Assignment Task: Among the requirements of all living things is the need of food to eat, water to drink and oxygen to breath. When humans travel into space to a destination such as Mars they will either have to carry these things with them, or obtain them at some point in their journey. Probably more fuel will be spent in transporting these three items than anything else the astronauts will carry with them.
While Mars does not have any food sources or oxygen per se, it does have large quantities of water in the form of ice, which can be melted to make liquid water if a power source is available. Additionally, water is formed from a combination of the elements hydrogen and oxygen, in a 2:1 atomic ratio. If electricity is available, water can be broken down into its constituent parts utilizing a process called electrolysis. The resulting oxygen can be used for breathing and the hydrogen could be used for a fuel source.
In this assignment the students will use the library and internet to determine how much food, water and oxygen will be required for a journey to Mars. The following assumptions will be made:
1. 6 astronauts will make the journey.
2. The entire trip will last for 2.5 calendar years.
3. Calculate how much of each supply will be needed for the entire journey (in kilograms).
4. Determine how much the requirements will be lessened if Martian water is used for the stay on the planet and the return to Earth. Assume the water can also be used for creating oxygen for breathing.
Astronauts going away on a 2.5 year journey would have other requirements besides food water. Come of with a list of some of the items that should be taken (i.e. basic medicines, etc. ) and try to determine how much mass these items will comprise.
In this portion of the lab students will focus on what resources will be needed for a trip to Mars. To simplify things we will only look at three specific things-food, water and oxygen. For food, specific foods will not be looked at, but only food in general: how much food (in mass) does an astronaut consume per day. Likewise we will focus on how much oxygen and water (mass) are needed on a daily basis. This research will be conducted on the internet, so remember to cite all your sources.
Make your results in the form of a table that shows the amount of each supply with appropriate documentation as to how you arrived at your figures.