Draft settlement on Mars, wheels for the new rover, potatoes and worms in the Martian soil

Draft settlement on Mars for 10 thousand people

(photo: Valentina Sumini)

The winner in the Mars City Design 2017 competition was a group of engineers and architects from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States. The competition was sponsored by NASA and ESA.

A project called Redwood Forest offers a system of domes interconnected by tunnels similar to the root system of trees. "Roots" will be laid under the surface of Mars and lead to underground rooms intended for work and rest. Each dome is designed for 50 people, having built 200 such domes, we get a city for 10,000 inhabitants.


(photo: Valentina Sumini)
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Earthworms can live and even breed in Martian soil.

(photo: Wiegner Wamelink)

In Holland conducted an interesting experiment. Several earthworms were placed in a copy of the Martian soil and planted a salad. Worms not only survived but left offspring. A copy of the Martian land for the experiment prepared by NASA, the parameters obtained from different missions.

The Food for Mars and Moon project has carried out many such experiments.
"Today, during the experiments, dozens of different plants were grown (legumes, radishes, tomatoes, potatoes, lettuce, carrots, etc.), which gives rise to faith in the bright future of expeditions to distant planets." .

Tires with a memory effect for the new rover

A team of engineers from the Glenn Research Center (NASA) decided to develop a new kind of wheels for the future rover, which is planned to be sent to Mars in the mid 2020s. The design of the wheels is based on the earlier prototype Spring Tire - airless tires, developed by Goodyear in collaboration with NASA.



The rover "Curiosity" hit more than one kilometer across the red planet and made many scientific discoveries. The wheels were not as strong - in 2013, various damages were found on all six wheels.



Airless tires consist of many interconnected metal rings. The wheels are lightweight, strong and load-lifting at the same time flexible. The new tires use a special alloy of titanium nickelide, which can be fully restored even after 10 percent deformation versus only 0.5 percent in the old version.

Super elastic tires can also be used on the ground. “Already now, among potential areas, tires for passenger cars and SUVs, military, agricultural and aviation equipment are being considered.” Writes hi-news.ru

Case Mark Watney lives!

In Peru, inspired by the film "Martian" brought a variety of potatoes suitable for cultivation on Mars. Scientists from the center of the Potato Center in the Pampas de la Joy desert have found soil similar to Martian - almost devoid of organic matter and saline with perchlorate. Of the initial 100 potato varieties, only 4 sprouted. In the second stage, in special containers, the atmosphere of Mars with lowered pressure and high carbon dioxide was motivated. Potatoes ascended and here.