Kerner: Our path to Mars needs to look beyond the launch

Launches are exciting. They're magnificent visual spectacles that bring people together.

Still, putting humans safely on Mars, especially for a prolonged stay as the one SpaceX Founder Elon Musk described at the 2016 International Astronautical Congress, is a lofty goal that requires technological advances beyond those needed for launch.

For decades, NASA has led our nation's space pursuits. But as the agency has sustained budget cuts and waning political interest, it cannot and should not shoulder the entirety of human health and performance research. The commercial sector must be involved.

Securing investment for deep space technologies in a premature market is difficult. Fortunately, when we look at the critical technologies that must be developed to live on Mars, we find that many are similar to technologies needed for life on Earth.

As some commercial interests are discovering, space isn't just about sending humans into the heavens; it's also about working to solve some of the industry's - and humanity's - greatest needs that go far beyond launch and sustain us at home and beyond.

Radiation overload

Radiation is the primary health risk facing humans in deep space. The estimated radiation dose that someone would experience on a Mars mission is higher than NASA occupational hazard thresholds, exposing astronauts to a high risk of cancer. Shield technologies or biomedical countermeasures like a "radiation sunscreen" do not currently exist.

"Preventative biological countermeasures to protect tissues from damage are not limited to space exploration; these medical solutions can enhance human health and resilience against cancer for military personnel, airline pilots and cancer patients experiencing radiation therapy," said Diana Dayal, Biomedical Innovation Lab manager at the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI). Entrinsic Health is developing products that combat dehydration and promote healthy digestion - with investment from NSBRI, they're extending these products to combat space radiation sickness.

Eat, drink and live

Mars is well-equipped with water, but the problem remains of how to capture those resources. Solar won't easily solve energy needs for a Mars settlement. The amount of sunlight reaching Mars is about 2.25 times less than that reaching Earth.

We also can't yet grow food with the resources available on Mars. Freight Farms, a startup enabling people to grow food anywhere on Earth using a hydroponic shipping container farm (the Leafy Green Machine,) received a NASA Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant to adapt the product for supporting life in deep space.

Grey's Astronomy

The ability to provide medical care on the journey to Mars will require creative solutions in treatment and medical devices. Many of these products - mobile, miniaturized and robust - have direct application for austere and remote environments on Earth, from outposts in Antarctica to clinics in underresourced communities.

Vittamed, a startup developing noninvasive neurodiagnostic technologies, developed a product to measure intracranial pressure that NASA is looking to use for remote care of astronauts onboard the International Space Station.

None of these challenges is insurmountable if work begins on them now. While there will be a future market for deep-space technologies, most companies require a critical mass of customers now if they are to invest in new products.

And that critical mass does exist today - in terrestrial markets - giving companies an avenue for near-term profit, while making progress on deep space technologies.

This month, for instance, space companies were in Houston to discuss how the space industry can leverage space technology advancements for the betterment of Earth.

Participants had the opportunity to move beyond a narrow focus on launch to one that solves the human problem of deep-space missions.

We must be open to the notion of commercial interest in space discovery. The greatest benefit of exploring and settling Mars will not be mining or interplanetary tourism - it will be the knowledge gained of how to leverage technology to help ourselves, our planet and future planets thrive.

Kerner serves as the elected executive director of the Space Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit advocating for human settlement of space.