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Critical Reflection

  Module Learning Writing the literature review and technical report has taught me about proper past present participle. When writing the literature review, I wrote it in the past tense as I thought that whatever was being evaluated by me has already happened. Then I learned that since I am evaluating a current device which was still in operation, the information which is still true to the device would be in present tense. For example, I wrote “The Trace Gas Orbiter was successful in its mission as it had taken useful data of Mars atmospheric gases”. However, as the Trace Gas Orbiter is still orbiting around Mars and collecting data, I should have written it as “The Trace Gas Orbiter was successful in its mission as it takes useful data of Mars atmospheric gases.” In the future I would have to be more aware of the past or present participle used based on the context of my writing and use the proper past or present participle. I have learnt more about how to be an effective pres...
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Summary reader response draft 3

  ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter The main goal of the ExoMars mission is to find signs of life on Mars. This is done by searching for trace gases on Mars atmosphere. Trace gases like methane and water vapour are gases which “provide evidence for possible biological or geological activity on Mars” (NASA Science, 2019). The key trace gas of interest is methane as most of the methane on earth is produced by living things or geological activity, and this may also be true on Mars. The TGO has four sets of science instruments to help achieve its goal. Atmospheric Chemistry Suite (ACS), Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System (CaSSIS), Fine Resolution Epithermal Neutron Detector (FREND) and Nadir and Occultation for MArs Discovery (NOMAD). NOMAD combines three spectrometers, two infrared and one ultraviolet, to perform high-sensitivity orbital identification of atmospheric components, including methane and many other species, via both solar occultation and direct reflected-light nadir obs...
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Summary Reader Response Draft 2

  ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter In the 2016 Exomars mission, a Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) and a landing module which was connected to the TGO was launched. The main goal of the ExoMars mission is to find signs of life on Mars. This is done by searching for trace gases on Mars atmosphere. Trace gases like methane and water vapour are gases which “provide evidence for possible biological or geological activity on Mars” (NASA Science, 2019). The key trace gas of interest is methane as most of the methane on earth is produced by living things or geological activity, and this may also be true on Mars. The TGO has four sets of science instruments to help achieve its goal. Atmospheric Chemistry Suite (ACS), Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System (CaSSIS), Fine Resolution Epithermal Neutron Detector (FREND) and Nadir and Occultation for MArs Discovery (NOMAD).  NOMAD combines three spectrometers, two infrared and one ultraviolet, to perform high-sensitivity orbital identification of at...
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Summary Reader Response Draft 1

  The European Space Agency ExoMars In the 2016 Exomars mission, a Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) and a landing module which was connected to the TGO was launched. The main goal of the ExoMars mission is to find signs of life on Mars. This is done by searching for trace gases on Mars atmosphere. Trace gases like methane and water vapour are gases which “provide evidence for possible biological or geological activity on Mars” (NASA Science, 2019). The key trace gas of interest is methane as most of the methane on earth is produced by living things or geological activity, and this may also be true on Mars. The TGO has four sets of science instruments to help achieve its goal. Atmospheric Chemistry Suite (ACS), Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System (CaSSIS), Fine Resolution Epithermal Neutron Detector (FREND) and Nadir and Occultation for MArs Discovery (NOMAD). NOMAD combines three spectrometers, two infrared and one ultraviolet, to perform high-sensitivity orbital identification of atmo...
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NOMAD Trace Gas Orbiter Summary Draft 2

In the article “NOMAD, an Integrated Suite of Three Spectrometers for the ExoMars Trace Gas Mission: Technical Description, Science Objectives and Expected Performance”, it talks about a spectrometer suite incorporated into the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, NOMAD (“Nadir and Occultation for Martian Discovery”). The article mentions that the purpose of NOMAD is to study the trace gases, clouds and dust present within Mars’ atmosphere. NOMAD comprises of three spectrometers: Solar Occultation (SO), Limb and Nadir Occultation (LNO) and Ultraviolet/Visible Spectrometer (UVIS). The SO spectrometer only performs solar occultation and works in infrared range. The LNO spectrometer is capable of performing solar and nadir occultation and limb observations. The UVIS spectrometer can be used to detect carbon dioxide ice grains at high altitudes. These spectrometers work with each other to collect data which allows us to understand Mars’ “atmospheric composition and the related physical and chemical ...
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NOMAD Trace Gas Orbiter Summary Draft 1

  Exomars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) search for traces of atmospheric gases on Mars that could be evidence of ongoing biological and geological processes. Biomarkers reveal the possibility of life on Mars. The TGO comprises of 4 scientific instruments to help achieve its goal - Atmospheric Chemistry Suite, Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System, Fine Resolution Epithermal Neutron Detector and Nadir and Occultation for Mars Discovery (NOMAD).  NOMAD uses solar occultation and reflected light nadir observations to identify methane and other atmospheric constituents. It has three spectrometers, two infrared and one ultraviolet. An instrument with three spectrometers is used: one for solar occultation measurements alone, one for both limb and occultation measurements simultaneously, and one for ultraviolet and visible measurements as well. It will detect isotopologues of many key Martian atmospheric species. NOMAD will provide global 4D views of the atmosphere of Mars by combining ...
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Self Introduction Email

Dear Prof Brad, I am writing this email to introduce myself, hoping for you to get to know me better. Before coming to Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT), I was pursuing a diploma in information technology at Singapore Polytechnic. I first started having an interest in engineering when I was building Lego. Then I moved on to building kits from K’nex that have a motor as I wanted to see what I build move. This led me to be interested in robotics where mechanics and software are combined in a machine. Regarding my communication skills, I feel that I tend to speak softly and a little high pitched in front of a very large crowd. This happened in secondary school when I had to present a short segment during the morning assembly in front of the whole school. Even though I did not do an excellent job in my delivery of the speech, my teacher was encouraging and told me that I did a good job with the content and presentation slides despite the short time frame. When it comes to communi...
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