Davis Creek Elementary 5th grade
1.
Well, the Mars Express space ship survived the terrible meteor storm, but that was only the beginning of our story. The crew of astronaut specialists is stranded on board with failing on-board computers and precarious oxygen levels. We have to abandon our spaceship and reach the surface of Mars to survive. We do have a little time to plan what items from the space ship we can pack into the escape pods and take with us to the surface. We will have to figure out how to build a survival colony. Our first challenge was getting supplies from the ship to the surface. We had to get out of the Mars Express into the escape pods and navigate our way to terra-firma below. This is what we did... We took apart everything we could, and saved as much air as possible. To save room, we strapped the air tanks to the side of the ship. To save fuel, we used thrusters that ran on a solar battery.
2.
Surviving the terrible meteor storm is only the beginning of our story. We have been stranded on what seems to be a deserted, desert planet. Fortunately, the wreckage of the Mars Express is able to give us valuable parts for salvage and survival. Our second challenge was to design and build a machine to produce oxygen. This is what we did... We made a rock masher and when the crane smashed the rocks we got oxygen. After we smashed up the rocks we filtered the oxygen through tubes and got it into tanks. Next we built a machine that sways back and forth to catch the rocks. Before could put on the crane we had to attach a rope to make the crane work correctly. We had to use a motor to get the machine to work properly, because if we didn't have a motor the machine would not pull the rocks nor would it break rocks. This machine is what helped us survive the crash. If you ever go to outer- space, make sure you find out how to make a oxygen machine.
3.
We thought that getting things into the escape pods and navigating the crew to the surface of Mars was tough, and then we found that surviving after that was the real job. Building our home on Mars will be a real challenge. First, we had to decide where it was going to be located. What will we use as building materials? What do we have from the salvaged ship to help us? We also had to consider things such as protection from radiation, meteorites, dust storms, high winds, and other unknown danger. So... We have built a solar panel to provide shelter and gather solar energy from the sun. So now we can have light, food and, supplies to help us on Mars!
4.
This adventure is turning out to be more work that we ever dreamed. First, the meteor storm destroys our space ship. Then we gathered supplies, getting them into the escape pods with the crew and on the surface of Mars, and, finally, building a shelter on the surface of Mars. Now finding and/or producing water. I think...
Yes! I think we can do it! We can make water, though it will not be easy. We have already built a machine capable of getting hydrogen for the water. The crew and I have made a discovery. To make the water, you must have hydrogen and oxygen, so the only problem is getting the oxygen. We need oxygen for ourselves, but there is just the slightest bit in some gusts of certain winds. These winds only blow every forty - five minutes, but that is not the problem. The problem is getting the machine started, it only starts up every hour and we can't leave it out in the open because the sand storms will destroy it. It will take a lot of thinking to solve this problem. I think that if we started the machine up after the next gust we could have it ready for the storm after it. Yes, that just might ... Wait! Here comes the next storm!!!
5.
We have learned that finding food in the agricultural section of the Mars Express space ship and getting it to reproduce on Mars are two very different things. We wanted to eat something good so we decided to build a plow. That way you can sample the dirt and see if it is o.k. to plant in. Then we decided to plant our seeds, hopefully they won't blow away. We will run experiments to see where things grow best. It may be easy; it may be hard. We just don't know. It took us a little bit to build the plow. The food should grow soon.
6.
Well, we've done everything we could to survive on the surface of Mars, but we need to do more! Now it's time to get off of this Martian surface and speed away to Earth. We don't know if there is anyone else on the Martian surface, or passing by in space. We'd love to find some help. We don't know if there is anyone else here. We are trying to signal other people using a satellite. This satellite has solar panels that help it send and receive messages. Whenever the satellite receives a signal, the top of it begins to spin around. It also spins around when it sends a signal. This is to send many radio waves. These are the same radio waves that are in an x-ray. There is a keyboard near the base of the satellite. Here, the people living on mars can type messages to NASA. The satellite can be useful, but it takes 20 minutes for NASA to receive the messages. It also takes us 20 minutes to receive a message, but we can still communicate with life on Earth. It is difficult on the surface of Mars, so we fix keyboards in our dome. The satellite sticks out of the top of the dome. Therefore, we will not have to go on the harsh, red surface of Mars. There is still one problem. We do not know what is on the surface of Mars...
7.
Well, things are beginning to look up. We've built a vehicle from some of the extra supplies and set off to explore parts unknown. While exploring, we found a rock that could give us answers about water on Mars. We pulled up the rock we found with a pulley. We made the pulley out of an extra hook, rope, axle, and wheel.
8.
We have finally found it within ourselves to venture away from the shelter of the DC Mars Express colony and try to make it home to Earth. We are going to use the things we have learned in this space adventure. Our rescue device is a small ship made from salvaged parts of the original ship. The only problem we have is getting it off of the ground, because the engine we made seems to have some bugs. All we can do is hope that we will find the problem and fix it, because if we don't, we could be here for a very long time. In a few moments we will be testing the ship. I don't think that... wait, I think it's, yes, it's working! I can't believe it. It's working! Now we can get back home on Earth!
