Space Minute PSA Series #12: Mars Class
For as much attention as we pay to getting to Mars, many would suggest that the real work starts once we arrive on the Red Planet.
A unique class at Florida Institute of Technology is taking on some of the biggest hurdles in our quest to colonize Mars.
The curriculum of the think tank-like course focuses on innovative ways to get to the Red Planet and solutions for staying there long term. Students are asked to think critically about the challenges of meeting everyday needs while living on Mars such as growing food, developing fuel from lunar ice and building habitat from materials only available on the planet’s surface.
A flight to Mars may still be a decade or two away, but thinking about the challenges of living on Mars may have implications for living here on Earth. Why? Living on Mars is the ultimate test of sustainability. If we can figure out ways to live on another world, we can take those ideas and make life better here on this planet.
Captain Winston Scott is a retired U.S. Navy fighter pilot and astronaut who flew on two space shuttle missions and walked in space three times. He’s now an administrator and faculty member at the Florida Institute of Technology. More information on Space Minutes at wfit.org.
