Mars Desert Research Station Simulates Mars Base

An anonymous reader writes "Placing humans on Mars will be an extraordinary feat in itself, not to mention even living in such a harsh environment. To help train future astronauts to sustain life on Mars, the Mars Society has created the Mars Desert Research Station. The Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) is one of four planned simulated Mars habitats (or Mars Analogue Research Station Programme) maintained by the Mars Society. Crews sign up for two week shifts during the winter months (it's too hot in the summer for pleasant simulation). Crews are not paid during their time at the station, but do get valuable experience."

nevermind

[Anonymous Coward]

Nevermind that we're still learning the basics of the chemical composition and the true environment of Mars, we have a group of people who think they can accurately recreate it. While their goals are noble, it looks like it's more a society of "enthusiasts" rather than people who actually have a real knowledge and understanding of what's involved (though there are some of them working on the project).

Exactly the same

[thered2001]

Except you can breath the outside atmosphere, the gravity is Earth-normal, and emergency help is much closer. Otherwise, a great simulation of life on Mars. (An Antarctic simulation lab would be a bit closer to the mark.)

Participant Point of View

[realperseus]

My daughter had the privledge of participating in the MDRS back in the Fall of 2006. She described it as "Fun and awesome!" Their mission was to refit the "Hab" as best as they could within their limited budget. She described living conditions as "cramped, much like a typical Mars mission. You need to work as a team to get things done". Here is another link to MDRS project for those who wish more information:

The Mars Society - Mars Desert Research Station [marssociety.org]

Re:how about a submarine then?

[Kugala]

Weight. One of the largest issues getting anything into even orbit, much less Mars, is weight.

A Delta IV Heavy rocket could get about 14 tons to high orbit. A Virginia class submarine weighs about 8,000 tons. This would take around 570 launches to lift.

Even considering you don't need half the features, there's probably more you do need, so the final product might wind up weighing more.

Re:Wait another 4 years

[Anonymous Coward]

They could also have anything that was sent ahead of them. Maybe three duplicate loads targeted together so that one of them would be within walking distance of the manned module. The rovers have shown that those NASA people can target pretty well these days. You just need a tight shotgun pattern, + - three miles.

Re:Participant Point of View

[eviltangerine]

a friend of mine just got back from the MDRS -- he was there for a week at the beginning of January. He said it was an awesome experience as well. And for those who are wondering, yea, it's not paid, but the Mars Society covers food, transportation, and I guess technically lodging as well. The food he said was all dried stuff. While he was there they would go on scouting trips and worked on revamping the documentation for the site. Oh, and he also mentioned that while boucing around in their spacesuits outside, he found a dinosaur bone! (So the analogs to Mars may end there, but of course, no one's been bouncing around Mars -- maybe there *are* fossilized dinosaurs there!)

Re:This is idiotic

[ShooterNeo]

Except that no-one at NASA is even TRYING to build a cheaper rocket. And they also have no concrete plans for a Mars mission, either. Meaning the engines you would need to even get the Mars are not even in the design stage.

So if you don't even have a guess as to how much stuff you could bring to Mars, then playing with habitats is pointless.

Best case scenario, we build a super-efficient laser launch system and a nuclear powered VASIMIR rocket to get to mars real fast. In that case, we could just cram the spaceship with a bunch of MREs and life support components right off of a nuclear submarine.

Worst case, it is still super-expensive to go to Mars, and NASA has to custom build every last part, min-maxing for mass.

Re:Wait another 20 years

[Froboz23]

I think the best way to simulate living on Mars would be to build an underground installation. Go to a cold barren climate like the Alaskan tundra or North Dakota, then excavate a cavern about 100 meters in diameter and 50 meters deep that is entirely subterranean. You could then accurately simulate many aspects of the environment as follows.

Atmosphere: Reinforce the walls of the cavern so you can pump all the air out, then fill the cavern with an atmosphere containing the same density and composition as Mars. The astronauts' habitats would be constructed inside this environment, and they would have to wear actual functioning spacesuits to work in the environment.

Temperature: Use compressors and heaters to create temperature variations to simulate Martian days and nights.

Soil: Create an artificial soil several meters deep similar to what has been found on Mars, in terms of chemical composition, pH, density, etc.

Light: Use artificial lighting to simulate Martian days and nights, using the same low luminosity and the 24.6 hour day.

Combining all these factors, you could potentially create a simulation very similar to Mars except for the lower gravity. A project like this would require billions of dollars in funding, but if you're serious about testing a Mars habitat, or even a lunar habitat, this seems like the way to go.

Re:Wait another 4 years

[Mr2cents]

Obama has already made space exploration a back burner issue

I don't think that's a bad thing. The whole "humans to mars" thing is very optimistic once you realize everything involved. In my opinion, it's just a way for contractor to receive a lot of money without the need for deliverables, because it won't get launched. I still have a book from when I was a kid preaching the same fantasies about the ISS, together with pictures that are simply ludicrous when you compare it to what's being built. Now, we are hurrying to get it finished in time so it can be dumped in the pacific ocean.

When you look at the computer science revolution, and the amount of remote sensing that's being made possible, the idea that humans need to be there is foolish; sure, a scientist could work faster in situ, but when you look at the price tag, it should be enough to send a hundred of mars science laboratories there, each working for years and years. But somehow, we are being sold a mission to send a scientist to mars for a few weeks (I'm sure the rest would be military and then I'm being optimistic). Unless you really think they would choose to miss the launch window back and stay there for two years. Where is the scientific profit?

To make my point, I would suggest they start planning a sample return mission, and once they get some martian soil back on earth, maybe we could reopen the discussion. Untill then, I will keep repeating it is a ripoff scheme, spun by some big companies who smell easy money.