Interview with a Mission Specialist

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What was the mission you were trying to achieve?

 

I worked on Mission One Space Travel (M01 - Space Travel). I have successfully completed the Vehicle Payload, which is worth 22 points and pre-loaded on the track. I have also attempted the Supply and Crew Payloads. 14 points are awarded for the Supply Payload and 10 points for the Crew Payload. Both the Supply and Crew Payloads have to be loaded on the track and then pushed down.

 

What challenges did you encounter along the way with the mechanics and/or programming?

 

• To complete this mission, I modified an attachment that was built by one of my teammates. It was originally intended to complete another mission, and I modified it for use in this mission. The hardest part of modifying the attachment was finding a piece that made it possible to hold in place the piece that I built to the existing attachment.

• One challenge that I faced while working on the Supply and Crew Payloads was that I had a choppy “My Block” that caused the Payload to fall off!

 

How did you overcome the obstacles to successfully complete your mission?

 

• I used trial and error to find the perfect piece to connect my build to the existing attachment.  

• To solve the problem of the slipping Payload, I used a slightly different “My Block” in combination with a slightly different way of having the robot carry the Payload. Now the Payload no longer falls off.