Postcards from Mars – Page 2

With the close of 2024

The SAM Team has this fall sustained a rigorous forward progress. Unlike the prior three years of design, development, and fabrication, this semester has seen us developing programs and collaborations as much as physical structures. This growth is welcomed, but it has also broken the tradition of weekly updates in the form of photo essays to this blog site.

As such, until those stories can be built, backdated, and posted, here is a quick summary.

We have returned to the process of leak detection and patching in order to extend the time SAM can remain pressurized without adding air, for those missions that desire to operate in Mode 3.
Dr. Sean Gellenbeck, Luna Powell and Matthias Beach, have moved into the construction of an automated hydroponics nutrient management and delivery and light control for the SAM hydroponics system. The Campbell Scientific system is now installed, with programming slated for late January into February. Project leadership transitions to graduate student Atila Meszaros with the start of this spring 2025 semester.
A new CO2 scrubber research facility is being constructed between the Crew Quarters and the Air Intake Room (SAM AIR) to close the loop. To be built on a licensed NASA patent with NASA veteran Dr. James Knox as the model lead (since February 2024) for our team.
The SIMOC Live team continues to evolve and improve this portable, ad hoc network air quality monitoring and model validation system built on open source software and the combination of Raspberry Pi computers and Adafruit sensor boards.
The Mars yard gravity offset rig is being rebuilt from welded aluminum with a transition from static climbing rope to braided steel cable for the suspended counter weight system for a tighter, more static and responsive system with less inertial lab.
During the months of November and December Dr. Cameron Smith and Kai Nevers with assistance from Trent Tresch, Ivy Wahome, and Matthias Beach designed, fabricated, and tested an emergency inflatable shelter for Mars. This functional prototype is now housed at SAM with a handful of potential patents already in motion. Photographs and blog entries will be posted as soon as the IP is more fully defined. Stay tuned!
Dr. Bindhu Oommen and Kai Staats, MSc are leading the design, development, and fabrication of an full-featured surgical bay for installation at SAM. This future-looking project begins with a systematic, mathematical analysis of the urgency of a medical emergency, the capabilities of the surgical bay, and the distance from a more advanced facility if transport is required for the ultimate procedure. This project is now several months in motion, with a first-ever workshop held at Biosphere 2 and SAM January 17-19 with eight world-class surgeons joining in person to take this concept to the next level.
Completing the remodel of Ops which was set back by a semi-major water flood this summer. Principal focus is on a fully functional kitchen, updates to the Mission Control Center, and hanging several prints to add a little color to the rooms.
Phase I of a multi-year, multi-year research project, the very project for which SAM was built, begins as soon as the IRB approval is complete. This will see ten of the SAM team members each staying inside of SAM for 58 hours in order to monitor CO2 level rise in the sealed facility with no CO2 scrubber and no plants. Body mass, food intake, and activities will be recorded.

And that is just the beginning of what will prove to be the most exciting phase of developments at SAM in 2025!

By kai|2025-01-15T07:22:30+00:00January 6th, 2025|Categories: Construction, Research & Development|0 Comments

Artists on the Moon

We are aesthetic animals, and art is integrated to what we are and who we are. So, if that is the case and if we do research to understand what we are, then why don’t we integrate art into R1 science research in universities? The University of Arizona, College of Fine Arts Associate Research Dean, Ellen McMahon and her collaborators sent four artists to an analogue space mission in Biospehere2 in their Space Analog for the Moon and Mars . In this story, we will see what happens when artists enter a space habitat, that was designed for scientists.

Producer: Özlem Ayşe Özgür
Videographer: Danny Sax, Özlem Ayşe Özgür
Additional Videography: Arlene Islas
Editor: Robert Lindberg

Read the original article …

By kai|2024-12-17T18:06:42+00:00November 12th, 2024|Categories: In the news|0 Comments

Artists on the Moon – webinar

Artists on the Moon

By kai|2025-01-30T06:01:54+00:00October 30th, 2024|Categories: In the news|0 Comments

An update from Milan, Italy

Last week SAM team members Kai Staats, Bindhu Oommen, Matthias Beach, Ezio Melotti, and Trent Tresch attended the International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2024) in Milan, Italy. Kai presented a paper titled “A Reduced Gravity Simulator at the Space Analog for the Moon & Mars (SAM) Terrestrial Habitat Analog at Biosphere 2” and Bindhu presented a paper titled “The Space Analog for the Moon and Mars (SAM): a hermetically-sealed and pressurized terrestrial analog station and research facility, from inception to crewed analog missions and beyond.”

This week the team ventured overland from Milan to Innsbruck, Austria to meet with Dr. Gernot Grömer, president of the Austrian Space Forum (OeWF) wherein they enjoyed a hands-on introduction to their reduced gravity simulator and renowned analog space suit program. The teams explored potential, near-future collaborations and alignment of resources as they each work to support the AAC World’s Biggest Analog.

Once team members are returned to the US and settled in, several overdue updates to this website will be conducted.

By kai|2024-10-24T15:54:13+00:00October 24th, 2024|Categories: Publications, Research & Development|0 Comments

ASU MSc student completes tomato experiment at SAM

Masters student Amy Sawyer, working under Arizona State University professor Changbin Chen, has completed a one month study of four species of tomatoes, grown in the next-gen hydroponics system at SAM, a Space Analog for the Moon & Mars located at the University of Arizona Biosphere 2.

By kai|2025-01-31T15:49:46+00:00October 8th, 2024|Categories: Research & Development|0 Comments

Next generation hydroponics at SAM

The final hydroponic racks are complete!

After Sean and Luna built out prototype #4 earlier in the summer and decided that was the system that suited SAM best, Luna and Matthias got to work building three more copies in August. They were joined by Linda Leigh who was added to the SAM team in order to further her knowledge on hydroponic systems and be more involved at SAM. With their combined strengths they got to work assembling the racks.

The first step was to build the skeleton of the rack. Using 80/20 they built up the sides, leveled the bottom and added the shelves. Once everything was level and secure they moved on to adding the plant trays, two per shelf. This involved meticulous and precise cutting of the trays, then cleaning up and gluing caps on the ends. Once they were satisfied with the end result of the trays, it was all about PVC. They built out the pump, intake manifold, return manifold and water drops for each shelf. This took the majority of the time, measuring, cutting, gluing, testing and putting together.

There were a lot of ideas how everything should get done and what the final product should look like. With a couple shipping delays the team was finally able to test the racks. To their amazement there were no significant issues with the system—no large leaks or anything that could not be fixed with a few turns of a union. With just 3 days left to spare, everything was ready for the tomato experiment to go in on September 2nd! —by Luna Powell, Site Manager and Greenspace Researcher at SAM

By kai|2025-02-17T05:18:42+00:00August 30th, 2024|Categories: Construction|0 Comments

An analysis of Apollo astronaut locomotion at the SAM Reduced Gravity Simulator

This short video has Trent Tresch in the SAM RGS simulator, demonstrating four gaits used by the Apollo astronauts both in analog training and on the Moon: walk, loping stride, unilateral skip (a.k.a. “Schmitt Skip”, and “kangaroo” hop. Matthias Beach is walking behind the rig in order to provide a more smooth motion profile, to compensate for the tendency of the counterweight mass to invoke oscillations along the x axis until full momentum is built. He is not pushing the rig, rather enabling Trent to enter the research grid more effectively. A future addition to the SAM RGS will be a computer controlled motor that compensates for the kinetic lag caused by the increased mass.

These video segments are central to an analysis of motion over x (forward/back) and z (up/down) coordinates for a paper to be presented at the International Astronautical Congress 2024, Milan, Italy.

The paper will be made available at the Resources section of the SAM website once published in the conference proceedings.

By kai|2024-10-06T20:36:54+00:00August 26th, 2024|Categories: Research & Development, Videos|0 Comments

NPR PRX Interview with Kai Staats

"Life on Spaceships" by Moral Repair - interview with Kai Staats

Life on Spaceships
Moral Repair: A Black Exploration of Tech

In this Episode Annanda and Keisha Explore The Big Question of, is it worth the expense to go to Mars given the needs on Earth? And what would it be like to live on Mars or in space? They interview Kai Staats, Director of Research for SAM at the University of Arizona Biosphere 2, to get the space tea.

Listen to the full interview …

By kai|2024-07-26T17:53:19+00:00July 17th, 2024|Categories: In the news|0 Comments

Mars yard east wall rebuild

When the original rain forest greenhouse was built in the mid 1980s, it was known that the polycarbonate panels would need to be replaced, eventually, but by whom? With one round of repair (based on a discussion with a long-time Biosphere 2 staff member), they lasted more than 30 years. But in the end, the roof and all wall panels must be replaced. This effort began two years ago with replacement of the roof (see Through the Roof and New Roof) and continues now with the four walls, the East and West in the worst shape given the intensity of the sun, wind, and rain.

Matthias, Sean, and Luna have spent three months, juggling myriad other tasks, with this no-one-really-wants-to-do-it task. Matthias has lead the charge, holding the team to a high quality standard. There is nothing simple or easy about it, and no contractor could do a better job. Each panel must be custom cut to match width and height and curve of the overhead greenhouse arches. The top of each panel must be sealed with aluminum tape. Two kinds of screws are applied, some with sealed gasket roofing heads, other rubber backed washers to spread the pressure and keep out the water. The final product is then caulked with 795, a product that will likely outlast the new panels themselves.

The end result is stunning!

By kai|2024-06-28T18:38:13+00:00June 21st, 2024|Categories: Construction|0 Comments

Thunderbird School of Global Management visits SAM

Brett Mecum and the Thunderbird School of Management at SAM

Participants in Thunderbird School of Global Management’s Executive Master of Global Management program with a concentration in space embarked on a site visit to Southern Arizona. SAM team member Luna Powell engaged the thirty-person class in a full tour of SAM, including the newly constructed Mars yard.

This tour was arranged by Brett Mecum, class member, Arizona State lobbyist, and the author of the bill that provided SAM with $1.5M in funding for fiscal years 2023 through 2026.