Case #11: Mission Eternity

Industry: Aerospace/Government
Quantitative level: Medium
Quantitative Level: Medium
Qualitative level: Difficult
Qualitative Level: Difficult

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Behavioral Questions
Question 1:
• If your life was turned into a movie, what would be the title?
– Tests the candidate’s ability to think on their feet and be creative.
– What’s important is a quick but thoughtful response and that the candidate is not thrown off
by an out-of-the-box question.

Question 2:
• Provide an example of when you had to change direction on a project and how you
handled it.

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Mission Eternity
Prompt #1:
• Your client, NASA, has recently learned of a giant asteroid heading towards the
Earth. Scientists at NASA have determined that there is a 10 percent probability that
this asteroid makes landfall. If it hits, the asteroid will create a large dust storm
blocking out sunlight and preventing photosynthesis in plants. This will ultimately
destroy the rest of the earth’s ecosystem for the next 100 years. NASA needs help
determining whether they should launch the Eternity Mission, a space exploration
mission to find a suitable planet for the human population to live on in the event of
the catastrophic asteroid impact.

Interviewer Guidance:
Additional information to be provided to the candidate if requested:
• NASA’s goal is to safely evacuate at least 20% of the world’s population in the event
of impact.
• The Asteroid would hit earth in 25 years. NASA estimates it will require 15 years to
build enough space vehicles and safely evacuate 20% of the world’s population.
Therefore, Mission Eternity needs to be completed within 10 years.

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Mission Eternity
Interviewer Guidance:
(continued)
• Assume NASA has had major breakthroughs in space travel and spacecraft can now
travel at the speed of light.
• Other international space agencies are looking to NASA to make a decision. Their
budgets are unavailable to aid this mission.
• NASA has already weighed other options to salvage the earth’s population, such as
hitting the asteroid to break it into smaller pieces, and determined that is not possible.
Additionally, other efforts to live underground are being researched separately.
• Cost of the Eternity Mission will vary by planet(s) selected for exploration, we do not
have specific figures.
• Assume NASA has figured out a way to use therapeutic hypothermia hibernation to
enable humans to travel very long distance in space.

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Mission Eternity
Interviewer Guidance: Potential Framework
• Budget Issues
– Cost of spacecraft
– Cost of fuel – renewable technology, fuel
– Astronauts – salary, life insurance, family support, training
– Staff on ground
– Upkeep of tracking devices
– Cost of test runs
– Outside fundraising possible: Business, nonprofit, donation support
• Timing Issues
– Distance to potential planet
– Duration of the project affects cost
– Timing of receiving planet data to make plans prior to asteroid impact
• Public Relations Issues/Liability
– Public response to expense
– Public reaction to disaster if an accident with the mission occurs
– Loss of credibility for future missions and existing projects if there is a failure
• Available Planet Data
– Accuracy of currently available data regarding potential planets
– Determining which metrics to prioritize
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Mission Eternity
Prompt #2:

If not already provided to the candidate, inform them that the asteroid is set to hit earth
in 25 years. At least 15 years is needed to build enough space vehicles and to safely
evacuate 20% of the world’s population. Therefore, Mission Eternity can only take 10
years from start to finish.

Additionally, NASA’s Eternity spacecraft can travel at the speed of light.

The closest four potentially habitable planets are Planet W, Planet X, Planet Y, and
Planet Z. Once the Eternity spacecraft arrives to a planet, it will take on average 18
earth months to collect data sufficient to determine if the planet can support human life.
NASA has also discovered a way to send signals carrying the data back to earth faster
than the speed of light. It will take three months per light year in distance for signals to
reach earth. [Assume one month is 30 days.]

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Exhibit #1

Note: A light-year is how astronomers measure distance in space. It is defined by

how far a beam of light travels in one earth year – a distance of six trillion miles.

Earth X Z Y W

24 trillion miles

33 trillion miles

36 trillion miles

48 trillion miles 126

Interviewer Guidance on Exhibit #1
Exhibit #1 Guidance/Prompt #1 Analysis
• The candidate should realize that distance is related to timing and will impact the
decision to explore certain planets within the allotted 10 year timeframe. The
candidate should convert distances in Exhibit 1 into light years and add the additional
time for data collection and receipt of the data signal to determine the total time it will
take to make a decision about whether a planet is suitable for human life.
Planet Distance Distance Data Data Signal Total Time
from Earth from Earth Collection (Light Years) (Light Years)
(trillion (Light Years) (Years)
miles)
W 48 8 1.5 2 11.5
X 24 4 1.5 1 6.5
Y 36 6 1.5 1.5 9
Z 33 5.5 1.5 1.375 8.375

• Candidate should determine that Planet W will not return information in time for NASA
to build evacuation spacecraft, and therefore should be eliminated from consideration.
• Candidate should drive the case and ask for additional metrics regarding water,
atmospheric conditions, etc. to determine which planet would be most suitable to
sustain life.
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Mission Eternity
Prompt #2:
• Brainstorm: How should NASA determine which planet to explore first? What metrics
would you want to look at when comparing Planets X, Y and Z?

Interviewer Guidance:
Qualities/metrics of a suitable planet:
• Distance from earth: • Natural resources
– Feasibility of transferring population with – Energy resources – light, fuel sources, etc.
less risk – Geography - Buildable terrain, Safety of
– Space travel timing issues terrain
• Food/Water: – Gravitational pull
– Farming capabilities • Climate
– Water purity and quantity – Temperature
– Ability to raise livestock, sources of protein – Natural weather forces
• Atmospheric Conditions – Length of days/nights
– Air Quality - Breathable? Does it require a
head mask?
– Presence of harmful gases

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Interviewer Guidance on Exhibit #2
Prompt #3: Guidance for Exhibit #2:
• Candidate should drive case and focus on • The candidate should determine that
prioritizing one or two key metrics and ask Planet Y has the best indicators for
for available data, then provide Exhibit 2. supporting human life.
• NASA only has the manpower and • Additionally, NASA’s goal is to safely
financial resources to visit one planet. evacuate at least 20% of the world’s
Prior robot missions returned the following population in the event of impact. Planet
results. Y provides the best option for safely
• In astronomy, the habitable zone is the sustaining life.
region around a star within which
planetary-mass objects with sufficient
atmospheric pressure can support liquid
water at their surfaces. In other words,
this indicates the likelihood of water.
• Earth Similarity Index, ESI, is a measure
of how physically similar a planetary-mass
object is to Earth. It is a scale from zero to
one, with Earth having a value of one.

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 Exhibit #2

Percentile Location in Habitable Zone

100

90

80 Planet Y

70

60
Planet Z
50

40

30

20

10 Planet X

0 Earth Similarity Index (ESI)

0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0

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Mission Eternity
Recommendation
Example of a good recommendation:
• NASA should launch the Eternity Mission to Planet Y because it will return data
before the 10 year deadline and has the highest indicators to sustain human life –
with an ESI of 0.8 and a location in the 80th percentile of a habitable zone.
• Risks: Planet Y is the furthest away from earth, making the trip and hibernation
riskier. It is also more costly, and a higher proportion of NASA’s annual budget.
• Next steps: Prepare the mission to Planet Y, and (depending on costs) consider
launching another mission to Planet Z since it would still return data in enough time.

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Evaluation Criteria

Candidate Level Assessment

Average Candidate • Has two or fewer math mistakes.
• Provides risks and next steps in recommendation.
• Buckets the brainstorm in prompt #2.

Good Candidate • Creates a table for exhibit #1’s calculations.

• Drives case and asks for the appropriate
information.
• Asks for explanation if they do not understand
habitable zone and ESI.
Excellent Candidate • Pulls in data from the initial prompt that with 10%
probability of impact, there’s more need to be
budget conscious.
• Takes shortcuts when calculating Exhibit #1: without
calculating realizes Planet W will be outside of the
10 year deadline and Planet X will safely fall inside
the deadline.

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