Author: РАЖЕВА ВАРВАРА ПАВЛОВНА | VARVARA RAZHEVA
Space exploration is a topic that probably every inhabitant of our planet is interested in. No wonder a lot of films have been shot about this, an enormous amount of literature has been written, several hundred songs and poems have been composed.
In most cases, all these works belong to the genre of fiction, because there are much more ideas about space than knowledge about it. Nowadays, taking into account the global problems of mankind, the question arises about the possibility of colonization of one of the planets of the Solar system. That is why my story will be devoted to events from the life of fifth-grader Maya, whose Knowledge Day was held in the isolated ecosystem of Mir-2 on the planet Mars.
I wanted to reflect on the topic of how crop production would be carried out outside our planet. The main goal is to present my vision of the process of growing food on Mars, supported by scientific facts from the articles.
The work is based on the idea that scientific discoveries and technological developments in the field of space exploration will mark the beginning of the development of the red planet by 2100.
09/01/2100
7:28 a.m.
"The first of September… I can't believe I'm going to a new school today! I got up even before my aromatic alarm went off, because I can't wait to see my classmates. I hope we get along. My peers often call me weird because I keep a personal diary, and I also write down all the events by hand in a paper notebook. I understand their reaction, because the last time a pen was held in her hands, probably only my great-grandmother. But I like this activity, it makes me not so much strange as special, because almost no one can write now."
10:45
"The morning lineup was just wonderful. I met the developer of our electronic educational program for this year. We were told that during this time we will learn 1.5 times more information than the children last year. A notification has just arrived on my wristband that tomorrow the whole class is going to the greenhouse to plant plants! This is an important matter for our house. The greenhouse is a special place where absolutely all vegetables and fruits grow, which then end up on our plate. My mother told me that seeds for plants are delivered to us from the Ground, but I was always interested to find out exactly how the greenhouse works from the inside."
17:47
"Today we had rice with vegetables for dinner, and as usual I tried to avoid corn. It's funny that it was corn seeds that first visited space. Why were they sent there… I don't like this corn at all."
02.09.2100
11:14 a.m.
"I have already returned from a tour of the greenhouse and was very impressed. In order to grow one ordinary tomato, it is necessary to carry out such global processes. But I'm already used to this arrangement of things, we live on Mars. But still, it was super interesting to see with my own eyes. Now I'll tell you everything in order.
In general, ensuring our stay on Mars lies on a huge and complex bioreactor system called Mir-2. It's like the brain, heart and lungs of our house. The bioreactor consists of several parts, each of which is responsible for its own function. In simple terms, Mir-2 recycles everything unnecessary and produces from it everything useful for our existence.
In the greenhouse, the main part is just one of the compartments of the bioreactor. It is filled with bacteria that modify the seeds of plants that have arrived from Earth. Such modified plants can endure Martian conditions, fully grow and bear fruit on the red planet. To help the bioreactor, various sensors and devices are used to maintain proper conditions. In our ecosystem, the conditions are quite close to those on Earth, but still different. Therefore, it is important to control various parameters: illumination, temperature, oxygen saturation of the air, timely water supply through special tubes and much more. Important people monitor all this with the help of monitors that display the well-being of each plant. All this resembles a medical examination that each of us passed, only instead of a person there is a small plant.
The greenhouse itself looks incredible… A huge space completely filled with greenery. But some of these vegetables and fruits will get to my house. I can safely say that this is the most beautiful place on Mars that I have seen. The most important thing is that it is not only beautiful, but also immensely important to us. I can't imagine my diet without fresh vegetables and fruits, everyone needs vitamins.
Oh, now you have to love corn too… So much effort is put into making sure that I pick it out of the rice later. I can't afford that."
P.S. The ending of this work is aimed at reminding readers of an important thought: sometimes you need to think about the global processes behind simple things. Many technologies that we perceive as commonplace have cost a lot of work and time of great minds.
Colonization of Mars is presented as an incredible step forward for all mankind, but at the same time it throws back their colonizers several hundred years ago, whose task is to recreate everything that already exists on Earth. The main question is: is it worth it?