Trans Earth Injection was successful!
I have returned from my trip to The Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) as part of the Refit Crew. A team of Mars enthusiasts spent 9+ days upgrading, refurbishing, and renovating The Mars Society’s Mars analog in Southeast Utah.
The place felt like Mars; a quick look out the window would make that real. The colors were ruddy; there was no vegetation but plenty of empty space. The only clues you were on Earth (as a view) were the larger sun and the beautiful blue sky. One wonders how visitors to Mars will adapt. Will they miss a bright yellow Sol? Will they miss clear blue skies or clouds? All questions that I’ll bet are under study. Just Google researching the psychology of living on Mars, and you’ll find any number of articles on the topic. [Note: the link is that search prompt entered into Google.]
Simulations, including the recently completed CHAPEA Mission 1, are attempting to address these issues. One question that may have to wait is how the dynamics of a small team in an isolated habitat play out when the team knows they aren’t just an airlock door away from Earth when they are actually on Mars. That’s a topic for another post.
But, back to the Refit Expedition. The Refit Crew was tasked with upgrades, refurbishment, and getting the MDRS ready for the first crew of the following research season. Here’s a short list and some pictures:
Rebuild the shower
Install padding on the ladder steps (so you don’t need boots to climb the stairs)
Re-model two crew staterooms
Dig trenches and lay stone walk areas (it might not rain on Mars—yet—but it does rain in Southeastern Utah, and flooding can be a problem)
Get the rovers out of storage and charged up
Upgrade the wall/floor interface (looks finished and keeps out the little, furry “locals”—again, a Utah issue, but not yet a Mars issue)
Patch and paint walls, handrails, airlock doors, and airlock openings
We were awed by the view of our home galaxy (at least this “city boy” was), caught a glimpse of the aurora borealis (through our iPhones), and even met one of the locals.
Last, we had a great team: an astronomer, a planetary scientist, a book editor/coach, a game developer, a couple of retired IT guys, a wetlands/reclamation specialist, a bio-medical student, an architect, a software engineer, etc. plus the site director. We were a mixed bunch but with mad skills and a shared interest in Mars and all things interplanetary. We shared one thing, though—we’ve all seen (and mostly liked) every science fiction movie from the Seventies. One of the crew members mentioned it might be because there are so few of them compared to later decades. Needless to say, our dinner discussions were heaven for a sci-fi geek like me.
We had a fabulous time. We worked hard, had fun, “worked” the daily checklist, and enjoyed the area’s natural wonders and good food and conversation when we trekked into town.
I can’t wait ’till next year.
In the meantime, check out The Mars Society (The Mars Society) and the MDRS (Mars Desert Research Station (marssociety.org)), and support them if you’re so inclined.
Thanks for stopping by.