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

Isolation

[NatePWIII]

With this experiment is it going to be real isolation, I mean on Mars your not going to be able to hop onto the internet or call someone when you get bored, I think the psycological testing is more important than the physical aspects, granted that does need to be addressed as well.

Re:Isolation

[DerekLyons]

They'll need a high-bandwidth data link, and I imagine that low-bandwidth internet access would be considered a good investment in morale. Sure, the lag would be a killer, but it would still be good.

'High Bandwidth' in space terms is nothing like what would be considered such dirtside. (Think 56.6 modem *at best*, with a lot of demands on the channel, even considering it'll be as close to 24/7 as can practically be managed.) Ditto for 'lag', round trip time will be generally in the vicinity of at least an hour, usually worse.

I dunno about you, but for all I know, I might have been on my way to Mars for the last week. I think there are lots of people now who wouldn't be bothered by the isolation much.

I really doubt most of those who think they "wouldn't be bothered much" really have a clue. When I was in the Submarine Service new guys were constantly astonished by what the close quarters and lack of communication with the outside world really meant. It's not like anything you've likely ever encountered before. It's almost impossible to describe it to someone who has not encountered it.

From another poster:
Lots of explorers, some of whom weren't particularly sane, managed to survive extended periods of similar isolation and once they went out they didn't have *any* contact with others outside their own party for months or even years. Or, to take another example, what about the crews of WWII U-Boats? From all reports, most of them stayed sane, under conditions that seem to me to be similar (but harsher) than those faced by a hypothetical Mars mission.

I submit that those explorers, and WWII Submariners of all nations, came from a time when extended periods without communications were the norm, not the exception. In the last twenty years personal communication and connecticity have become so pervasive that again it's hard to communicate the differences to someone under thirty or so.

Great Experience

[Torinaga-Sama]

This would be a wonderful opportunity for a college student. They pay for your travel costs and you can probably work out a way to get credit for it.

How cool is that? Beats the hell out of reading "Walden" again.

Cold? In Summer? Hardly

[topham]

Cold In summer? Hardly. Try winter north of 49th (And East of the rockies).

It won't be your idea of a hot summer, but it won't be that cold. Although, it will be quite sunny...

If it's an accurate simulation,

[Kasreyn]

Then I'll be in a clean, white cylinder with a lot of hot women scientists in suspended animation beds who will wake up 6 months later with no knowledge of what I was doing to them while they were asleep... muahaha...

Where do I sign up?

...there are perks to being the navigator who has to stay awake and go stir-crazy during the trip...

-Kasreyn

moderators: learn to appreciate my sense of humor! Or... er... mod me down. Yeah, or that, too!

What about the explorers?

[Goonie]

Lots of explorers, some of whom weren't particularly sane, managed to survive extended periods of similar isolation and once they went out they didn't have *any* contact with others outside their own party for months or even years. Or, to take another example, what about the crews of WWII U-Boats? From all reports, most of them stayed sane, under conditions that seem to me to be similar (but harsher) than those faced by a hypothetical Mars mission.

Or consider the contestants on Big Brother - the producers choose them specifically because they believe that they'll be entertaining on television when mixed in with the other contestants, not for mental stability. They don't allow them any contact with their family and friends while they're in the house. They don't provide them with any news of the outside world. They *do* spy on them 24 hours a day. They ply them with alcohol in attempts to get them to do things they wouldn't otherwise do. And yet the overwhelming majority of contestants on the various versions around the world came out sane and (publically at least) claim to have enjoyed the experience.

Now, I'm not claiming that being a member of a Mars crew wouldn't be challenging, stressful, and lonely at times. I find it hard to believe that it's beyond the efforts of a specially-selected, well-trained team.

Re:The human element is the weak link

[dragons_flight]

I know Dr. Park from classes at UMD and a few lectures he gave outside of class. I've never read the book, but I'm certain he tried out a good deal of the material on us.

For perspective Bob Park also believes that the space shuttle program has been a major delay to scientific research in space. He would much prefer a space program focused on unmanned (ie. robotic) exploration. I've never heard him speak about the ISS, but I'd bet he doesn't like that too much either. I'm sure he has a point that robotic exploration could be doing a lot more, but his opposition to manned space flight never sat well with me, personally.

Well hopefully that offers some insight on Bob Park versus the Mars Society. Of course I suspect some of the criticisms are still valid. Thoughts of going to Mars does seem to attract lots of people with a nearly fanatical mindset.

Re:Could it be any more uncomfortable?

[dragons_flight]

If it's comfortable then you have other people and lots more flora and fauna around. Desolate and uncomfortable sort of go hand in hand. Plains may be flat, but lots of stuff still lives there. For instance look at the savannah in Africa. If you want isolation and emptiness, then you really have to choose somewhere that most earth-born life doesn't want to be.

Low Fidelity Simulation

[DerekLyons]

For the team that actually goes into the wilderness and lives in the "hab," you'll be simulating Mars isolation as accurately as possible.

Not really... There's frequent contact with support staff not living in the hab, and many other differences that render the usefulness of the Hab 'simulation' questionable.

The project suffers continuously from poor planning and communication. (This summer when a generator, known to fail in cold conditions, was sent to Devon, and failed, it was replaced with the exact same model.) Much of the 'science' is done the same way, haphazardly, and with little forethought. They routinely fail to practice protocols and procedures until they are tried in the field.

With the short length of the field season at Devon Island, this is very wasteful. There is concern among many that when it's discovered that the emperor has no clothes, it will hurt the funding of future endeavors of this type. The Mars Society has (rightfully) come under fire in many quarters as portraying this publicity stunt as real science. Like Biosphere II, the Hab is more show than go.

For those interested, this topic (the validity of the simulation and the usefulness of the science) is a routine topic of discussion on the sci.space.policy newsgroup.