Giving Compass' Take:

• In this Cisco Corporate Social Responsibility post on Triple Pundit, Dr. Natalie Rens, CEO of Spaceport AI, discusses her work to solve the challenges of space exploration, specifically sending humans to Mars.

• Such research — which includes artificial intelligence advancements, human life support and habitat sustainability — could lead to innovations here on Earth, as well. How can we support such bold "Mars shot" ideas in philanthropy?

• Here's why Hawaii’s Mars simulations are turning into moon missions.

We explore Mars for many reasons, be it the risk minimization of distributing our species across multiple planets or the fact that our population is growing at a rate that is unsustainable for our Earth’s resources.

For me, it is the insatiable spirit of exploration. It is all the inventions we will create to help Earth as a result of pushing our skills to their most extreme, and it is the fact that aiming for a goal this grand has the power to draw together people from every background.

When I was young, I used to dream of one day exploring the Amazon rainforest in search of medicinal plants I could create new cures from. I was enchanted with the idea of facing the unknown, with all its danger, to create something that would help as many people as I could.

With that in mind, ever impatient, I left school at 16 to begin studying Biomedical Sciences. As my studies went on, I specialized in neuroscience and ultimately completed a Ph.D. in Neuroscience, in which I focused on using machine learning to predict voluntary decisions.

However, I had become disenchanted with academia over time, feeling that it was not allowing me to achieve the impact I wanted. So, I gravitated towards the technology scene, with its wilder ideas and faster pace.

Read the full article about Mars exploration and sustainable life in space by Dr. Natalie Rens from the Cisco Corporate Social Responsibility, via TriplePundit.