Are you ready to live on Mars?
With so much excitement around NASA Artemis Moon exploration, the Perseverance Mars rover, and SpaceX Starship it is clear the new space age has arrived. As our species prepares to become interplanetary there are ample opportunities for students of all ages to to learn about the challenges of living in an isolated, sealed habitat far from planet Earth.
Sound simple? Science fiction has made it look too easy with airlocks that never require decompression, food materializing out of thin air, and the recycling of air something that happens off-camera. In the real cosmos, the slightest incongruity in waste management, power production, or CO2 scrubbing can result in catastrophic failure, forcing the abandonment of the habitat, or worse!
SIMOC is a research grade Mars habitat simulation with an engaging web interface. Users are invited to design a Mars habitat that sustains human life through a combination of mechanical and plant-based systems, selecting various combinations of crew quarters, greenhouse, food and plants, energy generation and storage, and mission duration. The educational web interface encourages an exploration of authentic NASA data and iterative engagement of the scientific method.
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) curriculum guide for grades 5-8 and 9-14 with teacher and student handbooks is designed for you to integrate into your classroom—for free. What’s more, SIMOC includes a data-based model of the original Biosphere 2 1991-93 and ’94 sealed missions—a powerful opportunity for your classrooms to understand the careful balance of humans, plants, microbes, and concrete in the balancing of light, food, oxygen and carbon dioxide.
SIMOC was conceived by Kai Staats, with the first two years (2017-18) of development funded by Arizona State University, School of Earth and Space Exploration, as an Interplanetary Initiative Pilot Project. National Geographic licensed SIMOC from June 2020 through May 2024, and continues to support its development through the Nat Geo Educational Portal.