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NEWS RELEASE
An international team of researchers from the Mars Institute, in partnership with the SETI Institute, NASA Ames Research Center, Carnegie Mellon University, and U.S. aerospace companies Hamilton Sundstrand and Honeybee Robotics, has successfully completed a series of field tests aimed at investigating how humans will conduct geotechnical surveys on the Moon or Mars in advance of establishing more substantial surface infrastructures. From 7 to 11 November 2011, several simulations of Moon and Mars pressurized rover traverses were conducted at planetary analog sites in the Mojave Desert in Southern California. The sites selected were the Langford Well Dry Lake bed and surrounding rocky flats at the U.S. Army's National Training Center (NTC) at Fort Irwin, California, and the field of giant sand dunes at nearby Dumont Dunes, California. These sites were chosen for their physical relevance to common terrain types found on the Moon and Mars. "We are still a few years away from humans journeying back to the Moon or on to Mars, but planning for what we will do there needs to move ahead now, as there are important long lead-time lessons to be learned" says Dr Pascal Lee, chairman of the Mars Institute and leader of the field campaign. "Our overall goal was to learn how to scientifically explore and validate, as civil engineers would, open areas on the Moon and Mars that might be candidate sites for an outpost or other elements of surface infrastructure." The Mojave simulations centered on investigating how an astronaut crew would characterize the geotechnical properties of a site, such as the composition and density of surface materials, their water content, terrain roughness, and the mechanical strength of the ground. "It's important to analyze how civil engineering techniques are used on Earth before adapting them for planetary exploration" explains Dr Kris Zacny, Director of planetary exploration robotics at Honeybee Robotics in Pasadena, Calif., the company that developed the Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT) on NASA's highly successful Mars Exploration Rovers. The field test also served as Phase One of a two-phase experiment to investigate how robotic rovers may be used, not in their usual role as scouts, but as follow-up tools deployed in the wake of a human visit to a site. "We will return in 2012 to the same sites with a robotic rover to study how it can complement and maybe augment initial geotechnical surveys performed by humans" says Dr Maria Bualat of NASA Ames Research Center, the Principal Investigator of the Robotic Follow-Up Experiment. The experiment is part of a four-year study funded by NASA's Moon and Mars Analog Missions Activities (MMAMA) Program. While NASA does not currently have specific plans to send humans to the Moon or Mars, the agency is creating a range of versatile capabilities that will offer options for humans to explore different planetary destinations in the future. As part of the characterization of the sites by human explorers, soil samples were also collected for microbiological analysis. "We are interested in studying the microbiology of dry lake beds and of sand dunes, as we would be on Mars" explains Kira Lorber, a Mars Institute intern and graduate student in planetary sciences at University College London (UCL) in the United Kingdom. The soil samples will be examined in the laboratory for their microbial content as a function of depth and moisture content, to understand better the astrobiological potential offered by analogous environments on Mars. As a stand-in for a pressurized rover, the researchers used a U.S. Army maxi-ambulance model of the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) or Humvee supplied by the NTC, much like the Haughton-Mars Project on Devon Island in the High Arctic, also led by Lee, uses Humvees in support of human planetary exploration studies. "Humvees are good emulators of pressurized vehicles for the limited purposes of our field test. We are focused not on rover development, but on helping define science operations requirements for future pressurized vehicles, such as NASA's Multi-Mission Space Exploration Vehicle" notes Lee. New concept spacesuits and suit ports developed by the Hamilton Sundstrand company of Windsor Locks, Conn., were also evaluated during the Mojave field test. Suit ports are interfaces that enable astronauts in regular clothing inside a pressurized vehicle to directly enter spacesuits attached to the outside of their vehicle through a hatch connected to the back side of the spacesuits. The design reduces the time needed to don and doff spacesuits, and also limits dust contamination as suits remain outside the spacecraft at all times. "We are evaluating designs that could make this approach easier, safer, and ultimately more effective" says Ed Hodgson, senior engineer at Hamilton Sundstrand. The Mojave field test also saw the first field trials of a new time-lapse panoramic camera developed by the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh, Penn.. Dubbed the Gigapan Time Machine, the solar-powered imaging system captures high-resolution panoramas at programmable time intervals to enable very detailed documentation of time variable phenomena, such as human exploration activities or fast-evolving geologic processes. "The Mojave field test was an ideal opportunity to try out the camera before taking it to harsher environments such as the Arctic or Antarctica" says Randy Sargent of CMU's Robotics Institute. Last week's Mojave field test built on an existing partnership between NASA and the U.S. Army's National Training Center at Fort Irwin. The latter is home to NASA's Goldstone Deep Space Network (DSN) tracking station. "Field tests such as this one are a win-win for NASA, its partners, and the NTC. They help broaden the training experience we offer our men and women in uniform, promote technical cross-fertilization in field operations, and ultimately allow all partners to meet their goals in more productive and cost-effective ways" says Cyle Fena, Deputy G3 at the NTC. For more information, please visit www.marsinstitute.info or www.marsonearth.org or contact: Mr Marc BoucherCEO, Mars Institute E-mail: marc.boucher@marsinstitute.net Tel: (650) 641-0193  Figure 1: Simulation of Mars surface science operations at Dumont Dunes, Mojave Desert, California. A U.S. Army maxi-ambulance Humvee was used to emulate a pressurized rover. Crewmembers Dr Pascal Lee (Mars Institute and SETI Institute) and Dr Kris Zacny (Honeybee Robotics) are seen in analog spacesuits developed by aerospace company Hamilton Sundstrand. (Photo Haughton-Mars Project 2011/Mojave Field Test 10-Nov-2011/Kira Lorber - Enhanced Color).  Figure 2: Simulation of Mars surface science operations at Dumont Dunes, Mojave Desert, California. Crewmembers Dr Pascal Lee (Mars Institute and SETI Institute) and Dr Kris Zacny (Honeybee Robotics) are in analog spacesuits developed by U.S. aerospace company Hamilton Sundstrand. (Photo Haughton-Mars Project 2011/Mojave Field Test 10-Nov-2011/Kira Lorber).  Figure 3: Simulation of a geotechnical EVA (extra-vehicular activity) on the Moon or Mars from a pressurized rover equipped with rear suit ports at Langford Well Dry Lake bed, at the U.S. Army's National Training Center, Fort Irwin, California. A U.S. Army maxi-ambulance Humvee was used to emulate a pressurized rover. Crewmembers Dr Pascal Lee (Mars Institute and SETI Institute) (left) and Dr Kris Zacny (Honeybee Robotics) conducted fieldwork in analog spacesuits developed by aerospace company Hamilton Sundstrand. The suits connect to the suit ports installed at the rear of the rover. A Gigapan Time Machine, a solar-powered high-resolution time-lapse panoramic camera developed by the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, is visible to the right. (Photo NASA Haughton-Mars Project 2011/Mojave Field Test 9-Nov-2011/Kira Lorber).  Figure 4: Simulation of a geotechnical EVA (extra-vehicular activity) on the Moon or Mars from a pressurized rover equipped with rear suit ports at Langford Well Dry Lake bed, at the U.S. Army's National Training Center, Fort Irwin, California. A U.S. Army maxi-ambulance Humvee was used to emulate a pressurized rover. Crewmembers Dr Pascal Lee (Mars Institute and SETI Institute) (left) and Dr Kris Zacny (Honeybee Robotics) conducted fieldwork in analog spacesuits developed by aerospace company Hamilton Sundstrand. The suits connect to the suit ports installed at the rear of the rover. (Photo NASA Haughton-Mars Project 2011/Mojave Field Test 9-Nov-2011/Kira Lorber). About the Haughton-Mars Project The Haughton-Mars Project (HMP) is an international multidisciplinary field research project centered on the scientific study of the Haughton meteorite impact crater and surrounding terrain on Devon Island, High Arctic, viewed as an "analog" for Mars, the Moon, asteroids, and other planetary bodies. The HMP supports a Science program focused on comparative studies between the Earth and other planetary bodies, and an Exploration program focused on developing and testing new technologies and strategies for the human and robotic exploration of space. Research at HMP is supported by NASA, other government agencies in the US and Canada, and private partners. The HMP is managed by the Mars Institute, in collaboration with the SETI Institute. The Mojave Field Test in California is complementary to the Arctic campaigns of the HMP and is implemented as a component of the HMP. For more information, please visit: www.marsonearth.org About the Mars Institute The Mars Institute is an international, non-governmental, non-profit research organization dedicated to advancing the scientific study, exploration, and public understanding of Mars. The Mars Institute conducts leading research in Mars Science and Exploration. The Institute also focuses on the Moon, Deep Space, Near-Earth Objects, and Mars's moons Phobos and Deimos, viewed as key stepping-stones in the exploration of Mars. The Mars Institute is committed to conducting high quality peer-reviewed research and to sharing the knowledge and benefits of space exploration with students and the general public worldwide. The Mars Institute is headquartered at the NASA Ames Research Park, Moffett Field, California. For more information, please visit: www.marsinstitute.info |