Survival
on the Moon
EXERCISE
Scenario:
You are a member of a space crew originally scheduled to rendezvous with a mother ship on the
lighted surface of the moon. However, due to mechanical difficulties, your ship was forced to land at
a spot some 200 miles from the rendezvous point. During reentry and landing, much of the equip-
ment aboard was damaged and, since survival depends on reaching the mother ship, the most criti-
cal items available must be chosen for the 200-mile trip. Below are listed the 15 items left intact and
undamaged after landing. Your task is to rank order them in terms of their importance for your crew
in allowing them to reach the rendezvous point. Place the number 1 by the most important item,
the number 2 by the second most important, and so on through number 15 for the least important.
Your Ranking NASA Ranking
_______ Box of matches _______
_______ Food concentrate _______
_______ 50 feet of nylon rope _______
_______ Parachute silk _______
_______ Portable heating unit _______
_______ Two .45 caliber pistols _______
_______ One case of dehydrated milk _______
_______ Two 100 lb. tanks of oxygen _______
_______ Stellar map _______
_______ Self-inflating life raft _______
_______ Magnetic compass _______
_______ 20 liters of water _______
_______ Signal flares _______
_______ First aid kit, including injection needle _______
_______ Solar-powered FM receiver-transmitter _______
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