Student takes a mission to 'Mars'

Student takes a mission to 'Mars'

From the The Utah Statesman 3-31-04

Utah State University student Jamon Nielson spent two weeks experiencing the life of a "Martianaut," and conducted research with USU technology while living in the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) near Hanksville, Utah.

Nielson returned from his mission Monday morning. During the two weeks, the six-member crew lived in an 8-meter cylindrical shelter, leaving only in space suits to conduct experiments and record data. The crew consisted of two women and four men from around the world including areas like India, Oregon, Australia, Belgium and Wales.

"It was basically a tin can," Nielson said of his home base. "I learned there's a mental conditioning needed. I was with five people for two weeks basically cooped up in this can. We started to get on each other's nerves a little bit after two weeks."

Nielson said the experience gave him a better appreciation for what real astronauts go through, adding it gives him a good perspective on how tough a real mission to Mars would be - a journey he says would take almost three years round trip.

According to the Mars Society Web site, www.marssociety.com, the purpose of the MDRS is to give participants a taste of astronaut life as well as to test equipment in a real-life setting, providing a much better idea of how effective the equipment is than in a factory test room. The MDRS is in use from May to December and crews of four to six people rotate through every two weeks. Researchers also hope to gain a better idea of how plausible a real mission to Mars would be.

One of Nielson's jobs was to conduct experiments with Lada, which Nielson describes as "the most sophisticated pot holder you would ever see," a chamber that waters, measures and even photographs the plants inside.

The technology was developed between 1999 and 2001 at the Space Dynamics Lab (SDL) with Gail Bingham serving as project manager. Nielson said USU has built four units, one of which is currently aboard the International Space Station and was launched in September 2002.

Lada, named for the Russian goddess of spring, is designed to allow astronauts to garden in space, providing them with badly needed nutrition, according to the SDL's Web site, www.sdl.usu.edu.

Bingham said while nothing was learned during the two weeks that surprised him about Lada, he said Nielson gained some new insights about Lada's potential.

According to Nielson's report, which can be accessed at www.marssociety.com, one of the most important discoveries was that Lada can be used as a plant incubator used to transfer plants from the astronaut's habitat into other soils, including those of the environments astronauts will one day visit.

"I think Jamon got his eyes really opened to what it's going to be like to support a crew on Mars and that's pretty important to someone who's thinking about going into space," Bingham said.

These results were what Bingham expected, he said. Bingham has been working with other space vegetation systems like this for more than 10 years, saying whether it's Mars or the moon "it's critical that we learn how to grow plants" in space.

Two types of lettuce, Mizuna and a Chinese lettuce, were grown during the mission. Nielson said while he debated attempting to grow wheat or other grains, he eventually chose the plants he did because of their hardiness and ability to germinate quickly, although Lada has been successful in the past growing other vegetables like peas and tomatoes.

Serving as the EVA (Extra-Vehicular Activity) commander during the mission, Nielson spent a lot of time in his space suit learning to explore surroundings and collect data while in full astronaut gear.

"In some sense you are cut off from your environment. I was like bubble boy," Nielson said, adding it was weird not to be able to feel the wind or touch the things around him.

"I was responsible for navigation, using GPS and maps," Nielson said. "I found some neat stuff - fossils, petrified wood. I'm not a geologist but I found it interesting to see all the kinds of stones. I wish I knew more about that stuff."

Nielson said by far the most frustrating part of the experience was the failing of the power generators which crashed six or seven times during the two weeks. During the crashes, experiments couldn't be conducted and computers were down. In space, if this were to happen, astronauts wouldn't even be able to leave the shelter because the pressure couldn't be controlled, he said.

One day, missions to the real red planet will be possible, Nielson said, it's just a matter of taking the technology already available to the next level.

Nielson may just be one of those lucky astronauts. Having completed a master's degree in physics, Nielson is now working as a research assistant at SDL as well as on a second bachelor's in aviation technology. He said he will apply for the NASA astronaut corps next year. Nielson was selected for the MRDS experience after filling out an application on the Mars Society Web site.

"I've wanted to be an astronaut since I was a kid. I've always been interested in science and stuff. I guess it's because I watched 'Star Wars' when I was 6 years old," he said.

Nielson said he also hopes his experience will give both USU and Lada some more exposure and publicity.

Meanwhile, he said he is trying to readjust to normal life, also saying his favorite part of the experience was the camaraderie that developed between crew mates.

"I liked the whole environment, the whole simulations of what an astronaut would really go through," he said. "I'm already starting to miss those guys. We got to be good friends."

By Brooke Nelson, bnelson@cc.usu.edu