Being stuck in a two-storey, 8-metre metal cylinder with five strangers for two weeks would be terrifying for many people – but for Haritina Mogosanu it was a dream come true.
In fact, the Romanian-born Wellingtonian couldn’t wait to get back to the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah, returning a year later. She will speak on her experiences tonight at the Carter Observatory.
The hab was built in the US by the international Mars Society to simulate what a long-term astronaut crew sent to the Red Planet might undergo.
Volunteers at the station provide invaluable feedback to those developing technologies like spacesuits and dehydrated food.
May 15th, 2014
Virtual astronaut to share experience of life on Mars Stuff
May 8th, 2014
EVA Hand Signals The Mars Society
In the past NASA has asked its spacewalking crews to come up with a set of hand signals for communication in the event of audio loss. And for a long time this worked out very well. However after a water filled spacewalk on the Space Station last July, NASA determined that it would be better to have an official set.
Before I left for Mars/Utah a friend of mine who trains astronauts asked that we come up with our own set of hand signals for comparison. Without having us look at the official NASA signals, they wanted to get an outside perspective on the issue and potentially incorporate our signals with theirs. And while our signals would be devised primarily for surface use, there is still enough overlap for zero g spacewalks that most of them will remain relevant (some will need modification though).
April 4th, 2014
This Cornell Student Built A Rover To Help Colonize Mars Business Insider
Crowther is Team Leader of the Cornell Mars Rover club, an interdisciplinary team of 40 engineering, science, and business undergraduates that designs and builds a mock rover, much like NASA’s Spirit or Opportunity rovers that roam Mars. Recently named to BI’s list of most impressive students at Cornell, Crowther takes innovation to a new frontier.
Rather than focusing on its individual sub-systems, Crowther is responsible for conceptualizing the rover’s “big picture” design and investigating new methods of manufacturing, such as 3D printing. Last year, she co-founded the Rapid Prototyping Lab, Cornell’s first open space for 3D printing and laser-cutting, which proved to be invaluable in the research and testing phases of building the rover.
April 2nd, 2014
Exploring Mars in Utah National Geographic
Join five scientists on a “mission to Mars” in Utah. Photojournalist Jim Urquhart embedded with Crew 138 of the Mars Society’s Mars Desert Research Station for two weeks in March. The crew describes what it’s like, in their own words.
March 18th, 2014
Thinkfactory Media Shopping Mars Exploration Reality Series Deadline Hollywood
There is a second reality series project devoted to chronicling a mission to the Red Planet. Leslie Greif’s Thinkfactory Media (Hatfields & McCoys, Gene Simmons: Family Jewels) has partnered with The Mars Society, a non-profit organization dedicated to the exploration and settlement of the Red Planet, on an unscripted TV project that would document Mars Society’s year-long Mars simulation in the Canadian Arctic. Thinkfactory had been working with the Mars Society on the project for the past four months. It took the series out to networks last week, with two outlets interested and currently in discussion with the production company. Tentatively titled Mission To Mars, the series is one of two Mars colonization reality projects in the marketplace, along with Lionsgate TV’s untitled series done in collaboration with Lansdorp’s Mars One, the international Mars mission backed by Dutch billionaire entrepreneur Bas Lansdorp.
March 5th, 2014
Mars Arctic 365 Mission Semi-Finalists Announce
he semi-finalists for crew selection for the Mars Society’s Mars Arctic 365 (MA365) mission have been announced. Chosen from a group of over 200 applicants, the 62 semi-finalists consist of 49 men and 13 women drawn from 17 countries, including the United States, Canada, Brazil, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Turkey, India, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
The 62 individuals selected represent a wide range of expertise and skills including geological, biological, medical, aerospace, mechanical and electrical engineering, mechanical trades, journalism and Arctic and wilderness survival training.
January 22nd, 2014
Large international interest in riding with NASA’s next Mars Rover NASA Spaceflight
The next NASA rover to be sent to the surface of Mars has received twice the usual amount of proposals for carrying science and exploration technology instruments. The agency is reviewing a total of 58 submitted proposals, 17 of which came from international partners, ahead of a proposed mission in 2020. Announced at the end of 2012, the next NASA rover will be based on the Curiosity Rover that is currently exploring the surface of Mars.
January 3rd, 2014
Mock Mars Mission: Utah Habitat Simulates Life on Red Planet
Scientists, engineers and legions of volunteers have worked hard to make a mock Mars habitat in Utah as realistic as possible.
The Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS), which is run by the nonprofit Mars Society, aims to help humanity prepare for the rigors and challenges of life on the Red Planet. It was designed in line with Mars Society founder Robert Zubrin’s “Mars Direct” settlement approach, which sees crews living off the land as much as possible, MDRS director Shannon Rupert told SPACE.com.
“The idea was a small crew on these kind of preplanned set of missions that would allow astronauts to get there and have a functioning habitat in place,” Rupert said. “We approached it from the idea that it’s there and ready to go, and they [the crew] just have to land.”
November 27th, 2013
Mars Society Giving Library
The purpose of the Mars Society is to further the exploration and settlement of the planet Mars.
November 25th, 2013
Apply now for a yearlong mock Mars mission in Canadian Arctic NBC News
Crew application deadline: November 30, 2013:
If you’re ready to take a timeout from your life and spend a year living in the Arctic on a simulated Mars mission, the Mars Society wants to hear from you.
The non-profit group, which advocates for manned exploration of the Red Planet, has released its requirements for the six volunteers who will be expected to spend 12 months at the society’s Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station on Canada’s Devon Island, which is about 900 miles (1,450 kilometers) from the North Pole, beginning in July 2014.