Design of An Innovative Module for Mars Habitation

The idea of Mars exploration has existed as a strong ambition in society since the 1960s. However, the greatest challenge to exploration would be the Martian conditions which make it impossible to sustain life through natural methods. To combat this, a base implemented will need to artificially create an Earth-like environment in which life can thrive. This base would need to include a food production system for astronauts during their time of deployment to increase the quality of life and increase chances of survival. A group of 5 undergraduate students from the University of Texas at Tyler suggest innovative methods which would allow for the implementation of an aquaponics system in Mars in order to meet the demand of continuous, sustainable, fresh food production. This work showcases how an aquaponics module could ideally be implemented, in which 75 plants and 224 fish can thrive while keeping the power consumption of the module under 10 kW.