On To Mars! Chronicles of Martian Simulations

This book introduces the Martian simulations of The Mars Society, the first one installed on Devon Island, an uninhabited island in the Canadian Arctic, well within the polar circle, and the second in the desert of Utah, several hundreds of kilometers South of Salt Lake City. The book is based on the diaries held during the simulations, by Vladimir Pletser, a physicist-engineer, who was selected to participate in these simulations. It relates the details of everyday life in these Martian habitats and of the scientific and exploratory work conducted in these extreme environments in preparation for future manned missions to Mars. Through the real experiences described in the book, readers will find space explorations and living on Mars more tangible.

INTRODUCTION

FIRST PART: THE ARCTIC

BEFORE

DURING

FLASHLINE MARS ARCTIC RESEARCH STATION DIARY

Tuesday 3 July 2001, day –5

Thursday 5 July 2001, day –3

Friday 6 July 2001, day –2

Saturday 7^th July 2001, day –1

Sunday 8^th July 2001, day –1 bis

Monday 9^th July 2001, day –1 ter

Tuesday 10^th July 2001, day 0

Wednesday 11^th July 2001, day 1

Thursday 12^th July 2001, day 2

Friday 13^th July 2001, day 3

Saturday 14^th July 2001, day 4

Monday 16^th July 2001, day 6

Tuesday 17^th July 2001, day 7

AFTER

WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED FROM THIS SIMULATION?

SECOND PART: THE DESERT

BEFORE

DURING

MARS DESERT RESEARCH STATION DIARY

Sunday 7 April 2002, Day 1

Monday 8 April2002, Day 2

Excerpt from the daily activity logbook

Tuesday 9 April 2002, Day 3

Wednesday 10 April 2002, Day 4

Excerpt from the daily activity logbook

Thursday 11 April 2002, Day 5

Excerpt from the daily activity logbook

Friday 12 April 2002, Day 6

Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 April 2002, Days 7 and 8

Excerpt from the daily activity logbook

Monday 15 April 2002, Day 9

Tuesday 16 April 2002, Day 10

Wednesday 17 April 2002, Day 11

Thursday 18 April 2002, Day 12

Friday 19 April 2002, Day 13

AFTER

THE LAST DAY AND THE RETURN

THIRD PART: Back to the Desert

AND AFTER?

REFERENCES

SOME WEB SITES TO KNOW MORE ABOUT:

The Mars Society

The first Mars simulation campaign in the Arctic, Summer 2001

The second Mars simulation campaign of 2002

Other interesting sites on Mars and the European missions

SOME PUBLICATIONS TO KNOW MORE ABOUT

The first Mars simulation campaign in the Arctic, Summer 2001

On results of the seismic experiments

Canada and Nunavut

The second Mars simulation campaign of 2002

Some technical and scientific papers on our plant growing experiment during this campaign

Some other interesting books

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS