Rhiannon's

Ship and Crew Support
 * name of our ship
 * method of propulsion with a scientific explanation of how the system works
 * top speeds
 * number of crew members
 * life support system/ crew support/ research facilities

Research Name: Galileo to Mercury Method of propulsion: fusion Top Speeds: 180,000 mph Number of Crew Members: 4

Intro paragraph: Hello Earth! Are you ready to climb abord and join our crew to our trip to Mercury? We will be traveling many light-years away from Earth. Along the way, we will be posting blog posts to tell you about our wonderful journey. Janell is the genius behind our travel data, Ellie is our brillant planet researcher, Mikaela is our awesome journalist, and I, Rhiannon, am our engineer and medical person. I hope you will frequently read our posts so you can travel to Mercury with us. This will be a one in a million opportunity, so take it!

1st Post: Did you see that?! I'm on our ship, Galileo to Mercury, and we just passed by the moon! As we near Mercury, I'm getting more anxious. Out here, well, it's beautiful. My job is to tell you some basic facts about our ship, such as name, number of crew members, our propulsion method, top speeds, and life support. As you know, our ship name is Galileo to Mercury. The crew consists of Janell, Ellie, Mikaela, and I, Rhiannon. So far, the four of us are getting together pretty well. Our top speed is 180,000 mi/h, which is pretty amazing when you're looking out the window!(: Fushion-powered spacecrafts are made to adjust to the same temperature of the core of the sun. This energy is used to make a thrust which makes it possible for us to arrive to Mercury in about 13 days. The distance from Earth to Mercury is 77.3 million kilometers away. By using the fusion spaceship, we can get there in a very short amount of time. A fusion reaction happens when two atoms of hydrogen combine to create an even bigger helium-4 atom. Here's the process:
 * Two protons collide to made a deuterium atom, a positron and a neutrino.
 * A helium-3 atom and a gamma ray are made from a proton and a deuterium connecting.
 * Two helium-3 atoms combine to form a helium-4 and two protons.

Stars are the only things that are hot enough to create fusion. This is because fusion can only occur in super-heated places (millions of degrees). Fusion reactions can create 85% of the sun's energy. By using this propulsion method, it makes our job a bit easier. A fusion powered spacecraft uses hydrogen as a propellant. In other words, it is able to refill itself as it travels through space. The choice to use a fusion propulsion system has been one choice I haven't regetted. My job is more relaxed, and fusion propulsion is a lot more efficient. This is only my first post, so expect more in my next. I hope you are enjoying the trip so far!

2nd post: So far, we haven't arrived to Mercury yet. We're about 11 days in. You're probably waiting for a description of our spaceship. Since I already told the scientific explanation behind our spaceship, here's a report on the looks. Outside: Our rocket is blue with a yellow tail. This is an exact diagram of the outside. Inside: By the looks of our rocket, it seems like the inside would be small. It actually isn't! All four of us have our own room. This helps because it gives us space, but most importantly, it meets each of our needs when it comes to mental health. Mikaela and I have bunkbeds, while Ellie and Captian J have a regular bed. All of us have to be strapped down, and we are allowed to sleep in any orientation because there is no gravity. We also have a kitchen, a couple bathrooms, an exercise room, and extra rooms to play or read. I hope this gives you a better visual of our spaceship. Talk to you later!:)

3rd post: Hey everybody! I hope you're enjoying the trip. I know we are! In this post, I'm going to be addressing our life support and crew support system. Life support is the way we live: how we get oxygen, food, water, and how we meet all our medical needs.

Food: In space, food is very limited. The food has to be rehydrated so it is actually possible to eat with no gravity. There's still normal food like fruit, pasta, veggies, and bread, but it comes in a different form. Some astronauts eat powder and tube squeezing foods, while others find it unappetizing. Ovens are possible to take along on a trip, but refrigerators aren't. This means food has to be kept at the right temperature, otherwise it will spoil.

Water: Water is an essential. There's only one place you can get it, though. Yep, you guessed it: The ISS (International Space Station). Now you're probably wondering where they get their water. They get their water from other crewmate's sweat, breath, and urine, and also from rodents urine. A little gross sounding, I know. Experts do say that water is fresher and cleaner than any water here in the United States.

Oxygen: Being able to breathe is a very important aspect in our Mission to Mercury. Our rocket has to be filled with a very large amount of oxygen to keep us alive. Living in space is very dangerous. There is no guarantee you will survive, and oxygen is a huge reason why it is such a big risk. Lots of complications happen when it comes to breathable air. The best answer I can give is to fill the space shuttle with lots of oxygen.

Medicine: My crew and I have many medical needs. For all of us, losing weight was a problem. Your body is not made to lose so much weight in so little time. If you weighed 100 pounds on earth, on Mercury, you weigh 39 pounds! We all had to take some special medication to sustain the oxygen in our blood, our bone strength, and our overall health. Here is a list of our individual needs relating to medication: Janell: Had to be put on a very small dosage of medicine to keep immune system working correctly. Ellie: Also had to be put on immune system medicine, but also bone medication to keep bones strong. Mikaela: Had lots of mental health issues - described in "Overall Trip Info". She had to be put on calming and anti-anxiety meds. After put on medication, she has done a lot better. Rhiannon: Had lots of mental health problems - described in "Overall Trip Info". Had to be put on calming, anti-anxiety and sleeping meds. Also medicine for accidental fume inhalation because of obsessive cleaning.

Hygiene: To keep our ship clean, we have to regularly clean it. If we all work together, it will get done. Another hygiene thing is going to the bathroom. I would rather not explain it, but my job is ship and crew support. The crew living in a sanitary enviornment is key. To go to the restroom, there is a urine funnel. After positioning yourself on the toilet, you must strap your legs to the seat. The urine funnel sucks (like a vacuum) all the liquid and waste that goes into it. Taking a shower is easier than it looks. Yes, you do have to give up running hot water. Instead, all you do is use rinseless shampoo and sponge yourself like a sponge bath. Brushing your teeth is done with tootpaste you can swallow, and shaving just takes lots of practice.:)

Other: We also have to have an exercise room because we need to stay strong and healthy. Even though we are only in a range of 40-55 pounds, we still have to stay fit.

This is my last post. I hope you enjoyed coming along and experiencing every detail I did. It truly was a lot of fun, and thank you for reading!

Bibliography: Discovery. "HowStuffWorks "How Fusion Propulsion Will Work"" //Howstuffworks "Science"// 2011. Web. 13 May 2011. . Mercury Statistics." //Windows to the Universe//. National Earth Science Teachers Accociation, 2010. Web. 13 May 2011. . Dismukes, Kim. "HSF Living In Space." //NASA Human Space Flight//. NASA, 2009. Web. 13 May 2011. . [] []  [] [] []