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We’re Going to Mars, And Our Trash Is Coming Along

We’re going to Mars. No, that’s not yet confirmed, and not even backed by an exploration program the likes of Artemis, but NASA is now calling crewed missions to the Red Planet “a horizon goal.” Unlike our trips to the Moon though, the ones to Mars will be a lot more challenging, due first and foremost to the distances involved, and will raise a whole new set of problems. Today’s topic: waste.
Waste management for Mars missions will be a nightmare 9 photos
Photo: NASA
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You see, a trip to the Moon takes just three days, meaning anything from emergency help to access to some sort of waste disposal is within reasonable reach. By comparison, we’ll need at least seven months to reach Mars, but that’s only taking into account the trip out. If we include the stay there, and the return trip, we’re left with missions that can be as long as three years, during which time astronauts, being human and all, "will generate a lot of waste.”

And what do you do with all that waste, given how you can’t just open a window on the spacecraft and throw it out (well, that’s not entirely true, but we’ll get to that in a moment)? Nobody really knows at this time, and this is why NASA recently asked for help.

Back in January 2022, the space agency launched a quest for ideas for “handling waste on future human missions to Mars.” The quest was called Waste to Base Materials Challenge: Sustainable Reprocessing in Space, and at the time of writing is closed, after pulling in ideas from no less than 1,200 teams and individual innovators.

Planet Mars
Photo: NASA/Mars Trek
We said earlier a spacecraft does not have a window you can open to throw stuff out. It doesn’t, but it does have airlocks, and people could (and probably will) use those to throw at least some of their trash into space. Just like they do now, up there on the International Space Station (ISS).

But there’s a major difference between what's going on on the ISS and a Mars-bound spacecraft: the space station trash eventually burns up in the atmosphere, and it disappears forever, whereas the spacecraft could leave a trail of garbage floating around in space forever.

The ISS also sends trash back to Earth by means of resupply ships, but that’s a luxury Martian astronauts cannot afford either. Taking all that into account but also because such a challenging mission would require the best use of resources, for people going to Mars there’s only one option left, really: using as much of that trash as possible, instead of wasting it.

The world was asked at the beginning of the year to come up with thoughts, designs and plans on “managing, converting or processing a few specific categories of waste, including trash, fecal waste, foam packaging, and carbon dioxide.”

Planet Mars
Photo: NASA/Mars Trek
All types of trash use were taken into account during the quest, meaning recycling, repurposing, and reprocessing. The goal was to have people come up with ideas on how to transform waste into useful materials, including some that could be used for 3D printing (yes, 3D printers will be onboard on the road to Mars), and, of course, fuel.

As said, over 1,200 people and organizations took part, fighting for a $1,000 prize in each of the following four categories: trash, fecal waste, foam packaging material, and carbon dioxide processing.

The challenge’s HeroX page lists over 20 winners, but none of the ideas they have been put on paper have been detailed so far. It’ll probably be a while until we learn what, if any of the ideas resulting from this, will be used by NASA in its future Mars exploration program.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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