The Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) is the largest and longest-running Mars surface research facility and is one of two simulated Mars analog habitats owned and operated by the Mars Society. The MDRS station was built in the early 2000s near Hanksville, Utah, in the western United States. It is crewed by small teams who conduct scientific research. The MDRS campus includes a two-story habitat with a greenhouse, a solar and a robotic observatory, an engineering pod and a science building.
Background The MDRS station is situated on the San Rafael Swell of Southern Utah, 11.63 kilometres (7.23 mi) by road northwest of Hanksville, Utah. It is the second such analogue research station to be built by the Mars Society, following the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station or FMARS on Devon Island in Canada's high Arctic. The Mars Society launched the Mars Analog Research Station Project with the stated goal of developing knowledge needed to prepare for the human exploration of Mars. The project's goals are to develop field tactics based on environmental constraints (i.e., being required to work in spacesuits), test habitat design features and tools, and assess crew selection protocols. Although much warmer than Mars, the desert location was selected because of its Mars-like terrain and appearance. The MDRS aims to realistically simulate Mars living conditions. During mission periods, crew members must wear an analogue space suit simulator when completing tasks outside their living quarters, which is a metal building with an airlock. Analogue space suit simulators include a helmet, jumpsuit, boots, gaiters, gloves, an air supply pack, water pack, and a radio. Hand-held radios mounted on the suits' helmets with externally mounted push-to-talk northeast switches are used to communicate with the habitat and with fellow Mars surface explorers on the same extra-vehicular activity. Destinations for extra-vehicular activities can be chosen from an established way-point database, and attained either on foot, or by all-terrain vehicle. MDRS is owned and operated by the Mars Society, which selects the crews and handles most of the administrative tasks. The Mars Society is an international, non-profit organization that works with governments to promote Mars exploration through various projects such as M.A.R.S., the Mars Analogue Pressurized Rover Competition, and the ARCHIMEDES Mars balloon mission. The MDRS hosts a training program funded by NASA which hosts teachers to participate in projects meant to simulate the living environment on the moon or Mars. In this program, participants conduct field research and live onsite for several weeks.
Research Each crew establishes different scientific goals they hope to accomplish during their time at MDRS. The majority of biological research involves extremophiles. Bacteria and algae isolated from the surrounding desert are common subjects of study. These microorganisms have been studied for their DNA, their diversity, and the environments in which they thrive. For example, in a study for methanogens, researchers studied soil and vapor samples from five different desert environments in Utah, Idaho, and California in the United States, Canada, and Chile. Of these, five soil samples and three vapor samples from the vicinity of the MDRS were found to have signs of viable methanogens. Crews often study endoliths found in rocks at the MDRS. These species of bacteria are capable of living inside rocks and obtaining the energy they need by photosynthesizing the light that penetrates the rocks. These extreme organisms are a popular subject of research at MDRS for both geologists and biologists. Other experiments include a study of the effect of extra-vehicular activity on the heart rates and blood pressures of crew members, a human-factors study that examines the correlation between cognitive ability and mood, and a study on how much a space suit inhibits dexterity in comparison to regular street clothes.
Crews
MDRS crews traditionally consist of six people who volunteer for one of the two-week shifts or crew rotations available during the northern hemisphere's winter months. The field season ends in the northern spring due to the desert heat. Crews pay their own transportation expenses to and from the designated assembly place from where they are transported to and from MDRS. As volunteers, the crews are not paid for their participation in a crew rotation at the station. The crews usually consist of a mix of scientists, astronomers, physicists, biologists, geologists, engineers, and the occasional journalist. Each crew member is usually assigned a role, such as: commander, executive officer, health and safety officer, crew biologist, crew geologist or chief engineer. Crew commanders are responsible for the entire crew and operations. Their responsibilities include maintaining a structured stream of information from the crew to mission support, establishing the agenda for each day (extra-vehicular activities, maintenance, cooking, cleaning, etc.), and holding morning and evening meetings with all crew members. The executive officer's duty is to act as the second in command during the mission, and to act as the commander in the event the commander is incapacitated or unavailable. The crew geologist and crew biologist work together to establish and accomplish the scientific goals of the mission, which include developing the geology and biology goals for the mission as well as planning field extra-vehicular activities and subsequent laboratory work to achieve those goals. Both the crew geologist and crew biologist work with the remote science team (RST) during all stages of the mission. The Chief Engineer is responsible for maintaining all systems necessary for routine Habitat operations. These include the power, water, ATV and GreenHab systems. As of February 2017, 175 crews have served rotations at MDRS over a period of sixteen years.
The station
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