title: An overview of challenges in modeling heat and mass transfer for living on Mars.
abstract: Engineering a life-support system for living on Mars requires the modeling of heat and mass transfer. This report describes the analysis of heat and mass transfer phenomena in a greenhouse dome, which is being designed as a pressurized life-support system for agricultural production on Mars. In this Martian greenhouse, solar energy will be converted into chemical energy in plant biomass. Agricultural products will be harvested for food and plant cultivation, and waste materials will be processed in a composting microbial ecosystem. Transpired water from plants will be condensed and recycled. In our thermal design and analysis for the Martian greenhouse, we addressed the question of whether temperature and pressure would be maintained in the appropriate range for humans as well as plants. Energy flow and material circulation should be controlled to provide an artificial ecological system on Mars. In our analysis, we assumed that the greenhouse would be maintained at a subatmospheric pressure under 1/3-G gravitational force with 1/2 solar light intensity on Earth. Convection of atmospheric gases will be induced inside the greenhouse, primarily by heating from sunlight. Microclimate (thermal and gas species structure) could be generated locally around plant bodies, which would affect gas transport. Potential effects of those environmental factors are discussed on the phenomena including plant growth and plant physiology and focusing on transport processes. Fire safety is a crucial issue and we evaluate its impact on the total gas pressure in the greenhouse dome.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Space and Astronautical Science /JAXA, 3-1-1 Yoshinodai, Sagamihara 229-8510, Japan. yamashita@surc.isas.jaxa.jp
authors.forename: Masamichi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamashita
authors.forename: Yoji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
authors.forename: Yoshiaki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kitaya
authors.forename: Eiji
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Goto
authors.forename: Mayumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arai
authors.forename: Hirofumi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
authors.forename: Kaori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tomita-Yokotani
authors.forename: Masayuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hirafuji
authors.forename: Katsunori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Omori
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shiraishi
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tani
authors.forename: Kyoichiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Toki
authors.forename: Hiroki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yokota
authors.forename: Osamu
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Fujita
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D001274:Atmospheric Pressure; D001709:Biotechnology; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000378:metabolism; D018481:Convection; D004058:Diffusion; D018504:Ecological Systems, Closed; D004463:Ecology; D005118:Extraterrestrial Environment; D005740:Gases; D006112:Gravitation; D017752:Greenhouse Effect; D006361:Heating / Q000295:instrumentation; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D008021:Life Support Systems / Q000295:instrumentation; D018535:Mars; D008834:Microclimate; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000378:metabolism; D010100:Oxygen / Q000378:metabolism; D018521:Plant Physiological Phenomena; D011312:Pressure; D012449:Safety; D013472:Sunlight; D013696:Temperature; D014867:Water / Q000378:metabolism; D014893:Weightlessness
chemical_list: D005740:Gases; D014867:Water; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D009584:Nitrogen; D010100:Oxygen