Dava Newman talks Mars exploration and comunication – CMU The Tartan Online

In a recent talk for the Center for Arts and Society and their Planetary Hospitality mission, Dr. Dava Newman visited Carnegie Mellon. Dr. Newmans contributions to this field are wide-spanning, with her current roles as an Apollo Program Professor of Astronautics and the Director of MIT Media Lab, as well as her history as the NASA deputy director under President Obama. During this talk, she discusses both the current state of and her contributions to space exploration, and how this sets up humanity for the future.

To start, Dr. Newman highlighted the top three questions that humans have regarding exploration: Are we alone? Are there other habitable planets? And is there life? Among these questions, she noted, scientists believe we will find the answer in the next decade, with potential sources like fossil evidence on Mars providing options for that answer.

When looking beyond our solar system, though, Dr. Newman noted that at our current state, human exploration is infeasible due to our fragile bodies and lack of adequate life support technologies. Instead, she said, we want to send our brain out there, highlighting the successes of various spacecraft launches in collecting data, as well as our telescope missions like Webb, which has given us information dating back 13.4 billion years.

Despite recent focus on returning to the moon (with Dr. Newman recognizing Carnegie Mellons journey in December as well as her own MIT media lab on a following mission), Newmans focus has largely been on Mars it offers the best medium to focus on becoming interplanetary and has a lot to teach us about taking care of our own planet. Her previous design work has focused on the former of these goals with BioSuit MCP a new type of spacesuit that aims to reduce the bulkiness of current space suits with new designs. She described it as shrink wrapping people, based on the idea of a second skin suit with materials and design that work as well as skin does but is able to pressurize a person to a third of an atmosphere. New advancements like 3D knitting machines and radiation-protective materials have helped with her design work.

She similarly notes that the recent trend for privatizing space has done a lot for the innovation space. While she pushes back on the assertion that space exploration has pivoted to private industry (noting that government support is ongoing and has provided billions to get to where we are now), the private sector has helped democratize space and democratize accessibility. With her own research, shes been able to send versions of her suit to the International Space Station with private astronauts, giving her team a chance to test them earlier as opposed to years down the line. A similar benefit is seen with launching our astronauts because this innovation is centered in the US, we now have other options besides Russia to send our astronauts to the International Space Station and beyond. Such recent advancements have meant everyone has access to space to inspire them.

On this subject of inspiration and learning from Mars, Dr. Newman noted the importance of telling the story of the work scientists are doing. Were the real martians. Were exploring Mars every single day, she said. Through the rover programs, people can listen to the wind on Mars, immersing themselves in the environment that scientists are studying. Through initiatives like OnSight, people can virtually visit Mars through technology like augmented reality, offering a chance not just for people to experience this environment, but for scientists to virtually study the rocks in the path of the rover. Dr. Newmans current work with the MIT Media Lab focuses on telling the stories of the artists and designers working with engineers and scientists, focusing on the fact that such advancements are truly multi- and interdisciplinary. Such communication has been particularly effective with regards to data visualization of climate change here on Earth.

In emphasizing this point, Dr. Newman noted the importance of humanities in these conversations we need everyone because it fundamentally starts with the stories. Her big emphasis is that if people cant imagine it, or see it, they wont see how it impacts them. She highlights the importance for diversity at the table when it comes to really hard societal problems.

At the end of her event, Dr. Newman leaves the audience with a call to action. When representing scientific issues, scientists and researchers are often drowning in data, with social scientists understanding more of how to communicate these problems to the public. For her, the best approach is to recognize the importance of personalized solutions and empowering people to take their own small steps to solving big problems in society. There needs to be an emphasis on paying it forward to the next seven generations, and everyone can be called to action every day, even if its something small.

After all, at NASA the first thing you learn is not to forget the future.

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Dava Newman talks Mars exploration and comunication - CMU The Tartan Online