Mars Analogue Research Station Program
Encyclopedia
The Mars Analog Research Station Program (MARS) is an international effort spearheaded by The Mars Society to establish a network of prototype research centers where scientists and engineers can live and work as if they were on Mars
, to develop the protocols and procedures that will be required for human operations on Mars, and to test equipment that may be carried and used by human missions to the Red Planet.
(FMARS
) began operation in 2000 on Devon Island
in the Canadian Arctic
. The second station, the Mars Desert Research Station
(MDRS
) began operation in 2002 in southern Utah
. Stations to be built in Europe
(European Mars Analog Research Station
/ EuroMARS
) and Australia
(Australia Mars Analog Research Station
/ MARS-Oz
) have not progressed beyond the planning stages. EuroMARS was planned for deployment in Iceland
. A structure for EuroMARS was built, but placed in storage for several years due to lack of funding to ship to the Society's UK headquarters, and from there on to Iceland. During storage and shipping the structure was damaged beyond repair, so now the European chapters of the Mars Society are seeking funding to build a new habitat. The fourth station, MARS-Oz, has been designed, but lacks funding for construction.
and NASA
Mars Design Reference Mission for sending human crews to Mars.
These are multi-deck units, providing a combination of living and working space for crews of up to 6 people at a time. Each unit is approximately 8 metres (26.2 ft) in diameter and stands 9 to 11 m (29.5 to 36.1 ) in height, offering either two or three decks of interior living and working space.
(FMARS) and the Mars Desert Research Station
(MDRS) are two-deck units, designed around a common layout.
The upper deck is divided into two halves: one is given over to six individual sleeping cabins that provide visiting crew members with a bed, personal storage space and privacy when they need it. The other half of the upper deck is devoted to a common work area / dining area / food preparation area. In the ceiling space above this is the unit's large water tank, containing all of the habitat's usable water (this is resupplied from an additional tank outside of the unit. However, on a real mission, the water would be recycled after use, and possibly augmented by water obtained via extraction from the Martian permafrost
).
The lower deck contains an open-plan work area where a variety of science and engineering tasks can be performed. It also contains the main hygiene area (toilet, washbasin and shower), and contains the main power distribution system for the habitat and the heating system. Heat and power are supplied by external generators, but on a real mission to Mars they would most likely be supplied using a combination of nuclear and possibly solar power. However, due to the extremes of dust contamination, solar panels will not supply sufficient energy to power a Habitat on Mars on their own.
Also on the lower deck of the FMARS and MDRS are the airlocks and the Extra-vehicular Activity
preparation room (EVA prep room). This is where crew members don and doff their simulated Mars spacesuits prior to leaving the Habitat Unit.
The European Mars Analog Research Station
is slightly different from FMARS and MDRS in that it provides three decks:
The European unit has been deliberately designed for expansion - additional equipment and technology, such as water recycling systems, can be added to the unit as they become available.
In order to find answers to these and other questions, MARS teams will:
In order to achieve these goals, operations at the Habitat Units are performed under "Mars simulation" conditions. This means that once a crew is in a unit, barring a serious medical event or emergency, they live and work as astronauts would on Mars:
Each crew spends between 2 weeks and a month living in a habitat unit, performing the kind of work astronauts will be expected to carry out on Mars: collecting rock samples from the surface and examining them back in the habitat; conducting life science experiments; studying the local geology and geomorphology, and so on.
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
, to develop the protocols and procedures that will be required for human operations on Mars, and to test equipment that may be carried and used by human missions to the Red Planet.
Status
The first station, the Flashline Mars Arctic Research StationFlashline Mars Arctic Research Station
The Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station is the first of two simulated Mars habitats established and maintained by the Mars Society.-Background:...
(FMARS
Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station
The Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station is the first of two simulated Mars habitats established and maintained by the Mars Society.-Background:...
) began operation in 2000 on Devon Island
Devon Island
Devon Island , claimed to be the largest uninhabited island on Earth, is located in Baffin Bay, Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is one of the larger members of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, the second-largest of the Queen Elizabeth Islands, Canada's sixth largest island, and the 27th...
in the Canadian Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
. The second station, the Mars Desert Research Station
Mars Desert Research Station
The Mars Desert Research Station is the second of four planned simulated Mars surface exploration habitats owned and operated by the Mars Society.-Background:...
(MDRS
Mars Desert Research Station
The Mars Desert Research Station is the second of four planned simulated Mars surface exploration habitats owned and operated by the Mars Society.-Background:...
) began operation in 2002 in southern Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
. Stations to be built in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
(European Mars Analog Research Station
European Mars Analog Research Station
The European Mars Analogue Research Station is the third in the Mars Society's Analogue Research Stations.The unit is primarily funded by the United Kingdom, with the Euro-MARS science programme operated by a consortium of European Mars Society Chapters comprising the UK, France, The Netherlands,...
/ EuroMARS
European Mars Analog Research Station
The European Mars Analogue Research Station is the third in the Mars Society's Analogue Research Stations.The unit is primarily funded by the United Kingdom, with the Euro-MARS science programme operated by a consortium of European Mars Society Chapters comprising the UK, France, The Netherlands,...
) and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
(Australia Mars Analog Research Station
Australia Mars Analog Research Station
The Australia Mars Analog Research Station is a project being planned by the Mars Society to conduct geological exploration under constraints similar to those found on Mars, to develop field tactics based on those explorations, to test habitat design features and tools, and to assess crew...
/ MARS-Oz
Australia Mars Analog Research Station
The Australia Mars Analog Research Station is a project being planned by the Mars Society to conduct geological exploration under constraints similar to those found on Mars, to develop field tactics based on those explorations, to test habitat design features and tools, and to assess crew...
) have not progressed beyond the planning stages. EuroMARS was planned for deployment in Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
. A structure for EuroMARS was built, but placed in storage for several years due to lack of funding to ship to the Society's UK headquarters, and from there on to Iceland. During storage and shipping the structure was damaged beyond repair, so now the European chapters of the Mars Society are seeking funding to build a new habitat. The fourth station, MARS-Oz, has been designed, but lacks funding for construction.
Design
Each of the MARS research centers comprises a prototype of the Mars Habitat Unit of the kind advocated in the Mars DirectMars Direct
Mars Direct is a proposal for a manned mission to Mars. Proponents of the scheme have claimed it to be both cost-effective and that it can be conducted with current technology. It was originally detailed in a research paper by NASA engineers Robert Zubrin and David Baker in 1990, and later expanded...
and NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
Mars Design Reference Mission for sending human crews to Mars.
These are multi-deck units, providing a combination of living and working space for crews of up to 6 people at a time. Each unit is approximately 8 metres (26.2 ft) in diameter and stands 9 to 11 m (29.5 to 36.1 ) in height, offering either two or three decks of interior living and working space.
Layout
The Flashline Mars Arctic Research StationFlashline Mars Arctic Research Station
The Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station is the first of two simulated Mars habitats established and maintained by the Mars Society.-Background:...
(FMARS) and the Mars Desert Research Station
Mars Desert Research Station
The Mars Desert Research Station is the second of four planned simulated Mars surface exploration habitats owned and operated by the Mars Society.-Background:...
(MDRS) are two-deck units, designed around a common layout.
The upper deck is divided into two halves: one is given over to six individual sleeping cabins that provide visiting crew members with a bed, personal storage space and privacy when they need it. The other half of the upper deck is devoted to a common work area / dining area / food preparation area. In the ceiling space above this is the unit's large water tank, containing all of the habitat's usable water (this is resupplied from an additional tank outside of the unit. However, on a real mission, the water would be recycled after use, and possibly augmented by water obtained via extraction from the Martian permafrost
Permafrost
In geology, permafrost, cryotic soil or permafrost soil is soil at or below the freezing point of water for two or more years. Ice is not always present, as may be in the case of nonporous bedrock, but it frequently occurs and it may be in amounts exceeding the potential hydraulic saturation of...
).
The lower deck contains an open-plan work area where a variety of science and engineering tasks can be performed. It also contains the main hygiene area (toilet, washbasin and shower), and contains the main power distribution system for the habitat and the heating system. Heat and power are supplied by external generators, but on a real mission to Mars they would most likely be supplied using a combination of nuclear and possibly solar power. However, due to the extremes of dust contamination, solar panels will not supply sufficient energy to power a Habitat on Mars on their own.
Also on the lower deck of the FMARS and MDRS are the airlocks and the Extra-vehicular Activity
Extra-vehicular activity
Extra-vehicular activity is work done by an astronaut away from the Earth, and outside of a spacecraft. The term most commonly applies to an EVA made outside a craft orbiting Earth , but also applies to an EVA made on the surface of the Moon...
preparation room (EVA prep room). This is where crew members don and doff their simulated Mars spacesuits prior to leaving the Habitat Unit.
European Mars Analog Research Station
The European Mars Analogue Research Station is the third in the Mars Society's Analogue Research Stations.The unit is primarily funded by the United Kingdom, with the Euro-MARS science programme operated by a consortium of European Mars Society Chapters comprising the UK, France, The Netherlands,...
is slightly different from FMARS and MDRS in that it provides three decks:
- The uppermost deck contains sleeping quarters for the 6-person crew, and storage space for on-board systems and / or additional equipment
- The mid-deck provides a dedicated communications centre / solar storm shelter, a galley, exercise area, storage bins and a living / working area, and hygiene facilities
- The lower deck provides two micro laboratories, a main repair / medical treatment area, 2 airlocks and an EVA prep area.
The European unit has been deliberately designed for expansion - additional equipment and technology, such as water recycling systems, can be added to the unit as they become available.
Operational goals
The primary goal of the MARS programme is to research the operational environment of a base on Mars. As such, the programme is specifically geared towards answering a wide range of key questions about living and working on Mars, including:- What is the best number for an exploratory team on Mars - four people, six people, more?
- How well do support systems and equipment function "in the field"?
- What are the best designs for EVA suits?
- How easy is it to maintain equipment in isolated conditions?
- How are group dynamics going to operate in such a closed environment?
In order to find answers to these and other questions, MARS teams will:
- Perform a wide range of EVA and scientific experiments of the kind that will be performed on Mars
- Test communications equipment, EVA suit designs, portable life support facilities and other elements crucial to a human expedition to Mars
- Learn to conduct extended EVA sorties using vehicles such as unpressurised ATVs and analogues of pressurised rover vehicles that can operate away from the main base for days at a time
- Find out the optimum means of carrying out surface investigations – how many people need to be on an EVA mission in order to make it effective, etc.
In order to achieve these goals, operations at the Habitat Units are performed under "Mars simulation" conditions. This means that once a crew is in a unit, barring a serious medical event or emergency, they live and work as astronauts would on Mars:
- They cannot leave the unit without donning a simulated space suit
- They cannot communicate directly with anyone outside of the unit without a built-in time delay in the communication - the distance between Earth and Mars makes direct conversation impossible
- They can only use the equipment, tools and food available to them inside the habitat.
Each crew spends between 2 weeks and a month living in a habitat unit, performing the kind of work astronauts will be expected to carry out on Mars: collecting rock samples from the surface and examining them back in the habitat; conducting life science experiments; studying the local geology and geomorphology, and so on.
See also
- Flashline Mars Arctic Research StationFlashline Mars Arctic Research StationThe Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station is the first of two simulated Mars habitats established and maintained by the Mars Society.-Background:...
- Mars Desert Research StationMars Desert Research StationThe Mars Desert Research Station is the second of four planned simulated Mars surface exploration habitats owned and operated by the Mars Society.-Background:...
- Australia Mars Analog Research StationAustralia Mars Analog Research StationThe Australia Mars Analog Research Station is a project being planned by the Mars Society to conduct geological exploration under constraints similar to those found on Mars, to develop field tactics based on those explorations, to test habitat design features and tools, and to assess crew...
- Colonization of MarsColonization of MarsThe colonization of Mars by humans is the focus of speculation and serious study because the surface conditions and availability of water on Mars make it arguably the most hospitable planet in the solar system other than Earth...