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for Astrobiology Magazine Moffett Field CA (SPX) May 24, 2011 Once you've been to Antarctica, you just really want to go back. There is a sign in the lunch room here at Marambio base, that says (with poetic license thanks to Pablo): "When you arrived you barely knew me; when you leave you'll take a part of me with you." There is something about Antarctica that always stays with you and beckons you back. So how could I possibly say no to going down to Antarctica for a second time in the same season? The goal of the project is to test a prototype pressurized Mars spacesuit. The Antarctic provides a relevant environment for collecting samples and doing science - just the way we would on Mars. We will be testing both using the spacesuit in a Mars analogue environment and doing new science. Marambio Island (also known as Seymore Island) is near the tip of the Palmer Peninsula, at S64 degrees 14' W56 degrees 43'. We were invited by the Argentine Air Force to test the space suit at their Marambio Base in Antarctica - an incredibly gracious offer, and an incredible amount of support from them! Marambio Island has provided an interesting site for finding old fossils, and is a long-established Argentine base. In summer they have up to about 150 people here, and the crew that winters over is about 50 people. In summer (Dec-March) flights from Argentina are frequent - every few days. In the winter the flights are every month. This is unlike places like McMurdo, which are farther south and aircraft cannot land there in winter. The Marambio base also serves as the center of helicopter activity for many of the surrounding bases. The large C-130 aircraft can land here, but helicopters are needed to go to the other Argentine bases, as well as the UK and Chile bases, and to the field sites where the scientists want to work. The spacesuit we are testing is a fully pressurized suit which is being developed for future planetary exploration. Testing it in a Mars-relevant environment allows us to really optimize it for the types of activities we will be doing on Mars.
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AIA Says US Human Spaceflight At Critical JunctureArlington VA (SPX) May 20, 2011 The future of the U.S. human spaceflight program is at a critical juncture, said Aerospace Industries Association Vice President for Space Frank Slazer. "Cutting exploration budgets any further threatens our economic growth potential and risks our leadership in space," Slazer said in testimony before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Subcommittee on Science and Space. " ... read more |
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