You are on a space crew, originally scheduled to rendezvous with the mother ship on the lighted surface of the moon. Due to mechanical difficulties, however, your ship is forced to land at a spot some 200 miles from the rendezvous point. During re-entry and landing, much of the equipment aboard is damaged and, since survival depends on reaching the mother ship, only 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 them in order of importance (1 being most important) and post your answers in the comments.
• Box of matches
• Food concentrate
• Fifty feet of nylon rope
• Parachute silk
• Solar powered portable heating unit
• Two .45 caliber pistols
• One case of dehydrated milk
• Two 100-lb. tanks of oxygen
• Stellar map (of the moon's constellations)
• Self-inflating life raft
• Magnetic compass
• Five gallons of water
• Signal flares
• First-aid kit containing injection needles
• Solared-powered FM receiver/transmitter
Next time: NASA's answers and why.
