Activity 2 : Case Study : The Importance of units Read the following extract from CNN News 30 September 1999 and answer the questions below. NASA : Human error caused loss of Mars orbiter November 10, 1999 Failure to convert English measures to metric values caused the loss of the Mars Climate Orbiter, a spacecraft that smashed into the planet instead of reaching a safe orbit, a NASA investigation concluded Wednesday. The Mars Climate Orbiter, a key craft in the space agency's exploration of the red planet, vanished on 23 September after a 10 month journey. It is believed that the craft came dangerously close to the atmosphere of Mars, where it presumably burned and broke into pieces. An investigation board concluded that NASA engineers failed to convert English measures of rocket thrusts to newton, a metric system measuring rocket force. One English pound of force equals 4.45 newtons. A small difference between the two values caused the spacecraft to approach Mars at too low an altitude and the craft is thought to have smashed into the planet's atmosphere and was destroyed. The spacecraft was to be a key part of the exploration of the planet. From its station about the red planet, the Mars Climate Orbiter was to relay signals from the Mars Polar Lander, which is scheduled to touch down on Mars next month. "The root cause of the loss of the spacecraft was a failed translation of English units into metric units and a segment of ground-based, navigation-related mission software," said Arthus Stephenson, chairman of the investigation board. Questions: Write your answers in paragraph form. 1. Why did the Mars Climate Orbiter crash? Answer in your own words. 2. How could this have been avoided? Explain by showing the conversion/computation. 3. Why was the Mars Orbiter sent to Mars? 4. Do you think space exploration is important? Explain your