December 02, 2019
It housed different ecosystems and a crew of eight
Crammed into a dome with one bathroom, six scientists will spend eight months
munching on mostly freeze-dried foods. The participants will not be confined but
will wear spacesuits whenever they step outside for geological expeditions,
mapping studies or other tasks. Honolulu: Crammed into a dome with one bathroom,
six scientists will spend eight months munching on mostly freeze-dried foods —
with a rare treat of Spam — and have only their small sleeping quarters to
retreat to for solace.
The simulated stay on Mars with a carefully selected crew
of researchers embarked on a mission Thursday to gain insight into the
psychological toll a similar real-life voyage would have on astronauts. It’s
part of a NASA-funded human-behaviour experiment that could help the space
agency send humans to the red planet in the next 20 years.
The man-made dome that
the four men and two women call home is outfitted with futuristic white walls
and an elevated sleeping platform on the world&Wholesale Vacuum space bags39;s
largest active volcano in Hawaii. The vinyl-covered shelter spans 1,200 square
feet, or about the size of a small, two-bedroom house.A video released by the
group shows the six scientists in matching red polo shirts arriving and entering
the dome to farewell handshakes from program associates. Except for the presence
of the white van that brought the group, the scene was reminiscent of the red
planet — the dome set in a barren, rock-strewn and reddish landscape with
distant hills giving the feel of a wind-swept and forbidding environment."
I’m
looking forward to building relationships with my crew," said mission commander
James Bevington, a space scientist. "I fully anticipate coming out with five new
best friends." They will have no physical contact with people in the outside
world and will work with a 20-minute delay in communications with their support
crew - the time it would take for an email to reach Earth from Mars.The project
will study the psychological difficulties with living in isolated, confined
conditions for an extended period. NASA hopes to send humans to an asteroid in
the 2020s and Mars by the 2030s.
We're hoping to figure out how best to select
individual astronauts, how to compose a crew and how to support that crew on
long-duration space missions," said principal investigator Kim Binsted, a
University of Hawaii science professor.The team members include engineers, a
computer scientist, a doctoral candidate and a biomedical expert. They were
selected from 700 applicants # subjected to personality tests, background checks
and extensive interviews. "When I started, my biggest fear was that we were
going to be that crew that turned out like Biosphere 2, which wasn't a very
pretty picture," Bevington said.The experimental greenhouse-like habitat in
Arizona became a debacle in the 1990s.
It housed different ecosystems and a crew
of eight to try to understand what would be needed for humans to live on other
planets. The participants were supposed to grow their own food and recycle their
air inside the sealed glass space. But the experiment soon spiralled out of
control, with the carbon dioxide level rising dangerously and plants and animals
dying. The crew members grew hungry and squabbled so badly that by the time they
emerged two years later, some of them weren't speaking to each other.
The
University of Hawaii operates the dome, called Hawaii Space Exploration Analog
and Simulation, or HI-SEAS, and NASA has dedicated more than $2 million to this
stage of the project. Scientists previously lived in the dome for two other
long-term NASA-funded stays - one of them lasting a year, the other eight months
— to study food requirements and crew cohesion.A number of other Mars simulation
projects exist around the world, but one of the chief advantages of the Hawaii
experiment is the rugged, Mars-like landscape, on a rocky, red plain below the
summit of the world's largest active volcano, the Big Island's Mauna Loa.The
dome has a kitchen, laboratory and bathroom, plus small sleeping quarters for
each member. Unlike Biosphere 2, it won't be airtight.
To maintain the crew's
sense of isolation, bundles of food, including some canned goods and snacks,
will be dropped off a distance from the dome, and the team members will send a
robot to retrieve them.The participants will not be confined but will wear
spacesuits whenever they step outside for geological expeditions, mapping
studies or other tasks. They will wear instruments measuring their moods and
proximity to other team members and use virtual reality devices to simulate
familiar and comforting surroundings.Crammed into a dome with one bathroom, six
scientists will spend eight months munching on mostly freeze-dried foods. The
participants will not be confined but will wear spacesuits whenever they step
outside for geological expeditions, mapping studies or other tasks. Honolulu:
Crammed into a dome with one bathroom, six scientists will spend eight months
munching on mostly freeze-dried foods — with a rare treat of Spam — and have
only their small sleeping quarters to retreat to for solace. The simulated stay
on Mars with a carefully selected crew of researchers embarked on a mission
Thursday to gain insight into the psychological toll a similar real-life voyage
would have on astronauts. It’s part of a NASA-funded human-behaviour experiment
that could help the space agency send humans to the red planet in the next 20
years.The man-made dome that the four men and two women call home is outfitted
with futuristic white walls and an elevated sleeping platform on the
world&Wholesale Vacuum space
bags39;s largest active volcano in Hawaii. The vinyl-covered shelter spans
1,200 square feet, or about the size of a small, two-bedroom house.A video
released by the group shows the six scientists in matching red polo shirts
arriving and entering the dome to farewell handshakes from program associates.
Except for the presence of the white van that brought the group, the scene was
reminiscent of the red planet — the dome set in a barren, rock-strewn and
reddish landscape with distant hills giving the feel of a wind-swept and
forbidding environment."I’m looking forward to building relationships with my
crew," said mission commander James Bevington, a space scientist. "I fully
anticipate coming out with five new best friends." They will have no physical
contact with people in the outside world and will work with a 20-minute delay in
communications with their support crew - the time it would take for an email to
reach Earth from Mars.The project will study the psychological difficulties with
living in isolated, confined conditions for an extended period. NASA hopes to
send humans to an asteroid in the 2020s and Mars by the 2030s. "We're hoping to
figure out how best to select individual astronauts, how to compose a crew and
how to support that crew on long-duration space missions," said principal
investigator Kim Binsted, a University of Hawaii science professor.The team
members include engineers, a computer scientist, a doctoral candidate and a
biomedical expert. They were selected from 700 applicants # subjected to
personality tests, background checks and extensive interviews. "When I started,
my biggest fear was that we were going to be that crew that turned out like
Biosphere 2, which wasn't a very pretty picture," Bevington said.The
experimental greenhouse-like habitat in Arizona became a debacle in the 1990s.
It housed different ecosystems and a crew of eight to try to understand what
would be needed for humans to live on other planets. The participants were
supposed to grow their own food and recycle their air inside the sealed glass
space. But the experiment soon spiralled out of control, with the carbon dioxide
level rising dangerously and plants and animals dying. The crew members grew
hungry and squabbled so badly that by the time they emerged two years later,
some of them weren't speaking to each other.The University of Hawaii operates
the dome, called Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation, or HI-SEAS, and
NASA has dedicated more than $2 million to this stage of the project. Scientists
previously lived in the dome for two other long-term NASA-funded stays - one of
them lasting a year, the other eight months — to study food requirements and
crew cohesion.A number of other Mars simulation projects exist around the world,
but one of the chief advantages of the Hawaii experiment is the rugged,
Mars-like landscape, on a rocky, red plain below the summit of the world's
largest active volcano, the Big Island's Mauna Loa.The dome has a kitchen,
laboratory and bathroom, plus small sleeping quarters for each member. Unlike
Biosphere 2, it won't be airtight. To maintain the crew's sense of isolation,
bundles of food, including some canned goods and snacks, will be dropped off a
distance from the dome, and the team members will send a robot to retrieve
them.The participants will not be confined but will wear spacesuits whenever
they step outside for geological expeditions, mapping studies or other tasks.
They will wear instruments measuring their moods and proximity to other team
members and use virtual reality devices to simulate familiar and comforting
surroundings.Crammed into a dome with one bathroom, six scientists will spend
eight months munching on mostly freeze-dried foods. The participants will not be
confined but will wear spacesuits whenever they step outside for geological
expeditions, mapping studies or other tasks. Honolulu: Crammed into a dome with
one bathroom, six scientists will spend eight months munching on mostly
freeze-dried foods — with a rare treat of Spam — and have only their small
sleeping quarters to retreat to for solace. The simulated stay on Mars with a
carefully selected crew of researchers embarked on a mission Thursday to gain
insight into the psychological toll a similar real-life voyage would have on
astronauts. It’s part of a NASA-funded human-behaviour experiment that could
help the space agency send humans to the red planet in the next 20 years.The
man-made dome that the four men and two women call home is outfitted with
futuristic white walls and an elevated sleeping platform on the
world&Wholesale Vacuum space bags39;s largest active volcano in Hawaii. The
vinyl-covered shelter spans 1,200 square feet, or about the size of a small,
two-bedroom house.A video released by the group shows the six scientists in
matching red polo shirts arriving and entering the dome to farewell handshakes
from program associates. Except for the presence of the white van that brought
the group, the scene was reminiscent of the red planet — the dome set in a
barren, rock-strewn and reddish landscape with distant hills giving the feel of
a wind-swept and forbidding environment."I’m looking forward to building
relationships with my crew," said mission commander James Bevington, a space
scientist. "I fully anticipate coming out with five new best friends." They will
have no physical contact with people in the outside world and will work with a
20-minute delay in communications with their support crew - the time it would
take for an email to reach Earth from Mars.
The project will study the
psychological difficulties with living in isolated, confined conditions for an
extended period. NASA hopes to send humans to an asteroid in the 2020s and Mars
by the 2030s. "We're hoping to figure out how best to select individual
astronauts, how to compose a crew and how to support that crew on long-duration
space missions," said principal investigator Kim Binsted, a University of Hawaii
science professor.The team members include engineers, a computer scientist, a
doctoral candidate and a biomedical expert. They were selected from 700
applicants # subjected to personality tests, background checks and extensive
interviews. "When I started, my biggest fear was that we were going to be that
crew that turned out like Biosphere 2, which wasn't a very pretty picture,"
Bevington said.The experimental greenhouse-like habitat in Arizona became a
debacle in the 1990s. It housed different ecosystems and a crew of eight to try
to understand what would be needed for humans to live on other planets.
The
participants were supposed to grow their own food and recycle their air inside
the sealed glass space. But the experiment soon spiralled out of control, with
the carbon dioxide level rising dangerously and plants and animals dying. The
crew members grew hungry and squabbled so badly that by the time they emerged
two years later, some of them weren't speaking to each other.The University of
Hawaii operates the dome, called Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation,
or HI-SEAS, and NASA has dedicated more than $2 million to this stage of the
project. Scientists previously lived in the dome for two other long-term
NASA-funded stays - one of them lasting a year, the other eight months — to
study food requirements and crew cohesion.
A number of other Mars simulation
projects exist around the world, but one of the chief advantages of the Hawaii
experiment is the rugged, Mars-like landscape, on a rocky, red plain below the
summit of the world's largest active volcano, the Big Island's Mauna Loa.The
dome has a kitchen, laboratory and bathroom, plus small sleeping quarters for
each member. Unlike Biosphere 2, it won't be airtight. To maintain the crew's
sense of isolation, bundles of food, including some canned goods and snacks,
will be dropped off a distance from the dome, and the team members will send a
robot to retrieve them.The participants will not be confined but will wear
spacesuits whenever they step outside for geological expeditions, mapping
studies or other tasks. They will wear instruments measuring their moods and
proximity to other team members and use virtual reality devices to simulate
familiar and comforting surroundings.
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