Shielding from Cosmic Radiation: Part 1 - Building the Payload
Students collaborate to design and build the payload.Copyright 2020 Wyoming NASA Space Grant Consortium, University of Wyoming, Trina Kelty
This activity has students embarking on an ambitious design project: to build a payload that measures the effect of shielding from cosmic radiation via a high-altitude balloon launch test. Each payload includes a Geiger counter, data collection device (Arduino and microSD memory card), and uses materials that will shield their Geiger counter from cosmic radiation. (Each payload also has a second, unshielded Geiger counter to act as a control.) By the end of the activity, each group has a completed payload ready to launch into near space and collect data.
Engineers often work as a member of an interdisciplinary team, each with separate but complementary roles that promote the mission. Within that interdisciplinary team, engineers must solve problems, then must communicate to other members how the problem was solved or how the goal was met. Although not every student will assume the role of Engineer, all students will need to communicate their activities to the Director, who will synthesize and present a report. Therefore, all students will gain awareness of what engineers do and how they contribute to the overall mission.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Describe how radiation is measured.
- Describe the types of materials can be used to block cosmic rays.
- Understand high-altitude ballooning and the conditions that the balloon will be exposed to (temperature, pressure, humidity changes, etc.).
- Explain how to design an experiment using both a control and an experimental element, and limitations of designing payloads or spacecraft for space travel (weight considerations, budget considerations, etc.).
- Build a payload/prototype of a device that attempts to shield radiation at high altitudes.