As currently planned, the crew will consist of four individuals chosen primarily for their skills as field scientists in areas including geology, geochemistry, microbiology, biochemistry, and paleontology. Two additional crew members will, be chosen primarily for their skills in engineering areas. Ability of crew members to support both roles is considered a strong plus.

For four months, these six crew members will conduct a sustained program of field exploration on Devon Island, 900 miles from the North Pole, while operating under many of the same constraints that will be faced by explorers on an actual human Mars mission.

For example, no one will be able to go outside without wearing a spacesuit simulator. The crew will be responsible for all of its own field work, lab work, reportage, repair of equipment, and chores of daily life. The will work in telescience collaboration with a Remote Science Team, a Mission Support group, and an Engineering team located in the continental United States. In addition to the six person Mars exploration crew, one field support person will also participate in the expedition in an out of simulation role. This person should have excellent field mechanic and wilderness skills.

Both volunteer investigators who bring with them a proposed program of research of their own compatible with the objectives of Flashline Station (see below) and those simply wishing to participate as members of the crew supporting the investigations of others will be considered. Volunteers may submit applications either as individuals or members of teams, or both.

Applications will be considered from anyone in good physical condition between 21 and 60 years of age without regard to race, creed, color, gender, or nation. Scientific, engineering, practical mechanical, wilderness, first aid, medical, and literary skills are all considered a plus. Dedication to the cause of human Mars exploration is an absolute must, as conditions are likely to be very tough and the job will be very trying. Those selected will be required to act under crew discipline and strict mission protocols during the Arctic simulation. Those selected will also perform a two- week training mission at the Mars Desert Research Station in southern Utah during the month of February 2007. The Mars Society will pay travel expenses to the Desert and the Arctic Stations. There will be no salary.

Applications including resume, character references, and a brief letter explaining why you wish to participate should be sent to Volunteers, Mars Society, PO Box 273, Indian Hills, CO 80454 no later than September 30, 2007. Total length of applications should not exceed 4 pages. Please include 5 copies.

Mission Science Agenda:

The overall purpose of the Mars Society simulations is to investigate field exploration techniques that would be relevant to the scientific exploration of Mars. The approach of our investigations is to have real science goals in Mars analog environment and to conduct field work under simulated Mars mission constraints.

Relevant field activities include geological surveys, search for evidence of past life, search for extant life, and environmental and meteorological observations. In addition investigating the role and optimal combination of human exploration, telepresence, robotic exploration, and the use of remote sensing tools are all part of these simulations.

The four month FMARS mission simulation opens up additional focused science enabled by the long stay in Arctic conditions. The mission- long scientific focus of the 2007 FMARS will be on coupled physical and biological studies of the Arctic active layer over the transition from hard winter freeze to summer thaw.

The season start and end dates have been chosen so that observations will begin when ground temperatures are well below -20C. We will study the physics and biology of the transition from -20C to 0C and above.

Important biological and physical processes begin at -20C. The eutectic of NaCl is -21.1C and at this temperature salt solutions in the Arctic begin to flow (eg. Heldmann et al. 2005). In addition, laboratory measurements have shown that biological activity begins at temperatures near -20C in permafrost (Rivkina et al. 2001) and in sea ice (Junge et al. 2006). Both biological and physical flow process increase rapidly as the temperature is warmed to 0C and above.

Examples of science activities include (but are not limited to):

1. Temperature and flow relations in the active layer of the permafrost across -20 to 0C and applications to models of fluvial feature formation over permafrost on Earth and Mars.

2. Experiments with manipulation of the snow cover thickness and monitoring of the effect on the thaw of the underlying ground.

3. Measurement of melt generation in snowpacks and application to models for the melting of dusty snowpacks on Mars as the mechanism for creating gully features.

4. Measurement of in situ biological activity and changes in diversity and abundance as temperatures increase from -20 to 0C.

5. Measurement of the release of CH4 - an important greenhouse gas - from permafrost and possible applications to the source of CH4 on Mars.

6. Carbon release studies of permafrost as temperature changes with applicability to global warming.

7. Deployment of interactive sensor networks to achieve science goals and human factors studies of the human - sensor network interface.

8. Isolation and confinement of this expedition enables research on human performance under extreme conditions analogous to space mission conditions.

Science team members selected for this expedition are expected to have a track record in a science area listed above or a related activity. They are expected to lead a field research project leading to peer-reviewed publication working with the support of the Science Advisory Group and the Remote Science Team for the expedition.

Equipment to conduct the field experiments will be provided but team members may also propose to bring field equipment and instruments as part of their activities.

The Science Advisory Group consists of:

Shannon Rupert, New Mexico State University, Chair
Penny Boston, New Mexico Tech
Jen Heldmann, NASA Ames
Adrian Brown, NASA Ames
Chris McKay, NASA Ames
Charlie Cockell, Open University, Milton-Keynes, UK
Darlene Lim, NASA Ames
Shannon Hinsa, Michigan State University

Related Links
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