Just two weeks ago, our Cluster of Excellence ?The Martian Mindset“ officially started at the University of Bremen. Today, we were delighted to welcome the State Councilor for Environment, Climate, and Science, Karolina Kumar, to the ZARM. Together with the President of the University, Jutta Günther, our Co-Speaker Marc Avila and Vice-Speaker Daniel Meyer, the State Councilor and her team got a deep dive into the Martian Mindset. 

The MaMBA – Moon and Mars Base Analog, led by Christiane Heinicke, is giving insights into what a habitat station that enables humans to survive on Mars or Moon could look like. Building upon this, we will set up a Mars Production Facility, to provide a space for experiments under Mars-like conditions.

A short lab tour of the LASM – Laboratory of Applied Space Microbiology, led by Cyprien Verseux, provided insight into the Research Area Sourcing, where our goal is to develop (bio-)electrochemical methods for synthesizing raw materials from low-grade resources. 

 The visit to the GraviTower and drop tower highlighted the special features of research under lower gravity and microgravity conditions. The knowledge gained here is key for human space exploration. 

The lively discussions and questions demonstrate the great interest of the State Councilor and her team. We are very much looking forward to further exchanges and our shared journey towards a sustainable human space exploration and the green transition on Earth!