TINA OVERTON: Hi, I’m Professor Tina Overton. I’m a chemist at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.

JASMINA LAZENDIC-GALLOWAY: Hi, I’m Dr. Jasmina Lazendic-Galloway. I’m an astronomer also at Monash University. We have designed a course to help you learn–

TINA OVERTON: –how to survive on Mars. Mars has captivated human imagination since the very earliest civilisations. Mars is the only planet in the solar system where humans could possibly live, which is why it holds such fascination for us. But sustaining our lives there is going to be a real challenge. We’re going to need some amazing science and meticulous planning.

MARION ANDERSON: People have always wanted to see what’s over the horizon, what the next big thing is. And Mars is going to be the next big thing.

DUNCAN GALLOWAY: So within my lifetime, I fully expect there will be people living on Mars. And so, we need to get ready.

MICHAEL PAKAKIS: As the moon was a fascination back in the 60s and 50s, I think that it’s the same thing. I think Mars is the next target.

TINA OVERTON: So here we are on an obviously simulated Mars surface.

JASMINA LAZENDIC GALLOWAY: And real Mars is completely different. There’s no air to breathe. There’s no water to drink. There is no food to eat. There is no energy that we can use easily.

TINA OVERTON: There’s very little atmosphere and there’s very little sunlight. The radiation is intense and it’s very cold.

DUNCAN GALLOWAY: It’s difficult for astronauts to survive on Mars. It’s a very extreme environment. So astronauts have to bring a lot of what they need with them.

JASMINA LAZENDIC-GALLOWAY: So, there are resources on Mars that we can use. We just need to be very innovative. How do we do that?

MARION ANDERSON: You’re going to need to know a little bit about everything– a little bit of chemistry, a little bit of biology, a little bit of maths, a little bit of physics, a little bit of geology, and probably a bit of engineering and medicine thrown in there as well for good luck.

MICHAEL PAKAKIS: An online course like this is an excellent way to actually promote this area of science and actually get students really excited about what they can be involved in in the next 15, 20 years time.

JASMINA LAZENDIC-GALLOWAY: So join us on this amazing journey to learn–

TINA OVERTON: –how to survive on Mars.