Imagine being able to visit Mars on earth. With a press of a button you can change any variable, simulate any possible situation, and predict the future of Mars missions. This is not science fiction, but is achieved in the Mars Environmental Chamber at the Niels Bohr Institute.
The Mars Environmental Chamber simulates martian conditions in the laboratory and subjects samples to martian conditions.
The variables that we have control over in the Mars Chamber are:
Pressure: We can go as low as 1-7 mbars to simulate the low pressure of a martian atmosphere.
Atmospheric composition: We can simulate a martian atmosphere which unlike earth is made up of 98% CO2.
Temperature: We can cause the same fluctuations in temperature that occurs on the surface of Mars: temperatures ranging from -120 degrees to 10 degrees
UV radiation: By using a fluorescent lamp we can provide UV radiation between 200-400nm
Our focus will be testing it in the following areas:
Since temperature fluctuates on all areas of mars, it is vital for the survival of our moss that we test its ability to survive scathing changes in temperatures.
Making sure that moss can survive in soil containing perchlorate is a primary concern. Optimizing it do so increases the chances that the moss can detoxify martian soil and make it safe for astronauts. To test this will use two different mars simulated soils from Denmark and Hawaii containing different concentrations of perchlorate.
The martian atmosphere is almost non-existent, having disappeared from the planet’s surface over billions of years a long with its magnetic field.Thus one of the greatest perils the moss will face is intense UV light, as there is no atmosphere to protect it. By changing the wavelength and intensity of UV light shining on the Mars Chamber we hope to see how we can optimise moss’s survival when exposed to UV light.
