Lockheed Martin is also a major player in going to Mars by building the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle , NASA ’ s first spacecraft designed for long-duration , human-rated deep space exploration . simulation chambers . That ’ s one of the reasons why a number of people approach me for working and collaborating on projects .”
“ We are assembling and building the Orion spacecraft in Florida with a lot of the engineering work done in Denver ,” said Murrow . “ If and when we fly this vest , all of that activity will take place in Florida .”
While the Space Systems division is located in Colorado , Lockheed Martin has been in Florida for 60 years , and has more than 13,500 employees at more than 90 locations across the state . Every business area of the corporation is represented in Florida .
Life on Mars
Colonizing another planet requires an understanding of how life can survive in an alien world . One researcher at the University of Florida ( UF ) is pursuing such research now , studying Earth bacteria that can hitch a ride on spacecraft and how they might survive and grow in a new environment .
Over a period of five to six years , Schuerger found bacteria could grow on Mars and identified 34 bacterial species . Now he ’ s researching which ones , if any , could survive more complex experiments .
Schuerger ’ s work is in response to the Outer Space Treaty passed by the United Nations in 1967 . The treaty provides a framework for international space law , including a provision outlining “ states shall avoid harmful contamination of space and celestial bodies .” Harmful contamination includes spreading potentially harmful bacteria and fungi from Earth .
Dr . Andrew C . Schuerger is a UF research scientist , assistant professor and astrobiologist at the Space Life Sciences Lab , which is part of the Kennedy Space Center . He designed and built a Mars simulation chamber to duplicate the surface environment of the planet .
“ I think there ’ s maybe a half-dozen , high-quality Mars simulators in the world ” said Schuerger . “ Every chamber is designed a little bit differently . As far as I am aware of , in the United States , this is one of the best Mars
In another lab within the same building , Dr . Ray Wheeler could be tending to a dwarf plum tree . He ’ s a plant physiologist at NASA and is researching ways to grow food in space , including dwarf plants . His research also includes keeping plants short by controlling the light spectrum or restricting root growth , to account for limited space available to grow
44 florida . HIGH . TECH 2017