Team:UrbanTundra Edmonton/HP/Silver
Human Practices
Why Choose to Spend Money on Interplanetary Explorations?
Scientific Development
Mars is the most realistic target in our solar system for a future in sustainable development in space. Although sending robots on Mars is a safe and cost effective method in exploring our neighboring planet, experts in the field say that it is incomparably slow to human researchers. Furthermore, robots would not be able to conduct many desired investigations such as discovering life on Mars. These investigations are critical because not only do we learn more about Mars but we learn about our own planet. Mars’ dry and cold temperature was very similar to Earth's warm and wet climate at one point. This change begs the question of what happened to Mars, and whether the Earth will one day have a similar fate? However, we cannot answer these questions with just Earth being our single point of reference. To find the answers to these questions, we need to create a sustainable environment to host human researchers on Mars.
Inspiration
Not only does traveling to Mars have scientific benefits, it can also be used to inspire future generations and progress our society. It can drive interests in the STEM field, as well as challenge and inspire future mathematicians, scientists, and engineers. It is critical that we make scientific progress because we are laying down the foundation for future generations to build upon.
Inevitability
If our human race is to survive, space exploration and space colonization is an inevitability. Although we prioritize immediate problems, we must look past short sighted goals and began working towards our goals years into the future. Since Mars has the biggest potential for sustainable development, with water and an atmosphere, it will be a valuable way for humans to test colonization in space.
Spin-Off Technologies
To advance space exploration, there are constantly new developments and innovations. By-products of such innovations are discoveries called spin-off technologies that can be applicable in solving problems on Earth. An example of a spin-off technology from space is CT scans, used in hospitals. When Nasa’s engineers were tackling the task of finding safe landing spots in the dusty geography of the moon, they created a system that uses high-frequency sound waves and magnets that can scan potential landing spots. However today, the technology has been converted into using ultrasounds that MRI machines and CT scans that are used in hospitals today. Challenging tasks, such as creating a sustainable environment on Mars, demand unique and innovative inventions that can potentially improve our society through spin-off technology.
Professional Interviews
Our team contacted businesses and institutions involved in Mars expeditions, agriculture in rough conditions, perchlorate contamination, as well as environmental contamination in general. We had also been in contact with Astronaut Shawna Pandya, however, due to her busy schedule, we were unable to interview her.
Thanks to the generosity of staff, researchers, and students at the University of Alberta, we were able to ask for public opinions on the colonization of Mars.
Would you go to Mars as a first-wave colonist?
If I had some skill or use that I could contribute that nobody else could, then yes, I would probably go in the first wave. I think it’s very important for humanity to colonize Mars. If I was going as a tourist with others, however… then no.
Tyler Hrynyk, member of the AlbertaSAT team
My worries about that one-way trip to Mars is that you're attracting people who, conventionally, would be considered to have mental issues… if you’re coming and going, you want risk-takers, you want people who absolutely believe that they can handle any problem that faces them. But here, you’re saying that there’s a problem and there’s absolutely no way to fix it. If it was [a] one way [trip] and you were giving me sufficient technology to… set up a self-sustaining colony and be able to live out a normal life… that’s a different story than if you say, “we’re giving you food to survive on Mars for 8 months and then you’re going to die”... Guaranteed death versus a high-risk pastime; those are two completely different personalities… Risk can be appealing because it is challenging, but inevitable death… not so much.
Dr. Warren Gallen, PhD, Biological Sciences
A special thank you to Dr. Ross Lockwood who granted us an interview and took us on a tour around the University of Alberta! Dr.Lockwood holds a
What are your perspectives on the ethical implications of establishing a Mars colony?
The hardest part of human space colonization is humans. Honestly, it goes back to the idea that we, as a society, are risk-averse right now. The reality is that if you are sending people to Mars, you are setting them up in a situation that is risky, and for many reasons, it’s not just due to resource or psychological constraints; they have to get there; they’re got to cross interplanetary space, which hasn’t been done before; they’ve got to live with a significant light delay between planets, so that with any emergency that comes up, it means a minimum 20-40 minute contact with Earth. I did the HI-SEAS Mars stimulation, and we were well-versed in the fact that any time we had a problem, it would take a good 20-40 minutes in order to get information back to us. How do you deal with that? Or, if you’ve got a medical emergency, how do you deal with that immediately? And, the truth of the matter is that we’re talking about it today as if we’re leaving today, but we don't leave until 10-20 years, and by that time, we’ve got improvements in computer technology, hardware medicine, robotic medicine… So from an ethical perspective, you then have to talk about things like genetic engineering… anytime you talk about life, there’s going to be some ethical concern.
What you guys are doing is really interesting. You recognize that genetics and organisms behave like machines and they can be programmed with a genetic modification. I think that’s the perception that needs to grow. The fear is always going to be that we’re taking resources away from existing life, and the thing is that it’s not the goal. The goal is to create a machine that is a component in a recovery system.
Outreach Work
Our team contacted businesses and institutions involved in Mars expeditions, agriculture in rough conditions, perchlorate contamination, as well as environmental contamination in general. We have also been in contact with Astronaut Shawna Pandya, however, due to her busy schedule, we were unable to interview her.
Our team has communicated with several other teams, such as UAlberta, iGEM Gifu, iGEM Nagahama, and iGEM TEC CEM. Thank you for your collaboration and suggestions! We are also extremely thankful for the help and support we received from our mentor team, UAlberta, in our InterLab study. We would not be where we are today without their advice and aid.
Presentation-wise, we have presented at several elementary schools. The main purpose of these presentations was to educate kids about synthetic biology at an early age. We made a 15-minute, condensed and simplified overview of our project, including the way our bioreactor worked and what purposes our project had. As a team led by students, we believe fostering youth interest in STEM should be a key pillar to one’s goals. We hope that our efforts as a student-driven research team will show that passion in the STEM fields will push for innovation in our world.
In terms of fundraising, we successfully conducted two major fundraising events, with one of them being a bottle drive and the other being Summer SYNBIO. Our second event was a three-hour occasion with presentations, science workshops, and a silent auction. In order to hold the auction, we asked local businesses for gift cards and promo items, and despite this having been our first time to plan a silent auction, we managed to get in contact with over 50 local businesses. Thanks to the generosity of Edmontonians, we were able to hold an educative and fun event.
