Category Archives: Simulators

Crew of seven simulating a Mars mission in the Utah desert

A new crew is carrying out the latest two-week simulation of a mission on the Red Planet at the Mars Society‘s Mars Desert Research Station in Utah: Mock Mars Mission Starts Saturday in Utah Desert – Space.com.

The seven members of this MDRS crew are all candidates for missions in the Mars One project.

Here are the bios for Crew 149. And their Mission Statement.

Their first Crew Report is posted at 208-Commanders Report.

MDRS_Banner1500

 

Video: Pascal Lee on simulating Mars manned rovers in the High Arctic

In this SETI Institute seminar, planetary scientist Pascal Lee talks about the Haughton-Mars Project to simulate a Mars base on Devon Island in northern Canadian. He focuses here on simulations of a excursions in a pressurized rover using “specially modified Humvees”:

Here’s the caption to the video:

Pressurized rovers are airtight all-terrain motorhomes in which future planetary explorers will live, work, sleep, and drive during multiple-day excursions far away from their home base. Although pressurized rovers are commonly featured in science-fiction lore and technical studies on paper, there is still very little practical experience with the use of such vehicles in terrestrial field exploration. Since 2003, the NASA Haughton-Mars Project (HMP) has begun leading a series of field simulations of planetary pressurized rover traverses on Devon Island, High Arctic, a bleak and barren polar analog often described as Mars On Earth. As stand-ins for pressurized rovers, the HMP uses specially modified Humvees equipped with living quarters, satellite comms & nav systems, robotic arms, and spacesuit ports. Rover traverses at HMP are also set in a true field exploration operations environment in which dangers, while not as unforgiving as on Mars, are nevertheless real and relevant.

This talk summarizes the HMP’s experience with simulated pressurized rover treks to date, and lessons learned for planning future road trips on the Moon or Mars. Focus is placed on the HMP’s Northwest Passage Drive Expedition (2009-2011), an epic rover journey from the continental United States to Mars On Earth, across hundreds of kilometers of sea-ice along the fabled Northwest Passage. During the voyage, the expedition crew encountered conditions and challenges analogous in basic ways to those awaiting future pressurized rover crews on Mars: hostile environment, dust storm-like blizzards, uncertain route, treacherous terrain, equipment failure, tight crew quarters, limited resources, remoteness, and isolation.

While pressurized rover treks will dramatically expand the range and productivity of human planetary exploration, they will remain expeditions within an expedition. If not planned and implemented with care, they will quickly spell doom for their crews.

Video: SpaceTraveller simulation of MSL’s seven minutes of terror

I posted previously about SpaceTraveller, a “solar system simulator and space mission visualizer program” under development by BINARY SPACE, which provides the Satellite Tracking Tool here and with whom I work to make the Virtual SpaceTV 3D animated news reports. That post included a video demonstrating a simulation of the Rosetta spacecraft as it maneuvered near Comet 67P/C-G.

Here is a new video showing a SpaceTraveller simulation of the famous ‘Seven Minutes of Terror’ as the  Mars Science Laboratory (i.e. the Curiosity rover) made its atmospheric entry, descent, and landing on Mars on August 6, 2012.

The trajectory, orientation and rotation data is derived from MSL’s sensors (with a certain time granularity). Trajectories for other objects than MSL (when not body-fixed to it) are approximate only (implemented manually).

For further info on SpaceTraveller, contact  info@binary-space.com.

The Kerbal podcast for the Kerbal Space Program

The Kerbal Space Program

is a game where the players create and manage their own space program. Build spacecraft, fly them, and try to help the Kerbals to fulfill their ultimate mission of conquering space.

Although inhabited by comic Kerbal characters, the underlying physics of the rockets and spacecraft is very realistic and accurate. (See the recent TMRO interview with Scott Manley who has created numerous tutorial videos for KSP.)

The KSP is becoming increasingly popular and has its own Kerbal Podcast. (It’s also available on YouTube.)

KerbalPodcast

They just posted their 35th program. Here it is on mp3:

Program topics:

– Oh, Eve. You cruel temptress! It’s our progress in the game.

– Your letters and the latest Kerbal news in this week’s Mission Briefing

– Is the Moon a star? Yes, someone on TV is actually confused about that!

All episodes available at kerbalpodcast.libsyn.com

Links mentioned in this episode:

Northstar needs help with a mod:

forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/103511-Pre-Release-0-90-Netherdyne-Mass-Driver-Mod

Is the Moon a planet?

Free MS-DOS Space Games at the Internet Archive

Phil Plait’s Introduction to Astronomy