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Team:Valencia/Technologies
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== Mars Simulation Chamber == | == Mars Simulation Chamber == | ||
| - | We reproduce some of the characteristics that make difficult the life in Mars with this chamber. Among them we can have the atmospheric pressure between 7 and 10 mbar and the gases composition (mainly carbon dioxid). Once we achieve this humble goal, we can use the MSC to try our engineered microorganisms and observe its behavior: if it grows, just only survives without growing or dies. It’s a very important part of the project because is an easy way to prove whether the microbes can grow or at least survive in an environment with such limitations as martian atmosphere can be. | + | We reproduce some of the characteristics that make difficult the life in Mars with this chamber. Among them we can have the atmospheric pressure between 7 and 10 mbar and the gases composition (mainly carbon dioxid). |
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| + | [[Image:Valencia_MSC_exp.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Carring out an experiment on the MSC.]] | ||
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| + | Once we achieve this humble goal, we can use the MSC to try our engineered microorganisms and observe its behavior: if it grows, just only survives without growing or dies. It’s a very important part of the project because is an easy way to prove whether the microbes can grow or at least survive in an environment with such limitations as martian atmosphere can be. | ||
== Red-House == | == Red-House == | ||
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An interesting result of this part of the project is that we could probe the Red-House is capable of protect the cultures inside them, and that the cultures grow significatively more inside than outside the device. | An interesting result of this part of the project is that we could probe the Red-House is capable of protect the cultures inside them, and that the cultures grow significatively more inside than outside the device. | ||
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== Microbial Albedo Recorder == | == Microbial Albedo Recorder == | ||
Revision as of 22:37, 25 October 2010
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Creating Technologies
Introduction
In order to test and probe our terraforming proposal, we needed to create some technologies specially designed to that end. Each one of the technological developments has a specific purpose in the project and justifies being a subpart of the project too. There are three main courses of action are:
- Mars Simulation Chamber
- Red-House
- Microbial Albedo Recorder
Mars Simulation Chamber
We reproduce some of the characteristics that make difficult the life in Mars with this chamber. Among them we can have the atmospheric pressure between 7 and 10 mbar and the gases composition (mainly carbon dioxid).
Once we achieve this humble goal, we can use the MSC to try our engineered microorganisms and observe its behavior: if it grows, just only survives without growing or dies. It’s a very important part of the project because is an easy way to prove whether the microbes can grow or at least survive in an environment with such limitations as martian atmosphere can be.
Red-House
In the other hand, in the beginnings our microorganisms are going to need an appropriate environment to grow. Regarding this, we have designed and built a Red-House (an analogy with a greenhouse but in the red planet) in order to preserve the growing cultures until the atmospheric conditions reach the proper values to the microbial growth. The Red-House is a device designed to protect the microorganisms from the harsh conditions of temperature, pressure and radiation. The device is thermally isolated from the exterior media so we can warm its interior with electricity generated using wind turbines.
The idea to make this device was inspired by the reading of Robinson's Red Mars in wich the first martian colonist spread windmills to seed microorganism over the surface of Mars.
An interesting result of this part of the project is that we could probe the Red-House is capable of protect the cultures inside them, and that the cultures grow significatively more inside than outside the device.
Microbial Albedo Recorder
In order to study the capability of the cultures to absorb energy coming from sunlight depending on their coloring, we are going to measure the temperature that the cultures reach compared with others control know-color cultures. These temperatures are measured by a system of thermocouples.
For this objective, it has been designed a dish in which our E. Coli and yeast cultures are studied. There are as well two reference cultures: one entirely black and another totally white. The cultures are exposed to radiation coming from sunlight. All cultures are previously kept in constant and known temperature.
In order to make sure that the temperature differences among the cultures are due only to albedo effect, two strategies have been designed.
- Several light sensors have been laid out symmetrically. The signal received by these sensors is transmitted to an electronic circuit which produces an electric response that finally ends up in the datalogger
Layout of the thermocuples and light sensors.
- Several thermocouples are arranged surrounding the cultures to make sure that the external temperatures are equal for all of them. We used our temperature mesurement system in order to accomplish this task.
Therefore, any temperature difference between the cultures has to be produced by the capability of absorbing light. This temperature is then measured by another thermocouple inserted into the culture. Furthermore, all this data is recorded and shown in real time through a computer screen.
