No manned flight to Mars before 2030? Never mind: every year, students at ISAE-SUPAERO experience life on Mars. Thanks to the American Mars Society. This enables a panel of students from the Institute to experience life on the Red Planet in an astronaut base, the MDRS (Mars Desert Research Station). Crew 293, made up of seven engineering students, are preparing to leave for this scientific station for four weeks, from 18th February to 16th March. The programme for their stay in the United States and Mars includes collecting data for various scientific experiments.
A student at the helm
For the second time, this tenth ISAE-SUPAERO mission will be commanded by a woman: Marie Delaroche, currently on an Erasmus internship at the University of Southampton. A keen space explorer, she was already part of crew 275, which left in 2023. Alongside her, three young women and three young men in their 2nd year of engineering studies will take on the roles of astronomer, scientist, botanist, journalist, health worker and on-board engineer. They are all members of the ISAE-SUPAERO Mars Club, a student association for the popularisation of science centred around the Red Planet and the missions dedicated to its exploration and study.
Like real astronauts, the 293 crew will be carrying out around ten experiments in collaboration with CNES, the University of Florida, CNRS and MEDES. For example, its members will be looking at the influence of the space base environment on astronauts’ stress and cognitive performance (see below). They will also study the benefits of watching virtual reality videos filmed in their respective homes, in order to investigate the facilitation of family intimacy and social support in an ultra-confined environment.
Working with secondary school pupils
During their mission, they will also be experimenting with AI4U, an artificial intelligence that assists astronauts in their daily tasks (environmental measurements, voice recognition, emergency exercises). Finally, they will be conducting a science popularisation experiment in collaboration with secondary school pupils. Inspired by the film Alone on Mars, in which an astronaut grows potatoes on the Red Planet, the aim of this experiment is to compare the growth of plants in Martian soil with that on terrestrial soil.
In short, it’s a real professional experience with a great scientific reputation ahead of them!
Zoom in on… Orbital Architecture, one of the experiments carried out at the station
Initiated during the mission of the previous crew (Crew 275), this experiment is continuing this year with crew 293. The aim of this study is to measure the influence of the environment of a space base on the stress and cognitive performance of astronauts. It requires a major deployment of environmental sensors in the station, as well as sensors and trackers worn by the crew members, who will carry out a whole battery of cognitive and physiological tests during the mission. The study, in collaboration with the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, will be carried out in January on board the ISS (International Space Station) as part of the Axiom 3 mission.
Photo credits: Club Mars ISAE-SUPAERO
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