Solving for Mars, Transforming Earth, and Imagining Futures
Hi there,
How’s your week so far? Have you been launching new ideas and orbiting curious explorations? 🚀✨ Maybe this newsletter issue will get you in the zone!
And yes, you’ve probably guessed it, I do have Mars and space innovation in mind lately! Maybe it’s because of the recent International Day of Human Space Flight, or maybe it’s because I’m still energized by Explore Mars’ first ever Mars Innovation workshop that I’ve helped organize.
How do we innovate for a future on Mars while delivering value on Earth, starting today? That was the question we set out to tackle in the Mars Innovation Workshop, where 40 incredible scientists, technologists, entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, and visionaries gathered to explore the toughest challenges and boldest opportunities in space innovation. Huge thanks to the SETI Institute for hosting us in their inspiring headquarters!
Here are a few key takeaways from the event:
🔥 The Hardest Problems: Reverse Pitches
For two hands-on sessions, rather than seeking solutions, we asked participants to define the most critical, unsolved challenges for Mars—problems so fundamental that solving them would transform life both off-world and on Earth.
As teams defined and pitched their Hard Problems, we surfaced complexities and compelling areas of disagreement. This roadmap for high-impact innovation left us with a greater appreciation for the interconnected nature of technical and societal challenges in space—and the imperative to ensure that the solutions we develop for Mars are solving the right problems—not just the easiest (or most profitable) ones.
🏗️ Artifacts from the Future: Prototyping Mars in 2060
Under the outstanding leadership of Dr. Jen Stein from The Aerospace Corporation, participants adopt a far-future lens, imagining the everyday objects that would define a thriving Martian society in 2060.
By world-building and then working backward from their envisioned future, participants explored what we must invent now to make that vision possible. The result? Thought-provoking prototypes of tools, social systems, and innovations that could shape life on Mars—and revolutionize industries (and life) here on Earth.
🧠 Digital Wellbeing in Space: Designing for Human Resilience
Thanks to an amazing collaboration with the Sync Global Digital Wellbeing Program from Ithra, workshop participants explored a critical but often overlooked challenge: How will Mars inhabitants interact with digital systems in a way that supports mental health, productivity, and social cohesion?
With communication delays, limited bandwidth, and the potential for information overload, Mars gives us a rare opportunity to design digital experiences with well-being at the core—lessons that can be applied to fixing our tech-driven stressors on Earth, too.
⚖️ The Space Economy and Emerging Technologies
Two powerhouse panels brought together experts from across industry, government, and research to dive deep into the economics and technologies that will shape our multiplanetary future. These panels were more like directed conversations; every workshop participant brought their expertise and perspective to the sessions—with plenty of shared vision as well as healthy disagreement.
💡 Building a Thriving Space Economy: Panelists led a deep exploration of how to balance profit, purpose, and innovation in space ventures, exploring funding mechanisms, policy considerations, and how to ensure that space innovation delivers value back to Earth.
🤖 Exponential Technologies for Mars and Earth: Panelists with hands-on expertise in AI, robotics, synthetic biology, and advanced manufacturing guided a discussion of how cutting-edge tech could enable self-sustaining Mars communities—and in doing so, drive breakthrough solutions for sustainability, energy, and infrastructure on Earth.
🚀 Jobs of the Future: Who Will Build Mars?
As a fun yet deeply thought-provoking closing session, we explored the careers that could be essential for Mars—and what gaps exist today in preparing the workforce of the future.
I designed a game called Mars Career Bingo that highlighted the highly interdisciplinary (and speculative) professions that may keep Mars communities humming. From AI-Human Conflict Negotiators and Advanced Biosystems Health Integrators to Extreme Weather Forecasters and Red Planet Pet Trainers, we used our imaginations to sketch how humans, machines, and algorithms can help people not just survive, but thrive on Mars.
The big takeaway? The jobs that will shape Mars will also transform how we work and live on Earth.
Looking Ahead
The workshop made one thing clear: Solving for Mars is solving for Earth. The hardest problems of sustaining life in space—energy resilience, food security, health and wellbeing, sustainable infrastructure, governance—are the same problems we must solve to ensure a thriving future on our own planet.
This is just the beginning. Explore Mars and I will continue advancing these conversations, fostering collaborations, and driving action toward a future where space exploration delivers real-world benefits for all of humanity. You can check out the Humans to the Moon and Mars Summit happening on May 28 and 29 for more conversations on space and building better futures.
Which of these topics excites you the most? And what challenges do you think deserve more attention as we build a future beyond Earth?
Be voracious,
Tiffany
Work with Tiffany
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If you enjoyed reading this, you might also enjoy:
(Blog) Space, Innovation, & Collaboration: Key Insights from the Space Futures Workshop
(Blog) A Conversation on Why Making Life Better in Space Makes Life Better on Earth
(Video clip) Innovation for Mars and Impact on Earth
(Video clip) Book Recommendation: A City on Mars
(FISO Telecon Series) Harnessing Synthetic Biology on Mars: Challenges and Opportunities