Station 7

Career Connection: Civil Engineering, Plumbing, Environmental Technology

(Click here for Audio)

"Hey there, crew! I’m Maya, the systems technician here at Outpost 7 on Mars—and we’ve got a serious situation. Our water filtration system just broke, and while we have a replacement, the setup instructions didn’t make it. That’s where you come in.

On Mars, there’s no running water like we have on Earth. Scientists have found frozen water under the surface and tiny amounts of water vapor in the air, but we can’t just turn on a faucet here. That’s why every drop we use has to be filtered, cleaned, and reused. We recycle water from everything—showers, sinks, even the air we breathe!

Your mission is to help us install the new filtration system using the PVC pipes and fittings you’ve been given. You’ll need to figure out how to connect everything so that water flows properly and stays clean and safe for the crew.

Clean water keeps us alive out here. Without it, we can’t cook, clean, grow food—or survive. The crew is counting on you. Let’s get to work, engineers!"

Hint: If you get stuck, there is a 'solution' picture available of what the completed system should look like, that you may refer to. Use this as a last resort or to check your work. Extra credit if you can complete it without peeking! :-)