Geuss, Megan. “Scotland’s Floating Wind Farm Is Showing How Powerful Offshore Wind Can Be.” Ars Technica, 4 Mar. 2018, arstechnica.com/information-technology/2018/03/first-floating-wind-farm-has-performed-better-than-expected/. Accessed 25 Oct. 2018. The first commercial floating offshore wind farm, called Hywind. Hywind’s capacity far exceeds the average capacity factors of many other sources of electricity. Hywind is well-equipped to withstand violent storms without taking so much damage. The wind turbines shut down for safety reasons during the bad storm conditions, then they automatically resume operation afterward. There is an effort to build more of these farms as costs come down and wind turbines get more efficient. Megan supports the use of wind farms like Hywind to bring an efficient and cheap electrical source. Mars colonist must have an efficient energy source.
Gitig, Diana. “Globally Optimizing Which Crops We Grow Where Cuts Water Use and Feeds More People.” Ars Technica, 12 Nov. 2017, arstechnica.com/science/2017/11/giving-agriculture-a-global-do-over-could-feed-nearly-a-billion-more-people/. Accessed 25 Oct. 2018. As the population grows there will be more demand for food. The more demand the more resources used. There are already limited resources when it comes to water and land. Planting GMOS can improve yields. The current distribution of crops around the world does not attain maximum production of crops or the minimum use of water. Scientists believe that moving around crops based on how much rain and irrigation water they need could feed more people than the planet can currently sustain. Diana is in favor of making serious changes to our agricultural system so that future generations don’t have to suffer a lack of food. Mars colonist must think about their agricultural system.
Parks, Jim, et al. “Soil-Free Farming Grows Vegetables in the Desert.” Live Science, 24 Jan. 2014, www.livescience.com/42835-soil-free-farming-grows-vegetables-in-the-desert.html. Accessed 25 Oct. 2018. Some innovative technologies being used can grow plants on specialized “films”, that could bring farms to the desert no soil required. The technology is based on hydrogel film, a superabsorbent polymer that could absorb water. Hydrogel film reduces the water required for farming. The film could be placed on nearly any surface. Plants grown in the hydrogel membrane spread their roots throughout the top of the film. This method produces healthy and highly nutritious vegetables. There’s no soil, there’s a lot less need to spray for pests. T his technology could be crucial for fighting food scarcity and conserving water. Jim and other support the use of hydrogel to grow healthy and less water consuming plants. Mars colonist must have an alternative farming technique.
Pultarova, Tereza. “Robotic Farm Completes 1st Fully Autonomous Harvest.” Live Science, 29 Sept. 2017, www.livescience.com/60567-robotically-tended-farm-completes-first-harvest.html. Accessed 25 Oct. 2018. A farm in the United Kingdom is using robots and not humans to harvest food. Everything from start to finish has been done by autonomous vehicles. Robots are believed to increase the yields in agriculture. The system follows a certain trajectory with preprogrammed stops to perform certain actions. At first, researchers struggled to make the machines follow a straight line, which resulted in quite a lot of crop damage. Scientists think they will be able to fix the problem in the coming years and will eventually achieve better yields than a conventionally maintained farm of the same size could produce. Robotic technology could lead future farmers to more precisely distribute fertilizers and herbicides, but could also lead to improvements in soil quality. Tereza is in favor of using robots to harvest food and using technology to improve the quality of food. Mars colonist must have advanced robotic agriculture.
Salazar, Doris Elin. “Space Salad: Astronauts Harvest 3 Different Crops and Try New Gardening Tech.” Space, 10 Nov. 2017, www.space.com/38723-astronauts-farm-plants-install-garden-instrument.html. Accessed 25 Oct. 2018. An International Space Station project is growing three distinct plant crops simultaneously in space. The space station crewmembers harvested their sixth batch of leafy life- forms. Acaba installed the Advanced Plant Habitat (APH) so there is continues improvements in the space station’s garden potential. The plant habitat used is a fully enclosed, environmentally controlled chamber. The plants grow under red, blue and green LED lights, as well as white LED lights in a broad spectrum. The space garden will soon feature Arabidopsis — small flowering plants related to cabbage and mustard — and dwarf wheat. Doris encourages more advanced technology so that more plants could be grown. Mars colonist must have advanced plant habitats.