Research Assessment #7

 

Date: 27 October 2017

 

Topic: Mechanical Engineers help space exploration

 

MLA Citation:

                          Dunbar, Brian. “NASA Engineers and Scientists-Transforming Dreams Into Reality.” NASA, NASA, www.nasa.gov/50th/50th_magazine/scientists.html.                                                 

 

    Space travel has always been a mystery to most people. Many people do not understand how people are able to go and survive in space. There are many parts build onto each other that allow for a human to go into space. The main focus of my research was to see how a mechanical engineer is able to help the process. First I had to ask myself what would a mechanical engineer do to help others into space. Mechanical engineers lay the ground work for a lot of the building and designing that is needed to make a certain product.

 

    The field of engineering is a very broad field to study in. You will not always be working on a project that only involves the skill of a mechanical engineer. You will always be working with another aspect of a different engineering field, which most of the time is electrical engineering. To get anything into space you first have to lay down the ground work for the space ship. Mechanical engineers are able to help in this process by using their “thinker's” mind and work with the other engineers to come up with a design that can keep the travelers safe. Then you have to look at the other parts of the process like the space suit, items the traveler is taking, and the path they are going to take to get into space. Mechanical engineers are able to help with this process because they are smart enough to be able to take in what the other engineers want and make a product that will be perfect for the job. Along with the design aspect of the project, the mechanical engineers are also able to help out with some of the math problems other engineers might have. Since the field of engineering is very broad they have to work with many different aspects of other fields which is able to prepare the for a variety of situations. Mechanical engineers are going to be able to solve a variety of problems including physics, algebra, and calculus.

 

    I looked at this article because I am trying to find the right career path that I would fit into. Also, space travel has always been something that has interested me because I was one of the people that never truly understood the way people are able to go to space. I feel that this would be an interesting career path because you are able to help the world go into space and explore the universe. Although there is a big upside to going into space there is also a big problem you may run into, miscalculations or malfunctions. This is the worst thing that can happen because you are putting someone's life at risk in your hands. Although I believe that with proper training that you should not run into this problem.  All in all I believe that this could be an interesting path to go down because I would be helping someone go into space and see the universe as few have.