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 been attempted before in history. But as we speculate and prepare for the journey and the deployment of the necessary infrastructure, have we considered what kind of culture we are going to generate to ensure the success of this new colony? Can we explore food and the production of as more than just the material for sustenance but also for cultural resilience? The combination of synthetic biology and traditional food processing offers a rich potential for the foundation of food futures on Mars.