Rymden

Samborondón-Guayas | Have seeds will travel!

"Cube On Mars" - Rymden BSK

High-Level Project Summary

We developed a viable food system by taking the APH as a base. It would be controlled by a computer, meaning the crew doesn't need to intervene at all times. In order to get to our final proposal, we took into consideration temperature, humidity, autonomy, radiation and weight. It’s divided into several sections, such as the crop, the control station, the sensors station, etc. Our proposal will help to maintain the crew’s health and performance, as well as the nutrients and vitamins of the food. Giving a solution to this challenge is important as the efficiency of the crew is determined by the amount of energy they have, which is given by food, due to it being the first line of defence.

Link to Project "Demo"

https://youtu.be/N_wHnqvZoUM

Link to Final Project

https://cesarrodrig2005.wixsite.com/nasa

Detailed Project Description

We’re Rymden, a team representing IPAC. The challenge we chose was “Have seeds will travel”.

We propose to create a viable food system by taking the Advanced Plant Habitat as a base, controlled by a computer. The crops will be visible at all times to the crew. This system will take care of the crops through the sensors using the information given by the user. Although the system is automated, the astronauts will have the ability to manipulate the crops during the last stages of growth of the former.

To elaborate the final design we took into consideration temperature, humidity, autonomy, radiation and weight. Sensors are used to control temperature and humidity. For our machine to be automated we incorporated software that would receive the information given by the user and store it; this information would later be transmitted to the sensors. Its structure is made of aluminium and hydrogenated materials as they act as radiation shields. This also makes a difference in the weight, as these materials are both light and strong.

The crop is a 5x3 meters distribution of soil, with a 30cm depth, which can be seen through a big panel of glass. To the left there is a small door, where astronauts can reach out for the plants, take care of them and replant if necessary. The most important part is the control station. It’s located at the front of the plantation and it is based on a big monitor connected to a computer which is operated on its left side. This computer receives all the information of what to do and later transmits it to the sensors. The sensors are inside the ceiling of the machine, there are different types of led lights, water disposals, an oxygen conductor and weather sensors which help us take care and keep track of every aspect of the crop. The water and oxygen reservoirs are located behind the building and can be accessed from the top of the machine in case there’s the necessity of cleaning or refilling. Of course, our system needs to have energy in order to work, so it must be connected to the rocket, there’s also the possibility of using a battery.

There’re plenty of benefits that our system brings. First of all, we will be able to maintain the crew in good health condition by allowing them to have fresh food on the mission. We can also mention the possibility of its use on Earth, as there’s no limit for it to only work on a mission to Mars.

We went a little further and researched some nutritional facts to satisfy the crew’s nutritional needs. We took into consideration the calories the crew would need. To remain healthy the astronauts need carbohydrates, proteins and fibre. Finally, we decided it would be appropriate to plant carrots, potatoes, strawberries, peas, lentils, red beans, bell pepper and/or radishes.

We hope to someday be able to see and use this in real life and see its positive results. We consider this proposal important as it’s a suggestion to solve an issue that has been going on for years, and we want to contribute with our knowledge and creativity as much as we can in order to make our ideas tangible in the future. To create our digital prototype we made use of a videogame: Minecraft. We thought of this as we wanted to “bring to life” our project in a fun way, and also to attract a younger audience.

Space Agency Data

We used CSA’s data, UKSA’s as well as NASA’s. This data inspired our project because, as explained before, we took as a base the APH system. Among the files we used for our project, we can mention: Advanced Plant Habitat by NASA, Growing plants in space by NASA and Food production by CSA.

Hackathon Journey

We enjoyed this experience a lot, we learned about the importance of space, plants and technology. We were inspired to choose this challenge because of how interesting it seemed and all the information and benefits we could get for our future, as well as gaining new knowledge. Our main approach was looking for a creative and innovative solution to the challenge that we were presented. We resolved setbacks and challenges through perseverance and communication between the team, always being open-minded and keeping abreast of necessary changes, key points and important ideas. We would like to thank our teacher Alfonso Gutierrez as he kept helping us and guiding us in every step of this experience.