Above (back row): Dr. Brandy Nunez, Mission Director; SAM Staff: Luna Powell, Matthias Beach, Trent Tresch, Kai Staats, and Sean Gellenbeck (not present Tasha Coelho); (front row) Bindhu Oommen, Commander; Keridwen Cornelius, Crew Journalist; Andy Squires, Communications Officer, Accessibility; and Sahda Haroon, Engineer. (not present: Brenda Trinidad, Mission Control and Eric Shear, Mission Support).
Crew Inclusion II completed it’s six days mission at a Space Analog for the Moon and Mars (SAM) at Biosphere 2. Commander Bindhu Oommen, Engineer Sahda Haroon, Communications & Accessibility Officer Andy Squires, and Crew Journalist Keridwen Cornelius initiated depressurization of the habitat at 10 AM PDT, and a few minutes later were received by original Biospherian Linda Leigh who opened the hatch and greeted them on the airlock landing.
The crew accomplished nearly all of their mission objectives, including monitoring the CO2 and pressure during two Mode 3 experiments; a point-sampling of CO2 levels throughout the habitat in comparison to stationary sensor arrays; a sampling of the four stages of water use (potable, condensate, gray, and waste); a step by step review of the newly completed Standard Operating Procedures manual for SAM by crew commander Bindhu Oommen; a digital analysis of the acoustic spaces present in SAM’s unique structure; assembly and use of a 3D printer for a variety of tasks, including a 3D map of SAM, a tactile representation of collected data, and a surgical scaple, and four EVAs
Journalist Keridwen Cornelius lead the culinary exploration with incredible outcomes, starting with the bread recipes recorded by the first team a week prior, then moving to develop a blueberry compote, a variety of vegetable soups, and an apple crumble. The crew completed their mission with twelve gallons of water to spare from the original 60.
They consumed fresh lettuce from the hydroponics each day and in the final 24 hours were able to harvest pink oyster mushrooms from mycelia grown on a straw substrate peppered with the dehydrated, ground, inedible biomass (food scraps) from the first crew. This demonstrates complete recycling of food waste in this hermetically sealed, pressurized habitat analog.
Tucson Channel 4 (KVOA) reporter Megan Spector broadcast live from within a pressure suit while standing in the SAM Mars yard. Tucson Channel 9 (KGUN) provided this broadcast and story [YouTube].
