investigation: How can humans maintain enough clean water and breathable air during an extended space mission?
The average person can live about three days without water. Without air, permanent brain damage can occur within three minutes. The vast resources of Earth naturally provide and recycle carbon dioxide, oxygen and water. It is extremely challenging to provide breathable air and drinkable water in the International Space Station or the space shuttles.
NASA has been developing regenerative life support systems. These systems use plants or algae along with physical and chemical processes. The green plants produce food, convert carbon dioxide to oxygen through photosynthesis, produce drinkable water through evapotranspiration, and recycle organic wastes.
To understand the life support systems developed by NASA, students learn how carbon dioxide, oxygen and water are recycled on Earth. Students learn the basics of the carbon cycle, photosynthesis, respiration and the water cycle. They apply that understanding to the problem.
Students design a system to maintain clean water and breathable air for six researchers in a habitat on the moon or Mars and explain why it should be successful
No comments:
Post a Comment