What the heck is a space farmer?

What the heck is a space farmer?

By Dave Masaitis

At the end of the 1960's America used its combined mathematics, science, and engineering prowess to innovate never-before-conceived systems and procedures to deliver human boots to the moon. As Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin shuffled their way across Mare Tranquillitatis, people young and old envisioned a future in space -- a peaceful coexistance where humanity used scientific investigation as a vessel to constructively channel our natural curiosity about the universe around us.

Popular television at the time gave us shows like Star Trek, where we could envision ourselves slipstreaming past galaxies in sleek fabrications of our combined innovative energies. America was embroiled in an electrified dream cloud called the Space Race, and we were taking a commanding lead by landing on the moon first. By the time Apollo 17 flew in 1972, the war in Vietnam had drained American coffers and will, Apollo 13 showed people that flying beyond our biosphere was truely dangerous, and politicians were busy trying to convince the public that space budget would be better spent serving Earth needs.

From 1973 to 1979 NASA displayed great budgetary creativity in using the remenants of the Apollo Program to launch three successful Skylab missions; determined to learn to live and work in space. Elsehere in NASA, two Viking landers were constucted and successfully landed on Mars, giving humanity its first surface photography of the Fourth Planet. Politics may have killed the Apollo Program, but the desire to explore Mars would not die.

The Space Shuttle Atlantis on orbit, docked to the International Space Station

In 1981, the space shuttle Columbia ushered in the Shuttle Era, relegating human space exploration to Earth orbit. This would last until 2011, giving rise to a wealth of scientific research, technological innovations, a Hubble Space Telescope, and an International Space Station. In the meantime, NASA also sent a line of orbiters and and landers to Mars -- Pathfinder, the Mars Polar Lander, Spirit, Opportunity, Phoenix, and now Curiosity. Some of these missions have concluded, while others continue to send data and photography.

The Mars Dream Yet Lives

Whether you are aware of it or not, a Second Space Race has already begun outside of mainstream media attention. Both NASA and SpaceX have proposed timelines for the human exploration of Mars. SpaceX and Orbital ATK are launching regular commercial missions to deliver cargo and satellites to orbit. NASA is supervising the distribution of research funds to universities and corporations through grants, challenges, and contracts. The European Space Agency (ESA), Russian Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS), the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), and the Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA) have all shown continuous interest in manned missions to Luna and Mars.

Between international goverments and privatized space corporations, human beings will set foot on Mars before the 21st century is halfway through. This will occur, because the dreamers span the globe now, and they are putting the necessary work in to get it done. Human exploration of Mars is no longer beholden to the feigned interest of American political machines. Public interest in Americans may not be solidified, but with the combined efforts of the international STEM community, human beings will achieve habitation on both Luna and Mars, and we will become a space-fairing civilization. 

So What The Heck Is A Space Farmer?

By the end of 2017, SpaceX is trying their first test launch of their Falcon Heavy Rocket, and the Space Launch System (SLS) -- a collaborative effort between Boeing, United Launch Alliance (ULA), Orbital ATK, and Aerojet Rocketdyne -- is scheduled to launch in 2019. The delivery systems will be coming online before 2020, and an Atlas rocket will take the Mars 2020 rover to Mars to continue collecting data and exploring. The Orion crew capsule is already being slated for manned missions beyond the moon. The Mars Society's Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS), the University of Hawaii's Hi-Seas Mission, and NASA's HERA Program are studying how crews will live, work, and act in long-term isolation. People are making preparations to go.

Modules may be buried under layers of regolith to protect them from solar radiation

What is not being well-discussed across the wider STEM community is food production on Mars. With an sun-orbit-dependant minimum travel time to Mars of seven months, it is too failure-prone of an idea to assume that all necessary food and sundries can simply be shipped to a crew on the surface of Mars. It would also prove to be a deeply expensive decision, if humans intended to set up any form of long-term colony on the Red Planet. With this in mind, ARES members of the Charter Chapter at Florida tech have been working on agricultural research for Martian exploration under a Space Act Agreement with NASA. They call their project RADISH -- Research to Advance the Development of InterStellar Horticulture.

There is no such thing as a Space Farmer -- yet, but a combined team of biologists, chemists, physicists, and engineers at FIT believe that there could be. Faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students started RADISH in the fall of 2016, to start evaluation of Martian regolith simulants and perform baseline plant growth studies. Now as research continues, there are discussions of perchlorate remediation and recycling aquaponics systems. The end-state vision is a self-contained ecosystem can can handle the bioload of six crew-members, but also assist in the remediation of waste products, and the generation of fertilizers and chemicals for industrial and scientific use.

Who Cares?

To some, such pursuits are for "escapist dreamers who aren't willing to address the problems here on Earth." For those of us involved in the research, nothing could be farther from the truth. For us, securing the knowledge and technology to create sustainable agriculture for a future Mars colony means that the same knowledge and technology can provide new agricultural options to communities on this planet as well. The ability to generate generations of plant and animal food sources without impacting the surrounding biosphere would mean food for people in all parts of the world, without straining the ecological balance of the ecosystems that we live in.

The same technologies that support astronauts on Mars, will help people on Earth

Hopefully, at least some of the people who read this article will one day call themselves Space Farmers -- Lunar or Martian. Others may never leave the planet, but perhaps they will implement an agricultural module attached to their home, forever changing the way that they live, work, and survive. With basic human needs like food production and waste remediation better handled at the family/homestead level, it is possible that we might also start to see changes in human interaction as well. Only time and effort will tell. 

With any luck, many of you will join us in building a better future for humanity on this planet and the next. Just because humanity has lived this way so far, does not mean we must be content continuing to do things the same way forever. Hopefully some of you will chose to become Space Farmers.

Dave Masaitis is the Founding President of the Astrobiological Research and Education Society, current President of the Charter Chapter, and an Undergraduate Researcher at the Florida Institute of Technology. He is a carpenter, gunsmith, aviation mechanic, and former Paratrooper with the US Army's 82nd Airborne Division, double-majoring in Astrobiology and Marine Biology. After graduation, he is seeking a Doctorate of Space Sciences in Applied Exobiology, and hopes to pioneer artificial ecosystems for use on Mars, Luna, and any other planetary body that humans seek to visit. He is also a member of the Planetary Society, FIT's Marine Biological Society, and the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society. He would like to finish a federal retirement at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, and then intends to continue exploring Earth's oceans. You can reach him at dmasaitis@aresresearch.org

Is It All About Aliens? An Astrobiological Review

This artist's concept of Kepler-452b, which is about 60 percent larger in diameter than Earth.

Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle

Is It All About Aliens? An Astrobiological Review

By Nathan Hadland

Astrobiology is an emerging and continually evolving science that seeks a comprehensive and encompassing definition. Indeed, the principles of the field have fundamentally existed since humans developed the ability to form conscious, inquisitive thought. The questions that form the basis of scientific pursuit include, most primitively, “are we alone” and “where did we come from?” In its basic form, astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution, and distribution of life on Earth and in the universe. It is a survey of the broad processes that encompass all scientific disciplines from astrophysics to molecular biology. Commonly, when I am asked what I study at university, I get a blank expression of incomprehension in response. Not surprisingly, the pervasive perception of astrobiology is that it is the study of aliens. It seems that the public views the field as a pseudo-scientific speculation of extraterrestrial civilizations. Of course, if you are reading this you are likely aware that this is not the case. The field requires an understanding that surpasses any singular field of study and therein lies the difficulty. An astrobiologist must understand a large array of processes that govern the universe in order pursue extremely complex questions. However, taken at face value, the wide scope and complexity of the field can seem to the public as horrendously narrow and therefore unreasonable to pursue as a field of scientific inquiry.

Life appeared quickly after the heavy bombardment, early in Earth’s history.

So what are the questions that an actually astrobiologist pursues? Perhaps most significantly, the origin of life. At a glance, the question of abiogenesis, or the evolution of living organisms from an inorganic source, seems like a simplistic idea. However, astrobiologists have been unable to correctly replicate the conditions under which life arose. The famous Miller-Urey experiment used a mixture of primitive gases (ammonia, methane, and hydrogen) that were thought to be present in the “primordial soup” and generated organic compounds, a key component in the jump from abiotic to biotic material. One prevailing idea is that hydrothermal vents allowed the formation of these reduced organic compounds, and thus, the ancient chemosynthetic microorganisms currently living in these environments may hold the key to the origin of life (2). Another popular idea that allows the jump from these basic amino acids to replicating and evolving microbial life is the RNA World Theory. The theory postulates that ribonucleic acid (RNA) arose as a biotic catalase and became the first dominant genetic material as opposed to deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Much of the current conversation centers around whether genes or metabolism arose first (1). Any model that attempts to demonstrate an abiogenesis mechanism must show the step from organic monomers and polymers to some sort of collection of these molecules with genetic hardware. Yet another theory of the origin of life on Earth is called “panspermia”, which states that the biology on Earth was seeded from another source such as Mars, Europa, or another planetary system using comets and asteroids, so long as the bactericidal effects of UV radiation were appropriately managed through shielding in rock (3). However, regardless if this postulation is correct, this mechanism is ultimately unsatisfying because it transfers the problem of life’s origin to another source.

The study of exoplanets will reveal what makes a planet habitable.  

A major aspect of astrobiology is the field of planetary science, including astrogeology, biogeology, astroecology, and the study of exoplanets. The question of what makes a planet habitable is perhaps the most interesting. The largest effort in this area is the exploration of our own solar system. The smaller bodies that are the most promising for extant life include Mars, Europa, and Titan. The discovery of microbial life within our solar system that has distinct biochemistry apart from life on Earth would be a clear indication that abiogenesis occurred independently several times in a single planetary system and would therefore imply that it is a relatively easy jump from simple collections of organic molecules to cellular life. Indeed, such study of these bodies as well as extrasolar terrestrial planets and their respective atmospheric composition, raises interesting questions with regards to the minimum necessary requirements for the rise of microbial life and further, for multicellular life (4). Determining the habitable zone (HZ) around a star is an interesting point of research. The HZ cannot be too close to the star, as is the case for red dwarfs, for fear of tidal locking. The HZ around a larger star is highly unstable because of the violent behavior inherent in supergiants and their relatively short lifespans. Additionally, the presence of a large jovian planet may be necessary to mitigate the number of comets and asteroid impacts and consequently reduce the potential number of mass extinctions (5). Astrobiologists answer these questions by investigating the history of Earth, including the formation of the solar system, climate evolution, paleontology and mass extinctions, and the interaction between Earth’s geology and biosphere.

Human exploration of the cosmos, a topic that ARES is extremely interested in, is a major aspect of astrobiology. Building effective life support systems for humans to live in the harshest environments our species has ever explored is an extraordinarily difficult issue. With our Research to Advance the Development of Interstellar Horticulture (RADISH), we tackle the problem of creating a sustainable, in situ food production method on Mars. Experimentation with elevated light levels, hydroponics, and controlled environmental parameters may hold the solution (6). Remediation of perchlorates within Martian regolith is a major issue and also very interesting topic of research. The medical effects of weightlessness, the psychological aspects of extended space flight, protection from radiation, and creating effective habitats are all being heavily researched in industry, in governments, and in academia.

Astronomers use radio telescopes to survey the skies for extraterrestrial signals.

The aspect of astrobiology that the layman thinks of when encountering the field is the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). The most effective method for this effort is the use of radio telescopes to survey the universe for signals from another intelligent civilization within our galaxy. Astrobiologists and astronomers working in this field utilize the Drake Equation which is:

N =R*f_g f_p n_e f_l f_i f_c L

Where N=the number of galactic civilizations where communication is possible; R*= the rate of star formation in the Milky Way; f_g=the fraction of stars capable of supporting life; f_p = the fraction of stars with planets; n_e = number of planets per system with ecologically suitable conditions; f_l = fraction of planets where life originates and evolves into complexity; f_c = the fraction of planets with intelligence (measured by ability to build a radio telescope); and L= mean lifetime of the technological civilization (7). Notice that if any one the values approaches zero, the number of civilizations within our galaxy approach zero as well. The discovery of another intelligent civilization would be perhaps the most momentous and altering event in human history and thus the search continues.

Astrobiology is one of the most exciting and prevalent scientific fields in contemporary society. The pursuit of astrobiological questions involves the integration of knowledge spanning from physics to planetary science to molecular biology and beyond. To be an astrobiologist means to avoid viewing these fields in isolation, but rather view the biosphere and the universe as a whole, and use reductionist thinking to find answers. Indeed, the most prevalent and perplexing questions facing humanity employ aspects of astrobiology, such as anthropogenic climate change and exploration of the solar system. As Carl Sagan said “Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.” We intend to find out.

Nathan Hadland is an astrobiology student at Florida Institute of Technology where he studies the atmospheric dynamics on ice giants such as Neptune and Uranus. Nathan is also a member of the RADISH research group at Florida Tech and on the Farmbot team. He has been an active member of ARES since its inception in the fall of 2016. 

Come with us on a journey, if you will...

By the time you are reading this, a number of university students will already be casting their eyes forward to Spring Break -- a chance to unwind, party, relax, and enjoy a week off. For a group of students at the Florida Institute of Technology, there may be a couple days of sleeping in, or some time taken for meals with family, but there will be studying, data analysis, a presentation of research at the Florida Academy of Sciences in Lakeland, FL on March 10th, and whispers of an expanded relationship with NASA and more research to be done.

These students are all members of a relatively new scholarly society at Florida Tech.

Promoting the Future of
Astrobiology and Exobiology

 The Astrobiological Research and Education Society was founded in November of 2016 by approximately a dozen students and three student board members majoring in Astrobiology, but quickly expanded to include students majoring in Aerospace Engineering, Molecular Biology, and Marine Biology.  This is representative of their open invitation to outside disciplines to contribute to the study of life in the universe.

Our mission is to promote the field of Astrobiology, provide information and education to the public, promote space exploration, and help provide definition to the field of applied exobiology as a course of research.

Travelling teams make "mission patches"
representing the ARES Road Crew
to commemorate events

Since the beginning of the Fall Semester of 2016, we began a research project through the Buzz Aldrin Space Institute with a grant received from NASA, in association with the In-Situ Resource Utilization Element. Our task for RADISH, or Research to Advance the Development of InterStellar Horticulture was to scientifically evaluate the viability of martian regolith as an agricultural growth medium, and develop materials and methods to optimize efficiency, output, and sustainability. We started our search by obtaining a quantity of the first approved research simulant, JSC MARS-1A; a volcanic regolith from Hawaii. We have since conducted a several studies in this medium.

Our Chapter Treasurer David Handy and I will be travelling to Lakeland, Florida on March 10th to present our research to date at the Florida Academy of Sciences. Our poster presentation session will be held from 5:30pm to 7:30pm if anyone would like to speak with us about RADISH.

Otherwise, if you are a Facebook user, please feel free to follow our Facebook Page or contact us by email to see what the Society is up to!

With continuing discussions with NASA about the need for agriculture within our long-term space exploration strategies, we are certain to have more to share soon.  2017 is sure to be an exciting year!

Come exploring with us!

Dave Masaitis
President, Charter Chapter
Astrobiological Research and Education Society