Utilizing Earth's Microbiology to Develop the Framework for a Manufactured Martian Nitrogen Cycle

Type Thesis

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Summary

History has shown us that space travel is a complicated activity not to be taken lightly. Extended missions such as those that would accompany a manned mission to Mars are guaranteed to have increased complexity and require creative solutions to problems we likely take for granted. One such issue is how to supply the necessary amount of nitrogen to the astronauts to keep them alive. Nitrogen is an essential component to life on Earth as most biological molecules, such as protein and DNA, contain a significant amount of it. Most organisms have to get it from what they eat, but some bacteria at the bottom of the food chain are capable of getting it from the air in our atmosphere. These bacteria take nitrogen gas from our atmosphere and convert it into ammonia, which is then taken by plants as they grow and incorporated into their proteins and DNA. As other organisms eat these plants this nitrogen is used to build their cells, furthering the transport through the food chain.