|
| | Training Activities
You are in a space crew
originally scheduled to rendezvous with a mother ship on the lighted surface of
the moon. Mechanical difficulties, however, have forced your ship to crash-land
at a spot some 200 miles from the rendezvous point. The rough landing damaged
mush of the equipment aboard. Since survival depends on reaching the mother
ship, the most critical items available must be chosen for the 200-mile trip.
Below are listed 15 items left intact after landing. Your task it to rank them
in terms of their importance to your crew in its attempt to reach the rendezvous
point. Place number 1 by the most important item; number 2 by the second most
important, and so on thought number 15, the least important.
Step 1: Individual
Ranking. Each member of the team is
to individually rank each item. Do not discuss the situation or problem until
each member has finished the individual ranking. Once discussion begins do not
change your individual ranking.
Step 2: Team
Ranking. After everyone has finished
the individual ranking, rank in order the 15 items as a team.
|
Box of Matches |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
|
Food Concentrate |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
|
50 Feet of nylon rope |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
|
Parachute silk |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
|
Portable heating unit |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
|
Two .45 caliber pistols |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
|
One case dehydrated milk |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
|
Two 100-pou d tanks of oxygen |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
|
Stellar Map (Moon’s constellations) |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
|
Life raft |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
|
Magnetic compass |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
|
5 gallons of water |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
|
Signal Flares |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
|
First-aid kit containing injection needles |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
|
Solar-powered FM receiver-transmitter |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
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Lost on the Moon Scoring: NASA's Answers
Scoring:
For each item, find the difference between your ranking and NASA’s ranking
number. Add these differences. The smaller your difference, the closer you are
to the experts. Also do this for the team rankings. Compare accuracy of the
individual predictions and group prediction.
Example:
Your Ranking NASA’s
Difference
Box of
matches 8
15 7
Signal
Flares 14
10 4
Explanation:
These are the answers supplied by the NASA scientist. The answers are split
into groups-physical survival and traveling to the rendezvous.
|
Box of Matches |
15 |
|
Food Concentrate |
4 |
|
50 Feet of nylon rope |
6 |
|
Parachute silk |
8 |
|
Portable heating unit |
13 |
|
Two .45 caliber pistols |
11 |
|
One case dehydrated milk |
12 |
|
Two 100-pou d tanks of oxygen |
1 |
|
Stellar Map (Moon’s constellations) |
3 |
|
Life raft |
9 |
|
Magnetic compass |
14 |
|
5 gallons of water |
2 |
|
Signal Flares |
10 |
|
First-aid kit containing injection needles |
7 |
|
Solar-powered FM receiver-transmitter |
5 |
 |
The first two
items are air and water without which you cannon survive at all. After that
comes the map for locating position and figuring out how to get to the
rendezvous. Food comes next for strength on the trip. It is not as
necessary for survival as air and water. |
|
The FM transceiver
is for keeping in touch with earth. In a vacuum, without the ionosphere,
radio transmission travels only a line of sight and would be limited on the
moon to destination of approximately ten miles. On earth powerful receivers
could pick up messages, which would then be relayed to the mother ship. The
next item would be the rope for lunar mountain climbing and traversing
crevasses on the trip. The next item would be first aid for injuries.
Parachute silk would offer excellent protection from sunlight and heat
buildup. |
|
The life raft is a
carry all for supplies, (the moon’s gravity permits heavy loads to be
carried), as a shelter, and a possible stretcher for the injured. It also
offers protection from micrometeorite showers. |
|
Flares cannot burn
in a vacuum, but they, and the pistol, can be shot. Flares and guns would
therefore be excellent propulsive devised for flying over obstructions. The
milk is heavy and relatively less valuable. |
|
On the moon,
overheating is a problem and not cold. Thus the heating unit is useless.
The magnetic compass is useless without a map of the moon’s magnetic field.
The box of matches is the most useless item. |
| |
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