By Mahetzi Hernandez, Sebastian Kozak, Ahlad Reddy, and Makiko Takashima

Colonization of Mars is now a tangible likelihood within this century. No mission of this scope and to such a different environment, has ever been attempted before in human history. It is not only important to make sure that colonists have the means to produce enough food to allow for their survival, but also that their experience with food is enriching. This projects aims to look at how we can design the culture of food on Mars and what role synthetic biology can have to affect that culture.

A few of the areas of research this project speculates upon are described below:

• Aquaponics: How aquaponic farming could define deeper relationships between colonists, plants, and fish.
• Fermentation: How fermentation can be used to store and preserve food before colonization, and provide essential probiotics and diverse tastes
• Plant Engineering: How plants can be re-engineered to absorb radiation, grow useful objects, and signal new seasonal relationships between Earth and Mars.