Delta | Make Sense Out of Mars
Awards & Nominations
Delta has received the following awards and nominations. Way to go!
The Challenge | Make Sense Out of Mars
Icy Water
Our project is called Icy Water we find water on Mars, which could be later mined and used for drinking or as fuel. We also create a sustainable system for further use. Finding water would be of extreme importance for stationing a base.
Please check our updates section for more concise information regarding our project.
We are Delta.
With our project called Icy Water we find water on Mars, which could be later mined and used for drinking or as fuel. We also create a sustainable system for further use. Finding water would be of extreme importance for stationing a base. And even if there is not enough useable water we still provide invaluable information. So how do we achieve this?
Using NASA’s data and gravimeters we located the areas most likely to contain water in the form of ice (or C02). The gravimeter (located on an already existing satelite) determines where the gravity is lowest. We determined that where the gravity is lowest the density is also lowest (using physical formulas) and there is a high probability that ice is located there. (it has a lower density than all the other underground materials on mars)
We use a large number of probes which will be launched from a rocket in these areas. They land with the help of air bags.
These probes will have impact drills which will dig 20 meters into the ground after they position themselves.
Each probe will have a regular triangular pyramid structure so that no matter what side it falls on, it will still be able to open and the drill could start digging (this is shown on our presentation).
We will have a sensor located above the head of the drill to detect water. This sensor will consist of a microcomputer and an electrolyte which would dissolve when the drill hits the ice. With the friction the drill will cause the ice will melt. The water or carbon dioxide will reach the electrolyte. The electrolyte will transmit an electrical current if it comes in contact with water, signalling to the microcomputer above that it found water. The microcomputer transmits this information to the antennas located on the surface, which then send this information back to earth.
It will have a stable power supply from a nuclear generator, and the stress will be eased by the solar panel that will charge the battery to conserve energy, as well as power the second and third part.As I said just before, the project is set up of multiple phases, so we can prolong its life span indefinitely. The first stage is the main goal of our mission:
Probing for water. We will map the places in the Gusev crater where we can mine (as described).
After that, they will probably mostly rely on the solar panel. With that they enter the second stage: weather monitoring for making more accurate Mars climate models. The probes will be equipped with anemometers, thermometers and barometers and will measure the local climate of the Gusev crater, which it is important since it is a likely place where people will go.
The third and final stage is the most diverse one: long term follow up. The drills will create a stable structure which not-so-distant future colonisers can use. The researchers can build a laboratory around some of them and they can examine samples from the already dig holes. They can be used as scaffolding to mount antenna for long range on-planet communication. Or they can continue their work as weather stations, providing valuable data throughout the year. Ultimately, they can be recycled for much needed raw materials.
Relevant resources:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1GskcOKJjZYghgOe7... - link to our presentation
SpaceApps is a NASA incubator innovation program.