greenaum wrote:
On Wed, 9 Jun 2010 20:35:21 EDT, Robert Heller
sprachen:


Air recycling: probably some sort of CO2 scrubber and/or some
sort of CO2 = C, O2 conversion: photosynthesis?
Water recycling: solar still?
Food: farming / gardening (Air/Water/Waste recycling on the side...).


It's worth pointing out that the only serious experiment into
biospheres, Biosphere 2 (you know, the giant airtight greenhouse they
built in the desert), failed horribly. Tho it did provide lots of
interesting information into why it failed. But their aim was to
support around 8 people in a closed system *on Earth*! And they didn't
manage that.

The site's still there, but before any sort of long-term colony
off-world, we need to revisit that project, and get it right first.
It's infinitely cheaper and safer to do it here before we start
sending colonists to the Moon.


Biosphere 2 was putting too much emphasis on being closed. You
don't want a martian habitat to be completely closed. You want
to bring in more stuff from time to time. There is nothing wrong
with pumping in some gas from outside and going to get the ores
you need. In fact you have to do that if you want to expand.
And if you are going to pump in some gas anyway, being completely
air-tight is not important. You want to lose as little air as
practical but don't go nuts about being air-tight.

I do agree that more experience in a somewhat closed system living
quarters would be nice, but you don't have to build such a big
thing as Biosphere 2 just to avoid all exchanges with the outside.
Exchanges with the outside aren't all that bad.


Alain Fournier