Greetings from Crew 173! We are a crew of five (for now, our 6th crewmate, Arnau Pons Lorente, a Spanish Aeronautical Engineer will be with us soon, but not for now)- our Commander Michaela Musilova from Slovakia, Executive Officer Idriss Sisaid from France, HSO Roy Naor from Israel, GreenHab Officer Rick Blake from Australia, and then my good self, Niamh (pronounced ‘Neeve’ by the way- its Gaelic, and a girl’s name) Shaw your Irish Crew journalist.
We arrived yesterday afternoon to a lovely warm welcome from Crew 172 and their commander Ilaria. After our group photo outside the Hab, Ilaria and her crew gave us an extensive training session (Crew Engineer, Troy was especially awesome with his 3hrs of ‘Hab Top Tips’, thank you Troy!). Patrick cooked up a lovely meal of curried rice and vegetables and we shared with them a toast of sparkling apple juice in their ceremonial bowls in honour of the completion of their mission. We all bedded down for the night and while it was pretty snug, we had a reasonably good nights sleep on the communal area floor (well, for those of us on the inflatable beds that didn’t deflate anyway!).
At 7.30am on Sol 0, we waved goodbye to Crew 172 and we began our time on Mars in earnest. The last thing Ilaria said to us was that our toilet had become blocked overnight. Little did we know in that moment the impact those words would have on our first day here.
It rained quite heavily overnight, so the terrain outside is very muddy and we were confined to indoor duties for the day. After unpacking food supplies and selecting our state room, we had our first breakfast of oatmeal, Cheerios, and dried apple, washed down with an assortment of tea, coffee and for some, nutritious servings of Tang. We worked on our cooking and cleaning schedule for the mission, which includes Pancake breakfast duties (for special days including my Dad’s birthday tomorrow, Roys mothers birthday on the 24th and Australia Day on the 26th) and preparing special meals of our countries on alternate evenings (we’re calling these Culture dinners).
And we began to tackle our first major objective of the mission- getting the toilet unblocked.
I made a somewhat successful lunch (a hearty serving of gumbo and brown rice) and afterwards Shannon arrived to take us through additional training. She informed us that due to the inclement weather, we will have our ATV and Rover training Tuesday, if all goes well. And then we talked a lot about the plumbing problems and the various permutations and combinations of flushing and plunging and other alternatives.
Roy and Idriss ventured outside and pumped the remaining water in to the main water reservoir, emptying both tanks on the trailer. As I write this, they are recounting enthusiastically their adventures in learning how to use the pump (without electrocuting themselves) and acclimatising to the cold and wet muddy weather. It was a big moment for them, for they claim that their relationship was found in that moment working together on this new daily task.
Our plumbing problems continued throughout the day and Roy (who has worked as a plumber in his native Israel) assessed the septic tank with Shannon and concluded that the issue with the toilet is attributable to a full septic tank rather than an ‘at source’ problem. And so we ceased our incessant flushing and plunging. We agreed for the foreseeable future, to poop in plastic bags and disposing of the biohazards material in a dedicated refuse sack (to be burnt at a later date when the rain stops and the plumbing problem has been resolved). We discussed other methodologies. It was an extensive discussion but believe that we have found the optimum solution, given the circumstances.
Idriss and Roy worked on setting up the 3d printer, but discovered that the filament spools didn’t work. They then tried to heat up the extruder to force the filament to go out, but the filament remains clogged in the printer. They are currently working on solution.
We are still figuring out how to optimise our limited toilet options. Trial and error is the general consensus.
Rick monitored hourly temperatures of the GreenHab, outside, the lower floor of the Hab and the grow tent in the greenHab. He also took an inventory of our spices. He’s also on dinner duty, he’s baking bread. Its looking very promising and may inherit the title ‘The Breadmaker’ if successful. Michaela re-planted her spinach seeds in the bespoke apparatus she has brought, designed by her students in Slovakia.
Our first CAPCOM is imminent and we are looking forward to an evening of settling in to our new home for the next 2 weeks on Mars as our plumbing problems continues.
My heart started racing as we were driving through the red Martian landscape. I was re-living the excitement of arriving on Mars the first time. My mind kept being flooded by flashbacks of my first journey to the Red Planet. No surprise, as my whole journey this time was a „deja vue“ of the previous time: my space shuttles kept on being delayed, I got stranded in the space city of Denver for hours after hours, only to be told just before midnight that there will be no more flights that day. As in 2014, I had to overnight in a foreign, very cold space city, before resuming my journey the next day, desperately hoping to reach Mars finally.
This time, however, I was not alone. My crew 173’s geologist and health and safety officer, Roy, was stranded in Denver as well. Upon arrival on Mars, we both laughed that the mere couple of hours of sleep we got were worth the amazing views we had from the shuttle flying over the Martian mountains in the morning. Indeed, even though I got a grand total of 8 hours of sleep over 3 days, I could not take my eyes away from the shuttle window and drool over the spectacular landscape.
Not even my illness could dampen my spirits. Ironically, I also had a cold last time I travelled to Mars and I was in a similar sleep-deprived physical state. The coincidences between my two trips to Mars seemed almost surreal. They kept making me think of my previous mission with crew 134 and what a great time we had on Mars together. I became nostalgic: “it’s not going to be the same”, I thought. We were such a great crew and we had so much fun together. It felt like I was returning home, but with a different family. As I entered the MDRS Habitat, I could not help myself but release a sigh. I kept seeing the different funny moments we had together before my eyes. Their ghosts waved at me from their rooms and I longed for another shared meal or EVA together with crew 134.
While I admit my heart sank a bit with nostalgia, my state of mind instantly changed to excitement as I came back to reality. My crew on this new mission is made up of an amazing group of people. We have been working together for the past 1.5 years to get the most out of this mission and to make it be as fulfilling as possible for all of us. Most of us met at the International Space University’s Space Studies Program in 2015 and we have been great friends since. I have been really looking forward to spending this time together.
Though we arrived on Mars only yesterday, I have already been laughing my head off regularly with my crew. I also really enjoy that I’m not the only one getting carried away with admiration over the Martian landscape, geology and potential biology. I was the crew astrobiologist and geologist of crew 134, so I could not really share my excitement over the science of this wonderful environment with anyone. On the contrary, it was often used as something to tease me about. And now we have a geologist and another astrobiologist on the crew. We can “drool” together during our mission, just like Roy and I did when flying over the gorgeous mountains together from Denver 😉
The best bonding experience to start our mission with was a particularly funny, though quite crude, operation nick-named „poopgate“ 😀 Our Martian toilet got clogged today upon the departure of crew 172 and we have spent the whole day trying to solve this issue. I would never have thought that a toilet could be such an important element for the colonisation of Mars. Luckily enough, my crew is very creative and we came up with a myriad of original ways of troubleshooting the problem. There is not a better ice breaker than discussing the appropriate configurations to
do one’s business in these circumstances. We all cried with laughter when Roy and Niamh, our crew artist and journalist, demonstrated their special methods to the crew. The cherry on top of the cake was Roy pulling off a yoga type move and shouting: „look, no hands“! I haven’t laughed so much in ages 😀
We would also like to thank crew 172 for a great collaboration pre-mission and for a very nice welcome on Mars yesterday. We wish them very safe travels back to Earth and we hope to work with them again in the future, whether on Earth or on Mars.
Stay tuned for more news from Mars – hopefully with a less “sh*tty” update 😉
Took command of the GreenHab, going through the inventory and taking stock of the current plantings. All growth is currently confined to the lower section of the Hab, utilising a grow light scavenged from the grow tent in the GreenHab. The GreenHab itself currently gets too cold overnight for plants to survive as the heater is non-functioning, hopefully it will be fixed on Tuesday. Seedlings are growing well in the main Hab, thanks to the GreenHab officer from crew 172. Lettuce, onion, and what appear to be some bean seedlings are all growing well.
GreenHab Update:
I have planted half a tray with basil seeds and the other half with chard (what is chard? Is it an American word for a kind of spinach? Silverbeet?). If they are still viable they should start to sprout within a few days.
I have also begun logging the temperatures of the main Hab, the GreenHab, the grow tent within the GreenHab as well as outside. These measurements were taken every hour, on the hour, and plotted in a graph of temperature over time.
Helped to set up Michaela’s spinach seedling experiment. I repaired the stand the seedlings are designed to grow on while she transferred the sprouting spinach seeds officer to wet cotton wool in petri dishes. They are now under a grow light where they should continue to germinate.
Attached: photo of existing seedlings,
photo of newly planted seeds and Michaela’s experiment, and,
Crew 172 is officially done with our two week Mars analog simulation. We made it back to Earth from Mars safe and sound. Wow! What an unique, fun, and interesting experience on the Red Planet these last thirteen sols. We hope you have enjoyed and learned from our story.
The next crew rotation, Crew 173, has been debriefed and trained on all the MDRS systems, and are ready for their two week mission to begin. They seem like a capable bunch with all their experience and expertise. Godspeed to them!
Before Crew 172 signs off, we would like to thank the following people and organizations that helped us complete our mission:
GSSI for the collaboration and the loan of the Ground Penetrating Radar and M. Brian Jones
MSI and M. Christophe Norgeot for the technical help
National Instruments and particularly M. Yacine Addou for participating to the 3D cartography system by sending us a NI myRIO
INSA Toulouse and The Physics Engineering Department, Dr. Vignolles, Dr. Lassagne, Dr. Grisolia, Dr. Balayssac, Dr. Maranges
Foundation INSA for the sponsoring and the technical equipment
The CROUS Toulouse for financing our flight suits
Planete Mars and M. Souchier for believing in this project and for their incredible help with sponsorship
Nicholas McCay – Journalist
Experience 360 for the virtual reality headsets
The Space Channel for the cameras to document our experience
Affiliations:
SpaceportLA
Mars City Design
Troy Cole – Engineer
Affiliations
Astronauts 4 Hire
Patrick Gray – Green Hab Officer
Affiliations
Students for the Exploration & Development of Space (SEDS)
WayPaver Foundation
UNC-Chapel Hill
Anushree Srivastava – Biologist
Affiliations
Mars Society – Mars 160 Mission
We would also like to thank the Mars Society, the Mars Desert Research Station, along with all the individuals who volunteered their time as CAPCOM & Mission Support.
Last but certainly not least, we would like to thank our families and friends for believing in us for this unique endeavor. We would not of been able to do this mission without your full support. Thank You! Crew 172 signing off
Crew 172 Final GreenHab Report GreenHab Status: at the moment the GreenHab is not a suitable place to grow any except the hardiest plants (succulents, lichen, etc.). Within a 24-hour period temperatures have gone from 25F to 101F. Once the A/C + heater are fully functional and both controlled by the thermostat and grow lights are installed, it will be a great space for plant growth and experimentation.
Advice for Upcoming Crews: if you hope to grow plants before environmental control is established in the GreenHab you should grow them in the main Hab. The Science Dome, even with the grow tent and grow light, is far too cold for most plants to survive during the winter.
Near-term Recommendations: beyond environmental control and grow lights, general work lights should be installed so crew can work in the GreenHab after dark, some sort of humidifier should be installed (though the full aquaponics system may add some much needed humidity to the dry desert air), and my inventory (or some version of it) should be shared with future crews: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VDX_qvZFgBNOkZdO3qbW_1xMkP3mFP2QSX7b_uhs-J4/edit#gid=0. If I had known, even a subset, of what the GreenHab had in stock, what its dimensions were, and its general state of affairs, I would’ve arrived at MDRS much better equipped to succeed. Fortunately I was able to get some useful information on current plant growth from the outgoing GreenHab Officer (Crew 171) and I did my best to provide that same service to the incoming crew (Crew 173).
Longer-term Recommendations: a future GreenHab Officer or MDRS should build some sort of ongoing environmental monitoring system (temp, humidity, sunlight, pressure, etc.), MDRS should establish standard forms that allow GreenHab Officers to pass forward information about current plants and request specific items to be planted by a preceding crew, and MDRS should make clear the overall goals of the facility (growth for consumption, testing strains resistant to harsh conditions, crew psychological benefit, etc.).
Summary: Once basic systems are up and running, such as environmental control and the aquaponics system, the GreenHab could be of great use to future crews and a major asset to MDRS. Until that time it is little more than a storage facility lacking accessible information on its current state, long-term purpose, and potential to facilitate crew research. For the sake and success of future crews I think solving these communication and information issues should be a high priority.
Crew 172 Last Night In SIMEVA Crew Getting Ready For Engineering ChecksLast EVA SelfieLast time seeing MDRS On EVAMartian LandscapeVirtual Reality From Experience 360
Each generation of space exploration has had a focal point (reaching the Moon or building the ISS) and now it is Mars. Mars is not just the next goal. The Mars mission could be seen as a multilayer strategy which links the Moon, ISS and Mars exploration itself to resolve the major political, technical and economic problems a flight to Mars would engender [1].
Meeting the challenge for space exploration lies in expanding activities beyond the ISS. Nowadays, unlike the early stage of exploration programs, the international base of cooperation (the ISS) is the core for developing future scientific activities [1]. Exploration is an expansion of human experience in which international partnerships are needed to enhance the use of science and technology [1].The landing of the first human on Mars would be seen as an international achievement, born on strong scientific bases. This is the reason for which Mars analogue missions are fundamental. In extreme isolated environments on Earth, scientists and engineers challenge their skills and life for testing new protocols and prototypes that one day, maybe, will be used in a real Mars mission.
Research studies have been carried out to investigate the impact of isolation on human behaviour, factors and performance in different analogue environments on Earth for 14-days to more than 500-days missions. Long term isolation simulation experiments are aimed at increasing of physiological and technical autonomy of the Crew from the remote Mission Control Centre [2]. During these missions, the marsonauts are training to make a full use of the available resources and independence of decision making. Isolation is created by limiting the amount of resources available (such as food and water) and stopping the supplies [2].
Thanks to monotony, loneliness, lack of social contacts, high responsibilities and stress, researches show the development of successful strategies, increased confidence in performance, ability to independently deal with complex problems, higher levels of inner emotional energy, resistance to stress, increased internal control, and social growth in the Crew [2]. Lack of sleep, communicative behaviour and phyco-emotional state of the Crew are just a few of the stress indicators [2].
During my mission, I have seen these stages in my Crew. Most the members were beginners of the analogue environment and they have made great progress throughout the mission breaking their comfort zone, overcoming stress, increasing control and performance. The first negative emotional state was shortly balanced with the successful of the execution of teamwork tasks (such as refilling static tank with water, EVAs, engineering troubleshooting, TV interviews, cooking a great meal and others) and positive feedback from the terrestrial community and media. My judgement and words had a strong impact setting a good base for the mission.
In contrast with the early stages of this mission, my Crew become more and more independent of continuous communication using wi-fi. As you know, here at MDRS the internet service is restricted, except for a few hours during the night (from 2 am to 5 am). The needs of continuous contact with outside is due to an inner need of communication for a psychological support from trusted people (such as friends and family), compensating the emotional stress. At the end of the mission, their reports and communication with Mission Support are less personal, descriptive and with higher quality. Then, each of the Crew member better manage the use of the data needed for their personal communication. They have accepted the separation process and they now recognize this Crew as their own reference 24 H/7 in this mission. Although I have explicitly asked them to write about their personal view of this experience in reports and Sol summaries, most of them refuse because the mission itself is what they are. And that’s the right answer!
They stepped in the extreme environment of MDRS with new rules and scheduled tasks both during night and day. We started fixing the porch of the Hab even before bringing our personal items in, on the very first day! After a few days, we had four days of a critical situation both because of the weather conditions and stopping the water resupplies. This last event consistently contributes to increase the stress in the Crew, while a new balance was growing. With so many limitations, panic and complaints create a vibrant mood in the Crew and increase the need of communication about their needs and frustration.
Creativity is essential for surviving in this conditions! Creativity is needed to resolve technical problems, interact with the Crew, keep a good mood and motivation to perform the work program. Creativity is part of the adaptation process, as tolerance and flexibility. International Crews are challenging to manage more than the national ones, because of the different cultures. But they did it and I am proud of their efforts!
Facing a critical situation enhanced the feeling of a unique entity of the Crew. Even though they were stressed, they understood that we were equally affected by the lack of water and this sharing helped to de-tress. People can suddenly change their priorities when we teach them the right method.
Eight total projects have been completed during this two-weeks mission. Science, engineering and educational outreach were only a few branches of investigation. Carrying on a project in a Mars analogue environment implies dealing with strong weather conditions, basic technology, limited resources, no resupplies, limited external support and a long list of unpredictable events that might completely affects the outcomes of the research process. Although each of the Crew members is an expert in their field, the interaction and support between members both in the Hab and in EVA is the difference with the terretrial Labs. In my opinion, this challenge is the best part of the analogue mission!
As Commander, I consider this mission completed with successful outcomes. Seven strangers have now completed a great experience that I hope enriches their memories and soul. From Saturday on, we will go back to our terrestrial job… I do not like goodbye.
My Crew does not need me anymore. My work is completed now that their confidence in task is increased. I wish the best for them and I hope I helped them to reach their professional goals.
The Mars Society gave me the unique opportunity to be Commander, to training a fabulous international Crew, to manage the whole mission and to practice leadership at MDRS. I am glad I have invested so much energy and time such a wonderful experience! I thank The Mars Society, the volunteers and Mission Support for following and supporting my mission.
Commander Ilaria Cinelli is officially signing off.
“HabCom, it’s Commander. (…) Can you hear me? Mission is completed! (..) We are ready for landing!”
“Roger that, Commander!”
Ad Ares!
Marsonauts Ilaria
Troy M. Cole – Crew Engineer, Crew 172
“Personally, serving as Crew Engineer on Crew 172 has been one of the most fulfilling experiences I’ve done to date. I really pushed my engineering skills to the limits in a harsh environment and proved to myself that I have what it takes to excel as a field engineer.”
Nicholas McCay – Crew Journalist, Crew 172
“Being the Journalist for MDRS crew 172 was one of the best experiences in my life. It was lots of fun, challenging at times, and hopefully a stepping stone for me to working in the Space industry in the future. I believe our mission was incredibly eye opening in working with a diverse group of individuals and sacrificing your ego for the betterment of the team. “Whatever it takes” is a motto that speaks loud and clear to the needed adaptability in living/working in a hostile and at times stressful environment. I believe we succeeded in every way we could of as a crew. I will miss my crew mates, and the times we shared together in this unique”.
Pierrick Loyers – Crew Scientist, Crew 172
“I enjoyed this simulation a lot. For me, even if everything is not perfect, it has been a great experience. We encountered some difficulties but we managed to overpasse it altogether and this is an important point to me. We didn’t reach every points of our scientific objectives because of weather conditions but this mission has been very immersive and instructive, from a technical and human point of view.”
Patrick Gray – GreenHab Officer, Crew 172
“Despite difficulty communicating with MDRS management before the mission, limited information on facilities, and lack of feedback on proposed research (including the loss of four submitted proposals) I have had a deeply meaningful experience during my rotation at MDRS. Our crew had its share of issues and conflicts ranging from limited water to lack of sleep to language barriers, but we overcame these issues as a team and I loved learning about my fellow crew members and assisting in their research. The station has great potential and the full experience of suiting up for EVA and conducting research in the Martian analog environment is both scientifically worthwhile and personally breath-taking.”
“Crew 172 is precious for me and will always be. Personally, after living 80 sols with an amazing team, coming back to the hab with a different team was a little challenging. They all were stranger to me and I was for them. But I think we all went through the process well, because we all had a single goal – a successful mission. We are the Mars Society Crew. I would say that I see an immense potential in every member of the crew. Illaria, a very responsible woman, can be seen mothering her crew members while performing her sleep enhancement study (she escapes from cooking :). Pierrick and Gwendal, two young professionals, amaze me. They are testing the Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) to detect the trace of underground water! As well as, they are using 3D cartography system and simulating how an astronaut can get the altimetry data of a particular region on Mars. A completely new area of study for me. Patrick, an oceanographer by training, taking care of Martian plants, calm and polite, and last but not the least, is a huge lover of Indian food J Troy (our world famous Mr Helpful) immersed himself in making sure that all the systems inside the habitat work properly. He is an example of how a Crew Engineer should work during a “Mars” mission. Nick showed me an amazing world of virtual reality – an experience I was having for the very first time in my life. I remember when the first time he showed me Carls Sagan’s Why Humanity Must Explore the Unknown in his VR device, I was teary eyed.
Crew 172 is signing off but I hope that this journey is just the beginning of their journey to Mars!”
References
[1] J. A. Lewis, “Space Exploration in a Changing International Environment – A report of the CSIS Strategic Technologies Program,” 2014.
[2] B. I. Ushakov, M. B.V., Y. Bubeev, V. Gushin, V. G.Y., A. Vinokhodova, and S. D.M., “Main findings of psychophysiological studies in the Mars 500 experiment,” no. May 2015, 2014.
When you are on Mars… a short note after my 92 sols’ “mission”
By Anushree Srivastava
Crew Biologist – Mars 160 Twin Desert-Arctic Analog Mission
Executive Officer and Crew Biologist – Crew 172
You are on Mars.
When you are on Mars, life is unpredictable (just like on Earth, but on Mars, it’s a little bit more). I have always written about the beauty of this place; how those small portholes of our Martian cylindrical home let us gaze the surreal backdrop, make us immerse into our own sense of awe and appreciation. How our home stands tall against all the oddities of Mars. Living in this place, sometimes you feel that you are getting interviewed by your own sensibilities. You think that you are searching Mars, but instead, Mars searches you. I felt so. Why? because, it showed me, a new me (I keep saying that). It gave me space (but outside the small habitat 🙂 to emerge beyond me. That’s true. Even inside the hab, it gives you a wide space (really!!). I mean a wide space inside the very you. You learn to stabilize your emotional fluctuations by inevitably diving into the situational intricacies. Actually, it is a subtle process. And on Mars, you love being in this process, because then, you can see, that you are growing.
But, while witnessing all these nuances of living on Mars, something else dawns on to you at the same time. You come to know that Mars limits your extensions in so many ways. These limitations are accompanied by the fact that “it’s Mars, not Earth” – obviously 🙂 What I mean to say here, is that sometimes you feel helpless in absence of required supplies, breakdown of a system, inconsistencies in the communications and coordination with the team based on Earth, merciless whether preventing you from exploration and many more. As I said, because it is Mars, not Earth. It will pose its extremeness on you in some way or the others. You may think that we do have similar limitations on Earth, but they may not be curbed as swiftly and feasibly on Mars, as on Earth. Encountering these limitations is also part of this process of humans going beyond the human frailties – on Mars – I think. You rise. This transition is important. When you are on Mars, it may not be a picture perfect. And, when it is not, you have to live with it. So when you have all these lemons, you definitely learn to make good lemonade J
Here, my words are carrying the reflections of my own experiences during a long-term SIMULATION. I have not been on Mars, of course J but if ever I am part of a real Mars mission, I think these experiences will foster my time there.
