Water on Mars
By: Nick Kazakis and Cameron
NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has found that surface soil on the Red Planet contains about 2 percent water by weight. That means astronaut could extract roughly 2 pints (1 liter) of water out of every cubic foot (0.03 cubic meters) of Martian dirt they dig up. The rover will select the location for the settlement primarily based on the water content in the soil. Water extraction will be performed by the life support units. The rover will deposit soil into a water extractor in the life support units. The water extractor will heat the soil until the water evaporates. The evaporated water will be condensed and stored, the dry soil expelled, and the process repeated to extract more water. About 1500 liters of reserve water will be stored in each life support unit, which will be consumed primarily at night, and during periods of protracted low power availability, for example during dust storms. Since Mars has gravity, water can be used in the same way as on Earth. Each astronaut will be able to use about 50 liters of water per day. The water will be recycled, which takes much less energy than extracting it from the Martian soil. Only water that cannot be recycled will be replaced by water extracted from the soil. Showering with water will not be an option. (At least when they get there) Instead the astronauts make do with wet towelettes (wet wipes) as used by astronauts on the International Space Station. The Life Support unit is connected to the Living Units by a hose that can transport water, air and electricity. The rover feeds Martian soil into the LSS. Water is extracted from the Martian soil by evaporating the subsurface ice particles in an oven. The evaporated water is condensed back to its liquid state and stored. Part of the water is used for producing Oxygen. Nitrogen and Argon, filtered from the Martian atmosphere make up the other components of the breathable air inside the habitat.
Years supply of water from earth 3 liters for males, and 2.2 liters a day for females, totaling about 11,388 liters for the first year.
3Lx12Peoplex365 Days
1 liter =2.2 lbs. Weight for water would be approx... 25,000 lbs.