Not Necessarily Rocket Science by Kellie Gerardi

Author:Kellie Gerardi [Gerardi, Kellie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781642504118
Publisher: Mango Media
Published: 2020-10-16T16:29:07+00:00

Traveling to space is difficult. Living in space is even harder. Whether in orbit, on the Moon, or on Mars, early settlers will need to be physically, mentally, and emotionally prepared for the daily obstacles of life off Earth. Luckily, our home planet is rich with geological diversity, providing plenty of terrestrial analog environments where astronauts can test the equipment, procedures, and temperaments they’ll need in space.

The use of these so-called analog environments isn’t new. Before Apollo astronauts traveled to the Moon, they spent weeks traipsing through a small fishing village in northern Iceland, where they practiced collecting and photographing rock samples from the basaltic, moon-like landscape. This field training was a tactical complement to the academic instruction, allowing them to practice and perfect the physical procedures required to complete the scientific objectives of their mission. In addition to Iceland, training brought Apollo astronauts to a number of other sites that mimicked the barren lunar landscape, including Arizona’s Cinder Lake Crater Field, the Grand Canyon, and even the dramatic volcanic ridges of Hawaii.

Of course, the Apollo missions were designed as roundtrip flights, so the analog preparation was limited to geological field training, ensuring astronauts could make the most of limited time on the lunar surface. In recent years, though, as NASA and private industry have contemplated more permanent human presence in space, analog research has evolved to address a much broader range of training. In remote corners of Hawaii, Utah, Texas, Antarctica, and even in underwater facilities, research crews have begun sequestering themselves in closed habitats for weeks, months, or years at time, embarking on simulated missions designed to mimic even the most mundane aspects of space settlement and long-duration space travel.

The Mars Society owns and operates the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS), a prototype laboratory tucked away deep inside Utah’s San Rafael Swell, where a millennia of iron oxide dust has stained red the ruggedly beautiful rock formations. The dramatic landscape bears stylistic and geological similarities to Mars, and since 2001, a number of national space agencies and scientists have utilized the remote facility to conduct analog Martian field research. The habitat offers a simulation of life on the red planet, and the prototype laboratory is a serious scientific base for researchers dedicated to advancing humanity’s ability to live off Earth.

In addition to the main Hab (habitat), the MDRS boasts two equipment-packed observatories, a climate-controlled GreenHab that houses aquaponic and conventional growth systems, an ATV/rover repair and maintenance module fashioned out of an old Chinook helicopter, and a geodesic-dome-turned-scientific laboratory.

The existence of a Hab on Mars presupposes a few steps on the path to space settlement: first, the construction of a move-in-ready facility would likely require a number of robotic precursor missions, delivering the equipment and supplies to the settlement site. We would need some form of robotic assembly as well; you can even imagine a rover constructing landing pads for those initial cargo missions from the Martian raw materials. Among the equipment ferried from Earth, you’d find medicine, tools, nonperishable foods, and life-support systems.

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