Event Title
Martian Meteorologists: Forecasting the Storms of Tomorrow
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Location
Clifford Hall, Room 210
Document Type
presentation
Start Date
8-5-2018 8:45 AM
End Date
8-5-2018 9:00 AM
Description
Human habitation of Mars and other extraterrestrial bodies is a promising venture for the future of space exploration, and is an important goal of NASA and other space organizations. Currently, Earth based analog habitat studies provide vital research on life support systems and essential technical functions. For a Martian settlement to support sustained human presence, weather forecasting is of utmost importance; the Martian atmosphere can be volatile, and dust storms are a major concern to Extravehicular Activity (EVA) operations.
Weather balloons provide an ideal platform for forecasting, as they are low cost, user friendly, require no fuel, traverse high altitudes, support radio based payloads for instant information downlink, and can carry a wide variety of light, low cost, accurate sensors. Further, sensor arrays can be fabricated within the habitat, and weather data transmitted to the base station immediately, creating a sustainable, real time forecasting system.
This poster discusses a weather balloon EVA simulated by crewmembers in the Inflatable Lunar Martian Analog Habitat at the University of North Dakota in an attempt to prove the validity of extraterrestrial weather balloon operations and prepare for sustainability and autonomy in future habitation.
This EVA is a preliminary mission intended to explore feasibility of balloon operations and weather forecasting with a small, three member crew in a simulated Martian environment in the Inflatable Lunar Martian Analog Habitat at the University of North Dakota.
For this mission, the crew fabricated a sensor based payload, then launched the instruments. One crewmember stayed inside the habitat to monitor weather data transmitted via HAM radio to the ground station. Meanwhile, two crewmembers exited the habitat in spacesuits, filled a weather balloon with helium, attached the payload, initiated contact between the payload and the ground station, and re- entered the habitat to track the balloon and downlink the data.
Mission Overview: This mission was designed to simulate an autonomous weather observation operation. Hardware and software were Earth based, but could operate in the Martian environment. Procedures and human performance were other key elements.
Martian Meteorologists: Forecasting the Storms of Tomorrow
Clifford Hall, Room 210
Human habitation of Mars and other extraterrestrial bodies is a promising venture for the future of space exploration, and is an important goal of NASA and other space organizations. Currently, Earth based analog habitat studies provide vital research on life support systems and essential technical functions. For a Martian settlement to support sustained human presence, weather forecasting is of utmost importance; the Martian atmosphere can be volatile, and dust storms are a major concern to Extravehicular Activity (EVA) operations.
Weather balloons provide an ideal platform for forecasting, as they are low cost, user friendly, require no fuel, traverse high altitudes, support radio based payloads for instant information downlink, and can carry a wide variety of light, low cost, accurate sensors. Further, sensor arrays can be fabricated within the habitat, and weather data transmitted to the base station immediately, creating a sustainable, real time forecasting system.
This poster discusses a weather balloon EVA simulated by crewmembers in the Inflatable Lunar Martian Analog Habitat at the University of North Dakota in an attempt to prove the validity of extraterrestrial weather balloon operations and prepare for sustainability and autonomy in future habitation.
This EVA is a preliminary mission intended to explore feasibility of balloon operations and weather forecasting with a small, three member crew in a simulated Martian environment in the Inflatable Lunar Martian Analog Habitat at the University of North Dakota.
For this mission, the crew fabricated a sensor based payload, then launched the instruments. One crewmember stayed inside the habitat to monitor weather data transmitted via HAM radio to the ground station. Meanwhile, two crewmembers exited the habitat in spacesuits, filled a weather balloon with helium, attached the payload, initiated contact between the payload and the ground station, and re- entered the habitat to track the balloon and downlink the data.
Mission Overview: This mission was designed to simulate an autonomous weather observation operation. Hardware and software were Earth based, but could operate in the Martian environment. Procedures and human performance were other key elements.