Technology

To survive Mars, our species will need to evolve how we eat, drink, and build our homes. Will we need our genes to evolve as well? Sometime in the future humans will leave Earth to colonize Mars, and in doing so will begin to adapt to life on another planet in surprising ways. Evolutionary biologist Dr. Scott Solomon foresees a series of changes to our species from the size of our hearts and heads to the pigments in our skin.

Science may soon make the dream of traveling to Mars a reality, but how will we live once we get there? How will we manage our basic human needs of food, water, and shelter on a planet known for its barren surface conditions, high radiation levels, and toxic dirt?

Principles of generosity and prosperity inform the selection of the last two crew members: Christopher Sembroski, a former member of the U.S. Air Force who served in Iraq and now works as a Lockheed Martin engineer, and Sian Proctor, a professor of geosciences and two-time NASA astronaut candidate. Excitement for the flight ramps up, but anxiety lingers.

As training begins, the crew members process the physical, mental and technical demands being placed on them. The group is going to be in some intentionally uncomfortable situations and, to see how they do as a team. A climb of Mt. Rainier puts them to the test.

A fighter jet ride prepares the crew for the G-forces of spaceflight. Haley, Sian and Chris relate the emotions they experience as launch approaches.

Frontline and service workers have borne the health consequences of the pandemic, increasing racial and economic disparities. Certain robotic and AI applications are accelerating as the value of human workers is further questioned. Determining the likely areas of job growth and training needs is difficult. Post-secondary education has become more virtual and its costs, more controversial. How can we predict job growth, training needs and the role of education in order to prepare for the work of the future?