Introduction
Passion, determination, creativity, and persistence are the qualities necessary to go beyond what we think is possible. These qualities propelled humans into space. In the new movie Over the Moon on Netflix, these same qualities drive Fei Fei to design a rocket to reach the Moon. When it comes to Moon missions, whether you're Fei Fei or a NASA engineer, the most critical step is preparation.
In the film, we see the main character focus on ensuring a safe flight to the Moon. She starts with what's familiar: fireworks, model rockets, and inventions of her own. She works through the math on paper and tests the hypothesis with scaled-down versions of the rocket that will eventually fly into space. She takes inspiration from what's around her to design a rocket that uses magnets to deliver enough speed and thrust to launch into the sky. She then relies on fireworks for the last push through the atmosphere.
The calculations are precise. They account for her and Bungee's weight and also the food and a way to use the restroom! Those preparations for the journey into space are what real engineers and scientists do all around the world. We can see similarities with NASA's Apollo missions, which were the first to land humans on the Moon.
The challenge in the film is one of weight: the main character hasn't taken into account an unexpected companion, Chin. Chin sneaks onto the rocket just before takeoff, and this extra weight throws off the calculations, making it impossible to reach the Moon. We saw a similar challenge in real life, when one of the five Apollo 13 engines stopped two minutes early. The fictitious rocket had extra weight. The Apollo 13 crew lost thrust. But the results were similar. The thrust-to-weight ratio wasn't enough to break through Earth's atmosphere.
NASA had lot more contingency plans to ensure the safety of its astronauts. The rocket could still reach space without that last push from the fifth engine. The Apollo 13 onboard crew and on-Earth team had several challenges ahead of them. But one thing was always true: they were determined to ensure the safety of the astronauts, even if that meant changing the final plan and not landing on the Moon.
With the help of some of Chang'e's friends, the protagonist was able to land on the Moon. The mission was not only to find Chang'e but also to prove to Fei Fei's father that Chang'e exists and that eternal love is real. The brave astronauts who have landed on the Moon have done something similar for us here on Earth. They have brought back samples of Moon rock, soil, and core to help us understand how our universe, Earth, and life began.
In this module, you'll take inspiration from both Over the Moon and NASA scientists to explore data that's related to the Apollo missions and the rock samples they returned to Earth. You'll learn data cleansing and manipulation techniques that are critical to developing the machine learning models and AI that help us prepare for space exploration.
Tip
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