The Solar System Scavenger Hunt!
Scour the web looking for information about our solar system! You can download the file here (PDF, Microsoft Word).
Ask the Ninja!
Ask the ninja about anything related to spaceships or Mars or bones and he'll get right on it!
Answered Questions
Q: I have a question!- Submitted by an astronaut, 38, on November 7, 2005
- A: That's great! Now you just have to ask it. =)
- Submitted by Peter, 8, on November 9, 2005
- A: NASA estimates that a mission to Mars will last about 30 months (2.5 years).
- 4-6 months to get to Mars
- 18 months to spend on Mars
- 4-6 months to return to Earth
- A mission to Mars would probably require a crew of 6 people. For more information, see the Bioastronautics Roadmap webpage.
- Submitted by Becky, 6, on November 10, 2005
- A: Mars is dry, rocky, and very cold. The average temperature on Mars is a frigid -87 degrees Fahrenheit. For more information on Mars, visit NASA's All About Mars webpage.
- Submitted by Benjamin, 12, on November 10, 2005
- A: Bones are actually changing all of the time. Old bone is removed and new bone is laid down each and every day. Normally our bones stay the same size and strength because there is a balance between removal and addition of bone.
Bones are very responsive to how much weight is applied to them. If more weight is applied to a bone, more bone will be laid down to support that weight. If less weight is applied, more of the bone will be removed because it is not needed to support the weight. For example, bedridden patients often lose some of their bone mass.
In space, there is no gravity, so astronauts are weightless. Their bones are not loaded because their body does not weigh anything. When we are standing on Earth, our body weight compresses our bones. In space, this does not happen; so, an astronaut's body thinks that it does not need as much bone as it has - so more bone is removed than added.
For more information on bone loss in space, check out NASA's Web of Life webpage.
- Submitted by Mark, 21, on December 29, 2005
- A: Why ninjas? Why not?
Ninjas are probably not found on Mars (if they were, we would never know because of their advanced stealth techniques).
What we do know is that it is difficult to live on Mars. Mars's maximum temperature is 20°C (68°F, 293K), which is not too shabby. However, its average temperature is -63°C (-81°F, 210 K) which is kind of difficult to live in. Plus, the minimum temperature is -140°C (-220°F, 133 K) which makes things cold at night. Huddling together with your friends won't help you.
- Submitted by Benjamin, 17, on February 1, 2006
- A: That's a great question! The answer to that can be found on our team history page.
- Submitted by Juan-Marco, 22, on April 10, 2006
- A: For the most accurate advice, you should talk to your physician. He/she should be able to help you make an accurate decision regarding your blood pressure.
You should know, however, that normal adult blood pressure is typically around 120/80 (systolic pressure/diastolic pressure). This means that your systolic pressure is very high, meaning that your heart works very hard to pump blood out of your heart. However, your diastolic pressure is normal. Check with your doctor.
- Submitted by Ryan, 15, on April 28, 2006
- A: If you're asking about humanoids, then no, no evidence has been found of that yet. However, much work has been done to see if microorganisms exist/existed by looking for liquid water on the surface of Mars. This article from the BBC and this article from Wired should give you a great starting point!
- Submitted by Ryan, 15, on April 28, 2006
- A: We expect the Osteonexus Active Dynamizer to save people, not kill them! But did you know that someone in the United States experiences a fracture every 14 seconds? That's a lot of people to save!
There are also many people who can't use apostrophes correctly, but I'll leave that to Bob the Angry Flower to fix.
- Submitted by Coop, 17, on May 3, 2006
- A: Llamas are somewhat similar to sheep, which are frequently used in biomechanics experiments. Before the Osteonexus Active Dynamizer can be used on humans, we would have to test it on several different animals, sheep being one of them.
As for cheese, cheese is an excellent source of calcium, which can be helpful in improving the quality of your bone. So unless you're lactose intolerant, it's time to start eating more cheese!
- Submitted by Kyle, 18, on May 11, 2006
- A: That question is normally hard to answer, but for you, we'll say that you should be avidly working to prevent bone fractures, both on Earth and in space!
- Submitted by Jim, 50, on June 13, 2006
- A: Your temporal bone is the hardest bone in the body. Here's some more information.
- Submitted by Gina, 12, on June 23, 2006
- A: I don't think anyone knows! However, there are 206 bones in the human body!
- Submitted by Jing-Ting, 22, on June 25, 2006
- A: Of course! Weight-bearing exercises put mechanical stress on bones. Since bone tissue is responsive to mechanical stress and grows more quickly in the presence of mechanical stress, weight-bearing exercises are the perfect approach! Of course, your relative will need to make sure that she doesn't overdo her exercise, or else she could hurt herself. Did you know that the Osteonexus Active Dynamizer heals fractures by applying mechanical stress at the fracture site?
- Submitted by Dan, 23, on July 2, 2006
- A: Most people are surprised to learn how much space exploration benefits mankind as a whole. In simply attempting to go to space, numerous technical challenges must be addressed, and boatloads of new technological innovations are developed - different fabrics, methods of facilitating safe human transport in harsh environments, etc. Sometimes they result in (useless? useful?) innovations that simply benefit space exploration, and sometimes they benefit mankind as a whole. For example, the Osteonexus project - the project on the website you're visiting now - was developed to solve bone fractures in space. The side benefit is that our design can be used to benefit bone fractures on Earth - osteoporotic fractures, for example.
There may be resources on Mars that will benefit us, but we need to go there before we can fully find out! There is also something about the human race that makes us want to explore everything we can - from the depths of the sea to the fringes of outer space. Mars is a next step, especially with the possibilities of finding life looming on the horizon. Here are some more references on the web for your perusal, and there are many other resources out there to answer this great question.
- Submitted by Amy, 9, on July 26, 2006
- A: We've answered a question similar to yours! Here are two articles to help you get started!
- Submitted by Anonymous on August 4, 2006
- A: From Earth, Mars is red due to the reddish color of the iron oxides that exist on Mars's surface. But there's apparently a lot of controversy about this! Some claim that the color of Mars on the surface is much more brown. Here are some links to get you started.
- Submitted by many, many people
- A: Yes, it is! Thanks!