MIRA Mission

Speculative Proposal / Conceptual Design: 

Two analogous plant biomes, one on Earth and one on Mars, act as portals to the other planet. The idea utilizes a projection screen placed on a curved wall, since the biome is envisioned as a round square, a shape typical of inflatables. The inhabitable version that exists on Earth is to immerse its visitors into a forest-like environment that slowly transforms into the Martian conditions, scents, and types of plants grown in the biome. A meandering procession intended to be experienced individually provides the sense of infinite nature and relaxation that comes from a stroll in the park. The path first gives glimpses of the Martian half, then gives a glimpse of Earth from the Martian perspective, only to submerge the visitor in a private chamber for a one-to-one interaction with a plant living on Mars. These chambers will show different aspects of the project, such as the symbiotic nature of the different types of plants and organisms living in the biome. By connecting humans on Earth with the plants on Mars, we intend to complete and connect the two halves.

Prototype:

Mirasphere is an immersive experience of our biome on Mars. Visitors will enter the biome surrounded by an earth-like terrain. As they walk deeper into the forest, the environment gradually changes til you reach a Martian environment at the end of the path. This Martian terrain is created by projecting live feed of video captured from the biome on Mars onto the wall of the Earth biome, while reciprocal version of our Martian plants are growing in front of this section. In this interaction, the Mirasphere becomes a bridge that connects Earth and Mars across vast space.

While the crew is in transit for 18 months, a gradual interaction with the Martian plants is established. The space helmet for each astronaut is embedded with equipment to allow them to experience the biome with different senses. A 360 view of the interior of the biome is projected onto the face of the helmet, while an olfactory stimulus sends in the different smells of the plants and the built in speakers plays associated plant sounds. This experience is designed to be an intimate look into the closed biome on Mars. To complete this, the astronaut can experience the biome tangibly by wearing special gloves that can simulate the feel of the plants in the system.  

Precedents: 

For our olfactory stimulus we looked at the project “Ghost Food Truck” by Miriam Songster and Miriam Simun. They made capsules that contained scents of different types of foods projected to be extinct in one hundred years. The style of our video was drawn from community outreach videos from the 1970’s, such as this introductory videos for a science museum. We were also inspired by space posters that use the style of travel posters from the 1920’s - 40’s. This aesthetic allows us to have a playful approach to this critical design.

Process: 

We were working with the larger idea of a Mars Community Outreach Program that would inform and excite all earthlings about settling Mars, first with plants and then with humans. Under this large umbrella, we wanted to establish a connection between the Martian biome and the crew while in transit to Mars; build an Earth counterpart that would be visited by people as an immersive experience and have a one-to-one connection with the hardy martian plants; and start an online conversation that is accessible to a broader audience, with weekly updates about the mission, videos from the crew and the Mirasphere museum/gallery/monument.

After more research on plants, we have added components to our diverse "parfait." We now have the algae layer, the fungi and moss layer (which will help with aeration and drainage), and a green plant layer or houseplants and night-blooming cacti (lower-growing, hardy plants that can withstand harder conditions on Earth).    

Reflection: 

While we hoped our "two-halves" project was inspiring, we realize the need to integrate it with both the oxygen and food production agendas of our holistic mission. It was useful to see from the rest of the groups the rough estimates on number and types of plants.

Open Questions and Challenges: 

Questions remaining to be addressed:

SCALE of the biome (number of plants, and consequently, quantity of water and nutrients, number of people the biome can benefit)?

What plants are we using?

Are astronauts allowed inside the Martian biome?

Are we really still extracting water from Mars? (After a group discussion, this seem like a very energy-intensive and difficult task to achieve; we believe bringing water from Earth and dealing with its circulation and reuse in the biome is the better alternative).

What is to be built as a final product and how does it inform its Martian counterpart? What are the materials we're using, are they only representations of the actual biome? Will there be a problem of scaling up our environment?

Attribution: 

Ghost Food Truck: http://bit.ly/1KQTJyz

Science Museum video: http://bit.ly/21xNnhZ

Retro space poster: http://bit.ly/1KQTJyz