Mars on Earth – Ongoing - matjaztancic.com

Stories / Mars on Earth – Ongoing

T Text
Thumbs
Full
Caption

I spent last 5 years photographing and interviewing a new generation of space explorers in the United States, China, Japan, South Africa and Europe. A diverse and engaged community of scientists, entrepreneurs, and creatives revealed itself. From doctors creating avatars to guide surgeries across vast distances, to agricultural entrepreneurs building greenhouse and hydroponic technologies for inhospitable soil, I became particularly interested in the earthly applications of the space bound innovations we learned about, especially in a time of climate change. Earth is facing a myriad of challenges, and those focused on the cosmos are often thought to be devoid of concern for their home planet. Myintroduction to the space community has told a different story. Pragmatically, an entrepreneurial environment not completely subsidized by the government, requires that space innovations have a nearer term market on Earth, and everyone I met saw a direct application of their work for Earth from 3D printed habitats for rehoming those displaced after natural disasters to bioregenerativefarming technology for desertified terrain.

Visitors wearing the space suits climb the hill near the C Space - Mars analog simulation base in Gobi desert, Gansu province, China.

A student of the Mars Academy corse on the space medicine standing on the filed in Los Angeles.

Leszek Orzechowski the manager of the Lunares Research Station in Pila - Poland that is a specialised facility for simulating manned space missions on the Moon

Visitor wearing the space suit near the C Space - Mars analog simulation base in Gobi desert, Gansu province, China.

Birds eye view of two man made craters next to the C Space - Mars analog simulation base in Gobi desert, Gansu province, China.

Kid visiting a Mars Society event in the observatory in Beijing, China.

A food growing laboratory in the C Space - Mars analog simulation base in Gobi desert, Gansu province, China.

Visitors checking the Mars lander replica near the C Space - Mars analog simulation base in Gobi desert, Gansu province, China.

2000BCE petroglyphs in Horseshoe Canyon, Utah depicting what it seems to be people in space suits.

The location of the Mars rover competition where rovers have to pick various samples. Mars Desert Research Station in Hanksville (Utah) is the longest running Mars simulation base in the world. It was established in the early 2000s, and it is crewed by small teams of 6-8 people who carry out missions at the facility for typically two weeks at the time.

Mathipa Sebitsiwa - planetarium operator in Cape Town, South Africa.

Through this hatch at the Polish Mars analogue simulation base, astronauts leave a Mars base and enter the vacuum of Space to perform extravehicular activities.

A photo of the visitor during the EVA (Extravehicular activity) simulation in Lunares. Lunares is a Polish analogue Moon and Mars base in a decommissioned nuclear prof airplane hangar in the city of Pila.

Barbara Belvisi a CEO of Interstellar lab.
Interstellar Lab is an innovative company that specialises in sustainable living systems. Their primary innovation is the BioPod, a fully autonomous enclosed mobile greenhouse. It is designed for life on Mars and offers the potential for sustainable food production during long-duration space missions and for growing food on Earth. Their groundbreaking work has been recognised by NASA, as they were chosen as one of the eight winners in phase two of the Deep Space Food Challenge. Paris, France.

Visitor at the Shanghai Astronomy Museum, the world's largest planetarium. In the last decade China is investing into many space related projects and facilities to popularize space exploration and inspire the younger generations.

Dr. Susan Ip-Jewell is the founder of the Mars Academy in Los Angeles. She specializes in Space Medicine, focusing on the usage of VR goggles which would help doctors performing complex medical procedures with the help of augmented reality.

Ael company laboratory with the vacuum chamber that mimics the conditions in space. Tokyo, Japan. AEL is the company that has produced the first satellite that can make an artificial shooting stars.

Detail of the Delta II rocket model that has launched the first South African satellite (The Sunsat) in 1999.

Chinese Long March 5B rocket disappearing into clouds after a successful launch. The rocket was carrying the first part of the Chinese space station. China is only the 3rd country that has established a permanent space station, after the Russian Mir and International Space station. The space station, called Tiangong can host a crew of 3 astronauts.

Mars flag made by a Slovenian designer, Miha Artnak, planted in the cave system simulating the Mars lava tubes. The underground tunnels left behind the running lava could be one of the most suitable living habitats on Mars since they would provide a good protection against the radiation and the sand storms.