By Jennifer Kohlhepp, Staff Writer
PLAINSBORO — A panel of scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory discussed the future of space exploration with middle and high school students on May 1.
The panel was an open-ended discussion with students from Thomas Grover Middle School in West Windsor; Community Middle School in Plainsboro; West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South, also in West Windsor; and West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North in Plainsboro. The students are members of the school district’s Future Problem Solving team and are researching the topic of “Space” for an international problem solving competition in June in Ames, Iowa, where they will represent New Jersey.
Scientists in the panel included Yevgeny Raitses, a physicist who is the principal investigator of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory Hall Thruster Experiment and whose work has direct applications for space exploration; graduate student Charles Swanson, who is a finalist for a possible mission to Mars; physicists Arturo Dominguez and Erik Gilson, and graduate students Leland Ellison, John Schmitt and Eugene Evans.
Physicist Andrew Zwicker, head of the science education program at the lab, welcomed students.
”I’m really thrilled that you’re so interested in space and Mars exploration,” Mr. Zwicker said.
He encouraged students to ask the panel all of the questions they had about space exploration and the colonization of Mars.
”I’ve learned that the younger the person the harder the question,” he said.
The students and scientists discussed the potential issues that would arise in the colonization of Mars, such as farming in Martian soil on a planet that has one-third of earth’s sunlight.
Mr. Swanson said, “In principle it’s probably possible to grow Earth plants in Martian soil.”
He said farming would have to be done in a closed-loop ecosystem with purple light in place of the sun and water from an iceberg on the planet found to have a layer of water ice.
The panelists also spoke about taking a nuclear power plant into space and exploring the use of nanotechnology in a space setting.
Mr. Raitses said, “People are trying to use nanotechnology for solar power production … in the future that may help. Solar panels are huge but if you make them flexible and strong you can roll them up and open them up on Mars.”
Mr. Swanson, who said it is quite possible that the Earth will be sending four people per year to Mars starting in the 2020s, told students they have to make sure whatever solutions they come up with for colonizing another planet are not detrimental to people on Earth. In thinking about societal issues with regard to Mars colonization, he said people would have to be organized in a certain way, possibly a hierarchy. He also asked students whether countries or private companies should explore space.
Mr. Dominguez said, “Let’s put some numbers down and see how much money the U.S. spends on defense and energy and how much it would cost to go to Mars. Is it viable for one country? Can Google come in and save the day? What are the numbers for countries to work with?”
Some panelists suggested having a group of countries band together for space exploration for the betterment of humankind.
The panelists also asked students to think about why Mars exploration/colonization is necessary. The students said Earth isn’t going to last forever. They also talked about overpopulation, global warming, running out of fossil fuels and trying to find new materials to start over again.
High School South freshman Allison Lin said the scientists were very helpful and really informed.
”I learned that there a ton of aspects you have to consider about space travel and that what we have is quite limited and that it’s not feasible with what we have right now.”
Students involved in Future Problem Solving, an international organization, work together in teams to come up with creative solutions to problems like space travel, global warming or care of the elderly in the world 30 years from now. West Windsor-Plainsboro students swept the competition in March, winning awards in every age division in the two categories of scenario writing and team problem solving. They will be among 2,200 students who will compete at the international competition.
Aditya Kaushik, an eighth grade student from Community Middle School, was honored with a third place award in scenario writing at the International Future Problem Solving conference. Her 1,500-word short story, “Metaphors and Misunderstandings,” is a futuristic view of what might happen in a world where surveillance is used too much and common sense is used too seldom.
