Is it really possible to live on Mars? A few students of Princess Margaret Secondary School in Surrey say it is. In fact, they have created a proposal on how humans can live and function on the ‘Red Planet’.
The proposal was part of the International Space Settlement Design Competition, commonly known as ‘Spaceset’ or ‘I-SSDC’ sponsored by NASA and Boeing, that needs to be made to qualify for the finals. “Once we register for the competition, NASA sends us a Request For Proposal (RFP).
It is basically a criteria split into six categories. From structural engineering to human engineering, it covers over a dozen types of engineering. So once we go over that, we design a structure. It’s the basic model of our proposal,” explains Hassan Sheikh, who has worked on the proposal with six other members.
The team comprises of Hassan, Fayazullah Malik, Hamza Qayyam, Harvir Sodhi, Jasmine Rai, Asha Fidow and Aftaab Grewal. They worked on the proposal for a hefty four months, which was then selected by NASA to compete in the finals from amongst 1,200 other proposals sent by teams from all over the world.
“The competition allows aspiring engineers like myself to further add to our treasury of knowledge, whilst being privileged to partake in an international competition presented by NASA itself. Overall, it’s a once in a lifetime experience, and definitely adds to our accolades and life achievements,” expresses Fayazullah.
The school has been the only Canadian team continuously making it to the finals and representing all of Canada since they first took part in it five years ago. In 2013, they broke the record for being the only Canadian team to win the I-SSDC.
The criteria this year for the competition was creating a settlement on one of the moons of Mars; Phobos. With the help of research through online resources, books, teachers, and their advisor Sumit Rathore – a computer engineering student at Simon Fraser University and ex-student of Princess Margaret Secondary School, the team was able to create a proposal on how human beings can live and survive on Mars.
Talking about what makes their proposal different from others, Hassan says, “We have special machinery that could be re-used so that the materials don’t go to waste. And since you can’t just make something on Mars as it takes time, re-using saves a lot of time and effort. That’s something quite special in our proposal.” “The judges look at your cost. They want a lower cost, but with a high value with that money,” adds Hamza.
The team has also incorporated in the proposal a way to grow food in space. “The technology we are using is aeroponics – you put the food in the small racks without adding any soil. So you don’t need any soil there, and you just water the roots of the plant,” explains Hamza.
The final round of the competition takes place in Florida. Hassan and his team will be paired with teams from two or three other countries, where they will be given 48 hours to create a brand new proposal. The winning team will be presented with a trophy and references, besides receiving recognition.
“NASA may use our proposal as a blueprint,” points out Fayazullah. “In the future, if they are designing anything similar to our proposal, then they will take ours, add on to it or modify it so that it becomes something that will be actually used in the future.”
The team is excited and eager to be a part of the competition. However, lack of funds for their trip is getting in the way of the excitement. They need $9,000 for this trip, of which they have collected $2,400 through local businesses and donations. “Some businesses are funding us. They see us benefitting the community,” shares Hassan. “We will put their logo at the back of t-shirts that we will wear to the competition, so that their business gets promoted,” adds Hamza.
The team has just a month to get the remaining amount, and are hoping that they get the funding so that they can proudly represent their school, community and nation at the competition.
For more details or to help, contact:
Hassaan Sheikh 604 376 1094 Hassaansheikh.m@gmail.com
Fayazullah Malik 604 700 8932 Fayazullah123@live.ca
