The Americans intend to provide a sweet life for future Martian colonists at the expense of local resources.
- You can't bring everything you need from Earth ?! - this is the premise of the competition, the start of which was recently announced by NASA - the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
The essence of the competition lies in its name “CO2 Conversion Challenge”. Sugar must be converted to carbon dioxide (CO2), which is found in the Martian atmosphere. First you need to turn it into glucose.
The competition marks a new stage in NASA's extensive Centennial Challenges program. According to Monsi Roman, one of its leaders, the participants will have to go through two stages. By February 28, 2019, they must provide a description of the developed technological process. In April, the jury will select 5 finalists, each of whom will receive $ 50,000. Next, they will demonstrate their installations in action. The developers of one of them - the best, you must understand, will receive 750 thousand dollars. She - this installation - will be sent to Mars. When they gather there, of course.
Future Martian colonists, NASA believes, must rely on local resources.
As experts explain, the point is not even that the "Martians" will become a little sweeter. The glucose extracted from carbon dioxide will make life easier for the colonists. Moreover, it will allow you to equip it in principle. After all, glucose can be used as a nutrient for bioreactors, in which bacteria will live and produce various products. Down to meat. And right on Mars.
NASA assures that the technology will be useful on Earth.
Could glucose really come from carbon dioxide? Can. For example, through the reaction of photosynthesis. Its formula is known from the school curriculum:
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There are even puzzles on this topic: "How many liters of carbon dioxide will it take to get 200 moles of glucose?" is about a kilogram. 26880 liters, - Yandex answers.
Perhaps the participants in the CO2 Conversion Challenge will find something more original and technological.
About what else future colonists will be able to please themselves, read
VLADIMIR LAGOVSKY