Disaster Playground: The Edge of Space Fiction with Nelly Ben Hayoun

You might have heard of French director and designer of experiences Nelly Ben Hayoun from her past creative concoctions such as the International Space Orchestra and her musical collaboration in space with Beck and Bobby Womack. Designing immersive experiences is her forté and her latest creation, Disaster Playground, is no exception. This creative platform explores the theme of catastrophic asteroid collision – both in real-life and Hollywood movies – dancing on the edge between space and fiction through an immersive exhibit and a feature film. Disaster Playground questions the notion of disaster and investigates the human response and cross-cultural reactions to the threat of potentially hazardous asteroids. I recently spoke to Nelly about this exciting new project.

“I am looking at designing ‘extreme experiences’ for the public in order for them to question what the future of space exploration might be, how could they make dark energy in their kitchen sink, and other surreal experiences,” explains Ben Hayoun. She also incorporates real-life space scientists and thinkers in her work. “Disaster Playground is a critical platform that engages the main actors of the project to reflect on their practice and get members of the public to engage with what the craft of space exploration is, who are the people ‘making’ it, and where is this all going?”

Director Nelly Ben Hayoun (center) with Dr. Peter Jenniskens, meteor showers specialist at the SETI Institute, during disaster communication training at Disaster City, TEEX, Texas (Credits: Nelly Ben Hayoun/Nick Ballon).

The Real Armageddon

Disaster Playground: The Feature Documentary is about the scientists monitoring and planning the deflection of hazardous near Earth objects (NEO). It addresses the complex decision-making process of protecting the Earth from NEO impacts and the associated challenges. The plotline of the film follows the progress of NASA’s actual asteroid impact procedure. It depicts the chain of command required when there are only a few experts who understand the technology needed to tackle the threat of an asteroid collision with Earth.

“It is about the design of emergency procedures, nailing down who is in charge, who defines the procedures when things go wrong, and according to which rationale,” explains Ben Hayoun.

Ben Hayoun was inspired to create this film in response to pop culture views of space disaster such as the portrayal in the blockbuster Armageddon. In the film, Hollywood relied on Bruce Willis and a giant drill to save the world. How realistic is this and what is really needed to save our civilization from the next major asteroid impact? This is where Disaster Playground picks up the story, in what Ben Hayoun has dubbed space fiction.

“We are looking at the pop culture as a start and then we engage with the reality of each event, the real people who are the real Bruce Willis – thus the term space fiction,” she says. “The film aims to get you to engage critically with the human condition in place in the space program, the craft, the real people doing it, their quirkiness, their sometimes imperfect reactions, and their successes.”

Who ARE the people on the other end of the “red phone” when disaster strikes? In Disaster Playground, we find out (Credits: Nelly Ben Hayoun/Nick Ballon).

The Stars of the Show

World-renowned space experts from NASA and the SETI Institute, as well as an all star team of composers, writers, and international collaborators, joined forces on this project. Names such as Dr. David Morrison, Director of the Carl Sagan Center and the SETI Institute; Dr. S. Pete Worden, Director of NASA Ames Research Center; Dr. Jacob Cohen, Chief Scientist at NASA Ames Research Center; and Dr. Jill Tarter, outgoing Director of the SETI Institute all reenact moments of discovery and key events from their research.

“Each of these scientists has a role in some form or shape with the chain of commands or the development of emergency responses…they informed the film and perform their role in the film,” says Ben Hayoun. “Basically, Disaster Playground is their film but it is directed to us. It is about sharing the experience of dealing with such decisions as: ‘Shall we send that asteroid there or there? Where shall we move it?’”

The Theater of Cruelty

Ben Hayoun has been called the “Willy Wonka of design and science” and her bold design practice has gathered the attention of many – including WIRED magazine, which awarded her its 2014 Innovation Fellowship. She carefully crafts creative modes of communication to explore the depths of design using the theme of space. She takes inspiration from French philosopher and socialist Jean Baudrillard and his text America, as well as dramaturges such as Antonin Artaud who introduced the concept of the Theater of Cruelty.

Ben Hayoun wanted to explore the moral ambiguity of using catastrophe to spark interest in space. The explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger, for instance, created an iconic image. That billowing stream of smoke and flame symbolized a horrific loss of life and severe misstep in the US space program, but it also reignited public interest in that program.

“Our interest for such mortal catastrophe can be identified as a perverse human curiosity,” notes Ben Hayoun. “We believe that this perversity captures one crucial element of what the viewer wishes to see: how technology and humans can beautifully ‘fail’ and, in turn, cause us to reflect on the making behind our discoveries.” She uses just that phenomenon in her work, exploring the situations created when existential danger threatens. “I believe that, by taking an extreme approach, you really get the audience to actively engage with a cause or an area of research and that is what motivates me when it comes to space exploration.” Ben Hayoun hopes that engaging the public will lead to increased support for space. “I want to see the next woman on Mars or on an asteroid, and without public backing that will not happen.”

Disaster City training on asteroid impact response (Credits: Nelly ben Hayoun/Nick Ballon).

The Disaster Playground Media

The theatre in which Disaster Playground is exhibited blends the various media forms the project assumes: documentary feature film, book, and exhibition. A visitor walking into the exhibit experiences live reenactments, journeys through landscapes, and interacts with props ranging from model spacecraft to live goldfish. “Each of the media is connecting various audiences: the film audience, the digital audience, the academic audience, the scientific audience, the graphic audience, the design audience…each of these audiences is very different and so are their needs. This project is engaging the public at various levels with various outcomes and each are tailored for them,” Ben Hayoun explains.

These elements work individually and together to produce the final creative platform that isDisaster Playground.

Apollo 9 astronaut and B612 Foundation Chairman Emeritus Rusty Schweickart catches a model of Itokawa, the asteroid famously visited by Japanese probe Hayabusa, on set with Ben Hayoun (Credits: Nelly Ben Hayoun/Nick Ballon).

Reigniting Every Kid’s Dream

The importance of sharing the space program’s catastrophes and failures is the driving force behind Disaster Playground. Utilizing the perverse human curiosity and interest in mortal catastrophe is a beautifully twisted method through which we can learn from our failures and reflect on our discoveries.

Ben Hayoun’s primary goal is outreach. Whether as Designer of Experiences at the SETI Institute or sitting on the International Astronautical Federation Space Outreach and Education Committee, Ben Hayoun strives to engineer situations that generate disorder and critical thinking. She aims to reconnect the public with the dream and the vision behind space exploration – one experience at a time.

Disaster Playground was previewed at the Victoria & Albert Museum as part of the London Design Festival Digital Weekend event in September 2014 and will be part of Future Fictions, Exhibition at Z33, House for Contemporary Arts in Hasselt, Belgium October 5, 2014 through January 4, 2015. The feature film will be launched in March 2015.

For updates visit: www.disasterplayground.com and www.nellyben.com.

Written by Nikita Marwaha for Space Safety Magazine.

International Astronautical Congress 2014

Toronto will become the center of the universe this week as the city hosts the 65th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) 2014. Taking place from September 29th to  October 3rd, the annual international convention will bring space to Canada. This year’s theme, Our World Needs Space, covers a plethora of topics — many of which are related to space safety. Ranging from human spaceflight to space debris, the conference is an opportunity for space professionals and students from across the globe to network, share their ideas, and learn with the global space community.

The one week long conference will include a variety of symposia, each containing a series of sessions. These talks will be given by researchers and experts in their fields. Several of the symposia follow the theme of space safety — including the Space Exploration, Human Exploration of the Solar System, Space Debris and Human Spaceflight symposia.  Looking into where humankind has gone and may go in the future, as well as the societal implications of discovering extraterrestrial intelligence are important topics of discussion at the IAC.

Breaking It Down

The Space Exploration Symposium (A3) covers the current and future robotic missions and material plans for initiatives in the exploration of the Solar System. Coordinated by Dr. Christian Sallaberger from Canadensys Aerospace Corporation and Prof. Bernard Foing from ESA/ESTEC, this symposium covers exploration of the solar system, including the Moon, Mars, and small bodies. Speakers from NASA and the German Aerospace Centre DLR will present their research as part of this symposium.

The Human Exploration of the Solar System (A5) will tackle the strategic plans, architectural concepts, and technology development for human exploration of the Moon, Mars, Lagrangian Points, and near Earth objects (NEOs).  These are important areas of discussion, especially within the area of space safety since the methods by which humans explore the solar system should maintain an appropriate standard of safety.

The Space Debris (A6)  symposium addresses the wide range of technical issues associated with space debris. Measurements, modeling, and risk assessment in space and on the ground are addressed by speakers from organizations such as Boeing and SwissSpace Systems and universities such as the University of Surrey and Concordia University.  Reentry; hypervelocity impacts; and protection, mitigation, and standards and space surveillance will also be presented and discussed as a part of the Space Debris Symposium.

The Human Spaceflight Symposium (B3) symposium addresses all practical aspects of human spaceflight. Mr. Christian Bank from EADS Astrium Space Transportation GmbH and Mr. John Uri from NASA are coordinating the symposium, which will include talks on governmental and commercial human spaceflight programs as well as advanced systems, technologies, and innovations for human spaceflight.

Top Picks

This wide variety of space safety-related topics being discussed at the IAC demonstrates the importance of such a conference in terms of connecting and inspiring like-minded people.  The session that I am most looking forward to is the Heads of Agencies plenary event where leaders of the world’s major space agencies will outline the latest developments in their countries. The session may also provide an interesting variety of perspectives on the future of human spaceflight, including the International Space Station. Another highlight of the week for me is theNext Generation Plenary – Innovations in Exploration on Tuesday at 13:30. Moderated by former Canadian Space Agency astronaut Chris Hadfield, the panel is comprised of a selection of young professionals who will discuss why they believe their ideas will change the way we explore space and how space impacts life on Earth. This interaction between a world-renowned astronaut and the next generation of space leaders is a powerful method of generating novel ideas through discussion.

Space Safety Magazine at IAC

Along with 3,000 participants from over 70 countries attending the week-long conference, there will also be presentations from Space Safety Magazine contributors including Matteo Emanuelli, Andrew Henry, Morris Jones, and Merryl Azriel. Matteo will present The NEO Threat: An Effective Public Communication Strategy dealing with NEO education and the ways in which to effectively communicate such a threat to the public three years in advance. Andrew will conduct a workshop on Earth Observation Data on Thursday afternoon and Morris Jones will present a paper on Cryptosociology and Extraterrestrial Civilizations Wednesday afternoon.  Merryl Azriel will present the Space Safety Magazine-led initiative to recognize the International Space Station (ISS) Partnership with a Nobel Peace Prize award. With a presentation entitled Advocating for a Nobel Peace Prize: An Innovative Approach to Promoting Global Space Engagement, Merryl will delve into the unique value of the ISS partnership and the importance of increasing the public’s awareness of the value of the most complex peacetime collaboration ever undertaken by humankind.

Founded in 1951 by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF), the IAC is a joint effort by the IAF and a local Host. This year this it is the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute (CASI) that is coordinating the logistics in Toronto and ensuring that the North American aspect of IAC 2014 is a prominent characteristic of this year’s conference.

Written by Nikita Marwaha for Space Safety Magazine

From Rocket to Space Hotel

Utilizing existing technology and sustainably housing humans in space is a seemingly futuristic concept that already has its wheels in motion today. Space company Tasha9503 is designing hotels to put into low Earth orbit (LEO) using used rocketry and the available technology of today.

Orbital colonization as the next step for humanity was discussed in the recent Space Safety article, Living in Space. Exploration is in our nature and settling amongst the stars inside orbital habitats is a method through which this can be achieved.

Constant human presence in space has already been established through the International Space Station (ISS) — which has housed humans continually ever since its first crew in 2000. This powerhouse of scientific

An artist’s impression of Tasha9503′s space hotel (Credits: Tasha9503).

research is the product of international cooperation between 15 nations and is a powerful testament to our potential in space. By unlocking this potential capability to work together both on and off of our home planet has been demonstrated — and in turn gives rise to a plethora of new orbital habitat concepts that may one day become a reality.

In order to live in space sustainably, cost needs to be low and reusability must be a key component.  This will allow maximum utility to be gained from the grand endeavour. One such concept that focuses on reusing existing components is HotelsInSpace by Tasha9503  — which aims to put great numbers of people in space at a low cost. The company will build spaceships from specially designed used rockets, which are capable of lifting 6 satellite payloads and up to 200 paying customers.

This ambitious plan arose after the founder Trevor Cooper heard somebody mention that they would like a spaceship in which their children could mine smelt forge at the Asteroid Belt, manufacture living accommodations on site, whilst continuing to study the cosmos. And so, HotelsInSpace was born.

The International Space Station orbits majestically as the first permanent human outpost in space Credits: NASA).

In an attempt to open up space travel and space tourism to the general public, Tasha9503 is offering a destination in LEO for the cost of one million US dollars per week. In 2005, they drew up a redesign of the ‘Saturn V’ rocket so that upon arrival in LEO, it could be easily reconfigured and attached to five other redesigned rockets, forming a 72 until hotel. The company has estimated that 500, 000 people investing $25 per week are required in order to have the first hotel in space within seven years. Once in orbit, this hotel in space will be open for business to rent as holiday resorts.

The vision of Tasha9503 extends past sustainable living in Earth orbit. Additional hotels will be built, which cannot land but are capable of taking people on away missions to any orbit within our solar system.

With destinations such as the Asteroid Belt, Earth’s Moon, Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, and Venus in mind — Tasha9503 dreams big and intends to use the magic of engineering to bring these to life.

Another secondary goal is to help to clean up the existing space junk. Activities in space currently add to the space debris issue that our planet is facing. Littered above our heads are the remnants of the past 60 years of human space activities. A wonderful achievement, yet it comes with a responsibility to protect our planet. Comprised of defunct satellites and spent rocket stages — explosion and fragmentation of this debris further exacerbates the problem.

Tasha9503 plan to use their hotels to collect space junk. Each spaceship will include 6 robotic arms in order to collect orbiting debris. The cost of this great number of robotic arms will be covered through renting out the

The Earth is surrounded by a halo of space debris (Credits: ESA).

72 units within each spaceship, as well as private funding.

Trevor Cooper commented on the concept:

“Wrapped around the spaceship are magnetic tracks that these arms can travel along or spin at a safe speed. Depending on the speed and direction of the SpaceJunk, the arm holding the rocket engine will spin around the spaceship so as the SpaceJunk approaches; it will end within the rocket engine. Then the robotic arm slows the spin and passes the rocket engine in through a large day door.”

The Stanford Torus, one of the several orbital habitat designs proposed by Gerard O’Neill (Credits: Rick Guidice/NASA Ames Research Center).

Old satellites can also be collected and refurbished, rebuilt, repositioned or scrapped by this technology. Space debris may also be used as shields when in proximity to the Asteroid Belt. Trevor explains, “Because most of the SpaceJunk is moving in the same direction, but dozens of miles apart we will only be able to capture what we get close to — unlike the ISS which is moved away from SpaceJunk for safety.”

The concept of living in space sustainably is not a new one and Tasha9503 is certainly not the only player in this space arena. Space habitats in LEO have been conjectured for years. In the 1970s, Princeton physicist Gerard O’Neill demonstrated that orbital space colonies were physically possible, attractive places to live, and may make economic sense. Now, private companies and nations are developing methods by which this can be achieved. Companies such as SpaceX are building cheaper rockets, and have sustainability at the forefront of their design process.

Bigelow Aerospace’s first operational spacecraft Genesis I was a tremendous success (Credits: Bigelow Aerospace).

Bigelow Aerospace plans to greatly increase the usable space of the ISS at a fraction of the cost. Established in 1999, Bigelow spacecraft utilizes expandable or ‘inflatable’ structures and space systems. By redesigning initial NASA inflatable space habitat designs, the company launched the world’s first expandable space habitat prototypes with the Genesis program’s Genesis I in 2006. Tasha9503 hopes to one day wrap the outer surface of each hotel with a layer of Bigelow’s inflatable structures. Such cooperation is essential in order to achieve greatness as a species, as demonstrated brilliantly by the ISS.

Orbital colonization is a stepping stone to Mars and eventually interstellar spaceflight. Building an oasis in space may help to save our species in case of a catastrophic disaster on Earth, or will be a way to gain orbital perspective on vacation from our busy lives on Earth. Either way, it is a demonstration of our human intelligence and capability. The research that we conduct today will form the foundation of Earth’s home away from home of tomorrow.

Written for Space Safety Magazine by Nikita Marwaha.

What’s On the Space Menu? – Vegetables Grown in Space Deemed Safe to Eat

The History of Space Food

The long quest for adequate nutrition in space has taken astronaut consumption from toothpaste tubes and gelatin coated cubes to freeze-dried foods and now to the possibility of freshly-grown vegetables.

This ever-evolving space menu was well documented in Space Safety Magazine’s Space Food special earlier this year, covering the past, present, and future of space food — the struggles to achieve food that is nutritious, long-lasting and safe in the space environment has been a long one.

Early space food involved pre-packaged items that although technically safe and nutritious, were not as appetizing as fresh foods.

(Credits: NASA)

The first space food used on missions consisted of vicious fluid packaged in aluminium tubes, similar to toothpaste tubes. The first man in space, Yuri Gagarin, tested the functionality of the digestive system in space with chocolate sauce and meat paste packaged in such tubes. Although effective for use in microgravity, these were deeply unpopular. Gelatin coated cubes and rehydratable freeze dried foods also made appearances early in the US space program. Available in flavors ranged from cereal to bacon and strawberry — these were not continued since they generated crumbs that posed an inhalation hazard in microgravity and also formed a sticky coating. On the other hand, the rehydratable freeze dried foods that followed were deemed unappetizing by astronauts. The experience and technology gained from these previous iterations of space food helped researchers hone these dense nutritional packages into items of recognizable, even appealing items on the space menu of today.

Achieving Edible Fresh Food in Space

The journey is far from over and the production of fresh food in space without resupply missions from Earth is the ultimate goal. However, we are now half-way there, as growing fresh food in space that is edible has now been successfully achieved. As RIA Novosti reports,Russian scientists have recently verified that several plants grown in space are safe for human consumption. The space grown vegetables range from peas and Japanese leafy greens to dwarf wheat — all of which passed tests on Earth for abnormalities or harmful microbes.

Margarita Levinskikh of the Institute of Biological Problems told the radio show The Voice of Russia that “The plants have been very developed, absolutely normal and did not differ a lot from the plants grown on Earth.” As a co-investigator on the NASA study to validate the Vegetable Production Unit (VPU), she works alongside scientists to ensure that the procedures and protocols used aboard the International Space Station (ISS) to grow fresh food maximise astronaut health and well-being.

The importance of not only growing but also testing the food grown by astronauts and cosmonauts is vital to our development as a space faring species. To assume such foods to be safe once grown in space is a dangerous risk to take. With plant growth affected by the microgravity environment in ways that we do not yet fully understand and microbial organisms known to develop into more virulent varieties under microgravity conditions, scientific investigation of food grown in space is mandatory during this developmental phase of consuming fresh food in space.

The Lada greenhouse, named after the Russian goddess of spring houses vegetables grown aboard the International Space Station.

(Credits: NASA)

Currently, vegetables are grown on board the International Space Station in a special greenhouse named Lada, after the Russian goddess of spring. The unit is equipped with removable root modules containing enough nutrients for several generations of crop-growth — astronauts send these modules back to Earth for analysis once the nutrients are used up. Biologists then probe the root modules and the plants’ leaves for contaminants which may originate from the space station’s environment.

“We have also gotten experience with the astronauts and cosmonauts eating the fresh food they grow and not having problems,” said crop scientist Bruce Bugbee who is also a co-investigator in the research, in an email to Popular Science. As a professor at Utah State University, Bugbee has worked on numerous studies of food grown in space. He adds in an email to Space Safety Magazine, “Since the earliest days of the long-term manned space program, space grown food has undergone an enormous amount of testing… to-date, we have been able to grow only small amounts of fresh food in space. We have long known that fresh food in the diet is important to health.  Dieticians have pushed for more fresh food in the diet in space.  Health professionals are concerned about the safety of a long-term diet of dried, stored food.  We have been working to be able to gradually change this diet.”

With human spaceflight missions sent to increase in duration as we venture further into the cosmos, growing edible food in space is an important area of research for future human settlements in space.  There are several research programs underway that investigate the growth of plants in space. Hundreds of seeds have flown in orbit to determine the effects of the environment – particularly radiation – on their ability to germinate. The use of plants as part of a self-sustaining habitat is another popular area of research that will bring humans one step closer to living in a closed life support system in space. A NASA research team has already developed 100 menu items for use in the Martian environment as humans eventually venture beyond low Earth orbit and journey to the Red Planet to stay.

Orbital Comfort Food

Home comforts whilst abroad on Earth can be an uplifting experience – even more so when orbiting above Earth or on another planet. Such space treats are a welcome break from the monotony of the safe-to-eat space menu and items including Coke, bread, and alcohol have all been briefly embraced by NASA in the past.

Astronauts have access to a variety of flavored drinks whilst in space however soda and carbonated beverages pose a hazard inside their pressurized vessels if carbon dioxide bubbles escape to form a foam or stay in to affect astronaut’s stomachs. However, in 1985 Coca-Cola, and to some extent Pepsi tried to solve these problems by designing special space cans with controlled dispensing. Unfortunately, they were unable to make drinkable coke and carbonated space beverages were not continued and are not available on the ISS today. However, the Coca-Cola cans designed for space did make a special appearance as part of the opening ceremony of the 22nd Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia. The minute-long advertisement shows a U.S astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut aboard the orbiting outpost watching their two nations going head-to-to head in an Olympic hockey match on Earth. The rivalry between the two jersey-clad crewmates soon gives way to camaraderie as the soft drink is spills and floats around the station, resulting in a team effort to catch the bubbles.

An astronaut drinks Coca Cola from a specially designed can which was flown on the shuttle, yet the carbonated space beverage produced unwanted stomach effects in microgravity. Credits: (NASA)

Bread is a food staple on Earth, however, when taken to space in the past it quickly molded due to the high oxygen environment. One of the most famous space food stories is that of John Young sneaking a corned beef sandwich aboard Gemini 3. The stowaway sandwich quickly turned dry and crumbly and today, ISS crews prefer to use tortillas as a bread alternative due to their long shelf life and low crumb production.

The notion of extraterrestrial sherry arose during the early seventies, when NASA’s focus was shifting from short, Moon-focused missions to missions requiring long-term inhabitation of space; sherry was considered as an addition to the Skylab menu. A small quantity of Paul Mason California Rare Cream Sherry was ordered for the entire Skylab mission and tested on NASA’s zero G plane. Unfortunately, adverse odors and reactions were noted and the sherry never went to space. It was not deemed necessary for nourishment or as part of balanced diet, unlike vegetables which are very much considered a necessity to living in space for the long run. (Gizmodo)

On the other hand, the Russians have looser standards than NASA when it comes to drinking alcohol in orbit. Alexander Lazutkin, who lived aboard Russia’s Mir space station commented that Russian doctors have been said to have sent alcoholic beverages along with spacefliers for years to keep them “in tone” and to “neutralize tension. ” At the beginning of the Space Age, cognac was recommended to stimulate cosmonaut’s immune systems. With strenuous space walks and a stressful working environment, the Russians believe that alcohol helps to enhance job performance and reduce stress.

The Future of Orbital Farming

With the focus of space research moving away from luxury items such as coke, bread and sherry and onto fresh foods, it is important to highlight the advantages of space farming. As well as the nutritional benefit, growing food in space could eventually lower the cost of resupply missions to the International Space Station and have positive effects on the psychological health of astronauts through tending for the plants as they grow.

“Caring for a plant every day provides vital psychological relief, giving astronauts a small remembrance of Earth,” NASA scientist Howard Levine told Modern Farmer.

‘Diary of a Space Zucchini’, a poignant account of the life of a zucchini was kept by astronaut Don Pettit as it grew on board the International Space Station.

(Credits: NASA)

An example of such positivity from growing vegetables in space is Astronaut Don Pettit. He kept ‘Diary of a Space Zucchini’ during his time aboard the station and wrote a creative and poignant personified account of the life of a zucchini growing in space.

“Excitement is in the air. Gardener said we will soon be returning to Earth. Our part of the mission is nearly complete and the new crew will take over for us. I am a bit worried about Broccoli, Sunflower, and me. If Gardener leaves, who will take care of us?” Pettit writes in the voice of the zucchini.

Following the recent verification from scientists that fresh food grown in Lada is deemed safe for consumption, the space menu is set to expand as other vegetable varieties join the line up to grow in the space greenhouse. After repairing Lada, researchers are planning to grow rice, tomatoes, and bell peppers aboard the International Space Station next year, none of which have ever been grown in space before.

With orbital farming in the process of becoming safer with each harvest, the space menu has come far from its toothpaste tube origins. Yet, there are still many questions to be answered and challenges to be tackled with growing food in space. The behaviour of vegetable growth in microgravity requires further long-term study as do types of vegetables that may be practical – and impractical – to grow in space. In time, research into orbital meat growth may one day arise as we establish long-term settlements in space and the natural human appetite for meat is catered to. The space menu is ever-changing and it is vital that time is spent now to produce the nourishing and tasty foods that will stock the space kitchen cupboards of the future.

Feature image caption: Astronauts currently enjoy fresh food sent up from Earth in resupply missions to the station. (Credits: NASA)

Written for Space Safety Magazine by Nikita Marwaha

From Earthlings to Martians: How Will Living On The Red Planet Affect Our Human Bodies?

As the next giant leap for humankind, the colonization of Mars receives a great deal of attention. When discussing the settlement of Mars, it is important to consider how the Martian environment will affect our human bodies in the long-term — a subject that does not receive as much coverage as colonization itself, yet is vital to ensuring our survival when we get there.

The Red Planet is the next natural step in humanity’s exploration of the cosmos – however living on the surface as humans adapted to life on Earth is medically challenging (Credit: NASA).

One-Way Ticket to Mars

The notion of leaving the cradle of humanity and settling in greener – or in this case redder – pastures on the fourth rock from the Sun has sparked novels, movies, research facilities, and now one-way missions. We have been conjecturing about life on Mars for centuries and recently, ‘Mars to Stay’ missions have been proposed by commercial entities in an attempt to bring these dreams to life and finally send humans on a trip to Mars with no return.  One such example is the non-profit foundation Mars One, whose goal is to establish a human settlement on Mars by 2025. It has stirred great interest with its optimistic roadmap of giving four volunteers a one-way ticket for a 210 day journey to the Red Planet every 26 months to spend the rest of their lives on Mars.

The Human Body and Gravity

Medically-speaking, getting there is essentially the easy part. The current six-month rotation on-board the International Space Station was partly designed so that it reflects the time taken to get to Mars, resulting in greater knowledge on what state an individual would arrive at Mars in. Physiological effects aboard the ISS range from muscle atrophy to osteoporosis and negative effects on the balance and cardiovascular system. With these mitigated for to some extent, such signs of the body adjusting to daily life without gravity are in synchrony with those likely to be experienced on a journey to Mars. As a result, the trip itself will not be so different to living on board the ISS — however the consequences of travelling beyond low Earth orbit and then living on Mars is far less familiar territory in space research. After a long space flight, astronauts find it difficult to stand and orientate themselves in the weight of Earth’s gravity.  A crew of post-mission specialists are ready to assist astronauts upon landing on Earth, but this will not be the case for the first settlers on Mars. The surface gravity of Mars is 38% that of Earth. That might make it slightly easier on landing, but in the long run, the full force of gravity that our bodies have adapted to will not be present to re-strengthen the astronauts’ cells, bones, and muscles as they readapt to a gravity environment. Adjusting to this lower level of gravitational pull on Mars may cause a physiological change in the astronauts’ bone density, muscle strength, and circulation making it impossible to survive under Earth conditions if they were to ever return.

Mars One aims to establish human settlement by 2025 displayed in this artist’s illustration of the Mars One habitat (Credit: Mars One/Bryan Versteeg).

Earthlings or Martians?

The side-effects of travelling to, landing, and living on Mars are far greater in terms of both psychology and physiology. Travelling outside of Earth’s protective magnetic field to a distance so great that our planet is no more than a speck on the horizon will have a profound effect on the crew.

Aboard the ISS, if astronauts are feeling down, family and friends are simply a phone call away. The astronauts are also able to change their perspective by basking in the beauty of the revolving planet beneath them. However, as Earth shrinks to merely a dot on the horizon and the crew begin to live and work on the surface on Mars, the time delay across the vast expanse of space increases and eventually phone calls with loved ones become impractical. With communication signals taking between 3 and 22 minutes to travel each way, the ability to sustain a real conversation with anybody on Earth is not an option ever again.

This may eventually change the way that the crew view themselves. Psychologically, it is speculated that they will become Martians within weeks and will view themselves as a separate entity from Earthlings. The psychological isolation experiment Mars-500 explored this and other side-effects of crew isolation during a year and a half simulation of a round-trip mission to Mars.

Romain Charles, who along with Diego Urbina and four other crew members spent 520-days in the Mars mission simulation, shared his thoughts on the defining moment when they felt separate from the outside world.

It’s a tough question as we didn’t have any windows (or a simulated window) in our modules. Diego created an animation which allowed us to have a better understanding of what we would be able to see (or not see) but it came a bit later…I would say that, it’s not really the view of the Earth that changed our perspective. For me, the moment when we couldn’t phone the control center brought more “distance” between our crew and the world around than any window.

Advancements in virtual reality technologies may aid the crew in maintaining their mental health and stimulate their sensory systems, providing the ability to virtually transcend to a familiar location on Earth that has fond memories associated with it.

This is the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS), located in the Utah Desert it is one of the four Mars-like bases scattered across the globe that gathers key research into life on Mars including fields such as biology and geology (Credit: The Mars Society).

The Environment of Mars

In order to assess the physiological effects of living on the surface of Mars, the Martian environment must be considered. Although it is orbiting 50% further away from the Sun and is 11% smaller than Earth, Mars is remarkably similar to our blue marble. With polar ice caps, seasonal changes, and weather patterns, it appears to be relatively comparable.

However, the absence of an ozone layer and liquid water are both extreme factors in the safety of astronauts. The presence of ‘superoxides’ that break down in the presence of ultraviolet radiation in Martian soil and a much lower level of thermal inertia on Mars also makes it difficult to predict how the human body will cope in such an environment. Martian dust devils, monster columns of spiraling red-brown sand and dust ten times larger than tornadoes found on Earth are predicted to also pose a threat to Martian settlers.

Currently exploring the surface of the Red Planet is NASA’s Curiosity rover. Its radiation-detecting instrument Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) collected data that suggests that the risk of radiation exposure on a 180-day each-way return trip to Mars with 500 days on the surface would expose astronauts to a cumulative radiation dose of about 1.01 sieverts. However, the long-term radiation dosage for those dwelling permanently on the red planet requires much further investigation.

Simulations of life on Mars in analogue Earth environments such as the Mars Analog Research Station (MARS) project established by the Mars Society help to reveal the mystery behind life on Mars. This is a global program of Mars exploration in four Mars base-like habitats located in the deserts of the Canadian Arctic, the Utah Desert, the Australian outback, and Iceland — allowing novel insights to be gained and field research to be conducted by rotating crews. Suchresearch in Mars-like environments is a valuable source of knowledge for researchers and inspiration for enthusiasts with the vision of human exploration of Mars.

The Martian habitat will undoubtedly need to protect the crew from long-term radiation exposure. Using Mars One proposes to solve this challenge via a habitat covered by a layer of soil that provides shielding against galactic cosmic rays. They state that sixteen feet (5 meters) of Martian soil provides the same protection as the Earth’s atmosphere — equivalent to 1,000 grams per square cm (227.6 ounces per square inch) of shielding. If the colonists spend two hours a day outside the habitat, their individual exposure adds up to 22 mSv per year. Key research into habitat and spacesuit technology is to be done in order to provide sufficient radiation shielding so that the settler is made safe when both indoors and outside on the surface of Mars.

Future Research

Eventually, humans will journey to Mars and settle on our neighboring planet; however this journey remains the greatest challenge of our time at present. In order to thrive on the Red Planet in the future, it is vital that thorough research into the Martian environment and its interaction with the complex human body is carried out now. In particular, long-term isolation studies that simulate not only the journey to Mars, as in the case of the Mars 500 experiment, but also daily life on the surface of Mars as a human settler are needed. Medical experiments investigating the environmental effects of the Martian environment such as prolonged radiation and reduced gravity should also be carried out.

Understanding these effects is critical to maintaining the health of those pioneering few that are bold enough to take the next step in humanity’s journey through the cosmos and it will ensure the survival of our species for many generations to come, as Earthlings and Martians.

Written by Nikita Marwaha for Space Safety Magazine

-Nikita