Prioritizing your survival equipment ..... test from NASA.

Matt Shade

Matt Shade

Joined
Nov 24, 1999
Messages
4,981
This is a test I was given the other day. Its supposedly from NASA.

Heres the situation:
Your spaceship has just landed on the light side of the moon. you were scheduled to rendezous with a mother ship 200 miles away on the surface of the moon, but the rough landing has ruined your ship and destroyed all the equipment on board except for 15 items. Your crew's survival depends on the mother ship, so you must choose the most critical items available for the 200 mile trip. Rank the 15 items with(1) being the most important and 15 being the least important.

The equipment you can choose from is:
Box of Matches
Food Concentrate
50 FT of nylon rope
Parachute Silk
Solar powered portable heating unit
2-.45 caliber pistols
Case of dehydrated milk
2-100 pound tanks of oxygen
Stellar map of the moon's constellation
Self inflating life raft
Magnetic Compass
5 gallons of water
Signal Flares
First Aid kit wuith injection needles
Solar powered FM transmitter/receiver

I'll post their answers in a seperate topic so you can look at this without seeing them
wink.gif


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I may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer... but I've got the sharpest knife in the room.

[This message has been edited by Matt Shade (edited 02-04-2001).]
 
Thanks for the good exercise.

Here is my guess based on my recollections about the moon conditions:
oxygen tanks
solar powered heating unit
5 gallons of water
food contrate
solar powered Fm transmitter/receiver
first aid kit
nylon rope

The rest I would consider less important or useless.

Let see the answer…..

HM
 
Neat little idea.

1) Oxygen tanks. Won't get far without these

2)Map. Magnetic compass useless on the Moon

3)Radio. Signalling rescue ship

4)Parachute

5)Raft

6)Rope. 4-6 used to make shelter from Sun. No atmosphere means REALLY high temps unless can find shade. Solar-powered heater not needed unless you're close to end of 2 WEEK long "day". Also, temp extremes might be awfully hard on nylon rope and rubber raft. Silk should be okay. Take this into account.

7)1st aid kit. Injectors will work through suits

8)Flares. Considering 1/6 gee, if these are Earth flares, should rise above arc of moon, be visible from space, even in "day"

The food concentrate, unless in pellet form to fit suit dispensers, won't be usable. Besides, 200 miles in 1/6 gee shouldn't take long enough for hunger to be a problem. Water would need to be packed properly so that it doesn't boil away in vaccuum, boil inside container during "day", freeze and burst container at "night". Also, would need to be in container suitable to replenish suit's reserves. If above conditions met, make it item 2 on my list, and move everything else down one. Otherwise, top off suit tanks before leaving crashed ship and conserve as much as possible. Again, should be short trip.

And, of course, if the derelict ship still has atmoshpere, stay with it until rescued. But, since this doesn't seem to be an option, enjoy the scenic walk on Earth's only natural satellite. :~}
 
Neat little idea.

1) Oxygen tanks. Won't get far without these

2)Map. Magnetic compass useless on the Moon

3)Radio. Signalling rescue ship

4)Parachute

5)Raft

6)Rope. 4-6 used to make shelter from Sun. No atmosphere means REALLY high temps unless can find shade. Solar-powered heater not needed unless you're close to end of 2 WEEK long "day". Also, temp extremes might be awfully hard on nylon rope and rubber raft. Silk should be okay. Take this into account.

7)1st aid kit. Injectors will work through suits

8)Flares. Considering 1/6 gee, if these are Earth flares, should rise above arc of moon, be visible from space, even in "day"

The food concentrate, unless in pellet form to fit suit dispensers, won't be usable. Besides, 200 miles in 1/6 gee shouldn't take long enough for hunger to be a problem. Water would need to be packed properly so that it doesn't boil away in vaccuum, boil inside container during "day", freeze and burst container at "night". Also, would need to be in container suitable to replenish suit's reserves. If above conditions met, make it item 2 on my list, and move everything else down one. Otherwise, top off suit tanks before leaving crashed ship and conserve as much as possible. Again, should be short trip.

And, of course, if the derelict ship still has atmoshpere, stay with it until rescued. But, since this doesn't seem to be an option, enjoy the scenic walk on Earth's only natural satellite. :~}
 
Here's my list.

Solar powered FM transmitter/receiver
2-100 pound tanks of oxygen
Solar powered portable heating unit
5 gallons of water
Magnetic Compass
Stellar map of the moon's constellation
First Aid kit wuith injection needles
Signal Flares
Self inflating life raft
50 FT of nylon rope
Parachute Silk
Food Concentrate
Case of dehydrated milk
2-.45 caliber pistols
Box of Matches




[This message has been edited by not2sharp (edited 02-04-2001).]
 
The equipment you can choose from is:
Box of Matches
Food Concentrate
50 FT of nylon rope
Parachute Silk
Solar powered portable heating unit
2-.45 caliber pistols
Case of dehydrated milk
2-100 pound tanks of oxygen
Stellar map of the moon's constellation
Self inflating life raft
Magnetic Compass
5 gallons of water
Signal Flares
First Aid kit wuith injection needles
Solar powered FM transmitter/receiver

1) Oxygen. You'd last about 10 seconds without it.
2) Water. Gotta have it to keep energy up.
3) transmitter/receiver
4) life raft (can be used to drag an injured guy)
5) rope
6) parachute silk (all sorts of uses)
7) who cares? The rest is useless. Here's why:

Box of Matches -= - no oxygen on the moon. They won't light

Food Concentrate How do you get it inside the suit? Suits have a way of getting water in, but not food

Solar powered portable heating unit It'd have to be one hell of a heating unit to keep you from freezing in the dark. during the day, you don't need a heater because it's already boiling hot.

2-.45 caliber pistols Useless. There are no moon monsters, and presumably none of your crew is out to get you. What would you shoot?

Case of dehydrated milk Useless. You'd have to mix the water with it, which would decrease the water's hydrating ability. You should be able to easilly cover 200 miles in a day or so in the low gravity of the moon.

Magnetic Compass - - - Not much of a magnetic pole on the moon so you wouldn't get a decent reading off of the thing.

Signal Flares -- require oxygen to burn. They won't signal anything.

First Aid kit wuith injection needles. That's a GREAT idea. Poke a hole in your spacesuit. GOOD! ;)

Constellation map: You're on the light side of the moon. The earth is gonna outshine any stars so this is useless.


 
15 Box of Matches
8 Food Concentrate
6 50 FT of nylon rope
10 Parachute Silk
7 Solar powered portable heating unit
13 2-.45 caliber pistols
9 Case of dehydrated milk
1 2-100 pound tanks of oxygen
2 Stellar map of the moon's constellation
12 Self inflating life raft
14 Magnetic Compass
5 5 gallons of water
4 Signal Flares
11 First Aid kit wuith injection needles
3 Solar powered FM transmitter/receiver
 
I can field this one because i used to be a DJ on my college radio station. We had a VERY low power transmitter - - as in it was plugged into a 30A 220V line - about what your clothes dryer would use. Our transmitting range was a 15 mile radius, but we were limited by freq cancellers so we wouldn't interfere with other radio stations - - -the FCC insisted that we not be able to transmit further. In other words, we could've had greater than 15 mile range if we hadn't been restricted.

Those figures should be read with the consideration that on earth, the radio spectrum is FULL. There was a lot of interference to punch through, so on the moon your range would be longer.

You should also consider that our range was determined by the receiving antennas in use - - mainly car antennas. These aren't exactly super sensitive. NASA's receiving antennas are MUCH better.

The moon has no atmosphere, storms, power stations, power lines, etc to distort and block radio transmissions, which will increase your range.

Also consider that FM is line of sight, which would severely LIMIT your range when transmitting to a location on the moon since the moon is smaller and therefore has greater curvature - - shorter distance to the horizon. However, the transmitter, even a low powered one, would be great for talking to the command module when it orbits above the light side.
 
General notes:

Some of the priority depends on the terrain. If it is rough you will travel very slowly. In almost any case there are great hazards to traveling great distances and cooling yourself can be a great problem. My highest priority would be for oxygen, shade, signaling, then water. Below that would be things to aid traveling.

#1 oxygen--assuming you can improvise a way to get it into the suit.

#2 hypos from the first aid kit. You'll probably find a need. You might need them to get water or oxygen into your suits.

#3 life raft--for shade. I don't think the parachute would be opaque enough. You may cut it up--assuming you have something to cut with.

#4 signal flares. They have self contained oxidizers so they will work. If you assume they are projectile types you might even get them seen from 200 miles away.

#5 radio. If you can get line of sight you will get tremendous range.

#6 water. You may end up evaporating it for coolant, you might needle it into your suit.

#7 map--to head in the right direction.

#8 rope--to help carry things and to traverse steep terrain.

#9 Some of the dehydrated milk--for food and maybe for signaling.

#10 Parachute silk--signaling and climbing.

#11 pistols--signaling mostly. You should get several mile range on these.
#12 Food concentrate--hard to use

#13 Box of matches--have their own oxidizer so will at least ignite. You have oxygen tanks to you can make one heck of a fire if you want. In general I would use flares or pistols for ignition devices.

#14 heating unit. Random garbage you might use to help heat water or carry something.

#15 compass--I don't know that it would work on the moon.

I would try and get closer to the mother ship. If I could get line of sight I would radio. If not I would try and send a couple flairs there way. They should be looking for us. If I could find a nice spot I would try and signal earth with an explosion. I would mix use some oxygen, powdered milk, the parachute, and the .45 to make a conspicous blast bomb. I might blow up some water to make a nice ice crystal spray.

If all else failed I would schlep closer to the mother ship and try signaling with flairs, pistol, and radio. I would be looking for high ground when I got within 50 miles or so to try the radio.


 
danged double post!

[This message has been edited by Ken Cook (edited 02-06-2001).]
 
2-100 pound oxygen tank?
Uhm. How much does oxygen weigh?
If the tanks weigh 100 pounds but are empty, don't bother with the rest of the list.
The way this is set up, there's no way of knowing how much oxygen you have.
(Should be measured in cubic feet shouldn't it?

TAKE the .45 autos. If nothing else you can sit around and have fun launching 230gr hardball rounds into low apogee orbit around the moon!
biggrin.gif

How many shooters can say they've done THAT?

Awww, okay, BE that way.
I'll be serious for a minute.
1.2-100 pound tanks of oxygen
2. Solar powered FM transmitter/receiver
3. 5 gallons of water(Assuming it can be consumed while wearing a space suit!)
4. Food concentrate (same assumption)
5. 50 FT of nylon rope
6. Self inflating life raft
7. Parachute Silk

Everything else is useless.
Matches and
Flares will not work in zero atmosphere

Solar powered heating unit? You're on the Dayside of the Moon. It's NOT gonna get cold.

Stellar map? Oh NEAT, you can look at the stars, but you can't navigate with it. Stay with your ship, otherwise, we'll write to your family for you.

Case of dehydrated milk? Drink your water straight, otherwise you'll clog up your suit's drinking snorkle. (or whatever it is)

Magnetic Compass? (Nah!)

First Aid kit with injection needles? Uhm MAYBE you can inject through the suit, but *I* won't volunteer to be first, thanks much. Unless the kit has a shot that heals broken bones, it's not likely you'll have any use for it anyway. You had all your shots before you left Earth.
Like I said, use the .45s for amusement. See if you can hit Iraq!

So there's my guess. Where are the answers?


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Tráceme no sin la razón, envoltura mi no sin honor
 
1. Oxygen. You'll definitely die without it.
2. Water. If you have to walk/bound 200 miles, you'll become dehydrated and non-functional without H20.
3. Map. May be of the stars, but its better than nothing.
4. Compass. Hopefully the moon has a strong enough magnetic field to render the compass useable. If so, will help from becoming disoriented. Pix of the moon show it looking the same all around. Seeing the Earth rise and fall along with the sun is not something we're accustomed to.
5. Rope. General utility. May be able to jerry-rig something to move faster or increase the useable distance of your FM.
6. Silk. Same comments as rope.
7. FM trans/recvr. Probably only line of sight, but it's worth a shot.
8. Food concentrate. Depending on how long it will take to move 200 miles, you may need it to keep you going.
9. 1st aid kit. Just in case.
10. Raft. May be able to use the compressed gas cartridge as a makeshift propellant so you don't have to walk the whole 200 miles.
11. Flares. Doubtful that they'll burn with no O2 atmosphere, but cartridges may be airtight with some O2 still in them. Possible use as propellant rather than for signalling.
12. .45 pistols. Pretty much same thoughts as for flares.
13. Case of milk. Who knows. May be able to get some kind of reaction with matches and solar heater to improvise a propellant. Worst case you can consume it.
14. Heater. Jerry rig material. Should be hot enough on the light side of the moon. Won't work on dark side. See milk comments.
15. Matches. Pretty much useless without O2. See milk comments.

Ow! My brain hurts.


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Danny
aka "kuma575"
 
I remember this quiz from my college days in 1975 but don't remember the answers. I do remember or at least think I remember that the reason to use two .45 cal pistols was for propulsion to do long/high jumps (moon's gravity is 1/6 earth's) and there is enough O2 in the cartridges to ignite the powder. I suppose a .416 rigby could launch you back to earth
smile.gif
 
Gee guys, trust me, YOU DON'T NEED OXYGEN TO IGNITE FLARES, MATCHES OR SMOKELESS POWDER ! !. The flares will contain potassium chlorate, potassium perchlorate, or a nitrate as an oxidizer. Matches use potassium chlorate as an oxidizer. Smokeless powder is generally nitrocellulose (nitrated cellulose) and has oxidizer built in. I have made sealed explosives out of all of these, they don't need no stinking air. Have you ever thrown a cherry bomb into a swimming pool? Do you have to open up your pistol cartridges to let in air before you fire them?

It is true that the stick part of a match would not burn without oxygen, but the head certainly will. I've filled up CO2 cartridges with match head powder and blown them up. I did not leave air holes or extra air in the cartridges.

I have also made fireworks from raw materials. You always include an oxidizer.

Finally, HOW DO YOU SUPPOSE SOLID ROCKET PROPELLENT WORKS IN THINGS LIKE SPACE SHUTTLE BOOSTERS?

By the way, Robert Heinlein wrote a very realistic story about trying to cross country on the moon in a space suit back 40 years or so ago. It was entitled "Have Space Suit, Will Travel". The big problem was to control heat build up in a vacuum. Even without the sun your body generates a lot of heat. In a vacuum you are highly insulated and it is hard to get rid of heat. You might need to exhaust some water vapor or oxygen as a cooling aid.



[This message has been edited by Jeff Clark (edited 02-13-2001).]
 
Jeff -- I would think that a vacuum is not a particularly good insulater. I would think the primar concerns would be of extreme heat from atmosphereless direct sunlight and extreme cold from lack thereof. Just a thought.
 
Chief, Vacuum is the best insulator. The secret of thermos bottles is a vacuum gap seperating two layers of mirror. The vacuum prevents heat conduction and convection while the mirror surfaces reduce heat radiation as infrared light.

 
A thermos joke for Jeff Clark and others: A radio station was having a talk show and asked what was the greatest invention of the 20th century. A caller answered "the Thermos! It keeps my coffee hot and my lemonade cold!" The radio DJ said, "What's so great about that?" The caller replied, "Well, how does it know what to do?"
biggrin.gif


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It is better to light one candle than curse the darkness.
 
Jeff,
Okay great, the match heads will flare in a vacuum. The question is, what are you going to LIGHT with them?


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Tráceme no sin la razón, envoltura mi no sin honor
 
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