Sol# 68

Person filling out report: Annalea Beattie

Summary Title: A Day Spent in Translation

Mission Status on track:

Sol Activity Summary: 

The days are flying by. The ice didn’t melt on the ground today and it was minus ten overnight and minus two this morning. Water arrived so there was a morning EVA today to transfer it to the tanks.

Later Anu, Claude-Michel, Yusuke and Anastasiya all spent time translating the second key report into their language of origin. Hindi was especially difficult for Anu when she came to the words ‘hypolith’ and ‘halophiles’.

Jon was HabCom for the EVA crew today and then worked on yesterday’s samples from the EVA, in particular the lithology of limestone and chert pebbles and what they mean for geology.

Alex spent time programming the spacesuit interface today with very successful results –  the main program is up and running now for four hours without crashing.

And me, not so productive today but I did a bit of housework and then a series of admin. writing jobs. Yoga, yes ! Yusuke cooked us a lovely dinner. Early night. Over and out. 

Reports Submitted to CapCom: 

1.   Sol Summary- Annalea
2.   Journalist report – Anastasiya-
3.   EVA narrative- Anu
4.   Food report- Claude-Michel
5.  Pictures – Anastasiya
6.   Photo of the Day – yes

MDRS lessons:  Words of wisdom from Yusuke

(Tonight’s words of wisdom inspired by an African idiom of unknown origins)

If you want to go faster go by yourself. If you want to go further, go with your friends.

Plans for tomorrow: EVA Hypolith sampling

Crew Physical Status: Excellent.

Weather: Very chilly, no wind.

Anomalies: Our generator was making an odd thumping noise so it was shut down – we are now operating on the backup.

Dare Demo Dome or the dome for everyone

A few days ago, I have experienced what it is like to build the small dome in the spacesuit. The parts of the dome made it all the way through from Japan. Five years ago, our executive officer Yusuke Murakami started his workshop with elementary school kids about enjoying the construction and learning the building of the shelter. He showed the small model of the dome and gave the material for the children to work with. Only newspaper, duct tape and paper rope. When resources are limited people can be more creative. Yusuke learned it from his 15 months Antarctic expedition experience. And the kids were creative, spending hours trying to build the best paper house. Yusuke not only taught kids but also learned from them. The kids gave him the understanding of how to build together using simple language. The workshop became very popular and in few years transformed into a grown up dome project. 

In 2015 a big earthquake happened in Nepal. By this time, Yusuke developed the plastic dome and thought it can be used as an emergency shelter for the victims of the earthquake. It is light, keeps warmth inside, easy to cut, easy to fold and cheap. The parts can fit into personal luggage in terms of size and weight. Japanese people wanted to help the victims of earthquake but didn’t know how. Yusuke proposed to them to make the dome parts, send it to him and he would carry it to Nepal. The instructions were sent to people all around Japan and they started to prepare the dome parts. Yusuke could cooperate remotely with them and created the human center design for help and support. He arrived to Nepal with dome parts, which needed to be assembled and started to teach local people how to do it. They didn’t speak English and the language barrier interfered the assembling process. But Yusuke was patient enough and day by day he bonded with the locals. They started to talk the language of shared experience. Not only local people gained new knowledge, but Yusuke, himself learned from them. Even though people of Nepal mostly uneducated, they showed many creative ideas during the process of assembling. Yusuke just gave the basic instructions and then they could change the way to build the dome. He left one dome in each of the eight villages up in the mountains and people could live there while building new houses. It benefited three parties: the victims of the earthquake, people, who learned how to make the dome parts and Yusuke.

This experience proved the point that simple things are better to use, more people can engage into process and spread the idea around the world. Yusuke found it useful for the space architecture. Simple assembling processes are safe for an astronaut. Almost every architect who is asked to design space modules, habitats uses complicated forms. This kind of space architecture exposes astronauts to a danger when assembling the complex space modules. Moreover, it is time consuming. Yusuke wanted to analyze how the assembling process of the dome in the space suits at Mars simulated environment would go. He arrived to the Mars Desert Research Station with upgraded version of the dome. Now it has bigger size – 4 meters in diameter and 2 meters high.  Let me tell you it was the hardest EVA for the crew. Usually it takes maximum one hour to assemble the dome, but for the constructors in the spacesuits it became nearly four hours of hard work. The main idea behind the dome experiment was to gain information from different people and different environments. Based on this data he will improve the design of the dome project. But there is also a philosophical implication – the dome can connect a ten years old kid to an old man from Nepal to Japanese engineer and to the future Mars astronauts. Somehow, for Yusuke people from Nepal, which do not have their space program, became a part of space world through building the same dome that we build at Mars Station.

On our construction EVA, whenever I had the difficulties, I imagined the beautiful mountains of Nepal, inspired faces of Japanese kids and the shinning surfaces of domes on Mars. Yes, we are all connected!

“If we learn more, we need less” – Yusuke Murakami

Here is a main meal where color is on the front side. Each half are different but goes together like potatoes and Mars.

Food Report for of November 2016.

Tuna and beans salad with sweet potatoes fries: (for a very confused person who wants to eat healthy but still wants a side of fries)

Ingredients:
Sweet potatoes fries
1 Sweet potatoes / person
Olive oil (to fry)
Salad
Half a can of tuna can / person
Quarter cup of dehydrated corn
2 Cup of pre cut dehydrated green beans
Some olive oil

Note: The portions are suggested, you can do more or less if you prefer more or less of any.

Making the Sweet Potatoes
Step MtSP – 1: Pre heat a pan with a thin layer of oil. The oil need to be warm/hot, but not boiling.

Step MtSP – 2: Cut the sweet potatoes in fries like shape.

Step MtSP – 3: Fry the newly cut sweet potatoes in the warm/hot oil. Fry them until the texture is how you want them to be. We had them cook but still not crunchy. The longer you keep them frying the crunchier they will get.

Making the Salad
MtS – 1: Hydrate all the vegetables in the right amount of water.

MtS – 2: Open the tuna can.

Mts – 3: In a mixing bowl, mix all the vegetables and the tuna. The tuna can be in chunk or in flake, it will all be good.

MtS – 4: Spread olive oil in the mix to make it extra reflective and add some spice.

Making the plate
MtP – 1: Take a plate and cu tit in half in your mind.

MtP – 2: In the first half put a portion of sweet potato fries.

MtP – 3: In the second half put a portion of the salad.

MtP – 4: Serve to all you guest and friends. Don’t forget to be proud of it, even if some of them are fries it is basically only vegetables you are serving.
”

We had this meal as a try out on the new dehydrated vegetables we received along side some sweet potatoes. Even if we didn’t see any sweet potatoes in the Martian, I know he really wanted to have some.

As always please try this at home. Very little supervision is required to make and to eat. Please enjoy.

Claude-Michel Laroche
Mars 160 – Crew Engineer

EVA Narrative: Beautiful Canyon and A Memorable Moment

By Crew Biologist Anushree Srivastava

Dr Jon Clarke and I headed for another intensive EVA yesterday. We started gearing up at 9:30 in the morning and entered into the EVA airlock at 10:13. We finished our five minutes depressurization and then egressed the airlock to explore the ‘Martian’ land!

We reached the sampling site through the Hab car because our site of interest was 9 km away. This location was a canyon – one of my favourite canyons! When I went there first time on another EVA for sampling gypsum deposits, I was absolutely mesmerised by those tall and beautiful cliffs of Jurassic age. I promised to those cliffs that I will come back! And I kept my promise J

This time our objective for the EVA was to collect percentage data for hypoliths abundance in that particular site. This visit was actually inspired by our first visit to that site when we found many quartz rocks nicely colonised by our green friends. The second objective of our yesterday’s EVA was to scout for lichen colonies and collect some samples for laboratory processing and eventually send both the data and sample back to our Earth-based scientist. This EVA was successful and lasted for 3 hours in the freezing and windy conditions.

The most memorable moment during this EVA was when Jon and I started climbing the high slope to reach the actual sampling location. Climbing in the heavy space-suit is always physically challenging. So we were halfway and suddenly Jon started telling me “You are (we all are) among the very few people in the world who have done this kind of sustained scientific study in the simulation”. I was wondering why all of sudden he started telling all that… he was actually trying to boost my morale while climbing by reminding me the significance of the work we are doing as part Mars 160 mission. He was trying to make my climbing easier. He said it was not intentional but he was kind enough to make me realize the importance of my own work!

Figure 1: Jon on the field.

Figure 2: Me indicating the way to the sampling site. 

This report submitted by Alexandre Mangeot, Crew Commander.

For these 60-day reports I asked my crew mates to write about this mission from their personal perspectives. I wanted us to share more than the pictures, the science and technology reports and food recipes. I wanted us to share our feelings as much as it is humanly possible with simple words!

So the crew wrote their parts independently during these few days and the result is just mind-blowing…

 

Anushree Srivastava – Crew Biologist

My journey of MDRS started off as a volunteer. In 2014, I joined the MDRS Mission Support as a CapCom and that’s how I first became part of this ambitious idea of human exploration of Mars. My job as a CapCom was extremely fulfilling to me as I thought in that way somehow I was assisting to make this idea of manned Mars mission come true in terms of making sure the smooth mission operations, and in turn, facilitating the valuable understanding extracted from the Mars simulation mission. While I was CapCom, I was encouraged to apply to join the Crew by several members of the Mission Support. At that time, I had no idea that my proposal for regular MDRS rotations will make me part of this special long-term Mars simulation mission which was being organised by The Mars Society for the very first time in its history. My joy knew no boundaries, but at the same time, it was a huge responsibility on my shoulders as a Crew Biologist of the Mars 160 mission considering the mission was founded on science operations than just isolation.

This is an ambitious and long-term simulated Mars mission and as a crew biologist, I am working on three principal projects which have significant astrobiological implications: mapping biodiversity of lichens, hypolith abundance and physical ecology, and halophiles in ancient evaporite. Astrobiology addresses the most profound question of humankind – Are we alone? Astrobiology explores the possibility of finding extinct or extant life elsewhere in the universe, as well as investigates the origin and evolution of life on Earth. So, one of the principal targets of our Mars 160 science goals is to explore the extreme niches of the two significant Mars analogs: Utah Desert and Canadian Arctic for 160 days, and studying the extremophile diversity. Personally, I am interested in finding the microbial life in ancient evaporite deposits of these Mars analogs. And our study during the Mars 160 mission will help us understand the potential of finding life in the similar environment on Mars. Furthermore, this long-term simulation is very important in terms of understanding the human efficiency to conduct science operations on Mars. I perform the astrobiological research here at Mars Desert Research Station as “Mars-based” astronaut-scientist in cooperation with “Earth-based” experts based at NASA Ames Research Centre and Canadian Museum of Science, through asynchronous communication. During this simulation, we are also testing how this communication works between “Mars” and “Earth” based science team which is how it is supposed to be in the real Mars mission.

I had never been part of Mars simulation mission before unlike the other crew members of Mars 160 mission. So this mission is my first attempt to relish the adventure of simulated Mars exploration and performing science in the full-simulation suit. This mission has taught me immense in terms of science and habitation, but above all and for the first time, I learned that how much distance you travel to go to Mars, you have to travel as deep inside you. Through this mission, I learned that humanity’s endeavor of putting feet on Mars someday is actually much more than science, much more than habitability and colonization. I think it is also about forgetting yourself and making something very profound out of you which actually surprise you. I think it is a journey of discovering yourself as well, along with the journey to Mars. It is a very humbling experience. This is what this mission told me.

 

Jon Clarke – Crew Geologist

As a geologist I have learned much on the expedition. I have been able to build extensively on my previous studies of the sedimentary and landscape history of the MDRS field area. I have also been able to measure basic soil properties in support of the hypolith research to assist identification of the environmental parameters controlling their distribution.

The significance of this increase in scientific understanding has been that it has been acquired entirely while operating under analogue field conditions, while wearing simulated space suits, using the quadbikes, electric rover, and the Hab car for mobility, and with all the restrictions of limited communications over the radio in the field and in limited internet resources in the station. This has shown that it is possible to do useful science not only on singe EVAs as in the past, but continuously, as part of a multi-disciplinary science program, over several months, under.

Also instructive has been working in the larger context of mission support. While all crews at MDRS work within the mission support framework we, because of the extended mission, have learned more about the challenges involved in this process. The familiar questions of how to balance control and autonomy have frequently appeared and the lessons directly applicable to Mars missions where expectations of control by mission control will be modified by the reality of autonomy through imposed by time lags and communication bandwidth.

Many people have said to me “but what will you do while you are there?” The reality of station life is constant activity, much of it routine and labour intensive. Living and working here for nearly three months has shown the importance of efficient facility design and the desirability of automating as many routine operations as possible. These lessons can only be learned by building a station such as MDRS and then incorporating the lessons into new stations which can be then tested by future crews.

Another common expectation have encountered is that people living in close confines like us, will end up in a nasty mess of conflict and other interpersonal problems. The reality has been quite different. We have had few disagreements between us and I am looking forward to working with everyone in the second half of the mission. Life here is nothing like the clichés of bad science fiction or reality TV!

 

Claude-Michel Laroche – Crew Engineer

This first half of the Mars 160 mission is about the science. To me, as the crew engineer, I didn’t have to do a lot about the science. My role was all about making sure those doing most of the science had working facilities and in the best environment possible, to allow to do as much as possible within the eighty days period. My role is more of a background one.

The Hab is getting old, and is surrounded by a complex of new buildings. The Hab, which is around sixteen years old, still has some of the original systems. Making sure everything works right all the time is a challenge and an ever increasing one. This being said I think that the Mars Desert Research Station is still one of the best facilities in the world to simulate the first moment of humanity on Mars. It requires a lot of love but it is one of the best science extreme habitat simulation facility for science. Some of the systems that had required my attention in the last eight weeks were, the water heater and pumping systems, the new spacesuits, the air heater system, electricity distribution, health and fitness installations, and some structural inspection and installation.

I was also appointed as the principal operator for the “Plant Project”. With the help of Heater Hava as the project investigator, Daniel Zukowski and Dixon Dick as project support/engineers and Yusuke Murakami and Alexandre Mangeot as main crew members helper for the project, we had to establish a working system to evaluate the modification of crew behavior with a system of computers to monitor the plants, to evaluate crew proximity of the plants and also to monitor crew life and health signals. This half of the mission was focus on making sure all the systems were operational and to troubleshoot all the problems and issues we could face, to be ready for the Arctic.

In my personal honest opinion, this mission was a lot of hard work from the first days to the last one, with some exceptionally exhausting weeks for the plants project deployment. I am really proud of the accomplishment that every single one crew members realize with the time, support, communication limitations we had to face. The whole crew was united toward completing all the goals we were given by the research team and by ourselves. We still have a lot of work to do in the remaining two weeks of the mission, but I can already say that this first half of the mission is a great feat and will only make the Arctic half of the mission even harder to achieve the same level of quality. Have we done everything right and perfect? Are we the perfect crew that will live on Mars? Absolutely not, but that is the point of learning and getting to where human will actually live on Mars.

 

Annalea Beattie – Crew Journalist

The weather has turned and government has changed since the last time we wrote to you but we are on Mars and our world is very small. We could almost be anywhere.

So much about life is routine and our lives here are like that too. Time management is something we have had to learn. During the middle phase of our mission the daily briefing and evening debriefing became an important part of our day. These regular meetings gives us the opportunity to balance our work load efficiently, often amongst competing demands, so that we can work as part of a team. I’ve learnt to move my own research (which tests out how to improve the data through experiments with the value, tools and techniques of geological field drawing in sim), into second or third or fourth place, especially when hours of paper work are required. But I’ve still spent more hours drawing in the spacesuit than I could have ever imagined possible. And during this time I’ve also been on plenty of EVAs as the cross-trained hypolith generalist. My own research has developed because it is totally embedded in the science within this Mars-like analog environment. This is the best learning for me and a great opportunity to explore something I love.

And for me one other thing stands out clearly in the last month and this is something that makes our day sing along. The crew now know each other. We had a feeling it could be good for us when we all met but during the last month I think I really appreciate what each crew member brings to the mission. Part of this is that I notice how we have learnt to care and support one another while working together and part of it means respecting each others individual needs and boundaries. For me, our best times as a crew are when we eat a meal and relax together on a well deserved day off!

 

Anastasiya Stepanova – Health and safety officer

Starting this mission as crew journalist and I’m finishing it as health and safety officer and assistant of microbiologist in the science laboratory. The multitasking on Mars will be crucial and at MDRS we are doing it every day. The experience I have gained during these several months made me even more confident that humans can learn fast, react productively, work hard and cope with almost everything, under one condition – the big goal! The motivation, which will awake inner strength and help you achieve things, you would never think of. Mars 160 mission tests our goals. How badly do we want them? What are we ready to do for that? Where are our limits?

Mars 160 mission tested what other space organizations did not – putting together people, who never worked and trained before jointly; applying new way of communication with mission support; conducting microbiological research projects on hypoliths, lichens and gypsum; installing new Bio Regenerative Life Support System; using field drawing for the backing up of the science data; comparing the procedure of science sampling in spacesuits and without. All of these in Simulation!

From the moment of our awake until the nighttime, we learn every hour and every day at MDRS. Engineering, computer science, geology, microbiology, building, sampling, writing, English grammar, agriculture, drawing, healing, filming, cooking, cleaning, exercising, making origami, mutual understanding, inner working, being the best crew member! This precious experience is just the first step into long path of journey to Mars.

 

Yusuke Murakami – Executive officer

“What is sim for you?” Shannon asked us at the beginning of the mission. And she also said that “Everyone has a different definition of sim.”

I believe in the power of imagination. A lack of the imagination sometimes causes serious damage to the mission. Imagination is the vehicle to bring us further, and to the future. One’s imagination makes oneself as a human. And I believe, a person’s imagination arise from their experience. How to measure our imagination of sim? We already have same keen interest in “Mars” at the beginning of the mission. But not the same experiences. Till today, we have shared the same life together. Awake together, eat together, laugh together, at same home, here at MDRS. Day by day, I fully realize that we are adjusting the differences.

Is there a distinct borderline between the “daily life” and the “mission life”? This is my life inquiry and I trust there is “NO” border. The space mission always has goals. This means occasionally it is easy to be thrown into one way traffic, although our mission life is getting more and more interactive since we respect each other and live in harmony. Life is intricate and beautiful. We can prove it by means of our sim.

 

Alexandre Mangeot – Commander

Going to Mars is a childhood dream. This mission is a milestone for me to learn from myself if I really want to keep pursuing it. And to be honest, before the mission started, I had some doubts. But I decided to give it the best shot I could and if after this mission I think Mars is not for me I will choose to do something else…

If we go back three years ago for Mars 365 application I wrote that I believe that we should not fear the worst from a crew on a trip to Mars instead we should expect the best from them given what is at stake. Our crew is not meant to go to Mars, we can only hope that this mission will be part of the way that leads to a manned Mars mission someday. And just that was enough to bond the crew above all anticipated expectations. We faced challenging events and instead of tearing us apart it did the opposite. So by analogy I have to believe that it will be even more true for a crew astronauts on a Mars expedition. My fellow crew mates prove me right every single day and I am proud to be among them.

Still, this mission is challenging to me at every aspect of it. It started in the beginning of this year when I started my spacesuit project interface. Most of the skills required to accomplish the project I had to learn them, from how to program a website from scratch to how to connect all the electronic hardware and how to use them together. And quite naturally I had to face all the difficulties that lies into the development of a new product. I reached to point where every cells of my body were telling me to give up. With blind faith I pursued. And later on, my project drew some attention and I made promising contacts. Someday my hardware may be completely embedded into a spacesuit.

And everything in this mission works like that for me. There is something about this mission, some sort of aura. It drains a lot from you but it also gives back a lot of energy and joy. This boosts your motivation to excel yourself. I cannot wait to feel the aura from an actual Mars mission! Bottom line, yes I still want to go to Mars, even more than ever and despite of all the difficulties that I foresee that such a venture implies on the human aspect.

 

 

Well, after all this, what can I add?!

At the time I write these lines I am the only one to have read all the parts. What struck me the most is that we share naturally, in our own way, the same feelings and relationship with this mission. It seems that our bonds goes way deeper than we can individually testify.

Surpass yourself, push back your limits because reaching Mars demands and deserves it!

 

 

This report submitted by Alexandre Mangeot, Crew Commander.

For these 60-day reports I asked my crew mates to write about this mission from their personal perspectives. I wanted us to share more than the pictures, the science and technology reports and food recipes. I wanted us to share our feelings as much as it is humanly possible with simple words!

So the crew wrote their parts independently during these few days and the result is just mind-blowing…

 

इस ६० दिनों के रेपोर्ट के लिये मैंने अपने दल के सभी साथियों से यह अनुरोध किया की वो इस मिशन से जुड़े हुए अपने काम और अपनी व्यक्तिगत भावनाएँ सरल शब्दों में साझा करें जो की इस मिशन के किसी भी अन्य रेपोर्ट से कहीं ज़्यादा हों…

अतः मेरे साथियों ने इन दिनो समय निकालकर अपने विचारों को लिखा और उसका परिणाम असाधारण है!

 

Для написания отчета о 60 днях в симуляции я попросил сотоварищей по команде поделиться своими впечатлениями о миссии. Я хотел, что мы поделились с миром чем-то большим, чем просто красивые фотографии, научные и инженерный отчеты, рецепты марсианских блюд. Я хотел рассказать о наших человеческих чувствах в простых словах!

Каждый член экипажа описал свои ощущения от полученного опыта и результат превзошел все ожидания…

 

今日までの60日間を振り返るこのレポートを書くにあたって、僕はクルーがそれぞれ自らの言葉で、これまでのミッションを語ることが相応しいと思った。写真でもなく、レポートでもなく、クルーたちの生の言葉を、皆さんに届けたいと思った。僕はクルーたちに、できるだけシンプルに、それぞれの想いを記すよう指示した。

そんな訳でクルーたちはここ数日のうちに、思い思いに僕にこんな文章を書いてよこしたんだ。集まってきた文章を読み、僕はただただ目を疑うばかりだった。

 

Pour ce sol 60 rapport, j’ai demandé à mes membres d’équipages d’écrire à propos de cette mission depuis leurs points de vue respectifs. Je voulais que nous partagions plus des photos, des rapports scientifiques et technologiques et des recettes de cuisine. Je voulais que nous partagions nos sentiments autant qu’il est humainement possible de le faire avec de simples mots!

Et donc les membres d’équipage ont écrit leurs parties indépendamment durant ces quelques jours et le résultat est édifiant…

 

 

अनुश्री श्रीवास्तव (Annushree Srivastava) – Crew Biologist

मंगल ग्रह से जुड़े अनुसंधानों की मेरी यात्रा सन २०१४ से प्रारंभ हुई जब मैं MDRS से एक CapCom के तौर पर जुड़ी। इस काम को करते हुए यह मेरे जीवन का पहला अवसर था जब मैंने मानव द्वारा मंगल ग्रह की खोज के विचार को इतने क़रीब से जाना और समझा । CapCom का यह काम मेरे लिए अत्यंत ही ख़ुशी देने वाला होता था क्योंकि मुझे लगता था की कहीं ना कहीं मैं इस काम के द्वारा मैं अंतरिक्ष से जुड़े अपने सपने के क़रीब जाती जा रही थी। और मुझे लगता था की मेरा यह काम यदि मैं पूरी तन्मयता से करती हूँ तो यह मंगल ग्रह से जुड़े वैज्ञानिक अनुसंधानों और वहाँ एक सभ्यता बसाने की ओर मेरा एक छोटा लेकिन महत्वपूर्ण योगदान हो सकता है। इसलिए मैंने एक CapCom के तौर पर अपनी ज़िम्मेदारियाँ जितने बेहतर तरह से हो सकती थी निभाने का प्रयास किया । मेरे CapCom कार्यकाल के दौरान Mission Support के कई सदस्यों ने मुझे MDRS (Utah) जाने और Mars Simulation के दल में सम्मिलित होने और आवेदन भेजने के लिए प्रोत्साहित किया। सामान्य MDRS Rotation के लिये शोध प्रस्ताव लिखते समय मैंने यह नहीं सोचा था की यह पत्र एक दिन मुझे MARS१६० जैसे महत्वकांशी और अभूतपूर्व Mission का हिस्सा बनाएगा। यह जानकर की Mars१६० Mission की प्रमुख शोधकर्ता (Principal Investigator) Shannon Rupert मुझे Crew Biologist के तौर पर इस मिशन का हिस्सा बनाना चाहतीं है, मेरे उत्साह और ख़ुशी का ठिकाना ना रहा। लेकिन इसके साथ ही साथ मेरे कंधों पर एक बड़ी ज़िम्मेदारी का एहसास मुझे हुआ क्योंकि यह मिशन अलगाव के प्रयोग (isolation experiment) से कहीं ज़्यादा वैज्ञानिक संचालनों (science operations) पर आधारित था।

एक Crew Biologist के तौर पर मेरा शोध तीन प्रमुख विषयों पर आधारित है: Lichen की विविधताओं को तलाशना और उनका अभिलेख, hypoliths की परिस्थितिकि और Utah desert में उनकी प्रतिशत प्रचुरता, और अत्यंत प्राचीन gypsum की तहों में सूक्ष्मजीवियों की तलाश। यह अध्ययन धरती पर जीवन की विविधताओं पर शोध के साथ साथ मंगल ग्रह पर जीवन की तलाश में महत्वपूर्ण योगदान देने वाला होगा। विशेष रूप से, धरती के ऐसे वातावरण और परिस्थितिकि में सूक्ष्म जीवाणुओं, मुख्यतः halophiles (salt-loving microbes), की तलाश करना जो की सामान्यतः जीवन के लिये अनुकूल नहीं समझे जाते है, दीर्घकालीन Mars१६० Mission के महत्वपूर्ण लक्ष्यों में से एक है। यह मिशन Utah Desert में MDRS और Canadian Arctic में FMARS में संचालित होगा और दोनों ही स्थानो पर जहाँ की इस्थितियाँ Mars के समान है इन जीवाणुओं पर शोध करेगा। शोध का यह विषय मंगल ग्रह पर जीवन की तलाश के लिए मुख्य रूप से प्रासंगिक है। यह मिशन मंगल ग्रह की परिस्थितियों में साथ ही साथ भारी spacesuit पहनकर वैज्ञानिक प्रक्रियाओं का संचालन करने में मानव की कार्यक्षमता की भी जाँच करता है। इस मिशन के दौरान हम ‘धरती’ पर स्थित वैज्ञानिकों से नियमित रूप से संपर्क में रहते हैं। यह वैज्ञानिक मुख्य रूप से NASA Ames Research Centre और Canadian Museum of Nature में स्थित हैं।

इस तरह के मिशन पर काम करने का और इससे जुड़ी हुई चुनौतियों का सामना करने का यह मेरा पहला अनुभव है। मेरे दल के सभी साथी पहले इस तरह के लघुकालीन मिशन से जुड़े रह चुके हैं। अब तक इस मिशन पर काम करके मैंने विज्ञान और मंगल पर मानवीय आबादी इस्थापित करने के दृष्टिकोण से बोहोत कुछ जाना और सीखा, लेकिन इस मिशन का हिस्सा बनकर मैंने यह पहली बार महसूस किया की मंगल ग्रह तक पहुँचने के लिए हम जितनी भी दूरी तय करते हैं, उतनी ही गहराई हमें अपने अंदर लानी होती है। क्योंकि यह ‘यात्रा’ आसान नहीं। मुझे लगता है की मंगल ग्रह पर जाने का अर्थ स्वयं को भूल जाना भी है। इस कार्य को करते हुए आप अनुभव करते हैं की आपने एक नये स्वयं को जाना है या फिर उसकी खोज की है। अतः मुझे लगता है की मंगल ग्रह की यात्रा विज्ञान और मानव आबादी की इस्थापना करने से कहीं ज़्यादा ख़ुद की क्षमताओं की खोज भी है। इस तरह के मिशन की महत्ता और इससे जुड़े हुए अनुभव आपको और भी विनम्र और सरल बनाते हैं। इस मिशन का हिस्सा बनकर मैंने यह जाना।

 

Jon Clarke – Crew Geologist

As a geologist I have learned much on the expedition. I have been able to build extensively on my previous studies of the sedimentary and landscape history of the MDRS field area. I have also been able to measure basic soil properties in support of the hypolith research to assist identification of the environmental parameters controlling their distribution.

The significance of this increase in scientific understanding has been that it has been acquired entirely while operating under analogue field conditions, while wearing simulated space suits, using the quadbikes, electric rover, and the Hab car for mobility, and with all the restrictions of limited communications over the radio in the field and in limited internet resources in the station. This has shown that it is possible to do useful science not only on singe EVAs as in the past, but continuously, as part of a multi-disciplinary science program, over several months, under.

Also instructive has been working in the larger context of mission support. While all crews at MDRS work within the mission support framework we, because of the extended mission, have learned more about the challenges involved in this process. The familiar questions of how to balance control and autonomy have frequently appeared and the lessons directly applicable to Mars missions where expectations of control by mission control will be modified by the reality of autonomy through imposed by time lags and communication bandwidth.

Many people have said to me “but what will you do while you are there?” The reality of station life is constant activity, much of it routine and labour intensive. Living and working here for nearly three months has shown the importance of efficient facility design and the desirability of automating as many routine operations as possible. These lessons can only be learned by building a station such as MDRS and then incorporating the lessons into new stations which can be then tested by future crews.

Another common expectation have encountered is that people living in close confines like us, will end up in a nasty mess of conflict and other interpersonal problems. The reality has been quite different. We have had few disagreements between us and I am looking forward to working with everyone in the second half of the mission. Life here is nothing like the clichés of bad science fiction or reality TV!

 

Claude-Michel Laroche – Ingénieur de bord

La science est le point central de la première moitié de la mission Mars 160. Pour moi, en tant qu’ingénieur d’équipage, je n’ai pas beaucoup de responsabilité concernant les objectifs et résultats scientifiques. Mon rôle est de faire en sorte que ceux qui réalisent les objectifs scientifiques aient les outils et les ressources ainsi que le meilleur environnement possible, pour leurs permettre d’en faire le plus possible dans une période de quatre-vingt jours. Mon rôle est d’arrière-plan.

Le Hab vieillissant est maintenant entouré par un complexe de nouveaux bâtiments. Le Hab, qui est maintenant âgé de seize ans, a encore certains de ses systèmes originaux. Faire en sorte que tout fonctionne de façon optimale en tout temps est un défi de difficulté sans cesse croissante. Ceci étant dit, je pense que le «Mars Desert Research Station» est un des meilleurs endroits au monde pour simuler les premiers moments de l’humanité sur Mars. Cette station a besoin de beaucoup d’amour mais est un des meilleurs centres scientifiques de simulation d’habitation en milieu extrême. Le chauffe-eau, les systèmes de pompage, les nouvelles combinaisons spatiales, le système d’échangeur et de chauffage d’air, la distribution d’électricité, nos installations d’activités physiques ainsi que quelques inspections structurelles ne sont que quelques-uns des systèmes qui ont requis mon attention au cours de ces huit dernières semaines.

De plus, j’ai été appointé comme opérateur principal pour le “projet plantes”. Sous la supervision d’Heater Hava en tant que principale investigateur et avec l’aide de Daniel Zukowski et Dixon Dick comme support de projet et ingénieurs systèmes ainsi que Yusuke Murakami et Alexandre Mangeot comme aide principale pour le projet, nous avions à établir un système fonctionnel permettant d’évaluer les modifications de comportement d’un équipage à l’aide d’un système informatisé qui supervise l’états des plantes, évalué la proximité de l’équipage des plantes et qui permet en plus de surveiller les signes vitaux et de santé de l’équipage. Cette moitié de mission à eu comme point central d’assurer que tous les systèmes soient opérationnels et de trouver et corriger tous les problèmes, pour au final être prêt pour un déploiement en Arctique.

Cette mission a demandé un lot de travail qui s’est montré être exigeant et ardu du premier au dernier jour, certaines semaines ont même été exceptionnellement exténuantes, particulièrement celles où nous devions déployer le projet plante. Je suis particulièrement fier des accomplissements de chacun des membres de l’équipage qui ont été réalisés dans les temps alloués et les limitations de communications que nous avons dû affronter. L’ensemble de l’équipage s’est unis dans le but d’accomplir les objectifs que nous nous sommes données ainsi que ceux demandés par les équipes de recherche. Nous allons avoir beaucoup de travail durant les deux semaines restantes de cette partie de la mission. Je peux m’avancer en disant que cette première moitié de la mission est déjà un haut fait et rend la seconde moitié en Arctique  encore plus difficile à accomplir pour atteindre un niveau de qualité équivalent. Avons-nous tout accompli parfaitement? Sommes-nous l’équipage idéal pour aller sur Mars? Surement pas, mais le but est d’apprendre pour en arriver au point ou l’humanité va pouvoir vivre sur Mars.

 

Annalea Beattie – Crew Journalist

The weather has turned and government has changed since the last time we wrote to you but we are on Mars and our world is very small. We could almost be anywhere.

So much about life is routine and our lives here are like that too. Time management is something we have had to learn. During the middle phase of our mission the daily briefing and evening debriefing became an important part of our day. These regular meetings gives us the opportunity to balance our work load efficiently, often amongst competing demands, so that we can work as part of a team. I’ve learnt to move my own research (which tests out how to improve the data through experiments with the value, tools and techniques of geological field drawing in sim), into second or third or fourth place, especially when hours of paper work are required. But I’ve still spent more hours drawing in the spacesuit than I could have ever imagined possible. And during this time I’ve also been on plenty of EVAs as the cross-trained hypolith generalist. My own research has developed because it is totally embedded in the science within this Mars-like analog environment. This is the best learning for me and a great opportunity to explore something I love.

And for me one other thing stands out clearly in the last month and this is something that makes our day sing along. The crew now know each other. We had a feeling it could be good for us when we all met but during the last month I think I really appreciate what each crew member brings to the mission. Part of this is that I notice how we have learnt to care and support one another while working together and part of it means respecting each others individual needs and boundaries. For me, our best times as a crew are when we eat a meal and relax together on a well deserved day off!

 

Анастасия Степанова (Anastasiya Stepanova) – Ответственная за здоровье и безопасность экипажа

Я начала эту миссию как журналист экипажа, а заканчиваю как ответственная за здоровье и безопасность, ассистент микробиолога по лабораторной работе. В космических экспедициях сочетание множества навыков и успешное выполнение совершенно различных задач играет решающую роль при отборе в экипаж.  На Марсианской исследовательской станции в пустыне параллельно мы работаем сразу над несколькими проектами. Опыт, полученный за последние три месяца, вселил в меня уверенность, что человек может быстро учиться, продуктивно реагировать на непредвиденные ситуации, много работать и справляться с любыми трудностями. Правда, только при одном условии – при наличии великой цели! Той сильной мотивации, которая способна разбудить внутренние силы и помочь достичь того, что прежде казалось непостижимым. Миссия Марс 160 проверяет на прочность нашу целеустремленность. Насколько сильно мы хотим воплотить свою мечту? Что мы готовы сделать для этого? Где заканчиваются наши пределы?

Миссия Марс 160 протестировало то, что не проверяли другие космические организации – собрала экипаж, без предварительной тренировки на совместимость; применила новые виды отчетности для центра управления миссией; провела микробиологические исследования гиполитов, галофилов и лишайников; установила новую биорегенеративную систему жизнеобеспечения; использовала полевые рисунки для дополнения, собранных научных данных; сравнила процедуру сбора образцов в скафандрах и без. Все это в условиях симуляции жизни на Марсе.

С момента нашего пробуждения и до отхода ко сну мы учимся каждый час и каждый день на Марсианской исследовательской станции. Инженерия, информатика, геология, микробиология, строительство, сбор проб, написание статей, грамматика английского языка, сельское хозяйство, рисование, оказание первой помощи, съемки видео, приготовление пищи, уборка, спортивные тренировки, оригами, взаимопонимание, внутренняя работа и умение быть лучшим сотоварищем! Этот драгоценный опыт только первые небольшие шаги на пути к Марсу.

 

村上祐資 (Yusuke Murakami) – 副隊長

「あなたにとって、sim（Mars Analog Simulation: 模擬火星実験）とはなんですか？」ミッションが始まる前、Mars160のディレクターであるシャノンが、僕らを集めこう問いかけた。そしてこうも言った「それぞれが違う認識を持っているということを、心しておきなさい」と。

僕は、人間の想像力を信じている。想像力の欠如－すなわち無関心さ－は、ときに重大な問題をミッションにもたらすことがある。遠く、遠く、想像力という宇宙船に乗って、僕らはどこまでも行ける。関心は人間であることの証であり、無関心さはその人となりを物語る。そして僕は信じている。想像力の淵源は経験であると。シャノンが言った、それぞれが想像するsimの違い。僕らはそれをどうやって測り合うことができるだろう。僕らは「火星」という、同じ関心を持ってここにやってきた。それ以外にお互いを測り合う術を持っていなかった。けれど僕らは今日まで、ここMDRSという同じ屋根の下で、生活を共にしてきた。いつも共に目覚め、いつも共に食べ、いつも共に笑った。点と点が線でつながり輪郭を描くように、積み重ねてきた同じ経験によって縁取られた僕らの想像力が、一つの形となりチームのなかに芽生えつつあることを、僕は日々実感している。

「日常」の生活と、「ミッション」を送る暮らしの間に、境目はあるだろうか。僕はないと思っている。もしも境目がないのなら、宇宙の暮らしは一体どんな姿をしているのだろう。その答えを見つけたくて僕はここにいる。宇宙ミッションには必ず、明確な目標というゴールがある。だからだろうか。カウントダウンの目盛を刻みながら、ただひたすらな真っすぐな一本道の上を突き進んでいくことができる、そんなチームを好む傾向がある。けれども僕らのチームは当初こそそうであったが、今では目標に向かって気を抜かず邁進しつつも、ときに寄り道をし、気に入った道を行ったり来たりし、立ち止まって談笑を楽しむ、そんな穏やかで実りのある関係を築いている。互いを認め合い、気負いのない時間を共にしてきたことが、きっと僕らの関係の根底にあるからだろう。人の織りなす営みは、複雑だからこそ美しい。僕らの実験生活はそう物語っている。

 

Alexandre Mangeot – Commandant

Aller sur Mars est un rêve d’enfant. Cette mission est une étape importante pour apprendre de moi-même si je veux vraiment continuer à poursuivre mon rêve. Et pour être honnête, avant que cette mission ne commence, j’avais quelques doutes. Mais j’ai décidé de donner à cette mission la meilleure chance possible et si après cette mission je pense que Mars n’est pas faite pour moi alors je choisirai de faire autre chose…

Il y a trois ans, lors des candidatures pour Mars 365, j’ai écrit dans ma lettre de candidature que je crois que nous ne devrions pas craindre le pire de la part d’un équipage allant sur Mars, mais plutôt attendre d’eux ce qu’il y a de meilleurs étant donné ce qui est en jeux. Notre équipage n’est pas destiné à aller sur Mars, nous ne pouvons qu’espérer que cette mission apportera sa pierre à l’édifice d’une future mission habitée. Et juste cela fut suffisant à souder l’équipage au-delà de toutes attentes. Nous avons fait face à des défis et au lieu de nous déchirer cela eut l’effet inverse. Donc par analogie je dois croire que ce sera encore plus véridique pour les astronautes d’une expédition Martienne. Mes membres d’équipage me le prouvent chaque jour et je suis fier d’être parmi eux.

Toutefois, cette mission est un défi pour moi en chacun de ses aspects. Cela a commencé au début de cette année lorsque je me suis lancé dans mon projet d’interface pour combinaison spatiale. La plupart des compétences nécessaires pour accomplir le projet j’ai dû les apprendre, de comment programmer un site Internet de zéro à comment connecter toute l’électronique et la faire fonctionner. Et tout naturellement j’ai dû faire face à toutes les difficultés inhérentes au développement d’un nouveau produit. J’eu atteint un point où chacune des cellules de mon corps me disaient d’abandonner. J’ai continué avec une foi aveugle. Et plus tard, mon projet a attiré l’attention et j’ai pris des contacts prometteurs. Un jour mon interface sera peut être directement incorporée dans une combinaison.

Et tout à propos de cette mission fonctionne comme ça. Il y a quelque chose à propos de cette mission, une sorte d’aura. Elle puise énormément en chacun d’entre nous mais donne en retour beaucoup d’énergie et de joie. Toujours assez pour booster notre motivation pour nous dépasser. Je suis impatient de ressentir l’aura d’une mission Martienne! En bref, oui je veux toujours aller sur Mars, plus que jamais et en dépit des difficultés que je peux déjà entrevoir qu’une telle aventure implique sur le plan humain.

 

 

Well, after all this, what can I add?!

At the time I write these lines I am the only one to have read all the parts. What struck me the most is that we share naturally, in our own way, the same feelings and relationship with this mission. It seems that our bonds goes way deeper than we can individually testify.

Surpass yourself, push back your limits because reaching Mars demands and deserves it!

 

इसके बाद कुछ भी कहने के लिये मेरे पास शब्द नहीं…

इस वक़्त मैं वह पहला व्यक्ति हूँ जिसने इन सभी के विचारों को पढ़ा है। और जो बात मेरे हृदय को छूती है वह यह है की इस मिशन के विषय में इन सभी ने अपने विचार अपने अपने तरह से व्यक्त किये हैं लेकिन यदि उनकी गहराई में जायें तो लगता है उनका सार एक है। यह बताता है की हम एक दूसरे से और इस मिशन से कितनी गहराई से जुड़े हैं।

स्वयं की सीमाओं को लाँघिए, क्योंकि मंगल ग्रह तक पहुँचने की यह क़ीमत भी है और यह उसका अधिकार भी…

 

Для написания отчета о 60 днях в симуляции я попросил сотоварищей по команде поделиться своими впечатлениями о миссии. Я хотел, что мы поделились с миром чем-то большим, чем просто красивые фотографии, научные и инженерный отчеты, рецепты марсианских блюд. Я хотел рассказать о наших человеческих чувствах в простых словах!

Каждый член экипажа описал свои ощущения от полученного опыта и результат превзошел все ожидания…

 

これ以上に、いったい何を付け加えることがあるだろう？

たった今、この文章を書いている時点で、それぞれのクルーが何を語ったのかを知っているのは僕だけのはずなんだ。なのになぜ、別々の人間たちが何の下相談もなく、こんなにも自然に同じ気持ちを書き綴ることができるというんだろう。

自らの限界を押し上げよう。火星に手を伸ばすことは、それだけの価値があるんだから。

 

Eh bien, après tout ça que puis-je ajouter?!

A l’heure où j’écris ces lignes je suis le seul à avoir lu la partie de chacun. Ce qui me frappe le plus est que nous partageons naturellement, chacun à sa façon, les mêmes sentiments et la même relation avec la mission. Il semble que nos liens prennent leurs sources plus profondément que ce qu’individuellement nous pouvons en témoigner.

Surpasse-toi, repousse tes limites car atteindre Mars le demande et le mérite!