Project

Purpose
This is a comprehensive project that you will work on throughout the course. You will work in groups to solve a problem using the theories, formulas, and concepts from this class.

Course Objectives
Execute problem-solving actions appropriate to completing a variety of case study assignments.
Apply critical reading to identify the meaning of information in a problem statement.
Apply analytical and logical thinking to extract facts from a problem description and determine how they relate to one another and to the problem(s) to be solved.
Provide symbolic, verbal, and graphical interpretations of statements in a problem description.
Apply analytical tools for evaluating the causes and potential implications of a problem.
Generate potential solutions to a problem and determine the best course of action with regard to effectiveness, efficiency, and mitigation of risks.
Design methodology for implementing problem solution(s).
Develop tools for evaluating implementation of problem solution.

Required Resources
Textbook
ITT Tech Virtual Library

Project Logistics
Select ONE of the following three projects: A, B, or C.
You may work individually or in a group. Because of the workload, working in groups is recommended. Working as an individual on this project is discouraged.

Project Deliverables
Four written reports
Final report
Project presentation (Unit 10)

Each written report must have the following items:
APA formatting, double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font
Title page listing group members’ name(s)
Reference page listing all reference materials (textbook, articles, websites, etc.) in APA citation format
All work must be original. Copying and pasting from an outside source is plagiarism, and the entire team will receive zero points. If formulas are used, include them with examples of application.

Your group is to present a 10- to 15-minute professional presentation in front of the class in Unit 10. If you are working individually, you are to present this by yourself. Each group member must have a speaking part, and there should be visual aids, such as PowerPoint presentations, charts, handouts, and/or videos during the presentation.

Project B: Living on another Planet/Designing a Green Building
Goal: Determine on which planet you want to live, or determine what type of building to design (apartment complex, business, consumer-oriented).

What is needed to sustain life on another planet? You need to know the characteristics of the planet, why you would be on the planet, what you need to sustain life, and the impact of isolation on humans (assuming humans go to the planet). Similarly, if you are going to design a green/zero energy footprint building, you need to identify the purpose of the building to determine what the energy needs will be. Then identify alternative energy sources appropriate for the geographical location of the building. Both projects are of interest today. The MARS-500 project and Masdar City are examples of each. Many cities have proposed zero-energy footprint buildings in the planning stage.

Living on another Planet / Designing a Green Building
The Project:
On 14 January 2004, President Bush proposed a new vision for space exploration that includes human and robotic exploration of the Moon and Mars. The proposal consisted to complete construction of the International Space Station (ISS) by the end of the decade and to retire the Space Shuttle at that point. ISS research was to be reconfigured to focus on questions related to the impact on human health of spending long periods in space.

The New Planet: ‘Mars’
The central goal is to return to the Moon between 2015 and 2020. To do this, NASA will develop a new Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV), which will carry humans by 2014. The CEV may also be used to service the Space Station. The Marshall-based Orbital Space Plane and Next Generation Launch Technology programs were canceled as a result of the President's Vision for Space Exploration.

The entire plan is geared toward preparing for this period, but what will happen during these years is (perhaps necessarily) left entirely open-ended. The ultimate goals are to send humans to Mars and to increase the commercial exploitation of space. The timing of future exploration is left open and will depend on the pace of technology development and discovery during the years leading up to 2020.
The Vision for Space Exploration sets a goal of developing a new CEV by 2014 that is capable of carrying astronauts beyond low Earth orbit and a goal of landing astronauts on the Moon no later than 2020.

The Development Capabilities: * Robotic Precursor Systems: The first steps in our journey of exploration will be taken by robotic systems-orbiting, landing, and operating on the Moon as precursors to later human explorers. We are working closely with, and providing requirements to the Science Directorate, which is responsible for managing a series of robotic lunar missions that will pave the way for human exploration. * Crew Transportation: The initial focus for the Constellation Systems Program will be to develop a Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) that will carry future astronauts from Earth to space, and from point-to-point in space. Initial high-level milestones include a CEV demonstration flight in 2008, a CEV flight without crew in 2011, and a CEV flight with crew in 2014. Along with building the CEV, we will select the appropriate human-rated launch vehicle. * Cargo Transportation: The cargo transported may include fuel and supplies, as well as transportation modules and supporting infrastructure that will be used in space or on the lunar surface. In cooperation with the Space Operations Directorate, trade studies are underway to evaluate launch vehicles and optimize the number of launches required to implement a given mission. Multiple components may be launched from Earth, assembled in Earth orbit or other locations, and then transported for use in lunar orbit or on the Moon. * Surface Systems: The capabilities we deploy on the lunar surface will support diverse mission phases, including lunar landing, surface operations, and ascent from the lunar surface. The variety of system-of-systems needed are still being defined, but could include systems for surface mobility, robotic assistants, extravehicular activity, habitation, scientific platforms such as telescopes, and surface-based power generation.

* In-Space Systems: NASA may also enhance, in cooperation with various other Directorates, NASA's space-based infrastructure. This may include additional communication networks, service platforms for maintenance and supply, and zero gravity extravehicular capabilities like evolved space suits. * Ground Systems: In cooperation with other Directorates, NASA will rely upon or enhance NASA's existing ground-based systems to support mission operations, preflight integration and logistics, and mission simulation and testing. * Humans as a Critical System: NASA will create new capabilities by focusing on the human interface so that humans can live and work in space productively without suffering long-term health consequences.

How to develop a ‘Green Living System’ in the new Planet:
We now know there are natural resources available to use to sustain life, and harvesting them will lead to our first colony being started and expanding there. The question arises, as how to get there, and with careful thought, the technology that we now possess will certainly deliver us there to Mars in the near future. The first fact to consider is that we have a natural satellite that is only approximately 252,000 miles away from us, which is the Moon. We also have the International Space Station, revolving around the earth. We are also going to be building an outer space vehicle that is larger than the Gemini space capsule, but will be built to go deeper into space and it’ll stay there longer. All of these advances in technology allow us to make the first attempts for mankind to be out in space and provide sustainable living conditions to humans, and to create this living in another planet / green building project.

Among several other conditions these first humans must to face by living in another planet, these are some of the key features that could make them possible: 1. Limits to Growth: Projects may only be built on Greenfields or Brownfields previously developed sites that are not classified as wetlands, primary dunes, old-growth forest, virgin prairie, prime farmland, or within the 100 year floodplain. 2. Urban Agriculture: All projects must integrate opportunities for agriculture appropriate to the scale and density of the project. 3. Habitat Exchange: For each hectare of development, an equal amount of land must be set-aside in perpetuity as part of a habitat exchange. 4. Car-Free Living: Each new project should contribute towards the creation of walkable, pedestrian-oriented communities. 5. Net Zero Water: One hundred percent of occupants’ water use must come from captured precipitation or closed loop water systems that account for downstream ecosystem impacts and that are appropriately purified without the use of chemicals. 6. Ecological Water Flow: One hundred percent of storm water and building water discharge must be managed onsite to feed the project’s internal water demands or released onto adjacent sites for management through acceptable natural time-scale surface flow, groundwater recharge, agricultural use, or adjacent building needs.

7. Net Zero Energy: One hundred percent of the project’s energy needs must be supplied by on-site renewable energy on a net annual basis. 8. Civilized Environment: Every occupied space must have operable windows that provide access to fresh air and daylight. 9. Healthy Air: Renovations, buildings, and neighborhood projects must promote good indoor air quality. 10. Materials Red List: The project cannot contain any chemicals from a prohibited list, which includes lead, mercury, phthalates, Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), and more. 11. Responsible Industry: The project must advocate for the creation and adoption of third-party certified standards for sustainable resource extraction and fair labor practices. Applicable raw materials include stone and rock, metal, and timber. For timber, all wood must be certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), or come from salvaged sources or from the intentional harvest of timber onsite for the purpose of clearing the area for construction. 12. Appropriate Sourcing: The project must incorporate place-based solutions and contribute to the expansion of a regional economy rooted in sustainable practices, products, and services. 13. Conservation and Reuse: All project teams must strive to reduce or eliminate the production of waste during design, construction and operation, and the end of life phase in order to conserve natural resources.

14. Human Scale and Humane Places: The project must be designed to create human-scaled, rather than robotic / automobile-scaled, places so that the experience brings out the best in humanity and promotes culture and interaction. 15. Democracy and Social Justice: All primary transportation, roads, and non-building infrastructure that are considered externally-focused must be equally accessible to all members of the public regardless of background, age, and socioeconomic class, with reasonable steps taken to ensure that all people can benefit from the project’s creation. 16. Rights to Nature: The project may not block access to, nor diminish the quality of, fresh air, sunlight, and artificial waterways for any member of society or adjacent developments.

The Final Reflection:
Mars has always been one of the most intriguing planets in our solar system, and perhaps the most researched over generations of cosmologists, since technology allowed us to gain more and more information about our red planet neighbor.
The idea of mankind will establish permanent human life on Mars is not new and dates back to the origin of our very first civilizations among our planet. From the Mesopotamians till the Mayans, there are stories (several times misinterpreted as myths) that portrayed Mars as a flourishing green planet with oceans and forests similar as the one in our planet, but that later on and for some unclear reason, the planet started to decay progressively over thousands of years, until totally losing its atmosphere and end up with the nonliving characteristics unfit for life that it possess today.
If we plan in the near future to make this planet habitable again, the first humans need to be prepared to find a hostile environment out there and they must forget all earthly things that they thoroughly enjoy and we all take for granted. That way it will allow this first generation of pioneer humans to sustain life and get accustomed to the aridness of the red planet. Human settlement on Mars is possible today with existing technologies although there are lots of similar technologies developed by private industry that will provide better settlement to the people who decide to take the trip there in future years.
Mars mission plans to integrate components that are well tested and readily available from industry leaders worldwide. The first footprint on Mars and lives of the crew thereon will captivate and inspire generations and will stimulate the public as well as our mainstream scientific society to investigate and provide answers to the several questions people still have today regarding Mars and life sustainability in another planet. It is this public interest that will help finance this human mission to Mars and more to come from now on, until the time will come one day, where our future generations will take some months out of the year, and go visit the Red Planet just for fun or as a vacation time to enjoy the space trip as well as the amazing scenarios the planet will offer.