SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is realistic on the subject of the hazards of settling humans on mars.
“If an arduous and dangerous journey where you would possibly not come back alive, however it’s an excellent adventure, sounds appealing, Mars is the place,” Musk said in 2021. That is the ad for Mars! A bunch of individuals will probably die to start with.”
As we witness substantial advancements with SpaceX’s Starship, despite quite a few explosions through the tests — a suitable risk for an revolutionary spacecraft pushing boundaries — the prospect of its successful first orbital launch is becoming an increasingly tangible reality. Consequently, Elon Musk’s vision of Mars missions and the establishment of initial settlements begins to transcend the realm of dreams and enterprise into the sphere of achievable objectives.
Hence, this progress invites us to delve deeper into understanding probably the most significant challenges that lie ahead. These challenges stretch beyond the boundaries of rocket technology, impacting our biology and fundamentally questioning our identity as a species.
Related: Watch SpaceX launch a Starship to Mars on this gorgeous recent animation
When Starship is prepared, will we be?
On Mars, a hostile and radiation-soaked, lifeless world, merely arriving and landing alive is hard for humans, let alone the colossal challenge of survival. It resembles more a celestial tomb than a garden for all times. Some thinkers are starting to ponder, though: Could we craft a brand new iteration of humanity, genetically sculpted to endure the tough reality of space travel? In other words, could astronauts be transformed at a genetic level to arrange them for one more world?
To make clear, nobody is currently nurturing a genetically enhanced astronaut in a lab. A minimum of, to not my knowledge. Yet, ideas once confined to the realm of science fiction are materializing into tangible concepts. We all know that radiation, a potent hazard in space, can induce cancer and other serious maladies. Nonetheless, Chinese scientists have already made strides in genetically modifying human embryonic stem cells to indicate supernatural resistance against radiation.
As space is flooded with energetic particles that may damage DNA, scientists have proposed the addition of additional copies of p53, a gene often known as the “protector of the genome” as a consequence of its role in cancer prevention. Elephants, with their surplus copies of p53, rarely succumb to cancer. Perhaps our future astronauts should follow suit.
Demonstrating the feasibility of such an idea, first gene-editing experiments aboard the ISS has proven the effectiveness of CRISPR technology in space. This offers a promising sign of potential breakthroughs to return. There isn’t any consortium focused on genetic engineering for astronauts yet, but perhaps it is time to think about establishing one.
Failing to guard an individual sure for one more planet once we possess the means would indeed be unethical, not the alternative.
In the search to shield astronauts, we may bump into opportunities for “enhancement”. Currently, the notion of gene editing for intellect enhancement or perfect vision is fiercely resisted. Yet, if we’re honest, NASA already selects individuals based on similar criteria. Out of 12 000 applicants, only 10 were chosen into its astronaut class in 2021 to coach for future missions. It’s possible you’ll be accustomed to the movie “Gattaca”, by which only genetically superior individuals were permitted to journey to Titan, while those deemed genetically inferior looked on enviously. Like much of compelling science fiction, this 1997 film is not far faraway from reality.
When contemplating survival in space, the genetic concept of “fitness” becomes critical. It refers to not physical prowess but to an organism’s ability to thrive and reproduce inside a given environment.
In space or on Mars, human fitness is perilously low. Consider an astronaut encapsulated inside a suit, the environmental conditions meticulously controlled to maintain the wearer alive. However the suit exists solely to mimic the terrestrial environment for which our genes have adapted through hundreds of thousands of years of evolution.
Scientists have begun identifying genes which may enhance our survivability. Are you fortunate enough to own the EPAS1 variant common in Tibetans, which allows for higher survival at lower oxygen levels? How concerning the natural mutation that results in lean, robust muscles, potentially offsetting the atrophy of space travel? Some individuals even carry a DNA variant related to excellent problem-solving skills and low anxiety, a trait that will have greatly assisted Matt Damon’s character in his survival efforts on Mars within the film “The Martian”.
The chances of possessing all these useful mutations are astronomically low. This is the reason we would consider actively incorporating these traits, potentially using next-generation gene editing technology. George Church, a luminary in the sector of genetics at Harvard Medical School, has already compiled an inventory of rare protective gene variants relevant to an extraterrestrial environment including increased resistance to pain, virus resistance, reduced risk of diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer’s and even low odor production.
Church posits that we’re already transhumanist, having evolved to the purpose where our ancestors would hardly recognize us. And his argument carries considerable weight. In our quest to explore the cosmos, we confront not only the challenges of spacecraft engineering, but additionally the equally complex arena of biological engineering. To survive the tough environment of space, we must not only adapt but evolve, and accomplish that rapidly. We cannot solely rely on natural selection, a slow process demanding large populations and hundreds of thousands of years of evolution in favorable climate — those are luxuries we cannot have in space.
If we would like not only to survive but to thrive in space, we must learn the best way to procreate outside of planet Earth.
In a study published within the International Journal of Astrobiology, Matthew R. Edwards explored several cosmic habitation strategies. The traditional model of space colonies, Mars serving as an archetypal example, was matched against the reasonably unorthodox concept of Embryo Space Colonization (ESC). This audacious model posits the transmission of human embryos to extraterrestrial colonies, where their development into maturity could be overseen by a fusion of ectogenesis and robotics.
Intriguingly, the evaluation suggests that this futuristic paradigm holds greater promise for securing our species’ long-term survival within the cosmos compared to standard colonial establishments.
Traditional space colonies are encumbered by an array of serious obstacles. Among the many challenges we face on Mars is the scarcity of CO2 and the unfamiliarity of Mars’ gravity, which is roughly 38% that of Earth’s. These conditions are complicated by an inhospitable environment saturated with potentially lethal radiation. It makes such colonies lower than optimal platforms for humanity’s aspiration to enterprise beyond our home planet, and even tougher for fostering a brand new generation throughout the vast expanse of our solar system. It appears highly unlikely that we could depend on our Earth-familiar methods of natural procreation inside such severe extraterrestrial conditions.
Recently, we have witnessed noteworthy advancements within the early prototypes of ectogenesis — a process that allows fetal development entirely outside the human body. This idea was first proposed a century ago by the renowned Cambridge biologist, J.B.S. Haldane. The futuristic reproductive science he envisioned, albeit optimistic, was frighteningly reimagined right into a dystopian landscape within the initial chapters of Huxley’s “Brave Recent World.” Today, a reassessment of this attitude seems obligatory, considering the integral role it could play in our long-term survival in space.
From hope to hesitation, and back to light.
Currently, several international research groups are breaking recent ground with fetal life-support systems. These promising inventions could potentially nurture the lifetime of extremely premature babies in an environment akin to a womb. Research teams from the US, Australia, and Japan have engineered revolutionary artificial wombs, similar to the Biobag and the EVE platform. These have achieved some success with highly premature lamb fetuses. Concurrently, a Dutch team is exploring a perinatal life support (PLS) system using advanced simulation technology.
Significant strides have been made in imitating the conditions of the womb during late-stage pregnancy. Nonetheless, our understanding of the earliest weeks stays limited. That is as a consequence of the immense difficulty in observing in-womb events, coupled with past restrictions on research involving human embryo development outside the womb beyond 14 days. These regulations are actually easing, allowing case-by-case considerations. This paves the best way for the progression of artificial womb technology, despite the fact that the scientific hurdles in gestating a viable human baby outside the body remain.
In a single such instance, scientists at Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science managed to grow mouse embryos ex utero for about 11 to 12 days, barely over half their gestation period. While these embryos developed organs and limbs, the team continues to grapple with the challenge of extending this process beyond the halfway point.
That is where technology corporations like Colossal Biosciences can play a transformative role. Colossal, primarily known for its pioneering work in Mammoth de-extinction and other almost science fiction research, could revolutionize the sector of ectogenesis. Colossal’s CEO, Ben Lamm, has acknowledged that large-scale de-extinction would necessitate ectogenesis reasonably than traditional surrogacy. Within the interest of social acceptance, he prefers to make use of the term ‘ex utero’ reasonably than ‘artificial wombs.’
With its formidable team of top-tier researchers and scientists, led by Lamm’s co-founder George Church, Colossal is a powerful candidate to actualize full ectogenesis and artificial womb technology. After recently securing $250 million in investment at a $1 billion valuation, the corporate has the financial resources to match its revolutionary spirit.
After 4 billion years, that is the tip of the start
It takes a special type of genius raising tons of of hundreds of thousands from VCs to de-extinct Wooly Mammoth and Dodo, and let me let you know, Ben Lamm has that genius in spades. Figures like Elon Musk, Ben Lamm, and George Church have all of the potential to redefine our limits. By employing genetic modifications and ectogenesis, they may equip humanity for the unique challenges of the cosmic environment, aiding our transformation into a very spacefaring civilization. In doing so, we develop into architects of our own evolution.
Once, the likes of Copernicus and Darwin demoted humanity from the point of interest of the universe to a mere product of evolution on an inconsequential planet. But in the sunshine of our advanced understanding, we see that we’re greater than just one other link within the chain of evolution. We’re a historical novelty, able to guiding the trail of evolution itself.
In due time, we are going to extend our civilization into the ultimate frontier, surmounting our evolutionary limitations through technological and biological enhancements. As of now, humanity stays the only real type of intelligence confirmed with certainty. Due to this fact, our primary goal should be to preserve the existence of this intelligent life within the universe.
Our genome, then, becomes greater than just the blueprint for all times on Earth. It transforms into the genome of the cosmos, a testament to humanity’s adaptability and resilience.