{"id":118251,"date":"2017-09-17T22:42:55","date_gmt":"2017-09-18T02:42:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=118251"},"modified":"2017-09-17T22:42:55","modified_gmt":"2017-09-18T02:42:55","slug":"mars-research-crew-emerges-after-8-months-of-isolation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2017\/09\/17\/mars-research-crew-emerges-after-8-months-of-isolation\/","title":{"rendered":"Mars research crew emerges after 8 months of isolation"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/a>
The data they produced will help NASA select individuals and groups with the right mix of traits to best cope with the stress, isolation and danger of a two-to-three year trip to Mars. (Photo By National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Public Domain<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

HONOLULU — Six NASA-backed research subjects who have been cooped up in a Mars-like habitat on a remote Hawaii volcano since January emerged from isolation Sunday. They devoured fresh-picked tropical fruits and fluffy egg strata after eating mostly freeze-dried food while in isolation and some vegetables they grew during their mission.<\/p>\n

The crew of four men and two women are part of a study designed to better understand the psychological impacts a long-term space mission would have on astronauts.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s really gratifying to know that the knowledge gained here from our mission and the other missions that HI-SEAS has done will contribute to the future exploration of Mars and the future exploration of Space in general,\u201d science officer Samuel Paylor said Sunday.<\/p>\n

The data they produced will help NASA select individuals and groups with the right mix of traits to best cope with the stress, isolation and danger of a two-to-three year trip to Mars. The U.S. space agency hopes to send humans to the red planet by the 2030s.<\/p>\n

The crew was quarantined for eight months on a vast plain below the summit of the Big Island’s Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano. After finishing their stint, they feasted on pineapple, mango and papaya.<\/p>\n

While isolated, the crew members wore space suits and travelled in teams whenever they left their small dome living structure. They ate mostly freeze-dried or canned food on their simulated voyage to Mars.<\/p>\n

During the eight months in isolation, mission biology specialist Joshua Ehrlich grew fresh vegetables.<\/p>\n

\u201cCarrots, peppers, pak choy. Chinese cabbage, mustard greens, radishes, tomatoes, potatoes tons of parsley and oregano, I mean it was phenomenal, just that delicious fresh taste from home really was good,\u201d Ehrlich said.<\/p>\n

All of their communications with the outside world were subjected to a 20-minute delay — the time it takes for signals to get from Mars to Earth. The crew was tasked with conducting geological surveys, mapping studies and maintaining their self-sufficient habitat as if they were actually living on Mars.<\/p>\n

The team’s information technology specialist, Laura Lark, thinks a manned voyage to Mars is a reasonable goal for NASA. The project is the fifth in a series of six NASA-funded studies at the University of Hawaii facility called the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation, or HI-SEAS. NASA has dedicated about $2.5 million for research at the facility.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are certainly human factors to be figured out, that’s part of what HI-SEAS is for,\u201d Lark said in a video message recorded within the dome. \u201cBut I think that overcoming those challenges is just a matter of effort. We are absolutely capable of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The crew played games designed to measure their compatibility and stress levels and maintained logs about how they were feeling.<\/p>\n

To gauge their moods they also wore specially-designed sensors that measured voice levels and proximity to other people in the, 1,200 square-foot (111-square meter) living space.<\/p>\n

The devices could sense if people were avoiding one another, or if they were \u201ctoe-to-toe\u201d in an argument, said the project’s lead investigator, University of Hawaii professor Kim Binsted.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’ve learned, for one thing, that conflict, even in the best of teams, is going to arise,\u201d Binsted said. \u201cSo what’s really important is to have a crew that, both as individuals and a group, is really resilient, is able to look at that conflict and come back from it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The study also tested ways to help the crew cope with stress. When they became overwhelmed, they could use virtual reality devices to take them away to a tropical beach or other familiar landscapes.<\/p>\n

Other Mars simulation projects exist around the world, but Hawaii researchers say one of the chief advantages of their project is the area’s rugged, Mars-like landscape, on a rocky, red plain below the summit of Mauna Loa.<\/p>\n

The crew’s vinyl-covered shelter is about the size of a small two-bedroom home, has small sleeping quarters for each member plus a kitchen, laboratory and bathroom. The group shared one shower and has two composting toilets.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HONOLULU — Six NASA-backed research subjects who have been cooped up in a Mars-like habitat on a remote Hawaii volcano …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":114823,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,17],"tags":[10090,752],"class_list":["post-118251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-news-w","tag-mars","tag-nasa","mauthors-caleb-jones","mauthors-the-associated-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118251"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118251\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114823"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}