The Martian and its Implications on the Future of Humanity
“I’m stranded on Mars.
I have no way to communicate with Earth.
If the Oxygenator breaks down, I’ll suffocate.
If the Water Reclaimer breaks down, I’ll die of thirst.
If the Habitat breaches, I’ll just kind of explode.
If none of these happen, I’ll eventually run out of food and starve to death.
I’m screwed.”
The Martian, written by Andy Weir, dictates the jaw-dropping, page-turning story of a man stranded on the surface of Mars and surviving a harsh environment against all odds. The story retains logic and sense, mixing in the brutal world of Mars to tell a tale of survival against all odds. Weir introduces a way to colonise Mars through the use of both developing and existing technologies such as life support, ion propulsion and enhanced habitation.
In any survival situation, food and water are essential for long term survival. Weir concluded that Watney may havehad enough water to survive, but not if he were to grow potatoes to sustain his life on Mars. In the story, Watney uses chemistry to create more water; he breaks down hydrazine through an iridium catalyst and burns the separated hydrogen to create his 600 liters of water. As a botanist, astronaut Mark Watney was also able to use Martian dust as soil to grow the potatoes. Humorously written, Watney originally pours his urine into the Martian environment, giving Watney the title of being the first man to indirectly urinate on the Martian surface. However later on, Watney was advised to save his urine for reclamation, where the liquid was filtered with a “water reclaimer”, removing the waste content from urine and allowing the astronaut to reuse the purified water - even for drinking. In reality, such a machine is currently in operation aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and forms part of the the Environmental Control and Life Support System (NASA, n.d.).
The Hermes spacecraft is the spacecraft that propels six crew members on their voyage to and from Mars. Propelled through interplanetary space, it is assumed that the Hermes spacecraft features powerful propulsion systems. In actuality, the Hermes spacecraft is powered by one of the weakest but most fuel efficient methods of propulsion: ion propulsion. Fuel efficiency in spacecraft is one of the biggest obstacles to long range exploration of the solar system and the galaxy - common propulsion methods (usually seen on rocket launches), such as solid and chemical propulsion, provide lots of power (thrust), but provide little thrust per unit of propellant (Specific Impulse or Isp). Ion propulsion solves this by electrically accelerating particles to high speeds before ejecting the propellant into space, thus making sure each unit of propellant is used as efficiently as possible. However, this does not come without drawbacks: not only does it require enormous amounts of energy (as evidenced by the number of solar panels on the Hermes), it also ejects very little propellant at any given time, thus providing less power but over a much longer period of time in comparison to solid and chemical propulsion.
One of the main features of the Hermes spacecraft is the spinning centrifuge, which spins on its centre to provide artificial gravity. A common misconception in space is that gravity is reduced, thus allowing objects to move without the influence of gravity. In fact, it is not the reduction of gravity that causes this phenomenon, but the fact that while you are in orbit, you and the spacecraft are actually free falling towards Earth, but with sufficient horizontal velocity, Earth is curving beneath you as quickly as you are free falling, thus creating an orbit. Whilst falling, inertia pushes back against you, thus creating an impression of weightlessness. Prolonged weightlessness has a negative effect on humans, leading to problems such as bone density loss. To combat this, the Hermes had to include a centrifuge to create centrifugal force, thus creating artificial gravity for prolonged human habitation.
Although such a centrifuge has yet to be used in space stations such as the International Space Station, experimental space station modules have been created such as the Centrifuge Accommodations Module (CAM) and small scale centrifuges have been included on board systems such as the Environmental Control and Life Support System to facilitate the separation of waste and water (SpaceRef, n.d.)
Hence, as the evidence concludes, reaching Mars is much closer within our grasp than we realize. It has been less than half a century since Man’s first landing on the moon, and already we can prepare to travel the full length of 54.6 million kilometers to the Red Planet. Perhaps, in another few decades, man can potentially colonize Mars and spread the burden of managing and providing resources to our already burgeoning populace across two planets instead of one. Yes, perhaps funding would be much more intense than moon-manned missions, but with the contributions this does not wipe out the possibility of further exploration. As many fans would like to boast:
“Space: The Final Frontier”
Tl;DR: Space is cool!
References:
NASA. (2005, January 25). ISS Centrifuge Accommodations Module [Digital image]. Retrieved January 11, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centrifuge_Accommodations_Module
NASA. (2008, May 22). Ion propulsion [Digital image]. Retrieved January 11, 2016, from http://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/about/fs21grc.html
NASA. (n.d.). International Space Station Environmental Control and Life Support System [PDF]. Huntsville: National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Scarborough, J. E. (2012, September 29). ECLSS at the ECLSS test facility [Environmental Control and Life Support System, a.k.a. bathrooms and air recycling, for the International Space Station on display at the Marshall Space Flight Center ECLSS Test Facility.]. Retrieved January 11, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISS_ECLSS
SpaceRef. (n.d.). Space station user's guide | SpaceRef. Retrieved January 11, 2016, from http://www.spaceref.com/iss/elements/cam.html
20th Century Fox. (2015, June 8). The Hermes spacecraft, which uses ion engines to ferry all of the Ares missions between Earth and Mars. [Digital image]. Retrieved January 11, 2016, from http://arstechnica.com/the-multiverse/2015/06/first-teaser-for-the-martian-movie-released-with-mark-watney-and-friends/
20th Century Fox. (2015). The Martian - 2015 [Digital image]. Retrieved January 11, 2016, from http://www.foxmovies.com/movies/the-martian
