Human practices
Space has been at the forefront of civilizations around the globe for centuries. Its relevance, continuously engrossed by humankind's curiosity and pursuit of knowledge, led us to make as a society the first trip to the moon just sixty years ago. This event inspired many generations and proved that thinking about distant horizons was beneficial to the Earth. Since then, exploration efforts have been looking towards Mars.
It didn't take long for us to realize the magnitude and significance that space exploration would have in the coming years. As technological advancements related to space have been on the rise, the efforts and money invested in scientific investigations within this area are beginning to reveal their value to a full extent.
We are a high school team, impulsed by Navarra's Government educative program called Planet STEM, managed by Pamplona's Planetarium, and at the same time, in collaboration with CSIC scientists. We are privileged to be able to work both in a planetarium and a laboratory. Through our project, we homage the institution we are lucky to call a workplace. We demonstrate to both the iGEM community and those around us the significance of space.
When initially brainstorming what we would focus our project on, we came up with many ideas that led us to a strongly-backed area of research. Previous NBG projects had also focused on issues related to space. Nonetheless, it was our interest and motivation which drove us to choose our field of research. Before immersing ourselves in the project, we were able to talk and meet great experts within the area. Unstopped by the pandemic, we held a zoom meeting with Juan Ángel Vaquerizo. He is the education and public outreach officer at the center of astrobiology in Madrid (CAB). Through his knowledge and feedback, we could bring together our ideas to create an accurately focused project. In addition, we were lucky to meet and discuss our project with Iñaki Ordóñez Etxeberria, an astrophysicist whose Ph.D. focused on Mar's meteorology. We received some great insight on how to guide our project.
Our project had now received input from two great experts within our area of research. However, we did not stop there. Throughout our time working on the project, we continuously evaluated the importance it had at all levels. Through events and open debates with family and friends, we understood the many stereotypes space exploration has. Many questioned the money, time, and effort invested into scientific research in space as it has become clear that there are many unresolved issues here on Earth. Still, we were determined to make the significance of our project clear.
Over time, investing in space has led to outstanding discoveries on Earth. That led to the creation of new inventions which have become part of our daily lives and have brought great benefits to our society. All these have considerably contributed to the development of a greener and better Earth. As a result, it motivated us to create a project which took this into account. We were determined to develop a project which would give back to our planet. We began to think outside the box and realized that all our work could have the same use on Earth as on Mars.
Growing plants on Mars that could resist radiation was also of best interest to the Earth. In 2019, the NBG team focused on several issues we would need to consider when exploring Mars. This year we decided to focus on a single obstacle. Unfortunately, leaving behind other unresolved tasks of the NBG team to achieve a more concise solution. Through our project, we not only tackled the main obstacle that had to be taken into account when exploring Mars and outer space, but we also tackled growing issues on our planet. Our radiation-resistant plants would increase crop yields helping farmers to produce more food and feed more people. We hope to notably aid those in overpopulated areas where there is high UV radiation and require more food.
We believe that even though our project would produce a GMO, something that remains widely stereotyped by many, in this case, our design, would have great potential benefits to communities. We understand the repercussions GMOs could have, taking our work and project at a biological level very seriously to keep ourselves and our community safe. Plants already have natural photoprotective responses to radiation but not enough to protect them from exposure to UV-B radiation. Our construction enhances these natural characteristics found in plants. It is similar to naturally selecting those crops with the best qualities!
Overall our project aims to contribute towards scientific development and space exploration. While at the same time giving back to communities that suffer around the globe, we have kept at the forefront of our goals to develop a project which would benefit the Earth, those that live on it, and those who one day might wish to set foot on Mars!