Going Green: On Earth and Beyond

Although spin-off technologies are useful, they could have been developed independently from space research. More compelling are the direct benefits we receive from space exploration. Orbiting satellites not only peer into space but also turn cameras and sensors onto the Earth. They have global significance, such as providing vast and accurate observations of the hole in the ozone layer and powerful images of the melting polar ice. They also bring local and immediate benefits, such as directing Mongolian herdsmen to land where the winter snow has melted so that they can graze their animals.

Similar environments

Knowledge of the Earth is also useful to those who venture out into space. The astronauts that landed on the Moon were pilots, not scientists. To learn about the geology of the meteorite-pocked moon, they studied the Meteor Crater in Arizona. Understanding the Earth’s geology can give insight into the structure of other planets, for example the presence of volcanoes on Mars tells us it has a liquid core – just like the Earth. However, unlike the Earth, there is no evidence of plate tectonics moving the land, resulting in strings of modest-sized volcanoes. Instead, those on Mars continue to grow - the largest, Olympus Mons, is nearly three times the height of Everest.

Credit: Mars Society

Mars Society members preparing for a mission simulation on Devon Island

To prepare for space missions, astronauts often rehearse skills and scenarios in environments on Earth that are similar to those they will visit. In the summer of 2007, in anticipation of manned missions to Mars, six volunteers will travel to The Mars Society base in the Arctic where they will perform fieldwork in space suits while simulating the Earth-to-Mars communication delay of up to 40 minutes.

The Earth’s most extreme environments can provide clues on where to look for life in the solar system. The discovery of bacteria and multicellular creatures on Earth that do not rely on sunlight for energy was surprising and significant – as well as relevant to research in space. Deep in dark oceans, these creatures eat and breathe the minerals escaping from warm volcanic vents between continental plates. It is the reaction of these minerals with proteins in their bodies that generate life-sustaining energy. Such a discovery prompted speculation about life in planets that receive little sunlight.