Mars Desert Research Station Crew 125 Files Final Report
March 11, 2013,
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The following is the final report of MDRS Crew 125, which just completed its tour. A full review of this year's activity at the Mars Desert Research Station will be given at the 16th International Mars Society Convention, which will be held August 15-18, 2013 at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Registration is now open at www.marssociety.org
MDRS Crew 125 Mission Summary Report
Mission accomplished! Crew 125 (EuroMoonMars-B) has completed a very successful 2-week Mars/Gale Crater mission simulation. We've loved our time at MDRS, and are thrilled to announce that all of our science goals were achieved. We had a fantastic international team, great weather, and only minor engineering challenges at the hab. We enjoyed a pleasant mix of science and arts, along with tending the plants in the Greenhab and of course learning from each other. We look forward to collaborating with each other and our external partners over the next several months to make sure that our data is delivered to partners, implemented as needed, and in several cases published in peer-reviewed journals, so the rest of the scientific community may benefit from our findings as described below.
Gale Crater Analogue Studies (Hans van ‘t Woud /Csilla Orgel/Melissa Battler, for Bernard Foing)
The first of two overarching research goals was to look for MDRS analogues of the MSL Gale crater site. Using very high resolution remote sensing data the crew searched for specific areas showing similarity with Gale crater. The crew visited those areas and took a variety of pancam-scale, context and closer view images. The second overarching goal involved a Gale Crater Curiosity data comparison to MDRS. Using ground data from Curiosity and images from this experiment, the crew planned traverses to collect data for individual projects which were sulfates as seen from orbit and the surface, the SediChem concretions experiment, the cryptobiotic crust experiment and the vertical survey of hills and mesas.
Orbital/Surface Sulfate Mineralogy (Melissa Battler)
Samples for the sulfate mineralogy study were all collected successfully from four sites. These will be analyzed for mineralogy in the X-ray Diffraction laboratory at the Centre for Planetary Science and Exploration at Western University, Canada, and compared to mineralogy from orbital data. Results will then be used as a baseline for studying orbital data from Mars displaying similar mineralogy, and may be used to direct further surface investigation by Curiosity at Gale Crater. On both Earth and Mars sulfate minerals are: 1. detectable from orbit, 2. require water to form, 3. can protect microorganisms from radiation and oxidizing atmospheric conditions, and 4. are capable of preserving evidence of biological material over a long time scale. Therefore, they are a good target in the search for evidence of life on Mars. Samples may also be analyzed for organic content.
Sedimentary Geochemistry of Concretions (Csilla Orgel)
Various geological Mars analogue features can be found around MDRS. Small scale 2-3 mm spherules have been identified by Mars Science Laboratory “Curiosity” and discovered concretion-like features at Yellowknife Bay area in Gale-crater on Mars. Csilla studied the different type of concretions (surficial and inbed features) in the Morrison Formation Brushy Basin member. She made observations in inverted channels, which are also discovered on Mars, and in Gale crater as well. She found 2 well preserved examples (one is 1.5 km south, and the other one is 600 m away east from MDRS) and made sedimentological observations (draws and panoramic/closer view images) and took many samples for later analysis.
Crowdsourcing and Low-bandwidth Communications (Hans van ‘t Woud)
BlackShore’s director Hans van ‘t Woud, HSO officer and crew scientist conducted two trials besides his duties as keeping track of crews health and the GreenHab. First there was an experiment conducted using VeaMea’s communication technology revealing that we can have high quality video conferences while we still suffer from harsh bandwidth quality such as in the MDRS. Second and most important we used Cerberus the crowdsourcing platform to do some real life trials. This to optimize our mapping technology by allowing people to geo map the MDRS surroundings with ultra-high resolution satellite data made available by BlackShore with the help of European Space Imaging. This is a first test before we are going to enable the crowd to help mapping real Mars and showing our red planets beauty in her highest detail to the grand public while we communicate science and educate with a good sense of joy.
Human Rover Interactions (Matt Cross)
MDRS 125 provided a unique opportunity to observe field geologists on EVA. Much of their time on site investigations were spent on menial activities that could be off loaded to a robotic assistant. The field geologist would interact with the robotic assistant with gesture commands and vibrotactile feedback. The robotic assistants would act as communication relays, directional guides, scene analyzers and note takers. The meta-data related to an investigation would automatically compile into science reports. During MDRS 125, 6 EVAs were conducted at 3 sites to collect samples – a more efficient EVA with robotic assistants would allow these three site investigations to be completed in 3 EVAs instead of 6 and thus increase the efficiency of the mission.
Habitat Engineering Investigation (Volker Maiwald)
The science goal of DLR was two-fold. First of all investigating the possibility of implementing a micro harvesting unit in MDRS for growing small plants and herbs in a fastened growth cycle has been studied by using a mock-up of the unit. Several positions throughout the habitat have been tested regarding accessibility, power supply and other factors to find a suitable spot. The most useful one has been identified next to the stairs in the laboratory area. At this location the encumbrance of habitat operation is minimal. The second goal was to gather experience regarding wear-off and design improvements of MDRS to incorporate in future habitat designs, possibly including a European Mars Analogue station or a habitat facility by DLR. It became clear that even after 12 years of operation MDRS is in good operational shape, yet still some options for improvement were found, e.g. room ventilation.
Habitability and Sound Study (Ayako Ono)
Ayako filled the roles of human factors researcher, and appropriately Crew Journalist as well. She reports that journalist reports were helpful to record what has been done during the stay. Music sessions, creative cooking and morning music were good for social activities even if we were busy. We also had a few chances to watch movies, and had fun making outreach videos. Ayako performed a Habitability Project focusing on Nature Sounds and conducted a Habitability Debriefing as a coordinator. Projects were successfully completed thanks to crew members’ cooperation and good time management. Also, there were additional positive comments made by crew members about Nature Sounds which were received well, and were supposed to be effective in outer space as well.
Finally, it's been an honour to command and serve on Crew 125. I've learned so much from each crew member about their field of expertise and their culture, and it's been a pleasure getting to know each one of them. Crew 125, thank you for a great rotation at MDRS! I look forward to years of collaborations and friendship! Thanks also to mission director Bernard Foing of the International Lunar Exploration
Working Group (ILEWG), to our sponsors at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, NASA Ames, George Washington University, NASA Astrobiology Program, ESTEC SBIC, Norsk Romsenter, German Aerospace Center (DLR), BlackShore, The Centre for Planetary Science and Exploration (CPSX) at Western University of Canada, the Canadian Lunar Research Network (CLRN), the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Western University of Canada, ESRI Hungary Kft., Eotvos Lorand University, Urvilag, Japan Mars Society, and to The Mars Society, Mission Support, and our dedicated CapComs for making this mission a success!