Journey to Planet X

The Hub was both the social and physical center of the spaceship Vestigo, and come midmorning it was abuzz with all the clatter and commerce needed to sustain the growing colony.

Morning greetings rang through the air as crewmen dug their hands into the deep, rich soil of the agricultural sector, maintained to perfection by the microbes cultivated in the nearby Sustainable Farming Development classroom. The room was infused with the scent of exotic plants and spices.

Peering over one of The Hub’s many balconies, Cleo clutched her DLC as she waited for her morning assignment to arrive. Short for Digitized Learning Companion, DLCs served as conduits for digital textbooks and virtual reality simulations, and were essential to education onboard Vestigo.

A soft chorus of dings resonating around the Hub signified that the schedules for the day had arrived.

Instantly, a message with the seal of the Vestigean Council filled the screen.

Cleo Viajera, please report to room 3-B for Engineering from Nature, your study session of the day.

Engineering from Nature. Cleo mulled the words over as she slid down a ladder onto the bustling floor of the Hub.

She wondered what it meant. After all, schooling onboard the massive spaceship was very different than Earth. Rather than learning specific subjects like English or math, crewmembers of all ages and backgrounds applied their diverse talents and mindsets to addressing different issues the colony faced, such as maintaining health and nutrition onboard the Vestigo, or designing sustainable dwellings for their new planet.

This education system was all the youngest Vestigean children had ever known. However, Cleo had been fifteen when she was selected as a crewmember due to her mechanical engineering talents, and even four years into the journey she still struggled to reconcile her Earthen upbringing with life onboard the Vestigo.

A line of neon lettering announced the entrance to the Engineering from Nature classroom. Stepping into the classroom, Cleo nodded at a group of two coaches and seven students, which, including her, ensured a 1:4 instructor to pupil ratio maximized for personalized learning.

Settling at one of the many triangular desks, Cleo noticed that her friend Gilbert was in the room. When she waved at him, however, he just bit his lip and turned away.

One of the instructors abruptly cleared his throat and began to speak. “Welcome, students! My name is Hal, and today during the Engineering from Nature lesson we’ll be looking at the intersection of biology and engineering. For centuries, engineers have taken inspiration from nature, solving problems by emulating solutions already found in nature. This is an essential skill each and every one of us will need to survive on Planet X. While we don’t know much about the site of the colony, our remote space probes have discovered that Planet X has signs of existing life. If we analyze alien life forms on Planet X through an engineering mindset, we can take inspiration from creatures that have already adapted to Planet X’s conditions to better our own survival,” Hal concluded.

“We’ll be starting with a VR simulation on unique Earthen adaptations, and then practice using this mindset to solve problems onboard Vestigo,” added Rosalind, the other instructor.

“We’ll get to see Earth,” whispered a little girl next to Cleo, eyes shining. She looked around seven or eight.

Cleo smiled. The youngest children onboard Vestigo had no memory of Earth, and virtual reality allowed them to connect with their home world without ever setting foot on the blue planet.

“Here, let me help you,” Cleo said, noticing that the little girl was struggling to adjust her VR headset.

Shaped like a large scuba mask with a set of attached headphones, VR headsets were equipped with a small slot where DLCs were inserted. VR programs on the DLCs contained a split-screen video feed of the same scene taken from two slightly different angles. The distance from the wearer’s eyes to the DLC screen fooled the brain into perceiving one, immersive, 3-D video experience, as opposed to the two that were actually playing.

Tightening the headset’s strap so it was snug against the little girl’s head, Cleo made sure the sensors that measured the position and angle of the wearer’s head were functioning properly. These sensors adjusted the video feed on the screen as the wearer turned their head, creating the illusion that one’s eyes were actually swiveling to take in the full scene.

After applying similar sensors to the girl’s arms and legs, Cleo helped her step onto a 360 rotating treadmill that allowed students to explore virtual spaces without being limited by the confines of the classroom.

Finally, Cleo selected the Engineering from Nature VR experience from the VR library on the girl’s DLC and slid the device into the headset. The little girl gasped as the screen slid into place.
Five minutes later, after Cleo had secured her own VR rig, she understood why.

Gone were the clean white walls of the classroom. She was standing in a lush green jungle. Hazy sunlight filtered through the thick canopy, illuminating rows of vine-choked trees with trunks as wide as boulders. The computer-generated avatars of her fellow students, based off 3-D scans of the crewmen’s bodies, hovered nearby.

“The Amazon rainforest is the most biodiverse place on Earth,” Hal explained, pointing to a small, lizard-like creature scrambling up a nearby tree trunk.

“Geckos are a perfect example of engineering from nature. Scientists have created pads with rows of hooked polymers that mimic structures on the gecko’s feet, allowing humans to climb up vertical surfaces.”

Hal’s avatar began to draw in midair, sketching a pad covered in rows of tiny claw-like structures. Example one: climbing pads modeled off gecko feet, he wrote.

Cleo fingered her own VR stylus. As the user traced a shape in midair, the VR software mapped a chain of points based on data from the pen’s movement sensors. Then the chain was digitally filled in to create a floating, 3D image. This allowed students to take notes, sketch, and brainstorm without ever leaving the simulation.

As the rainforest tour continued, Cleo learned how sustainable ventilation systems could be modeled off termite mounds, and how biomedical engineers were creating prosthetic limbs based on the prehensile tails of Amazonian monkeys.

After more than an hour of exploring, it was time for the group’s assessment. Exams on Vestigo didn’t come in the form of a scantron or a timed write. Instead, the class was presented with a challenge scenario based off a situation they might encounter on Planet X. Working in teams and utilizing their grasp of the lesson’s subject matter, students were tasked with using a creative problem-solving approach to complete the challenge.

“On Planet X, scouting missions will be directed by a teammate who leads the group from a remote location,” Hal said.

“To mimic this, one person from each team of four will be asked to leave the simulation and return to the classroom. There, you’ll have access to resources found on your DLC that are currently inaccessible to your teammates inside the simulation. Together, you must design an engineering solution based on an Amazonian organism addressing an issue onboard Vestigo. Ready…set…GO!”

Cleo, Gilbert, the little girl, and a man named Nico formed a group. Nico volunteered to leave the simulation and direct the team from the classroom.

“Gilbert, do you know of any minor issues we can solve?” Cleo asked.

“Minor? How about MAJOR! I’ve messed up big time, Cleo!” Gilbert exclaimed. “What are you talking about?”

Gilbert explained how he’d been transporting crops by the Vestigo’s volatile fuel tanks when he’d tripped, tipping his wheelbarrow into the tanks and nearly puncturing them.

“I’m sure it wasn’t that bad.”

“Yeah, because the tanks can seal themselves,” Gilbert replied sarcastically.

“That’s it!” Cleo cried. “We can create a self-sealing coating for the Vestigo’s fuel tanks. Nico, are there any Amazonian organisms that demonstrate this property?”

“Yes!” Nico’s voice echoed through their headsets. “According to this botany archive, the Amazonian latex tree secretes latex when its outer bark is punctured, sealing the hole to prevent infection.”

“Can you describe it to us?” Gilbert inquired.

“Based on my feed of the simulation, it looks like there’s a latex tree right across the clearing.” Nico replied.

Sure enough, the team came upon a speckled, woody trunk oozing milky sap.

“We can sandwich a synthetic polymer between the fuel tank and an external metal layer,” Cleo said. “When the outer layer is punctured, the polymer will be released, plugging the hole and stopping a leak.”

The little girl, who introduced herself as Sigrid, lifted her stylus and began to sketch their initial design.

“But how will the polymer harden quickly enough?” asked Nico. “It takes latex hours to harden.” There needed to be some external stimulus that triggered an immediate chemical reaction in the polymer. But what?

“Oxygen?” Sigrid queried.

“That’s perfect!” Cleo shouted. Oxygen was essential to the crew’s survival, and would therefore be plentiful no matter the location of the colony’s fuel tanks.

Over the weeks that followed, the team collaborated with materials scientists to engineer a polymer that solidified upon contact with oxygen. Upon testing multiple prototypes, they realized that leaks could originate internally as well and added a second metal layer to completely sandwich the polymer.

Empowered by the skills they had learned and the friends they had made, the team returned to The Hub to await the assignment of their next class and imagine the adventures waiting to occur on their future home, Planet X.

Engineer's Note:

In order to survive on their new planet, the crew of the Vestigo must be adaptable to the foreign terrain, living conditions, and the dangers of an alien world. By utilizing technology and diverging from traditional subject-based learning, my education system is designed to build the teamwork and creative problem-solving skills necessary for establishing human life on a new planet.

When designing the Vestigo’s education system, I used the principles of reverse engineering to analyze the workings of our current education system and thus determine how to improve it. For example, the current methodology of subject-based learning can discourage cross-disciplinary thought. Because art and math are considered separate subjects, the creative mindset taught in art is not often applied to mathematics. In reality, however, the experimentation and abstract thought imparted through art instruction is key to understanding higher-level conceptual math such as calculus. My Vestigean education system generates creative thought and problem solving by encouraging this kind of cross-disciplinary thought.

Rather than studying traditional subjects, students onboard the Vestigo attend three to four hour sessions where they address specific problems through the combination of two or more subjects. For example, students could attend a Sustainable Dwelling Development session where they combine architecture and environmental science to engineer environmentally-conscious homes for their new planet. Students attend class in groups of 8 accompanied by 2 instructors, and are assigned their class each morning. These small class sizes allow for personalized teacher to student instruction.

Furthermore, my education system uses an interactive, technology-based approach to encourage problem-solving skills and life-long learning. Virtual reality rigs allow students to explore new environments and conditions within the confines of their classrooms. These rigs allow students a wide range of motion that engage the senses, appealing to kinesthetic, auditory, and visual learners alike. Using VR also allows Vestigean students to stay connected with Earth through virtual field trips. Another learning technology is the Digital Learning Companion (DLC), a tablet that stores online textbooks and archives as well as the software for VR simulations. Through DLCs, Vestigeans can browse and study the vast collection of Earthen knowledge without taking up precious space onboard Vestigo. Through these learning technologies, students can see the real-world application of their education and know they are contributing to their community’s survival, thus becoming inspired to continue learning throughout every stage of their lives.

Finally, instead of taking traditional “tests”, Vestigean students demonstrate their knowledge through team challenges at the end of each lesson. Students are asked to solve problems based on real- life scenarios that could threaten their future colony, applying what they learned in their lesson to address the issue and save the day.
Over time, this education system could evolve to target specific areas of expertise lacking in colony members. For example, if colonists were struggling to find sustainable energy sources, specific classes could be added to address this need. Furthermore, large-scale group activities could be incorporated to foster a sense of community and Vestigean identity amongst the colonists.

Annotated Bibliography

Bushan, B. (2018, March 19). Bioinspired Self-Healing Materials: Lessons from Nature. Retrieved from https://www.beilstein-journals.org/bjnano/articles/9/85
This article contains detailed tables of hundreds of different biological self-healing mechanisms and the biochemistry behind them. It explains how the self-healing mechanisms of plants could be applied to human society, which is similar to how Cleo and her team developed a synthetic polymer based on the adaptations of the latex tree.

Gossett, S. (2019, August 22). Virtual Reality in Education: An Overview. Retrieved from https://builtin.com/edtech/virtual-reality-in-education
This article explains how virtual reality will impact the future of education. As the virtual reality market expands and VR becomes more affordable, students can engage in virtual field trips and create art in a new medium, much like VR allowed Cleo’s class to explore the Amazon rainforest without leaving their classroom.

Henny, C. (2016, May 24). 9 Things That Will Shape the Future of Education: What Learning Will Look Like in 20 Years? Retrieved from https://elearningindustry.com/9-things-shape-future-of-education- learning-20-years
This article discusses the philosophies and technologies that will shape education in the future. There will be an increased emphasis on personalized and project-based learning, and a departure from the typical method of assessment. These values were incorporated into the education system of the Vestigo to create a learning environment that revolves around problem-solving and technology.

Metz, R. (2017, June 14). Virtual Reality’s Missing Element: Other People. Retrieved from https://www.technologyreview.com/s/607956/virtual-realitys-missing-element-other-people/
In the story, virtual reality avatars allowed Cleo and her classmates to socialize within their VR simulation. This article examines the increasing importance of VR in the social sphere, and the technology behind creating VR avatars.

Woodford, C. (2019, March 23). How do self-healing materials work? Retrieved from https://www.explainthatstuff.com/self-healing-materials.html
This article explains the different categories of real-life self-healing material and the chemistry behind them. In the story, Cleo chooses to use a polymer that reacts with oxygen in her team’s self- healing fuel tank barrier.