Introduction In the Minds of Engineers It was late 1 30 in the morning Way past bedtime for most of us But that didn't stop hundreds of people from gathering in New York City's Times Square on August 6 2012 They were there to watch NASA's live coverage of an interplanetary drama unfolding on a massive five story television screen The star of the show wasn't a little green alien but a car sized silver rover called Curiosity After an eight month voyage through space it all came down to seven minutes the time it would take to deposit Curiosity on the surface of Mars Nail biting gave way to high fiving as the rover touched down safely The historic landing was over in minutes but the technology that made it possible had originated years before in the minds of engineers Want to find out how engineers got Curiosity to Mars You can read more about the mission on pages 10 15
Who Are Engineers CURIOSITY ON MARS Engineers are problem solvers They use their math science and technology skills to find creative solutions to problems such as landing Curiosity safely on the surface of Mars To solve these problems engineers might improve existing technology They might design a battery that lasts longer or build a bridge that can withstand a major earthquake If existing technology won't solve the problem engineers create new technology such as a machine that prints skin substitutes for burn victims Engineers design not only those batteries bridges or printers but also the machines electronics and software to build them Whatever the problem engineers find creative and cost effective solutions that work well Kids are natural engineers You ask lots of questions you're creative and you're good at solving problems whether it's designing an alarm to keep your annoying brother out of your room or figuring out a way to make sure you not your sister get the biggest serving of insert your favorite food here
Engineering Design Step by Step Define investigate Develop Create Test Optimize Share When you have a problem to tackle say a messy room a tricky math question or gasp nothing to eat for dessert you probably follow a step by step process until you arrive at a solution When engineers are faced with a problem they also follow a series of steps They start by making sure they really understand the problem and over time they compare possible solutions choose the best one build working models and perfect the design Unlike following your favorite dessert recipe from start to finish though these design steps don't always happen in a fixed order Sometimes good problem solving means knowing when to go back to an earlier step and make a change or even when to start over with a new idea Here's a look at how the engineering design process works Define the Problem What needs to change At the start of a project engineers identify the problem they are trying to solve or the situation that needs to change finished Investigate Requirements What are the criteria and constraints Engineers need to know the project's requirements They identify the criteria what people need and want from a solution and the constraints the restrictions or limitations they have to work within Constraints might include how much money they can spend safety standards to meet and when the project needs to be
Develop and Compare Solutions What is the best idea Next engineers research and brainstorm possible solutions This involves a lot of creativity and might even involve thinking of new technology that doesn't yet exist Then the engineering team compares their ideas They choose the one that is the best fit for the project's criteria and constraints Create What will it look like Designing and building a working model or prototype allows engineers to see if their idea will work in the real world The prototype is not always the same size as the finished product and sometimes it is built with different materials Back to the drawing board Optimize Can it be even better The prototype is improved or optimized to make it the best it can possibly be Can it go faster Can it be built using less expensive materials Sometimes optimizing means going back to an earlier stage to develop new solutions Test and Fix Does it work The prototype is tested and retested to make sure it works and can withstand conditions in the real world Anything that doesn't work gets fixed fe did it Share Ideas Who can we tell reality Now you know the basics of engineering design Turn the page to see how real engineers used these steps to solve real problems Let's go engineer Finally it's time to share the design with others outside the engineering team That's how the solution to the problem becomes a
