Food
1. Food while journeying to Mars:
Food is packed and stored in the space shuttle 2 or 3 days before a trip. Many types of space food are dehydrated, or freeze-dried, and sealed. Dehydrated foods include soup, casseroles, vegetables, cereal, and many other foods. This type of food could be rehydrated and heated up, and would be ready to eat. Freeze-dried foods were mainly bite-sized cubes or freeze-dried powders, but astronauts found this to be unappetizing and this was later removed, thus this type of food is not recommended. Sealed foods like the spoon-bowl were used during Apollo missions (1868-1975) and were more appetizing compared to the types of food before it. It also allowed more normal eating practices as food could be kept in special plastic zip-closure containers, and its moisture allowed it to stick to a spoon. At the Skylab space station (1973-1974), the larger space allowed an on-board refrigerator and freezer, which allowed perishable and frozen items to be stored. Menus included items such as processed meat products and ice cream. A dining room table and chairs, fastened to the floor and fitted with foot and thigh restraints, allowed for a more normal eating experience. This mode of eating in space while travelling to the red planet is most highly recommended. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_food
2. Food after arriving on Mars:
A new source of food will be required to keep the astronauts alive. Food and other resources can be sent from Earth but the journey takes about 8 months, thus only one or no trips are recommended. For the first few weeks on Mars, the astronauts will rely on the leftover food which was packed on Earth, while they carry out agriculture in the form of vertical gardening to grow edible crops in space farms. The space farms will produce the main supply of the food grown in outer space, and the astronauts will have a vegetarian diet that consists of fruits and vegetables. A plant highly recommended is corn. Corn can be grown at the top few floors of the space farm as it requires full sunlight. Half of the yield can be eaten and the other half can be used to make bioethanol to generate electricity.
3. The types of crops we plan on planting:
a)Vegetables
Corn, wheat, rice, potatoes, tapiocas and tomatoes. We chose corn because they are tasty and do not require too much attention, only suitable conditions are needed, and corn can also be used to generate a fraction of the electricity on Mars. We chose wheat as it is easy to grow (though it takes a while before it is harvestable) and can be used to make bread and cereal. We chose rice because it is a staple food and can be a main source of food (though it takes a while before it is harvestable as well). We chose potatoes and tapiocas as they can be used to make a number of foods and can be eaten in a number of ways, eg: mashed potato, baked potato, boiled tapioca, tapioca chips, etc, and can be harvested every 2 months after they reach maturity, thus the astronauts can obtain food whenever they need it. Tomatoes are also chosen as they are tasty and well-liked.
b)Fruits
Apples, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, honeyberries, black currants and red currants. We chose apples as they are very popular and well-known, and are fairly easy to grow. We chose strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and honeyberries as these are very easy to grow and can be harvested in very short periods of time, and in abundant numbers. Then we chose black and red currants as they are also fairly easy to grow, and can be used to make biscuits and other desserts. All these fruits can also be freezed and kept fresh for a long time. Most of all, we chose the fruits because they taste nice and the astronauts will be able to enjoy a variety of tasty fruits even when they are in space.
c)Beans
Soybeans. Soybeans are easy to plant and can be harvested 45 to 65 days after planting. We chose it because it is the number one protein-rich crop, and the astronauts can get the protein they lack from meat out of soybeans, which are even healthier as they contain less fats. The soybeans can even be used to produce soybean milk and soybean curd, which are both very easy to make.
4. Some recipes or foods with the fruits, vegetables and beans we are growing:
a) Cereal (with the wheat and some berries), cornbread (with the wheat and corn), and biscuits (made from wheat and berries or currants).
b) A delightful, main meal can be rice (staple food) with soup (made from corn, tomatoes and tapioca), with fruit juice (from the fruits grown) or soybean milk as a beverage and a fruit salad (with the different types of fruits grown) or soybean curd as dessert.
Water
No.
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When consumed
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Type of water
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1.
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To be consumed during journey to Mars
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Fresh water from Earth
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2.
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Water consumed after arriving on Mars and during trips to the planet poles to obtain frozen water
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Leftover water from the trip and clean, recycled water from shower and other uses of water will be used while the astronauts try to obtain a new supply of water from the planet poles.
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3.
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Water supply on Mars
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Water collected from the planet poles and purified is stored and consumed by the astronauts using special equipment.
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1. Fresh water from earth will be stored in the space shuttle to be consumed during the journey to Mars.
2. After arriving on Mars, the astronauts’ water supply would be running out, so they would have to depend on the leftover of their water, and on water recycled from other uses of it while they try to obtain a new water supply from the planet poles.
3. To survive on Mars, the astronauts can collect ice from the planet poles, heat it and purify it to obtain clean and drinkable water.
Oxygen
no.
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When used
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How oxygen will be used
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1.
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Journey from Earth to Mars
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Some oxygen will be supplied to the people and the rest kept in oxygen containment tanks.
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2.
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Arriving at Mars
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The leftover oxygen will be used while the astronauts try to obtain a new supply of oxygen from plants.
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3.
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At Mars
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Oxygen produced by plants through photosynthesis grown inside the dome will be supplied throughout the dome constantly.
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