Postcards from Mars

We continue with avid construction of SAM in preparation for receipt of our first visiting research teams. We are working sunrise to sunset with projects completed daily. Each week in review sees “TODOs” transform into “DONEs”. Evenings are time for communication with the first two teams to visit SAM, a review of their proposed mission plans, research objectives, and many details in preparation for the first sealed, pressurized experiment at Biosphere 2 in thirty years.

In brief, we have complete the installation of the fully networked, computer controlled fire detection and alarm system, all wiring throughout the habitat, installation of our fourth and final mini-split A/C unit, all plumbing including potable water storage, gray water recycling, and waste water containment is complete. Sean has constructed the prototype inner door of the airlock, and we are eager for the first pressure test.

Atila and Kai upgraded one of the hydroponics racks from last year for an improved water flow and reduced algae build-up. This is centerpiece to Atila’s PhD research at the University of Arizona under the direction of Dr. Gene Giacomelli at CEAC. By no means the final product, this prototype will serve us well for the coming two missions. Lettuce is installed and water nutrients added. John Z. returned for a Saturday morning to assist with the final mini-split install, and Colleen rejoined the team for a few days, lending her keen eye for detail and experience with fabrication.

The Mars yard too has seen a completely transformation from our workshop for the past two years into a functional, prototype test bed for pressure suits, tools, and drones. Tasha and Matthias assembled a barrier to contain the crushed basalt (a close facsimile to Martian soil) and then retraced the original Biosphere 2 rain forest walkway with a fresh coat of Mars-red paint.

The lung is now fully refurbished, complete with a variable frequency drive, electric actuated valve, and a new set of legs for a more stable touch-down and ease of measuring height from the lung floor.

The SIMOC Live server is fully operational with support for a variety of Vernier and Adafruit sensors, and our light-travel time delay server will soon be deployed, providing the limited internet (email only) for visiting research teams, communications delay by 1.3s to the Moon, or 7-20 minutes for Mars.

When we first reached out to the University of Arizona Facilities Management Electrical Services, Fire Safety & Prevention Assistant Director Joseph Branaum for guidance on how to design and install the fire detection system at SAM, we were concerned that the unique nature of our research facility might invoke a high degree of scrutiny. While the vessel is built from steel, aluminum, and glass with very limited flammable materials inside, the fact that four people will be sealed inside with pressure hatches as exits could have raised alarm.

The first two teams to SAM will each have one blind crew member. This elevates the need for our fire detection and alarm system, beyond off-the-shelf, battery powered smoke detectors available from local resellers. Instead, SAM must integrate a fully networked, computer controlled system that raises audible and visual alarms across the habitat should any of the heat or smoke detectors be triggered. Furthermore, each exit must have an illuminated sign in the case of a power outage. We are taking that one step further, to make certain that each pressure hatch is fully lit with power loss, such that crew members can readily assist each other in egress, emergency or not.

Joe visited SAM in February and immediately recognized the need for a fire detection system that met the University safety guidelines and upheld the need for SAM to closely approximate an actual, other-world habitat. He designed a system that meets code and serves our needs.

What’s more, the entire system will be upgraded later in 2023 to include active data generation and capture for real-time temperature, humidity, and air quality, then integrated into the SIMOC Live terminal at SAM, thereby elevating the SAM analog experience even closer to that of a real habitat while further informing the SIMOC model.

Joe and his associate Matt have guided the complex wiring of this system, and will return to SAM for the final installation of the pull stations, A/V units, and detectors. Thank you Joe and Matt for your patience with our 100+ questions, phone calls, text messages, and emails.

Today we completed the electrical wiring of SAM, with the Workshop (20′) and Crew Quarters (40′) fully lit up and operational. We also conducted our first pressure test since January, and with the new 1HP Variable Frequency Drive. We can now bring SAM from ambient to full pressure in just under 3 minutes, a 4x speed increase over the original, 1980s blower which is now replaced.

This is a noteworthy and exciting day, for it marks months of sequential work come to fruition.

[description coming soon]

There are those simple devices that defy the mindless trend toward smaller, smarter, and digital. The phonograph is back to stay, with more vinyl records being produced today than at any time history. A good pocket knife is an indispensable tool for anyone who lives and works outdoors. And the harmonica is a light, portable instrument able to warm the hearts of all who listen or sing along — without batteries, USB, WiFi, or Siri selling your private conversation to the highest bidder. They just work.

The analog pressure gauge is a simple, elegant, analog instrument. It will function for a hundred years or more, providing reliable data with little potential for failure.

At SAM, visitors both inside and out must know, without a doubt, if the vessel is under pressure. For those on the outside, opening the hatch while under pressure could mean getting catapulted across the Mars yard, or worse. For those on the inside, a rapid depressurization should only be conducted in the case of an emergency and need for immediate egress.

This particular Dwyer Magnehelic was selected for its 0-2 inches of water callibration, giving the highest accuracy for the maximum of 0.05 PSI over ambient pressure differential at SAM. We liked it so much, we installed five (for now): inside and outside the Test Module emergency exit; inside the exterior airlock door, inside the SAM Air Intake Room (AIR) just above the new blower, and on a new instrument wall on the interior wall of the lower SAM lung.

No matter which room a crew member occupies, the pressure will be visibly displayed. And for those visiting from the outside, a quick look to the large interface will make it clear if it is safe to enter.

In early 2023 the SAM project received its first round of funding dedicated to the renovation of the former Biosphere 2 rain forest greenhouse into a 6,400 sq-ft indoors Mars yard. The University of Arizona center for Research, Innovation, and Impact (RII) sees significant value in the creation of an advanced Mars yard, a place for education, research, and innovation.

Significant prior effort had been applied, from initial destruction of adjacent structures to tearing down the old roof panels; from work on the exterior walls to installing a new roof.

Now, we are continuing to renovate the structure, starting at the foundation walls. Once complete, we can design our first basic layout, install basalt left over from the LEO project, and place varied boulders (even if not igneous based) to form a terrain park for our first, visiting research teams.

In parallel, fabrication of the interior of SAM continues, with immediate focus on completing the electrical panel, UA approved smoke and fire detection system, and routing conduit and circuits to the bathroom, kitchen, and crew quarters.

In order to bring power into the renovated 40′ shipping container, we must route Carflex conduit through one of two pressure hull bridges. This invokes a bottle neck as this is a passage the crew will use regularly as they move from the crew quarters into the workshop and subsequent Test Module (controlled environment for plant growth). As such, it is imperative that the conduit be non-intrusive and secured.

Given that we cannot penetrate any wall surface that holds pressure, we must carefully select the structure elements able to receive a bolt, metal screw, or rivet. We were able to reuse two former steel shelf grids, reduced in size, as a means to secure electrical conduit to the wall in such a way that it can be readily adjusted, even moved in the future.