off-world

About the film

The off-world project

Proudly Human’s Off-World Project will demonstrate human resilience, sustainability and community spirit in even the most extreme environments through grit, imagination, research and innovation. The project prepares for life on the Moon, Mars and beyond, as well as providing solutions for those living in harsh conditions here on Earth. Over the next few years, Proudly Human will run a series of habitation experiments, building communities and off-grid infrastructure in the most extreme environments on the planet, from the desert, to Antarctica, to under the ocean. Each experiment will last several months, generate exploration-driven innovation and research, and be filmed for a documentary series.

Dr Adriana Marais, theoretical physicist, technologist and founder of Proudly Human, has recently visited the Antarctic interior and the Oman desert on location scouts for Proudly Human’s Off-World Project. Through the Off-World Project, Proudly Human will develop knowledge and technology to support the first human communities living off-world on the Moon, Mars and beyond. At the same time, Proudly Human will work with partners to make the technology developed, integrated and tested in each experiment available to communities lacking access to basic resources. Join us in our vision for successful communities in extreme and resource-constrained environments through grit, imagination, research and innovation towards a #ProudlyHuman future, whatever planet we are on.

Off-World: Antarctica

Antarctica is the coldest, driest and most isolated place on Earth. Off-World: Antarctica will demonstrate technology-enabled community living in harmony with an environment almost no organism can survive: the Antarctic winter. For almost a year, a carefully selected team will live as a community with the aim of building functional and sustainable infrastructure from scratch, from life-support to communication systems, with the ultimate aim of thriving off-grid in some of harshest conditions on Earth.

The conditions during winter in the Antarctic interior provide a unique research opportunity to prepare for life on Mars: average temperatures of around -70 degrees Celsius, low pressures at altitudes of over 3000 metres and isolation more extreme than the International Space Station or the Moon, where there is no possible access for months at a time. Tapping into abundant resources such as wind, ice, and, yes, even the cold, the community will test life-support technologies in areas including: energy provision, habitat control systems, water management, precision farming, manufacturing, transportation, safety and medical infrastructure, to communication, IoT, data management and cybersecurity systems, and more. At the same time, we aim to investigate the dynamics of the community itself, to better understand well-being and community spirit in an isolated, extreme and resource-constrained environment. The entire experience will be broadcast for a global audience though a documentary series, Off-World: Antarctica.

Do you have the skills to contribute? Apply here to become part of the crew for the Off-World Project (applications open 1 February 2021). Contact us here to join our #ProudlyHuman Research and Innovation Partner Network.

Off-World: DESERT

Africa and the Middle East are home to some of the hottest, driest and oldest regions on Earth. Like Mars, there are locations where the sand has a distinctive rust colour from the iron oxide content. And like Mars, management of life’s most precious resource, water, will be critical to survival of any life. In contrast to Antarctica, there are communities of people living there who with little to no technology, have mastered surviving the harsh conditions.

For the duration of the dry season, Off-World: Desert will see a carefully selected team living as a community in one of the most water scarce locations on Earth. The aim is to build functional and sustainable infrastructure from scratch, from life-support to communication systems, with the ultimate aim of thriving off-grid in some of harshest conditions on Earth. Tapping into abundant resources such as sand, salt, sunlight, and even geothermal heat, the Off-World: Desert community will test life-support technologies in areas including: 3D printing from sand, energy provision, habitat control systems, water management, precision farming, transportation, safety and medical infrastructure, to communication, IoT, data management and cybersecurity systems, and more. At the same time, we aim to investigate the dynamics of the community and their interaction with the locals, to better understand well-being and community spirit in an isolated, extreme and resource-constrained environment. The entire experience will be broadcast for a global audience though a documentary series, Off-World: Desert.

Off-World Ocean

off-world: submarine

Living underwater provides an analogue for a community in an environment without breathable air. The conditions of isolation and confinement within the habitat providing necessary life-support have parallels with the long-duration spaceflight necessary to travel to Mars or beyond. Additionally, the environment in an underwater vehicle has close parallels with what crews can expect when exploring the intriguing subsurface ocean worlds of Outer Solar System moons like Europa and Enceladus. A carefully selected team will will operate and augment existing infrastructure in an underwater habitat, including power, water, food and communication systems, they will live as a research community under the ocean for the duration of the experiment. The experience will be broadcast for a global audience though the documentary, Off-World: Submarine.

More soon on Off-World: Submarine.

off-grid technology

We will demonstrate building a community from scratch in some of the most extreme environments on Earth. Together with our advisors, technology partners and carefully selected crew, we will create functional and sustainable habitats with systems from life-support to communication, in locations where no infrastructure exists. We will focus on areas including energy provision, habitat control systems, water management, precision farming, manufacturing, transportation, safety and medical infrastructure, as well as communication, IoT, data management and cybersecurity systems. From the data generated, we will create knowledge on community living in extreme environments.