MARS!platz: Red Dust City

In the near future, it is likely that humans may travel to Mars. Large governmental organizations as well as private space companies are hard at work designing and testing for a possible future on the Red Planet. What if we, as everyday citizens on Earth, also have a say on what this future could look like? For the last 6 months, the ZKM | Hertzlab along with artists, experts, and citizen scientists in the open artist group the "Red Dust Society" have been meeting and discussing this possible future. We have looked into habitats, mental health solutions, food, governance, and resource management, generating a long list of ideas and concepts. Now it's time to test those concepts in an "analog simulation" where we will act out a new life on Mars to see what works and what doesn't in a large-scale public experiment.

Located on Marktplatz in the center of Karlsruhe, a white dome marks a new outpost where humans have landed on the Red Planet. Join the Hertzlab, ZKM's Artistic Research and Development Department, on "MARS!platz" where new residents of Red Dust City are ready to establish the first footprints of a new society. Over the course of this 10-day mission, three astronauts will test ideas and concepts developed by ZKM visitors and citizens of Karlsruhe: the design and use of our habitat, strategies for mental health during both isolation and close confinement, a balanced food and growing plan, rules and approaches to organization and government, and resource tracking and conservation. Daily space suit EVA's (Extra Vehicular Activities) will bring the astronauts out of the habitat as they perform experiments. A detailed program will highlight each working hour and what will be tested with its result available to the public. Communicate with the astronauts online, over radio, at ZKM, or on MARS!platz itself. What kind of life would you have on Mars? Help us develop this possible future! Solutions for Mars are also solutions for life on Earth.