From cradle to?

Design in context of space exploration

The Earth. Quite a cozy place to live in. In fact, that is the only place in our solar system which provides all living conditions we need. This is where we started our existence, where we evolved, gained knowledge and built civilizations. This place made us who we are and gave us an opportunity to develop. We started to explore, discover new places and settle where living conditions were satisfying our needs. Now as we explored most of the Earth we started our journey to outer space. But why do we do that? Is it just a curiosity about what’s behind the corner? The need of discovering isn’t the only reason. For humankind this move is necessary. We already know that every cycle has its beginning and the end. Either we leave or we are in danger for extinction.

Russian scientist and pioneer of cosmonautics Konstantin Tsiolkovsky wrote in one of his letters that Earth is the cradle of humanity, but one cannot live in a cradle forever.

The TRAPPIST-1 star, an ultra-cool dwarf, has seven Earth-size planets orbiting it. This artist’s concept appeared on the cover of the journal Nature on Feb. 23, 2017. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech

What are our chances of finding a new home? It all depends on us. We already made our first steps. Every day gives us new information about the surrounding space and its features. Our research even lead us to Earth-like planets but this long distance travels are yet out of our reach. Finding a completely suitable environment is close to impossible but what we can do is to choose a place which complies with basic requirements and adapt it to our needs.

We are very lucky to be in a short distance from a planet that became an obsession of everyone since manned space flights started — Mars. I said lucky because this is the only planet in our reach that could give us hope for colonization. About four billion years ago Mars wasn’t much different from Earth. Life on Mars probably didn’t have a chance to develop before it dried out but the planet was active. There are signs of the presence of water that left serious marks giving us the proof of it. We can also find volcanos and crater pockmarks. The planet’s atmosphere was decomposed by the time the algae had a chance to evolve making it thicker and protective. The planet cooled out and lost its magnetic field. Now comparing to Earth it’s empty and most likely lifeless. This gives us a clue why we are so interested in going there. It’s not only that Mars is so close.

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover took this January 19, 2016, selfie while sitting at “Namib Dune”

Ashwin Vasavada — MSL Project Scientist known for the Curiosity rover which landed on Mars in 2012 claims:

It’s a place that you can go today that’s like going to early Earth. You remove that dusty exterior of Mars, and you have this planet that is just so reminiscent of Earth. It’s like finding a dusty Earth in your attic. Shake off the dust a little bit, and it’s this amazing place that you can recognize. That’s why I like it.

This point of view teaches us a lot how fragile life can be and how bad things can go. But also it reveals the big capability of this planet. If it wasn’t this different from Earth then maybe someday it will be possible for us to live there.

For now lethal radiation, almost no pressure (0,6% of Earths pressure), an atmosphere composed mostly of Carbon dioxide, low temperature (-133°C to 27°C) makes it an extremally difficult environment for humans. Despite that, this is the most suitable place for us yet other than on Earth.

We can not go there unprepared. To survive we have to create our own life-supporting systems. Everything depends on our skills and proficiency. Every mistake can cost us lives and can decide on the success of the mission.

If we want to colonize Mars we need to create an artificial human-friendly environment from the ground up. This is where designers have much to say.