Martian colonists
NASA is crowd sourcing the public for ideas to help keep humans alive on Mars by writing down in detail their ideas for establishing a continuous human presence on the Red Planet.
NASA plans to land the first humans on Mars sometime in the 2040s, an event that will mean having to establish colonies on the planet.
NASA said those interested can write at length about their ideas that will enable human colonies to survive and thrive on the hostile environment on Mars. Ideas can include food, water, breathable air, shelter, communication, exercise, social interactions and medicine.
The space agency encourages participants to consider innovative and creative elements beyond these examples.
The first three winners will get $5,000 each from a total award pool of $15,000.
For more information about the challenge, and details on how to apply, people can visit:
https://www.innocentive.com/pavilion/NASA
Winning ideas will be judged on relevance, creativity, simplicity, resource efficiency, feasibility, comprehensiveness and scalability.
A one-way trip to Mars might take some 270 days and astronauts will be expected to stay on Mars for a few months before returning to Earth. The humans colonists on Mars can only be resupplied every 500 days.
Given this length of time and spacecraft limitations on weight and volume, innovative solutions are needed for a mission to Mars not dependent on the Earth for resources.
NASA seeks technical submissions that describe the development of capabilities and operational events necessary, in both the near and long-term, to advance human colonization of Mars.
Submissions may consist of proposed approaches, capabilities, systems or a set of integrated systems that enable or enhance a sustained human presence on Mars. Solutions should include the assumptions, analysis, and data that justify their value.
Submissions should include a process to develop, test, implement, and operate the system or capability.
