Postcards from Mars

Mixing, pouring, and finishing concrete is no small undertaking. While it can be done bag by bag, shovel by shovel for small jobs, the critical nature of a uniform density, physical and chemical consistency demands proper mixing and delivery by a professional concrete company and finish by the experts.

Daniel, Ricardo, and Fernando are experts in their field. They estimated the concrete delivery to within a half wheel barrow and were able to cut and position the sauna tubes for the concrete footings for the shipping containers to a level of perfection. Next, we prepare the shipping containers and west side of the Test Module for extension of the pressure vessel and in January place the containers as the foundation for the new Crew Quarters at SAM.

With the second phase of construction of SAM we are quickly transitioning from refurbish to new construction (which is far more enjoyable). In the spring of 2021 we poured a new concrete slab between the Test Module and its lung to the south in order to provide a foundation for the new mini-split A/C units, and to reduce the amount of debris and dirt that got kicked up when working in that area. The result was clear, we needed to go ahead and pour a slab around the east and west sides of the Test Module when we moved to pour the concrete footings for the 20 and 40 foot shipping containers, our soon-to-be crew quarters.

Daniel, Ricard, and Fernando are a unique team. Highly skilled, extremely knowledgeable, and absolutely a joy to work with (as well as constant comic relief!, they were able to prepare the site from gravel and dirt to line and laser level in two mornings. Kai Staats assisted with validation of the critical measurements and sketches for the precise location of this exciting addition to SAM.

Next week, the concrete will be poured!

The lower lung extension of the Test Module pressure vessel had been left open for some thirty years. Every critter known to the Senoran desert had made a home of the dark, cool space below the steel pan and flexible EPDM membrane. It was, in scientific terms, disgusting. Our first effort to clean this space was conducted in the spring of 2021 with respirator, goggles, gloves, and sprayer with a bleach-water solution to stabilize the waste and debris.

Trent and Kai inflated the lung and then attached the stilts to enable safe work beneath. Kai power-washed the underside of the pan and membrane twice. Kai and Trent then removed the loose paint with scrapers and orbital sanders, scrubbed with water and brush, and wet-mopped. The difference was night to day.

While we have experimented with latex paints in the Test Module, it became clear that water-based paints simply do not offer the needed protection for metal surfaces against further rust and corrosion. We therefore applied a Rust-O-Leum product designed to secure bare metal and rusted surfaces, followed by an oil-based enamel. The result is a highly durable, easy to clean surface that will give the lower lung another decade of function with minimal maintenance. The enamel paint will have six months to cure, more than ample to stabilize the VOCs.

Thank you volunteer Colleen Cooley for returning to SAM and lending a hand in this effort.

We have received shipment of our second shipping container, this a hi-cube, non-insulated 20 foot unit that will serve as the corridor between the Test Module and the 40 foot crew quarters. We have also detected and marked all buried gas and electrical lines in advance of the new concrete footings that will secure the shipping containers.

With the effort to remove the five, small greenhouse structures west of the Test Module and large greenhouse completed by Laura Blystone and her team, Kai, Trent, and Sean set to cleaning after a summer of intense wind and rain that brought down most of the remaining roof panels from the original, thirty years old structure.

We recycled the plywood removed from the west wall of the large greenhouse structure, standing six sheets vertically against the south wall of the large greenhouse, what will be the 6400 square-foot indoor Mars yard. In review of several photos taken by various Mars rovers, we selected an initial paint color to represent the martian sky and applied it to the plywood following a coat of primer.

Terry moved six tractor loads of crushed basalt against the plywood to form a miniature martian landscape. With this in place, we have a diorama with which we can explore a color palette for the future, sculpted concrete, scaled crater that will cover the entire length and width of this building.

With the start of our second phase of development of SAM, we decided it would be ideal to have a home-base of operations beyond our campus apartment and the shipping container adjacent to the Test Module, a space for SAM planning, systems design, and development of components vital to first-team missions and operations.

In June Biosphere 2 Deputy Director John Adams allocated one of the three buildings in the lower B2 parking lot for the SAM Operations Center. This building had been used as storage for B2 cleaning supplies, linens, dish ware, and office supplies; and the building we would move these items into was equally full with pre-COVID K-12 staff offices, supplies, and more storage.

Early in October Trent and Kai dove into sorting, moving, and cleaning both buildings to establish the SAM operations center and to help the B2 staff regain organization and efficiency for daily operations as the Biosphere 2 ramped back up toward a pre-COVID level of daily and conference center visitors.

With this initial effort concluded we have the foundation of an operations center complete with a kitchen, library, mission control center, conference room, and workshop. Next we will determine the desired layout of the operations center and engage in re-construction in parallel to the vital effort of expanding the Test Module pressure vessel with the crew quarters.