![](media/image1.png){width="1.3527777777777779in"
height="1.3777777777777778in"}**JASON City at NASA Ames**

January 30 through February 3, 2006

**Scavenger Hunt**

**Sponsor: NASA Robotics Alliance Project**

What is the power source of the Robot? Battery

How does the command get to the robot? Radio Frequency

How many motors are on the robot? Two or more

**Sponsor: NASA Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy
(SOFIA)**

1\) Why do places on your skin touched by ice look dark when viewed
through an infrared camera?

The camera shows temperature as brightness, things warmer than room
temperature like skin are bright things cooler than room temperature
like ice are dark.

2\) The \"S\" in the name of the SOFIA project stands for
\"Stratosphere\". What is the stratosphere?

The second layer of Earth\'s atmosphere, above about 7 miles high, in
which SOFIA will fly

(The first layer, in which we live, is called the troposphere).

3\) The \"O\" in the name of the SOFIA project stands for
\"Observatory\". What is an observatory?

Something with which scientists examine objects in the sky like planets,
stars and galaxies \-- an observatory can be on a mountaintop, or in an
airplane (like SOFIA), or in space like Hubble.

**Sponsor: Spaceward Foundation**

1.  Q: What is a space elevator?

> A: A space elevator is a strong tether made out of a carbon nanotube
> based composite that is lowered to Earth from a satellite and anchored
> at the equator. The satellite is then deployed far out beyond
> geostationary orbit altitude to pull the tether tight. It can then be
> climbed mechanically by climbers powered by lasers to lift payloads
> into space for a tiny fraction of the cost required by rockets.

2.  Q: How can the space elevator help preserve our environment here on
    Earth?

> A: At least three ways. First, it will enable an unprecedented level
> environmental monitoring by Earth observing satellites by slashing the
> costs required to build and launch such satellites. Second, it will
> make it economically possible to build huge solar power satellites in
> space that can capture ten times the energy as solar cells on the
> ground and beam the energy back to Earth with virtually no
> environmental impact. Third, it provides a safe way to permanently get
> rid of nuclear wastes.

3.  Q: How can the space elevator help enable Mars exploration?

> A: Again, at least three ways. First, we can use an Earth based space
> elevator as a sling to throw payloads anywhere between Venus and the
> Asteroid belt, including Mars. This will allow us to send dozens of
> probes to Mars to scout locations for a Mars landing. Second, this
> will allow the first astronauts to arrive at a Mars base to find a lot
> of infrastructure and supplies already delivered into orbit or at the
> landing site. Robotic assembly can help with this process. Finally,
> third, someday we can build a Mars space elevator on Earth and throw
> it at Mars. Once deployed, we can throw payloads back from Mars on a
> regular schedule. We will have a two-way transportation system.

4.  Q: How soon can we build the first space elevator?

> A: Arthur C. Clarke once said "... ten years after everyone stops
> laughing." This idea has been around since the 1960s -- waiting for a
> material strong enough to build it. With carbon nanotubes, we now have
> a material that should be strong enough. We hope to know for sure by
> 2010 and deploy the first space elevator by 2015 or 2020.

**Sponsor: Happy Hollow Park and Zoo**

1)  Name a Californian desert animal?

2)  What body part can a desert animal store water in?

3)  Watch a desert animal and write down what it does and why.

4)  If you were a desert animal, would you be nocturnal or diurnal and
    why?

Possible Answers:

1)  California desert tortoise, red-kneed tarantula, kingsnake, rattle
    snake, condor, scorpion

2)  Leopard gecko- tail, tortoise -- bladder,

3)  Sits still under shelter because it is staying cool and hiding from
    predators OR sitting in the sun to warm up it's cold-blood and get
    ready to hunt.

4)  a.  Nocturnal - it's cooler, the darkness makes it hard for
        predators to see and bugs and other prey animals are out.

    b.  Diurnal -- easier to see predators coming, if cold-blooded the
        animal needs the sun to warm up their body and make it possible
        to move as fast and quietly as possible as well as digest food
        efficiently.

**Sponsor: San Jose State University Geology Dept.**

TBD

**Sponsor:** **Don Edward San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge**

1)  Be able to hand-draw a model of San Francisco Bay. Place on the map
    Pacific Ocean, S.F. Bay, and where a slough and marsh are.

2)  List two differences between pickleweed and tule.

-   Answer: Pickleweed grows in salt marsh as tule grows in fresh water
    habitats. Pickleweed is a salt adaptive plant, therefore it doesn\'t
    waste energy on growing tall compared to tule which grows very tall.
    Pickleweed is the only food source of an endangered species, the
    salt marsh harvest mouse and tule is not.

3)  How will you change your water use behavior after experiencing the
    Salinity Sleuths Adventure game?

-   Answer(s): Take shorter showers; fix leaky faucets; turn off the
    faucet while brushing teeth, washing hands, and washing dishes; use
    a water saving container to collect sink/shower water while it\'s
    warming up; wash only full loads when using a dishwasher and washing
    machine; drink all the water in your glass; don\'t use your tiolet
    as a garbage can; put a brick in your toilet tank; purchase
    appliances that use less water; purchase faucet aerators and shower
    heads that use less water; etc.

**Sponsor: Santa Clara Valley Water District Education**

[Groundwater Model Demo]{.underline}

1\. Name the three zones under the ground for water storage. (coastal
basin, central valley and fractured rock zone)

2\. How much water do we get out of the ground in Santa Clara County?
(Half our supply, 200,000 acre feet)

3\. Where does groundwater come from? (rain)

[Parts Per Billion]{.underline}

1.   In the parts per billion activity, you put food coloring in the
first spoon. Is there any in the last spoon? (yes)

2\. What is the ratio of food coloring to water in the first spoon?
(1:10) In the sixth? (1: one million) In the ninth? (1: one billion)

3\. Why is it important to understand parts per billion? (Allowable
limits for pollutants are given in parts per billion) 

[Water Magic and Music]{.underline}

1\. What water song did you like the best? Why? (answers will vary)

2\. What is one thing you learned about water from the songs? (answers
will vary)

3\. What did you learn about water from the magic tricks? (answers will
vary)

[Painting with Crayons]{.underline}

1\. What happens when you put paper on top of a rubbing plate and rub
crayon on it? (It leaves an impression of the rubbing plate)

2\. What happens when you add water to the crayon? (It becomes paint.)

3\. What did you like about the art activity? (answers will vary)

**Sponsor: San Jose Beautiful, City of San Jose**

Can you find the following extreme environments on a US Map?

-   Hawaii volcanoes

-   Mono Lake, CA

-   Meteor Crater National Park, AZ

-   Yellowstone Park acidic, hot springs

**Sponsor: NASA Ames Astrobiology**

What is the earliest form of life that we know about on Earth? Microbial
life.

What kinds of life do we find in hypersaline (very salty) environments
on Earth?  Microbial mats, very few animals.

Was Mars ever salty? Yes. The MER rovers have shown us this.

What kinds of gases do microbial mats produce?  Microbial mats produced
the oxygen we breathe. They also make hydrogen, methane, carbon dioxide,
hydrogen sulfide, and many others.

**Sponsor: MC Solar Engineering**

-   Where is your PG&E electric meter in your home?

-   Where is your gas meter?

-   Where is your hot water heater?