Where
Alien
Becomes
Familiar
Join the journey to discover how indigenous knowledge can lead Martian exploration and refine the connection between life and land
80+
Indigenous Communities Globally, these groups live in Martian analogue sites.
5,000+
Years of Tradition Salina Huito farmers in Peru have cultivated native potatoes in harsh soils.
Exploring
resilience
in extreme
environments
Exploring resilience in extreme environments means studying how life endures in Earth’s toughest landscapes. By learning from communities with traditional knowledge of these regions, we gain insights into how life has adapted to harsh conditions - both here and on Mars. This work examines the possibilities of past life on Mars as well as exploring how to develop and sustain future life, connecting Indigenous knowledge with the challenges and opportunities of interplanetary exploration.
Erin Gouse
Scientist
“MarsScope has redefined how we access and analyze Mars data. It’s a dream for any scientist interested in the Red Planet.”
Erin Gouse
Scientist
“MarsScope has redefined how we access and analyze Mars data. It’s a dream for any scientist interested in the Red Planet.”
Climate
Extreme Environments
Indigenous peoples have adapted to some of the harshest environments on Earth, from arid deserts to tundras to saline lakes, displaying extraordinary resilience. Their deep understanding of survival in these challenging conditions offers valuable insights into how life could potentially thrive on Mars.
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What are Martian analogue sites?
A Martian analogue site is a location on Earth that closely mimics the environmental conditions found on Mars
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Kepwari Lakes, Australia
The hypersaline Kepwari Lakes in Esperance, Australia, serve as analogues for ancient Martian lakebeds, offering insights into microbial resilience in saline environments. The Wudjari people's deep understanding of these interconnected waterways and environmental indicators, such as vegetation and lake color, enhances our comprehension of ecosystem health and potential biosignatures on Mars.
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Pampas de La Joya, Peru
The arid soils of Pampas de La Joya closely resemble Martian regolith, making it an ideal location to study agricultural feasibility. The Salina Huito community's traditional farming techniques and cultivation of salt-tolerant potato varieties provide valuable strategies for sustaining crops in Martian conditions, bridging terrestrial agriculture with space exploration.
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Canyon de Chelly, Navajo Nation
Located within the Navajo Nation, Canyon de Chelly's geological features, including sandstone formations and arid environment, offer parallels to Martian landscapes. The Diné people's extensive knowledge of land management and survival strategies in this challenging terrain provides critical insights into human adaptation and resource utilization, informing potential habitation strategies on Mars.
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Copahue Volcano, Argentina
Copahue Volcano's active hydrothermal systems and acidic rivers create mineral deposits similar to those found on Mars, such as jarosite and hematite. The Mapuche people's understanding of geothermal activity and their ecological connection to the land enrich scientific studies of extremophiles and mineral formation processes, shedding light on analogous Martian environments.
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Svalbard, Norway
Svalbard's cold, dry environment, shaped by volcanism, ice, and liquid water, mirrors conditions that may have existed on ancient Mars. The presence of hot springs and volcanic formations, such as the Sverrefjellet volcano, provides opportunities to study microbial life in extreme conditions. The traditional knowledge of the Sámi people, who have adapted to Arctic climates, offers valuable perspectives on resilience of both human and microbial life.
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Farming Against the Odds: Pampas de La Joya (Salina Huito)
On Mars, soils contain up to 2-3% perchlorates, making them highly saline and toxic for most crops. The Pampas de La Joya in Peru, one of Earth’s driest regions, offers a striking parallel. With less than 2 mm of annual rainfall and soil salinity levels ranging from 0.9% to 2.8%, it mimics Martian regolith conditions. Here, the Salina Huito community has perfected the Wari Wari system—an ingenious combination of raised fields and canal irrigation. This technique allows them to cultivate salt-tolerant potatoes despite the arid and saline environment, showcasing methods that could one day sustain crops on Mars.
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Conserving Every Drop: Canyon de Chelly (Diné)
Irrigation water on Mars would come from subsurface ice, requiring immense energy to extract and conserve. Future Martian colonies will need far more water than current astronauts, who use only about 11 liters daily. Canyon de Chelly, within the Navajo Nation, mirrors this challenge with its 9 inches of annual rainfall and semi-arid conditions. The Diné people have mastered efficient water management, using just 7 to 10 gallons per person daily for drinking, cooking, cleaning, crops, and livestock. Their ingenuity demonstrates how to stretch every drop in resource-scarce environments, offering critical lessons for Martian settlements.
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Secrets Beneath the Ice: Svalbard (Sámi)
Mars’ icy poles, with temperatures plunging to -125°C, hold clues to potential microbial life beneath their frozen surfaces. Svalbard, with its permafrost and glacial terrain, mirrors these extreme conditions. Sámi knowledge enriches this analogue by revealing how seasonal cycles of thawing and freezing impact nutrient flow and microbial habitats. Their insights into nutrient-rich freshwater ecosystems beneath ice offer new strategies for studying potential life on Mars, making Svalbard a living laboratory for exploring what lies beneath the Martian surface.
Not so Alien..
Mars is known for its extreme conditions—freezing temperatures, saline soils, and scarce water sources. But for some Indigenous communities on Earth, living and thriving in environments just as challenging is part of daily life. From the arid deserts of Peru to the icy landscapes of Svalbard, these communities have developed remarkable ways to adapt, offering invaluable insights into resilience and survival in conditions that feel "not so alien" after all.
476 Million Indigenous People
Representing over 5,000 groups across 90 countries globally
22% of Global Land
Indigenous territories encompass up to 22% of the world's land surface, coinciding with areas that hold 80% of the planet’s biodiversity.
65,000+ Years
Aboriginal Australians have continuously occupied their land for over 65,000 years, making it the longest known continuous habitation.
We Trust in Indigenous Methodologies
For millennia, indigenous methodologies have sustained our communities, maintained our environments, and fostered life in harmony with nature. These ancient, meticulously developed practices are not only the bedrock of our survival but also a testament to our deep understanding of the land
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Wudjari rangers assess salinity using vegetation health, showcasing real-time environmental evaluation without external tools.
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An Indigenous operator uses drones and knowledge to study Pink Lake's color shifts and changes.
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Aboriginal surveyors monitor lake changes, providing swift responses and complementing rare foreign research visits.
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Tjaltjraak Rangers help NASA collect water samples from a community-maintained hypersaline lake.
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Wudjari knowledge aids microbial analysis at Lake Hillier, uncovering environmental impacts on microbial colonies.
We Trust in Indigenous Methodologies
Imagine a science so deeply intertwined with the land it studies that it becomes inseparable from the life it sustains. Indigenous methodologies are not simply tools or techniques - they are living, evolving systems that have harmonized human existence with the environment for millennia. As we explore the unknown, these place-based sciences offer us an invaluable blueprint for understanding resilience, adaptability, and the interconnectedness of life and land.
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Indigenous methodologies are inherently relational
Explanation of Indigenous Methodologies
Science Tied to Space. Indigenous methodologies are scientific methodologies specifically conceptualized, designed, developed, and implemented within a specific place and ecosystem
Acknowledgement of Indigenous Methodologies
We Trust in Indigenous Methodologies. For millennia, indigenous methodologies have sustained our communities, maintained our environments, and fostered life in harmony with nature
(10°15′39.60″)
Case Study
Our
current
case studies
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Alien Life in Earth Lakes
The hypersaline lakes of the Kepwari system in Western Australia offer a glimpse into Mars’ ancient past. These vibrant, salt-laden waters mirror the conditions of Martian lakes that may have once supported microbial life billions of years ago. By studying these ecosystems, guided by the expertise of the Wudjari people, we uncover how life can adapt and thrive in extreme environments. Could these insights reveal the secrets of ancient life on Mars?
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Adapting Agriculture for Mars
"La Joya," meaning "the jewel," is a fitting name for this remarkable desert, which may hold the key to solving one of Martain exploration's greatest challenges: sustaining agriculture. With its arid soils and scarce water, Pampas de La Joya mirrors the harsh conditions of much of the Martian landscape. By collaborating with Indigenous farmers who have mastered potato cultivation in this unforgiving landscape, we’re uncovering innovations that could shape the future of farming on Mars.
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FAQ
Frequently asked
questions
RedBridge is a research initiative that integrates Indigenous ecological methodologies with astrobiological projects to make the alien more familiar. By connecting the challenges of interplanetary environments to the natural constraints of Earth’s analogue landscapes, RedBridge highlights and utilizes the expertise of Indigenous communities who thrive in these extreme settings to help advance our understanding of Mars and beyond.
RedBridge integrates Indigenous ecological methodologies by collaborating directly with communities living on Martian analogue sites. These methodologies, developed over millennia, provide deeply refined insights into specific ecosystems and their resilience. By incorporating this knowledge, RedBridge ensures its research is not only scientifically robust but also grounded in ethical, place-based practices that honor and elevate Indigenous expertise.
RedBridge works at sites like Australia’s Kepwari Lakes, Peru’s Pampas de La Joya, and Norway’s Svalbard. Locations are chosen based on their similarities to Martian conditions, such as hypersalinity, aridity, and extreme cold. Additionally, RedBridge prioritizes sites where Indigenous communities have long thrived, recognizing their deep ecological knowledge as vital to understanding these extreme environments.
RedBridge forms equitable partnerships by involving Indigenous communities in research design, implementation, and outcomes. Ethical practices include respecting cultural protocols, sharing findings, and ensuring community benefits. By prioritizing trust, equity, and mutual respect, RedBridge fosters partnerships that honor Indigenous knowledge and perspectives.
RedBridge stands apart by integrating Indigenous ecological methodologies into astrobiological research. Rather than focusing solely on technological solutions, it emphasizes a holistic approach by acknowledging that Indigenous-led research has been underway for thousands of years and provides an expansive foundation to build upon. By valuing place-based knowledge systems refined over millennia, RedBridge bridges the gap between astrobiological sciences and the localized methodologies of communities who thrive in Earth’s most extreme environments.
Extreme environments on Earth mimic conditions found on Mars, such as hypersalinity, aridity, and freezing temperatures. These sites act as natural laboratories where we can study resilience, microbial life, and resource management. By learning from these environments and the Indigenous methodologies developed to thrive within them, we gain critical insights into how life might adapt on Mars and other planets. For example, these studies inform techniques for growing crops like salt-tolerant potatoes that can survive in Martian regolith, managing limited water resources for missions needing to use Martian subsurface ice deposits, and identifying microbial survival strategies in harsh conditions that can contextualize the possibility of past life on Mars.
Indigenous stories and oral histories provide crucial context for understanding environmental changes and local innovations. These narratives link past events to current ecological practices, offering insights that cannot be replicated by scientific data alone. RedBridge collaborates with Indigenous communities to ensure these knowledge systems are respected, documented, and integrated into scientific discussions in ways that are highly specific to and vetted by each community.
Support RedBridge by sharing our mission, following our journey, and connecting us with potential partnerships or study sites. You can also help by initiating conversations that highlight the value of Indigenous methodologies. By encouraging others to value Indigenous perspectives, you help create a world more receptive to our work and make it easier to share our message on a broader scale.
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