Six people are about to find out what it would be like to live on Mars – without ever leaving the Earth.
Three men and three women will spend eight months living in a special habitat on the side of a volcano in Hawaii. They are part of an experiment being done by NASA and the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) that is designed to mimic life on Mars. (NASA stands for National Aeronautics and Space Administration.)
NASA says it could send astronauts to Mars as early as the 2030s. The mission would take more than two years, so NASA needs to know how people would react to living in a small group, isolated from the rest of the world, for such a long time.
Some people may become depressed or bored living under those conditions. Certain personality types may not get along, and living together for a long time could cause them to argue.
By studying people living in similar conditions here on Earth, NASA hopes to learn how to choose the best people for a space mission, and how to help them get along.
The crew will live in a two-story dome-shaped building. The ground floor is about 86 square metres, roughly the size of a small two-bedroom apartment. It includes shared areas like the kitchen, dining room, bathroom, laboratory and exercise room. There is a small window panel with a view of the outdoors, and a separate workshop made from a steel shipping container attached to the habitat.
The upstairs is less than half the size of the downstairs. It contains another bathroom and six small bedrooms.
The dome is located in an abandoned quarry about 2,400 metres up the side of Mauna Loa, the second biggest volcano in the world. Mauna Loa is an active volcano, but it has not erupted since 1984. It is constantly monitored for signs of volcanic activity. NASA chose the location because the barren landscape looks very similar to Mars.
During the experiment, the crew will only be able to communicate by email. To make it more like being on Mars, there will be a 20-minute delay between the time a message is sent and when it is received. That means it will take 40 minutes to get a reply to an email. (The crew also has a cell phone in case of an emergency.)
The crew will be performing scientific work while they are there, including some trips outside the dome. When they go outside, they will have to suit up in full spacesuits, just as if they were on Mars.
The commander of the crew is Martha Lenio, a 34-year-old Canadian. Lenio studied engineering and is interested in space exploration and environmental issues. During the mission, she will run experiments on growing food and making compost inside the dome.
The other crewmembers have backgrounds in physics, astronomy and molecular biology. They were chosen from about 150 people who applied to take part in the experiment. None of them are astronauts.
Their mission began on October 15, and will end June 15, 2015.
Related sites:
The HI-SEAS habitat.
Blog by crewmember Zak Wilson.
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
By Jonathan Tilly
Writing/Discussion Prompt
Would you do it? Would you volunteer for the mission on Mauna Loa? Why?
What might make you change your mind?
Reading Prompt: Comprehension Strategies
Can you picture what life will be like for these volunteers? If so, you’re using a comprehension strategy called visualization. This is a really great way to help you understand a text, no matter what the subject is, so let’s practise.
Draw a picture of what you think life on Mars or Mauna Loa will be like.
Primary
Identify a variety of reading comprehension strategies and use them appropriately before, during, and after reading to understand texts (OME, Reading: 1.3).
Junior
Identify a variety of reading comprehension strategies and use them appropriately before, during, and after reading to understand texts (OME, Reading: 1.3).
Intermediate
Identify a variety of reading comprehension strategies and use them appropriately before, during, and after reading to understand increasingly complex texts (OME, Reading: 1.3).
Language Feature: Compound Adjectives
An adjective is a word that describes a person place or thing (a noun). A compund adjective is when two words are used to describe a noun. In this case, a hyphen ( – ) is placed between the two words in order to tell the reader that both words are being used to describe one noun. For example, the sentences below hyphenated compound adjectives:
The crew will live in a two-story dome-shaped building. The ground floor is about 86 square metres, roughly the size of a small two-bedroom apartment.
Place a hyphen between the compound adjectives in each sentence below.
1. The man eating shark was always hungry.
2. There was a ten second delay between buzzers.
3. He was a well known author in Kansas.
4. The restaurant became smoke free in 2012.
