficient means of getting people fed with the calories/energy they need to keep going.

As far as we know there is no plants or animals in space to eat.

4-Food Concentrate

This would be the main means of navigating the moon. Star patterns on the moon are essentially the same as they are on Earth.

Without a magnetic field, this is all you have.

3-Stellar map

You will die pretty quick without water.

The water on the moon is not easy to mine as they are locked in the moon’s soil in small amounts or are in really cold places like craters or the moon’s poles.

2-20 liters of water

You will die even faster without oxygen.

The no atmosphere, no oxygen, no fun witmoon has hout it.

1-Two 100 lb tanks of Oxygen