Mars Desert Research Station – TasMars 2013

Emma Braegen

Mechanical Engineer

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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

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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)

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Earth Compared to Mars

Earth Mars

Diameter 12,756 km 6792 km

Gravity (% of Earth’s) 100% 37.6%

Day Length 23 hours 56 mins 24 hours 37 mins

Year Length (in Earth

days)

365 686.92 (668.5 Martian

days)

Atmospheric

Composition

78.08% Nitrogen

20.95% Oxygen

0.93% Argon, 0.038%

Carbon Dioxide

95.32% Carbon Dioxide,

2.7% Nitrogen 1.6%

Argon, 0.13% Oxygen,

0.08% Carbon Monoxide

Atmospheric

Pressure (% of

Earth’s)

100% 1%

Temperature Range -89°C to 57.7°C -120°C to 20°C

Average Temperature 14°C -60°C

Reference: Guy Murphy’s book “Mars a Survival Guide” 2010 4

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 2000’s 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”

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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

3D model created by Diego Urbina

MDRS Hab Interior

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MDRS – The Hab

• Top level of the Hab during the film crew visit

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MDRS – The Hab

• Crew getting ready in the lower level lab area

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MDRS – The Hab

• One of the crew staterooms

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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

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TasMars 2013 – The Crew

Jen Blank • First Officer

• Mission Specialist Planetary

Sciences

• American Astrobiologist

working at NASA Ames

MDRS project:

• Analysis of Gale Crater

analog samples

• Investigation of rock coatings

Emma Braegen• Flight Engineer and Health and

Safety Officer

• Australian Engineer working at

BAE Systems

MDRS project:

• Testing dust mitigation using

covers for space suits

David Willson• Crew Commander

• Australian Engineer working

at NASA Ames

MDRS projects:

• Testing spectrometer and

rover drill

• Testing quadcopter and

rover

Melanie Newfield• Journalist

• Mission Specialist Biological

Sciences

• New Zealand Biologist working

at Ministry for Primary

Industries (MPI)

MDRS project:

• Biological risk analysis

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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 don’t 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

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What was life like at MDRS? – For the Engineers

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What was life like at MDRS? – For the Scientists

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What was life like at MDRS? – How was the food?

Melanie – Our cooking superstar!Our supplies

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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

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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

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TasMars 2013 – Dust Suit Testing

" Basic research is when I am

doing what I don't know what I

am doing."

Wernher von Braun

Investigating the use of dust suit covers in the field

Reference Material: Dust Mitigation Solutions

for Lunar and Mars Surface Systems

Dave Cadogan, Janet Ferl, 2007

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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

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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

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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

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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/

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Any Questions?

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