Sunday, July 26: First full day in the field

The Spaceward Bound Arctic 2008 expedition's science goals include looking at a potential relic spring, where spring water may have existed in a previous geological era.  Since we will study the mineralogy and microbiology of a current spring, Gypsum Springs, and given the likelihood we won't find active springs on Mars, studying the mineralogy and microbiology of the site of a long-ago spring will give human researchers an idea, or a template, for searching for relic springs on Mars.  What do you think of this?

We plugged GPS coordinates for the potential spring site, and began a day-long hike out and back to the target area. This involved an initial descent towards the terminus, or end of, Thompson Glacier.  The scenery reminded the team why field science is so thrilling.  Muddy water cascaded and roared its way out of the leading edge of the glacier above thick, tall, dark layers of terminal moraine detritus.  

Travel Day 3: The expedition team arrives at M.A.R.S., Sat., July 26!

Our Twin Otter taxied to the threshold of the Resolute Bay runway for takeoff to M.A.R.S. station. On our third full day of travel, we were ready to arrive.  We'd boarded on a cool, damp, drizzly morning.  The eerily quiet landscape was disrupted by the Twin Otter's dual turboprops firing up.  The team giddily gazed at each other as the plane turned into the wind on the runway, only to be told by our co-pilot that weather was preventing our takeoff.  This happens often in the Arctic.  It was not what we wanted to hear.  We were more than ready to be out of airplanes for a bit, but we understood and accepted why we had to wait a little longer.  

Thankfully, we waited for only a quarter of an hour, then roared into the sky on the last leg.  And what a leg it was!  Clouds, icebergs, snow, enthralling, vast expanses of glacier-carved terrain.  Then, over a ridge and across Expedition Fjord, we spotted the lower base camp on Axel Heiberg Island in Nunuvut Territory, Canada!  After a reconnaissance pass to check the dirt runway's condition, and wind direction, we touched down on our home for the next few days.  We soon met Wayne Pollard, a professor at McGill University, and a kind and giving host to researchers on the island.  He helped us unload our gear, set us up in our camp, and then grilled us salmon steaks.  How fortunate are we? 

Travel Day 2: Iqaluit to Resolute Bay

We left our FirstAir 727 at Iqaluit Airport, and after meeting Matt from CSA, transferred to a twin-engine turboprop for the next-to-last leg of the voyage to the research station.  This leg took us to Resolute Bay, with a refueling stop in Hall Beach where we saw our first sea ice from terra firma.  We landed in an overcast, damp and drizzly Resolute Bay.  The nice facility there is run by the Polar Continental Shelf Project, and is a major jump-off point for high arctic research expeditions in this part of the Arctic. 

Here we located our science gear that had been flown up in late June from NASA Ames Research Center aboard an Air National Guard C-130 Hercules.  We accessed e-mail, had a team meeting on mission science goals, and crawled in our sleeping bags in a group tent, excited for the chance to fly out the next morning, weather permitting, for the final leg of our trip:  a Twin Otter flight to M.A.R.S. on Axel Heiberg Island.

Travel Day 2: Moon and Mars greenhouse in the Arctic?

Yes, it's true.  At Iqaluit Airport, waiting for our connecting flight to Resolute Bay, the Spaceward Bound Arctic group met Matt Bamsey, a post-doc from the Canadian Space Agency.  Matt's work involves researching how to develop autonomous greenhouses for use on the Moon and Mars.  The reasoning is that on those missions we don't want astronauts spending a large percentage of their time growing food necessary for their survival during long-duration expeditions.  So, if greenhouses can be developed that run automatically, and can handle the unique light and dark environs of both the Moon and Mars, astronauts have more time to devote to the science goals of the mission.  Search terms such as "Arthur Clarke Mars Greenhouse Haughton Mars Project Devon Island" for more information.

Why the Arctic?  Moon: extreme environment.  Mars:  extreme environment.  Arctic:  You guessed it.  Extreme environment.

Spaceward Bound's Web Guru

Here's Linda Conrad, of NASA Ames Research Center.  She is THE guru when it comes to Spaceward Bound web postings.  And she laughs a lot, so she is a valuable part of the expedition team.  She will help with questions and comments we receive while in the Arctic.

Mars Science Laboratory & Wind Tunnel

Phoenix, the rover currently at the north pole of Mars, and Spirit and Opportunity, the two Energizer Bunnies of Mars' rovers, all carry science packages weighing, I believe, less than 20 pounds each.  Flying to Mars soon will be the Mars Science Laboratory.  Carrying about 143 pounds of science equipment, this rover will be the size of a small car!  How do you gently place this payload on the martian surface?  Well, boys and girls, with science, technology, engineering and mathematics saavy, of course.  That and all the amazing folks at NASA and supporting contractors.  

For an exciting .mov animation of its landing, go to mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/gallery/video/movies/MSLAnim1.mov

Last week, I was fortunate to tour the world's largest wind tunnel where tests were being conducted the main chute for the Science Laboratory.  It's sixty feet in diameter when fully deployed, leaving ten feet of clearance on each side of this 80' x 100' wind tunnel.  Look for the people walking in front of the wind tunnel intake in the photo outside the tunnel.  Gives one a good perspective for the actual immensity of the tunnel.

Rover Driver's Ed. 101

One of the six major questions of the Arctic 2008 expedition is:

How can a teleoperated rover be used to assist human explorers in the Arctic?

Yesterday, I journeyed to the Carnegie Mellon University Innovations Lab to begin to learn how to drive a rover.  After driving a rover I find it's similar to driving a R/C (radio-controlled) car, or operating a video game controller.  An aside:  I can hear my video-game-loving students already concocting stories to their parents explaining why they can't do their homework, but must get on the Wii.  They have to refine their fine-motor teleoperational device abilities so as to ensure a career in the sciences...(weary sigh from teacher).

Above you can see a rover similar to the type we'll drive in the high Arctic.  Also, below, in the video, you'll meet my driving instructor, Andrew, and catch a glimpse of the lab staff.  Incidentally, this biologist notes they seem to fuel their metabolic rate primarily through candy bars and highly-caffeinated soft drinks.