Egg Lander Report (The Second Attempt)

After a second attempt at building the Egg Lander, unfortunately, it failed again! What possibly could have happened?The first time our class built the Egg Lander, we did not have much knowledge on how to start putting together 20 straws, a newspaper, and tape the length of the table. However, now that everyone was able to get the chance to see what was expected, we should all have the knowledge to build a working Egg Lander! Unfortunately, this was not the case...

Mr. Chung put everyone into a new group and each individual participated and described what their previous Egg Lander designed looked like and how they would improve it. The first time each group built an Egg Lander, there were numerous ideas that were designed. For example, some groups made a tetrahedral with two layers (one to hold the egg & one to support the structure), and another group built a structure that enclosed the egg and had straws sticking out from the encasing so that the straws will absorb shock. In the end, our group decided to make a design similar to that of a symmetrical ball and use straws and tape to surround the egg. This will allow the straws to absorb the shock and not impact the egg.

However, this idea was changed once we realized that using this idea might cause one of the straws to penetrate into the egg capsule and cause the egg to break inside. Our group then came up with an idea of making an Egg Lander based on a soccer ball shape. In that way, it is symmetrical, and when the Egg Lander is dropped from the roof of a two-story building, the straws will absorb all the shock due to the large amounts of space of each pentagon. Also, the enclosure of the egg was a triangular pyramid, which allowed the egg to be placed in an area which allowed for just enough room for shock absorbency, but not too much room that the egg will roll around and will break upon impact.

Unfortunately, when the Egg Lander was launched from the roof of a two-story high building, our egg broke. The reason for this is due to the fact that one of the straws supporting the enclosure of the egg was not taped down properly, and got detached during flight. Sadly, during the flight, the egg came out from the enclosure and fell to the ground before the Egg Lander. 

Because this is the second time the Egg Lander was created, there were groups that were able to successfully build a working Egg Lander. Firstly, if I were to keep the same design our group decided to create, I would tape specific areas, such as those that connect one straw to another, just to make sure that during the time of flight, nothing will come apart, leading to a broken egg. However, if I had the choice to redesign (for the third time) another Egg Lander, I would create something that has straws sticking out from the top of the enclosure of the egg. This will allow all the shock to be absorbed when the straw is bent upon landing.

Even though our Egg Lander failed for the second time, the new design allowed for a more open perspective, therefore expanding our knowledge and the way we think.