Most people who have commented on this, are trying to be positive. ...
I am casually interested in crowd funding models where the barrier of entry is at the granularity of one dollar...
Yeah, I continue to be surprised that people still think an ecosystem is a good way to support humans. It's not even a good way to do it here on Earth! Gerard O'Neill had it right: dedicated farming modules which are engineered for high crop yields proximate to dedicated living modules that are engineered for human comfort and growth. Simple chemical systems with predicable operation and failure modes are what you want for something as critical as life support. Biology does not provide that.
Yeah, I continue to be surprised that people still think an ecosystem is a good way to support humans. It's not even a good way to do it here on Earth! ... Biology does not provide that.
We should be able to do it with only energy input.
Quote from: Tass on 06/06/2012 08:06 amWe should be able to do it with only energy input. That's what the Sun does here on Earth.
Human beeings do not want to eat artificial protein and some algae mush for three years.
They need high quality vegetables, fruits and diverse protein sources.
If you want to grow plants (even genetically modified for dwarfism and reduced gravity) some kind of artificial gravity will be necessary.
Water recycling from urine and air humidity is demonstrated every day at ISS, but the quality of the filtered water is not good enough for drinking, rather it is used for O2-production.
Quote from: tlesinsk on 06/04/2012 06:26 amAbout animal pens, flying feces aside: we get so accustomed to eating meat (or eggs, for that matter) that we don't fully realise what it costs to obtain it. In a closed-loop environment, to breed animals, you first have to grow plants to feed them. The amount of resources necessary to obtain animal protein is much, much larger than for an equivalent amount of plant protein (of which pulses, i.e. beans and especially soy beans, are an excellent source). The first space colonists, at least, will be vegan. Then, when they really get tired of eating tofu, they will go for animals that are used to living in a three-dimensional, bare-bones, contained environment for which automated life support, including waste treatment, is well understood: fish.By this stage, we will probably be able to grow animal muscle tissue in vitro, or create animal protein substitutes with genetically engineered plants or algae. Animals have entrails (that must be eaten - ugh) and hides, teeth bones and so on that must also be processed. Plus they stink. With fish, there's less of this, plus they can live in the water you use for radiation shielding. And you get a nice aquarium as a bonus.
About animal pens, flying feces aside: we get so accustomed to eating meat (or eggs, for that matter) that we don't fully realise what it costs to obtain it. In a closed-loop environment, to breed animals, you first have to grow plants to feed them. The amount of resources necessary to obtain animal protein is much, much larger than for an equivalent amount of plant protein (of which pulses, i.e. beans and especially soy beans, are an excellent source). The first space colonists, at least, will be vegan. Then, when they really get tired of eating tofu, they will go for animals that are used to living in a three-dimensional, bare-bones, contained environment for which automated life support, including waste treatment, is well understood: fish.