Abstract
Design of an In-Situ Fuel, Oxygen, and Potable Water Supply System on Manned Mars Missions
In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) can negate the costs of shipping hydrogen, oxygen, and potable water to Mars. Following current NASA goals, we propose a Martian ISRU system of unit operations to produce these resources and replace shipments from Earth. Oxygen and water production meet the life-support demands of ten colonists for one and a half year-long cycles, and the hydrogen and oxygen fuel are sufficient for a return trip to Earth. Our plant is expected to run for 18 years or 12 cycles. The system was modelled using Aspen Plus simulations combined with detailed reactor, separator, and ancillary equipment designs.
This capstone design project consists of a continuous process that utilizes available Martian resources for production of outputs in an energy-efficient way. Hydrogen is produced through the water-gas shift reaction, which also produces carbon dioxide that can be recycled to increase hydrogen production. MOXIE generates the necessary oxygen for the colony; it relies on a carbon dioxide reduction reaction. Water is mined from the ground as ice, melted, and desalinated through evaporation. NASA’s Kilopower technology is used to power the process and the equipment that extracts materials from the atmosphere and regolith.
Since equipment and materials have to be transported from Earth, accurate cost estimates are integral. Based on our calculations, the total process cost ranges from $1.6 billion to $7.6 billion, based on operation either remotely from Earth or by astronauts on Mars, respectively. If the same amount of fuel and potable water were to be shipped to Mars, it would cost $9.8 billion, so this proposed ISRU process is cost effective. The largest costs arise from the Kilopower units and CO2 reducer catalyst because they have the highest mass requirements of the components in the process; future projects could work to optimize their masses. Overall, our proposed system is intended to contribute to ISRU research for manned missions and potential colonies on Mars.
The Impact of Surveillance Technology on Women in Contemporary East Asia
One of the current ubiquitous technological issues in South Korea is the practice of using molka, or hidden cameras, in places such as public restrooms, motels, and private homes. These pieces of technology have been violating South Korean women’s privacy in their personal and even sexual moments. Molka are aided by the quickness and omnipresence of South Korean internet connectivity; it might be the best in the world.
Given that China and Japan have also undergone rapid economic development and technological advancement in the past fifty years just like South Korea, it is not surprising that they also experience issues related to the universality and pervasiveness of surveillance technology. For instance, molka have been found in ladies’ restrooms at Seikei University in Tokyo. Although molka are not in the public eye in Japan as often as in South Korea nowadays, various relatives and friends living in Japan are cognizant that molka are definitely found in Japan, especially in public toilets.
On the other hand, China does not appear to have a very obvious problem with molka like South Korea or Japan. Instead, there have been cases of the Chinese government exploiting commonplace CCTV for facial recognition of their citizens, perhaps even targeting non-Han Chinese minority groups like the Uighurs. This suggests that surveillance technologies can be manipulated in different ways by different actors depending on the unethical natures and nefarious interests of the perpetrators.
My research question is: How can surveillance technology target young women in contemporary East Asia? Why does this occur?
The pervasiveness of molka has made certain places unsafe for South Korean women, such as public restrooms, motels, and private homes. Aided by the internet, these spy cams have captured many women (and men) in their private and intimate moments and are normally not taken down regardless of sentencing. Their prevalence is a result of a network of actors that indirectly supports criminals, a “pressure cooker” culture that is intolerant of difference and individualism, and discontentment with life that normalizes behaviors that are generally considered immoral. Any hopes of amelioration call for stronger small camera regulations, harsher punishments for criminals (tied hand in hand with more government cooperation), and education geared at changing cultural attitudes and mindsets.
