Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Elektron Oxygen Generator Versus Martian Sawgrass
The International Space Station and the fictional Venus Equilateral Station (from a 1942 story by George O. Smith) have a problem in common - a failure of the "air plant."
(Elektron Oxygen Generator Diagram)
The ISS uses (among other components) the Elektron oxygen generation system. After several stoppages, the unit failed completely about a month ago. Astronauts are now using SFOG (solid-fuel oxygen generator) "candles" at a rate of one per person per day.
In his 1940's Venus Equilateral station series, author George O. Smith runs into this problem in the very first story. A bureacrat from Earth arrives to fill the post of station Director; shortly after his arrival, all of the inhabitants of the station suffer from oxygen deprivation. The problem? On an inspection, he looks into a room labeled 'air plant' and finds - a jungle of weeds! Naturally, he has them removed.
(Sawgrass)
Turns out the weeds are Martian sawgrass:
"What better purifying machine is there than a plot of grass?" shouted Channing. "... We breathe oxygen, exhale CO2. Plants inhale CO2 and exhale oxygen. An air plant means just that. It is a specialized type of Martian sawgrass that uses chlorophyll... We've spent years getting that plant so it will grow just right. It got so good that the CO2 detectors weren't even needed...
(Read more about Martian sawgrass)
It turns out that NASA worked on a related problem in the 1970's. They found that the air inside Sky Lab 3 was contaminated with more than 100 toxic substances. They put environmental engineer Bill Wolverton, PhD, to the task of ensuring cleaner air. After much research, he found that plants provided a solution. He found that common plants like Boston fern, dracaena, Ficus benjamina (rubber plant), and chrysanthemum eliminated up to 90% of such poisons as benzene, formaldehyde, and trichloroethylene from enclosed spaces. Dr. Wolverton noted that plants actually get better at the task of removing pollutants over time, saying "The longer a plant is exposed to certain chemicals, the more effective it becomes at removing them."
I've been paging through some of the Mars rover pictures looking for little clumps of sawgrass - no luck there. But maybe a solar-powered chlorophyll-based 'air plant' might be just what a space station needs.
Read more at NewScientist and NASAWatch. Thanks to reader Christopher Thomas for providing additional material for this article.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 6/21/2005)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 2 )
Related News Stories - (" Space Tech ")
Starship Special Edition For Lunar Shuttle
Love those special edition spaceships.
Capturing Asteroids With Nets
'...the meteor caught and halted just as a small boy catches a swift ball in his cap.' V.E. Thiessen, 1947.
Project Hyperion - Generation Ship Designers Needed!
'We have decided that it shall be but one ship... it must contain everything needed to take us through the generations.' - Judson Reeves, 1930.
Marslink Proposed By SpaceX
'It was the heart of the Solar System's communication line...' - George O. Smith, 1942.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Miss Alabama Beauty Contest Offers Different Standards
'...they moved with the ease of dandelion puffs.'
Has Musk Given Up On Full Self Driving (FSD)?
'...some bored drone pusher in a remote driving centre...'
Prufrock-3 'The Monster' Ready To Launch
Just go for it.
Drones In Vast Airborne Grids
'These pods were programmed to hang in space in a hexagonal grid pattern...'
Starship Special Edition For Lunar Shuttle
Love those special edition spaceships.
Capturing Asteroids With Nets
'...the meteor caught and halted just as a small boy catches a swift ball in his cap.'
Project Hyperion - Generation Ship Designers Needed!
'We have decided that it shall be but one ship... it must contain everything needed to take us through the generations.'
AI Welfare Position At Anthropic Filled By Human
'You’re the robopsychologist of the plant, so you’re to study the robot itself...'
Marslink Proposed By SpaceX
'It was the heart of the Solar System's communication line...'
Simple Way To Defeat AI Face Recognition
'... designed to foil facial recognition systems.'
Wood-Panelled LignoSat Launched
'The Consul remembered his first glimpse of the kilometer-long treeship...'
Laser-Beam Welding In Orbital Factories
'His contract with Space Industries required him to work summers in their orbital factory.'
'Iceberg House' Of Travis Kelce Reflects Science Fiction Of Past Century
'The basement was huge... carved deep into the rock that folded up to underlie the ridge...'
Mechazilla Arms Catch A Falling Starship, But Check Out SF Landing-ARMS
'...the rocket’s landing-arms automatically unfolded.'
A System To Defeat AI Face Recognition
'...points and patches of light... sliding all over their faces in a programmed manner that had been designed to foil facial recognition systems.'
Robot Hand Separate From Robot
'The crawling, exploring object was V-Stephen's surgeon-hand...'
