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Hello

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I’m Dr. Christyl Johnson

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the Deputy Center Director for Technology and Research Investments

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Investments at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. 

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In this role 

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I’m responsible for shaping our missions of the future

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in Astrophysics,

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Earth Science, Heliophysics, and Planetary Science 

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and then establishing

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a portfolio of technology 

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investments to enable 

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the missions of the future.

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I love this role because every 

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day for me is what I like to call 

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“visioneering”. 

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Establishing a vision of the future

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and then working backwards to figure out 

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which barriers need to be removed 

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and what gaps need to be filled 

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in order to achieve that vision.

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Over the past couple of decades 

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the global space community has had a vision 

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of sending humans to Mars 

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not just for a quick visit

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but to have a sustainable presence there. 

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So if you’ll just humor

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me for a moment and

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envision with me that we have travelled 

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a few decades into the future

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when we’ll have the ability to not only survive 

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but thrive living on another planet. 

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Envision living on Mars 

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after the first humans arrive 

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and set up an infrastructure that will support communities 

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and even cities 

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with significant populations. 

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Working backwards from that vision

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there would be so many challenges 

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that would have to be overcome 

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to even have a chance of 

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making that vision a reality. 

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For example, creating streamlined

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long-duration 

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radiation exposure space suits 

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and above ground habitat 

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materials that could shield the humans 

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from extremely high levels 

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harmful space radiation

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that will also handle extreme temperature swings. 

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Once we leave 

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the protection provided by the Earth’s 

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magnetic fields

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it’s atmosphere and its radiation belts 

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we are exposed to the Sun’s full radiation 

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spectrum and all of its 

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damaging effects. 

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Mars has no global magnetic field

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to deflect energetic particles 

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and its atmosphere is much thinner than 

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Earth’s, so we will get only minimal 

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protection even on the surface of Mars.

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This protection 

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is so important because 

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occasionally, giant explosions

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called solar flares

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occur on the surface of the Sun

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and release massive amounts of energy out 

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into space in the form of x-rays, 

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gamma rays, and streams of protons 

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and electrons.

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This is called a solar particle event. 

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These solar flares can have serious

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and even deadly 

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consequences for humans 

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and their equipment

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on the surface of Mars and even 

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traveling to and from Mars. 

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In order to thrive on any

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other planetary body

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we will have to move beyond watching

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the sun and giving people 

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short notice to take cover. 

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We will have to work hard to better understand 

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the mechanisms that causes 

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these solar eruptions so that we can 

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accurately predict them because 

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you certainly can’t predict something that

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you don't understand. So the global 

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heliophysics community 

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is already analyzing data from past 

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and current missions and 

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designing future missions to address this challenge. 

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But even 

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after we develop 

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the new materials for suits 

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and habitats that have been tested 

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to survive long periods 

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of extreme space radiation exposure 

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and we are finally 

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able to predict solar eruptions

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we will still have 

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to address the communication challenge 

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in order for those innovations to be 

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effective in protecting our citizens 

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on the surface and during 

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travel to and from Mars.

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Right now 

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here on Earth we have grown accustomed 

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to getting information immediately. 

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And that’s because we have established 

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an infrastructure with 

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communications satellites, GPS satelllites, 

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repeater towers, and more. 

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And we still experience 

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dropped coverage, weak signals, 

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and slow data transfer speeds on occasion.

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and slow data transfer speeds on occasion.

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Now envision 

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an interplanetary internet

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where not only 

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do we have to communicate and transfer 

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information from coast

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to coast within one country

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or from one country

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country to another country

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but now we will be transferring information 

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from one planet 

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to another planet

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I believe we will always

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have that expectation

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that we will be able to get

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information almost instantly.

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So imagine all of the 

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inventions that will have to happen 

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to make that a reality.

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Before traveling to Mars

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all the way to Mars

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let’s envision what will be 

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necessary to prepare for communications 

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with humans who have a sustainable 

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presence on the surface of the Moon. 

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We will have

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to install sort of Lunanet

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which will require a constellation of satellites 

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to be placed around the moon

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using multiple possible options 

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to communicate back to Earth. 

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One possible scenario 

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would have them all to communicate 

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directly back to Earth 

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when their rotation in orbit is in the

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line of sight with the Earth

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or maybe they will communicate with each other

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and one of them sends a signal

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back to Earth. 

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Or perhaps they all communicate to a relay

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whether that is a relay on the surface 

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of the Moon or an orbiting relay 

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that processes the information 

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and sends it back to Earth. 

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We would also need to go beyond laser 

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or optical communication

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which right now can already 

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transmit data at rates 

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10 to 100 times better 

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then radio systems. 

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And then, ultimately using long range 

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quantum communication systems 

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to achieve capabilities that are arguably

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impossible using classical methods.

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Once we have 

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this kind of communication 

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infrastructure, we will we be able 

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to see mechanisms that predict a 

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solar eruption, send it to the LunaNet 

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to be processed and sent down 

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to the surface of the Moon

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and then be registered on a hand-held 

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device or heads-up visor

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warning the person of the 

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solar event giving them ample time 

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to get to the closest safe shelter.

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But following that 

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train of thought a little further

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how will the person 

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know where the closest safe location

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is so that they can get there quickly? 

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Well, 

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there will have to be a navigation element

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to this LunaNet. And when most 

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people think of navigation

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they think of GPS. 

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But now, I’d like for you 

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envision that we have gone 

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beyond GPS.

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Right now our GPS system 

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has about 31 satellites orbiting the Earth

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and contact with at least 4 

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of those satellites is necessary 

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to determine your exact location.

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The logistics of establishing 

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a complete communications 

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capability along with GPS

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for each planetary body that we

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explore would be a nightmare.

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So,

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what if we considered

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at least for the navigation piece

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of the system, not even using 

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satellites. Yes, 

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I’m saying a GPS system 

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with no satellites.

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What if we 

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use neutron stars 

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to help us navigate?

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I know, some of you

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are thinking,“what is a neutron star

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and how in the world 

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could we use one to navigate?”

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Well, neutron stars 

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are formed in the supernova explosions 

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that mark the end of life 

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for some stars. 

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We know that they are small and extremely dense. 

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They are the size of a city 

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yet they contain the mass of 2

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2 suns compressed down

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to that small star. 

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A neutron star emits beams of 

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electromagnetic radiation

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out of its magnetic poles. 

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But we can only see this light when a beam 

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of emission is pointing directly towards the Earth

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kind of like a lighthouse. 

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That is why it looks to us

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like pulses of light 

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thus the name pulsar.  

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They are the strongest magnets known

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and can spin hundreds of times per second. 

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Because of their predictable pulsations 

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pulsars can provide high-precision

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timing just like

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atomic-clock signals

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supplied through the GPS.

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So instead of using 

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GPS satellites for local navigation 

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on and between planetary bodies

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where the signal 

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gets weaker the further we go 

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from each planetary body 

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we could use these pulsars

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for interplanetary navigation.

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That would eliminate the need to build so many 

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satellites and insert them into the

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proper orbits and the need 

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to replace those satellites at the end 

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of their useful life. 

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Fortunately, pulsars have lifetimes

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ranging from hundreds of thousands 

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of years to millions of years.

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And there are 

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currently over 2000 known pulsars 

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with the potential of hundreds 

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of thousands of others

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in our galaxy. 

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So we could use 4 or more 

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of these pulsars to pinpoint 

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location and enjoy

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very precise galactic travel.

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So I've given you just a few 

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examples of the visioneering needed 

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for humans to thrive on Mars. 

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But there are so many other 

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challenges that will inspire 

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visioneers around the world to create

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the necessary solutions or inventions.

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But now coming

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back to the present day

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There people debating daily 

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about whether or not we

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already have the technology 

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necessary to go to Mars. 

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Some say it will be 10, 20, 

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or even 30 years.

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People are also debating whether 

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or not humans should even venture to Mars

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and what our objective

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would be in sending them there.

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So now 

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I’ll leave you with one thought.

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No matter what objective 

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we as a global community have 

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in sending humans to Mars

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and no matter how long it takes us 

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to establish a clear vision 

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and then achieve it

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one of the greatest parts of this journey

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will be all of the impossible 

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feats we as a Nation 

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and global community will have to

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overcome in order to succeed. 

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We will have to advance some technologies 

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and invent completely new ones.

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And while inventing 

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technologies for impossible goals

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we will inevitably

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find that some the technologies 

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that fail to meet our requirements 

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turn out to accidentally 

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provide revolutionary

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improvements in our capabilities 

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right here on planet Earth. 

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Thank You.

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