The Lunar Lion

1. The Lunar Lion By: Hannah Flick

2. How the project started The project, Lunar Lion, started when there was an option for colleges across the United States to build a rocket that would blast off to the moon by 2015. This was sponsored by Google x-prize. Penn State saw the opportunity, and thought it would be good for their college to take part in. The students at the college are working on avionics and control, power, propulsion, systems engineering, thermal engineering, and vehicle design. This is a challenge that will be fun, and exciting for the whole college at Penn State University. Hopefully, all of their hard work will pay off and they will have the opportunity to send a rocket to the moon by 2015!

3. Thoughts My thoughts on the Lunar Lion project are positive. Penn State is an outstanding school that can do this mission! If they are doing something this amazing, I believe that they can do anything. If I go to Penn State for college, I hope that I would get to do something as cool as this! Not the exact same thing, but something big in life that I will remember forever! 

4. Avionicsand Control • they’ll select and integrate sensors with hardware • program embedded systems • develop physics models • control theory necessary to keep it safe and on course

5. Power • a wide array of sensors, cameras, computers, radios, • and rocket control systems • they’ll all require energy to do their work • the power subsystem harnesses, stores, and distributes • electricity to all other subsystems • its not where you plug it into a wall outlet • since space is harsh, doing this will take (multiple times • of) vigorous testing • the rocket will use Solar Panels to harness the suns • energy and Li-Poly batteries to store it • Penn State needs to find out how much power the • spacecraft is capable of producing, and how to parse • that out to the equipment that needs it

6. SystemsEngineering • the work done by individual subsystems is leading to a • coherent* spacecraft • they set up a schedule that defines the development • path and how quickly all the engineering work must be • done to accomplish the mission safely and on time • developing system-wide simulations • they need to make sure that the components are • suitable for use • all the tests and simulations are necessary to meet the • deadline of landing on the moon by 2015 • * Coherent – logical and consistent

7. Thermal Engineering • when the Lunar Lion blasts off, it will be exposed • to temperatures as low as -454.8˚F, or 27k • they need to protect the Lunar Lions electrical, • scientific, optical and other components from damage • such as radiation, uncontrolled loads of heat, and the • bitterly freezing space environment as they travel from • Earth to the Moon • develop and design all aspects of the Lunar Lions • thermal analysis to make sure the calculations are • correct

8. VehicleDesign • integrating the equipment into a working spacecraft will • require the ingenuity and hard work of their team with • experienced scientists and engineers • it will take off from Earth, land on the surface of the • moon, and then take off once again on a second • lunar surface This is what the top of the spacecraft looks like after all of the rocket has broken off. This is also where the astronauts sleep and eat since it is so big.

9. My cousin A.J. is up at Penn State right now on his 3rd year of college. He is majoring in Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering. I don’t think he is working on this project, but if he is, then he is very lucky. I think that he would be lucky because he is extremely smart and has a “LOT” of personality. I get excited just when teachers ask me to write something on the board…but to get this opportunity would be amazing!!!!!!  I hope that my cousin or myself will get to do something cool like this someday.