Water extraction on Mars for an expanding human colony

Ralphs, Matthew; Franz, Brian; Baker, T. W.; Howe, Scott

doi:10.1016/j.lssr.2015.10.001

Cited by 11 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 12 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Food processing equipment suitable for the space environment should take into account safety, power, volume, water consumption, air pollution, waste production, cleanliness, and noise. One such piece of equipment is a multifunctional fruit and vegetable processing system developed by NASA for cutting, heating, separation, and concentration [ 199 , 200 ]: for example, the system can process tomatoes into tomato juice, tomato sauce, tomato slice, and tomato soup.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-Term Space Nutrition: A Scoping Review

Rising

Majji

et al. 2021

Nutrients

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This scoping review aimed to identify current evidence and gaps in the field of long-term space nutrition. Specifically, the review targeted critical nutritional needs during long-term manned missions in outer space in addition to the essential components of a sustainable space nutrition system for meeting these needs. The search phrase “space food and the survival of astronauts in long-term missions” was used to collect the initial 5432 articles from seven Chinese and seven English databases. From these articles, two independent reviewers screened titles and abstracts to identify 218 articles for full-text reviews based on three themes and 18 keyword combinations as eligibility criteria. The results suggest that it is possible to address short-term adverse environmental factors and nutritional deficiencies by adopting effective dietary measures, selecting the right types of foods and supplements, and engaging in specific sustainable food production and eating practices. However, to support self-sufficiency during long-term space exploration, the most optimal and sustainable space nutrition systems are likely to be supported primarily by fresh food production, natural unprocessed foods as diets, nutrient recycling of food scraps and cultivation systems, and the establishment of closed-loop biospheres or landscape-based space habitats as long-term life support systems.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-Term Space Nutrition: A Scoping Review

Rising

Majji

et al. 2021

Nutrients

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…There are also questions concerning how best to scale up this system. The current oxygen-donating lightly cross-linked polyacrylate is a viable component of a holistic approach to crop and regenerative life support systems that include multiple methods of martian water extraction (Ralphs et al , 2015 ), synthetic biology approaches to crop and resource management (Menezes et al , 2015 ; Llorente et al , 2018 ), the overall design of bioregenerative life support systems (Fu et al , 2016 ), and novel habitat design/construction (Rothschild, 2016 ). At this time, the material can be formulated and produced at the 100 kg scale, with no impediments to production at greater quantities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Oxygen Delivery Polymer Enhances Seed Germination in a Martian-like Environment

2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Critical to the success of establishing a sustainable human presence on Mars is the ability to economically grow crop plants. Several environmental factors make it difficult to fully rely on local resources for agriculture. These include nutrient sparse regolith, low and fluctuating temperatures, a high amount of ultraviolet radiation, and water trapped locally in the form of ice or metal oxides. While the 96% CO 2 martian atmosphere is ideal to support photosynthesis, high CO 2 concentrations inhibit germination. An added difficulty is the fact that a vast majority of crop plants require oxygen for germination. Here, we report the production of a polymer-based oxygen delivery system that supports the germination and growth of cress seeds (Lepidium sativum) in a martian regolith simulant under a martian atmosphere at 101 kPa. The oxygen-donating system is based on a low-density lightly cross-linked polyacrylate that is foamed and converted into a dry powder. It is lightweight, added in low amounts to regolith simulant, and efficiently donates enough oxygen throughout the volume of hydrated regolith simulant to fully support seed germination and plant growth. Germination rates, plant development, and plant mass are nearly identical for L. sativum grown in 100% CO 2 in the presence of the oxygen-donating lightly cross-linked polyacrylate compared with plants grown in air. The polymer system also serves to protect root structures and better anchors plants in the regolith simulant.

show abstract

Section: Refactoring Plants For Enhanced Performance On Marsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Water will be a crucial resource for plants but also for many other applications in a Martian outpost [ 31 ]. Because water on Mars is mostly available in the form of ice [ 32 ], part of the energy budget of the outpost will need to be allocated for its extraction and recycling [ 31 ]. Also, if energetically expensive systems (e.g., hydroponics) were required to sustain plant growth, additional energy will need to be diverted for this purpose [ 6 , 15 , 33 ].…”

Section: Refactoring Plants For Enhanced Performance On Marsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Multiplanetary Future of Plant Synthetic Biology

Llorente

Williams

Goold

2018

Genes

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The interest in human space journeys to distant planets and moons has been re-ignited in recent times and there are ongoing plans for sending the first manned missions to Mars in the near future. In addition to generating oxygen, fixing carbon, and recycling waste and water, plants could play a critical role in producing food and biomass feedstock for the microbial manufacture of materials, chemicals, and medicines in long-term interplanetary outposts. However, because life on Earth evolved under the conditions of the terrestrial biosphere, plants will not perform optimally in different planetary habitats. The construction or transportation of plant growth facilities and the availability of resources, such as sunlight and liquid water, may also be limiting factors, and would thus impose additional challenges to efficient farming in an extraterrestrial destination. Using the framework of the forthcoming human missions to Mars, here we discuss a series of bioengineering endeavors that will enable us to take full advantage of plants in the context of a Martian greenhouse. We also propose a roadmap for research on adapting life to Mars and outline our opinion that synthetic biology efforts towards this goal will contribute to solving some of the main agricultural and industrial challenges here on Earth.

show abstract

Water extraction on Mars for an expanding human colony

Cited by 11 publications

References 12 publications

Long-Term Space Nutrition: A Scoping Review

Long-Term Space Nutrition: A Scoping Review

An Oxygen Delivery Polymer Enhances Seed Germination in a Martian-like Environment

The Multiplanetary Future of Plant Synthetic Biology

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About