About Me

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Zac Trolley is an experienced project engineer with a diverse background and skill set. In addition to his technical aptitude, he is also an intrepid adventurer, dabbling futurist, and talented communicator. Driven by a passion to see humanity expand beyond Earth’s gravity Zac has invested a larger portion of his time to understand how humans could live on Mars. It’s his goal to gain experience building infrastructure everywhere on Earth so that he is on the top of the candidate list when building starts on Mars. 

Zac holds a technical diploma from SAIT, and an electrical engineering degree from Lakehead University and a space studies certificate from the International Space University. He has over 10 years of experience in managing engineering workflows in the Canadian energy sector. In his spare time he enjoys outdoor activities, video games, working on Mars simulations, and growing bonsai trees. 

He lives in Calgary Alberta with his wife and two cats.

Social Media

Blog

Mars One Interviews

SAIT Stories – Jan 30

The Gauntlet – Jan 30

The Press – Jan 26

Foundation for Democratic Advancement – Jan 24

101.5 Kool FM – Jan 22

CBC The Homestretch – Jan 16

X92.9 The Show – Jan 14

98.5 Virgin Morning Show – Jan 14

Calgary Herald – Jan 13

Calgary Sun – Jan 11

CTV – Jan 10

Global News – Jan 6th

CBC TV – Jan 6th

Kasi Johnston – Aug 10th

Water

Water is essential for life on Earth, and in space as we explore. Water is needed for humans to drink, to grow plants, and to perform washing and chemical reactions. It can also be used as a radiation shield and as rocket fuel. Access to water is essential to human exploration in space. 

Water exists on the Moon, Mars, and asteroids in the form of ice. This ice can be mined, processed, and stored for use in human missions.

Water is the oil of the solar system and those companies who are able to harvest and harness extraterrestrial deposits of water will make Exxon look like a lemonade stand

Bob Richards

Energy

Moving water to space from Earth is very expensive due to our gravity field. A great example of the energy difference between the Moon and Earth is the Saturn 5 rocket. Most of the rocket’s size is to get 3 men off the surface of the Earth. The part of the rocket that takes them off the Moon and back to Earth is significantly less. By using the water that is in space, the effort and costs of transporting water to where it needs to be are greatly reduced.

Extraction

The extraction of water for human use in space is a mining operation. The ice must be collected by gathering large amounts of regolith and heating it so the water evaporates out. This slurry must be processed to remove any impurities such as dust, debris, volatile compounds, and salts. This operation is extremely similar to how the Alberta oil sands extracts oil from the ground.

Alberta has decades of experience in extracting oil from sand and soil. A large portion of these facilities is dedicated to the use of water since it is a vital component in the process. An oil sands facility is in fact more complicated than a regolith water facility would be on the Moon. The province has built a workforce, manufacturing base, and end to end supply chain for this industry. 

I believe that Alberta can transfer the knowledge and capabilities it has developed in the oil sands and be the leader in water mining for the Moon and Mars.

Contact

Projects

Talks

Resume

Maple Leafs on Mars

It is my personal mission to ensure that Canada plays a leading role in the human exploration of the solar system. The symbol of success to me is getting the Maple Leaf on Mars. Canada is a recognized leader in space exploration, from the Canadarm to Chris Hatfield, the Canadian flag is a stable of space exploration. I want to ensure this tradition continues.

Canada is a country of wide-open spaces, harsh climates, and resourceful people. Our skills and culture are uniquely suited to develop, test, and integrate space technology into our everyday lives. Canada can be the leader in space infrastructure while improving the Canadian standard of living. 

Once we can figure out how to grow food on Mars, we can grow food where ever it’s needed.

RESEARCH

TEACHING

SKILLS

WORKS

ABOUT

RESUME

PUBLICATIONS

30 Sep 2014

MARS TREATY MAKING WORKSHOP RESULTS FROM ISU SSP14

65th International Astronautical Congress 2014

A paper exploring the possible international treaty ramifications of a permanent human presence on Mars.

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Conferences Ian Stotesbury, Caitlin Percy, Zac Trolley, Christina Ciardullo, Matthew Sammons, Michal Moroz, Robert Hubbard, Jens Raymaekers, Richard Blake, Philippe Cyr, Lorenda Ward

MARS TREATY MAKING WORKSHOP RESULTS FROM ISU SSP14

Ian Stotesbury, Caitlin Percy, Zac Trolley, Christina Ciardullo, Matthew Sammons, Michal Moroz, Robert Hubbard, Jens Raymaekers, Richard Blake, Philippe Cyr, Lorenda Ward

Conferences

About The Publication

Abstract

In light of the expanding robotic and impending crewed exploration and settlement of Mars, participants at the International Space University’s 2014 Space Studies Program held in Montreal, Canada, will act as governmental delegations to create a draft text representing a new international treaty regime for Mars. This is the second year the ISU SSP has conducted this Mars Treatymaking Workshop, and is done in conjunction with the SSP14 Space Policy, Economics, and Law department. Some nations have ambitious plans for Mars colonization, while others intend to commercially mine the red planet’s rich mineral resources. The majority of delegations, however, hold fast the provisions of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, whose Article II mandates that “outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means.” Can these tensions be resolved in a single treaty for Mars? This paper will present the findings of the ISU SSP participants, including both their impressions and lessons learned from the simulation of international intergovernmental negotiation, drafting, adoption, and related treatymaking experiences, and the substantive legal innovations they find applicable for a new legal regime for Mars.

02 Oct 2018

Technical recommendations to improve MDRS safety, simulation and science.

29th IAA SYMPOSIUM ON SPACE AND SOCIETY

Using their professional experience external to their space analog experience, the crew of MDRS 188 compiled a path forward for the MDRS to increase its safety and usability.

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Conferences Selected Dr. Sarah Jane Pell, Mr. Zac Trolley, Mr. Tatsuari Tomiyama,, Dr. Ryan Kobrick,

Technical recommendations to improve MDRS safety, simulation and science.

Dr. Sarah Jane Pell, Mr. Zac Trolley, Mr. Tatsuari Tomiyama,, Dr. Ryan Kobrick,

Conferences Selected

About The Publication

Abstract

We, the Crew 188, offer technical and psychosocial system recommendations based on our experience of the Mars Desert Research Station [MDRS]. Our aim is to help realise future, sustainable programmes of space exploration, utilisation and commercial development. We offer recommendations supporting the pursuit of technical goals drawn from a broad, forward-looking view of the technologies and systems needed including technical engineering, scientific, cultural, political, and societal. A style of ”Martian camping”, MDRS offered amenities to support likely Mars-planetary space activities and experience remote, isolated and extreme habitability. Under today’s operational constraints and an aging facility, the design and operation of MDRS could be much improved. For example, Crew 188 faced a hazardous propane leak in the main habitat highlighting an inadequate response or protection mechanism; below-normal mission standard provisions including reduced water, food and up-link data streams; and the cessation of crew waste removal and water delivery services. Our responses to such challenges led to these recommendations sufficiently well focused to allow tangible progression—and dramatic improvements over current MDRS capabilities—to be realised in the foreseeable future. Future Mars crews will expect to “rough it” but they will also expect the autonomy, agency and security of basic ‘luxury’ provisions to create a home-awayfrom-home that supports a reasonable quality of working life. The Mars Society, and other analogues, could invest a small amount, for a large return on safety, simulation and science priority goals. A robust communications array, a thorough audit of essential health and safety provisions including emergency evacuation protocols; non-toxic waste disposal, Material Safety Data Sheets and up-to-date technical Engineering Schematics of the Habitat systems designs; and the advertised rations of food and water provisions, would ensure better health management of the crew and the local environment. Ultimately the real transformational value lies in the up-take of both public and private enterprise for sufficiently advancing our human capacity for technologies and systems for supporting a higher fidelity of simulation, and operational standards, for future exploration

30 Sep 2014

Open Innovation in Space : Powering a New Era

International Space University

An in-depth analysis of the progression of innovation models and how to apply Open Innovation to the space sector.

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Theses SSP 14 Class

Open Innovation in Space : Powering a New Era

SSP 14 Class

Theses

About The Publication

The classical model of innovation behind closed doors is slowly but surely being challenged by the open innovation model that is reshaping the way organizations bring new products and services into the market. This paper reports on the results of an International Space University Team Project focused on the potential, limitations and conditions of success of open innovation in the space sector. The project used ISU’s international, interdisciplinary, intercultural (3Is) approach in order to determine the fit of the open innovation model to the challenges and opportunities in the space sector. Open innovation can be defined as ”innovating with partners by sharing risk and sharing reward”. Conventional approaches to technology development for space, such as spin-offs or spin-ins are no longer sufficient to fully describe the interactions between organizations in today’s R&D landscape. From the Android operating system to 3D printing designs, from crowdsourcing to Wikipedia, a wide range of platforms enable contributors from around the world to work together and develop innovative solutions to very challenging scientific, technical and socio-economic problems. Traditionally, conducting space technology development and launching space missions required massive infrastructure investments, long lead times and large teams of experts. However, internal R&D, dedicated marketing departments and closely guarded intellectual property are no longer the only way to achieve success. Companies such as Space X, Scaled Composites, zero2infinity, NanoSatisfi, Copenhagen Suborbitals, Planet Labs and others work in a fundamentally different way compared to space agencies. Smaller, nimbler teams, significant use of commercial off the shelf technologies, crowdfunding, a more aggressive approach to managing risk and a great motivation to leverage intellectual property are just some of their defining characteristics. In the traditional, closed innovation model, organizations generate, develop and commercialize their own ideas. In contrast, in the open innovation model, organizations aim to commercialize external as well as internal ideas by exploring multiple paths to the market. These paths include launching start-up companies, licensing intellectual property, forming joint ventures and many other mechanisms. By using a case study methodology supported by a critical literature review, the project team highlighted the potential of open innovation in space by identifying its most promising applications as well as its limitations. The advantages and disadvantages of open innovation in space mission design, development and operations were compared to the current closed innovation practices.

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