Star Wars Science Adventures 001 - Emergency in Escape Pod Four

by Jude Watson

  Artoo beeped excitedly once he saw what was in the kit. He rolled over to the transceiver. A series of whistles told Threepio that Artoo was pleased with his progress.

  “I think he can fix it!” Threepio said excitedly.

  Static filled the air. Artoo quickly made some adjustments. He beeped at the unit, and it answered in a series of beeps.

  “He’s entering Leia’s secret emergency code,” Threepio explained to Forbee-X and Stuart. “I hope this works! The princess will tell us exactly what to do.”

  Suddenly, through the static, they heard the faint voice of the princess.

  “This is Princess Leia. Is that you, Artoo? Do you copy?”

  Threepio sprang forward. “Yes, it’s us, Princess Leia! We don’t know where we are, but we’re on some planet in the Delantine system. Commander Zissu has been captured!”

  “Tell her about the spy!” Stuart called.

  “And there’s a spy on Yavin 4!” Threepio yelled. “Do you copy?”

  There was a burst of static. “I copy,” Princess Leia said. “But I’m losing the transmission. Find the nearest settlement. Repeat: find the nearest settlement. You only have a short amount of time. Get there now. I have ordered evacuation of all Rebel forces in the Delantine system. You have forty-eight hours to make contact. I will alert Rebel factions to be on the watch.”

  “Yes, Princess,” Threepio said. “I mean, I copy.”

  More static drowned out Princess Leia’s voice.

  “What was that? We didn’t read,” Threepio spoke into the comm unit. “Repeat.”

  “Rescue mission,” Princess Leia said. More static drowned out her voice again. “Romm.”

  Suddenly, her voice was cut off. Artoo tried to fix the unit, but it was broken for good.

  “Did you hear that?” Stuart said, springing forward. “The princess wants us to lead a rescue mission. First, we have to contact the Rebel base on Romm.”

  “I didn’t hear that at all,” Threepio disagreed. “We missed half of what she said. She could have said that they will launch a rescue mission from Romm to rescue us, as well as your father.”

  “Let’s start with what we do know,” Forbee-X said. “The princess told us to go to the nearest settlement. Quickly. So that’s what we’ll do. We can argue about what to do next once we get there.”

  Stuart grabbed the macrobinoculars. “I’m going to hike to that far ridge,” he said. His green eyes shone with grim determination. “We can start tonight. We have to get to Romm. It’s our only hope. We can make contact with the Rebels and rescue Father!”

  Stuart ran down the ramp, and Forbee-X quickly wheeled after him. Threepio and Artoo followed.

  “Stuart, stop!” she called in a commanding voice. “You must listen to me!”

  Reluctantly, Stuart turned.

  “Look around you,” Forbee-X urged. “It’s going to be dark soon. You’ll never find your way.”

  “I can bring a glow rod,” Stuart said stubbornly.

  “And the temperature has fallen rapidly,” Forbee-X continued. Her blue screen flashed with data.

  “It is getting chilly,” Threepio agreed. “And look at that tree. I could have sworn it had green leaves. Now they’re bright red. I must have been mistaken.”

  Forbee-X’s screen filled up with formulas and numbers. They flashed so quickly Threepio couldn’t read them.

  “I’ve analyzed the additional data,” Forbee-X said. “It doesn’t compute, but it is fact. Very strange.”

  “Oh, dear. That doesn’t sound very reassuring,” Threepio said.

  Artoo beeped and whistled, then chirped.

  “Artoo thinks the best thing to do is to camp for the night, and then start off in the morning,” Threepio told them.

  “I agree,” Forbee-X said. “I don’t like these readings.”

  “But we have to rescue Father! ” Stuart burst out. “We can’t waste any time!”

  “Stuart, this is the best we can do,” Forbee-X said gently. “We need daylight to explore. What if we go the wrong way? It could waste precious time.”

  Stuart looked as though he wanted to run off. His whole body tensed. Then his shoulders slumped. “I guess I don’t have a choice.”

  Forbee-X’s arm extended and she hooked a hand around his shoulder gently. “We’re in this together, Stuart.”

  “We’ll find a way to rescue your father,” Threepio told him. “If we have to go to Romm, we will.” He felt very brave making the promise.

  Artoo beeped in agreement.

  “Let’s make camp,” Forbee-X suggested. “Stuart needs rest. Who knows what tomorrow will bring.”

  Threepio gazed at his surroundings. It was almost dark now. As he watched, the tree nearest them suddenly dropped all its red leaves at once.

  They all exchanged stunned glances.

  “Tomorrow? I don’t even want to think about it,” Threepio moaned.

  Centrifugal Force

  How did centrifugal force plaster Stuart and the droids to the walls of the pod? Try it yourself as you take an action figure for a wild ride.

  Materials:

  action figure

  umbrella

  wide, open space

  Open an umbrella and hold it upside down. Drop an action figure inside. Turn it right side up. What happens? The force of gravity pulls the action figure out of the umbrella. In other words, the figure falls.

  Put the figure back inside the umbrella. This time, apply some centrifugal force by swinging the umbrella in a big circle.

  What happens this time?

  • If the figure stayed in the umbrella, the centrifugal force you made was stronger than gravity.

  • If the action figure fell, the centrifugal force you made was weaker than gravity. Swing the umbrella faster next time.

  2. Rocket Fuel

  How could two chemicals mix together to make fuel for the escape pod? Power a palm-sized rocket to find out.

  Materials

  empty film canister

  1 tsp vinegar

  ½ tsp baking soda

  safety goggles

  adult partner

  old clothes

  Put on some old clothes, grab an adult partner, and head outside. (This is messy!) Put on your safety goggles.

  Pour 1 tsp vinegar into an empty film canister.

  Spoon out ½ tsp baking soda. Don’t put it in the canister yet! But get ready to act fast.

  Quickly pour the baking soda into the canister.

  Quickly push the cover tightly onto the canister. (Use your palm to press it down.)

  Quickly turn the canister upside down on the ground.

  Stand back — the canister is about to go flying! What makes it go sky-high? A chemical reaction. That’s when two substances combine to form an entirely new substance. (And sometimes two or more.)

  When the baking soda hit the vinegar, a chemical reaction between the two created bubbles of carbon dioxide gas. As the gas built up in the canister, it pressed on the lid. When the pressure got too great — POP! The canister blew its top.

  3. Thrusters

  How could firing the escape pod’s thrusters make it spin out of control? Give this experiment a whirl to find out.

  Materials

  paper plate

  string

  pen

  tape

  two long balloons

  Use a pen to poke a hole in the middle of the plate. (To find the middle: Try to balance the plate on your finger. When the plate is well balanced, your finger is in the middle.)

  Thread the string through the hole.

  Tape each end of the string to a table or chair. Make sure the string is fairly tight.

  Make two tape loops, sticky side out. Place them on the same side of the plate, but opposite each others as shown.

  Step 4

  5. Blow up one of the balloons. Hold the neck of the first balloon closed while you blow up the second. (Or have a partner blow up the second balloon.)

/>   6. Keep holding both balloon necks closed. Hold one balloon with the neck pointed down and stick it to the tape loop on the left. Hold the other balloon with the neck pointed up and stick it to the tape loop on the right.

  7. Let go of both balloon necks at once, and stand back. What happens? How is this like the thrusters and the spinning escape pod?

  8. You just simulated firing the two thrusters circled below. How could you use the balloons and plate to test different combinations of thrusters?

  It’s the Law!

  • The First Law of Motion, as explained by Forbee-X (p. 22), is valid in our galaxy as well. On Earth, it was discovered more than 300 years ago by Sir Isaac Newton. It was the first of Newton’s Three Laws of Motion. Newton’s Laws say that all objects, from marbles to ships to planets, follow the same basic set of rules. Sir Isaac Newton was a busy guy. The Englishman also explained gravity, built the first reflecting telescope, and invented a kind of math called calculus.

  • When you skateboard, you prove Newton’s First Law. Here’s how: Launch yourself forward, and your board will keep going in the same direction until a force acts on it — for instance, your leaning to the right or left. Your board will also keep up the same speed until a force acts on it, and one force always does — friction. The friction (rubbing) between your board’s wheels and axles, as well as the friction between your wheels and the ground, work to slow the board down. That’s why you have to keep pumping with your foot. By the way, Newton’s First Law also says that a body at rest stays at rest until a force acts on it. You prove that law every time you park your board in a corner overnight, and pick it up in the exact same spot the next morning.

  • You can get a feel for high and low gravity (p. 32) by hopping on an elevator. (The faster the ride, the better.) Get on at the first floor and press the top button. After the doors shut, close your eyes and concentrate. The “heavy” feeling you get as the elevator car starts to head up is like high gravity. The “lift” you feel as the car stops at the top is like low gravity.

  Deep (and Not So Deep) Impact

  • Want to navigate an asteroid field? In our solar system, you can head to the asteroid belt, a ring of rocks located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Many of the asteroids there are miles wide, so you’ll want to pay attention to the viewscreen. The asteroids are far apart, so you probably won’t need to copy Stuart’s tricky steering moves (p. 50). Make sure your craft has full shields, though. The belt has tons of pint-sized asteroids that would be hard to spot and steer around — but solid enough to punch a hole in a speeding spacecraft.

  I Believe I Can Fly

  • Because orbit is a perfect balance between gravity and the spacecraft’s forward motion, the space shuttle actually falls around Earth. That free fall is what makes the astronauts feel weightless. But gravity still affects them. It’s what keeps them from shooting away from the planet in a straight line (p. 52).

  • Space probes “slingshot” around planets (p. 53) in order to pick up speed and change direction.

  • Earth’s atmosphere (p. 59) fades into space about 180 miles above the planet’s surface, but most of the clouds and weather stay in the lowest seven miles of the atmosphere, in a layer called the troposphere.

  • When Apollo astronauts reentered Earth’s atmosphere, they used parachutes to create drag and slow down their command modules. When today’s astronauts come back to Earth, they use the shuttle itself to create drag. That friction between the shuttle and the air creates a lot of heat. Parts of the shuttle’s outer surface rise to a sizzling 2,500°F. The astronauts inside, however, don’t even break a sweat. They’re protected by special heat-blocking tiles on the shuttle’s hull.

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