Purify the Air Supply

Has your time spent indoors increased during the COVID-19 pandemic as a result of stay-at-home and shelter-in-place policies worldwide? Your challenge is to use the International Space Station (ISS) as inspiration and develop a system to monitor and/or purify indoor air. It is entirely up to you whether the system you design is able to be used on Earth (for example in homes, businesses, transportation, etc.) and/or in space.

Air Purifier on Mars

Summary

The challenge presented was to create an air purifier, but by taking this a step further we will use the atmosphere of Mars to create a habitable environment for humans. The Air Purifier on Mars project is exactly what it sounds like, a mostly closed-loop system that takes CO2 in Mars's atmosphere to create oxygen for a controlled environment. This works by utilizing a process called the Sabitar reaction which involves the electrolysis of water and the heating of carbon dioxide and methane to create more water.

How We Addressed This Challenge

First, we had to consider what useable resources Mars has to create a habitable environment for humans. Second, we tried to make this as energy and resource-efficient as possible. Finally, we also had to consider what available ways there are to create oxygen from other molecules or elements.

How We Developed This Project

The biggest inspiration for this project was the recent SpaceX launch. With the end goal being to become a multiplanet species we took this challenge and blended it with the first step of colonizing Mars. We used a modified process of how the ISS makes its own oxygen for its inhabitants. For developing our project we used a variety of tools.  For the 3D modeling, we used Paint3D to accurately demonstrate what we were visualizing. For research, we used Google and for writing out our thoughts we used a mix of Microsoft Word and Google Docs. The biggest problem we had was that 75 percent through our project we found NASA's experiment MOXIE. After further examination, we realized that NASA essentially did our entire project. As a result, we had to completely change up the chemical reactions our system used. 

Data & Resources
  1. Biologial air filter for International Space Station. (n.d.). Www.Esa.Int. http://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2015/08/Biologial_air_filter_for_International_Space_Station
  2. FuelCellsEtc. (2011, December 16). How Much Hydrogen (or Oxygen) Will my Electrolyzer Make? Fuel Cells Etc. https://fuelcellsetc.com/2011/12/how-much-hydrogen-or-oxygen-will-my-electrolyzer-make/
  3. How can carbon dioxide be converted into carbon and oxygen. (2012, August 7). How can carbon dioxide be converted into carbon and oxygen? Chemistry Stack Exchange. https://chemistry.stackexchange.com/questions/915/how-can-carbon-dioxide-be-converted-into-carbon-and-oxygen
  4. Life Support Systems. (2011). NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/content/life-support-systems
  5. mars.nasa.gov. (2019). Power. Nasa.Gov. https://mars.nasa.gov/mer/mission/technology/power/
  6. Methane pyrolysis: How do we obtain clear hydrogen for the chemical industry? (2020). [YouTube Video]. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bAmtwwMmpY&feature=youtu.be
  7. Wikipedia Contributors. (2019, July 26). Sabatier reaction. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabatier_reaction
Tags
#air quality #mars #air apes #martian
Global Judging
This project was submitted for consideration during the Space Apps Global Judging process.