The Real Mission to Mars

"Hard work, no pay, eternal glory." The Mars Society needs volunteers to simulate Mars exploration, so we're better-prepared for the problems the (hopefully) real astronauts will face. If you have a month free next summer and you'd like to spend it freezing your ass off, read on.

The Mars Society is looking for "anyone in good physical condition between 18 and 60 years of age... Scientific, engineering, practical mechanical, wilderness, and literary skills are all considered a plus." Only the passionate need apply: "conditions are likely to be tough and the job will be very trying." And that's before the robot switches into hunter-killer mode.

If you prefer roasting to freezing, there's a mission somewhere in the Australian Outback next year as well. Either way, go visit the Mars Society homepage and check it out.

I spoke with a friend of mine, Daniel Slosberg, who coordinated Mission Support for the Michigan Mars Society during two similar, less-audacious experiments this year. His was the easy job of sitting at home, coordinating communications (chiefly email, with simulated 20-minute round-trip delay), answering questions from the field, and giving advice.

Daniel happens to be working on an idea for distributed mission support; if you're interested in being part of the ground crew, drop him a line.

For the team that actually goes into the wilderness and lives in the "hab," you'll be simulating Mars isolation as accurately as possible. You'll be brutally far north, for one thing. You'll wear a mock-spacesuit every time you go outside, which will help identify where the problems are in e.g. mobility or hygiene. You'll also spend an hour in the airlock when you enter or leave, which will help remind you not to forget your hammer.

The excursions get more sophisticated each year: next year will be the first with an already-completed hab and the first with more than one mock-suit. Your chance to be part of history.

In related news, Odyssey continues aerobraking, and its mission looks good -- if you've read Robinson's Red Mars series, you know how delicate orbital insertion is. Great work, JPL.

And just for kicks, here's a New Scientist article about synthesizing fuel from the Martian atmosphere to power a "hopper"-lander. If you find the practical chemistry of planetary travel interesting, go read Robert Zubrin who is just all about using whatever resources already exist outside Earth's gravity well.

Comments

Re:Fun things to do

[jamie]

"Why would it take the airlock on Mars a full hour to open? Pressure should make little difference, since people are wearing spacesuits. Is it for decontamination? Quarantine? Fun?"

Apparently it's to vacuum the dust of Mars off your suit. Mars dust is so fine that if you track it inside the hab it'll choke everything up in short order.

Re:Fun things to do

[mcelrath]

Why would it take the airlock on Mars a full hour to open? Pressure (and IIRC it's more like 1/2 hour). The suits are soft, not hard, so they operate at an internal pressure closer to the atmospheric pressure of Mars. If you didn't lower the pressure, you'd be wearing a big balloon. They could go with hard suits, but manuverability is severly limited.

--Bob

Next base here in U.S.

[jonwiley]

I'm a team member for the Mars Desert Research Station, which is about to begin assembly on site in Utah. Just wanted to clarify some things...

First, MDRS, here in the U.S., will be the next simulation to begin, not the one in Australia. They are still looking for sites in Oz.

The first field season of a Mars Society hab (this past summer in the Arctic) featured a completed hab and at least three mock suits.

Also, several teams are developing pressurized rovers to test engineering designs. Some of these rovers will be tested as part of the mission simulations.

I was on the site selection committee for the MDRS and I was also a field scout. The Mars Society uses a combination of satellite and aerial reconnaisance, GIS data, and on-site scouting to locate potential sites. This is the phase Mars Society Australia is currently in.

The field season for Utah will be focused primarily on the cooler seasons, but it will be equipped with air conditioning.

Olympus Mons is NOT a Crater.

[gnarly]

At the link above claims that Olympus Mons is a "crater", just like one of the craters on the Island. Actually it is a mountain, probably the largest in the Solar System. Yes it does have a volcanic caldera but that is different from the crater on the Devon Island, formed by a meteorite impact.

How far the Russkies have gone...

[blockHead]

Check out this link to learn more about the Russian Mars-project. Remeber: These are the same guys who have gotten Gagarin in space.