Space startups are the key to making life possible on Mars

<div _ngcontent-c15 = "" innerhtml = "

This is the third part of a three part series on the Martian infrastructure. You can read the first part about Martian communication infrastructure right here and second part on resource development on Mars right here.

You are an astronaut living and working on Mars. Every day, you interact with a multitude of technologies, ranging from simple and sophisticated robots to water and air purification mechanisms, through food production devices and production systems. 39; energy. These technologies help you and your team to conduct research and explore the Martian environment, but most importantly, they allow you to stay alive. Without your knowledge, many of these innovations have been built by little-known startups, not by Fortune's aerospace and technology companies that have historically dominated the space industry. You can work for NASA and you may have hitchhiked on a SpaceX or Boeing spacecraft, but much of your payload is the brainchild of scientists, engineers, and independent inventors.

According to investment firm Space Angels, private investors from 120 venture capital firms versed nearly $ 4 billion in space startups in 2017, an increase of 12% over the previous year. Far from being transitory novelties, many of these startups are making a valuable contribution that will be essential to the achievement of a multi-currency future.

Innovation from space startups has even caught the attention of NASA, which has launched a Shark Aquarium–style program called iTech three years ago to identify and support the most innovative ideas in space technology. The 25 finalists in this year's cohort were ad last week. NASA is also currently operation a 3D Printed Habitat Challenge that aims to advance technology and additive construction practices for crewed missions on Mars. Inventors and start-ups participating in these competitions prove that building the necessary infrastructure to establish a permanent presence on other planets requires the involvement of everyone, not just Big Aerospace and Ultra-rich.

Here are some of the startups that make up one of those competitions that we believe will be critical to building the infrastructure needed to support ongoing human activity on Mars.

• SpaceFactory – HAVE. SpaceFactory's MARSHA won second place in the final phase of NASA's home competition. MARSHA applies the best possible design thinking, using a vertical structure rather than a horizontal structure to achieve maximum space efficiency and superior stability. We like AI. SpaceFactory because of the obsessive focus of their proposal on human experience and well-being – an all too often ignored but absolutely essential aspect of habitat design.
• Apptronik – Apptronik develops bipedal robots, human type, able to work in environments designed for humans. Although anthropomorphic machines have known fight In DARPA Challenge, the development of robots capable of working with people who do not need special accommodation will be the key for robots to benefit Martian explorers.
• Factory of Cemvita – Cemvita's technology mimics photosynthesis to create oxygen, nutritional supplements, probiotics and other chemicals useful in sunlight. This allows astronauts to generate significant on-site resources with very little raw material – a valuable capability since dispatch Excessive supplies with a crew bound for Mars will likely be prohibitively expensive. While the red planet infamous Dust storms could reduce the efficiency of solar-based technologies, the increased efficiency of conversion, and the fact that Martian dust storms occur only around the world. happen Once every 5 ½ terrestrial years, solutions such as those of Cemvita probably have their place in extra-planetary exploration.
• Danish Aerospace Company – Danish Aerospace won this summer the iTech pitch event in Houston, Texas, with water purification equipment using passive membranes to provide natural, lightweight and energy-efficient filtration. Having simple methods of purifying water, whether human wastewater or water extracted from Mars, is essential to the long-term viability of any outpost or Martian colony.
• Ion Power Group – The Ion Power Group technology converts electrically charged ions originating in the Martian atmosphere into usable energy. These ions are constantly being created by galactic cosmic rays and are abundant on Mars, providing a renewable source of electricity for Martian settlers. Despite the many power generation proposals on Mars, the Ion solution seems more elegant than the current Kilopower nuclear reactors forbidden by NASA.

While public space agencies like NASA and the world's leading aerospace companies continue to be the driving forces behind humanity's journey to Mars, a growing number of startups like the ones mentioned here are embarking on the provision of support technologies. essential.

When we finally put a person on Mars, do not be surprised if many of the machines and devices that make it possible are marked with company names and logos you have never heard of. Just as hundreds of companies of all sizes are needed to create and maintain our physical infrastructure on Earth, it will take many ideas and voices to build an infrastructure on Mars that supports exploration and ultimately housing.

">

This is the third part of a three part series on the Martian infrastructure. You can read the first part about Martian communication infrastructure right here and second part on resource development on Mars right here.

You are an astronaut living and working on Mars. Every day, you interact with a multitude of technologies, ranging from simple and sophisticated robots to water and air purification mechanisms, through food production devices and production systems. 39; energy. These technologies help you and your team to conduct research and explore the Martian environment, but most importantly, they allow you to stay alive. Without your knowledge, many of these innovations have been built by little-known startups, not by Fortune's aerospace and technology companies that have historically dominated the space industry. You can work for NASA and you may have hitchhiked on a SpaceX or Boeing spacecraft, but much of your payload is the brainchild of scientists, engineers, and independent inventors.

According to investment firm Space Angels, private investors from 120 venture capital firms versed nearly $ 4 billion in space startups in 2017, an increase of 12% over the previous year. Far from being transitory novelties, many of these startups are making a valuable contribution that will be essential to the achievement of a multi-currency future.

Innovation from space startups has even caught the attention of NASA, which has launched a Shark Aquarium–style program called iTech three years ago to identify and support the most innovative ideas in space technology. The 25 finalists in this year's cohort were ad last week. NASA is also currently operation a 3D Printed Habitat Challenge that aims to advance technology and additive construction practices for crewed missions on Mars. Inventors and start-ups participating in these competitions prove that building the necessary infrastructure to establish a permanent presence on other planets requires the involvement of everyone, not just Big Aerospace and Ultra-rich.

Here are some of the startups that make up one of those competitions that we believe will be critical to building the infrastructure needed to support ongoing human activity on Mars.

• SpaceFactory – HAVE. SpaceFactory's MARSHA won second place in the final phase of NASA's home competition. MARSHA applies the best possible design thinking, using a vertical structure rather than a horizontal structure to achieve maximum space efficiency and superior stability. We like AI. SpaceFactory because of the obsessive focus of their proposal on human experience and well-being – an all too often ignored but absolutely essential aspect of habitat design.
• Apptronik – Apptronik develops bipedal robots, human type, able to work in environments designed for humans. Although anthropomorphic machines have known fight In DARPA Challenge, the development of robots capable of working with people who do not need special accommodation will be the key for robots to benefit Martian explorers.
• Factory of Cemvita – Cemvita's technology mimics photosynthesis to create oxygen, nutritional supplements, probiotics and other chemicals useful in sunlight. This allows astronauts to generate significant on-site resources with very little raw material – a valuable capability since dispatch Excessive supplies with a crew bound for Mars will likely be prohibitively expensive. While the red planet infamous Dust storms could reduce the efficiency of solar-based technologies, the increased efficiency of conversion, and the fact that Martian dust storms occur only around the world. happen Once every 5 ½ terrestrial years, solutions such as those of Cemvita probably have their place in extra-planetary exploration.
• Danish Aerospace Company – Danish Aerospace won this summer the iTech pitch event in Houston, Texas, with water purification equipment using passive membranes to provide natural, lightweight and energy-efficient filtration. Having simple methods of purifying water, whether human wastewater or water extracted from Mars, is essential to the long-term viability of any outpost or Martian colony.
• Ion Power Group – The Ion Power Group technology converts electrically charged ions originating in the Martian atmosphere into usable energy. These ions are constantly being created by galactic cosmic rays and are abundant on Mars, providing a renewable source of electricity for Martian settlers. Despite the many power generation proposals on Mars, the Ion solution seems more elegant than the current Kilopower nuclear reactors forbidden by NASA.

While public space agencies like NASA and the world's leading aerospace companies continue to be the driving forces behind humanity's journey to Mars, a growing number of startups like the ones mentioned here are embarking on the provision of support technologies. essential.

When we finally put a person on Mars, do not be surprised if many of the machines and devices that make it possible are marked with company names and logos you have never heard of. Just as hundreds of companies of all sizes are needed to create and maintain our physical infrastructure on Earth, it will take many ideas and voices to build an infrastructure on Mars that supports exploration and ultimately housing.