Ivan Tashchuk

Group 2

Scholars Incorporated

3/13/14

Biosphere Project

EDP Step 1: Identify the Problem

Group 2 was given a mission to design an appealing biosphere that will be able to sustain

life for two months in the MHS green house. The biospheres that are designed by the four

different groups will have a chance of winning two awards. The first award is the “Best

Appearance and Design” award and the second award is the “Most Sustainable Food Web”. To

be able to win the “Best Appearance and Design” award the biosphere must have a unique free

standing or hanging biosphere, and the biosphere may not have any prefabricated aquarium or

aquarium parts. During the testing, the biosphere will remain in the MHS green house and will

be completely sealed, and only the input of natural heat and light will be allowed. All the

materials and organisms that are going to be used for the testing and the building of the

biosphere must be approved by the STEM teachers. The criteria for the second award is to keep

an organism alive for two months and to create and to maintain an authentic food web in the

biosphere that Group 2 builds. Before starting to draw up ideas it is time to research about the

project.

EDP Step 2: Research the Problem

Target Audience Research

The target audience for the biosphere is the NASA Space Program. NASA’s future plans

on Mars are already around the corner and the next step that NASA has in store is an “InSight: A

NASA Discovery Program mission” which will place a single geographical lander on Mars to

study the planets deep interior. The InSight “is a terrestrial planet explorer that will address one

of the most fundamental issues of planetary and solar system science - understanding the

processes that shaped the rocky planets of the inner solar system…” (National,

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2013,”InSight”).This program will allow humans on Earth to know what is happening under

Mars surface and how Mars was formed by measuring the planet’s vital signs. NASA is planning

to have the launch of the InSight around March 8 – March 27, 2016 and the landing on

September 20, 2016 (National, 2013,”InSight”). Other missions that NASA has prepared 2016 is

the ExoMars Orbiter which will be part of the ExoMars program that includes a series of

missions designed to study and to understand if life ever existed on Mars. In these serious of

mission, NASA will participate with European Space Agency, which supports the ExoMars

programs. Because of the participation of NASA, the ExoMars Orbiter will include “Electra”

telecommunication radios that will help guide incoming landers and rovers that will safely arrive

on the surface of Mars and provide a navigational system (National, 2013, “In 2016”). “NASA's

participation in the 2018 ExoMars Rover mission includes providing critical elements to the

premier astrobiology instrument on the rover, the Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA)”

(National, 2013, “In 2018”). The point of the mission for both the NASA Space Program and the

European Space Agency is to study the organic molecules, and with the help of the MOMA both

of the Space Programs will have a chance to find the potential origin, evolution, and distribution

on Mars (National, 2013, “In 2018”). All of NASA’s future plans are a long way from now,

especially the 2020 rover mission, which would consist of “a long-term effort of robotic

exploration of the red planet” (National, 2013, “2020 Missions”). The missions would answer all

the key questions if life on Mars is possible and address all the future challenges the human race

would face. All the future missions that NASA has planned, with the help of the European Space

Agency, will answer one initial question, “Is it possible to sustain life on Mars?”

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Life on Mars Research

Living on Mars would be different from Earth for many reasons as its conditions are not

what humans ever experienced. The greatest difference between Earth and Mars is that Mars is

only half the diameter of the Earth. (Sheehan, 1996) Mars conditions are very tough to survive

especially because the planet has no oxygen and no fresh water to drink. Scientists like Ken

Debelak already started to think of inventions that will be needed for humans to survive. Ken

told NASA that “Sadoway has designed an electrochemical cell the size of a fridge, which

powered by a small nuclear reactor” (Mackenzie, 2002). This nuclear reactor will be able to

extract water from the rocks on Mars. For getting oxygen on Mars, a similar process will be used

as in making decaffeinated coffee. Mars’ atmosphere is rich in carbon dioxide gas, so to be able

to extract oxygen, the carbon dioxide must be compressed (Mackenzie, 2002). Some challenges

that the colony might face on Mars is the low temperature, storms, and the rough terrain. Mars

being only half of the size of Earth is still a very impressive planet that is home to the largest

volcano and the deepest and longest valley in this solar system. The name of the largest

mountain/ volcano is Olympus Mons and the valley is Valles Marineris. Being home to all the

channels, valleys, and gullies all over Mars surface gets humans thinking maybe there was water

on Mars and still is but in the deepest cracks. The most common terrain on Mars is the plains,

which are very flat and smooth (Choi, 2012). The plains could be perfect for a colony on Mars

because it could allow vehicle to travel around the colony and be safe to the colonists outside the

biosphere but this does not mean that the plains are the best choice because “The largest dust

storms occur in the southern hemisphere spring and summer”(Sheehan, 1996). The dust storms

on Mars are the largest in the solar system, and are capable of covering the whole planet for

several months. Mars’ polar caps are covered in ice all year round and the ice has been deposited

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by the atmosphere for long periods of time. The toughest condition that colonist will have to

adapt is the climate of the red planet. “Mars is much colder than Earth, in large part due to its

greater distance from the sun. The average temperature is about minus 80 degrees F (minus 60

degrees C), although they can vary from minus 195 F (minus 125 C) near the poles during the

winter to as much as 70 F (20 C) at midday near the equator”(Sheehan, 1996). The atmosphere

of Mars is also 100 times less dense which is not thick enough to support weather, clouds, or

winds on Mars. In pictures Mars seems beautiful but that does not mean it is easy to survive on.

Prototype Forms

There are many biosphere designs that have been constructed by scientists and engineers

but only couple have stood out. The two biospheres that have been the most successful are the

Biosphere 2 and a 50 year old terrarium. Biosphere 2 was a “privately funded ecological research

project in which eight people lived sealed in a 3.15-acre (1.28-hectare) structure for two years”

(Lagasse, 2013). It was constructed out of a steel-framed glass and under the top soil of the

biosphere there was cement layer which water was not able to enter in or out. The biosphere was

self-depended on everything; it included

miniature rainforests, a private beach with a

coral reef, savanna, a marsh, a desert. A food

source was not a problem for the small colony

because they had their own half-acre farm that

anything can be grown on.

In Figure 1, the farm that is used in Biosphere

2 is shown, and it demonstrates how the plants were actually able to survive from the help of the

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Figure 1: Biosphere 2 Farms (Walford, 2009)

colonists working on the farm land. Also, the biosphere contained over 3,500 plant and animal

species that were able to survive in the biosphere for two years (Lagasse, 2013). The colonists

did not only eat vegetables or fruits that they grew, they also had farm animals that gave them

dairy and meat too. Access to electricity was not a problem, because the biosphere was covered

in solar panels which produced more than enough

electricity for the eight people. Even though

Biosphere 2 lasted for a long time while sustaining

different environments and species, it still had its

major flaws within. Biosphere 2 had many plants,

and Figure 2 shows a perfect example, a rain forest

which was home to many of the plants. The plants and trees in the biosphere were able to

produce oxygen out of the CO2 from all the animals and the colonists. Jane Poynter was of the

people that was in the Biosphere 2 and was interviewed by Guy Raz to explain the reasons for

the failure of Biosphere 2 failure, she stated, “we had sleep apnea at night so you'd wake up

gasping with breath because that's - your blood chemistry has changed and that you literally do

that. You stop breathing and then you gasp” (Raz, 2013). After resolving out the oxygen

problem, thing got even worse because the colonists lost a lot of their “weight because they

couldn't grow enough food. And then they started to argue about how to run things. And the

connections between them started to break down” (Raz, 2013). All the problems that the

colonists faced inside Biosphere 2 led to only one thing, failure.

The other successful biosphere was made by David Latimer and it sustained life for 50

years. This biosphere experiment started when “David Latimer planted four seedlings in a 10

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gallon carboy (an enormous glass jug from the pre-plastics era used in chemical manufacturing)”

(Balbo, 2013). This biosphere was not fancy but very simple and different, with only a 10 gallon

jug, a cork, 4 seeds, and a little water the project was ready to be sealed. When the plants started

growing they had what they needed; water, sunlight and CO2. Like in all plants photosynthesis is

the only way to survive, especially in a sealed biosphere. “Photosynthesis creates oxygen and

water. It’s the opposite of cellular respiration that occurs in other organisms, including humans,

where energy-containing carbohydrates react with oxygen to produce carbon dioxide and water

and release chemical energy”(Balbo, 2013). The mini biosphere has created its own ecosystem,

by killing three out of the four plants and letting only one to survive and sustain its self. There

were no major failures or problems in the biosphere except that only one plant had survived out

of three cause of the space and that David Latimer opened the jug in 1972, to water the plant and

this have interfered with the data and maybe the survival of the plants (Balbo, 2013).

Figure 3: David Latimer and the Glass Jug (Balbo, 2013)

Conclusion

In the way NASA is moving now toward Mars it to would take long before Earth will be

sending their first astronauts to Mars. With all the future missions for Mars already starting to

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build up, a biosphere might be one of them too. A biosphere could sustain a food web and

oxygen for the astronauts on Mars, while also protecting them from the harsh elements such as

sand storms and cold weather. Many have proven life can be possible in a glass sphere but it is

now the Scholars Incorporated turn to try to sustain life on Mars.

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References

Balbo, L. (2013, May 29). 50 Year Old Record-Busting Bottled Terrarium – And It’s Not from

Dubai! | Green Prophet. Retrieved March 12, 2014, from

http://www.greenprophet.com/2013/05/terrarium-david-latimer/

Choi, C. Q. (2012, July 31). Mars: Facts and Information About the Red Planet | Space.com.

Retrieved March 11, 2014, from http://www.space.com/47-mars-the-red-planet-fourth-

planet-from-the-sun.html

Lagasse, P., & Columbia University (2013). Biosphere 2. In The Columbia encyclopedia. New

York, United States: Columbia University Press.

Mackenzie, D. (2002, July 13). How to Make Water and Oxygen on Mars - The Naked

Scientists. Retrieved March 11, 2014, from

http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/news/news/898/

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (2013). Mars Exploration Program: InSight.

Retrieved from NASA.gov website:

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/programmissions/missions/future/insight/

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (2013). Mars Exploration Program: 2020

Mission Plans. Retrieved from NASA.gov website:

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/programmissions/missions/future/m2020/

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (2013). Mars Exploration Program: NASA In

2016 ExoMars Orbiter. Retrieved from NASA.gov website:

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/programmissions/missions/future/exomarsorbiter2016/

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (2013). Mars Exploration Program: NASA In

2018 ExoMars Rover. Retrieved from NASA.gov website:

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/programmissions/missions/future/exomarsrover2018/

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Raz, G. (2013, September 27). What Lessons Came Out Of Biosphere 2? [Audio podcast].

Retrieved from http://web.a.ebscohost.com/src/detail?vid=19&sid=f4392eeb-b874-49a7-

93de-fea3d4a0beeb%40sessionmgr4004&hid=4204&bdata=JnNpdGU9c3JjLWxpdmU

%3d#db=nfh&AN=6XN2013092702

Sheehan, W. (1996). The Planet Mars. Tucson, Arizona: University of Arizona Press.

Walford, R. (2009). Images | BIOSPHERE 2 ~ the book. Retrieved March 12, 2014, from

http://dreamingthebiosphere.wordpress.com/images/

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