Former astronaut Bryan O'Connor said Ball State University's Human Performance Lab impressed him with its research on muscle deterioration in space.
O'Connor, NASA's chief safety and mission assurance officer, gave the keynote address, "Safety and Mission Assurance in the New Vision for Space Exploration," Wednesday at the Software Engineering Research Center's biannual showcase at Ball State.
SERC Assistant Director Kirsten Smith said O'Connor was chosen as the keynote speaker because of his interest and experience with software engineering.
With NASA's goal to send people to Mars, O'Connor said certain issues need to be addressed. A mission to Mars, which would take months, would cause muscle tissue deterioration. When astronauts reach Mars, they need to be physically able to do experiments and research as quickly and efficiently as possible, he said.
The Human Performance Lab has done research on hibernating bears, who sleep for months and wake up capable of functioning normally. Astronauts who travel in space do not use their muscles in the same way as when they are on Earth. This research studies the bears to discover why they do not experience negative effects from hibernating and not using their muscles. He said this research is a good step towards finding a way for humans to make the trip to Mars.
"We really have to learn from others that are doing something similar, and when you think about a bear in hibernation and us going to Mars, that's good," O'Connor said. "That's a good similarity: Why is it that they can do it, and we cannot?"
All great advances in engineering have been the result of learning from failures, he said.
"There have been failures that people have refused to learn from - they were worthless," O'Connor said. "But when there were big failures, and we learned from them - that's where all the great advances in engineering were made."
Learning is the key, O'Connor said.
"Unless we learn, we'll never get to Mars," he said.
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
