BY ROGER KALLA
…NOT ON ENVIRONMENT
Man is to step on the Moon again a decade from now in preparation for the huge leap to Mars. This has been seen by some as another reflection of the hubris of the Bush administration seriously out of touch with the pressing global threats facing our planet and humankind. However, Australian agriculture and environment stand to make some gains from spin-offs from this space exploration program.
The announcement made by President Bush in 2004 that the USA aims to reinvigorate its stalled space exploration program has been met by mixed responses and even seen by some as a prime example of technology escapism.
In order to supply a crew for the 7 month minimum return trip to Mars with oxygen, water and medicines, a very efficient closed loop food production and waste management recycling system would be required. Some alternatives are being explored in the Advanced Life Support program of the NASA Specialized Center of Research and Training at Purdue University in preparation for the mission to Mars.
Food production technologies that could come in handy for the intrepid space travellers are already here and now. Milk can be produced by bovine mammary glands grown in culture, meat by sheets of animal muscle tissue grown in dishes , essential oils like omega 3 polyunsaturated fats from genetically modified canola, orange juice from juice sacs grown in bioreactors, and edible vaccines against influenza or any other nasty bug from hydroponically grown tomatoes.
But perhaps the solution is to think about agriculture inside the square or vat. In the not to distant future we might need not only food manufacturing factories but food producing factories that are based on animal and plant cells as the smallest production unit rather than multicellular organisms like chickens, oranges, tomatoes or fish.
The spin offs from NASA’s second space exploration program will no doubt surpass innovations such as the personal computer, mobile phone and microwave oven that were developed to fulfil some of the requirements of the first NASA program. This time around the unintended spin offs might deliver new technologies for sustainable production of high value foods and medicines not requiring us to mine our ‘golden soils’ to receive our ‘wealth for toil’.
Jennifer Marohasy BSc PhD has worked in industry and government. She is currently researching a novel technique for long-range weather forecasting funded by the B. Macfie Family Foundation.