THE ALLURE OF THE UNKNOWN

Untold discoveries lie in wait, including the possibility of finding life on Mars, says Dr Adriana Marais, a South African theoretical physicist, technologist and director at the Foundation for Space Development Africa, who dreams of moving to the red pla

Dr Adriana Marais is a South African theoretical physicist, technologist and a director at the Foundation for Space Development Africa who loves running on the beach, swimming in dams and hiking in forests. But if it were up to her, she would have moved to a place where none of those are possible: Mars.

“The reason I want to explore beyond the world as we know it is simple: the allure of the unknown is far more powerful than the comfort of the known,” says the former cocktail bartender who mixed gin and tonics for the Yakuza (the transnational organised crime and non-crime syndicates originating in Japan).

“Many people find it unnerving, overwhelming and incomprehensible that I want to move to Mars. Untold discoveries lie in wait, including the possibility of finding life on Mars. This would be a giant leap in understanding who we are, where we come from, and where we’re going,” says the University of Cape Town alumnus who’s busy with her second doctorate.

In 2015, the physicist’s dream came a little closer to reality when she was shortlisted as one of 100 astronaut candidates for the Mars One initiative, a project that aimed to make humans permanent residents on the red planet.

Before she can even think of packing for what would be a seven-month journey with no connecting flight anywhere else in the universe, she has to think about the harsh conditions she’ll face after landing on a foreign planet’s surface. Where would she and fellow residents source fresh water? How would they power devices necessary for life? What would they eat? Who would give them the planet’s Wi-Fi password?

Local flights, for now

Unfortunately, in 2019 Mars One declared bankruptcy, leaving her most realistic hopes of meeting ET dashed, but she turned this challenge into an opportunity.

In the same year she founded Proudly Human, a research organisation that is running a series of settlement experiments in extreme environments as part of its OffWorld project.

Marais has visited some of Earth’s harshest regions, including Antarctica, Norway, deserts in the Middle East and Africa, the Aquarius Reef Base underwater habitat and submarine naval bases, on location scouts for Proudly Human’s OffWorld Project.

Beginning later this year with teams of carefully selected experts, Proudly Human will build communities and off-grid infrastructure from scratch in the most extreme environments. Each experiment will last several weeks, generate exploration-driven innovation and research, and be filmed for a documentary series, MISSION: Off-World. Whether on Earth or beyond, management of life’s most precious resource — water — is critical to survival of life. Marais will be tapping into cutting edge technology as well as the knowledge of communities who have mastered surviving harsh conditions for generations.

“Proudly Human’s Off-World Project is a series of habitation experiments in the most extreme environments on our planet to prepare for life on the moon, Mars and beyond and a more sustainable future on Earth. The project promotes companies developing technology for sustainability, facilitates skills development, boosts research, innovation and technology towards off-grid functionality, as well as providing a vision for young people of community spirit in even the harshest environments through grit, imagination, research and technology, towards a future we can be proud of, whatever planet we are on.”

Continental collaborations

One would think that teams from all over the world exploring our universe — including SpaceX building a transport system to take people and cargo to the

moon, Mars and beyond; China recently landing on the far side of the moon; and Japan’s asteroid missions returning samples back to Earth — have little to do with life on Earth.

“Studies show how the inspirational power of the Apollo era from 1968 to 1972 led to the commercialisation of the personal computer, the mobile phone and the internet. Two decades of human habitation of the International Space Station have led to impressive developments in solar technology, water filtration systems and

LED lighting to grow food,” says Marais.

“As the human race, we’re facing some of the greatest challenges and opportunities ever. Mars is within reach, while on Earth our life-support system is under threat. Our actions today are more influential than we imagine in creating tomorrow. Proudly Human balances working towards the offworld settlements of the near future with uplifting communities already living in extreme environments on Earth. Our vision is for a future of which we can be proud, in harmony with each other and the environment, whatever planet we’re on.

“Many humans are already living in extreme conditions: 1-billion live with no power; 1.6-billion have inadequate shelter; 6.8-billion live in areas with polluted air; 2.2billion consume unsafe water; 1-billion are undernourished; and 3.7-billion are without internet access. This is the most urgent challenge we’ve ever faced, because access to reliable power, adequate shelter, clean water, nutritious food and health care are necessary for any human to acquire the skills to participate meaningfully in this technological era,” she points out.

Relocating to another planet is not as simple as asking for boxes at your local supermarket. A number of critical considerations have to be factored in, and Marais is doing her part in ensuring that those who will end up on other planets are not surprised by any harsh conditions devoid of Wi-Fi.

“After enduring 40 days in the driest regions of the Namib desert, and 40 days of darkness in the Arctic winter, the culmination of the series of experiments will entail a final selection of six experts living underwater in the Aquarius Reef Base in the Florida Keys. The conditions of isolation and confinement within some of these habitats have parallels with the long-duration space flight necessary to travel to Mars or beyond. The team will live as a community, operating and augmenting existing infrastructure including power, water, air, food and communication systems for a mission objective of 78 days underwater: the return flight duration to Mars and back on Ad Astra’s experimental VASIMR rocket, as well as a new world record for living underwater,” she says.

For most humans who are attached to daily creature comforts such as oxygen, gravity and the entertainment of pet tigers roaming the streets, Marais is probably off her rocker for pursuing off-world experiments. But she’s adamant that for us to progress as a species, we have to think much further than most of us are prepared to consider. Should crises like climate change mean Earth is no longer viable for humans, those very same detractors will be the first to hitch a ride with her to the ends of space, and beyond.

As the human race, we’re facing some of the greatest challenges and opportunities ever. Mars is within reach, while on Earth our life-support system is under threat

DR ADRIANA MARAIS

Director at the Foundation for Space Development Africa