6 Americans just moved into 1300 sq ft dome - they'll stay there for 8 months to mimick trip to Mars [View all]

[Liberal_in_LA]

In a Dome in Hawaii, a Mission to Mars

On the way to Mars, Neil Scheibelhut stopped by Walmart for mouthwash and dental floss. “We’re picking up some last-minute things,” he said via cellphone last Wednesday afternoon from the store.

Mr. Scheibelhut is not actually an astronaut leaving the earth. But three hours later, he and five other people stepped into a dome-shaped building on a Hawaiian volcano where they will live for the next eight months, mimicking a stay on the surface of Mars.


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The crew members are granted some exceptions. They can check a few websites, like their banking accounts, to ensure that their earth lives do not fall apart while they are away. There is also a cellphone for emergency communications; If a hurricane (a distinctly un-Martian weather pattern) were to threaten the dome, as almost occurred over the weekend when Hurricane Ana veered south of Hawaii, mission control would not delay telling the crew to evacuate.

Some 150 people applied to participate. Dr. Binsted said the three men and three women of this Hi-Seas crew were chosen to have a similar mix of experience and backgrounds as real NASA astronauts, and many indeed aspire to go to space.

The commander is Martha Lenio, 34, an entrepreneur looking to start a renewable-energy consulting company. Other crew members are Jocelyn Dunn, 27, a Purdue University graduate student; Sophie Milam, 26, a graduate student at the University of Idaho; Allen Mirkadyrov, 35, a NASA aerospace engineer; and Zak Wilson, 28, a mechanical engineer who worked on military drone aircraft at General Atomics in San Diego.



http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/21/science/taking-minds-on-a-journey-to-mars.html



The habitat is based on a dome supplied by Pacific Domes International with internal two-story structure. The first floor has a kitchen, dining area, common work space, exercise area, and lab. The second floor contains six crew-sleeping quarters and a bathroom.

Although numerous space analog studies have been conducted over the years, this is the longest U.S. study to-date. Worldwide, only the Mars500 study during 2010-2011 surpasses this one in total duration.

Simulated space walks will provide HI-SEAS members with a chance to experience the outdoors, but only while wearing bulky simulated space suits.

http://www.sci-news.com/space/science-nasas-hi-seas-team-hawaii-mars-mission-02220.html


http://hi-seas.org/?p=1278











he habitat, based on a dome supplied by Pacific Domes International with internal two-story structure designed by V. Paul Ponthieux of Envision Design, was built by the Blue Planet Foundation of Honolulu, Hawaii. The geodesic dome is 36 feet in diameter , enclosing a volume of 13,570 cubic feet. The ground floor has an area of 993 square feet (878 square feet usable) and includes common areas such as kitchen, dining, bathroom with shower, lab, exercise, and common spaces. The second floor loft spans an area of 424 square feet and includes six separate staterooms and a half bath. In addition, a 160 square foot workshop converted from a 20-foot high steel shipping container is attached to the habitat.