Question 67
A diet for Mars explorers
In this project, you will evaluate issues that require scientific understanding.
Your task
You are going to work with everyone else in your class to produce a display about feeding astronauts as they travel to Mars and back.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is hoping to send people to Mars by the 2030s. They have many problems to solve if they are going to achieve this. One problem is how to feed the astronauts so that they stay healthy and strong during the long trip. It would take up to three years to go to Mars and back.
Here are some problems and suggestions that are being discussed by scientists and others.
• NASA could send a spaceship loaded with five years’-worth of food to arrive on Mars before the astronauts arrive. Would that work better than the astronauts taking all their food with them?
• It would take up less space if the food could just be pills, instead of ‘real’ food. Would that work?
• The bones and muscles of astronauts get smaller and weaker when they are in space for a long time. Are there any kinds of food that might help to reduce this problem?
• To get fresh vitamins, astronauts need to eat fresh plant-based foods. Could they grow plants on their spaceship? Could they grow plants on Mars?
Work in a group of four or five. Choose one or two of these problems – it would be good if different groups choose different ones. Use the internet to find other people’s ideas for solving the problems. You might also have your own ideas.
Work with the other groups in your class to produce a display about how to feed the Martian astronauts.
In this project, you will evaluate issues that require scientific understanding.
Your task
You are going to work with everyone else in your class to produce a display about feeding astronauts as they travel to Mars and back.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is hoping to send people to Mars by the 2030s. They have many problems to solve if they are going to achieve this. One problem is how to feed the astronauts so that they stay healthy and strong during the long trip. It would take up to three years to go to Mars and back.
Here are some problems and suggestions that are being discussed by scientists and others.
• NASA could send a spaceship loaded with five years’-worth of food to arrive on Mars before the astronauts arrive. Would that work better than the astronauts taking all their food with them?
• It would take up less space if the food could just be pills, instead of ‘real’ food. Would that work?
• The bones and muscles of astronauts get smaller and weaker when they are in space for a long time. Are there any kinds of food that might help to reduce this problem?
• To get fresh vitamins, astronauts need to eat fresh plant-based foods. Could they grow plants on their spaceship? Could they grow plants on Mars?
Work in a group of four or five. Choose one or two of these problems – it would be good if different groups choose different ones. Use the internet to find other people’s ideas for solving the problems. You might also have your own ideas.
Work with the other groups in your class to produce a display about how to feed the Martian astronauts.
