Module 02 – Day 1

8:45 – 9:30 am (45 min)

Game: Survive on the

Moon

Source: July 1999 issue of the NightTimes

 Overview
• Introduction to NASA Game Scenario
• Individual Ranking
• Group Discussion and Ranking
• Debriefing

Who in the room has

spent some time on the
moon?

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 NASA Game 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 equipment
aboard was damaged and, since survival depends on reaching
the mother ship, the most critical 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.’

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 Recovered Items
• Box of matches • Stellar map
• Food concentrate • Self-inflating life raft
• 50 feet of nylon rope • Magnetic compass
• Parachute silk • 5 gallons of water
• Portable heating unit • Signal flares
• Two .45 caliber pistols • First aid kit, including
• One case of dehydrated milk injection needle
• Two 100 lb. tanks of oxygen • Solar-powered FM receiver-
transmitter

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 Individual Ranking
• What are the most important items?
 3 minutes
 Using the Reporting Form, 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

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 Group Ranking
• Group Discussion
 Form Groups: 8-10 individuals
 Assignment: one facilitator, one observer and a recorder
 20 minutes
• Ranking
 Discuss the ranking of the recovered items in the group and
develop one ranking
 Using the Reporting Form, 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

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 Scoring
• For each item, mark the number of points that your
score differs from the NASA ranking, then add up
all the points. Disregard plus or minus differences.
The lower the total, the better your score.
 Example: Box of matches – Individual Ranking 5 and
NASA Ranking 10; count 5 points
 Score the individual and group rankings

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 Answers to the Survival on the Moon Exercise
Item NASA Ranking NASA's Reasoning
Box of matches 15 Virtually worthless -- there's no oxygen on the moon
to sustain combustion

Food concentrate 4 Efficient means of supplying energy requirements

50 feet of nylon rope 6 Useful in scaling cliffs and tying injured together

Parachute silk 8 Protection from the sun's rays

Portable heating unit 13 Not needed unless on the dark side

Two .45 caliber pistols 11 Possible means of self-propulsion

One case of dehydrated milk 12 Bulkier duplication of food concentrate

Two 100 lb. tanks of oxygen 1 Most pressing survival need (weight is not a factor
since gravity is one-sixth of the Earth's -- each
tank would weigh only about 17 lbs. on the
moon)
Stellar map 3 Primary means of navigation - star patterns appear
essentially identical on the moon as on Earth

Self-inflating life raft 9 CO2 bottle in military raft may be used for propulsion

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 Answers to the Survival on the Moon Exercise
Magnetic compass 14 The magnetic field on the moon is not polarized, so
it's worthless for navigation

5 gallons of water 2 Needed for replacement of tremendous liquid loss on

the light side

Signal flares 10 Use as distress signal when the mother ship is sighted

First aid kit, including injection needle 7 Needles connected to vials of vitamins, medicines,
etc. will fit special aperture in NASA space suit

Solar-powered FM receiver- 5 For communication with mother ship (but FM

transmitter requires line-of-sight transmission and can only be
used over short ranges)

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 Scoring
• 0 - 25 excellent (true survivor…)
• 26 - 32 good
• 33 - 45 average
• 46 - 55 fair
• 56 - 70 poor (suggests use of Earth-bound logic…)
• 71 - 112 very poor (you’re one of the casualties of the space
program!)

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 Debriefing
• Compare individual and group rankings
 How many are better off? Why did more survive? What were
the factors for higher group survival?
• Team dynamics - report from observer
 How did the group work together? Why did the group work
well (or not)?
 What were the group dynamics that positively contributed to a
higher survival? How did you embrace the diversity of opinions?
 How did you contribute to the team? What role did you assume
during the game?
• Feedback from the facilitator/feedback to the facilitator

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 Reflections
What are the lessons learned from this game? How can a
group reach a common goal?
 Teamwork can produce better results than individual work,
especially when faced with complex issues
 Healthy team dynamics are critical to team work and
development; the role of the group leaders/facilitators is
important
 It is important to take the time to obtain all team members’ views
and perspectives
 A benefit of teamwork is often the diversity in culture, opinion
and experience

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 National Quality Center (NQC)
212-417-4730
NationalQualityCenter.org
[email protected]

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