So how do you prepare planet Mars for human life, anyway? That’s one question IT CTO of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Labs (JPL) Tom Soderstrom fielded from Stu Miniman (@stu) and Brian Gracely (@bgracely), cohosts of theCUBE, from the SiliconANGLE Media team, at the Red Hat Summit in San Francisco.

“Maybe you’d send a 3D printer,” Soderstrom mused. “Maybe the 3D printer could build bricks around it and create a home. I don’t know if it would work, but I know that it’s possible.”

Beyond terra firma

Mining the realms of technological possibility is something Soderstrom is deeply familiar with; in his role at JPL, he’s quick to identify emerging trends in tech that relate to NASA’s exploration far beyond terra firma.

One tech trend that’s been particularly meaningful in NASA’s research is open-source software, which Soderstrom said provides a way for NASA to develop capable tools for engineers and scientists. These developments, in turn, bring engineers and scientists one step closer to putting people on Mars.

The Cloud as a playground

When it comes to conquering ulterior planets, there’s plenty of work to be done — and even more play. Soderstrom emphasized the importance of having a place to freely play with technology in an open forum. “The cloud has everything to do with the next barrier we’re breaking down,” Soderstrom said. “The cloud brings us a place to play.”

The technological tools furthering space exploration all started out as “toys,” said Soderstrom. “It’s through these toys that we’ll work together to advance humanity’s journey into space,” he stated.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE and theCUBE’s coverage of the Red Hat Summit.

Photo by SiliconANGLE