WIRED MAGAZINE
SURVIVALIST THE VISIONARIES In this exclusive series of features for Wired Magazine, Helen Vaudrey asks the question: If armageddon is truly an eventuality, how would we as a race survive? This month we meet the Visionaries - men and women working in science and industry who are already preparing for the end of the world.
Silos design structure by David Jackson
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The future of our species depends on us being better than n January 2nd, 2015, the Doomsday clock - a symbolic clock face representing a countdown to we are now. If things remain status quo, there is little reason possible global catastrophe – reached three min- to be optimistic about the survival of Humankind.” But don’t reach for the eject button on your Naboo royal utes to midnight. The only time that the clock was this starship just yet, Versteeg is confident about humanities exclose to midnight was in 1949 when the United States and the Soviet Union tested thermonuclear devices within pansion in space, but believes private companies should focus on space travel to begin with in order to understand nine months of one another. The reason the clock is pointing so perilously close to midnight in present day is colonisation better. due to the continued lack of global political action to ad- “Space travel and colonization has become a more prevadress global climate change the modernization of nuclear lent topic in recent years because of the increase in feasibility and lowering of relevant costs to participate in projects weapons in the United States and Russia. While the ticking of the clock edges ever nearer to poten- that used to only be possible through large government tial catastrophe, the scientific and engineering world has funding. A combination of capable and motivated private not sat idly by – they’ve been preparing. Picture a couple companies joining the industry of space exploration has walking hand in hand on the red surface of Mars, each of lessened the possibility of our limiting factor being a gridtheir footsteps leaving a cloud of dust in their wake whilst locked government bureaucracy. “The really progressive movement in space industrialization the figure of a small boy wearing breathing apparatus is gaining momentum in the private sector where it can start jumps across the atmosphere to keep up with his parto fund itself. There is more reason to be optimistic about ents. Does this sound like the next Star Wars epic gone soft? space travel now, than ever before. Space exploration comWell, thanks to engineers and scientists involved with the bines the finest technologies and expertise to specifically Mars One colonisation mission, it could become a reality target the essential aspects of human survival. By pushing by as little as 2020. Mars One is a non-profit organization the envelope of the settlement of space, it helps to define the voids in our current understanding of true sustainability.” based in the Netherlands that proposes to establish Versteeg’s pictures cannot help but hope of astronomical human settlement on Mars. proportions into every space enthusiast’s heart. The futurisBryan Versteeg is a slight man from a small town in tic pods interlinking between each other on the vast planet’s Canada with big ambitions. He is a conceptual artist in surface give the first glimpses of a vision that could one day the architectural and engineering fields, with particular emphasis on space exploration concepts, and is the man become a reality. Another man looking towards space to solve problems much brains the architectural designs for the Mars One mission. He talks exclusively to Wired Magazine about his closer to home is David Jackson, a conceptual designer in Manchester who resides in a rundown studio in the city centhoughts on space colonisation and travel. “It’s inevitable really. Not only will the Earth itself eventu- tre. On a whim, he invites me to his place of work when I ally be swallowed by the Sun, but billions of years before mention my project to him in order for me to ‘better understand his vision for the future.’ that, humans will have to advance past a one planet The surfaces in his studio are caked with dust and ink species. We literally have all of our eggs in one basket stains; a distinct smell of coffee lingers in the air and two here on Earth. Although there are numerous ways that being secluded on one planet will leave us vulnerable, I man-sized paintbrushes rest near the window towards the believe that the primarily reason to reach for something back of the room. On the walls are designs of weird and greater is that it propels our entire species to look forward wonderful space stations and hover craft held up by pins with bits of red string crisscrossing from one picture to anand lean in and grow up. “What we learn in the process will not only help us off of other - giving the vivid impression that the room has jumped straight off the page off a detective thriller novel. the Earth, but will help us on it as well.
“Let’s be real,” he says between taking large bites from a mug of noodles, “if disaster does strike, we’re screwed. Finished completely. It would be over in a blink of an eye and only a few would live to tell the tail here on earth: the privileged few of course. That’s why it’s so important to think ahead and plan for anything. “Steven Hawking said recently that space travel will ‘save mankind and that we should colonise other planets.’ Who am I to disagree with the Hawk?” He pauses here to pick out a stray noodle between his two front teeth. “The dudes got it spot on. It’s vital for the survival of mankind. That’s why scientists, designers and visionaries like me are planning ahead.” “Anything is possible. It sounds cheesy, but one of my favourite quotes is: ‘only those who go too far, can possibly know how far one can go.’” His work is impressive. David’s rather chaotic approach to life on the outside is pinned down and harnessed in his designs: they are vast, detailed and intrinsically beautiful. “These are the Silos,” he says, pointing at an image of dome and disk like features, “they could be built on planets with enough solar energy coming onto them. Pure water inside them can be ionized by a system using photon collecting solar-panels, to provide fusion power to the according ships. Several longer pipes could also be positioned for ships to suck fuel into them.” “Believe me; if one day we really do go up there,” he nods towards the spider-webbed ceiling, “we could survive. That’s why I’m always inventing.” Aside from actively seeking to solve an anthropological solution to survival, one government has already put cautionary steps in place to ensure that the nature we rely upon is safeguarded from nuclear attack and extreme global warming. The Doomsday Seed Vault in Svalbard, Norway, was created in February 2008, and has since housed over 2 million distinct seed samples of agricultural crops. The vault is situated in a secure and deserted zone 1,300km from the North Pole. It is virtually inaccessible and therefore the perfect place to store the future world’s supply of crops and seed which survivalists will need to survive in the new world. Jo Elworthy is the Director if Interpretation at the Eden Project in England. The Eden Project has a similar purpose to the top-secret, top-security vault in Norway, it houses hundreds of thousands of common and rare seeds that are essential to man’s survival. The public are able to visit the Eden Project and attend tours and lectures about the necessity to safeguard our agriculture for generations ahead.
Mars One conceptual art by Bryan Versteeg
The Doomsday Bunker in Norway via Getty images
“Plants provide services. Worldwide, plant ecosystems regulate our climate, provide oxygen for us to breathe, purify water, make clouds, make soil and recycle waste. Plant leaves are the original solar panels. They capture the energy from the sun and combine it with water and carbon dioxide to make a type of sugar that all living things can then use as a source of energy and a building block for everything.” When asked about the Doomsday Vault in particular, Jo is very positive about the potential benefits of the programme. “One way of ensuring (human) survival in our rapidly changing world - especially with climate change, population increases, pressure on land and fresh water supplies – is to look deep and treasure our seeds in all their variety. One day we may find wheat which can grow in a warmer world, maize with higher yields, rice that can tolerate saline water, a whole raft of new crops that reduce our reliance on the few. Biodiversity, which simply means the diversity of all life from a genetic to a global scale, is vital. Variety is the spice of life. Even as I write they are planning to take seeds to the space station to see how they cope out there and when they get back here. “Will we someday take seeds to a new world? Will we today ensure we have the variety we need to feed our needs in our ever rapidly changing environment? The Doomsday Seedbanks seed banks provide treasures beyond compare.”