On Earth, there are few places that can replicate an alien environment 54.6 million kilometres away. These are not traditional picnic spots you can simply drive to in an SUV, expecting tranquility. At some sites you won’t survive the night without special gear. Which is why scientists and those training for long trips into deep space have been using these locations to prepare for journeys that have never been attempted by mankind before. And on January 28, an all-Indian team will set foot on one such site for 15 days. They will be cut off from the outside world — no phones, no transmissions, no email alerts. All six will reside in tight confines to study the effects of what life ‘elsewhere’ can do to human physiology and psychology. It’s scientific Bigg Boss with spare oxygen tanks and without that actor guy.
Their destination is the Mars Desert Research Station, or the MDRS. It’s one of four facilities operated by the Mars Society and with its barren, almost lifeless surroundings in a Utah desert in the US, it makes for a perfect ‘Martian stunt double’. There are other “zones” — Chile’s Atacama desert is one of Nasa’s favourites because of its “sterile” environment. In Antarctica, there’s the frigid Lake Vostok which, scientists believe, could be home to undiscovered species who’ve been playing evolutionary hide-and-seek for the past 14 million years. There’s Canada’s Devon Island, the world’s largest uninhabited desert island, home to the 24-kilometre-wide Haughton Crater where Nasa has been practising space drilling techniques since 1997.
Six scientists have also entered a dome atop the Mauna Loa volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island for what will be an “isolation test”. The six scientists will perform geology experiments, work on limited vegetation and yes, have no contact with the outside world. To add authenticity to Hotel Mars, communications with base will even be time-delayed, by 20 minutes. That’s how long a ‘hello’ from Earth takes to reach its presumed prehistoric twin. “Daily routines include food preparation from only shelf-stable ingredients, exercise, research and fieldwork aligned with NASA’s planetary exploration expectations,” the university said in a release.
Why the trouble?
If you’re one of those wondering why astronauts need to go through these nightmarish simulations, Dr Mamatha Maheshwarappa, from Bengaluru, has a few answers. Mamatha is the commander for the all-Indian ‘Crew 174’ at the MDRS. The ‘174’ refers to the fact that there have been 173 teams, or crews, before them at the Utah site and each team comes with a specific mission parameter, or aim. The Indians hope to study ‘human contamination’ and the growth of plants, in inhospitable weather and terrain. Mamatha will be joined by Crew Scientist and Executive officer, Saroj Kumar, from Kanpur; Crew Biologist Sneha Velayudhan, from Bengaluru; Crew Engineer Arpan Vasanth, again from, Bengaluru; Sravani Vaddi from Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh and the geologist of the group, Sai Arun Dharmik, from Hyderabad. Each of the six are specialists in their particular fields.
Mamatha has an MSc in Space Technology and Planetary Exploration and a PhD in Software Defined Radios (SDRs) for multi-satellite communications. She’s currently working with a project that’s in collaboration with the European Space Agency. Saroj is working with Nasa’s Marshall Space Flight Centre on fusion propulsion technology, Sneha is specialising in advanced wireless communication systems, Arpan holds an MSc in commercial vehicle technology from the Technical University at Kaiserlslautern in Germany, Dr Sravani is a research fellow at National Center for Radio Astrophysics and Sai Arun holds a Master’s degree in Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Hyderabad.
The trick will be combining all this talent, to achieve mission parameters. The heads will need to come together as a team for this one. “And that forms the biggest challenge,” Dr Mamatha tells us. “A trip to Mars is a few months long and after arrival, experiments will take at least a year. The return trip will take equally long. Which means a manned Mars mission will last at least three years. All through those three years, six people will have to make do with each other.
“An argument within tight confines could spell disaster for the mission. In tiny rooms, ignoring each other is not really possible. So the psychological aspect of these Mars simulations are crucial for success because you can’t work unless team integrity is solid,” Dr Mamatha says. The Indians will also be studying the effect Mars will have on vegetation. Part of Dr Mamatha’s mission includes the monitoring of the effect of vitamins on growth of fenugreek plants in a controlled martian analog environment carried out by Crew Biologist, Sneha Velayu-dhan. In simpler terms, Crew 174 will try and study possible plant growth on a planet that doesn’t even get half as much Sun as the Earth. The trick is to artificially inject Vitamin D into the crop and that’s one of the areas of research the team is planning to conduct at the MDRS.
“Entry into the MDRS programme is a fairly elaborate process. We consulted with several experts from around the world for inputs, data and equipment. Individuals can apply too but as teams, you can really commit to the programme. But all you need is a well thought-out research agenda. You have to clearly explain your angle to planetary exploration and how inputs discovered from your time at MDRS will one day help people make the big trip. For example, we will also study human contamination of extra terrestrial soil. One day, the Martian ecosystem will come in contact with microbes from Earth — brought there by humans. This contamination needs to be checked and studied. MDRS, in collaboration with NASA Astrobiology Institute, will allow us to create certain boundaries around the simulation hub and we will be able to tell how much contamination of soil is occurring due to human presence,” adds the team leader.
The other biggest challenge is to maintain the limited resources such as power, water, gasoline, spacesuit working conditions and Extra Vehicular Activities (EVA) which is handled by Arpan Vasanth, the crew engineer. Crew 174 hopes that this study will one day prevent possible mission-altering surprises, for the first arrivals. Another test that needs to be passed is the way food is prepped, consumed and distributed. “MDRS will not serve prepared food. Instead, you will be given the very same ingredients that make up inter-planetary meals. So basically, we’re talking raw materials that need to be rationed and preserved. Everything is basic — some butter and some flour… that’s pretty much it. We can’t afford to have a fight over food. There’s also water reserves to worry about. Water on Mars still remains a slim, distant possibility and if team members insist on two showers a day we will have a problem, of considerable magnitude, on our hands.”
The MDRS then is almost the real deal. It was built in 2001 and the main building is a two-storey cylindrical structure eight metres in diametre. It can house seven crews. Within this space are workrooms, desks, airlock spaces that lead to tunnels into the other structures and a complete lab. It’s not your big hotel but it’s the closest to what you will one day live in, 54.6 million kilometres away.
Mamatha Maheshwarappa, Commander
Mamatha Maheshwarappa, Commander
Dr Mamatha Maheshwarappa received her BEng in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology, Bangalore in 2009. She was the systems engineer and subsystem core leader for STUDSAT-1- India's first pico-satellite, designed and developed by undergraduate students and launched by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO's) PSLV C-15. Later she received MSc in Space Technology and Planetary Exploration in 2012 and PhD in Software Defined Radios (SDRs) for Multi-Satellite Communications in 2016 from University of Surrey, UK. During her PhD she also worked on UK’s first CubeSat (STRaND-1) with SSTL and on DeorbitSail as a Ground Station Commander. Currently working at QinetiQ Space UK on transceivers for ExoMars, Lunar Polar Sample Return (LPSR) missions in collaboration with European Space Agency (ESA). She is the Crew Commander of the first Indian crew, Team Planeteers (Crew 174) at Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS), the Mars analog research base. Her role includes supervising and coordinating the team, carrying out research on transference of human commensal bacteria along with developing zoning methodology for planetary protection, and overseeing other research projects.
Sneha Velayudhan, Crew Biologist
Sneha Velayudhan, Crew Biologist
Sneha is a graduate student in the Department of Engineering, Computers and Telecommunication Engineering Technology at Rochester Institute of Technology. She is specialising in Advanced Wireless Communication Systems. Her interest in space technology for human exploration has helped her in being selected as a biologist of Crew-174 mission at Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS). Her research at MDRS will be on monitoring the effect of vitamins on growth of fenugreek plants in a controlled martian analog environment.
Arpan Vasanth, Crew Engineer
Arpan Vasanth, Crew Engineer
Arpan H. Vasanth (B.Eng, 2009; MSc 2014) received his BEng. in Mechanical Engineering from Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology, Bangalore in 2009. He was the subsystem core leader for STUDSAT-1- India’s first pico-satellite, designed and developed by undergraduate students and launched by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO's) PSLV C- 15. He worked as Aerospace design engineer at TataHAL for a year in Bangalore, India. Later he received MSc in Commercial Vehicle Technology from Technical University Kaiserlslautern, Germany in 2014. Currently working at Faurecia Interior Systems in Germany. As a crew engineer at MDRS, he will be involved in performing mechanical and electrical engineering tasks required in the Hab and for Extra Vehicular Activities (EVA). Major responsibilities include checking and maintaining of all the resources like power, water, gasoline and spacesuits working condition. Along with these activities, he will be assisting the team in microbiology, botany experiments and media outreach activities.
Sai Arun Dharmik, Crew Geologist
Sai Arun Dharmik, Crew Geologist
Sai Arun Dharmik has received his Master's degree in Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences from University of Hyderabad, India. He received his Bachelor’s degree from Osmania University, India with major in Geology and minor in Physics and Maths, in the year 2013.He research interests include Martian geomorphology, terrestrial analogues, glaciology and Climate change. His work in climate change involved simulations of geo-engineered climate and the effect of methane in climate change. He is passionate about Planetary Sciences and hopes to have a career in space exploration and discover new worlds.
Saroj Kumar, Crew Scientist and Executive officer
Saroj Kumar, Crew Scientist and Executive officer
Saroj is a graduate student in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), where he is currently pursuing MS in Aerospace Systems Engineering. He is a research student at the Propulsion Research Center, UAH and is working on ‘Mission design for low thrust deep space missions using nuclear fusion propulsion’ in collaboration with NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. During his mission at MDRS he will be performing study on human-associated microbial contamination on planet Mars and sample protocol implementation to minimise astronaut contamination of Mars sample of interest with NASA’s Astrobiology Institute.
Sravani Vaddi, Crew Astronomer
Dr. Sravani Vaddi is an astronomer and is currently working as a research fellow at National Center for Radio Astrophysics, India's premier research institute in the field of radio astronomy. She has a Master degree in the Digital Electronics and Communication Systems with a specialization in Digital Image Processing. Her observational research focusses in the study of black holes and how it affects the evolution of a galaxy. She is actively involved in outreach activities with an aim to inspire younger generation in space research. She has given several talks and organized several events in the promotion of astronomy. Apart from astronomy, she loves singing and listening to music, playing tennis, hiking and recently in butterfly watching.
Rs 7 a km for journey from earth to mars!
Picture this: Circa 2120. People trudge across long, dark caves to reach one building from another. Nothing unusual, except that these caves are below the Martian surface. And mapping these lengthy caves will figure on the top of the agenda of Indian space scientists who are planning to revisit Mars in 2020. “Everybody knows about these caves, but we must map them, because indications are that they run for miles and can accommodate an entire township with a population of 1,00,000. They are best suited for human settlements because they block harmful cosmic rays,” says Prof U.R. Rao, Chairman, Advisory Committee on Space Sciences (ADCOS), and former chairman ISRO, as he pores over proposals on scientific instruments likely to be flown on board MOM-2 (Mars Orbiter Mission-2), proposed for launch by ISRO in 2020.
There are other riddles about the Martian atmosphere as well which could be answered only if state-of-the-art instruments are flown onboard MOM-2, says Prof Rao who is not satisfied with discovery of some new chemicals by MOM besides the fact it was a technological feat achieved only by Indian space scientists — they placed a spacecraft close to the Red Planet in the first attempt. “This time I want earth-shaking news about Mars from our mission, and we have enough time to plan our scientific studies and design very good instruments. If we can manufacture and launch so many advanced communication and remote-sensing satellites, nothing stops us from designing state-of-the-art instruments,” he says. Unlike the first outing to Mars, which was restricted to participation by scientists and engineers of ISRO, the second shot at the Red Planet will witness scientists from R&D organisations across the country joining the mission as partners. The question of other countries adding instruments, just as they did on board Chandrayaan-I, has not been addressed by ISRO but Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, USA, has already indicated that it would like to add a payload on MOM-2 to constantly receive scientific data from Nasa’s rovers and landers. Nasa and ISRO have forged a cooperation on how MAVEN and MOM could complement scientific data on Mars, and help understand the Red Planet.
Space scientists said they won’t be surprised if they receive similar proposals from other space agencies as ISRO proved its technological competence by reaching Mars in the first attempt. Besides, they have managed to extend the life of MOM from six months to two-and-half years and counting. All this on a shoe-string budget of '450 crore or '7 a km for the long journey from terra firma to an orbit around Mars! And in case critics voice their concern again on whether India should spend so much on an expedition to Mars, Prof Rao and his colleagues have their retort ready: Does anyone know how much the country has earned thanks to space technology? And what would be the state of communication networks or disaster management systems if ISRO had not built and launched satellites? “We must compete in Science, and have our own data on Mars and other planets. Otherwise, we will end up paying large sums to other agencies for any data,” adds Prof Rao.
(With Inputs from B.R. Srikanth)
