Astronaut for Hire

Lunar Science Forum

2010-07-24T21:40:00.001-10:00

Last week I attended the 3rd annual Lunar Science Forum (LSF) held at the NASA Ames Conference Center. The 3-day meeting sponsored by the NASA Lunar Science Institute (NLSI) dealt with topics "of the Moon, on the Moon, and from the Moon." The LSF was one of several lunar- and space-focused meetings during the week that also included the LunarGradCon, Next Generation Lunar Scientists and Engineers Workshop (NGLSE), Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG), and NewSpace2010. I want to thank the NLSI for providing the travel grant that made it possible for me to attend the meeting.

After introductory speeches from Ames Director Pete Worden (whom I know from ISU), Jen Heldmann (whom I know from the PSSS), and others, science journalist Andrew Chaikin delivered a very engaging an opening talk titled "Luna 2.0." One of his slides showed the LROC mission patch, which says in Latin "Science enables Exploration. Exploration enables Science." That sentiment really set the stage for the conference by giving a broad overview of how the new suite of missions studying the moon are producing some great science and paving the way for future human and robotic exploration.

In collaboration with Carol Stoker, I presented a poster titled "Iterative Science Strategy on Analog Geophysical EVAs." The abstract is available online here, and you can view the entire poster below. The LSF poster expands upon some of the work I previously presented at LPSC a few months ago. The main purpose of this new poster was to showcase the fluid nature of conducting field science and how crews on future planetary missions will need to bootstrap their way along as they learn new things on each EVA. Such a strategy lends itself well to permanent bases where you have the luxury of being able to continually return to sites of interest to conduct followup field measurements. Sortie style mission scenarios may not allow for this kind of iterative strategy and therefore may not yield as much science return.

Lunar Science Poster 2010

Presentations in the morning on the first day dealt with the latest results from the LRO and LCROSS missions. Afternoon talks addressed lunar drilling, the (network formally known as the) International Lunar Network, strategies for planetary geologic surface operations, astronaut training needs, and even the Mars Desert Research Station, where I spent 2 weeks earlier this year. One really popular talk was eloquently given by Pamela Gay on Moon Zoo, which is an exciting new web application that allows anyone to help scientists look for and classify interesting features on the Moon. The day wrapped up with the presentation of the Shoemaker Award and briefings by the directors of the NASA Science and Exploration Systems Mission Directorates.

On Day 2, I attended the Geophysics and Biology session during the morning. Maria Zuber gave an excellent overview of the outstanding geophysical questions on the Moon and how we need a combination of orbital remote sensing and ground-based human and robotic missions to help answer them. Other talks delved into how ground penetrating radar, laser altimeter, seismometer, and radiometric data contribute to the geophysical picture of the Moon.

In his introduction to the biology part of the session, Chris McKay spoke about the importance of life science to lunar exploration. He made the point that humans tend to only bring plants with them when they travel to a new place intending to stay there. When we start taking plants to the Moon or Mars, that will signify when we're there to stay. This is one reason why one Google Lunar X PRIZE team plans to take a plant to the Moon within a few years. In the session, I learned a new word: "astrophycology", which means the study of algae in space. Algae could play an important role in ecological life support systems, and there are a number of nanosat missions in the works to learn about how they deal with the challenges of the space environment.

I had to leave the LSF meeting after lunch on Day 2, so I missed the second half of the meeting, which delved into greater detail on topics such as lunar poles, sampling, geology, and geochemistry. To see more impressions people had during the meeting, check out its twitter hashtag #lsf2010.

Attending the LSF meeting was a highly valuable experience for me. The range of topics in the talks and posters helped broaden my appreciation for the cutting edge science being done with lunar data. I was able to meet with friends and colleagues I've known from Washington University, the International Space University, past planetary science meetings, and Astronauts4Hire. I forged new relationships with potential future collaborators on several different projects too, so there may be more great research and field work opportunities for me in the future. As always, stay tuned to this blog for my latest adventures.

Teachers in Space, part deux

2010-07-09T13:32:00.003-10:00

Teachers, if you've ever wanted to be an astronaut, now is your chance to apply. The Teachers in Space (TIS) project is seeking applicants for its second class of teacher astronauts. The goal of the TIS program is to create a pool of qualified teacher astronauts to fly on commercial spacecraft and then bring the experience back to students. There will be an information session on July 12 in Washington, DC. More details are in the latest TIS press release.

I first reported on the TIS project back in September 2008 when the initiative was seeking applicants for its first crop of astronauts. On July 20, 2009, TIS announced its selection of the "Pathfinder 7". The seven teachers ranged in age from 31 to 56 and have spent the past year promoting TIS and preparing for their training activities.

You can learn more about Teachers in Space from the following sites:

Triathlon Tribulations

2010-07-02T15:42:00.014-10:00

Last weekend I participated in the Fire Cracker Sprint Triathlon at Kaleoloa near my home on O'ahu. It was my first triathlon in 9 years, so I was a little apprehensive about it. With an official time of 1:22:49, I think did pretty well considering I hardly trained prior to the event and got hit by a car during the bike portion. It was a lot of fun, and I may start doing the multi-sport race more often from now on.

The race consisted of a 500 m swim, a 20 km bike, and a 5 km run. I'm really cold-natured when it comes to swimming, so I was a little worried about the 6:00am start time. To my relief, the water temperature felt very comfortable for the 15 minutes I was in it. Swimming has never been my favorite activity, despite being on my hometown's swim team for two years when I was a kid. The freestyle stroke zaps my energy very quickly, so I always end up reverting to breast stroke when I swim, and this triathlon was no exception. With an official swim time of 15:11, I came in 117th place out of 154 finishers. That's not great, but at least I was faster than a quarter of the other swimmers.

I wasn't very worried about the bike portion. After all, I have been cycling to school or work nearly every day for 23 years, so biking is second nature to me. Last time I competed in a triathlon I made the mistake of using my mountain bike. With their fat, cushy tires, mountain bikes just aren't made for speed on roads. This time, I opted to rent a road bike from a local bike shop. A scheduling mishap resulted in my not getting the bike until the night before the race. I only had time to ride it around my townhouse complex in the dark for about 20 minutes to familiarize myself with it. However, fate had a bigger problem in store for me during the bike portion of the race.

Overall, I did okay during the bike race with an average speed of about 18 miles per hour and official time of 39:55. I hit my stride in the 2-mile home stretch with speeds in excess of 22 miles per hour with one major exception. For some reason a car was driving slowly about 15 miles per hour in the same lane as the race. Passing to the left wasn't an option, so I had to either slow down or pass on the right. Apparently, the silver Honda Element's driver wasn't paying attention to the spandex-clad cyclists sharing the road, so when I got close to his right rear bumper, he didn't give me extra room to pass. In the split second I had to react, I decided to go for it and attempted to pass on the narrow shoulder. It turned out to be the wrong choice because as soon as I got even with the car, it drifted slightly rightward and clipped me, sending me veering off out of control! The whole thing seemed to happen in slow motion, so I was able to land in such a way that I could roll away safely with minimal contact on the rough asphalt. In the span of 90 seconds, I fell down, tumbled, got up, brushed myself off, and was back on my way at top speed. Although I didn't lose a lot of time, about 14 competitors passed me, bringing my rank down to 113th place.

I have been a competitive runner for more than 15 years and regularly compete in races such as last year's XTERRA half marathon. My two most recent 5k race times from last year were 21:24 and 21:22, so I was very happy to finish the Fire Cracker Sprint Triathlon with a run time of 23:06 and rank of 42. That means I passed about 70 people during the running race - not too shabby if I say so myself.

I wore my Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS watch during the entire race. It was my first time wearing it swimming. Since it's not rated for use in the water, I put it under my swim cap (like this) with only minor discomfort. You can view my GPS track in the Google Earth snapshots above and embedded widget below or click here for Garmin's nifty player. More photos from the event are posted in my phanfare album.

After the adrenaline from the race had worn off, I realized that my wounds from the biking accident were more severe than I had thought. I have pretty major scrapes on two of my lower back's vertebrae, right elbow, right knee, right hip, and right hand knuckles. The back wounds are the worst. I have no regrets, though. Now I just need to work on becoming a more efficient swimmer and getting more road bike practice time. Does anyone want to sell me a good used road bike?

AGU Younger Scientist Video Profile

2010-06-25T02:42:00.004-10:00

Last year the American Geophysical Union (AGU) put out an open call for entries to its "Younger Scientists Video Profiles" project, so I applied. The main purpose of the project was to attract kids to geoscience careers and to give the public a better understanding of what AGU member scientists do. My tsunami work and astronaut ambitions gained their attention, so AGU representatives interviewed me on camera at the Exploratorium in San Francisco during last December's AGU Fall Meeting. Later, they featured me in a blog post about the Chile tsunami too. At long last, now my video profile has been posted on the AGUvideos YouTube channel. It features footage taken both in San Francisco and on my FMARS mission. Check it out:

You can see still photos from all of the Younger Scientists who participated in this project on the AGU Facebook page and Flickr Photostream. Special thanks to MJ for making this happen.

The Musical Case for Mars

2010-06-11T13:58:00.002-10:00

This is for all of you Mars lovers out there.

The Symphony of Science has released a video titled "The Case for Mars". It puts to music many of the memorable speeches made by Robert Zubrin, Carl Sagan, Brian Cox, and Penelope Boston on the topic of Mars exploration.

Footage used in the video comes from Sagan's Cosmos series, The Mars Underground documentary, and the BBC's Wonders of the Solar System documentary. The inspirational, melodic video also features footage of people conducting EVAs at the Mars Desert Research Station, which is accepting applications now. Throughout the video, Zubrin is heard saying, "It shouldn't be humans to Mars in 50 years. It should be humans to Mars in 10." I can't say I disagree.

The Symphony of Science is a musical project designed to deliver scientific knowledge and philosophy in musical form. You can see the rest of their videos here.

Astronauts4Hire is Growing

2010-06-07T12:52:00.000-10:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 7, 2010

Astronauts4Hire expands its team of Commercial Astronaut Candidates

Astronauts4Hire announced today that it has selected six new members, bringing the total number of commercial astronaut candidates in the organization to seventeen. The new Astronauts4Hire recruits bring a great depth of experience to the initiative to develop a pool of qualified commercial astronauts. Many of them are private pilots with a long resume of experience working in the aerospace industry and have extensive experience working in microgravity aboard parabolic flights. One new member is a professional triathlete and author of several books on the topic of astronaut training.

The new Astronauts4Hire are:

Ben Corbin – Ph.D. Student, MIT

José Miguel Hurtado, Jr. – Associate Professor, University of Texas at El Paso

Jason Reimuller – Ph.D. Candidate, University of Colorado

Todd Romberger – Mechanical Engineer, ASRC Aerospace

Erik Seedhouse – Consultant, Author, and Athlete

Alli Taylor – Satellite Systems Engineer, Lockheed Martin

Astronauts4Hire is a Florida non-profit organization whose mission is to increase the competitiveness of commercial astronaut candidates by providing skills training, facilitating forums for candidate communication, engaging with potential employers, and inspiring the next generation. The organization is in the process of developing a pool of highly qualified and well-trained commercial astronauts to serve the emerging suborbital, and eventually orbital science industry.

For more information about Astronauts4Hire, its initial astronaut candidates, and sponsorship opportunities, please visit: www.astronauts4hire.org

###

Interested parties can download and distribute the press release as a MS Word or Adobe PDF document.

Aquanaut Gravity Comparisons

2010-06-06T17:15:00.002-10:00

What is gravity like on the Mars compared to the Moon or an asteroid? See for yourself in this really cool video made by Astronaut Chris Hadfield and crewmates on the NEEMO-14 mission at the NOAA Aquarius Reef Base. If you're curious to learn more about the underwater habitat, check out the NEEMO-14 overview video and video tour of Aquarius too.

For more great information on the NEEMO-14 mission, check out their Flickr photos, YouTube videos, Twitter profile, Facebook page, and mission support blog.

Stay turned for a future post with more on aquanaut opportunities!

There and back again with Mars500

2010-06-03T20:50:00.004-10:00

With conventional propulsion technologies, the trip from Earth to Mars will take about 6-8 months, depending on the trajectory and mission plan chosen. That means a round trip visit to the Red Planet will take at least a year and a half. How will people cope with the psychological factors on such a long journey? This is the central question asked by the Mars500 Medical Project, which began today.

Six dedicated people locked themselves in a Moscow hangar, committing themselves to a 520-day isolation study to simulate a mission to Mars. The experiment builds upon 14- and 105-day studies that were carried out in 2007 and 2009, respectively. The program is run the Russia's Institute for Biomedical Problems (IBMP), which has a long history of conducting experiments supporting human spaceflight. The BBC had two really nice articles this week on the Mars500 project here and here. You can learn about Mars500 in the following video:

Mars500 Resources on the Web:

Main Mars500 website (photos)
IMBP's Mars500 website
ESA's Mars500 website (photos)
Mars500 Mission Blog (includes a really cool widget showing the progress of the mission)
Mars500 Mini Blog (social media aggregator)
@Mars_500 Twitter Profile
Mars500 on YouTube
Mars500 Facebook Group

Mars500 simulates a full opposition-class mission to Mars. This mission scenario requires a large amount of energy to be expended in transit and involves a short surface stay of only 30 days. That is why it is usually not favored by Mars mission planners. However, for the purpose of Mars500 it makes sense due to their goal of studying group dynamics and human factors. The 520-day mission timeline includes a 250-day outbound trip, a 30-day simulated surface stay, and a 240-day return. The milestone dates are as follows:

3 June 2010: Start of the 520 day isolation study
8 February 2011: 'Arrival' to Mars and start of the 'surface operations'
10 March 2011: 'Return trip' begins
5 November 2011: End of the isolation, 'return' to Earth

The mission takes place in IBMP's Medico-Technical Complex, which consists of living, working, and storage modules connected by tunnels. It's also connected to the "Simulator of the Martian Surface" (SMS) module, which provides 1200 m³ of volume with a simulated Martian surface environment where the crew will conduct simulated EVA operations in the pressurized Orlan-E spacesuit. You can see photos of the crew trying on the suits here. A video tour of the complex is on the Mars500 YouTube channel: part 1 and part 2.

Keeping the crew alive on mission to Mars will be a challenge due to the persistent microgravity and radiation exposure throughout the interplanetary journey. Many bed rest studies have been done to address the issues of physical deconditioning due to the lack of gravity. Humans have also undergone spaceflights with durations similar to a Mars mission. Cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov holds the record for the longest single space mission. He lived on the Mir Space Station for more than 14 months (437 days, 18 hours) from January 1994 through March 1995. Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev is the current record holder for the most number of total days spent in space at 803 days and some change. When astronauts return to Earth from long missions in space, they are weak and often require days and even months to recover. No one really knows how well humans will function when they arrive on Mars after having spent so long weightless in space. That's why spinning the spacecraft to produce artificial gravity should be seriously considered as a countermeasure, unless we figure out a way to get to Mars faster.

Some people say that psycho-social issues will be a show-stopper for deep space exploration. One reason Mars500 is so important is to show the world that such problems are not insurmountable. While a human mission to Mars will be a momentous occasion, perhaps our greatest achievement ever, it won't be a first for long duration exploration. From the great Polynesian migrations, to the great sea expeditions during the Age of Exploration, to polar exploration in the 1800s and 1900s, human history is full of examples of heroic expeditions spanning many years. Perhaps the best analogs for a long duration space mission are extended submarine missions or Antarctic traverses because the crew is confined to a limited space in an environment that will kill them if they go outside. Thus, I have every confidence that the 6 crewmembers in the Mars500 experiment will fare well.

The Mars500 crew consists of three Russians, one Chinese, one Italian, and one French crewmember. I had the pleasure of meeting the Italian Diego Urbina (@diegou) during the crew changeover for my MDRS mission in January. He was on the outgoing Crew 88, and I was on the incoming Crew 89. He made the 3D MDRS drawing I showed in a previous post.

Commander: Alexey Sityev (Russia)
Physician: Sukhrob Kamolov (Russia)
Flight Engineer: Romain Charles (French)
Researcher: Alexander Smoleevskiy "Siev" (Russia)
Researcher: Diego Urbina (Italy-Colombia)
Researcher: Wang Yu (China)

They were paid about €20,000 for training and will reportedly receive €80-90,000 upon experiment completion. The crew's commander Alexey Sityev just got married, so he and his new bride will spend their first 18 months apart. Talk about a honeymoon! I think the only way my wife would let me do a mission this long would be if it were actually going to Mars.

Perhaps you too can't afford to take 18 months out of your life to train as a marsonaut. As luck would have it, the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) is now accepting applications for its 10th field season. You can apply to be a crewmember on 14-day rotation in the Utah facility simulating a Mars surface habitat. As someone who recently completed a mission there, I highly recommend it to all aspiring off-world explorers.

Good luck to the Mars500 crew! On to Mars!

Seismology on the Moon

2010-05-18T12:29:00.005-10:00

When we go back to the Moon, we'll need to employ geophysics to study its interior and will glean important insights into understanding the origin of the Earth-Moon system. In the process, we'll also learn valuable information to help people live and work on the lunar surface. For example, we can characterize the seismic hazard and find resources of interest in the subsurface.

Back in January 2010, I joined a small group of like-minded terrestrial and planetary geophysicists at the LunarGeo2010 meeting, which was held at Arizona State University. The LROC Outreach team was there interviewing some meeting participants on camera for their LRO Live! education and public outreach project. My interview video surfaced on the web yesterday:

It was an honor to be included in the LROC Live! video project along with others such as Astronaut Harrison "Jack" Schmitt (a geologist who holds the record for EVA time on the Moon), Astronaut Drew Feustel (who fixed Hubble and is the only current geophysicist-astronaut), and Barbara Cohen (who heads the U.S. component of the International Lunar Network). Dr. Schmitt gave a very well-thought-out rationale why we should return to the Moon that I'd like to share with you now:

More videos are on the LRO Live! YouTube channel.

Shuttle Launch

2010-05-16T14:41:00.125-10:00

When the Space Shuttle first launched in 1981, I was only 3 years old. Although I was too young to remember the earliest Shuttle missions, the STS program served as an inspiration to me throughout my life. The astronauts floating in microgravity above the majestic Earth became my heros and affected the trajectory of my life. I always wanted to see a Shuttle launch firsthand, but I never had the opportunity. Until now.

Fellow MDRS crewmember Carla Haroz, who works for NASA, obtained a rare pass to see the STS-132 launch. She generously invited the entire MDRS-89 crew to join her at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) to see the Shuttle leave Earth. The May 14 launch date couldn't have been more convenient for me since I was already on the continent anyway for the UND Capstone week. Not everyone from the 6-member MDRS crew could attend the launch, unfortunately. Even Carla couldn't be there since she had to be in Moscow to work on the Russian segment of ISS mission control. However, three MDRS crewmembers plus some of Carla's other friends were able to be at the launch. You can see the smiling group here.

Our car pass allowed up to seven people to travel in one vehicle to the West Causeway at the KSC. The site is about 6.5 miles from the Shuttle Launch Complex 39. The Banana River expanse of water is all that separates the launch and viewing sites. Only NASA employees, plus the family and friends they bring with them, are allowed to this viewing area. Typically, there are a few thousand people at this viewing site, but since this is the third to last scheduled Shuttle launch, over 17,000 people were there. In total, there were over 40,000 people on the KSC base viewing the STS-132 launch. NASA expects three times this number for the final Shuttle flight in either late 2010 or early 2011.

The launch happened on time at 2:20pm and conditions couldn't have been more perfect. A series of loudspeakers provided commentary leading up to the main event. Hearing the muffled speakers count down 9 - 8 - 7 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 sent chills up my spine. As the STS engines ignited, and the stack rose into the sky, I managed to snap several shots with my camera but made sure to soak in the experience with my own eyes. Even from over six miles away, the plume was intensely bright. I could discern the orbiter, main fuel tank, and solid rocket boosters without any trouble. About 30 seconds after liftoff, the steady roar rippled through my chest, but it wasn't as strong as I had anticipated. A couple of minutes later the Shuttle rolled back as it draped out a trail of steam across the sky. This was the 32nd and likely last mission for the Atlantis orbiter, although there is a chance it could fly again if a rescue mission is needed. There are only two more planned Shuttle flights.

For an even better set of photos on the launch, check out Joby Minor's website. I met a close friend of his on the causeway before the launch, and he agreed to share the pictures with me. Some of the photos shown above are his. Spaceflight Now also has some amazing pictures posted too. For the best view, check out the Spacevidcast video:

After the launch, I spent the day at the KSC Visitors Center, where I wandered the exhibits, pretended to blast into space aboard the Shuttle Launch Experience, and experienced walking on the Moon in the 3D IMAX film Magnificant Desolation. All are highly recommended. I also met up with fellow A4Hs Ryan Kobrick and Amnon Govrin at KSC. Later that night, I joined them at the first annual Space Tweep Society party at Fish Lips in Cocoa Beach. I was happy to finally meet people I follow on Twitter face-to-face, including some big names like David Masten and Astronaut Leroy Chiao. Below are pictures of Ryan, Amnon, and me on the left and Dr. Chiao, Amnon, and me on the right.

The next day, I toured KSC and was treated to close-up views of the VAB, Shuttle crawler vehicle, and launch pad. The extent of the steam exhaust damage was evident in the exfoliated bushes surrounding the pad.

Now that the Shuttle program is drawing to a close, we won't have many other chances to watch the world's favorite space truck thunder into orbit. I am extremely grateful that I finally had a chance to witness the spectacle with my own eyes. What will the future bring for manned spaceflight? When will we see people launch for other worlds? After 132 Shuttle missions, anything is possible.

Update: 18 May 2010

Wow! Check out these photos of Atlantis and the ISS transiting the Sun! It's mind-boggling to think that I saw Atlantis on the ground with my own eyes, and now it's up there amidst such a dramatic backdrop.

UND Capstone Week

2010-05-14T17:34:00.076-10:00

A funny thing happened on my way to Mars. I went to North Dakota.

Nearly three years ago, I began my studies in the Space Studies Department at the University of North Dakota (UND). Since then, I've been working towards earning a MS degree in Space Studies by taking a steady stream of one or two courses at a time. The interdisciplinary distance education program has been both immensely rewarding and challenging. A lot has happened in my life along the way, including the birth of my son, my NASA astronaut application, the FMARS and MDRS expeditions to analog Mars, and most recently the founding of Astronauts4Hire.

Last week, I participated in the UND Capstone experience. This was my first time on the UND campus, and I was very impressed with the School of Aerospace facilities. It was a little surreal to finally meet my professors in person since I felt like I already knew them pretty well after watching their lecture videos and corresponding with them for all this time. Capstone is a required two-semester course consisting of a collaborative team project on an interdisciplinary topic related to space studies.

The Capstone week was also the first time our eight-person capstone team had an opportunity to meet face-to-face. I can't stress enough how important that was to our project. We almost got more done in the last three days on campus than we had done in the previous three months. During the final hours leading up to our big presentation, we worked feverishly on integrating our report, which proposes a feasible, incremental strategy to land humans on Mars in 20 years. If you're curious what we proposed, I suggest you see our Executive Summary report, which is on the MEP project website.

The topic of a human mission to Mars couldn't be timelier. Just a month before our project began in July 2009, NASA released its Mars Design Reference Architecture 5.0 plan for a human Mars exploration program. In October 2009, the Augustine Commission released its final report, which exposed troubling budget and schedule problems in NASA’s Constellation program. A month later, NASA and ESA made the bold announcement that they were merging their robotic Mars exploration programs beginning in 2016. The White House released its draft budget request in February 2010 that cancelled the Constellation program, encouraged commercial sector access to low-Earth orbit, and placed greater emphasis on technology development. Most recently, on April 15, 2010, President Obama gave a speech at the Kennedy Space Center where he set NASA’s sites on Mars with a tentative target to get humans there by the early 2030s. An important goal in our Capstone effort was to outline a feasible Mars mission plan that could be carried out given current conditions. Thus, our team had to adapt to these changing political realities and adjust our approach as the project took shape. The project mission statement that we developed sums up our priorities:

To establish an integrated, sustainable exploration strategy for Mars exploration through a plan of synergistic human and robotic missions that maximizes scientific, political, and humanitarian benefit.

The Capstone week also includes tours of UND facilities. I was particularly excited to see the UND Space Suit Laboratory and Spacecraft Simulator Facility, which Pablo DeLeon manages. He's the same person who taught the Human Space Systems course last summer. In the picture to the right, you can see me trying on the new NDX-2 planetary suit. On the tour, I got to try out an Orion simulator for ISS capture and a SpaceShipOne simulator of a suborbital flight. Mike Melvill, the first commercial astronaut of the NewSpace era, recently visited the facility too and left his autograph on the simulator, which you can see in the photo below. Pablo's lab has some exciting plans this summer too. They will be building an inflatable lunar habitat and electric rover, which will later need field testing. Hmmm... I wonder who might want to join the field crew for those tests.

To graduate from the UND program, one must complete coursework, a comprehensive examination, the Capstone team project, and an individual research or thesis project. Students are required to present their individual research during the Capstone week. My presentation summarizes the science I did at FMARS and MDRS, along the same lines as my LPSC poster from this past March.

In Situ Geophysical Exploration by Humans in Mars Analog Environments

View more presentations from Brian Shiro.

I'm very grateful to the UND faculty for their support throughout the past three years. The UND Space Studies masters program compares favorably to ISU and now even accepts transfer credit from ISU. I plan to graduate later this year.

Geophysicist to Astronaut

2010-05-01T22:18:00.002-10:00

Last week I gave a presentation to ninth graders in Lovington, NM. It dealt with my scientific career and astronaut ambitions. Hopefully I showed the kids that science is fun and a great way to see the world. They are lucky to be in New Mexico, which is fast-becoming a hub of the commercial spaceflight revolution.

Geophysicist to Astronaut

View more presentations from Brian Shiro.

This was the second time I've given a presentation of this kind remotely via Skype; the first was to my high school last year. I've had a busy year with my FMARS and MDRS missions, founding of A4H, and near-completion of the UND Space Studies degree (more on that in the next post).

Rocket Racing League

2010-04-26T15:29:00.004-10:00

Coming soon to an airshow near you: Rocket Racing League.

I've always been a big fan of aviation and spent the better part of my youth immersed in it since my dad was a private pilot very active in the local AOPA club. Some of my favorite memories from those days are attending air shows with my family at a nearby Air Force base and flying to the EAA Oshkosh Show in Wisconsin.

The Rocket Racing League (RRL) is a new kind of airshow, which had its debut event at the Tulsa Air Show this past weekend. Think of it as Star Wars podracing meets NASCAR. RRL uses the latest rocket and augmented reality technologies to allow both the pilots and the spectators to feel like they're flying through a virtual racecourse in the sky. There is even an iPhone app that allows you to join in the fun.

Below is a highlight video from Miles O'Brien covering the first RRL event. Check out the RRL YouTube Channel for more.

The Rocket Racing League is the brainchild of Peter Diamandis, the same visionary who helped bring us the International Space University, SEDs, SpaceGen, X PRIZE, ZeroG Corp, Space Adventures, and Singularity University.

NASA's Reboot

2010-04-20T14:04:00.000-10:00

On April 15, Obama outlined a new strategy for NASA at the Presidential Space Summit held at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The plan proposes a sizable increase in NASA's budget, a privatizing of access to low-earth orbit, and shift in focus toward new technology development. A fellow A4H was there firsthand to witness the event. If you, like me, couldn't be there, check out this NASA video that explains the new plan:

NASA's proposed cancellation of the Constellation program has sparked both fierce supporters and opposition. Overall, I am optimistic about the possibilities with the increased funding and shifted strategy, and I hope NASA's actions match its rhetoric. However, what is lacking now is a specific, focused plan with actual timetables and goals. One of Obama's statements in his speech really worried me, though:

Now, I understand that some believe that we should attempt a return to the surface of the Moon first, as previously planned. But I just have to say pretty bluntly here: We’ve been there before.

That statement illustrates a fundamental misunderstanding of why we explore. We don't just go to plant a flag and say "been there, done that". We go to learn. As much as I support getting humans to Mars NOW, I don't think the Moon should be ignored. We can explore both, and in fact the Moon may prove a useful testbed for technologies and crews before we send them to Mars. Obama really missed an opportunity to boldly set a line in the sand for when we should reach Mars and how all of NASA's exploration efforts to the Moon, asteroids, and otherwise would fit in with that plan.

To learn more, you can read the entire speech transcript, watch it below, and review the OSTP and NASA fact sheets on the plan.

If Batman, 007, and Star Trek can successfully reboot, NASA can too.

Astronauts4Hire!

2010-04-12T11:21:00.001-10:00

I'm excited to announce an exciting project that has occupied a great deal of my time for the past few weeks. Check out our first press release below:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 12, 2010

Astronauts4Hire Launches, Selects Initial Candidates for Commercial Scientist Astronauts

Phoenix, Arizona – Astronauts4Hire, a new collaborative effort to support and develop a pool of qualified, commercial scientist astronauts announces today the launch of its website (www.astronauts4hire.org) and selection of 11 initial astronaut candidates. The candidates, selected from industry and academia, bring with them a wide variety of experience and expertise, representing a diverse set of disciplines. Pooling their collective resources and talents, and leveraging their common passion and commitment for space exploration, the candidates have created Astronauts4Hire to support the emerging suborbital research industry. On a day that marks the anniversaries of the first human to orbit the Earth and the maiden flight of the Space Shuttle, this announcement marks a push towards a new era of more accessible commercial space research and exploration.

Astronauts4Hire is soliciting sponsors and donors to enable the candidates to undergo spaceflight training and obtain other pertinent experience that will increase their competitiveness as astronauts-for-hire by those private firms conducting scientific research on suborbital platforms. The initial target is to obtain $40,000 USD, which will be used to allow the initial astronaut candidates to take part in the three-day Suborbital Scientist Training Program at the NASTAR Center in Pennsylvania. The course includes medical screening, classroom preparation, centrifuge and hypobaric chamber training.

Additional astronaut candidates and training course targets will be identified as the effort moves forward. Astronauts4Hire intends to become the one-stop shop for those seeking qualified, experienced professionals to conduct microgravity and other research on suborbital, and later orbital platforms. The website will eventually evolve to allow anyone who has the dream of becoming a commercial astronaut to create an online profile listing their experience and training, allowing them to see how they rank against other prospective astronauts. The site will become an interactive tool, providing a forum for discussion and collaboration.

The initial Astronauts4Hire are:

Jim Crowell - Student, Arizona State University

Bruce Davis - Ph.D. Student, University of Colorado

Kristine Ferrone - ISS Flight Controller, NASA JSC

Amnon Govrin - Software Engineer, Spacepirations.com

Chad Healy - MS Student, University of Colorado

Ryan Kobrick - Ph.D. Candidate, University of Colorado

Joseph Palaia - Vice President, 4Frontiers Corp

Luís Saraiva, Ph.D. - Neuroscientist, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

Brian Shiro, Geophysicist - NOAA

Laura Stiles - Ph.D. Student, University of Colorado

Veronica Ann Zabala-Aliberto - NASA LROC Coordinator, Arizona State University

For more information about Astronauts4Hire, its initial astronaut candidates, and sponsorship opportunities, please visit: www.astronauts4hire.org

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Interested parties can download and distribute the press release as a MS Word or Adobe PDF document.

Fan vs. Wild

2010-03-29T00:14:00.006-10:00

I'm a big fan of the Discovery Channel show Man vs. Wild where Bear Grylls pits himself against nature in dangerous situations to teach viewers how to survive. I really admire Bear and am more than a little jealous at all of the fun he has doing the show. Check out the Bear Grylls Survival Manual to learn some of his tricks or Bear's Blog to follow his adventures.

Bear is somewhat of a hero to me, and I have always secretly wanted to be his sidekick. Well, now is my chance. The Fan vs. Wild contest will let four amateur adventurers compete in a "wilderness boot camp" for a chance to join Bear on a episode of Man vs. Wild later this year. From the Men's Journal announcement:

If you fancy yourself an adventurer, you’re in luck. From now until April 30, you can enter for a chance to be one of four guys to take part in a wilderness boot camp led by Bear Grylls. If selected, your summer adventures — and inevitable mishaps — will be filmed from a remote location. Before your television debut, however, you’ll first have to prove yourself to a group of pro athlete mentors, as well as Grylls himself, as they assess your ability to cope with the challenges set before you.

In August, the world will watch you test your limits on a web series at www.FanVsWild.com. No sense in being bashful though — something tells us that the fear of public scrutiny will be the least of your worries once left to your own devices in the wild. This fall, one of the winning four will be featured in a special one-hour episode Fan vs. Wild on Discovery.

Visit www.FanVsWild.com to submit a photo and essay explaining why adventure is in your blood, and why you’re the best candidate for the show.

If I can survive that, astronaut training should be a piece of cake! Naturally, I submitted an application. I only had 1000 characters to tell them why they should select me, so I hope I was convincing. We were allowed to submit one photo, so I made a collage of my adventures:

The promotion is sponsored by Degree Men. The commercial for the Fan vs. Wild contest is below:

Could this be my next adventure? Stay tuned to find out. Today is my seventh wedding anniversary, so I hope lucky number seven helps me earn a seat in the Fan vs. Wild competition.

Listen for me on Talking Space

2010-03-27T12:15:00.010-10:00

Last week, I had the pleasure of being the featured guest on the Talking Space podcast. @TalkingSpace is a project of the Space Tweeps Society. The panelists interviewing me included Mark Ratterman, Sawyer Rosenstein, and Gina Herlihy. We talked about my job at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, the astronaut selection process, my FMARS and MDRS missions, and Mars exploration in general. Episode 212 is now online, and you can listen to it below:

You can listen to my previous two Space Show interviews here and here.

Earth and Space 2010

2010-03-22T00:23:00.660-10:00

Last week I attended the 12th annual Earth & Space 2010 conference. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) sponsors the biennial meeting to bring together experts from a variety of disciplines to discuss exploration, engineering, construction, and operations in challenging environments both on Earth and throughout the solar system. Civil engineering holds the key to solving many of the challenges needed to create sustainable outposts in hostile environments including providing power, mitigating low gravity and dust, protecting against radiation, using local resources, exploring the subsurface, and much more.

The meeting was held at the Sheraton Waikiki hotel, which offered breathtaking views of the ocean, as shown from the window in the meeting facility here. Tracks in the conference dealt with lunar and martian regolith materials, sustainable development, intelligent sensors, aerospace vehicle control, offshore wind turbines, fluid dynamics and heat transfer, structural health monitoring, disaster mitigation (engineering seismology), nanotechnology, and advanced construction materials. I spent the majority of my time at the meeting in Track B, which focused on exploration and utilization of extraterrestrial bodies. I took copious notes from the technical sessions, but I'll just summarize a few of the presentations here.

Technologies and Approaches Enabling Planetary Exploration

Haym Benaroya kicked off the session with a really good interdisciplinary, holistic treatment of lunar settlements. He considered topics ranging from the the lunar environment (radiation, low gravity, dust/regolith, moonquakes, etc.) to engineering (habitat structures, power systems, resource extraction, power, etc.) to human factors (physiology, psychology, politics/law, business, tourism, etc.). He stressed that the first generation of lunar missions will bring everything with them; second generation missions will utilize local assembly of structures; and third generation systems will make their resources from local materials. The right to ownership for resources like Helium-3, platinum, and solar power needs to be worked out, and we need to strike a balance between economic development and environmental preservation. I found his discussion on how tourism would deal with issues of insurance and health care very interesting too. Benaroya is the author of two new books on this subject: Lunar Settlements and Turning Dust to Gold: Building a Future on the Moon and Mars. He projects milestones of returning to the Moon in 2024, landing on Mars in 2034, establishing a permanent Mars colony by 2041, first human born on the Moon in 2099, and terraforming of Mars by 2169.

Peter Curreri gave a fascinating talk on the rationale why humans must establish permanent off-world colonies in order to avoid extinction. He based the argument not on the possibility of a catastrophic impact event but instead on the human propensity for self-extinction. Basically, the exponential growth of technology puts potentially dangerous technology like nuclear weapons in the hands of more and more people as time moves forward. It's only a matter of time before someone has both the ability and the motivation to push the button and cause widespread extinction on Earth. Curreri estimated that in 1950, 10 people had access to technology that could end life on Earth, but in 2010 the number is closer to 1000. Thankfully, most of these people are not likely to use the technology, but he argued that, based on the psychological literature, the murder-suicide rate is 0.2-0.3% in any population. Multiplying this rate by the number of people with the ability to make humanity extinct, he forecasted that the probability of humans blowing themselves up will reach 1 in 2090! We'd better act fast to ensure our survival. If we had just one permanent human colony off Earth, that rate would be cut to only 0.1 in 2090. To completely ensure the survival of the human species, Curreri recommends building at least 70 "mini" O'Neill-Glaser style habitats in space that support populations of 300 people, utilize space solar power, and pay for themselves in 25 years.

Brand Griffin of Gray Research presented a very promising lunar exploration strategy called "Lunar Daylight Exploration." He noted that with only 1 rover, 2 astronauts, and 3 days, the Apollo 17 mission covered 36 km, setup 10 scientific experiments, and returned 110 kg of samples. That's really good. He posed the question what could the Apollo crew had done with more time and today's modern robotics? Griffin envisions a low-cost approach of lunar exploration inspired by Apollo whereby robotic rovers and landers first go scout out the most important scientific sites. Later, 2-person human crews land at the locations deemed to have the highest scientific value and spend an entire lunar day (14 Earth days) exploring the areas. The rovers, which had previously been teleoperated, would also be able to be manually driven by the astronauts up to 768 km when they arrive. He envisions an overall strategy using 4 robotic landers and 10 crewed missions in this scenario. This "campout" model has greatly reduced consumables, radiation exposure, physiological degradation, and risk compared with longer term lunar mission concepts. This would allow us to visit more places, do a greater variety of science, and gain experience with planetary surface operations. I think these sorts of missions would be excellent training opportunities for Mars astronauts as well.

In Situ Resource Utilization

The first Track B session of the meeting dealt with ISRU, and it was so popular that the meeting organizers had to find a larger room. NASA's In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) Program Manager Bill Larson gave the first talk on "Overcoming the Hurdles of Incorporating In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) into Human Lunar Exploration." He defined ISRU as any hardware or operation that harnesses and utilizes 'in situ' resources to create products and services for robotic and human exploration. These resources could be both natural and manmade (e.g., reusing discarded materials). IRSU encompasses a wide range of activities such as resource mapping/characterization, mission consumable production, surface construction, energy generation/storage/transfer, and equipment manufacturing/repair. ISRU is a critical capability required for sustainable long term human space exploration, but it is largely unproven. This is why mission planners are usually reluctant to put ISRU in the critical path of a mission. Therefore, we need to develop ISRU technologies now so they are mature in time for lunar and martian exploration. The caveat is that this could lead to higher up front costs and potentially delay human exploration. However, in the long term, it will minimize uncertainties, shortfalls, and costs while increasing sustainability, crew safety, and capabilities. Larson said ISRU research and funding will increase if Congress approves the President's proposed NASA budget.

Larson, Dale Boucher, and Robert Fox also spoke at length about the PISCES lunar analog field work done on the Big Island of Hawaii in 2008 and 2010. They highlighted the recent January-February 2010 field test of a closed ISRU cycle whereby a rover scooped up tephra and dumped it in a carothermal reactor where it was heated to 1650-1800 °C using solar collectors in a methane environment. This produced carbon monoxide and hydrogen, which went into a methanation reactor to produce methane and water. Then, they separated the water into hydrogen and oxygen via electrolysis. The oxygen yield was 9-10% by mass, which is pretty good. You can see photos of the field work above or here, here, and here. You can also read about the project on SPACE.com and the Honolulu Advertiser. Follow the group @NASAdust2thrust on twitter too.

Planetary Analogs

The Planetary Analogs session may have been my favorite. It focused on work being done on Earth to test procedures, methodologies, equipment, and technologies for later application to lunar and martian exploration. The challenges faced by people on long duration deployments to remote outposts (established or temporary) are similar to those future explorers will face on Mras. Two talks focused on how Antarctica South Pole Traverses are like operations on the Moon or Mars.

Robert Mueller (NASA), Stephen Hoffman (SAIC), and Paul Thur (Raytheon) discussed how the long 1600 km (1000 mi) traverse from McMurdo Station to the South Pole is analogous to lunar or martian traverses. Both must tackle issues of resupply, caches, cold conditions, etc. The NASA concept for a lunar traverse is 4 crewmembers on a 6-month mission to cover thousands of kilometers. This will allow for regional to near global access and the ability to do much more science than staying put at one base. They defined the "Support Equipment Ratio" (SER) as the ratio of support equipment needed vs. the amount of deliverable cargo. In the 2009-10 Antarctic South Pole traverses, the SER was 1.38:1, and this will drop to 1.15:1 once they completely switch from steel skis to plastic sleds. NASA's analysis suggests a lunar traverse would have a SER of 0.97:1, which is pretty close to the Antarctic experience. For either Antarctica or the Moon, the biggest technology development issues pertain to gray water recovery and environmentally friendly waste disposal. Crews for long duration lunar or martian traverses will likely train in Antarctica.

Hoffman later gave another presentation emphasizing that we now have more than 50 years of Arctic and Antarctic experience that we can leverage for lunar or martian exploration. Some of the examples included the Norwegian-British-Swedish Expedition of 1949-52 (15 crew, 1240 km longest traverse), International Geophysical Year traverses of 1956-58 (8-9 crew, 2300 km longest traverse), Queen Maud Land traverses of 1964-68 (10-11 crew, 1556 km longest traverse), and Northwest Passage Drive traverse of 2004 (4 crew, 250 km traverse). His main focus was how these types of expeditions are analogous to mobile exploration scenarios in the Mars Design Reference Architecture 5.0. Hoffman summarized a workshop held last year on "Arctic and Antarctic Analogs for Planetary Surface Traverses". I encourage readers to click on the link to read the PDF report of from that workshop.

Brian Glass from NASA Ames rounded out the session by summarizing some of the major terrestrial Mars analog sites and their relative strengths and weaknesses for drilling automation testing. Drilling is an important activity for most proposed exploration strategies since it allows the study of subsurface ice/volatiles, the regolith/upper crust, biomarkers/life, heat flow, resource characterization, etc. While teleoperated drilling might be okay on the Moon, the time delay to Mars means that we'll have to automate the work. Some of the sites he compared were Barringer Crater and Black Point in Arizona, Moses Lake in Washington, Rio Tinto in Spain, the Idaho National Laboratory, the Atacama Desert in Chile, Lonar Crater in India, Mauna Kea in Hawaii, the Dry Valleys of Antarctica, Svalbard in Norway, and Devon/Ellesmere/Axel Heilberg Islands in Canada. For a more complete treatment of Mars analog sites on Earth, check out the 2004 NRC report. I got to know Brian on Devon Island last summer during the FMARS mission. He helped me out by turning off radio transmissions to his automated drill experiment during my electromagnetic experiment. You can watch him in the video below.

Lunar Habitats, Drilling, and Sample Return

Presentations given by Kriss Kennedy and A. Scott Howe of NASA compared the Lunar Surface Systems Project Habitation Team architectures for Scenarios 12.0 and 12.1, which correspond to horizontally and vertically oriented habitats, respectively. Both call for missions with a crew of 4 for durations up to 180 days. The vertical habitat concept has the advantage of larger floor surface area and easier docking compared to the horizontal architecture. In both cases, the issue of protection from galactic cosmic radiation remains unsolved. Olga Bennova proposed a water wall popup shelter to serve as protection during solar particle events. The Habitat Demonstration Unit (HDU) will be tested in July 2010 at the NASA Desert RATS campaign outside Flagstaff, Arizona. They plan to have a crew of 2-4 take part in a 14-30 day analog field mission. That sounds like something I'd love to do. Kennedy showed a really cool video animation of the mobile lunar surface system architecture in action, but I can't find it online. Instead, check out NASA's online lunar outpost. The 12.0 (left) and 12.1 (right) architectures are shown below:

Planetary drilling, Sample return, and dust mitigation were big themes too with several sessions devoted to them. This post is getting long, so I'll skip the long-winded summaries, but you can see my notes for the details.

Astronaut Jack Schmitt Awards Reception

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you probably remember that back in January, I met Apollo 17 astronaut Jack Schmitt at the LunarGeo 2010 workshop. One of the reasons I was so excited about attending the Earth & Space 2010 conference was because Schmitt would be there too. The first astronaut scientist to walk on another world received the Columbia Medal for his long-standing contributions to space exploration and gave the keynote address at the ASCE Awards Reception. His talk focused on lunar science and the energy resources that are available there (particularly Helium-3). Jeff Taylor gave the reception's opening talk on why we should explore the Moon.

Future astronaut Brian Shiro with former astronaut Jack Schmitt (March 16, 2010)

Prior to the keynote addresses, A Babe in the Universe and I had an interesting discussion about human missions to Mars. She thinks we can get by with as little as two or perhaps even one person on the crew. I think you need at least four people and preferably more. We both agreed that more long term isolation studies like Mars 500 are needed to work out the psycho-social and crew selection issues. All-in-all, the Earth & Space 2010 meeting cemented in me a better understanding of the engineering issues related to living off-world and that the Moon has a lot to offer as a testbed.

Dottie: Runner Astronaut

2010-03-12T22:56:00.004-10:00

Image by Phoebe Rourke-Ghabriel
via Runner's World

This month's "I'm a Runner" feature in Runner's World magazine features astronaut Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger. The interview with Dottie offers an inspiring glimpse into her life as a runner astronaut. Like me, she began running in the 9th grade and ended up running the mile and two-mile distances in high school track. She ran on her college track and cross-country teams while also excelling in school. Later, she became a high school geology and astronomy teacher and cross-country coach before being selected by NASA in 2004. Dottie will test her space legs next month on the ISS treadmills aboard her first spaceflight on STS-131.

The thing that most impressed me from the article was the fact that not only did Dottie have a baby while she was an ASCAN; she also completed three marathons before her daughter turned one! I am in complete amazement because since my son was born, I've found it very difficult to train regularly, and the longest race I've run since he's been alive is a half marathon. Dottie's marathon PR is 3:05, so at least I have her beat in that arena; mine is 3:02.

What's the secret to her success? The mom/runner/astronaut superwoman offers the following:

Training to be an astronaut is like running a marathon. You need to stick with it, and in time, you'll be successful.

Dottie and I share a common friend, and she was generous enough to speak with me about my astronaut application in early 2008 as I was preparing it. Her main advice to me was to make myself come across as unique and be specific whenever possible. For example, she recommended that I shouldn't just say I'm a runner but list which marathons I've run and what times I had. That's what I did, and I can't complain because I made it pretty far in the selection.

Previous Runner's World articles have featured astronauts Sunita Williams, Leroy Chiao, and the late Willie McCool. The article about Williams talks about her running the Boston Marathon in space, while the interview with Chiao focuses more in general on what it is like to run in space. The McCool article is a lengthy and touching tribute to his life as a runner, astronaut, father and husband.

China's mother of astronaut selections

2010-03-09T15:02:00.003-10:00

On this blog, I've shared information about recent astronaut selections by NASA in the US, CSA in Canada, ESA in Europe, JAXA in Japan, and even the possibility for astronauts from ISRO in India. Now China is making news with its latest astronaut selection. According to China Daily and the Guardian, China has chosen seven new astronauts from a pool of 45 air force pilots. The names have not been released yet, but all are between the ages of 27 and 34, and five hail from Shandong Province.

Photograph: AFP/Getty Images from gaurdian.co.uk

Two of the seven new recruits are females, and interestingly, only mothers were considered for the job. This was ostensibly due to concerns for their reproductive well being according to officials since "there is little evidence on how the space experience will affect the female constitution." I guess the effect of space on the male ability to reproduce isn't as important. The articles fail to mention that women are generally lighter and consume less food, air, and water compared with men, making them potentially less expensive to send into space. It does, however, state that women are "more mentally stable, better able to bear loneliness and [have] better communication skills [than men]." The first Chinese woman/mother in space could fly as soon as 2012.

May 10, 2010 Update

Some more details about the new female Chinese astronauts are available here.

Comparing FMARS and MDRS

2010-03-07T00:55:00.011-10:00

Now that I've been home from MDRS for a month, I want to pause and reflect upon the experience. In particular, I want to compare MDRS to its sister Mars base FMARS, where I spent July of last year. I am now a member of a small club who can proudly say we have done a tour at each station, which are the only two mock Mars habitats in existence (for now).

Physically, the two structures have similar dimensions and floor plans, each being about 8.8 meters in diameter by 7.7 meters tall. That's a size that could fit within a Saturn V or other proposed heavy lift rocket. The buildings have domed roofs sheltering enough living and workspace for 6-7 crewmembers on missions that have ranged from one week to four months in duration. Each "Hab" contains a biology/geology laboratory, EVA preparation room, engineering storage/workshop, shower, toilet, and two airlocks on the first floor. The upper floor contains the 6 crewmember staterooms, a kitchen, work area, dining table, and an upper loft for storage. FMARS has a dedicated exercise area with a treadmill and bike, but MDRS does not. Below you can see a 3D rendering of the MDRS Hab interior courtesy of Diego Urbina of MDRS Crew 88.

You may want to check out my video tour of FMARS and Crew 75's video tour of MDRS to get a better idea what the two Habs are like. The photos below compare my bedrooms at FMARS (left) and MDRS (right). The MDRS room is larger and has a window because it's on the outside wall and is usually reserved for the mission Commander.

FMARS was constructed out of strong pre-formed fiberglass panels and was flown to Devon Island via an Army C-130. After much drama involving a failed parachute that destroyed the original FMARS interior walls and construction crane, the structure was built by Mars Society and HMP volunteers in 2000. MDRS, on the other hand, was constructed out of more conventional building materials and was completed in 2002. This means that although FMARS is located in a more remote and harsh environment it has held up a little better than MDRS. MDRS's greater wear and tear could also be due to the fact that 92 crews have now called MDRS home, whereas only 12 have been to FMARS. A third larger Mars Society habitat called EuroMARS was built out of fiberglass in a manner similar to FMARS, but it was unfortunately destroyed in an accident before it could be sent to the field, but there are ambitious plans to revive it. The fourth planned Mars Society base called MarsOz has never gotten much out of the planning stages as far as I can tell.

window in MDRS's inner airlock door

Since MDRS came after FMARS, it has some refinements that FMARS does not have. The airlock doors, for example, have some knobs and wheels on them that make them look more realistic. More importantly, the inner EVA airlock door has a window, something we wished the one at FMARS had. MDRS has real stairs (well, split stairs) leading to its upper floor, whereas FMARS just has a ladder. MDRS has a heating system with ducts throughout the Hab, but FMARS does not. That makes for much warmer toilet and shower rooms at MDRS compared to FMARS.


hyacinths help purify water in the MDRS GreenHab

Some MDRS refinements actually enhance the Mars simulation experience by not forcing crewmembers to "break sim" as often as is required at FMARS. For example, at FMARS we had to fill the generator fuel tank every 8 hours to maintain constant power; at MDRS, the a big fuel tank is plumbed directly into the generator, making manual refueling unnecessary. Likewise, at FMARS we had to gather our own water from a stream about half a mile away and carry away gray water from the Hab. MDRS has its water delivered in a big 550 gallon tank that lasts at least two weeks, and gray water is recycled through the GreenHab. Finally, MDRS has a septic tank that means one can flush the toilet and not have to think too much about where the waste goes. FMARS has no such luxury, which is why we had collect all liquid and solid waste and either fly it off the island or incinerate it. MDRS has a physical "pressurized tunnel" connecting it to the GreenHab, which is a nice touch that maintains the feel of the simulation too. Since FMARS is more remote than MDRS, it has more tools and spare parts on site, making it more self-sufficient compared to MDRS, which is more dependent on outside support.

FMARS is situated on the western rim of the Haughton Crater so the area resembles the brecciated, overturned terrain likely present over much of Mars. Plus, the heat from the impact event sterilized the area making it nearly devoid of life, also like Mars. Being in an Arctic region, the FMARS surroundings also have features like permafrost and polygonal terrain. MDRS also looks like Mars due to the red and brown hues in the sedimentary rocks that comprise the region. The local geology consists of various sedimentary and volcanic layers deposited in aqueous environments, which is similar to many areas of Mars. Both analog habitats are surrounded by chaotic canyon terrains similar Mars as well. Below you can see us roving near FMARS (left) and MDRS (right).

Despite both structures being located in desert environments, moisture buildup and mold are big problems at FMARS because the structure is so well-sealed. That's why dehumidifiers are absolutely necessary. MDRS, however, does not suffer from this problem at all and has very dry indoor air, which is perhaps a reflection that the structure allows for more air exchange with the outdoors compared to FMARS.

Early histories of FMARS & MDRS

Both Mars analog programs have similar operating procedures, but MDRS is overall more institutionalized. By this, I mean there are set procedures for what to do at MDRS, even if they change frequency. At FMARS, you tend to operate more by the seat of your pants. Mission Support is better geared to supporting MDRS since the have tools in place to manage the daily reports and photos. At FMARS, there is more improvisation. MDRS has a number of laminated signs inside telling crewmembers what to do (or not do) and how to operate some Hab systems. I wish FMARS had that. The Mars Society should do a better job at archiving the vast amount of reports, photos, video, and data collected on all of its simulated Mars missions. As it stands now, it is difficult for each crew to build upon previous crews' work because the information is not very accessible.

I am very grateful to The Mars Society for choosing me for these two missions. I wouldn't trade the experiences for anything. The FMARS and MDRS bases provide a very good ways for crews to gain an experience analogous to a Mars mission. However, they can be considered "beta" versions of what a higher fidelity Mars simulation could be. I have great hopes that the MMARS and/or Explore Mars initiatives will be successful in leveraging the lessons learned at FMARS and MDRS (good and bad) to construct a second generation mock Mars base that offers an even more realistic experience to provide better training opportunities for future travelers to analog Mars.

Okeanos Explorer

2010-03-03T17:08:00.014-10:00

Space may be the final frontier, but 95% of the Earth's oceans remain unexplored. The deep ocean could hold the keys to the origin of life and studying it could enable technological and economic benefits to humanity. That's why the 2001 Presidential Panel on Ocean Exploration recommended that the "U.S. undertake a national program in ocean exploration in which discovery and the spirit of challenge are the cornerstones." NOAA responded by creating the Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, the great Ocean Explorer educational website, and the Okeanos Explorer ship. I had the priviledge of touring the Okeanos Explorer earlier today.

It's worthwhile to distinguish what NOAA means by "exploration" in this context. Exploration is the discovery of new things, not necessarily the detailed study of them. By focusing on exploration, the Okeanos Explorer ("EX" for short), is generating hypotheses rather than answering them. It takes systematic observations to identify new features of interest where scientists may want to later return for more detailed mapping and research. NOAA has a fleet of 19 survey and research vessels operated by NOAA Corps. However, only one of these ships, the EX, is a ship solely of exploration. In that regard, the ship is like the Enterprise from Star Trek, and the NOAA Corps crew is like Starfleet.

The Okeanos Explorer was commissioned on August 13, 2008 and is therefore one of NOAA's newest vessels. It has state-of-the art technology that allows for real-time high-definition video feeds to be transmitted to scientists at remote locations. This telepresence ability is unique to the Okeanos Explorer and likely represents the future in ocean exploration since it is expensive and difficult to send large teams of scientists on research cruises. It also allows for images and video to be streamed live into classrooms, newsrooms, and possibly even your living room to help raise ocean awareness. The photos below show the "mission control room" where everything is controlled aboard the ship and the server room that supports it. A big theme in NASA these days is "participatory exploration". Well, this is it.

The EX has a new 3D multibeam mapping system that provides high-resolution maps of the seafloor. This is an important tool for discovering new things of interest. When the ship finds something it wants to study in more detail, it deploys the ROV system. A ROV (remotely operated vehicle) is an unmanned underwater robotic craft with cameras, sampling systems, and other tools for data collection. Compared to human submersibles, they are less costly to operate and can spend longer in deep waters. The EX currently has a ROV on loan from Dr. Bob Ballard, the famous oceanographer who discovered the Titanic and advised the Sea Quest DSV show in the 90s. You can see it on the EX's hangar bay on the left below, and someone working on the ship's non-maneuverable ROV (the camera sled) in the center. These two ROV's work in tandem as part of the innovative ROV exploration system on the EX (right image).

During the tsunami this past weekend, the EX was in port at Ford Island in Pearl Harbor. They were unable to leave the harbor so had to brace for possible impact in case the tsunami affected them. Luckily, the sea level change within Pearl Harbor was only about a foot so wasn't a danger. I was impressed with the ship's high-tech bridge (see below) and the fact that it can maintain a fixed location within less than a meter using its differential GPS system and thrusters. You can track its location using Google Maps or view a slideshow of EX photos here.

The commanding officer of the Okeanos Explorer is Commander Joe Pica (shown above and below). He and Craig Russell, Program Manager for the EX, gave me the tour today. Thanks to both of them for showing me around such an impressive vessel. They will embark from Hawaii later this week for their first field trial of the new ROV system and will later do some exploration in the waters off Indonesia.

The same spirit of exploration that drives NOAA to chart the unexplored regions of the sea will carry humanity forward as we explore our solar system and beyond.

LPSC Poster on Mars Analog Geophysics

2010-03-02T14:05:00.004-10:00

In addition to the excitement from the Chile tsunami, this week is also host to the 41st Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC) in The Woodlands, Texas. Back in 2004, I attended the LPSC meeting, which is the world's premier gathering of planetary scientists, and I am happy to have a contribution to this year's LPSC. On Thursday, I will be virtually presenting research findings from the geophysics projects I did at FMARS and MDRS, including the seismic station installation, electromagnetic survey, and seismic refraction survey. I say virtually because I unfortunately won't be there in person; instead a colleague will present the poster for me.

You can read my 2-page abstract online or see the full poster below:

LPSC 2010 Poster

The work featured in this poster will form the basis for my UND Space Studies Independent Study thesis project which is one of the final requirements of that master's degree. Thanks to everyone who helped me make these projects a success!

The week's excitement isn't over yet. Tomorrow I'll tour NOAA's latest research ship the Okeanos Explorer. Check it out!

The Social Tsunami

2010-02-28T15:30:00.019-10:00

The past day and a half has passed in a blur of activity responding to the Chile earthquake and Pacific tsunami. I was awake for 40 hours working almost nonstop at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) and only took a small break for about two hours on Saturday afternoon. The total elapsed time from our first to last tsunami bulletins was 27 hours - a record long event for us. It may have been exhausting, but it was rewarding work knowing that something I was doing was making a difference. This was, after all, the first Pacific-wide tsunami warning since 1964! Below is a photo of one of our displays in the operations center showing estimated tsunami travel time contours just before the tsunami was due to strike Japan:

My involvement began around 9:30pm Friday night when I was called into the office to fix a problem with the PTWC website. I arrived wearing a T-shirt, Hawaiian board shorts, and slippers (flip flops) thinking I'd do the fix and go home right away. Little did I know the scale of the event that was about to unfold and the media attention it would garner. Otherwise, I might have dressed more appropriately and been on camera for some of the news media coverage. Once the PTWC operations center became crowded with the media and other visitors, I felt uncomfortable in my unprofessional attire so I spent most of my time in my office answering the barrage of phone calls and emails we received.

Some calls were from concerned citizens asking what to do. Some were from officials in governments around the Pacific asking for information. Most calls were from the media, and I ended up recording at least 30 phone interviews for news outlets around the world. For example, I was on NPR, BBC (many times), Al Jazeera English (many times), Sky News (twice), BBC Breakfast, Fox and Friends, Fox News, CNN, CNN Radio, ABC, NBC, CBC, NHK, Good Morning America, KHON, and many more. I was also quoted in the "print" media such as the New York Times, LA Times, Huffington Post, Star Bulletin, Daily Telegraph, Examiner, and Pacific Daily News. There was an interesting BBC interview with me as the first siren sounded in Hawaii, so they captured my reaction to it. I was mis-quoted by CNN saying "We're going to air on the side of caution" instead of "err" that was picked up by dozens of sites.

You can listen to my NPR Weekend Edition and NPR Morning Edition interviews here:

Between phone calls, I was also tweeting and monitoring the social media outlets. I had done this previously during the Samoa and Vanuatu tsunamis last year with great success. Over 100 new people started following me on twitter yesterday during the Chile event. I really enjoyed joining the collective conversation about the tsunami and contributing information from my perspective as a tsunami warning scientist. The hitsunami website was a good example of the kind of mashup that can quickly be achieved using today's technology to serve a specific purpose like centralizing tsunami information for Hawaii and facilitating discussion. Below is an example of the "tsunami" keyword trending from yesteday's event. It peaked at over 4% of all tweets:

The tsunami warning system as we know it today was established in the 1950s and 60s during the era of teletype. It is very hierarchical whereby the tsunami warning centers send messages to local government and emergency management officials who then mobilize their respective constituencies. However, the average person today has access to so much more information compared to people from a generation ago. Anyone can get tsunami warnings via PTWC's website, RSS feeds, email or SMS subscriptions. A recent PEW survey has shown that more Americans get news from social media and the internet than any other source.

This implies that the top-down approach to tsunami warning may be less effective today than it once was, so I personally feel that the tsunami warning system needs to adapt to today's reality of instant information availability. We should embrace social media and use it in a more grassroots approach to disseminate information about threats like tsunamis. Of course, we also want to avoid diluting information or spreading of inaccurate information too, which is a risk when messages are passed around more:

PTWC doesn't have an official Twitter account or Facebook page anymore. We used to. There was a government-wide lockdown on government social media accounts in mid-2009 due to concerns over the terms of use agreements in setting up accounts with services like Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, etc. The PTWC twitter and Facebook accounts, which were fairly new at the time, had to be deactivated. It's a real shame because there is tremendous interest out there. I hope to re-establish them once the legal stuff is sorted out between the government and the social media services.

Hopefully this year we'll see not only the return of the tsunami warning centers to social media but also the establishment of a new tsunami web portal to improve and centralize how tsunami information is presented online. NOAA has other portals like the new climate.gov that are starting to show how organizing content based on topic rather than based on the organizational structure is a much more effective way to reach the intended audiences. It's part of the gov2.0 strategy to make government information more open, transparent, and accessible.

I think everyone is glad yesterday's tsunami was not damaging. However, some might feel that the event was overhyped in the media and that the warning was extreme. The tsunami warning system is conservative in that the decision-making processes err on the side of caution and prefer to overwarn rather than underwarn. After all, missing a potentially dangerous event would be unacceptable. However, warnings and evacuations carry their own risks since they can incite panic, cause car accidents, and are expensive. We must walk a fine line between keeping a conservative approach so we don't miss a warning with appearing to cry wolf because that will only serve to desensitive the citizenry to the threat in the future. To quote a former mentor of mine, I think we threaded that needle between apathy and panic quite well yesterday, and the handling of the event was a resounding success.

The views and opinions expressed in this post are mine alone and don't necessarily represent those of NOAA.

UPDATE: 2 March 2010
Check out my interview with the AGU Geohazards Blog.

Russia shortlists 11 for 520-day simulation of Mars mission

2010-02-26T17:40:00.001-10:00

If you think my 30- and 14-day simulated Mars missions were interesting, you should check out the Mars500 program, which is a collaboration between Russia and Europe to study the physiological and psychological issues associated with a long duration spaceflight mission to Mars. They had a 105-day mission with a crew last year and are narrowing down their crew selection for a 520-day mission. The latest press release is below. Note that one of the finalists Diego Urbina is a fellow ISU graduate and MDRS participant. He was on MDRS Crew 88 just prior to my mission there, so I got to meet him when I arrived at MDRS. Good luck to Diego and all of the other finalists!

Russia's Institute of Medical and Biological Problems announced on Thursday the names of 11 volunteers on the shortlist to take part in a 520-day simulation of an expedition to Mars, a spokesman said.

The 11 candidates will complete basic spaceflight training and in spring six of them will be chosen to take part in the experiment, which will simulate all aspects of a journey to the Red Planet, with a 250-day outward trip, a 30-day stay on its surface, and a 240-day return flight.

The basic requirements for volunteers were that they be aged 25-50, have a higher education, and speak Russian and English.

During nearly two years of isolation, the crew members will experience many of the conditions likely to be encountered by astronauts on a real space flight, except for radiation and weightlessness.

The mission simulation is scheduled to begin in late April.

The shortlist includes five Russian engineers: 44-year-old Boris Yegorov, 30-year-old Andrei Zhirnov, 32-year-old Alexander Sukhov, 37-year-old Mikhail Sidelnikov and 38-year-old Alexei Sitev. Two Russian doctors, surgeon Sukhrob Kamolov, 32, and general practitioner Alexander Smolevsky, 33, were also chosen.

The foreign candidates are 34-year-old Archanmael Gaillard from France, Belgian Jerome Clevers, 30, Italian Diego Urbina, 27, and 27-year-old Wang Yue from China.

The institute has already held a 105-day experiment to simulate a flight to Mars, which ended last July. Six people - four Russians and two Europeans - spent over three months in a lab that simulated life on board a spaceship.

MOSCOW, February 25 (RIA Novosti)