Ares Colegio San Lorenzo

https://youtu.be/-z35DnCWGkQ

https://youtu.be/-z35DnCWGkQ

This full-scale model, whose height is 51.5 cm, consists of a dome that serves as a greenhouse. This is made of pvc tubes, joined with screws and tape, the base is made of cardboard, characterized to be similar to the terrain of Mars. 

The dome will be covered by polyethylene with UV filter, which is also waterproof, allowing the water to remain inside it.

Next to it is a smaller dome, which serves as a "control center" for the main dome. Here are the arduinos that are responsible for the automation of the irrigation system and gate of the camp.

To make the most of the limited water on Mars, a watering plan was devised, which includes different sensors: 

- One sensor regulates the humidity inside the planters, and sends a signal to activate the water pump depending on the plant's needs.

- The other is a light sensor, which activates the pump when there is a drop in lighting to exploit scarce resources to the maximum. 

 The greenhouse has a gate that contains motion and proximity sensors to automate the entry and exit of the crew members. It also has a servomotor that allows the gate to open. Outside the greenhouse is the control center, where waste control, irrigation level, and water flow distribution are executed. 

Inside the greenhouse are the plants, which have an autonomous watering system based on the biological growth parameters of the Sarcocornia neei species.

For the operation of the greenhouse, we seek to maximize the use of resources, so the compost bin will operate on the basis of human feces and urine, which will provide nitrogen. The carbon source to be used during the first months of the mission will be supplemented by the hair of the crew members, and later this will be replaced by the woody body of the same plant. The composter will be connected by hoses to the toilet to transport the waste.

 It will be located inside the greenhouse, since inside the greenhouse an adequate temperature (25°C) is maintained to ensure the functioning of the organisms inside the compost. The gases emitted by the compost will also serve to maintain the temperature inside the greenhouse.

A drip irrigation system will be used for irrigation. This will require a small percentage of urine mixed with gray water, the latter will go to a filter located inside the dome. The filtered water will go to the pond, in charge of irrigating the crop. The urine will go to a container, where it will be distributed to the composter, and another small portion will go directly to the water pond to increase the volume of irrigation. The water is pooled with the urine, which lowers the urine level and makes it suitable for watering the plants. The plants are expected to be watered daily with 1.1 liters per day. 

The planters are designed to make the best use of water and nutrients, with an environment conducive to plant growth. It is made of two layers, the deepest is made of compost, and the outermost is made of sponge, whose function is to support the plant. The planters have openings for better cleaning and to introduce the compost.

The planters are designed to make the most of water and nutrients, they have a favorable environment for plants to grow. They are made of two layers, the deepest is made of compost, and the outermost is made of sponge, whose function is to support the plant. The planters have openings for better cleaning and to introduce the compost.

Benefits:

 Our project provides a sustainable cultivation alternative, suitable for Mars. The idea is to make the best use of resources, including waste (reuse of urine and feces).

The plant to be cultivated presents a high nutritional value, resists high environmental oscillations, high growth rate, easy to handle and easy to transport.

Projections: Through this experience, knowledge and skills acquired, we want to establish a line of research that recognizes sarcocornia, a native species of our region, for its high nutritional contribution, and to be incorporated as an object of study in future manned expeditions to Mars.

Our project seeks to solve one of the major problems that exists when performing long duration missions. Through the model proposed and the variables studied, we intend to contribute to the development of a crop production system that will support future expeditions.

 We hope that the dome will be strong enough to withstand the climatic conditions of Mars, and that it will meet its objectives in the sustainability of humans on Mars. 

We believe that this dome can also be a solution to the water crisis, a problem that is affecting several places in the world, including the Atacama region. The knowledge acquired will serve to project contributions on sustainable and autonomous self-cultivation, due to the efficiency of water and the reuse of organic waste.

Sketch Arduino was used to program the circuits, the Gizmos platform (photosynthesis laboratory) was used for the research, Tinkercard was used to design the 3D parts that make up the model, and Fritzing was used to design the circuit diagrams.

Research about fertilizer: https://humanurehandbook.com/downloads/MANUAL_DEL_HUMABONO.pdf

What inspire our curiosity about Mars: https://mars.nasa.gov/#red_planet/2

About the greenhouse: https://ciencia.nasa.gov/science-at-nasa/2004/25feb_greenhouses

Sarcocornia sp (1).pdf

We are a group of students between 15 and 17 years old, from Copiapo Chile.

 We have been preparing since last year for the NASA App Challenge, which has helped us immensely to reach today's competition. The knowledge and skills acquired, such as digital design, model building, programming, editing, and of course, the ability to work as a team, have been the fuel that fed our curiosity for the famous Red Planet.

Some say that the Atacama Desert is Mars on Earth, so we could not miss this opportunity. We chose the challenge "Have seeds will travel" because of previous experience in the field, and with the intention of researching about that place that resembles our home.

We had the opportunity to take advantage and improve our skills, and of course we learned many more things. It was interesting to investigate all the preparation that goes into making a trip to Space, especially to Mars. It was also very exciting to learn how to handle complex devices, such as sensors and the arduinos.

This experience has shown us how education has changed thanks to science and technology. After everything we have learned, we hope that children and young people around the world will have the opportunity we had to cultivate our curiosity and challenge our knowledge.

We are very happy with everything we have learned, and we hope that our research can be a contribution to science, as we believe it is changing the way we see the world.

https://humanurehandbook.com/downloads/MANUAL_DEL_HUMABONO.pdf

https://mars.nasa.gov/#red_planet/2

 https://www.lanasa.net/misiones/marte

https://ciencia.nasa.gov/science-at-nasa/2004/25feb_greenhouses

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