propel the pursuit of Mars and help make a human mission to Mars now within reach.” The MDRS offers a prototype habitat for living and working on Mars. Over 350 missions with over 2,000 crew members— four of whom have become astronauts— plus“ geologists, astrobiologists, engineers, mechanics, physicians, human factors researchers, artists, and others” have studied at this location. At any given time,“ There are six to seven crew members living for weeks to months in isolation in a Mars analog environment,” according to the website.
HOW SOUTH SEATTLE COLLEGE BECAME THE NEXT MARS RESEARCH CENTER
As many in the commercial aerospace supplier base know, numerous trade organizations and supplier partnerships share both ideas and contracts. This project was no different. James Burk, who built a career at Microsoft, has been involved with The Mars Society for its entire 30-year history and has served as its executive director for the past five years. The organization has 60 international volunteers and he has partnered with many other groups.
Through the The Mars Society, Burk became acquainted with Joydeep Hazra, who had been with Nokia and various startups. Hazra, with his extensive experience as technology advisor for the Tesla Owners Club of Washington( TOWA), decided to join South Seattle College as a grants manager to develop their electric vehicle program.
Mars studies and membership in The Mars Society were passions for both Burk and Hazra. Together, they decided to take their Mars-focused partnership to the next level – exploring the possibility of a liaison between the Mars Society’ s goals of enabling the future of space travel, and developing education pathways for producing the skilled and technical workers essential to that vision. This affiliation brought them to the South Seattle College skilled trades Dean Orbino, whose passion is preparing the future generation for the workforce.
Orbino, a thought leader in workforce development, explained how educational and workforce silos keep big ideas from implementation. He wanted to blow past limitations to truly understand how his technical trade students could engage in this type of program. Orbino posits a holistic approach to careers, beginning with young students in a technician role. As they outgrow the role or its physical demands, they may continue their
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