NASA turns to public for ideas on how to survive on Mars

THE plan to colonise Mars has one giant problem standing in the way. And now NASA is offering cash prizes to the public if they can find a solution.

THE race is on to the red planet — we just need to figure out how to survive when we get there.

Innovators Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking have both spoken of the need for planetary colonisation to ensure the survival of the human race. NASA has also declared its desire to put a human colony on Mars and now the famed organisation is turning to the public to ask for help in figuring out how.

This week, the agency announced it is offering three US $5,000 (AUD $6,260) rewards for the best ideas on “establishing a sustained human presence” on the planet.

It may be a novel approach to solicit ideas from the public but given the largely inhospitable conditions and lack of oxygen at the destination, it can’t hurt to have as many suggestions as possible.

The NASA call-out encouraged ideas around “shelter, food, water, breathable air, communication, exercise, social interactions and medicine” but also encouraged participants to submit ideas beyond those categories.

It’s certainly no easy feat and for those who expect to take home the cash prize, the submissions must be “technically achievable, economically sustainable, and minimise reliance on support from Earth.”

The difficulty of the task will far exceed your average punter and the online reaction to the competition has been fierce over what NASA can likely expect from the public submissions.

As reddit users discussed the competition, many thought the prize money was insufficient.

“Come to think of it, considering the effort one has to put into the idea, pretty much giving them a ready-to-implement solution, $5k seems a bit low. Do they at least promise a plaque with your name, bolted at the entrance to the Mars base once it’s set up?” wrote the top commenter.

Will we be able to live on Mars in the coming decades?

Despite the challenges, Mars is the most obvious candidate for human exploration. NASA is currently running its Evolvable Mars Campaign aimed at finding solutions to challenges both in transit to Mars and on its surface.

Private companies are also getting in on the action with a Dutch non-profit foundation called MarsOne planning to send humans on a one-way trip to the red planet in 2026.

The company has identified the top 100 candidates for the pioneering adventure and last month news.com.auprofiled the sole Australian picked in the group, Josh Richards.

So if you want to help Mr Richards out and solve the pesky problem of survival on Mars, you can find the application form here.