tag:theconversation.com,2011:/es/topics/colonising-mars-34804/articlesColonising Mars – The Conversation2022-10-12T16:03:43Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1918412022-10-12T16:03:43Z2022-10-12T16:03:43Z#MeToo in space: We must address the potential for sexual harassment and assault away from Earth<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489385/original/file-20221012-25-vyx3sx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5472%2C3645&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There are fewer women than men astronauts involved in research, training and missions.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(CH W/Unsplash)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A new dawn of space exploration is upon us. NASA aims to <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis/">land the first woman and person of colour</a> on the moon by the end of 2025, and send a crew on a year-and-a-half long mission to Mars in the 2030s. </p>
<p>To ensure a safe and pleasurable journey to the final frontier, national agencies such as <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/">NASA</a> and private companies such as <a href="https://www.spacex.com/">SpaceX</a> must address both the technical and human factors associated with working and living in space. Yet, the realities of sexuality and intimacy in space are mostly omitted.</p>
<p>How will people be able to live for prolonged periods of time in the isolated, confined and extreme conditions of spacecrafts and other planets? How will people navigate falling in love, having sex and beginning and ending relationships under such conditions? How will people deal with the stress, limited choice of intimate partners and issues related to consent? And how will sexual harassment or assault be prevented or addressed?</p>
<p>On Oct. 15, 2017, #MeToo ushered in a global movement against sexual harassment and assault. As researchers exploring human factors in space and space sexology — the study of intimacy and sexuality away from Earth — we argue that it is time to plan for the future of #MeToo in space.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/love-and-rockets-we-need-to-figure-out-how-to-have-sex-in-space-for-human-survival-and-well-being-167515">Love and rockets: We need to figure out how to have sex in space for human survival and well-being</a>
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<h2>Sexual assault and space research</h2>
<p>On Dec. 3, 1999, Judith Lapierre, a Canadian nurse and social medicine researcher, <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/space-researcher-quits-over-sexual-harassment/article4162149/">embarked on a 110-day Mars simulation experiment aboard a Mir Space Station replica in Moscow</a>. Lapierre was the only woman in an eight-member crew. </p>
<p>One month into the study, the Russian chief commander discussed running an experiment where Lapierre would be treated as the crew’s sexual object. On New Year’s Eve, he stated it was time to “do the experiment,” and forcibly grabbed and kissed Lapierre despite her repeated requests to stop. </p>
<p>Lapierre notified the <a href="https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/">Canadian Space Agency</a> and informed her Austrian crew commander, <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/space-researcher-recounts-her-horror/article4162603/">who immediately demanded action from the local and international management</a>. </p>
<p>When interviewed by the media after the experiment, Lapierre opened up about her expectations of a safe, harassment-free and violence-free working environment. Yet some Russian news outlets blamed and misrepresented her as depressed and the cause of unrelated problems, <a href="https://archive.macleans.ca/article/2000/4/17/a-space-dream-sours">including a physical altercation between Russian crew members</a>. </p>
<p>The aggression during the simulation experiment were reduced to cultural differences. And since then, Lapierre’s time in the space sector <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna6955149">became an uphill battle because she spoke out</a>.</p>
<p>As she describes in Rudolph and Werner Herzog’s 2022 film <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14960976/"><em>Last Exit: Space</em></a>:</p>
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<p>“When that mission finished, it really influenced my whole career because I thought this would be the start of my research project with the space agency or the start of my field of work, but I was just totally pushed out of the system.”</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pwwgU-64mKY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption"><em>Last Exit:Space</em> explores what space colonization means.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Other research contexts</h2>
<p>Lapierre is not alone. Sexual harassment has also happened in other contexts
similar to the extreme conditions of actual and simulated space environments. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/geo/opp/documents/USAP%20SAHPR%20Report.pdf">2022 report commissioned by the National Science Foundation (NSF)</a> showed that out of the 290 female respondents, 72 per cent and 47 per cent agreed that sexual harassment and sexual assault, respectively, are a problem in the United States Antarctic Program (USAP). As one of the survivors reported: </p>
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<p>“I know none of this is news to you, it’s just a known fact around station. It’s so self-evident that [it’s] barely worth speaking out loud. [Sexual assault and sexual harassment] are a fact of life [here], just like the fact that Antarctica is cold and the wind blows.”</p>
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<p>The NSF report highlights the lack of adequate prevention, reporting and response systems, as well as the lack of support for victim-survivors and the lack of trust in human resources and USAP leadership. And only a minority of the leadership agreed that sexual harassment (40 per cent) and sexual assault (23 per cent) are a problem in the USAP. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/antarctic-stations-are-plagued-by-sexual-harassment-its-time-for-things-to-change-189984">Antarctic stations are plagued by sexual harassment – it's time for things to change</a>
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<p>This is not limited to the USAP. In 2021, employees of the aerospace companies <a href="https://www.space.com/19584-blue-origin-quiet-plans-for-spaceships.html">Blue Origin</a> <a href="https://www.space.com/spacex-sexual-harassment-allegations-lawsuits">and SpaceX</a> came forward with an alarming array of sexual harassment and misconduct allegations. </p>
<p>In an <a href="https://www.lioness.co/post/bezos-wants-to-create-a-better-future-in-space-his-company-blue-origin-is-stuck-in-a-toxic-past">open essay</a>, a group of 21 current and former employees of Blue Origin denounced a sexist work culture, inappropriate behaviours toward women and cases of sexual harassment by senior leaders.</p>
<h2>No end in sight?</h2>
<p>For humankind to safely take its next steps into the universe, the culture of space exploration must change.</p>
<p>These harrowing events call for national agencies and private space companies to adopt a proactive stance against sexual harassment and assault. NASA and other space organizations must go beyond implementing <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/files/533577main_45013-Anti-Harassment_Brochure-Final.pdf">basic anti-harassment policies</a>. They must devote the necessary resources to put in place proper prevention, reporting and response infrastructures, including the support and protection of victim-survivors.</p>
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<span class="caption">Clear guidelines need to be in place to prevent and address sexual assault in space.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Max Tcvetkov/Unsplash)</span></span>
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<p>This may include the creation of separate oversight entities composed of sexologists and qualified health and psychosocial professionals. This may also include investing in <a href="https://www.mic.com/life/sex-in-space-research-space-sexology">the study of human relationships and sexual health in space</a>. </p>
<p>Victim-survivors need to be part of the conversation and solutions, every step of the way. This is essential to ensure the safety of Earth-based and space environments, and ethically conduct much-needed scientific research on human spacelife. </p>
<h1>MeToo taught us that collective action is powerful. And in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2021.2012639">words of Lapierre</a>:</h1>
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<p>“It is time, more than ever, to meet the real challenges of space exploration, with honesty, transparency, and by recognizing that Earth’s unacceptable behaviors are also Space’s unacceptable behaviors for a spacefaring civilization.”</p>
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<p><em>Emily Apollonio, CEO of Interstellar Performance Labs, co-authored this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/191841/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Maria Santaguida has received funding from Fonds de Recherche du Québec - Société et culture (FRQSC).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon Dubé received funding from the Fonds de Recherche du Québec - Santé (FRQS) and receives funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Judith Lapierre does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>If history is any indication, space exploration will need to contend with and prevent sexual harassment and assault during missions and training.Maria Santaguida, PhD Candidate, Psychology of Human Sexuality, Erotic Technology & Space Sexology, Concordia UniversityJudith Lapierre, Professor, Nursing Science, Université LavalSimon Dubé, Postdoc Research Fellow, Kinsey Institute, Indiana UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1531592021-02-01T15:05:56Z2021-02-01T15:05:56ZWe’re teaching robots to evolve autonomously – so they can adapt to life alone on distant planets <figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381713/original/file-20210201-21-1u1chcy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2933%2C2086&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In the future, robots we've programmed may evolve and multiply on distant planets.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/curiosity-rover-on-mars-surface-sunset-1561750651">SquareMotion/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s been suggested that an advance party of robots will be needed if humans are ever to settle on other planets. Sent ahead to create conditions favourable for humankind, these robots will need to be tough, adaptable and recyclable if they’re to survive within the inhospitable cosmic climates that await them.</p>
<p>Collaborating with roboticists and computer scientists, my team and I have been working on just such a set of robots. Produced via 3D printer – and assembled autonomously – the robots we’re creating continually evolve in order to rapidly optimise for the conditions they find themselves in. </p>
<p>Our work represents the latest progress towards the kind of <a href="https://ieeetv.ieee.org/towards-the-autonomous-evolution-of-robotic-ecosystems">autonomous robot ecosystems</a> that could help build humanity’s future homes, far away from Earth and far away from human oversight. </p>
<h2>Robots rising</h2>
<p>Robots have come a long way since our first clumsy forays into artificial movement many decades ago. Today, companies such as Boston Dynamics produce <a href="https://www.bostondynamics.com/handle">ultra-efficient robots</a> which load trucks, build pallets, and move boxes around factories, undertaking tasks you might think only humans could perform. </p>
<p>Despite these advances, designing robots to work in unknown or inhospitable environments – like exoplanets or deep ocean trenches – still poses a considerable challenge for scientists and engineers. Out in the cosmos, what shape and size should the ideal robot be? Should it crawl or walk? What tools will it need to manipulate its environment – and how will it survive extremes of pressure, temperature and chemical corrosion?</p>
<p>An impossible brainteaser for humans, nature has already solved this problem. Darwinian evolution has resulted in millions of species that are perfectly adapted to their environment. Although biological evolution takes millions of years, <a href="https://www.contactengine.com/insights/an-insider-s-guide-to-artificial-intelligence-evolutionary-computation/">artificial evolution</a> – modelling evolutionary processes inside a computer – can take place in hours, or even minutes. Computer scientists have been harnessing its power for decades, resulting in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature14544">gas nozzles to satellite antennas</a> that are ideally suited to their function, for instance.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-we-built-a-robot-that-can-evolve-and-why-it-wont-take-over-the-world-52506">How we built a robot that can evolve – and why it won't take over the world</a>
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<p>But current artificial evolution of moving, physical objects still requires a great deal of human oversight, requiring a tight feedback loop between robot and human. If artificial evolution is to design a useful robot for exoplanetary exploration, we’ll need to remove the human from the loop. In essence, evolved robot designs must manufacture, assemble and test themselves autonomously – untethered from human oversight. </p>
<h2>Unnatural selection</h2>
<p>Any evolved robots will need to be capable of sensing their environment and have diverse means of moving – for example using wheels, jointed legs or even mixtures of the two. And to address the inevitable reality gap that occurs when transferring a design from software to hardware, it is also desirable for at least some evolution to take place in hardware – within an ecosystem of robots that evolve in real time and real space.</p>
<p>The Autonomous Robot Evolution (<a href="https://www.york.ac.uk/robot-lab/are/">ARE</a>) project addresses exactly this, bringing together scientists and engineers from four universities in an ambitious four-year project to develop this radical new technology.</p>
<p>As depicted above, robots will be “born” through the use of 3D manufacturing. We use a new kind of hybrid hardware-software evolutionary architecture for design. That means that every physical robot has a digital clone. Physical robots are performance-tested in real-world environments, while their digital clones enter a software programme, where they undergo rapid simulated evolution. This hybrid system introduces a novel type of evolution: new generations can be produced from a union of the most successful traits from a virtual “mother” and a physical “father”.</p>
<p>As well as being rendered in our simulator, “child” robots produced via our hybrid evolution are also 3D-printed and introduced into a real-world, creche-like environment. The most successful individuals within this physical training centre make their “genetic code” available for reproduction and for the improvement of future generations, while less “fit” robots can simply be hoisted away and recycled into new ones as part of an ongoing evolutionary cycle. </p>
<p>Two years into the project, significant advances have been made. From a scientific perspective, we have designed new <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2218-6581/9/4/106">artificial evolutionary algorithms</a> that have produced a diverse set of robots that drive or crawl, and can learn to navigate through complex mazes. These algorithms evolve both the <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/9308434">body-plan</a> and brain of the robot. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3377929.3398151">brain</a> contains a controller that determines how the robot moves, interpreting sensory information from the environment and translating this into motor controls. Once the robot is built, a <a href="https://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1162/isal_a_00299">learning algorithm</a> quickly refines the child brain to account for any potential mismatch between its new body and its inherited brain.</p>
<p>From an engineering perspective, we have designed the “<a href="https://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/isal_a_00147">RoboFab</a>” to fully <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jetWXiEeDfQ&feature=youtu.be">automate manufacturing</a>. This robotic arm attaches wires, sensors and other “organs” chosen by evolution to the robot’s 3D-printed chassis. We designed these components to facilitate swift assembly, giving the RoboFab access to a big <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/9308204">toolbox</a> of robot limbs and organs.</p>
<h2>Waste disposal</h2>
<p>The first major use case we plan to address is deploying this technology to design robots to undertake clean-up of legacy waste in a nuclear reactor – like that seen in the TV miniseries Chernobyl. Using humans for this task is both dangerous and expensive, and necessary <a href="https://www.eurekamagazine.co.uk/design-engineering-features/technology/autonomous-robots-and-ai-taking-humans-out-of-uks-nuclear-clean-up-task/215804/">robotic solutions</a> remain to be developed.</p>
<p>Looking forward, the long-term vision is to develop the technology sufficiently to enable the evolution of entire <a href="https://ieeetv.ieee.org/towards-the-autonomous-evolution-of-robotic-ecosystems">autonomous robotic ecosystems</a> that live and work for long periods in challenging and dynamic environments without the need for direct human oversight. </p>
<p>In this radical new paradigm, robots are conceived and born, rather than designed and manufactured. Such robots will fundamentally change the concept of machines, showcasing a new breed that can change their form and behaviour over time – just like us.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/153159/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The ARE project is led from the University of York, partnering with Edinburgh Napier University, Bristol Robotics Laboratory and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. It is funded by the EPSRC under grant agreements EP/R03561X, EP/R035733, EP/R035679, and by the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.</span></em></p>The robots are ‘born’ via 3D printer, and recycle themselves upon their ‘death’.Emma Hart, Chair in Natural Computation, Edinburgh Napier UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/877702017-12-27T20:46:49Z2017-12-27T20:46:49ZBefore we colonise Mars, let’s look to our problems on Earth<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199343/original/file-20171215-16456-1ar4m9m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mars NASA JPL Caltech cd f d o</span> </figcaption></figure><p>Everyone wants to go to Mars, or so it seems. </p>
<p>Elon Musk, NASA with Lockheed Martin, and now Boeing are all looking towards the red planet, with heady predictions of missions during the 2020s. </p>
<p>But at what cost? And could we even survive any long-term colonisation on Mars? Given the problems we face here on Earth it’s important to ask whether we should be better tasked with looking after the only planet we know (so far) that can harbour life.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/revealed-today-elon-musks-new-space-vision-took-us-from-earth-to-mars-and-back-home-again-84837">Revealed today, Elon Musk's new space vision took us from Earth to Mars, and back home again</a>
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<h2>The race to Mars</h2>
<p>Boeing says it wants <a href="http://fortune.com/2017/12/07/boeing-dennis-muilenburg-elon-musk-mars/">to be involved in the first mission to send humans</a> to the red planet. The company’s chief executive Dennis Muilenburg told a US TV host in December 2017:</p>
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<p>I firmly believe the first person that sets foot on Mars will get there on a Boeing rocket. </p>
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<p>A key rival is Musk, the billionaire founder of SpaceX, which is already <a href="http://www.spacex.com/missions">launching rockets</a>. At the 68th Annual International Aeronautics Congress, in Adelaide in September 2017, Musk spoke of <a href="http://www.news.com.au/national/south-australia/elon-musk-to-detail-his-mission-to-mars-at-international-astronautical-congress-in-adelaide-on-friday/news-story/53708c3d16e4070a66aab3d0b8b7477a">airline-like connections</a> between Earth and Mars, with cargo missions to begin by 2022. </p>
<p>Lockheed Martin says it <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/lockheed-martin-reveals-plans-for-sending-humans-to-mars/">plans to send humans to Mars</a> in the next decade. </p>
<p>Even the famous theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9672000/9672233.stm">has argued</a> that it is “essential that we colonise space” although he doesn’t see it happening that soon:</p>
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<p>I believe that we will eventually establish self-sustaining colonies on Mars and other bodies in the Solar system although probably not within the next 100 years.</p>
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<h2>Exploring other planets</h2>
<p>Scientific exploration of Solar system planets constitutes one of the most exciting achievements the human race is realising.</p>
<p>But by contrast, the idea of colonising Mars or other planets or moons is misleading. It yields an impression in many people’s mind that an alternative exists to Earth, a unique (so far) haven of life in the Solar system, currently suffering from <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/global-warming-2768">global warming</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/contributions-to-sea-level-rise-have-increased-by-half-since-1993-largely-because-of-greenlands-ice-79175">rising oceans</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/not-just-heat-even-our-spring-frosts-can-bear-the-fingerprint-of-climate-change-89029">extreme weather events</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/earths-sixth-mass-extinction-has-begun-new-study-confirms-43432">mass extinction of species</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-we-signed-the-open-letter-from-scientists-supporting-a-total-ban-on-nuclear-weapons-75209">growing risk of nuclear wars</a>.</p>
<p>Microbial life <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/life-on-mars-78138144/">may exist on Mars</a> or <a href="https://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/snc/nasa1.html">may have existed in the past</a>. <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mars/overview/index.html">According to NASA</a>:</p>
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<p>Among our discoveries about Mars, one stands out above all others: the possible presence of liquid water, either in its ancient past or preserved in the subsurface today. Water is key because almost everywhere we find water on Earth, we find life. If Mars once had liquid water, or still does today, it’s compelling to ask whether any microscopic life forms could have developed on its surface.</p>
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<p>But doubts have been raised recently with regard to the distinction between water and <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/recurring-martian-streaks-flowing-sand-not-water">sand flow on Mars</a>.</p>
<h2>No atmosphere for life</h2>
<p>At present there is no evidence of a liveable atmosphere under which plants or other organisms would survive on Mars. </p>
<p>Its <a href="https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/marsfact.html">thin atmosphere</a> is less than 1% of Earth’s, consisting of 96% carbon dioxide, 1.9% nitrogen, 1.9% argon and trace amounts of oxygen and carbon monoxide. It provides little protection from the Sun’s radiation, nor does it allow retention of heat at the surface.</p>
<p>Suggestions as to whether <a href="https://www.space.com/33690-allen-hills-mars-meteorite-alien-life-20-years.html">biological-like textures</a> in a Martian meteorite (<a href="https://www.lpi.usra.edu/lpi/meteorites/The_Meteorite.shtml">ALH84001</a>) signify ancient fossils have not been confirmed.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199135/original/file-20171214-27575-1xga58h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199135/original/file-20171214-27575-1xga58h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199135/original/file-20171214-27575-1xga58h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199135/original/file-20171214-27575-1xga58h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199135/original/file-20171214-27575-1xga58h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199135/original/file-20171214-27575-1xga58h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199135/original/file-20171214-27575-1xga58h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199135/original/file-20171214-27575-1xga58h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This high-resolution scanning electron microscope image shows an unusual tube-like structural form that is less than 1/100th the width of a human hair in size found in meteorite ALH84001, a meteorite believed to be of Martian origin.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/exploration/marsexploration/html/s96_12609.html">NASA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In July 2017 <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-04910-3">researchers reported</a> that the surface of Mars may be more toxic to microorganisms than previously thought.</p>
<h2>A Mars colony warning</h2>
<p>There is <a href="https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2016/9/30/13099898/mars-death-risk-illustrated">no lack of warnings</a> regarding the colonisation of Mars.</p>
<p>If a colony was established it would take continuous efforts and major expense to keep it supplied, including likely rescue missions. Furthermore, the long-term isolation of the colonists may take its toll.</p>
<p>When the <a href="http://www.mars-one.com/">Mars One</a> project announced in 2013 that it was looking to recruit four people to send on a mission to colonise Mars, Chris Chambers, a professor of cognitive neuroscience at Cardiff University, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/head-quarters/2013/sep/09/neuroscience-psychology">warned of the psychological risks</a> the colonists would face.</p>
<p>Yet dreams stay alive. According to NASA’s <a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/programmissions/overview/">mission statement</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Even if Mars is devoid of past or present life, however, there’s still much excitement on the horizon. We ourselves might become “life on Mars”, should humans choose to travel there one day.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Earth calling Mars</h2>
<p>Space colonisation dreams are not entirely devoid of economic interests. The international space industry is <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-24/what-australians-need-to-know-about-space/8979036">said to be worth</a> in the order of some US$400 billion a year, and <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/31/the-space-industry-will-be-worth-nearly-3-trillion-in-30-years-bank-of-america-predicts.html">predicted to grow</a> to nearly US$3 trillion over the next three decades. </p>
<p>Space travel and colonisation ideas are mostly promoted by engineers and entrepreneurs who stand to gain from these schemes, but far less so by biologists and medical scientists who understand the terrestrial origin and physiological limitations of the human body.</p>
<p>There can be little doubt that, given modern and future computer and space technologies, space stations could be constructed on Mars, where a few privileged humans may be able to live for periods of time.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-new-space-race-why-we-need-a-human-mission-to-mars-73757">The new space race: why we need a human mission to Mars</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Should humans colonise a life-bearing planet, we should ask whether organisms would fare any better than <a href="http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/biodiversity/elements_of_biodiversity/extinction_crisis/">species extinguished on Earth</a>. </p>
<p>The ethical polarity between those dreaming of conquering space and those hoping to defend Earth from global heating and a nuclear calamity could not be greater. </p>
<p>The billions and trillions of dollars required to develop and maintain colonies in space could approach the <a href="https://www.sipri.org/research/armament-and-disarmament/arms-transfers-and-military-spending/military-expenditure">estimated US$1.69 trillion military spending globally</a> in 2016.</p>
<p>As a scientist who examines how a changing climate influences human evolution, I argue that funds on this scale would be better directed at the defence of the lives of <a href="https://www.census.gov/popclock/">more than 7 billion humans</a> on Earth, as well as protection of animals and of nature more broadly.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/87770/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Glikson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The race may be on to send humans to live on Mars, but is it worth the effort – and the spend – when we have our own problems to deal with on Earth.Andrew Glikson, Earth and paleo-climate scientist, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/847902017-10-12T10:13:44Z2017-10-12T10:13:44ZWhat NASA’s simulated missions tell us about the need for Martian law<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/188980/original/file-20171005-9767-4g1c6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Off to court...</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">D Mitriy/wikipedia</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Six people <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/hi-seas-team-completes-8-month-isolation-mission/">recently returned</a> from an eight-month long isolation experiment to test human endurance for long-term space missions. Their “journey to Mars” involved being isolated below the summit of the world’s largest active volcano in Hawaii (Mauna Loa), and was designed to better understand the psychological impacts of manned missions. </p>
<p>NASA, which aims to <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/content/nasas-journey-to-mars/">send expeditions to Mars by the 2030s</a>, is hoping that the results could help them pick crew members for a future mission to Mars. And it’s not just NASA that has an eye on Mars. Maverick millionaire <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2149003-elon-musks-new-plans-for-a-moon-base-and-a-mars-mission-by-2022/">Elon Musk</a> and aerospace firm <a href="https://www.space.com/36312-mars-base-camp-astronauts-2028.html">Lockheed Martin</a> have heralded separate missions and stations for the red planet between 2022 and 2028. </p>
<p>Indeed, scientific discovery is making a Martian Eldorado a feasible dream at breathtaking speed. Last month, <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4872220/Has-China-cracked-Nasa-s-impossible-engine.html">China claimed to have developed</a> a “physics-defying EmDrive”, which would allow humans to journey to Mars in weeks. With or without this engine, it seems humans are on the inevitable trajectory to colonise Mars. </p>
<p>It is therefore becoming as important to ask what laws will govern humans on Mars as it is to ask whether we could survive on the planet’s surface. Unexpectedly, this may be something that isolation experiments could help with.</p>
<h2>Settled law on space stations</h2>
<p>Space law has always supported the position that objects and stations placed on celestial bodies <a href="https://theconversation.com/who-owns-space-us-asteroid-mining-act-is-dangerous-and-potentially-illegal-51073">are to remain under national ownership</a>, jurisdiction and control. Private companies or other entrepreneurs cannot therefore have legitimacy or mine these bodies for resources unless they exercise lawful control through a sovereign state. </p>
<p>Current rules say the establishment of a space station and the area required for its operation should be notified to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. These would then be under the exclusive jurisdiction of the state where the spacecraft is registered or the state bringing the component parts of the station. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/188975/original/file-20171005-9753-1kv1fj8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/188975/original/file-20171005-9753-1kv1fj8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188975/original/file-20171005-9753-1kv1fj8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188975/original/file-20171005-9753-1kv1fj8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188975/original/file-20171005-9753-1kv1fj8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188975/original/file-20171005-9753-1kv1fj8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188975/original/file-20171005-9753-1kv1fj8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The participants of the HI-SEAS mission.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">HI-SEAS/NASA</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In many ways, this makes sense – it is difficult to see how a permanent station on Mars may be maintained without some form of tenure of the ground. The same goes for tenure over areas around the station sufficient for its maintenance (such as creating fuel from nearby resources). In fact, the closest practical analogies to a future Mars station in current jurisdictional terms would be the Antarctic stations maintained by <a href="http://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-antarctica/people-in-antarctica/who-owns-antarctica">Antarctic claimant states</a>.</p>
<p>But there are areas where the law may need to be updated. With increased interest in multiple, permanent space stations on Mars and potentially dozens of objects in its orbit, the possibility of debris that could kill or damage Martian property also increases. What laws should govern this? It is in fact only a matter of time before damage to a space station caused by debris will lead to legal and political conflict?</p>
<h2>Property rights and crime</h2>
<p>It is also likely there will be questions regarding what states and corporations may be permitted to do on Martian colonies. Space manufacturing of drugs and other materials that may require absolutely sterile atmosphere could be carried out in space stations. Discoveries may under current laws be patented and commercialised. But the main question will be that of legitimacy of <a href="https://theconversation.com/who-owns-space-us-asteroid-mining-act-is-dangerous-and-potentially-illegal-51073">mining operations</a>.</p>
<p>Although the use of resources for the conduct of scientific exploration and for the sustenance of a Martian mission is permitted under contemporary space law, creating property rights over space-based resources is not. That means the mining of resources for the purpose of commercial repatriation to Earth is forbidden until appropriate changes are made to space treaties.</p>
<p>However, the likelihood is that the law may end up being ignored – as shown by recent attempts to introduce appropriation of natural resources in space by the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/2262/text?overview=closed">US</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/sep/15/luxembourg-tax-haven-privatise-space">Luxembourg</a>. Both countries have enacted domestic legislation essentially granting a blank cheque to private companies to embark on a winner-takes-all gold rush on celestial bodies. </p>
<p>When it comes to civil and criminal jurisdiction, there are tested examples – such as Intergovernmental Agreements of 1988 and 1999 which regulate the Columbus Space Station Project and the <a href="http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Human_Spaceflight/International_Space_Station/International_Space_Station_legal_framework">ISS</a>. Partners to these agreements developed a code of conduct for space station crews in free space. The rules specified many things including the power to punish crimes, registration of space objects, safety of nationals and repatriation/scheduled return of offenders to Earth.</p>
<p>Criminal jurisdiction will continue to have to be strict and hierarchical. It is increasingly common that there are astronauts of different nationalities on board a spacecraft or space station, and they are often subordinate to the disciplinary authority of one commander. The commander in all likelihood will have been appointed by the state of registry of the spacecraft or space station. The authority of this person is typically absolute and unquestionable.</p>
<p>In many ways, a space station’s commander inherits powers from older bodies of law such as that of a ship’s captain. The connecting thread in all these traditions is the obvious need to ensure the safety and survival of crew and passengers and eventually “space colonists”. Hopefully, recent isolation experiments could reveal a preference for a more democratic and less hierarchical regime for modern space stations.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/189777/original/file-20171011-16644-rrxa75.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/189777/original/file-20171011-16644-rrxa75.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/189777/original/file-20171011-16644-rrxa75.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/189777/original/file-20171011-16644-rrxa75.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/189777/original/file-20171011-16644-rrxa75.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/189777/original/file-20171011-16644-rrxa75.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/189777/original/file-20171011-16644-rrxa75.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">American space tourist Dennis Tito (right) with Russian cosmonauts.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">NASA</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This is not least because if collaborating countries all have their own commander, there could be conflict. A good indication would be how Russia and the US dealt with the transportation of Dennis Tito, an American millionaire, into orbit on Space Station Alpha <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13208329">as the first commercial space tourist</a>. To win NASA’s approval, the passenger, who ironically won the privilege to travel there on a Russian rocket, had to promise not to wander through American segments of the station without an escort. He also agreed to pay for anything he broke. </p>
<p>Perhaps very cruelly, Russian cosmonauts were also curiously <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2009/mar/31/space-mission-russia-us">banned from using American astronauts’ toilets</a> on the ISS in 2008. </p>
<p>Ultimately, there’s the possibility that colonists won’t be happy being governed by Earth law. What should happen to them – would they be neo-colonialists or simply “alien” in legal terms? Would they or should they form or evolve their own juridical systems while in long-duration flight? Should parliaments on Earth deal with Martian earthlings’ issues on an arms-length basis? These are all questions that need to be answered.</p>
<p>Luckily, psychological studies like NASA’s will be very useful because the confined and stressful environments “astronauts” face may challenge current legal frameworks. The soup of legal issues that will emerge in future Martian space stations will be a curious thing indeed and things will certainly get sucher and sucher.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/84790/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gbenga Oduntan is author of Sovereignty and Jurisdiction in Airspace and Outer Space: Legal Criteria for Spatial Delimitation (Routledge Research in International Law) 2011.</span></em></p>Future Mars colonists may want to form their own legal system. What would stop them?Gbenga Oduntan, Reader (Associate Professor) in International Commercial Law, University of KentLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/847422017-09-29T02:35:41Z2017-09-29T02:35:41ZWorries about spreading Earth microbes shouldn’t slow search for life on Mars<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/188019/original/file-20170928-2939-1iwisqx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Viking landers in the 1970s were the last to look directly for life on Mars.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://images.nasa.gov/#/details-PIA00382.html">NASA/JPL</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>There may be no bigger question than whether we are alone in our solar system. As our spacecraft find new clues about the presence of liquid water now or in the past on Mars, the possibility of some kind of life there looks more likely. On Earth, water means life, and that’s why the exploration of Mars is guided by the idea of following the water.</p>
<p>But the search for life on Mars is paired with plenty of strong warnings about how we must sterilize our spacecraft to avoid contaminating our neighbor planet. How will we know what’s native Martian if we unintentionally seed the place with Earth organisms? A popular analogy points out that Europeans unknowingly brought smallpox to the New World, and they took home syphilis. Similarly, it is argued, our robotic explorations could contaminate Mars with terrestrial microorganisms.</p>
<p>As an astrobiologist who researches the environments of early Mars, I suggest these arguments are misleading. The current danger of contamination via unmanned robots is actually quite low. But contamination <a href="https://doi.org/10.1089/ast.2017.1703">will become unavoidable once astronauts get there</a>. <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/content/journey-to-mars-overview">NASA</a>, other agencies and the <a href="http://www.spacex.com/mars">private sector</a> hope to send <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/28/science/elon-musk-mars.html">human missions to Mars by the 2030s</a>.</p>
<p>Space agencies have long prioritized preventing contamination over our hunt for life on Mars. Now is the time to reassess and update this strategy – before human beings get there and inevitably introduce Earth organisms despite our best efforts.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/188026/original/file-20170928-1449-h7tdl9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/188026/original/file-20170928-1449-h7tdl9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/188026/original/file-20170928-1449-h7tdl9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188026/original/file-20170928-1449-h7tdl9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188026/original/file-20170928-1449-h7tdl9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188026/original/file-20170928-1449-h7tdl9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188026/original/file-20170928-1449-h7tdl9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188026/original/file-20170928-1449-h7tdl9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Microbiologists frequently collect swab samples from the floor of clean rooms during spacecraft assembly.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://images.nasa.gov/#/details-PIA17368.html">NASA/JPL-Caltech</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What planetary protection protocols do</h2>
<p>Arguments calling for extra caution have permeated Mars exploration strategies and led to the creation of specific guiding policies, known as <a href="https://planetaryprotection.nasa.gov/">planetary protection</a> protocols. </p>
<p>Strict cleaning procedures are required on our spacecraft before they’re allowed to sample regions on Mars which could be a habitat for microorganisms, either native to Mars or brought there from Earth. These areas are labeled by the planetary protection offices as “<a href="https://www.nap.edu/catalog/21816/review-of-the-mepag-report-on-mars-special-regions">Special Regions</a>.”</p>
<p>The worry is that, otherwise, terrestrial invaders could jeopardize potential Mars life. They also could confound future researchers trying to distinguish between any indigenous Martian life forms and life that arrived as contamination from Earth via today’s spacecraft. </p>
<p>The sad consequence of these policies is that the multi-billion-dollar Mars spacecraft programs run by <a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/programmissions/overview/">space</a> <a href="http://exploration.esa.int/mars/44997-the-red-planet/">agencies</a> in the West have not proactively looked for life on the planet since the late 1970s.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/188014/original/file-20170928-1438-4xut2s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/188014/original/file-20170928-1438-4xut2s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/188014/original/file-20170928-1438-4xut2s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188014/original/file-20170928-1438-4xut2s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188014/original/file-20170928-1438-4xut2s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188014/original/file-20170928-1438-4xut2s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188014/original/file-20170928-1438-4xut2s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188014/original/file-20170928-1438-4xut2s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Dr. Carl Sagan poses with a model of the Viking lander in Death Valley, California.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/images/151106main_image_feature_599_ys_full.jpg">NASA</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>That’s when NASA’s Viking landers made the only attempt ever to find life on Mars (or on any planet outside Earth, for that matter). They carried out specific biological experiments looking for evidence of microbial life. Since then, that incipient biological exploration has shifted to less ambitious geological surveys that try to demonstrate only that Mars was “<a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/mission/science/objectives/">habitable</a>” in the past, meaning it had conditions that could likely support life.</p>
<p>Even worse, if a dedicated life-seeking spacecraft ever does get to Mars, planetary protection policies will allow it to search for life everywhere on the Martian surface, except in the very places we suspect life may exist: the Special Regions. The concern is that exploration could contaminate them with terrestrial microorganisms.</p>
<h2>Can Earth life make it on Mars?</h2>
<p>Consider again the Europeans who first journeyed to the New World and back. Yes, smallpox and syphilis traveled with them, between human populations, living inside warm bodies in temperate latitudes. But that situation is irrelevant to Mars exploration. Any analogy addressing possible biological exchange between Earth and Mars must consider the absolute contrast in the planets’ environments.</p>
<p>A more accurate analogy would be bringing 12 Asian tropical parrots to the Venezuelan rainforest. In 10 years we may very likely have an invasion of Asian parrots in South America. But if we bring the same 12 Asian parrots to Antarctica, in 10 hours we’ll have 12 dead parrots.</p>
<p>We’d assume that any indigenous life on Mars should be much better adapted to Martian stresses than Earth life is, and therefore would outcompete any possible terrestrial newcomers. Microorganisms on Earth have evolved to thrive in challenging environments like salt crusts in the Atacama desert or hydrothermal vents on the deep ocean floor. In the same way, we can imagine any potential Martian biosphere would have experienced enormous evolutionary pressure during billions of years to become expert in inhabiting <a href="http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/ast.2015.1380">Mars’ today environments</a>. The microorganisms hitchhiking on our spacecraft wouldn’t stand much of a chance against super-specialized Martians in their own territory.</p>
<p>So if Earth life cannot survive and, most importantly, reproduce on Mars, concerns going forward about our spacecraft contaminating Mars with terrestrial organisms are unwarranted. This would be the parrots-in-Antarctica scenario.</p>
<p>On the other hand, perhaps Earth microorganisms can, in fact, survive and create active microbial ecosystems on present-day Mars – the parrots-in-South America scenario. We can then presume that terrestrial microorganisms are already there, carried by any one of the dozens of spacecraft sent from Earth in the last decades, or by the natural exchange of rocks pulled out from one planet by a meteoritic impact and transported to the other. </p>
<p>In this case, protection protocols are overly cautious since contamination is already a fact.</p>
<h2>Technological reasons the protocols don’t make sense</h2>
<p>Another argument to soften planetary protection protocols hinges on the fact that current sterilization methods don’t actually “sterilize” our spacecraft, a feat engineers still don’t know how to accomplish definitively.</p>
<p>The cleaning procedures we use on our robots rely on pretty much the same stresses prevailing on the Martian surface: oxidizing chemicals and radiation. They end up killing only those microorganisms with no chance of surviving on Mars anyway. So current cleaning protocols are essentially conducting an artificial selection experiment, with the result that we carry to Mars only the most hardy microorganisms. This should put into question the whole cleaning procedure.</p>
<p>Further, technology has advanced enough that distinguishing between Earthlings and Martians is no longer a problem. If Martian life is biochemically similar to Earth life, we could sequence genomes of any organisms located. If they don’t match anything we know is on Earth, we can surmise it’s native to Mars. Then we could add Mars’ creatures to the tree of DNA-based life we already know, probably somewhere on its lower branches. And if it is different, we would be able to identify such differences based on its building blocks.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/188023/original/file-20170928-22252-1wes7l6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/188023/original/file-20170928-22252-1wes7l6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/188023/original/file-20170928-22252-1wes7l6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188023/original/file-20170928-22252-1wes7l6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188023/original/file-20170928-22252-1wes7l6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188023/original/file-20170928-22252-1wes7l6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=594&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188023/original/file-20170928-22252-1wes7l6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=594&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188023/original/file-20170928-22252-1wes7l6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=594&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bacterial species <em>Tersicoccus phoenicis</em> is found in only two places: clean rooms in Florida and South America where spacecraft are assembled for launch.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://images.nasa.gov/#/details-PIA17369.html">NASA/JPL-Caltech</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Mars explorers have yet another technique to help differentiate between Earth and Mars life. The microbes <a href="https://doi.org/10.1089/ast.2012.0906">we know persist in clean spacecraft assembly rooms</a> provide an excellent control with which to monitor potential contamination. Any microorganism found in a Martian sample identical or highly similar to those present in the clean rooms would very likely indicate contamination – not indigenous life on Mars.</p>
<h2>The window is closing</h2>
<p>On top of all these reasons, it’s pointless to split hairs about current planetary protection guidelines as applied to today’s unmanned robots since human explorers are on the horizon. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2009.08.015">People would inevitably bring microbial hitchhikers with them</a>, because we cannot sterilize humans. Contamination risks between robotic and manned missions are simply not comparable. </p>
<p>Whether the microbes that fly with humans will be able to last on Mars is a separate question – though their survival is probably assured if they stay within a spacesuit or a human habitat engineered to preserve life. But no matter what, they’ll definitely be introduced to the Martian environment. Continuing to delay the astrobiological exploration of Mars now because we don’t want to contaminate the planet with microorganisms hiding in our spacecrafts isn’t logical considering astronauts (and their microbial stowaways) may arrive within two or three decades.</p>
<p>Prior to landing humans on Mars or bringing samples back to Earth, it makes sense to determine whether there is indigenous Martian life. What might robots or astronauts encounter there – and import to Earth? More knowledge now will increase the safety of Earth’s biosphere. After all, we still don’t know if returning samples could endanger humanity and the terrestrial biosphere. Perhaps reverse contamination should be our big concern.</p>
<p>The main goal of Mars exploration should be to try to find life on Mars and address the question of whether it is a separate genesis or shares a common ancestor with life on Earth. In the end, if Mars is lifeless, maybe we are alone in the universe; but if there is or was life on Mars, then there’s a zoo out there.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/84742/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alberto G. Fairén receives funding from the European Research Council.</span></em></p>Planetary protection protocols try to make sure we don’t seed places like Mars with life from our planet. An astrobiologist argues they’re misguided – especially with human astronauts on the horizon.Alberto G. Fairén, Research Scientist at Centro de Astrobiología, Spain, and Visiting Scientist in Astronomy, Cornell UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/845972017-09-28T19:03:52Z2017-09-28T19:03:52ZDear diary: the Sun never set on the Arctic Mars simulation<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187935/original/file-20170928-3485-mcnipt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Anastasiya (left) and myself working on the Haughton crater rim.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mars Society</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Jonathan Clarke has just returned from another <a href="https://theconversation.com/dear-diary-another-day-in-the-life-on-mars-75929">mission</a> to simulate life on Mars. This time he was on Devon Island in the Canadian Arctic, where the sun never sets in the northern summer.</em></p>
<p><em>It’s all part of a project to see what some of the challenges are, should humans one day decide to live on Mars. He’s detailed some of the events as they happened across 52 days of his most recent experience.</em></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187679/original/file-20170926-3108-1xyhvm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187679/original/file-20170926-3108-1xyhvm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187679/original/file-20170926-3108-1xyhvm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187679/original/file-20170926-3108-1xyhvm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187679/original/file-20170926-3108-1xyhvm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187679/original/file-20170926-3108-1xyhvm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187679/original/file-20170926-3108-1xyhvm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187679/original/file-20170926-3108-1xyhvm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The crew outside station. (Left to right) Yusuke Murakami (Japan), Paul Knightly (USA), Anastasiya Stepanova (Russia), Anushree Srivastava (India), Alexandre Mangeot (France), and Jonathan Clarke (Australia).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mars Society</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Day 16, Sol 1 (A Sol is a Martian day)</h2>
<p>Can’t believe it, after more than two weeks of waiting we are finally here at Devon Island. It looks very alien, very Mars-like in appearance: stark, a visual symphony in brown, orange and grey.</p>
<p>We landed about 2.5km from the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (FMARS) habitat, gleaming white on the distant ridge in the evening sunshine. We forded two creeks and climbed the rocky ridge to get there.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-new-space-race-why-we-need-a-human-mission-to-mars-73757">The new space race: why we need a human mission to Mars</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>The habitat was in better condition than we had feared, but there was still some mould and it smelled a bit musty. We opened everything up, and settled into the least grotty rooms and mattresses.</p>
<p>There was lots and lots of junk, lots of tidying to do. I went back with the quad bike and trailer to ferry our stuff back to the habitat while the others began to make the station operational.</p>
<p>Felt odd and exposed by myself in the Arctic. No bears though; maybe carrying a shotgun kept them away. Then went down to the creek with some jerrycans and collected water. By the time we were ready for bed it was 1am. Still bright daylight of course.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187674/original/file-20170926-10403-rmb44u.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187674/original/file-20170926-10403-rmb44u.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187674/original/file-20170926-10403-rmb44u.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187674/original/file-20170926-10403-rmb44u.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187674/original/file-20170926-10403-rmb44u.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187674/original/file-20170926-10403-rmb44u.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187674/original/file-20170926-10403-rmb44u.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187674/original/file-20170926-10403-rmb44u.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Unloading the the gear from the aircraft.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jonathan Clarke</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Sol 6</h2>
<p>Today is July 20, an appropriate day for us to start the main part of our mission, because 41 years ago <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/viking-1/">Viking 1</a> performed the first successful robotic landing on Mars.</p>
<p>The FMARS habitat is very similar to the <a href="https://theconversation.com/dear-diary-another-day-in-the-life-on-mars-75929">unit in Utah I stayed in previously</a>. It’s a two storey cylinder with two decks; eight metres in diameter and eight metres high. The upper deck has our cabins, galley and wardroom, the lower deck airlocks, lab, workshop, toilets, and shower. There is a small generator that provides us with power.</p>
<p>Going into simulation mode means we will be only going outside while wearing our simulated space suits, with a few exceptions. These include heavy engineering tasks – water management, rubbish burning and so on – and of course shotgun duty, where every outside team is accompanied by an armed lookout. A very non-Martian threat here is the possibility of polar bears.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187689/original/file-20170926-28228-13v89xx.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187689/original/file-20170926-28228-13v89xx.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187689/original/file-20170926-28228-13v89xx.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187689/original/file-20170926-28228-13v89xx.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187689/original/file-20170926-28228-13v89xx.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187689/original/file-20170926-28228-13v89xx.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187689/original/file-20170926-28228-13v89xx.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187689/original/file-20170926-28228-13v89xx.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Shotgun duty.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jonathan Clarke</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Nearby is Haughton crater. An asteroid impact 39 million years ago blasted this crater 22km across and hundreds of metres deep. Even though reduced by erosion, it’s still 14km from rim to rim.</p>
<p>Haughton crater is actually similar in size to Endeavour crater on Mars, currently being explored by the <a href="https://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mer/home/index.html">Mars Opportunity Rover mission</a>.</p>
<p>The FMARS habitat is perched on the northwest rim of the crater, and affords us a spectacular view of the crater with its complex geology, meltwater steams and residual snow patches. From here we can proceed on foot, or quad bike to study the geology and biology of the area, much as we would on Mars.</p>
<p>Anushree and Paul did the first extravehicular activity (EVA) outside the FMARS this afternoon. They went to the snow melt zone below the habitat, with Alex riding shotgun. Paul was checking his environmental monitoring stations he had put in a few days ago. </p>
<p>I spent the day planning future work, setting up spreadsheets, planning excursions. All plans are tentative of course, being so dependent on weather and other factors. This will be less of an issue on Mars of course, as all but the most intense dust storms and solar radiation events will have little impact on day-to-day activities. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187692/original/file-20170926-19342-llk625.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187692/original/file-20170926-19342-llk625.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187692/original/file-20170926-19342-llk625.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187692/original/file-20170926-19342-llk625.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187692/original/file-20170926-19342-llk625.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187692/original/file-20170926-19342-llk625.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187692/original/file-20170926-19342-llk625.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187692/original/file-20170926-19342-llk625.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Yusuke (left) and Paul (right) carrying out photographic surveys on polygons in Haughton crater.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jonathan Clarke</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Sol 13</h2>
<p>When I got up it was foggy and the cloud was low on the ridge, although the crater was more clear. The cloud lifted during the morning, which was good. There was no wind; also good. </p>
<p>Went out on EVA 6 with Anastasiya, and Yusuke as shotgun. Worked southwest along the crater rim from the habitat, and then down across the crater wall looking at some mounds. Lots of issues with helmet fogging though. </p>
<p>On the ridge I was sampling different limestone lithologies. On the crater floor it was a bit boggy in places, so we had to walk on the stones to avoid sinking. This usually worked, although there were some close calls in places. This is not something we will expect on Mars.</p>
<p>In the afternoon I worked on photos, EVA notes and field science, and emails for the family and friends. While we don’t have a specific time delay built into communications, contact with the outside world (except in an emergency) is certainly asynchronous. </p>
<p>The Sun came out this afternoon (hello stranger) but all too briefly. The cloud closed in again soon after. The habitat is now completely fog-bound. A bit like living on Mars during a particularly dense dust storm. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187687/original/file-20170926-25765-18se4u8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187687/original/file-20170926-25765-18se4u8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187687/original/file-20170926-25765-18se4u8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=689&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187687/original/file-20170926-25765-18se4u8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=689&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187687/original/file-20170926-25765-18se4u8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=689&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187687/original/file-20170926-25765-18se4u8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=865&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187687/original/file-20170926-25765-18se4u8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=865&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187687/original/file-20170926-25765-18se4u8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=865&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Anushree looking at samples in the lab.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mars Society</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Sol 21</h2>
<p>Woke up to a great silence. Looking out the windows (after wiping all the condensation off them) I saw the reason: we were still enveloped in thick fog. Visibility was down to less than 200m, far worse than we would like to have on Mars, even with the worst dust storms. </p>
<p>It stayed like this most of the day. The ground is also very wet, pools of water everywhere, saturated by the recent rain. The depth of soil above the permafrost here is so thin that it does not take much rain to saturate it.</p>
<p>So no EVA again today, which was frustrating. We have lost three EVA days because of bad weather so far. The ground was too wet for trenching, the visibility too poor for driving, and even for 3D imaging, which is the simplest field task. </p>
<p>So we spent the day working inside. Cleaning, rigging lights (or trying to), sorting old food and equipment, writing up notes, doing psychology tests for the <a href="http://www.istc.int/en/institute/9799">Institute for Biomedical Problems</a> in Moscow, and planning for the day when we will be able to do a proper EVA. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187681/original/file-20170926-25765-1ky6gp0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187681/original/file-20170926-25765-1ky6gp0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187681/original/file-20170926-25765-1ky6gp0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187681/original/file-20170926-25765-1ky6gp0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187681/original/file-20170926-25765-1ky6gp0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187681/original/file-20170926-25765-1ky6gp0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187681/original/file-20170926-25765-1ky6gp0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187681/original/file-20170926-25765-1ky6gp0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Breakfast in the wardroom. Clockwise: Paul, Anastasiya, Alex, Yusuke and Aushree.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jonathan Clarke</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Days like this are a good opportunity to consider the differences between life here and last year at MDRS in Utah. One of the biggest differences is the very limited power situation. We ran the generator for only eight to nine hours a day, so having more than three things on at once (two hot plates and a heater for example) trips the safety switches either in the station or on the generator. </p>
<p>Hopefully on Mars our equipment will be more reliable, with more abundant power, and resets more easily achieved.</p>
<p>At the FMARS though, it is often chilly, damp and even dark on days like this. We also have even more limited internet resources, so the sense of isolation is much greater. </p>
<p>Then of course there is the humidity, condensation, leaks and constant battle with mould that ensues. This can sometimes be a problem on <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2007/11may_locad3">space stations</a>, so we are not alone in battling this problem.</p>
<p>Sanitation is also somewhat primitive; we pee into a funnel that runs into an outside drum, and we poo into plastic bags that are then incinerated. On Mars solid waste would most likely be incinerated as well (despite what was shown in <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3659388/">The Martian</a> film), but <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/behindscenes/waterrecycler.html">urine would be recycled</a>, as is already done on the International Space Station. </p>
<p>The rest of the crew availed themselves of the shower this evening (after a few of us washed yesterday), so we are all clean and human looking again. Due to the cooler temperatures and higher humidity we don’t get as grotty as we did in Utah. </p>
<h2>Day 48, Sol 32</h2>
<p>We are now out of simulation mode, in preparation for our leaving. In the morning we received email confirmation that the first flight out was midday. I was on the first flight, with the samples and the trash.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187695/original/file-20170926-10403-e8uwfz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187695/original/file-20170926-10403-e8uwfz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187695/original/file-20170926-10403-e8uwfz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187695/original/file-20170926-10403-e8uwfz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187695/original/file-20170926-10403-e8uwfz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187695/original/file-20170926-10403-e8uwfz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187695/original/file-20170926-10403-e8uwfz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187695/original/file-20170926-10403-e8uwfz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Leaving Devon Island.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jonathan Clarke</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Mixed feelings on leaving – sad to leave Devon Island, the end of an experience I will mostly likely never repeat, satisfaction at a job well done by all of us.</p>
<h2>Day 49 and after</h2>
<p>It’s sad to leave the Arctic, but the changing weather and the start of sunsets tell us it’s time to go.</p>
<p>As we fly out separately there are sad farewells to the rest of the crew. It’s the breaking of the fellowship, and these people over the past year have become like family. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/dear-diary-another-day-in-the-life-on-mars-75929">Dear diary: another day in the life on Mars</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>As I fly south, it’s strange to see fields again after two months of desolate landscape. I become aware of how humanity has transformed the surface of the Earth, for better and for worse. Maybe that’s one reason some of us want to go to Mars: to find a new world, apply the lessons of the old and perhaps avoid some of the mistakes.</p>
<p>Speaking of lessons, what have I learned about Mars missions, and indeed myself? We have completed our mission despite delays, bad weather, and various other problems, and are a closer and better knit team than when we have started. </p>
<p>Our success has shown, through an operationally realistic analogue mission, that a crew of six can, over 30 days, perform work that on Mars would cover more ground, study more sites and find out more than all the unmanned Mars missions to date.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187666/original/file-20170926-32444-vvwisv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187666/original/file-20170926-32444-vvwisv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187666/original/file-20170926-32444-vvwisv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187666/original/file-20170926-32444-vvwisv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187666/original/file-20170926-32444-vvwisv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187666/original/file-20170926-32444-vvwisv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=570&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187666/original/file-20170926-32444-vvwisv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=570&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187666/original/file-20170926-32444-vvwisv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=570&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A twin otter aircraft flying over the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station on Devon Island.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mars Society</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/84597/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan Clarke is president of Mars Society Australia (MSA), which has been supported by grants from organisations including CSIRO, Australian Geographic, the WA Royalties for Regions, Tata Motors, Starchaser industries and the Pilbara Development Commission The MSA has also previously partnered with Saber Astronautics and Arkaroola Village in field projects in Arkaroola, South Australia. Jonathan works part time for Swinburne University and is affiliated with the Australian Centre for Astrobiology at UNSW University. The Mars 160 expedition was organised and funded by the Mars Society in the United States.</span></em></p>Will humans ever live on Mars? Whoever it is to get there first will benefit from the experiences of those who stayed in simulated Martian missions here on Earth.Jonathan Clarke, Associate member of the Australian Centre for Astrobiology, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/737572017-06-15T20:06:20Z2017-06-15T20:06:20ZThe new space race: why we need a human mission to Mars<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173709/original/file-20170614-19315-1mui10d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1842%2C1128&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A view from the 'Kimberley' formation on Mars taken by NASA's Curiosity rover. The strata in the foreground dip towards the base of Mount Sharp, indicating flow of water toward a basin that existed before the larger bulk of the mountain formed.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/nasas-curiosity-rover-team-confirms-ancient-lakes-on-mars">NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>If we want to know whether there is life beyond Earth then the quickest way to answer that question is to explore Mars. That exploration is currently being done by remote space probes sent from Earth.</p>
<p>The race is on though to send human explorers to Mars and a number of Earth-bound projects are trying to <a href="https://theconversation.com/dear-diary-another-day-in-the-life-on-mars-75929">learn what life would be like on the red planet</a>.</p>
<p>But the notion of any <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/feb/09/mars-one-mission-a-one-way-trip-to-the-red-planet-in-2024">one-way human mission to Mars</a> is nonsensical, as is the thought that we should <a href="https://qz.com/907211/should-we-live-on-mars-nasa-astronaut-ron-garan-believes-we-should-focus-on-fixing-problems-on-earth-instead-of-martian-colonization/">colonise Mars</a> simply because we are making a mess of Earth.</p>
<p>The first suggestion is pointless and unethical – we would be sending astronauts to their certain death – while the second would be a licence for us to continue polluting our home planet.</p>
<p>I believe we should go to Mars because of what we can learn from the red planet, and from developing the technologies to get people there safely.</p>
<p>The SpaceX entrepreneur Elon Musk last September outlined his vision for a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/sep/27/elon-musk-spacex-mars-colony">mission to send people to Mars by 2022</a>. But first he is planning to send <a href="http://www.spacex.com/news/2017/02/27/spacex-send-privately-crewed-dragon-spacecraft-beyond-moon-next-year">people around the Moon</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"836328719165763584"}"></div></p>
<p>I think Musk will send two space tourists around the Moon and back to Earth, <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-space-spacex-tourists-idUSKBN1662HJ">not in 2018 as he has predicted</a>, but probably within a decade. He has not yet experimented with having passengers aboard a rocket.</p>
<h2>Our journey into space</h2>
<p>It’s worth looking at how we got to where we are now in terms of humans in space and space exploration.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173714/original/file-20170614-30107-s09xne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173714/original/file-20170614-30107-s09xne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173714/original/file-20170614-30107-s09xne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173714/original/file-20170614-30107-s09xne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173714/original/file-20170614-30107-s09xne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173714/original/file-20170614-30107-s09xne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173714/original/file-20170614-30107-s09xne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173714/original/file-20170614-30107-s09xne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">More than a billion people watched Apollo 11’s Neil Armstrong take humankind’s first step on another world.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/multimedia/road2apollo-23.html#.WUCsvHX5g6Z">NASA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The first footprint on another world was made by US astronaut <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/about/bios/neilabio.html">Neil Armstrong</a> on <a href="http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/armstrong-walks-on-moon">July 20, 1969 (US time)</a> when he left the Eagle lunar lander and stepped onto the Moon.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Z9WDsgCIroE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">One small step…</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Moon is as far as humans have explored in space but we’ve sent probes to explore the other planets in our Solar system, including Mars.</p>
<p>Several failed attempts were made <a href="https://www.space.com/13558-historic-mars-missions.html">to send a probe to Mars</a> but the US <a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/programmissions/missions/past/mariner34/">Mariner 4</a> was the first to successfully photograph another planet from space when it made a flyby of Mars in July 1965. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173723/original/file-20170614-21309-1evi4q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173723/original/file-20170614-21309-1evi4q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173723/original/file-20170614-21309-1evi4q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173723/original/file-20170614-21309-1evi4q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173723/original/file-20170614-21309-1evi4q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173723/original/file-20170614-21309-1evi4q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173723/original/file-20170614-21309-1evi4q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173723/original/file-20170614-21309-1evi4q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The red planet Mars.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_83.html">NASA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The USSR’s <a href="https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1971-045A">Mars 2</a> orbited Mars for three months in 1971 but its lander module crashed onto the planet. The lander of the Mars 3 mission also failed.</p>
<p>NASA’s <a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/programmissions/missions/past/viking/">Viking 1</a> performed the first successful landing on Mars, on July 20, 1976, followed by <a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/programmissions/missions/past/viking/">Viking 2</a> on September 3, 1976. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173717/original/file-20170614-19315-znhr6n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173717/original/file-20170614-19315-znhr6n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173717/original/file-20170614-19315-znhr6n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=250&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173717/original/file-20170614-19315-znhr6n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=250&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173717/original/file-20170614-19315-znhr6n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=250&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173717/original/file-20170614-19315-znhr6n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173717/original/file-20170614-19315-znhr6n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173717/original/file-20170614-19315-znhr6n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The dunes of Mars as seen by Viking 1.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/sand-dunes-and-large-rocks-revealed-by-viking-is-camera-1">NASA/JPL</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Viking missions were the first to search for life on that planet, since when others such as the <a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/programmissions/missions/present/2003/">Spirit and Opportunity rovers</a>, which landed days apart in January 2004, have looked to see if Mars could have had life in the past. </p>
<p>No evidence of life has been found so far, but the techniques available now are far more advanced and we know much more about the planet. We do have abundant evidence of <a href="https://theconversation.com/there-is-water-on-mars-but-what-does-this-mean-for-life-48310">water on Mars</a>.</p>
<h2>The benefits of space exploration</h2>
<p>Apart from looking for life, why bother with a mission to send humans to Mars? Many aspects of our modern lives would not be possible if it were not for our interest in space.</p>
<p>We rely on <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/satellite-communication">satellites for communication</a>, <a href="http://www.gps.gov/applications/timing/">timing</a> and <a href="http://www.gps.gov/applications/survey/">positioning</a>. Satellites help to keep us <a href="http://media.bom.gov.au/social/blog/611/ahead-of-the-storm-how-australia-benefits-from-global-advances-in-cyclone-forecasting/">safe from severe weather, especially in Australia</a>.</p>
<p>The Apollo and other NASA missions led to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/dec/16/apollo-legacy-moon-space-riley">developments in micro-electronincs</a> that later made it into household devices such as calculators and home computers. </p>
<p>NASA has <a href="https://spinoff.nasa.gov/Spinoff2008/toc_2008.html">detailed many of the spinoffs</a> it says stem from its research for exploration of space, which even include the <a href="https://spinoff.nasa.gov/database/spinoffDetail.php?this=/spinoff//jsc/JSC-SO-105">dustbuster</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173720/original/file-20170614-30067-vhgpra.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173720/original/file-20170614-30067-vhgpra.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173720/original/file-20170614-30067-vhgpra.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173720/original/file-20170614-30067-vhgpra.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173720/original/file-20170614-30067-vhgpra.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173720/original/file-20170614-30067-vhgpra.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173720/original/file-20170614-30067-vhgpra.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173720/original/file-20170614-30067-vhgpra.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The modern household dustbuster has its origins in the Apollo Moon missions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/Sergey Mironov</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Intangible, but critical nonetheless, is the inspiration we derive from space exploration. It can be very significant in attracting young people to science and engineering, something needed more and more as our economies continue to transition to an ever higher-tech future.</p>
<p>In the US there was a <a href="https://theconversation.com/to-launch-australia-into-space-we-need-inspiration-20722">large spike in tertiary enrolments in science and engineering</a> during the Apollo missions to the Moon.</p>
<h2>A new space race</h2>
<p>We are using more and more sophisticated craft to explore Mars. It is a broadly international venture involving <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/">NASA</a>, the <a href="http://www.esa.int/ESA">European Space Agency</a> (22 member nations), the <a href="http://en.roscosmos.ru/">Russian Federal Space Agency</a>, the <a href="http://www.isro.gov.in/">Indian Space Research Organisation</a>, the <a href="http://www.cnsa.gov.cn/n6443408/index.html">China National Space Administration</a>, and the <a href="http://global.jaxa.jp/">Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency</a>.</p>
<p>We are witnessing not only collaboration but competition. Which nation (or company?) will first return to the Moon and then land astronauts on Mars? It is beginning to look like a new space race.</p>
<p>Why focus on Mars? We already know that early in its history, <a href="https://spacescience.arc.nasa.gov/mars-climate-modeling-group/past.html">more than three billion years ago</a>, Mars had a surface environment much like that of Earth at the same time, featuring <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2017/mars-volcano-earths-dinosaurs-went-extinct-about-the-same-time">volcanoes</a>, <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/nasas-curiosity-rover-team-confirms-ancient-lakes-on-mars">lakes</a>, <a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/mer/newsroom/pressreleases/20071210a.html">hot springs</a>, and perhaps even an <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/press/2015/march/nasa-research-suggests-mars-once-had-more-water-than-earth-s-arctic-ocean">ocean in the northern hemisphere</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sKPrwY0Ycno?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">This animation shows how the surface of Mars might have appeared billions of years ago.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Life on Earth then was microbial, the evidence for which is <a href="https://theconversation.com/evidence-of-ancient-life-in-hot-springs-on-earth-could-point-to-fossil-life-on-mars-77388">preserved in 3.5 billion year old rocks</a> in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. </p>
<p>So we are searching for <a href="https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/news/microbes-could-survive-thin-air-of-mars/">microbes on Mars</a>. Despite being microscopic, bacteria and their cousins the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/archaea">Archaea</a> are complex organisms. <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mars/news/marsmethane.html">Methane already discovered</a> in the atmosphere of Mars hints at the presence of such life but is not definitive. </p>
<p>If there ever was life on Mars it may still be there, underground where it will be protected from cosmic and ultraviolet radiation. From time to time it might emerge on the surface in some of the gullies that seem to result from the breaching of underground aquifers.</p>
<p>It might not seem exciting to discover former or living microbes, but if we can demonstrate that they represent an independent origin of life the consequences will be profound.</p>
<p>We will be able to predict confidently that there will be life all over the universe. Somewhere out there will be intelligent beings. What might happen then currently lies in the realm of science fiction.</p>
<p>The future lies in more missions to Mars. So far all missions have been one-way and robotic, but plans are underway for a <a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/programmissions/missions/missiontypes/samplereturns/">mission to return samples from Mars</a>, and sometime this century there will be astronauts on Mars, not in “colonies” but in research bases like those in Antarctica. It is inevitable.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/73757/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Malcolm Walter has received funding from NASA, the Australian Research Council and the University of NSW. </span></em></p>We could learn a lot from any mission to send people to Mars, such as whether there’s life elsewhere in the universe or even the technology for new household appliances.Malcolm Walter, Professor of Astrobiology, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/759292017-06-11T20:30:25Z2017-06-11T20:30:25ZDear diary: another day in the life on Mars<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165537/original/image-20170418-32723-qjlm2y.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Suited up to simulate the conditions of working outside on Mars. Jonathan Clarke (the author, left) with visiting engineer Michael Curtis-Rouse, from UK Space Agency (right).</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jonathan Clarke personal collection</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>On June 16 Jonathan Clarke is starting a return journey to Mars. Not the real red planet, but a simulated Martian life in the polar desert of Devon Island in the Canadian Arctic.</em></p>
<p><em>It’s all part of a project to see what some of the challenges are, should humans one day decide to live on Mars. Jonathan has already spent a total of five months in simulated Martian camps, and he’s detailed some of the events as they happened across 85 Martian days of his most recent experience late last year.</em></p>
<hr>
<h2>Sol 1 (A Sol is a Martian day)</h2>
<p>Our party has “landed” after an eventful two-day drive from NASA’s <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/home/">Ames Research Center</a>, near San Francisco, to the Mars Desert Research Station (<a href="http://mdrs.marssociety.org/">MDRS</a>) in Utah. MDRS is a simulated Mars station built and operated by <a href="http://www.marssociety.org/">The Mars Society</a> for Mars research and education. The core is the habitat module, a two-deck cylinder eight metres high and eight metres in diameter.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165747/original/image-20170419-32693-u0r086.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165747/original/image-20170419-32693-u0r086.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165747/original/image-20170419-32693-u0r086.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165747/original/image-20170419-32693-u0r086.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165747/original/image-20170419-32693-u0r086.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165747/original/image-20170419-32693-u0r086.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165747/original/image-20170419-32693-u0r086.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165747/original/image-20170419-32693-u0r086.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mars Desert Research Station.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">MarsSociety</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It’s good to be back at MDRS; this is my fourth time here since 2003. Most of our Mars 160 crewmates are already here. We are a diverse crew of experienced expeditioners; all of us have been to MDRS before or taken part in similar expeditions elsewhere. All of us know at least one other person in the crew.</p>
<p>There’s Alex our commander and a French engineer; Claude-Michell, a Canadian engineer; Yusuke, a Japanese architect; Anastasiya, a Russian journalist; and from Australia, Annalea (a writer and artist) and myself (a geologist). Our biologist, Anushree from India, will join us in a few days. We are all supervised by Shannon, the MDRS manager and the Mars 160 principal investigator, who lives just off site.</p>
<p>We spent the first Sol settling into our small cabins and getting to know each other. Everyone is excited. There’s a lot to do in the station before we can start making ready for the simulation. </p>
<p>The Mars 160 expedition is different from many other Mars simulations of the past few years. We are not an isolation experiment, although we have limited contact with the outside world. Our responses to the mission are being monitored by the <a href="http://www.istc.int/en/institute/9799">Institute for Biomedical Problems</a> in Moscow, the world’s leading centre for human factors in space. </p>
<p>Instead we are carrying out real research projects under some of the constraints of an actual Mars surface mission. We aim to better determine the realistic capabilities of future explorers of the planet.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165738/original/image-20170418-32693-14gqwn2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165738/original/image-20170418-32693-14gqwn2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165738/original/image-20170418-32693-14gqwn2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165738/original/image-20170418-32693-14gqwn2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165738/original/image-20170418-32693-14gqwn2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165738/original/image-20170418-32693-14gqwn2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165738/original/image-20170418-32693-14gqwn2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165738/original/image-20170418-32693-14gqwn2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mars 160 crew on the porch of MDRS. Left to right, Cluade-Michell Laroche (engineer, Canada), Anastasiya Stepanova (journalist, Russia), Shannon Rupert (principal investigator, US), Jonathan Clarke (geologist, Australia), Yusuke Murakami (executive officer, Japan), Anushree Srivastava (biologist, India), Alexandre Mangeot (commander, France), and Annalea Beattier (artist, Australia)</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Annalie Beattie personal collection</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Sol 9</h2>
<p>First day of our actual Mars mission simulation (“in sim” for short). From here on, barring emergencies or special circumstances, we operate as far as possible under Mars mission constraints. We only go outside when we have to, and when we do we will have to wear the simulated extravehicular activity (EVA) suits.</p>
<p>Communications with the outside world are limited to asynchronous modes only. This means emails only, no telephone or Skype. From now on we have only shelf stable food – dehydrated, freeze-dried and tinned. Much as we would on a real Mars mission.</p>
<p>We had a quiet day, settling into the routine. Dealing with a fragile communications system and other engineering issues. I suspect real Mars missions will be like this, routine days, constant problem solving. </p>
<p>The weather is warm and sticky. A pack rat has decided it wants to go to Mars. We hear it scrabbling about and sometimes glimpse it in the evenings. Maybe every Mars mission needs a cat?</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165725/original/image-20170418-32693-1g6zog2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165725/original/image-20170418-32693-1g6zog2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165725/original/image-20170418-32693-1g6zog2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165725/original/image-20170418-32693-1g6zog2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165725/original/image-20170418-32693-1g6zog2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165725/original/image-20170418-32693-1g6zog2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165725/original/image-20170418-32693-1g6zog2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165725/original/image-20170418-32693-1g6zog2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Crew relaxing and working in the upper deck lounge of MDRS.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jonathan Clarke</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Sol 24</h2>
<p>Very busy day. Some people I have spoken to in the past seem to think the big issue in a Mars simulation is boredom. They imagine we spend our time staring at each other. Not here! </p>
<p>We work 12-14 hours a day, on actual EVAs, EVA planning or analysis, engineering and station management tasks, report writing, communications, outreach tasks, research, cooking, cleaning and washing up. </p>
<p>So this morning I cooked scrambled eggs, we then went on an EVA (Alexandre, myself and Claude Michell) out to Skyline rim, the prominent ridge north west of here.</p>
<p>It’s too far to walk, except in an emergency, so we rode the quadbikes. These little vehicles are stand-ins for the small non-pressurised rovers that astronauts might use on Mars. </p>
<p>Long-range mobility will be essential there, as the interesting sites may be many kilometres from the landing site and the station. NASA expects astronauts to explore as far as 100km from the landing site. Fortunately we don’t have to go so far.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165729/original/image-20170418-10221-1ea2g3i.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165729/original/image-20170418-10221-1ea2g3i.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165729/original/image-20170418-10221-1ea2g3i.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165729/original/image-20170418-10221-1ea2g3i.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165729/original/image-20170418-10221-1ea2g3i.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165729/original/image-20170418-10221-1ea2g3i.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165729/original/image-20170418-10221-1ea2g3i.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165729/original/image-20170418-10221-1ea2g3i.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Riding a quad bike on simulated EVA towards Skyline Rim.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jonathan Clarke personal collection</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Skyline Rim itself is composed of sandstone deposited where a Cretaceous river entered the sea to form a delta, overlying marine shales. Weathering of the shales has produced a multitude of colours from dark grey through to white and yellow. Gypsum veins are common, forming great sheets of the glassy mineral scattered across the landscape like windscreen glass beside an Australian road.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165731/original/image-20170418-32700-1xawqkn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165731/original/image-20170418-32700-1xawqkn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165731/original/image-20170418-32700-1xawqkn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165731/original/image-20170418-32700-1xawqkn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165731/original/image-20170418-32700-1xawqkn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165731/original/image-20170418-32700-1xawqkn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165731/original/image-20170418-32700-1xawqkn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165731/original/image-20170418-32700-1xawqkn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Simulated EVA near Skyline Rim.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jonathan Clarke personal collection</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Sol 29</h2>
<p>We have a strange relationship with the outside environment. On one hand we are isolated from it, permanently indoors, whether in the station or in our suits. On the other, we are also closely engaged with every change and detail. </p>
<p>We are studying the geological and biological features of our landscape. We are constantly aware of the vagaries of weather such as temperature, wind and rain, as well as the shortening days, and their impact on our day-to-day activities. Looking through the porthole becomes a glimpse into an alien world, almost like living under water.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165732/original/image-20170418-32693-1fc2zis.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165732/original/image-20170418-32693-1fc2zis.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165732/original/image-20170418-32693-1fc2zis.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165732/original/image-20170418-32693-1fc2zis.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165732/original/image-20170418-32693-1fc2zis.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165732/original/image-20170418-32693-1fc2zis.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165732/original/image-20170418-32693-1fc2zis.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165732/original/image-20170418-32693-1fc2zis.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">View out of the main MDRS porthole.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jonathan Clarke personal collection</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Today Anushree, Annalea and I went on an EVA to an exposure of the gypsum-rich Summerville Formation of Jurassic age. Strata rich in gypsum and other sulphate minerals are common on Mars and indicate deposition by saline surface water. Studying these deposits helps us to understand past surface environments. Gypsum and other salts can also preserve chemical traces, fossils and even dormant microbes. </p>
<p>Similar deposits are being studied by the ongoing <a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/mer/home/">Opportunity</a> and <a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/mission/mars-rover-curiosity-mission-updates/">Curiosity</a> rover missions on Mars and important targets for future astronauts. </p>
<p>It’s a spectacular site, stacked with thin, reddish-brown and cream beds of mudstone and gypsum exposed in cliffs. In the suits we find we can sample all the different rock types, labelling them and bagging them up for return to the station and further analysis. Annalea supported our EVA with a field drawing of the location from the vehicle. Field drawing is an useful technique for geological field work on Earth, and we want to explore how it might be used on Mars, even with all the digital imaging technology available to us.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165734/original/image-20170418-32713-1unltkn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165734/original/image-20170418-32713-1unltkn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165734/original/image-20170418-32713-1unltkn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165734/original/image-20170418-32713-1unltkn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165734/original/image-20170418-32713-1unltkn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165734/original/image-20170418-32713-1unltkn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165734/original/image-20170418-32713-1unltkn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165734/original/image-20170418-32713-1unltkn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Anushree against a background of Jurassic bedded mudstone and gypsum, analogous to many martian sediments.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jonathan Clarke personal collection</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Sol 52</h2>
<p>In the morning went on a geology EVA, aimed at sampling every colour change in the sediments between the station and the top of the ridge behind it. This provides us with a geological section through the so-called Brushy Basin Member of the Jurassic Morrison Formation. </p>
<p>Deposited by ancient rivers, the unit is marked by repeating layers of cream, red, green, white, grey, purple and brown colours. The samples, after preliminary analyses here, will be sent to the University of Arkansas laboratory to determine their mineralogy and chemistry. We expect the colours to reflect changes in the chemistry and mineralogy, important to understanding the local Jurassic geology and also perhaps to understanding similar deposits on Mars.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165740/original/image-20170419-32693-vk0d6n.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165740/original/image-20170419-32693-vk0d6n.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165740/original/image-20170419-32693-vk0d6n.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165740/original/image-20170419-32693-vk0d6n.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165740/original/image-20170419-32693-vk0d6n.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165740/original/image-20170419-32693-vk0d6n.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165740/original/image-20170419-32693-vk0d6n.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165740/original/image-20170419-32693-vk0d6n.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sampling multicoloured Jurassic clays behind the station.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jonathan Clarke personal collection</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Annalea and I did a recorded interview for an Australian journalist. The sound file is 11 megabytes. Routine to send via a normal internet connection, but challenging for us with the bandwidth limits of our internet connection - 500 megabytes per day.</p>
<h2>Sol 61</h2>
<p>Slept really well. Had a funny dream last night about the crew: we were doing this mission in a seven-berth caravan in a camping ground. Very crowded, very messy, constantly interrupted by visitors, and very muddy! </p>
<p>Today is a day off. These are really important we have found to help us recover and recharge our batteries. We generally have one day off a week. The couple of occasions we have worked through we have ended up really feeling it. Today I did not get up to until 8:30am; a great treat is to read in bed. Nice email from the family today to savour as well.</p>
<p>I read (Ralph A Bagnold’s <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/723815.Libyan_Sands">Libyan Sands: Travel in a Dead World</a>) while others worked on a craft project, making necklaces from the Cretaceous oyster shells on the ridge behind the station. Others played video games.</p>
<p>Today was also Annalea’s birthday. We had pancakes and a party, and Yusuke made two videos for her with surprise comments from us. We had a great time, everybody dressed up (as far as we were able) and we decorated the station for the occasion.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165975/original/file-20170419-2410-1ilywp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165975/original/file-20170419-2410-1ilywp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165975/original/file-20170419-2410-1ilywp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165975/original/file-20170419-2410-1ilywp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165975/original/file-20170419-2410-1ilywp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165975/original/file-20170419-2410-1ilywp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165975/original/file-20170419-2410-1ilywp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Annalea’s party.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Annalie Beattie personal collection</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Sol 76</h2>
<p>Slept very well last night. Woken up at four by the rat trap going off and rattling around. We had caught another pack rat, the fourth to date, whose presence was suspected but not observed. We took it on an EVA later in the day and released him near some sand dunes with lots of cover. </p>
<p>Alex and I did the EVA: we went on one of the two-seat electric rovers, parking it at the base of North Ridge, a prominent hill north of the station. I’ve never been up this ridge before, and it was very steep. The views from the top were spectacular. Alex tested out a data management system attached to his suit. This has been an ongoing project for him on the expedition.</p>
<p>The EVA provides a good opportunity to reflect on the respective roles of astronauts and robots. North Ridge is too steep and hazardous to be climbed by a robot vehicle such as those we currently use on Mars, although it was no more than a stiff scramble for us. </p>
<p>Astronauts are able to access much more diverse and interesting sites than robotic systems, and do so much faster. The robotic vehicles are, however, great pathfinders and testbeds, and both astronauts and robotic systems are required to explore Mars.</p>
<p>How many EVAs could we expect a Mars crew to do? I have estimated at least two a week for a six-person crew. We have averaged about four or five a week, but ours are typically short, only two to four hours. We have been working at roughly the same EVA tempo to what is predicted for an actual mission.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165743/original/image-20170419-32689-g58v97.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165743/original/image-20170419-32689-g58v97.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165743/original/image-20170419-32689-g58v97.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165743/original/image-20170419-32689-g58v97.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165743/original/image-20170419-32689-g58v97.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165743/original/image-20170419-32689-g58v97.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165743/original/image-20170419-32689-g58v97.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165743/original/image-20170419-32689-g58v97.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Exploring a steep ridge near the station, terrain impossible to access with current robotic technology.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jonathan Clarke personal collection</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Sol 84</h2>
<p>This is our final day. It’s quite sad, leaving the station and saying goodbye to Anushree (who we were leaving at the town of Green River to catch the train), and to Shannon (who was staying behind to prepare for the next crew), but we were too busy to really experience the goodbyes. Before we knew it our cars were loaded and we had shoehorned ourselves into them. </p>
<p>We are all much leaner after almost three months at the station, which may have helped us fit in. Then we were off, seeing familiar sights for the last time, as we drove out to the main road and then to Denver. Eight hours driving and a blizzard later we were receiving a warm welcome in the home of the Mars Society president in Denver, along with all the comforts of civilisation.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165744/original/image-20170419-32693-1w4zd7e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165744/original/image-20170419-32693-1w4zd7e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165744/original/image-20170419-32693-1w4zd7e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165744/original/image-20170419-32693-1w4zd7e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165744/original/image-20170419-32693-1w4zd7e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165744/original/image-20170419-32693-1w4zd7e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165744/original/image-20170419-32693-1w4zd7e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165744/original/image-20170419-32693-1w4zd7e.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Last sunrise at MDRS.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jonathan Clarke personal collection</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Reflections on return</h2>
<p>Returning to “Earth” (normal life, family and friends) is a strange experience. Odd things stand out among the impressions. Here is a selection. </p>
<p>So many people! Fresh fruit, vegetables and meat. Real eggs. Fatty foods take a bit of getting used to – uncomfortably heavy on the stomach. I seem to be extra sensitive to unpleasant smells such as smoking.</p>
<p>So much of everything! Food, power, water, internet, space and people. Everything is so wasteful of water, such as toilet flushes and high-pressure taps. </p>
<p>Seeing animals again - especially cats. Greenery everywhere, and the smell of eucalyptus. Runny nose from pollen.</p>
<p>Lingering sadness of goodbyes to the crew mates but satisfaction and fond memories after a successful mission. Looking forward to keeping in touch and the next phase of the program. This will be two months at the <a href="http://fmars.marssociety.org/">Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station</a> on Devon Island in the Canadian Arctic, and hopefully the topic of a later story in The Conversation.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165746/original/image-20170419-10221-1b5xdjy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165746/original/image-20170419-10221-1b5xdjy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165746/original/image-20170419-10221-1b5xdjy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=202&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165746/original/image-20170419-10221-1b5xdjy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=202&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165746/original/image-20170419-10221-1b5xdjy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=202&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165746/original/image-20170419-10221-1b5xdjy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=253&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165746/original/image-20170419-10221-1b5xdjy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=253&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165746/original/image-20170419-10221-1b5xdjy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=253&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">FMARS panorama.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikipedia</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/75929/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan Clarke is President of Mars Society Australia. Through the society he has received funding for expeditions and field programs from the CSIRO, the Pilbara Development Program, Tata Motors, the Australia-India Council, and Starchaser Industries Ltd. He currently works part time for Swinburne University and is affiliated with the Australian Centre for Astrobiology at UNSW University. </span></em></p>One of the best ways to find out the challenges of living on Mars is to simulate living on another planet here on Earth. So what’s it like to spend several months living the Martian life?Jonathan Clarke, Associate member of the Australian Centre for Astrobiology, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/735952017-03-13T19:20:16Z2017-03-13T19:20:16ZExtinction or survival: how storytellers explore the ethics of colonising other planets<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159229/original/image-20170303-24325-gt8iht.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Colonising other planets may be possible, but does that mean we should?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mars image from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>NASA’s <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-telescope-reveals-largest-batch-of-earth-size-habitable-zone-planets-around">recent discovery</a> of seven new Earth-sized planets, 40 light years away, has generated more excitement in the hunt for life off our own. Many influential thinkers have turned their attention to the colonisation of other planets (usually Mars), including Tesla founder <a href="https://www.wired.com/2016/09/elon-musk-colonize-mars/">Elon Musk</a>, and the groups behind <a href="http://www.mars-one.com/about-mars-one">Mars One</a>. But while the search for extraterrestrial life is fascinating, our interplanetary exploration raises some interesting ethical questions. </p>
<p>Physicist Stephen Hawking <a href="https://qz.com/597326/stephen-hawking-humanity-will-only-survive-by-colonizing-other-planets/">has said</a> that we should colonise other planets to protect the human race: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Although the chance of a disaster to planet Earth in a given year may be quite low, it adds up over time, and becomes a near certainty in the next thousand or ten thousand years. By that time we should have spread out into space, and to other stars, so a disaster on Earth would not mean the end of the human race.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The notion of a mass exodus and transplanting a planet is, on the surface, an attractive concept. But we rarely, if ever, critically ask why we ought to do such a thing in the first place. Have we truly earned the right to colonise other planets, especially after the way we’ve behaved on this one? Many films and books have turned their attention to these ethical questions. </p>
<h2>Can we survive?</h2>
<p>Interplanetary colonisation was once the stuff only of science fiction. Kim Stanley Robinson’s <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/40710-mars-trilogy">Mars Trilogy</a>, for instance, showed the act of colonising and terraforming Mars (literally turning it into Earth). </p>
<p>Red Mars (1993), Green Mars (1994), and Blue Mars (1996) showed the gradual changes to the structure of the red planet as it became more habitable for humanity. The books also looked at the psychological effects of humanity’s ultra-longevity, including existential boredom. Even Robinson questions whether we should colonise Mars, indeed <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/interviews/show/887.Kim_Stanley_Robinson">he has said </a> of the Mars One project, which aims to establish a permanent human settlement on the planet: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>This is an example of the kind of fantasy that can emerge in the age of the internet, with the gullible <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientism">scientism</a> that comes from a culture that lacks scientific literacy. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>He also reasons: “I like the Earth too much”.</p>
<p>More recently, in Andy Weir’s <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3659388/">The Martian</a> (2011), astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) colonises Mars after being left for dead. </p>
<p>And in the 2012 film <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0816692/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Interstellar</a>, a group of astronauts go through a wormhole to examine three new planets for a “new earth”, after crop blights and a second Dust Bowl ravage much of the original earth. The remainder of humanity is left for dead while new colonies are set up on a new planet. </p>
<p>Both these films raise tough questions, suggesting that there’s no single utopian vision regarding the colonisation of planets. While both look at extending the lifetime of humanity beyond the Earth, we must ask, at what cost is humanity’s survival ensured?</p>
<h2>Should we survive?</h2>
<p>These discussions are taking place in a period of time known as the Anthropocene. The Anthropocene, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/aug/29/declare-anthropocene-epoch-experts-urge-geological-congress-human-impact-earth">according to scientists</a>, is the current geological era in which we find ourselves: characterised by humanity’s impact on the planet, and a tendency to view everything through a human-centred lens. </p>
<p>Cultural studies theorist Claire Colebrook, whose work focuses on culture and the Anthropocene, has looked at the rhetoric of survival that is attached to many science fiction films, notably <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0970416/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">The Day the Earth Stood Still</a>.</p>
<p>In both the 1951 and 2008 version, an alien called Klaatu is sent to Earth to warn humans that if they don’t change their disregard for the planet, they will be eradicated for the benefit of Earth. The 1951 version is set in the Nuclear Age, while the 2008 remake focuses instead on environmental catastrophe. When the alien sees another, more benevolent side of humanity, he calls off the attack.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OfpSXI8_UpY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The 1951 trailer for The Day the Earth Stood Still.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/o/ohp/12329362.0001.001/1:11/--death-of-the-posthuman-essays-on-extinction-volume-one?rgn=div1;view=fulltext">Colebrook asks</a>: “[why] is present discourse focused on <em>how we might survive</em>, rather than whether we ought to survive?” </p>
<p>Numerous writers and film-makers have turned their attention to the question of what it means for humanity to be annihilated. In Nevil Shute’s critically acclaimed <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38180.On_the_Beach?from_search=true">On the Beach</a> (1957), a hallmark Nuclear Age sci-fi work alongside Pat Frank’s <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38169.Alas_Babylon?from_search=true">Alas, Babylon</a> (1959), a cloud of radiation slowly drifts from the Northern Hemisphere down to Melbourne after a nuclear war. The survivors, meanwhile, try to enjoy themselves before the inevitable end arrives. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/662792-it-s-not-the-end-of-the-world-at-all-he">Observes one character</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>It’s not the end of the world at all. It’s only the end for us. The world will go on just the same, only we shan’t be in it. I dare say it will get along all right without us. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>JG Ballard’s <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16234584-the-drowned-world?from_search=true">The Drowned World</a> (1962) similarly demystifies the longevity of the human race, with the central character gradually welcoming the destruction of civilisation as the world reverts to its wild, primitive state. <a href="http://www.azquotes.com/quote/1303985">The novel ends</a> with him disappearing into the wild:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>He left the lagoon and entered the jungle again, within a few days was completely lost, following the lagoons southward through the increasing rain and heat, attacked by alligators and giant bats, a second Adam searching for the forgotten paradises of the reborn sun.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As theorist Gary Westfahl <a href="http://www.abc-clio.com/ABC-CLIOCorporate/product.aspx?pc=B3976C">points out</a>, in comparison to other sci-fi works, The Drowned World “rapturously embrace[s] human extinction”. </p>
<p>More recently, Lars von Trier’s film <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1527186/">Melancholia</a> (2011) follows the story of two sisters, played by Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg, as another planet is on a collision course with Earth. Justine (Dunst), welcomes Earth’s destruction, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kb69TMISL_Y">saying</a>: “The earth is evil. We don’t need to grieve for it […] Life exists only on Earth. And not for long”. At the end, the planet collides with the earth and obliterates it. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wzD0U841LRM?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Similarly, in the Australian film <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2268458/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">These Final Hours</a> (2013), the world comes to an end after a meteor collides with the earth, and the main character and his pregnant girlfriend sit on the beach as a firestorm bears down on the planet. </p>
<p>And in Michael Faber’s <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20697435-the-book-of-strange-new-things?from_search=true">The Book of Strange New Things</a> (2014), a pastor is sent to another planet to impart Christian values while Earth succumbs to severe climate devastation and famine. Despite this, the pastor tries to get back to Earth to die with his wife and their unborn child. </p>
<p>These works delve into the moral and ethical issues surrounding humanity’s survival, in contrast to other works that promote humankind’s longevity. In The Day the Earth Stood Still, humanity was seen to have jeopardised its chance of survival before being redeemed by the benevolence of the alien. </p>
<p>But in a world that is dragging its feet on <a href="https://theconversation.com/introducing-the-terrifying-mathematics-of-the-anthropocene-70749">climate change and other massive environmental problems</a>, the concept of moving to other planets appears quite selfish. </p>
<p>In <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116629/?ref_=nv_sr_1">Independence Day</a> (1996), President Thomas Whitmore (Bill Pullman) describes the invading aliens as a virus, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116629/quotes">saying</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>They’re like locusts. They’re moving from planet to planet…their whole civilisation. After they’ve consumed every natural resource they move on. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>As interplanetary colonisers, we would become the aliens.</p>
<p>Some of these books and films suggest humanity doesn’t deserve to survive, others withhold judgement, instead hurtling towards the final moments. These usually offer redemption for at least some humans – through love, bravery, or freedom. </p>
<h2>Should we give up?</h2>
<p>It appears all too easy to adopt a fatalistic attitude in light of such discussions of humanity’s ultimate fate. Woody Allen, for instance, <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55369.Woody_Allen_on_Woody_Allen">has discussed</a> what he calls “Ozymandias Melancholia”, or, the “realisation that your works of art will not save you and will mean nothing down the line”. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159228/original/image-20170303-24327-1to3hx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159228/original/image-20170303-24327-1to3hx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159228/original/image-20170303-24327-1to3hx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159228/original/image-20170303-24327-1to3hx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159228/original/image-20170303-24327-1to3hx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159228/original/image-20170303-24327-1to3hx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159228/original/image-20170303-24327-1to3hx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159228/original/image-20170303-24327-1to3hx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The view from the moon, captured in 1968.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">NASA</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Yet he <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/460793-the-artist-s-job-is-not-to-succumb-to-despair-but">also notes</a> that “the artist’s job is not to succumb to despair, but to find an antidote for the emptiness of existence”.</p>
<p>It isn’t as simple as nihilistically accepting the inevitable, but questioning the extent to which we are willing to ensure survival, and considering the inevitability of human extinction. Medicine, for instance, has kept humans alive for longer than they otherwise would have lived, an example of positive human survival. </p>
<p>But when the prospect of human survival intrudes upon the natural environment of other planets, which would be best left alone, the idea of colonising other planets becomes unethical.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/73595/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Siobhan Lyons does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Interplanetary colonisation was once the stuff of science fiction but now there are plans to colonise Mars. How have film-makers and writers dealt with our rapacious Anthropocene age?Siobhan Lyons, Scholar in Media and Cultural Studies, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/710392017-01-17T07:48:30Z2017-01-17T07:48:30ZWhy we should send Bill Gates to Mars<p>Bill Gates, along with a few of his billionaire friends, has launched a <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-12-12/bill-gates-other-rich-individuals-back-1-billion-energy-fund">US$1 billion fund</a> to support research into energy technologies that will help us address climate change. </p>
<p>The idea behind <a href="http://www.b-t.energy/ventures/">Breakthrough Energy Ventures</a> is to provide funding for basic energy research, which may otherwise get left behind if the incoming US president Donald Trump decides to cut federal support for such programmes. The fund will target <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/s/603125/1-billion-looking-for-a-home/?utm_campaign=internal&utm_medium=homepage&utm_source=top-stories_7#comments">55 activities</a> across five general categories including electricity, transport, agriculture, manufacturing and buildings. </p>
<p>It’s a nice idea, but unfortunately, most of these activities will only provide incremental improvements in reducing global carbon emissions. On its own, this fund is incapable of making any significant progress on climate change.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/152409/original/image-20170111-4579-1n55f1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/152409/original/image-20170111-4579-1n55f1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/152409/original/image-20170111-4579-1n55f1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152409/original/image-20170111-4579-1n55f1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152409/original/image-20170111-4579-1n55f1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152409/original/image-20170111-4579-1n55f1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152409/original/image-20170111-4579-1n55f1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152409/original/image-20170111-4579-1n55f1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Think big.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://images.nasa.gov/#/details-PIA02000.html">NASA/JPL/MSSS</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But while watching one of the episodes of National Geographic’s series, <a href="http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/mars/">Mars</a>, one night, I had an epiphany. It dawned on me that everything we need to do overcome the challenges associated with creating a human colony on Mars by 2035 could also form the singular focus of Breakthrough Energy Ventures. </p>
<p>Let me explain. The key challenges for a <a href="https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2016/09/spacex-reveals-mars-game-changer-colonization-plan/">successful Mars colony</a> involve generating energy, food, water, and shelter on a hyper-sustainable and cost-effective basis. But these are also the key challenges for the rest of us on Earth between now and in 2035. </p>
<p>So I want to send Bill Gates or, at least, his thinking about energy technology, to Mars. </p>
<h2>Incremental changes won’t work</h2>
<p>To sustain even today’s global human population of 7.4 billion people, not including the projected 2 billion who will <a href="http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/news/population/2015-report.html">join us between now and 2050</a>, will require wholesale upgrades to our existing energy, water, food, and transport systems. </p>
<p>The improvements in these systems required to deliver sufficient goods and services to approximately 8.4 billion people in 2035 are of the same order of magnitude needed to support a much smaller colony on Mars by the same year. These improvements would equate to efficiency and productivity upgrades of between ten and 1,000 times better than anything that exists at the commercial scale today.</p>
<p>Most of the enormous investments we are currently making in energy, water, food and transport systems only lead to incremental improvements that will not allow us to achieve Mars-levels of efficiency and productivity on any meaningful timescale. </p>
<p>This is because most of the world’s investment money chases risk-adjusted returns on a short-term basis. This leads to a disproportionate amount of investment into, for example, improvements in the <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidkiley5/2016/11/30/obamas-epa-moves-to-firm-up-fuel-economy-regs-before-trump-takes-office/#b80db478a62e">fuel efficiency of internal combustion vehicles</a>. </p>
<p>While this generates sufficient returns for institutional investors, including <a href="http://www.oecd.org/daf/fin/private-pensions/2015-Large-Pension-Funds-Survey.pdf">pension funds</a>, these efficiency and productivity improvements are nowhere near the levels we will need to meet our exponentially increasing targets on Earth, nor the levels required to support human life on Mars. </p>
<p>An example of the type of thinking that leads to Mars-level improvements is the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2016/12/20/your-future-compete-flying-through-tubes-at-760-mph/?utm_term=.ee2267622166">Hyperloop Alpha</a> proposal originally put forward by Elon Musk – who, incidentally, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAZ-Xbn5hr0">also wants to colonise Mars</a> – and now being developed by two business groups. </p>
<p>In 2013, Musk <a href="http://www.spacex.com/sites/spacex/files/hyperloop_alpha-20130812.pdf">made the observation</a> that investing in a high-speed train line between Los Angeles and San Francisco would be a tremendous waste of time, capital and resources as it would be obsolete by the time it was operational in ten to 20 years. He pointed out that, given the level of investment, time and resources required to build a high-speed rail system, designers should instead shift their brief towards enormous improvements in speed, safety and cost </p>
<p>This led him to propose a vacuum tube propulsion transport system that would take people from Los Angeles to San Francisco in 35 minutes and at lower cost than making the same journey today. This is Mars-level thinking in action and the type of infrastructure project that serves as the foundation for a more prosperous future.</p>
<h2>Mars-level thinking</h2>
<p>It is no mystery what Mars-level improvements to our energy, food, water and transport systems need to look like by 2035. </p>
<p>In the stationary energy sector, we need to move from centralised fossil fuel plants to distributed renewable energy with storage so we can make and use clean energy close to where it is needed. </p>
<p>Transport in large urban centres needs to shift to electricity with batteries in cars, homes, schools and office buildings. </p>
<p>Food systems need to be shifted away from plants with high water and other input requirements, such as rice and corn to crops with higher levels of photosynthetic and protein productivity and lower input requirements, such as <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13593-015-0325-y">quinoa</a>. </p>
<p>Food that converts high-value plant inputs into lower value animal proteins should be phased out quickly. This means a rapid shift away from cows, which <a href="http://science.time.com/2013/12/16/the-triple-whopper-environmental-impact-of-global-meat-production/">consume huge amounts of plant matter</a> and water and generate very limited outputs. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/152422/original/image-20170111-4593-17bc85l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/152422/original/image-20170111-4593-17bc85l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152422/original/image-20170111-4593-17bc85l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152422/original/image-20170111-4593-17bc85l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152422/original/image-20170111-4593-17bc85l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152422/original/image-20170111-4593-17bc85l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152422/original/image-20170111-4593-17bc85l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sorry, no room for cows on Mars.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://pixabay.com/en/cows-curious-cattle-agriculture-1029077/">3dman_eu</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At levels equal to what we will need on Mars, key materials including copper, iron, and phosphorus need to be fully recycled and, equally important, deployed into high-value products and services. The market allows too many of these high-value materials to be used for frivolous purposes, for example on <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/jun/05/warnings-over-online-gaming-industrys-dirty-cloud">video game consoles</a>, and ultimately wasted. </p>
<p>Products need to be redesigned so that manufacturers can reclaim them at the end of their useful life and the key materials can be upcycled into even higher value products. </p>
<p>So the bad news is that all our key support systems now operate at levels of efficiency and productivity well below what is required to support even today’s human population – much less the two to three billion additional people on the way in the next few decades. </p>
<p>The good news is that the opportunity to develop new technologies, business models, and integrated systems is the largest in history. </p>
<p>In 1961, US president John F Kennedy <a href="http://history.nasa.gov/moondec.html">inspired us to go to the Moon</a> – Mr Gates, it’s time to forget about moonshots and start looking at Mars as the next giant leap for mankind.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/71039/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Molitor receives funding from the Ray C. Anderson Foundation and serves as a Senior Fellow at the Foundation. He does not receive any compensation in any from form any other entity of any kind.</span></em></p>We need Mars-level thinking to solve our energy and climate problems here on Earth.Michael Molitor, Lecturer, Sciences Po Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.