Innovation Presentation.pdf

Automated Farm on Mars

Group E: Josue Hernandez, Alisa Mizukami, Joseph Tatis, Cristian Vidal

Introduction:

◉ Farming on Earth: Impact on Prehistory and Beyond ◉ Why farm on Mars?

Task 1: Analyzing Traditional Farming Methods

◉ Average farm size is 434 acres ◉ Complex irrigation systems provide plants with constant water ◉ Pesticides have to be used to ensure quality; organic labeled foods are allowed to use some pesticides

Modern Farming: Pros

◉ Is able to meet the world’s population growing demand for food as world hunger steadily decreases. ◉ Abundance in food led to decline in prices. ◉ Better productivity due to new forms of farming, use of pesticides and fertilizers, and use of large irrigation systems.

Modern Farming: Cons

◉ Development in technology, chemical pesticides and fertilizers has had a negative impact on rural society. ◉ Damage to the environment such as erosion, soil fertility, depletion of nutrient reserves, and several other negative contributors. ◉ Chemical fertilizers are seen as air pollutants which have affected the ozone layer.

Goals ◉

Automatically supply plants with necessary nutrients. ◉ Require minimal human interaction ◉ Maintain optimal conditions within the farm ◉ Able to run on low resources

Problems ◉ ◉ ◉

Possibility of contamination Amount of energy required to keep the farm running Water is not abundant on Mars

Aeroponics is the solution

What is Aeroponics LED Light

Aeroponics - method of cultivating crops the removes the necessity of soil. Uses less water by directly spraying a mist of water mixed with nutrients directly towards the root of the plant

Water recycling ◉ A method of water filtration will ensure that water can be kept being used through various growth cycles.

Why Aeroponics? ◉ Aeroponic farming can cause a 30% increase in farming yields. ◉ NASA states that aeroponic farming increases the growth rate of plants up to 3X. ◉ This form of farming allows for any setup: the traditional horizontal method or the tower method (90% reduction in space). ◉ Morale booster and source of nutrition for astronauts (About 2.5 year trip)

“Aeroponics systems can reduce water usage by 98% ... and pesticide usage by 100%” N.A.S.A

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Martian Growth Chamber

The Initial Mars Goal "One of the things that every gardener on the planet will know is producing food is hard — it is a non-trivial thing...Up until several hundred years ago it occupied most of us for most of the time.”Penelope Boston: Director of the Cave and Karst Studies program at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology

A Step to Colonize Mars

"Every great migration in history happened because we took our agriculture with us," Ferl said. "When you learn to take your plants with you, you can not only go to visit, you can go there to stay and live." -Robert Ferl, Director of the Interdisciplinary Center for Biotechnology Research at the University of Florida

Construction ◉ Shuttle will be equipped with a ventilation system to keep optimal temperature constant(60-75F) ◉ Shelfs will contain plants and will start once it lands on mars ◉ Will be insulated to stabilize temperature ◉ Sensors in each plant basin will monitor plant growth and stop once plant has reached maturity

Task 4: Developing and Maintaining the Ideal Environment

◉ Solar or Nuclear energy can be used to power the farm constantly. Batteries can store power in case of some malfunction ◉ Temperature sensors will constantly adjust temperature to ensure optimal plant growth ◉ LED lights will be used to grow the plants

Tesla Powerpack

Materials

◉ Assorted Sensors (Temperature, Relative Humidity, Carbon Dioxide, Oxygen, Pressure) ◉ Microcontroller ◉ Camera ◉ LED Lights ◉ Multi-Layer Insulation ◉ Water Filter ◉ Construction Materials

Schedule Time to Complete Tasks (Months) Tasks 1 1: Analyze traditional farms 2: Developing for Mars 3: Constructing automated farm 4: Developing ideal environment

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Budget

1.8 billion dollars (rocket) 1.0 billion dollars (future maintenance) 750 million dollars (farm construction) 750 million dollars (scientists, construction workers)

Total Cost: 4.3 billion dollars

Conclusion

◉ The Autonomous farm on mars will help provide astronauts a reliable food source. ◉ Efficient and cutting edge technology will ensure food grows in optimal conditions ◉ This method will open the doors to interplanetary travel. This innovation can be adjusted so it can be deployed anywhere ◉