EuroMoonMars Dommex (EMMD 2010): Geology results from EMMD3 in a desert Mars-like environment, Utah
Abstract
EMMD3 Geology results : Delphine Van Vynckt Introduction: EMMD3 is part of the JUMP Martian mission simulation conducted by stu-dents in the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS), a habitat installed by the Mars Society (MS) in the Utah desert. The campaign was supported by ILEWG International Lunar Explo-ration Working Group, ESTEC, NASA Ames, and partners. The geology objectives of EMMD 2010 are to study the surface and subsurface of the Jurassic-Cretaceous Earth in Utah, to mea-sure mineral composition and to analyse the various rocks after a sampling in EVA suit. The geological EMMD3 research is divided in three main parts. The first one consists of developing a sampling procedure for Martian missions; the second one concerns the exact determination of the durations of the different steps of this sampling procedure; the last one will study the possi-bility to work with a rover, and the interactions human-machine. The project is in line with the ILEWG EuroMoonMars project which coordinates several MDRS missions, and contributes to the preparation of future Mars sample return missions. Procedure validation: During a previous crew rotation at the MDRS, Sara Voute (EDMM1) will finalize and test a procedure she developed for geological missions. During our crew rotation we will test the sampling part of that procedure into more details. One of the objectives is to determine whether it is understandable and usable for astronauts that are not specialized in geology. Rover monitoring: A rover will be lent by NASA Ames to our crew. We will study the different ways to work with such tool in geological missions. The rover can be used as a technical support for astronauts in outside missions. The astronauts could communicate information (images, spectrometer scans, etc.) to the base through the rover in order to sample efficiently. The scientists located in the base have access to treatment tools that an astronauts in outside mission have not and so this allows a pre-selection of the sampling carried back. We will study also the interaction rover-astronauts in a general way in order to determine the benefits both for the rover and the astronauts. Moreover, we will perform exploration missions with rover monitored remotely from the base and see the limitations of this approach. We shall report on the science and technical results, and implications for Earth-Mars compar-ative studies.
- Publication:
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38th COSPAR Scientific Assembly
- Pub Date:
- 2010
- Bibcode:
- 2010cosp...38..537V