Operations
Sphere
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The waste management center is one of the most important departments for the survival of the colonists. While the plants and hydroponics in the Agricultural Sphere are used to actually convert the waste into usable materials, the waste management center must figure out exactly how much to put through the hydroponics facility at a time. The waste management center monitors the water content, the oxygen content, and the carbon dioxide content of the air at all times.
The technicians here know that if the carbon dioxide content gets too high, the air will become poisonous and the colonists will die. So, if the carbon dioxide content of the colony becomes too great, they will collect some the carbon dioxide for storage, and release the rest of the excess into the Martian atmosphere. Then they give the plants more fertilizers to promote photosynthesis, which will eventually pull even more carbon dioxide out of the air.
They also know that if there is too much oxygen, the air in the colony could easily catch fire and kill everyone living in it. If the oxygen content gets too high, waste management releases some of the emergency reserve oxygen into the Martian atmosphere. They then collect some oxygen to refill the reserves, and the oxygen content decreases. This also helps with terraforming. The carbon dioxide and oxygen in the reserves can be released when their levels get too low.
It is also the responsibility of waste management to monitor the amount of nitrogen in the atmosphere. In order to create an earth-like environment, the colonists want to maintain about 70% nitrogen in the atmosphere. Using nitrogen-fixing and denitrifying bacteria, the technicians can regulate the amount of nitrogen.
Make a record of everything you throw away in one day. None of these things could just be thrown away on Mars. Think about how you could avoid throwing these things away. If there is anything that could not be avoided or recycled, it could probably not be used on Mars.