Question

apr 2, 2021
heat shield testing recycles waste on earth
1 the space station doesnt have curb - side trash pickup. nor does it have a local landfill or recycling plant. what it does have is access to a naturally efficient incinerator - earths atmosphere.
2 astronauts pack several thousand pounds of the stuff into a rather unusual trash can - an expendable cargo resupply spacecraft. when it is time to take out the trash, the filled cargo spacecraft undocks from the international space station and falls into earths atmosphere, where the spacecraft and its contents are vaporized.
3 thats because a solid object entering earths atmosphere at approximately 17,500 mph will experience significant friction created by the drag of compressing atmospheric gases. as the spacecraft plunges deeper into the atmosphere, where the air is denser, a tremendous amount of energy is released as heat. this forces the gas molecules to dissociate. a spacecraft without a heat shield, like these expendable cargo vehicles, experiences the same heating, vaporizing the solid material.
4 replicating this high - temperature trash processing on earth is precisely what inentec inc. is doing, with some help from nasa arc jet research and technology.
5 nasa learned how to recreate the extreme temperatures and speeds of atmospheric entry decades ago as a way to test heat shields. inentec, based in richland, washington, looked to the power source modifications nasa used to generate high - temperature plasma and incorporated them into its technology
how does the author connect the idea about taking out the trash in space with better recycling of waste on earth in this passage?
a. by showing how nasa learned how to recreate extreme temperatures on earth as a way to test heat shields and develop the expendable cargo resupply aircraft
b. by explaining how replicating the vaporization process in space is used to break down waste into molecules which then can be converted into useful products
c. by describing the difference between nasas development of the plasma - enabled gasification process and incinerators which rely on combustion
d. by detailing the speed with which solid objects enter the earths atmosphere and how that speed can be used to create energy which will be released as heat

Explanation:

The passage first describes how trash in space (cargo spacecraft with trash) is vaporized when entering Earth's atmosphere. Then it mentions that InEnTec Inc. is replicating this high - temperature (vaporization) process on Earth with NASA's help. This implies that the vaporization process (breaking down waste) in space is being used on Earth to break down waste into molecules (as in the space example where the spacecraft and its contents are vaporized) which can then be converted into useful products.

• Option A is incorrect because it focuses on testing heat shields and developing the spacecraft, not on waste recycling.
• Option C is incorrect as the passage does not emphasize the difference between NASA's process and incinerators based on combustion.
• Option D is incorrect as it only talks about speed and heat energy creation, not about waste recycling.

Answer:

B. by explaining how replicating the vaporization process in space is used to break down waste into molecules which then can be converted into useful products