In my last two blogs, I wrote about
two different types of propulsion for use in space. These propulsion
methods, or at least the ion thruster, would be most useful for long
distance space travel. Once you start going on longer and longer
trips, you start to run into problems. One of the major ones is the
life support. One of the most prevalent problems with supporting life
on a space ship is food. The most obvious way to get food is to bring
it with you. This works fine for shorter missions, but it becomes
impractical quickly as the mission lengths increase.
A solution to this would be making a
farm. Not farming things like corn and wheat like on earth, that
would be to inefficient and inconsistent. It would be an algae farm.
This could be made extremely efficient by having the farm be on
stacked trays with built in light sources, to maximize use of space.
The algae could be genetically modified to produce the amino acids
and some of the nutrients that we cannot produce and require in our
diet. This farm would also help to eliminate carbon dioxide and
produce oxygen. The water and nutrients for growing the algae would
come from recycled human wastes. This type of farm would be
self-sustaining, because we only borrow everything, so the total
number of each of the atoms in the system stays constant. This cyclic
nature makes this feasible for even the longest of trips.
The trays would consist of a repeating
pattern of three layers. The first layer would be a solid layer for
structural support and electronic housing that is reflective on one
side. The second layer, attached to and powered by the first, would
be a simple array of growing light LEDs embedded in a light
scattering material to make growth more even. The third layer,
between the growing light and reflective barrier, would be the algae
populated nutrient solution. This solution would be constantly
circulated through the air control system to exchange gases, and the
waste processing to get the recycled nutrients.
This idea of an aqueous algae farm
would be self-sustaining and very compact. This would become
increasingly economical and efficient with increasing trip lengths.
It would also be invaluable in “stationary” structures such as
the International Space Station that will be in space and requiring
food for years. Systems like this are the advancements that we need
to make in order to do most of the things that are now thought of as
mere ideas such as manned travel out of earth's gravity well or even
out of our home solar system.
