Life on the Moon and Mars Space researcher Prof. Gisela Detrell in the Maria Esslinger Lecture Series
How will humans be able to live on the Moon or even on Mars for extended periods in the future? Research into sustainable life support systems that supply oxygen, water and food with minimal reliance on Earth provides answers to this question. On 2 June 2026, as part of the Maria Esslinger Lecture Series, Professor Detrell from Technical University of Munich will speak about current developments and future technologies for human spaceflight, including closed-loop life support systems and potential food sources in space. Admission is free.
In order for humans to one day live on the Moon or Mars, life support systems must be developed that can sustainably provide all the essential resources: oxygen, water and food. According to current space agency plans, establishing a lunar base and sending missions to Mars are among the next major goals of human spaceflight. These scenarios present significant new challenges as the environmental and operational conditions differ greatly from those experienced on the International Space Station (ISS). In particular, the long mission duration and great distance from Earth necessitate life support systems that are as self-sufficient as possible and that rely minimally on resupply from Earth.
But can the technologies currently used on the ISS be adapted for long missions to the Moon or Mars? What research is currently underway, and what innovations can be expected in the future? Will astronauts on Mars live on dry rations or grow their own potatoes? And what role could tasty algae play in future space nutrition?
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Gisela Detrell, Professor of Human Spaceflight Technology at Technical University of Munich, is conducting research into these questions. She specialises in the development of technologies for human spaceflight, focusing on life support systems, spaceflight simulations and human performance in space.
About Prof. Dr.-Ing. Gisela Detrell
Professor Detrell studied aerospace engineering at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC). She completed her PhD at the University of Stuttgart and the UPC in 2015, focusing on the reliability analysis of life support systems for long-duration space missions. She continued her research at the Institute of Space Systems in Stuttgart, where she has been head of the research group since 2018. In 2023, Professor Detrell was appointed to the Chair of Human Spaceflight Technology at Technical University of Munich.
About the Maria Esslinger Lecture Series
The event is part of the Maria Esslinger Lecture Series. Each year, the presidents of Technische Universität Braunschweig and the Braunschweig Scientific Society (BWG) invite outstanding female scientists from all disciplines to present their research at the Maria Esslinger Lectures.
About Prof. Dr.-Ing. Maria Esslinger
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Maria Esslinger (1913–2009) joined the German Aerospace Centre in Braunschweig in 1962. She is regarded as Germany’s first female aeronautical engineer. As a scientist and engineer, she made a lasting name for herself internationally in the development of methods for calculating bridge decks and in research into buckling cylindrical shells. On 27 November 1978, Maria Esslinger was admitted to the BWG as a full member, making her the society’s first female member. From 1981 to 1995, she used the computing centre at Technische Universität Braunschweig to run computer programmes designed to model real structural behaviour using mathematical-mechanical models.
Event:
“Life on the Moon and Mars – How we can survive in space”
Tuesday, 2 June 2026, 17:30
Auditorium of Technische Universität Braunschweig
House of Science
Pockelsstraße 11
38106 Braunschweig