The Mars Society is making headway on its plans to establish a startup incubator in the Seattle region,with a primary focus on artificial intelligence and biotechnology.The organization’s broader aim is not only to generate profit but also to foster the development of technologies crucial for sustaining human settlements on Mars.

　　Robert Zubrin,President of the Mars Society,highlighted the importance of innovation for a successful Mars colony during the organization’s annual conference at the University of Washington.He emphasized that a colony on Mars would drive the creation of inventions tailored to its unique needs,which could also be licensed for use on Earth.“These inventions,as intellectual property exports from Mars,will become one of the key economic pillars supporting the Martian city-state,”Zubrin stated.He also pointed out that the concept of a profitable Mars inventors’colony could be trialed on Earth,leading to the creation of the Mars Technology Institute.

　　James Burk,the Seattle-based executive director of the Mars Society,revealed that the institute would be modeled after Y Combinator,the well-known startup accelerator in California.Burk has been in discussions with government officials and other organizations in the Seattle area,including Bellevue College,to establish a home base for the institute,with progress expected in the coming months.

　　Meanwhile,the Mars Society is advancing its initiatives in AI,biotech for food production,and robotics.Zubrin also expressed interest in exploring advanced nuclear fission and fusion technologies,although the high entry barriers have led to a temporary deferment of this pursuit.

　　Progress Report on Mars Society’s Startup Ventures

　　Athena:AI-Powered Space Expertise

　　The Mars Society has already begun work on its first startup,even before securing a physical headquarters for the Mars Technology Institute.This venture,named Athena,is focused on developing an AI-powered expert system for space engineering projects.The project,supported by$150,000 in crowdsourced funds and volunteer efforts,aims to create a system that serves as a consultant for space-related challenges.

　　James Burk explained that while knowledge is abundant and easily accessible,wisdom is what Athena seeks to provide,particularly in the space domain.He cited Varda Space Systems as a potential user of Athena,noting that the company could have significantly reduced its research costs with the help of such a system.

　　Athena,currently in an early beta stage,is being built on Microsoft’s Azure AI cloud platform.It is categorized as an LLM+RAG(Large Language Model+Retrieval-Augmented Generation),blending search-engine capabilities with specialized knowledge in space engineering.Charles Finkelstein,Athena’s chief product officer,mentioned that the AI could be customized to offer different technological perspectives on a problem,providing answers in various“personalities.”

　　Biotech Innovation:Turning Chemicals into Food

　　On the biotechnology front,the Mars Society plans to launch a competition to incentivize the development of methods that use microbes to convert simple chemicals like methane or methanol into food.Zubrin suggested that such methods could be vastly more efficient than traditional agriculture,a significant advantage on Mars where sunlight and nutrients are scarce.

　　The competition aims to improve the efficiency,taste,and nutritional value of food products derived from microbial methanol-to-protein conversion,a process currently used in producing fish food.The Mars Society intends to announce the contest soon,with awards presented at the next international conference,likely to be held in Seattle.The society is prepared to patent successful processes and offer equity in the resulting commercial ventures.

　　Robotics:Serving Both Earth and Mars

　　While the Mars Society has yet to finalize a specific robotics project,Burk outlined several potential applications that could support future Mars communities.These include robotic AI field assistants for data processing and decision-making,construction robots for assembling Martian infrastructure,3D printing technologies for in-situ material production,debris removal robots,and robotic systems for life support maintenance and resource extraction.

　　These projects,along with ongoing developments in AI and biotechnology,underscore the Mars Society’s commitment to driving innovation that supports not only the exploration of Mars but also advancements that could benefit humanity on Earth.

　　For more in-depth startup coverage,consider subscribing to GeekWire’s weekly startup newsletter or following their startup news updates.