Using part of a $225,000 fund begun to support research into Mars exploration, the society has hired an architect to begin working full time on designs for the dome-shaped structure.
Just 8 meters (about 27 feet) in diameter, the lightweight shell could be used as a combination dwelling, laboratory and workshop for four to six astronauts during a mission to Mars.
By the end of the month, California architect Kurt Micheels will move to the Mars Society's Colorado headquarters to begin full-time work on the project. Plans call for the structure to be completed and available for use next summer.
"We're doing nothing less than defining the nature of human dwellings on other planets," said Micheels, who has been drawing up preliminary designs for the past year. Micheels, who calls himself a space architect, has earned his living designing hospital operating rooms while he waited for the space-construction industry to pick up.
The habitat module will be the first in a constellation of structures designed to simulate a human-occupied outpost on Mars. The planned base, to be called the Mars Arctic Research Station, will eventually include a garage structure and a greenhouse. It will be the first project of its kind, and is especially notable because it is being funded and constructed by a private, non-profit organization.
Located 75 degrees north of the equator, Devon Island is geologically similar to some areas on Mars. Its tumbled terrain is covered by rough-strewn rock and scarred by a meteor crater about 10 miles wide. The area is almost devoid of life and is considered by many to be an ideal place to test models for human and robotic Mars missions.
"You wouldn't believe this place. It is Mars on Earth," said Mars Society president Robert Zubrin, who recently returned from a visit to the research expedition already working on the frigid barren island.
The Haughton-Mars Project has established a camp at Haughton Crater on Devon Island during each of the past three summers. The informal, loosely-organized project draws scientists from around the world to study the geology, biology and environment of the Arctic location.
While studying the Arctic, the project is learning how to conduct science in extreme environments. When the habitat is built, the team will be able to use it as an example for exploring, say, Mars. Scientists at Haughton have been augmenting their studies of Earth with tests of everything from satellite communications equipment for video and audio transmissions, to the latest spacesuit designs. They have even investigated how a miniature remote-controlled helicopter can help geologists choose their field trips.
Pascal Lee, a planetary scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif., is a Mars Society member who has participated in each of the Devon Island field seasons. Lee chairs the Mars Arctic Research Station task force, a group that oversees the design and construction of the planned base. Lee is conferring informally with NASA in order to build a base that will contribute to the eventual goal of getting humans to Mars.
Because NASA has no mandate from Congress to support human exploration of Mars, the agency is only allowed study the feasibility of sending humans to other planets, Lee said. The Mars Society's Mars Arctic Research Station will offer permanent structures for researchers to use. The society will cooperate with NASA, the Canadian Space Agency, and other international organizations to develop techniques, equipment and mission plans for future exploration.
Lee said the bulk of the work necessary in planning Mars missions is not high-tech. It consists of details as basic as the best placement of bunk beds in crew quarters, designing racks to carry spacesuits, and constructing airlocks. Mission planners will also need to develop strategies for keeping humans happy and sane for months at a time in a harsh red alien environment. Can pets help? What about cultivating plants in greenhouses? These are questions that must be investigated, Lee said.
"How much time is it going to take from the crew to maintain a greenhouse? What will the food do to their happiness? Is it just going to be work overload? Is it something that, on the contrary, will bring them much joy and distraction?" Lee asked. "These are issues that are completely open, [and] cannot really be done in the basement of some NASA center. They really need to be done in some sort of a field environment that is as realistic as possible."
Members of the Mars Society see the Arctic project as something that can help popularize interest and enthusiasm for Mars Exploration. Zubrin expects the Mars Arctic Research Station to cost more than $1 million over 5 years. He is confident that the group will be able to raise more money as it demonstrates its credibility with the first habitat module.
Zubrin said he sees the Mars Society becoming a sort of Jaques Cousteau Society for space exploration. After the arctic mission, perhaps the group will send a probe to Mars, he mused. For about $10 million, the society may be able to put a small scientific payload aboard a NASA or European Space Agency mission to Mars, he said.
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