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Georgia Tech crew headed for simulated Mars base

Five Georgia Tech students and a faculty member who lives in Fayetteville are planning an unusual trip for spring break. They're headed to the Utah desert for a two-week simulation of life on Mars.

From March 19 through April 3, the crew will live and work on board the Mars Society's "Mars Desert Research Station" (www.marssociety.org/mdrs) to research and test equipment and procedures for performing planetary surface exploration operations.

The Mars Desert Research Station is a laboratory that allows researchers to simulate a future Martian surface base. MDRS is operated by the Mars Society, a privately-funded international organization of engineers, scientists, artists and others that promotes the human exploration of Mars. The station is designed for a crew of six, which is the likely number of astronauts on the first real missions to Mars. The Georgia Tech team will be the 37th crew on board MDRS, and the first crew whose members are all from the same academic institution.

During their mission in the Mars-like desert of southern Utah, the team will wear space suit simulators for all work outside the station. In addition to exploring the geology and geography of their "landing site," they will observe astronomical phenomena with the station's telescope for a scientist "back on Earth," expand the station's communications system through an innovative, balloon-based radio repeater system, test new field navigation techniques and work on plant growth experiments in a greenhouse that is part of the facility. The crew will also take daily cognitive performance tests to determine how working under simulated Martian conditions affects mental acuity.

Fellow Mars Society members in a Mission Support Center in Atlanta will assist the crew. The support team will include students from the International Baccalaureate program at Marietta High School and the Indian School Al Ghubrah in Muscat, Oman. By involving schools at home and abroad, MDRS Crew 37 will give the participating high school students a unique opportunity to experience the excitement of advancing manned space exploration.

MDRS Crew 37 will consist of student members of the Mars Society @ Georgia Tech student organization, and will be led by the organization's faculty advisor, Dr. Jan Osburg of Fayetteville. Osburg is a veteran of two prior missions to Mars-analog facilities. Biographic data of all crewmembers and other mission-related information is available at www.gtmars.org.

The expedition is supported by Atlanta-based Internet development firm Vascent Inc., the Liftport Group space elevator company, Georgia Tech's Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, the Georgia Tech amateur radio club W4AQL, and the Mars Society Georgia Chapter.

For more information, contact Dr. Osburg at jan.osburg@asdl.gatech.edu.