Emma Braegen Mars Desert Research Station Talk
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The Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in Utah is a simulated Mars base established to study human life on Mars, with various facilities like a habitat and greenhouse. The TASMARS 2013 mission involved an international crew conducting multiple scientific projects such as risk analysis for planetary protection and dust suit testing, while also providing educational outreach to schools. Key lessons from the mission highlighted the importance of flexibility in experimentation, resource management, and the challenges of living in a simulated Mars environment.
Emma Braegen Mars Desert Research Station Talk
- 1. Mars Desert Research Station TasMars 2013 Emma Braegen Mechanical Engineer 1
- 2. Overview Introduction What is the Mars Desert Research Station? The TasMars crew The TasMars mission What is life like at MDRS? The projects Lessons Learned Future opportunities 2
- 3. Introduction About Me Mechanical Engineer at BAE Systems Australia Seahawk helicopter maintenance P3 Orion aircraft modifications M113 armoured vehicles upgrade Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering and Science at Adelaide University Participant in 2011 Southern Hemisphere Summer Space Program (SH-SSP) 3
- 4. Earth Compared to Mars Earth Mars Diameter 12,756 km 6792 km Gravity (% of Earths) 100% 37.6% Day Length 23 hours 56 mins 24 hours 37 mins Year Length (in Earth 365 686.92 (668.5 Martian days) days) Atmospheric 78.08% Nitrogen 95.32% Carbon Dioxide, Composition 20.95% Oxygen 2.7% Nitrogen 1.6% 0.93% Argon, 0.038% Argon, 0.13% Oxygen, Carbon Dioxide 0.08% Carbon Monoxide Atmospheric 100% 1% Pressure (% of Earths) Temperature Range -89属C to 57.7属C -120属C to 20属C Average Temperature 14属C -60属C Reference: Guy Murphys book Mars a Survival Guide 2010 4
- 5. MDRS What is the Mars Desert Research Station? MDRS is a simulated mars base in the Utah desert built by the Mars Society Made for researching how humans can live and work on Mars The location in Utah was chosen because it looks similar to Mars and has useful geology MDRS was built in the early 2000s and has had crews visiting since 2001 The base includes A habitat building The Hab A greenhouse The Green Hab An observatory The Musk Observatory 5
- 6. MDRS The Hab The Hab - a 2 level 8m diameter building for working and living in Contains 2 airlock rooms, bathroom, lab area, kitchen and 6 crew staterooms MDRS Hab Interior 3D model created by Diego Urbina 6
- 7. MDRS The Hab Top level of the Hab during the film crew visit 7
- 8. MDRS The Hab Crew getting ready in the lower level lab area 8
- 9. MDRS The Hab One of the crew staterooms 9
- 10. TasMars 2013 What was TasMars 2013? TasMars was a joint Australian, New Zealand and American mission to the Mars Desert Research Station Organized by KiwiSpace (New Zealand) and Mars Society Australia Mission goals: Deliver an engaging science learning experience Produce resources for schools in New Zealand Develop and refine methods for effective tele- education and outreach Educate the public about the importance of space science missions Foster international science and education connections and generate future opportunities for New Zealand partnerships 10
- 11. TasMars 2013 The Crew David Willson Emma Braegen Crew Commander Flight Engineer and Health and Australian Engineer working Safety Officer at NASA Ames Australian Engineer working at BAE Systems MDRS projects: Testing spectrometer and MDRS project: rover drill Testing dust mitigation using Testing quadcopter and covers for space suits rover Jen Blank Melanie Newfield First Officer Journalist Mission Specialist Planetary Mission Specialist Biological Sciences Sciences American Astrobiologist New Zealand Biologist working working at NASA Ames at Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) MDRS project: Analysis of Gale Crater MDRS project: analog samples Biological risk analysis Investigation of rock coatings 11
- 12. MDRS The Space Suits The space suits used at MDRS are simulated space suits They are designed to give a similar feel and restriction of wearing a suit The suit consists of a pack and helmet that is worn over normal overalls They are not pressurised and dont require an oxygen supply since the helmet is not sealed A fan in the back pack blows air through tubes into the helmet to prevent the helmet from fogging up 12
- 13. What was life like at MDRS? For the Engineers 13
- 14. What was life like at MDRS? For the Scientists 14
- 15. What was life like at MDRS? How was the food? Melanie Our cooking superstar! Our supplies 15
- 16. What was life like at MDRS? In the evening daily reports "Our two greatest problems are gravity and paper work. We can lick gravity, but sometimes the paperwork is overwhelming." Werner von Braun 16
- 17. TasMars 2013 Our Projects With had various projects that everyone worked on The major projects were: 1. Application of risk analysis for planetary protection 2. Investigation of dust suits and quantifying dust transfer 3. Comparison of geological observations using a rover with ground truth observation 4. Flight testing an image-mapping quadcopter 5. Raman and reflectance spectrometer analysis of Gale Crater analog samples 6. Collection of samples for Curiosity test bed analyses 7. Investigation of rock coatings 8. Collaboration with the Austrian Antipodes project 17
- 18. TasMars 2013 Dust Suit Testing Investigating the use of dust suit covers in the field " Basic research is when I am doing what I don't know what I am doing." Wernher von Braun Reference Material: Dust Mitigation Solutions for Lunar and Mars Surface Systems Dave Cadogan, Janet Ferl, 2007 18
- 19. TasMars 2013 Education Outreach Melanie and I talked to several school classes in New Zealand 5 minute Skype video chat then answered questions using Chatroll text chat Answered questions about what it would be like to live on Mars Showed them: a scale model of the Mars Curiosity rover a life size model of one of the rover wheels Kiwi, our crew mascot http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/eastern- courier/8363364/Class-touches-base-with-living-on-Mars 19
- 20. TasMars 2013 What did we learn? Field trips always take longer than you think they will Good food is essential to keeping the team happy Robots sometimes have a mind of their own and will not perform for the cameras Experiments will not go exactly as you expect so need to modify and be flexible You can survive several days without showering Communicating with people remotely can be difficult Mars needs IT support Managing resources and waste can be challenging Moving about in space suits is exhausting but interesting Utah is an amazing place 20
- 21. Future Plans Arkaroola Mars The Mars Society Australia and KiwiSpace are currently planning a Mars analog mission in Arkaroola South Australia mid 2014 The mission may involve a temporary Mars base or staying at nearby lodge accommodation Arkaroola has diverse geology: mountain range, sand dunes, salt lakes, hydrothermal systems, radioactive springs, calcite veins Potential for astrobiological research and testing sampling methods Two 24 inch telescopes available for astronomy Photo: Nick Moir From The Age article Bar the location it could be Mars August 13, 2004 21
- 22. Links The Mars Desert Research Station website: http://mdrs.marssociety.org/home The TasMars crew page on MDRS site: http://mdrs.marssociety.org/archives/crew-123 Kiwispace TasMars page: http://www.kiwispace.org.nz/display/MDRS/TasMars+2013 The Mars Society Australia website: http://marssociety.org.au/ 22
- 23. Any Questions? 23