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Essay / Exploring Mars: All About the “Red Planet”
Table of ContentsIntroductionThe Atmosphere and Its CompositionWastewaterWastewater Sources and Solutions for Martian Wastewater Treatment PlantsCollection SystemSewersSilt RemovalPrimary TreatmentHigh Performance Pond SystemsTreatment secondaryActivated sludgeTertiary treatmentConclusionIntroductionMars is the fourth planet in the solar system in order of distance from the Sun and size and mass of its seventh number. It is an object periodically visible in reddish form in the sky at night. Mars is denoted by the symbol ♂, sometimes called the red planet, Mars has long been associated with war and slaughter. It owes its name to the Roman god of war. Already 3,000 years ago, Babylonian astronomers-astrologers called the planet Nergal their god of death and plague. The planet has two moons, Phobos (Greek: "Fear") and Deimos ("Terror"), whose name refers to two of the sons of Ares and Aphrodite, the counterparts of Mars and Venus, respectively, in Greek mythology. Say no. to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Mars has interested people for reasons more substantial than its deadly appearance. It is the second closest planet to Earth, after Venus, and is generally easy to observe in the night sky because its orbit lies outside that of Earth. It is also the only planet whose solid surface and atmospheric phenomena can be observed in telescopes from Earth. Centuries of diligent study by Earth-based observers, extended by spacecraft observations since the 1960s, have revealed that Mars bears similarities to Earth in many ways. Like Earth, Mars has clouds, winds, a temperature of about 24 hours and 37 minutes per day, a seasonal climate. patterns, polar ice caps, volcanoes, canyons and other similar features. There are interesting clues that billions of years ago Mars was even more like Earth than it is today, with a denser, warmer atmosphere and a lot more water – rivers, lakes, canals of flood and perhaps oceans. Everything suggests that Mars is now a barren frozen desert. However, close-up images of dark streaks on the slopes of some craters in Martian spring and summer suggest that at least small amounts of water may flow seasonally onto the planet's surface, and radar reflections from of a possible lake under the south polar cap suggest that water may still exist in liquid form in protected areas below the surface. The presence of water on Mars is considered a critical problem because life as currently understood cannot exist without water. If microscopic life forms ever appeared on Mars, there remains a chance here, albeit remote, that they could still survive in these hidden watery niches. In 1996, a team of scientists reported what they concluded was evidence of ancient microbial life in a piece of meteorite from Mars, but most scientists disputed their interpretation. In the 19th century, Mars was considered the most hospitable place in the world. the solar system beyond Earth, both for indigenous life and for human exploration and habitation. At that time, speculation was rife that the so-called canals of Mars – complex systems of long, straight surface lines that very few astronomers claimed to see in telescopic observations – were the creations of intelligent beings. Seasonal changes in appearanceof the planet, attributed to the expansion and retreat of vegetation, have reinforced the purported evidence of biological activity. Although the canals were later revealed to be unreal and the seasonal changes to be geological rather than biological, scientific and public interest in the possibility of Martian life and in the exploration of the planet did not fade. The atmosphere and its composition The Martian atmosphere is composed mainly of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide makes up 95.3% of the mass of the atmosphere, nine times the amount currently present in the much more massive Earth atmosphere. However, much of Earth's carbon dioxide is chemically locked away in sedimentary rocks; the quantity present in the Martian atmosphere is less than a thousandth of the terrestrial total. The balance of the Martian atmosphere is made up of molecular nitrogen, water vapor and noble gases (argon, neon, krypton and xenon). There are also trace gas elements that have been produced from the primary constituents by photochemical reactions, usually rich in the atmosphere; these include molecular oxygen, carbon monoxide, nitric oxide, and small amounts of ozone. The lower atmosphere supplies gas to the planet's ionosphere, where densities are low, temperatures are high, and components separate by diffusion based on their masses. Various constituents of the upper atmosphere are lost to space, affecting the isotopic composition of remaining gases such as CO2, N2 and argon. Due to the preferential loss of hydrogen relative to its heavier isotope, deuterium, Mars' atmosphere contains five times more deuterium than Earth's. Although water is only a minor constituent of the Martian atmosphere, mainly due to low atmospheric and surface temperatures, which play an important role. in atmospheric chemistry and meteorology. The Martian atmosphere is indeed permeated with water vapor, but there is no usable water on the surface. The planet's pressure and temperature are so low that water molecules exist only as ice or vapor. A small amount of water is exchanged with the surface daily despite the very cold nighttime surface temperatures. Water vapor is uniformly mixed up to altitudes of 10 to 15 km (6 to 9 miles) and exhibits strong latitude gradients that depend on the season. The most significant changes are occurring in the northern hemisphere. During the summer in the north, the complete disappearance of the carbon dioxide cap leaves behind an ice cap. The sublimation of water from the residual layer results in a strong north-south concentration gradient of water vapor in the atmosphere. In the south, where a small layer of carbon dioxide remains in summer and only a small amount of water ice has been detected, a strong water vapor gradient does not normally develop in the atmosphere. Methane is also present in the atmosphere of Mars. Since methane is destroyed by sunlight, it must be continually replenished to account for the amounts present. Meteorites and volcanoes have been ruled out as the origins of methane, leaving chemical reactions between rock and water or metabolism by possible Martian microorganisms as possible sources. is no longer needed or suitable for use – in bilge water which may be released into the environment. It is formed by a number of human activities including bathing, laundry, toilet use and rainwater runoff which enters the sewer system through poor connection of the sewage system.sewer pipes. Sewage is full of contaminants, including bacteria, chemicals and other toxins. The goals of water treatment are to reduce contaminants to acceptable levels in order to make water safe for release into the environment. Wastewater Sources and Solutions for Martian There are two wastewater treatment plants, namely a chemical or physical treatment plant and a biological wastewater treatment plant. plant that will be used in the Martian community. Biological waste treatment plants use bacteria to break down waste and also use other biological materials. Physical waste treatment uses physical processes to treat wastewater as well as the use of various chemicals such as chlorine. Biological treatment systems are primarily used to treat wastewater from households and small business premises. Physical wastewater treatment plants are generally used to treat wastewater from industries and factories. Wastewater Treatment Plants Most homes and businesses will send their wastewater to a treatment plant where many pollutants are removed from the water. Wastewater treatment facilities which will receive approximately 20,000 liters of wastewater each day. Wastewater will contain nitrogen and phosphorus from human waste, food, and some soaps and detergents. Once the water is cleaned to standards established and monitored by state and federal authorities, it is typically released into a local water body or returned to the community. storage tanks for drinking water. Collection system operating and flow projections for areas served by a wastewater treatment site should be made prior to sizing treatment processes and piping infrastructure. Where possible, plant designs should be based on a 10-year design period for any construction phase, this will help the Martian community overcome the later problem of overpopulation. However, shorter periods or staged developments often need to be implemented to match anticipated growth patterns, as more and more people will migrate to the new planet. When considering staged development, the final development of the collection area should be evaluated to determine what the plant layout will look like if the area is fully developed. Sewers Sewers are kilometers of pipes laid underground to collect wastewater and other gray water from households. of the Martian community. Materials such as rags, jewelry, plastic and foreign matter can significantly interfere with processing processes or damage plant equipment if not removed. These materials must be removed using a sieve. This helps filter out hazardous materials that need to be disposed of safely to avoid human health issues, fly breeding and odors. Screens can be mechanical or manual. Manual screens require little or no equipment maintenance and are a good alternative for small plants with few screenings but need to be cleaned more regularly to prevent debris buildup. Mechanical Screens: Reduced Labor Costs and Improvement However, flow conditions and screening capture can result in high equipment maintenance costs. Requires a constant energy supply.Removal of grainsMaterialssandy materials may include sand, silt, glass, small stones, and other large organic and inorganic substances (detritus). Excess gravel can cause operational problems such as pump blockages and high concentrations of organic matter in digesters and/or reactors can cause a flock structure to form on top of the wastewater. Degritting is essential to protect the propellers and pumps of moving mechanical equipment from abrasion. Crushing is the reduction of heavy solid materials from an average particle size to a smaller average particle size by crushing, grinding, cutting, vibration, or other processes. Which will later be treated as compost (it is a mixture of solids, for example plastic soil). Primary treatment This process involves the separation of dissolved organic matter from wastewater. Primary treatment involves pouring the wastewater into large tanks so that the solids settle on the surface of the tanks. Solid waste that settles on the surface of the tanks is removed by large scrapers and pushed to the center of the cylindrical tanks, then pumped out of the tanks for further processing. The remaining water is then pumped for secondary treatment. Pond systems are simple, low maintenance systems that require large floor areas. They should be considered where the cumulative impact of a number of wastewater treatment works is low, such as in the Martian community. Ponds are extremely flexible and pond effluent can be treated to meet irrigation standards for land-based applications, or coupled with other advanced treatment technologies could meet discharge standards that may be set. High Performance Pond Systems Produces better water quality compared to a conventional pond system. A high performance pond system would consist of a conventional pond system with features such as: Trickling filter to achieve nitrification. Polishing of wetlands which would provide better quality effluent which could be discharged. Ability to propagate fish into end ponds to eat mosquito larvae and also be a food source. processes that use microorganisms that grow on a medium, such as stones and disks, to remove organic matter present in wastewater. They can also be used to perform nitrification – the conversion of ammonia to nitrate/nitrite. Trickling filters are also called biofilters, they are used to remove organic matter from wastewater. The trickling filter will use an aerobic treatment system that uses microorganisms attached to a medium to remove organic matter from wastewater. Trickling filters allow organic matter in wastewater to be adsorbed by a population of microorganisms, particularly facultative bacteria (which will primarily be used on the planet Mar as less oxygen will be supplied to facilitate this process) attached in the middle. in the form of a biofilm or viscous layer (approximately 0.1 to 0.2 mm thick). As the wastewater flows over the medium, the microorganisms already present in the water gradually attach to the surface of the rock, slag or plastic and form a biofilm. The organic matter is then degraded by aerobic microorganisms present in the external part of the viscous layer. Activated sludge The activated sludge process (ASP) is a biological process for the development of aactivated biomass of microorganisms capable of stabilizing facultative waste. Organic waste is introduced into a reactor where a bacterial culture (biomass) is kept in suspension. The contents of the reactor are called "mixed liquor" or activated sludge because they are still recycled from the previous wastewater. ASP nitrogen removal involves biological nitrogen removal, in which two biological processes are used: nitrification and denitrification. Nitrification is a two-step microbiological reaction in which ammoniacal nitrogen is converted to nitrite by the Nitrosomonas bacteria and then to nitrate by the Nitrobacter bacteria. During the denitrification process, the nitrate produced is transformed into harmless nitrogen gas. Nitrogen is present in wastewater in several forms, the most important being organic nitrogen (soluble and particulate), ammonium/ammonia, and possibly some nitrate. In the activated sludge process, several reactions can occur that will change the form of the nitrogenous material via ammonification, nitrification and denitrification. Solids that have settled after the primary and secondary treatment stages are directed to digesters. Anaerobic digesters are heated to room temperature. The solid waste is then treated for a month where it undergoes anaerobic digestion. During this process, methane is produced and nutrient-rich biosolids are formed which are recycled and dehydrated at local businesses. The methane formed is generally used as an energy source in processing plants. It can be used to generate electricity that can be supplied to the Martian community, which will be an aid in dealing with a shortage of electricity or in motors or simply to operate factory equipment. This gas can also be used in boilers to generate heat for digesters. In order for the Martian community to manage the sludge left after primary and secondary treatment, the following actions will actually help minimize the contamination or pollution that could be caused by the sludge piles. The main reasons for thickening sludge before digestion are: Maximizing the use of available digester capacity in digesting solids (i.e. water takes up space). To avoid dilution of the raw material which could cause difficulties in the use of sludge. food by bacteriaTo prevent leaching of solids and micro-organisms from the hydraulically overloaded digester.Mixed sludge from secondary wastewater treatment passes into a dissolved air flotation tank, where the solids rise to the surface and are skimmed off. The thickened sludge is steamed into a pulp and then passed through thermal hydrolysis, where large molecules such as proteins and lipids are broken down under heat and pressure. The hydrolyzed sludge passes through a flash tank, where a sudden drop in pressure causes the cells to burst, and then through anaerobic digestion, where bacteria convert the dissolved organic matter into biogas (which can be used to fuel the treatment process). The digested sludge goes through a dehydration stage; dried solids are removed and the water is returned to secondary treatment. Tertiary Treatment This stage is slightly similar to that used by drinking water treatment plants which clean raw water into potable water for drinking purposes. The tertiary treatment stage has the capacity to remove up to 99% of impurities, including toxic contaminants and more pathogens,.