This storyboard is focused on building and preparing the greenhouse for future use. The idea is that astronauts will need to learn to grow crops on Mars and study them, but this will be done in person, not in EVA missions. Therefore, for the purpose of the XOSS simulation, this scenario focuses on building the greenhouse, make it a habitable area, and gather resources for use inside.
There are 4 types of resources that will be needed:
• Water: One of the basic elements for plant growth is water. The mission assumes that there are ice blocks under the surface, so the astronauts need to go to the cave to mine some of the ice pieces, and then melt them and filter them, to use them to grow the plants. In case it’s not a viable option, the mission part could be change to obtain water from other sources, like atmospheric condensation.
• Soil: Another element that the plants need is soil. The idea is that the astronauts will collect martian soil, so they can test how crops grow using it.
• Nutrients: With just the Martian desertic ground, crops will not grow. They need nutrients that will need to be brought from Earth. In the mission, astronauts will have to move them from the storage to the greenhouse.
• Seeds: The last element that they will bring to the greenhouse are the seeds. They will also be brought from Earth, so astronauts will have to move them from the storage to the greenhouse too.
