Capstone Blog #7 – Capstone Share

Yesterday (6/19/2018) I presented my Capstone slide show. I was really nervous to do it, but I thought that I did really well. I think that Capstone was a fun project. I’m now more confident about presenting in front of people because of Capstone.

This is my presentation, I hope you enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmGvVV9OidM&list=

Capstone post #6 – Working on Final Project

While I was working on my final project I was thinking that it would be really hard to present in front of a lot of people (parents & classes). I started off thinking I was going to do an ignite, but after some thinking I thought it would be hard because it’s timed, so I did a Ted Talk instead. In case you don’t know what a Ted Talk is, I’ll explain it. A Ted Talk is where you’re not timed and you can have as many slides as you want. I made a pretty good script and made slides with very interesting pictures.

Capstone Blog Post #5 – Capstone Essay

We had to make an essay for Capstone, here it is! I hope you will like it!

Capstone Essay

          My Capstone topic is SpaceX vs. NASA to Mars. I chose that topic because I am interested in learning more about space. I think Capstone has  been very interesting so far. I believe that NASA will win the race to get to Mars because they have more experience with space, and their budget is a lot higher so they can afford better rockets.

          Let’s talk a little bit about SpaceX. SpaceX has only recently begun to explore Mars. The company was started by Elon Musk in 2002.  Currently SpaceX and Elon Musk are working on building the BFR (Big Falcon Rocket). SpaceX is planning to spend $10 billion on its plan to  colonize Mars. The plan includes a large rocket, codenamed the BFR, which blasts a spaceship carrying up to 100 people into orbit before returning to the launch pad. The rocket will then be used to refuel the transport ship. SpaceX has built the Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, and Dragon spaceships as test models. The company is also using the transport ships to make money by launching satellites for customers. SpaceX is currently working on a timeline for its plan and making the rocket more affordable.

          Now, let’s talk about NASA. NASA is currently working on the Mars 2020 rover. They’re also doing some research on how they can land on Mars, if there’s life there, and if there’s materials for something living there to eat/drink. NASA has actually found water on Mars. They also found out that Mars uses the sun and the moon, it also gets down to -200 degrees fahrenheit at night, so that’s a possibility that there’s life on Mars. NASA is currently working on the SLS, which is the rocket they will use to get to Mars. They say it’ll be the biggest and most powerful rocket in the world. NASA is planning to spend $2.15 billion on the SLS.

          We will now compare NASA and SpaceX. NASA has always had more experience than SpaceX, mainly because they’ve had so many people there, and that NASA has been around for 59 years and all they’ve been doing is exploring space. NASA also has a large budget of $18.5 billion. SpaceX has little experience because they’ve only been around for 16 years, they don’t have very many people, either, and their budget is $1 billion.

          In conclusion, as you can see by the examples and facts that I have given, I believe NASA will be the first program to get to Mars because they have more experience, more money so they can afford better rockets, and their dedication to space exploration.

 

Capstone Blog Post #4 – Interview

Last Sunday (6/3/2018) I had my interview with Greta Studiar, an engineer at NASA. She said that NASA found water on Mars. They also found out that Mars uses the sun and the moon. She also said that they’re working on building a rocket to get to Europa. Europa is one of Saturn’s moons, it’s made out of all water except the first layer. Greta says that she’d go to space if she could, but not on a long mission like Mars. Greta is also working on the front of the Mars 2020 rover. I found this interview very interesting.