The MARS2013 Mars Analog Mission

Abstract

We report on the MARS2013 mission, a 4-week Mars analog field test in the northern Sahara. Nineteen experiments were conducted by a field crew in Morocco under simulated martian surface exploration conditions, supervised by a Mission Support Center in Innsbruck, Austria. A Remote Science Support team analyzed field data in near real time, providing planning input for the management of a complex system of field assets; two advanced space suit simulators, four robotic vehicles, an emergency shelter, and a stationary sensor platform in a realistic work flow were coordinated by a Flight Control Team. A dedicated flight planning group, external control centers for rover tele-operations, and a biomedical monitoring team supported the field operations. A 10 min satellite communication delay and other limitations pertinent to human planetary surface activities were introduced. The fields of research for the experiments were geology, human factors, astrobiology, robotics, tele-science, exploration, and operations research. This paper provides an overview of the geological context and environmental conditions of the test site and the mission architecture, in particular the communication infrastructure emulating the signal travel time between Earth and Mars. We report on the operational work flows and the experiments conducted, including a deployable shelter prototype for multiple-day extravehicular activities and contingency situations.

Future Mars Exploration Operational Simulation: Research Outcomes and Educational Benefit

“…For example, in contrast with the current practice of meticulously planned EVAs, it was found that the Mars colony needs to have the ability to rapidly and independently plan and initiate an EVA without any input from Earth, and potentially with minimal interaction with other crew in the Mars System (who would likely be busy with their priorities). This finding draws some parallels with previous Mars analogs, such as in the MARS2013 and Haughton Mars Project analogs, where the challenges of a lack of autonomy was identified, 10,12 and in the Mars Desert Research Station, where greater autonomy in EVA planning was found to be beneficial in achieving scientific goals.…”

“…Current plans for future Mars human spaceflight operations tend to be an extension of Moon mission operations, 5,6 yet operations on Mars present many more challenging features, such as the up to 20 minute communication delay, [7][8][9][10] and the difficulty of returning to Earth. These challenges present a substantially different scenario to any space mission that has been performed before; hence there is a strong need to perform investigations specifically into how Mars human spaceflight operations should be performed.…”

“…There have been a number of physical, in-person Mars analog simulations, such as the MARS2013 analog, 10 the Mars Desert Research Station, 11 the NASA Haughton Mars Project, 8,12 and the Desert RATS (Research And Technology Studies) analog, 8 that have been able to provide many valuable insights into important aspects of Mars operations. Some key operational aspects that the analogs have investigated include: dealing with substantial communication delay, [8][9][10] operating with greater crew autonomy, 11,13 telerobotic integration, 8,14,15 telemedecine, 8 In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) 8 and dealing with an 'Us vs Them' mentality between Mars and Earth.…”

“…Some key operational aspects that the analogs have investigated include: dealing with substantial communication delay, [8][9][10] operating with greater crew autonomy, 11,13 telerobotic integration, 8,14,15 telemedecine, 8 In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) 8 and dealing with an 'Us vs Them' mentality between Mars and Earth. 10 The Mars Operational Simulation Exercise presented in this paper simulated purely the operational aspects without any physical analogs, and as such enabled expansion from the concepts in past analogs to investigate a more complex and complete Mars Exploration Scenario and the associated unique challenges. These types of simulations can be powerful tools to explore technical, integration and mission architecture requirements that were previously not visible, which then provides input to drive current efforts in mission and system design for Mars exploration.…”

“…8,10,12 This study investigated an established Martian Operation, in a state of development similar to where the International Space Station is today. The scenario examined considers a possible future where medium-term Martian missions are being undertaken by multiple government coalitions and a commercial consortium.…”