In 2013 Kiwi school kids had the rare opportunity to follow a mock Mars Mission at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in the Utah desert for the duration of two weeks.

Education Log-MDRS

The following log is written to give a record of what type of questions were being asked by the students and teachers who interacted with the crew in SIM. The method of communication was via “Chatroll” an online tool of instant messaging.

Early morning sky at MDRS

Chat Log Mission Heights School Auckland - UNedited

 

Feb 7 2013, 10:03 PM
KiwiSpace: very good
Feb 8 2013, 8:12 AM
LZ2: Good morning
Feb 8 2013, 8:17 AM
LZ2: We are just checking we are working ok!
Feb 8 2013, 9:11 AM
MelanieNewfield: Melanie here. I'm ready when you are (still expecting that the chat is 20 minutes away).
Feb 8 2013, 9:14 AM
KiwiSpace: Great I am trying to connect
Feb 8 2013, 9:14 AM
KiwiSpace: Melanie can you open the skype first?
Feb 8 2013, 9:15 AM
MelanieNewfield: Yes, Emma is here.
Feb 8 2013, 9:16 AM
KiwiSpace: great
Feb 8 2013, 9:17 AM
KiwiSpace: I cannot see you on skype
Feb 8 2013, 9:18 AM
KiwiSpace: ok we start with the chat
Feb 8 2013, 9:19 AM
KiwiSpace: Melanie are you still thre?
Feb 8 2013, 9:19 AM
MelanieNewfield: Yes, still here. Just eating leftover bolognese. Still tastes great!
Feb 8 2013, 9:26 AM
KiwiSpace: Ok we just lost the connexion
Feb 8 2013, 9:26 AM
LZ2: we here
Feb 8 2013, 9:26 AM
MelanieNewfield: I'm here on chat. I was just showing pictures of the sprouts we have growing. We ate salad last night.
Feb 8 2013, 9:27 AM
LZ2: How do you get fresh water
Feb 8 2013, 9:27 AM
KiwiSpace: I think we could continue on chat
Feb 8 2013, 9:28 AM
MelanieNewfield: Here, we have to bring water in on a trailer,and then the engineer has to pump it from one tank to another.But on Mars you would have to get it from the soil or the ground, and also recycle everything.
Feb 8 2013, 9:28 AM
LZ2: How do u get freash water
Feb 8 2013, 9:29 AM
MelanieNewfield: We pump it from one tank to another - or the engineer does - that's her job.
Feb 8 2013, 9:30 AM
LZ2: can drink coke on mars
Feb 8 2013, 9:30 AM
MelanieNewfield: If you were in a habitat, yes. But outside,the gas bubbles would act differently because there is only a think atmosphere
Feb 8 2013, 9:31 AM
MelanieNewfield: So no coke outside on Mars!
Feb 8 2013, 9:31 AM
MelanieNewfield: So, any of you want to be astronauts and go to Mars?
Feb 8 2013, 9:31 AM
LZ2: what could you use martian soil
Feb 8 2013, 9:31 AM
LZ2: for
Feb 8 2013, 9:32 AM
LZ2: We all would like to go to MArs
Feb 8 2013, 9:32 AM
MelanieNewfield: Martian soil has lots of useful things in it. It contains useful chemicals that you could use to make water and fuel, you could mine it to make metals for building and tools.
Feb 8 2013, 9:32 AM
MelanieNewfield: That's awesome, glad you are all so keen!
Feb 8 2013, 9:33 AM
LZ2: Where do you go to the toilet and would it be the same on Mars
Feb 8 2013, 9:33 AM
MelanieNewfield: Wow, great question. We have a toilet, but it wasn't working so we had to use plastic bags for a whole week - just like astronauts did on the Apollo mission.
Feb 8 2013, 9:33 AM
MelanieNewfield: Now we have a portaloo.
Feb 8 2013, 9:34 AM
MelanieNewfield: On Mars you could have a normal toilet, but you would probably use a composting toilet so the compost could be used to grow plants.
Feb 8 2013, 9:34 AM
LZ2: Where do you sleep in such a small place?
Feb 8 2013, 9:35 AM
MelanieNewfield: Hari can send you a link to the pictures, but we have great bunks.
Feb 8 2013, 9:35 AM
MelanieNewfield: I have a top bunk, and the bottom bunk is accessed from another room, so you get your own room in a really small space.
Feb 8 2013, 9:35 AM
LZ2: Could creatures live where you are?
Feb 8 2013, 9:36 AM
MelanieNewfield: There are some creatures that live at MDRS. Emma found a spider this morning. Also there are a few very tough plants and lichens and bacteria
Feb 8 2013, 9:36 AM
MelanieNewfield: On Mars we might get something like bacteria and lichen living underground or inside rocks, but probalby not on the surface.
Feb 8 2013, 9:36 AM
LZ2: So could animals live on mars?
Feb 8 2013, 9:37 AM
MelanieNewfield: Earth animals could only live inside a special habitat, like humans. But some creatures have been found on earth in amazing places, like in lakes under the ANtarctic ice sheet. SO maybe some are alive on Mars too
Feb 8 2013, 9:38 AM
LZ2: What will it feel like on MArs?
Feb 8 2013, 9:39 AM
MelanieNewfield: Mars has less gravity on earth, so you would feel very light. But there is a 6 month space journey to get to Mars, and you would be weightless the whole time. So when you arrived on Mars you would feel like you were very heavy
Feb 8 2013, 9:40 AM
LZ2: Could you come back?
Feb 8 2013, 9:41 AM
MelanieNewfield: Yes, but it would take a while to adjust.Astronauts can spend months in space, and they do adjust back to earth
Feb 8 2013, 9:41 AM
MelanieNewfield: SO, if you went to Mars, what food do you think you would eat?
Feb 8 2013, 9:42 AM
LZ2: Dehydrated food?
Feb 8 2013, 9:42 AM
MelanieNewfield: Yes, lots of dehydrated food. But what sort of things?
Feb 8 2013, 9:43 AM
LZ2: Butter chicken, ha!? We saw Beef and pasta
Feb 8 2013, 9:43 AM
MelanieNewfield: Yes, I made chicken curry with freeze-dried chicken!
Feb 8 2013, 9:44 AM
LZ2: Desserts?
Feb 8 2013, 9:44 AM
MelanieNewfield: I made banana and chocolate chip muffins. I tried making icecream but it wasn't very successful.
Feb 8 2013, 9:45 AM
MelanieNewfield: Wehave fruit and yoghurt
Feb 8 2013, 9:45 AM
MelanieNewfield: I made pizza one night
Feb 8 2013, 9:45 AM
MelanieNewfield: DO you like pizza?
Feb 8 2013, 9:46 AM
LZ2: Of course!
Feb 8 2013, 9:46 AM
LZ2: Will you get internet in space?
Feb 8 2013, 9:46 AM
LZ2: We will have to let you go in a minute David
Feb 8 2013, 9:47 AM
LZ2: (Mr Wilcock)
Feb 8 2013, 9:47 AM
MelanieNewfield: It's possible. It would be quite slow though,as it is here
Feb 8 2013, 9:47 AM
LZ2: What tests have you done that have worked or not worked?
Feb 8 2013, 9:48 AM
MelanieNewfield: Our cooking experiments have worked very well, and we used a tool that measures light to look at rocks and that worked well.
Feb 8 2013, 9:48 AM
MelanieNewfield: We have done some experiments on dust,and they haven't worked yet, after this we will have another try
Feb 8 2013, 9:49 AM
LZ2: Why dust?
Feb 8 2013, 9:49 AM
MelanieNewfield: Dust on Mars contains poisons that could hurt people if you brought it inside. So we need to know how to stop getting dust inside. Also it damages equipment as well
Feb 8 2013, 9:51 AM
LZ2: this is gursimran thank u from lZ2
Feb 8 2013, 9:51 AM
MelanieNewfield: Thanks you for your great questions.
Feb 8 2013, 9:52 AM
MelanieNewfield: Also, I visit Auckland quite often. If you would like me to come to your school and show you some of my photos, let Hari know and she can organise that.
Feb 8 2013, 9:52 AM
LZ2: good bye and thank you for teaching us
Feb 8 2013, 9:53 AM
MelanieNewfield: Goodbye to you as well. Mars over and out
Feb 8 2013, 9:53 AM
LZ2: from natalee

 

Melanie with the Curiosity wheel replica and the students at Mission Heights school

 

Chat Log Wellington East Girls College - UNedited

Questions from studentsReplies from the crew of TasMars
  
Feb 8 2013, 12:38 PM
MelanieNewfield: OUr internet is really slow. I think this is going to work best
Feb 8 2013, 12:39 PM
KiwiSpace: it's a nice day in wellington
Feb 8 2013, 12:39 PM
KiwiSpace: possibly warmer than Mars
Feb 8 2013, 12:41 PM
MelanieNewfield: Probably. But it is lovely here. About 8-10 degrees
Feb 8 2013, 12:43 PM
MelanieNewfield: Our internet speed is really slow. Just like real communication with Mars!
Feb 8 2013, 12:44 PM
KiwiSpace: at least we don't have to wait for 8 minutes
Feb 8 2013, 12:44 PM
MelanieNewfield: No, it's about 40 seconds I think
Feb 8 2013, 12:46 PM
MelanieNewfield: Any questions for us? I've learned a lot about cooking with dehydrated food.
Feb 8 2013, 12:47 PM
MelanieNewfield: Dehydrated eggs work quite well -dehydrated sour cream not so good. Freeze-dried meat is good.
Feb 8 2013, 12:47 PM
MelanieNewfield: I've been making curry quite a bit. And tomato soup with bread as well.
Feb 8 2013, 12:48 PM
MelanieNewfield: Freeze-dried cheese is not too bad - better than processed cheese. I made a really nice batch of scones with the cheese.
Feb 8 2013, 12:49 PM
MelanieNewfield: I've been gardening too, growing various seeds and sprouts. We ate some yesterday.
Feb 8 2013, 12:49 PM
MelanieNewfield: Emma is taking care of the water for us.
Feb 8 2013, 12:50 PM
MelanieNewfield: David is trying to fix a remote control quadcopter, and Emma is fixing some of the space suits which aren't working too well.
Feb 8 2013, 12:50 PM
MelanieNewfield: Looks like I'm having a conversation with myself - won't be the first time of course!
Feb 8 2013, 12:51 PM
MelanieNewfield: Maybe you'll see this later anyway.
Feb 8 2013, 12:51 PM
MelanieNewfield: I'm having fun here - it's a beautiful place.
Feb 8 2013, 12:52 PM
MelanieNewfield: I've taken a huge number of photos - it will take me months to sort through them.
Feb 8 2013, 12:53 PM
MelanieNewfield: I love looking out the windows and seeing the amazing landscape.
Feb 8 2013, 2:42 PM
WEGC (guest): Good afternoon from Wellington East Girls'College, Wellington
Feb 8 2013, 2:45 PM
MCC-WLG (guest): Good afternoon from mission control Wellington
Feb 8 2013, 2:47 PM
KiwiSpace: Good afternoon from Mission Control Wellington
Feb 8 2013, 2:49 PM
KiwiSpace: Have we sorted out skype or will we only have chatroll
Feb 8 2013, 2:49 PM
KiwiSpace: ?
Feb 8 2013, 2:49 PM
WEGC (guest): No skype sorry.
Feb 8 2013, 2:49 PM
KiwiSpace: that is fine
Feb 8 2013, 2:49 PM
KiwiSpace: we are just waiting for the crew on Mars to come online
Feb 8 2013, 2:49 PM
WEGC (guest): We have some questions for you Martians.
Feb 8 2013, 2:50 PM
WEGC (guest): The Martians
Feb 8 2013, 2:50 PM
KiwiSpace: The Martians
Feb 8 2013, 2:51 PM
KiwiSpace: Meanwhile and whilst we are waiting I was the commander in charge of KiwiMars last year
Feb 8 2013, 2:51 PM
KiwiSpace: so if there is any general question I could ask
Feb 8 2013, 2:51 PM
KiwiSpace: please fire ahead
Feb 8 2013, 2:52 PM
WEGC (guest): how long did it take to plan and set up this experiment?
Feb 8 2013, 2:52 PM
KiwiSpace: They had a lot of internet issues at MDRS today
Feb 8 2013, 2:52 PM
KiwiSpace: KiwiMars mission, which was the first mission where we had a New Zealand crew
Feb 8 2013, 2:52 PM
KiwiSpace: took about four months
Feb 8 2013, 2:52 PM
KiwiSpace: we are all volunteers
Feb 8 2013, 2:53 PM
KiwiSpace: so we did it in our free time
Feb 8 2013, 2:53 PM
KiwiSpace: http://www.kiwispace.org.nz/display/MDRS/KiwiMars+2012
KiwiMars 2012 - Mars Analogue Missions
Feb 8 2013, 2:53 PM
KiwiSpace: here is it
Feb 8 2013, 2:53 PM
KiwiSpace: this year mission took a bit less since we had the skeleton already in place 
Feb 8 2013, 2:53 PM
KiwiSpace: the hard part was
Feb 8 2013, 2:53 PM
KiwiSpace: to find people to go there
Feb 8 2013, 2:54 PM
KiwiSpace: willing to pay for the expedition costs from their own pockets
Feb 8 2013, 2:55 PM
KiwiSpace: are you still there?
Feb 8 2013, 2:56 PM
WEGC2 (guest): yes we are
Feb 8 2013, 2:56 PM
WEGC2 (guest): we are watching the trailer on the big screen
Feb 8 2013, 2:56 PM
KiwiSpace: great
Feb 8 2013, 2:56 PM
KiwiSpace: the trailer from the KiwiMars
Feb 8 2013, 2:56 PM
KiwiSpace: ?
Feb 8 2013, 2:56 PM
WEGC2 (guest): so you did the trip last year?
Feb 8 2013, 2:57 PM
KiwiSpace: yes I was the commander
Feb 8 2013, 2:57 PM
WEGC2 (guest): yes that triler
Feb 8 2013, 2:57 PM
KiwiSpace: and I organised the trip this year
Feb 8 2013, 2:57 PM
WEGC2 (guest): wow really cool
Feb 8 2013, 2:57 PM
KiwiSpace: yes it's pretty amazing but
Feb 8 2013, 2:57 PM
KiwiSpace: anyone can help
Feb 8 2013, 2:57 PM
KiwiSpace: so who knows
Feb 8 2013, 2:57 PM
KiwiSpace: perhaps some of you may be able to volunteer for next year
Feb 8 2013, 2:58 PM
WEGC2 (guest): so when you were there did you have to strap yourself in to go to bed because there was no gravity?
Feb 8 2013, 2:58 PM
WEGC2 (guest): we are only year 9 students is it possible/
Feb 8 2013, 2:58 PM
WEGC2 (guest): ?
Feb 8 2013, 2:58 PM
KiwiSpace: why not
Feb 8 2013, 2:58 PM
KiwiSpace: no, we had to put plugs in our ears as some of us were snoring
Feb 8 2013, 2:59 PM
KiwiSpace: that's as far as we went
Feb 8 2013, 2:59 PM
KiwiSpace: with hazards
Feb 8 2013, 2:59 PM
MDRS (guest): Hi everyone
Feb 8 2013, 2:59 PM
WEGC3 (guest): hi there
Feb 8 2013, 2:59 PM
MDRS (guest): here is MDRS
Feb 8 2013, 2:59 PM
WEGC2 (guest): nice another question we have is how do you go to the toliet
Feb 8 2013, 2:59 PM
WEGC2 (guest): ?
Feb 8 2013, 2:59 PM
KiwiSpace: When I was there
Feb 8 2013, 2:59 PM
KiwiSpace: the toilet was working properly
Feb 8 2013, 2:59 PM
KiwiSpace: so it was easy
Feb 8 2013, 3:00 PM
WEGC2 (guest): okay
Feb 8 2013, 3:00 PM
WEGC3 (guest): what sort of things do you eat
Feb 8 2013, 3:00 PM
KiwiSpace: but the crew this year had some issues
Feb 8 2013, 3:00 PM
MDRS (guest): this year the toilet broke
Feb 8 2013, 3:00 PM
MDRS (guest): and we had to do just like the Apollo astronauts did
Feb 8 2013, 3:00 PM
MDRS (guest): use plastic bags
Feb 8 2013, 3:00 PM
WEGC2 (guest): lovely
Feb 8 2013, 3:00 PM
MDRS (guest): for a while till we got a port-a-loo
Feb 8 2013, 3:01 PM
MDRS (guest): I know
Feb 8 2013, 3:01 PM
MDRS (guest): as for eating,
Feb 8 2013, 3:01 PM
WEGC3 (guest): what sort of things do you eat
Feb 8 2013, 3:01 PM
MDRS (guest): our colleague Melanie is making the best food
Feb 8 2013, 3:01 PM
WEGC2 (guest): yummy
Feb 8 2013, 3:01 PM
MDRS (guest): and you can find great recipes with space food she cooked
Feb 8 2013, 3:01 PM
MDRS (guest): online
Feb 8 2013, 3:01 PM
MDRS (guest):**********************************************************************************
Feb 8 2013, 3:01 PM
WEGC3 (guest): great thanks
Feb 8 2013, 3:02 PM
MDRS (guest): here are some of them
Feb 8 2013, 3:02 PM
MDRS (guest):**********************************************************************************
Feb 8 2013, 3:02 PM
WEGC2 (guest): do you forget your still actually on earth?
Feb 8 2013, 3:02 PM
MDRS (guest): i guess the link is not working
Feb 8 2013, 3:02 PM
MDRS (guest): you can find it on our website on day six
Feb 8 2013, 3:02 PM
MDRS (guest): sometimes when you look on the window or outside
Feb 8 2013, 3:02 PM
MDRS (guest): at the immensity of horison
Feb 8 2013, 3:02 PM
MDRS (guest): and the hues of the land
Feb 8 2013, 3:02 PM
MDRS (guest): yes you can forget you are on Earth
Feb 8 2013, 3:02 PM
WEGC (guest): what is the purpose of humans inhabiting Mars????
Feb 8 2013, 3:03 PM
MDRS (guest): we eat all sorts of things but dehydrated food
Feb 8 2013, 3:03 PM
KiwiSpace: http://www.kiwispace.org.nz/display/MDRS/Interim+Kitchen+Report+Day+06+TasMars2013
Interim Kitchen Report Day 06 TasMars2013 - Mars Analogue Missions
Feb 8 2013, 3:03 PM
KiwiSpace: here is the link to Melanie's recipes
Feb 8 2013, 3:04 PM
WEGC3 (guest): how do you know what mars really looks like?
Feb 8 2013, 3:04 PM
WEGC2 (guest): is there zero gravitiy
Feb 8 2013, 3:04 PM
MDRS (guest): We know because we already have many rovers in here
Feb 8 2013, 3:04 PM
MDRS (guest): on Mars
Feb 8 2013, 3:04 PM
MDRS (guest): on the real one
Feb 8 2013, 3:04 PM
WEGC2 (guest): YES
Feb 8 2013, 3:04 PM
MDRS (guest): Mars actually has 1/3 of Earth's gravity
Feb 8 2013, 3:04 PM
MDRS (guest): so you can bounce really high
Feb 8 2013, 3:05 PM
WEGC3 (guest): would you be able to bring animals to mars??
Feb 8 2013, 3:05 PM
MDRS (guest): let's hope so
Feb 8 2013, 3:05 PM
WEGC2 (guest): fuun!
Feb 8 2013, 3:05 PM
MDRS (guest): we are working on a list of organisms (plants, animals etc) that people may be able to bring on Mars
Feb 8 2013, 3:05 PM
MDRS (guest): that's quite cool
Feb 8 2013, 3:06 PM
WEGC3 (guest): awesome
Feb 8 2013, 3:06 PM
WEGC2 (guest): lol
Feb 8 2013, 3:06 PM
MDRS (guest): you can check it out and let us know what would you get on Mars
Feb 8 2013, 3:06 PM
WEGC (guest): was the change in living conditions hard to adjust to?
Feb 8 2013, 3:07 PM
KiwiSpace: yes you can email me if you wish
Feb 8 2013, 3:07 PM
KiwiSpace: haritina.mogosanu@kiwispace.org.nz
Feb 8 2013, 3:07 PM
MDRS (guest): it was hard as we are working lots of hours here
Feb 8 2013, 3:07 PM
MDRS (guest): and there are different routines
Feb 8 2013, 3:07 PM
MDRS (guest): like you have to do space chores
Feb 8 2013, 3:07 PM
MDRS (guest): and engineering reports
Feb 8 2013, 3:08 PM
MDRS (guest): and you must cook every day
Feb 8 2013, 3:08 PM
WEGC3 (guest): can you go outside on mars without floating away?
Feb 8 2013, 3:08 PM
WEGC (guest): what are space chores ???
Feb 8 2013, 3:08 PM
MDRS (guest): you should be able to but you would still be able to jump really high
Feb 8 2013, 3:08 PM
MDRS (guest): space chores are like cleaning
Feb 8 2013, 3:08 PM
MDRS (guest): but with a space flavour
Feb 8 2013, 3:08 PM
WEGC3 (guest): coooool!
Feb 8 2013, 3:08 PM
MDRS (guest): there is lots of dust on Mars
Feb 8 2013, 3:08 PM
MDRS (guest): as there is here at MDRS
Feb 8 2013, 3:09 PM
WEGC2 (guest): how do you take water up to mars to water your plants that are growing and to drink??
Feb 8 2013, 3:09 PM
MDRS (guest): you would have to make the water there
Feb 8 2013, 3:09 PM
WEGC2 (guest): how?
Feb 8 2013, 3:09 PM
MDRS (guest): we also suspect that there is a lot of water underground
Feb 8 2013, 3:09 PM
MDRS (guest): of course you would have to filter it
Feb 8 2013, 3:09 PM
MDRS (guest): from CO2 and CH3
Feb 8 2013, 3:09 PM
WEGC3 (guest): is the eat
Feb 8 2013, 3:10 PM
WEGC (guest): what is the average temperature on mars ???
Feb 8 2013, 3:10 PM
MDRS (guest): the highest temperature is 20 degrees in summertime
Feb 8 2013, 3:10 PM
MDRS (guest): a bit like Wellington
Feb 8 2013, 3:10 PM
WEGC2 (guest): do you have showers???
Feb 8 2013, 3:11 PM
MDRS (guest): the lowest is lower than in Antarctica
Feb 8 2013, 3:11 PM
MDRS (guest): we have showers every couple of days
Feb 8 2013, 3:11 PM
MDRS (guest): otherwise just wipes
Feb 8 2013, 3:11 PM
WEGC3 (guest): is the earth on mars fertile?
Feb 8 2013, 3:11 PM
MDRS (guest): *take showers
Feb 8 2013, 3:11 PM
MDRS (guest):  the earth on Mars we believe is quite loaded with lots of salts
Feb 8 2013, 3:12 PM
MDRS (guest): so a first take would be yes but will have to be ameliorated
Feb 8 2013, 3:12 PM
MDRS (guest): first
Feb 8 2013, 3:12 PM
WEGC3 (guest): what is the difference between Utah and Mars?? 
Feb 8 2013, 3:12 PM
MDRS (guest): Mars has lower gravity
Feb 8 2013, 3:12 PM
MDRS (guest): I guess
Feb 8 2013, 3:13 PM
MDRS (guest): Utah is actually the closest or one of hte closest places on Earth to Mars
Feb 8 2013, 3:13 PM
MDRS (guest): which is why is used as analog for Mars research
Feb 8 2013, 3:13 PM
WEGC (guest): how does it feel to be isolated from civilisation
Feb 8 2013, 3:13 PM
WEGC (guest): ??????
Feb 8 2013, 3:13 PM
MDRS (guest): it feels weird
Feb 8 2013, 3:13 PM
MDRS (guest): but in the same time peaceful
Feb 8 2013, 3:14 PM
MDRS (guest): I guess is up to everyone and their own personality type
Feb 8 2013, 3:14 PM
MDRS (guest): that's why crews for space exploration are carefully selected
Feb 8 2013, 3:14 PM
WEGC2 (guest): how do you have internet
Feb 8 2013, 3:14 PM
WEGC2 (guest): ?
Feb 8 2013, 3:15 PM
MDRS (guest): yes which is why we can communicate now
Feb 8 2013, 3:15 PM
MDRS (guest): but it's very poor
Feb 8 2013, 3:15 PM
MDRS (guest): so we only have 450 MB of data allowance per day
Feb 8 2013, 3:15 PM
MDRS (guest): in which we have to squeeze our daily reports
Feb 8 2013, 3:15 PM
WEGC2 (guest): how come you have internet if you won't have internet on mars???
Feb 8 2013, 3:16 PM
MDRS (guest): the place here on Earth is a simulation of what it would mean to be on Mars
Feb 8 2013, 3:16 PM
MDRS (guest): however there are strict rules
Feb 8 2013, 3:16 PM
WEGC2 (guest): ok
Feb 8 2013, 3:16 PM
MDRS (guest): for healt and safety
Feb 8 2013, 3:16 PM
MDRS (guest): *health
Feb 8 2013, 3:17 PM
WEGC3 (guest): do you ever get bored of each other? 
Feb 8 2013, 3:17 PM
MDRS (guest): which is why we are not allowed to stay by ourselves in the jab etc
Feb 8 2013, 3:17 PM
MDRS (guest): OH NO!!!
Feb 8 2013, 3:17 PM
MDRS (guest): not this crew
Feb 8 2013, 3:17 PM
MDRS (guest): you get too tired of work perhaps
Feb 8 2013, 3:17 PM
MDRS (guest): but not even have time for bored
Feb 8 2013, 3:17 PM
WEGC3 (guest): Okay
Feb 8 2013, 3:17 PM
WEGC (guest): are there height reqierments for patrons who want to participate in the program???
Feb 8 2013, 3:17 PM
MDRS (guest): 
Feb 8 2013, 3:17 PM
MDRS (guest): well I guess perhaps not too many basketball players would be accepted but in general no
Feb 8 2013, 3:18 PM
MDRS (guest): you mean for MDRS or Mars
Feb 8 2013, 3:19 PM
WEGC3 (guest): * MDRS
Feb 8 2013, 3:19 PM
WEGC2 (guest): do you believe in aliens ???
Feb 8 2013, 3:19 PM
MDRS (guest): I hope there are aliens out there yes
Feb 8 2013, 3:20 PM
WEGC2 (guest): lol
Feb 8 2013, 3:20 PM
MDRS (guest): 
Feb 8 2013, 3:20 PM
WEGC2 (guest): why do you want there to be aliens
Feb 8 2013, 3:21 PM
WEGC2 (guest): what would you do if you found aliens
Feb 8 2013, 3:21 PM
MDRS (guest): why not
Feb 8 2013, 3:21 PM
MDRS (guest): I would be really happy if that would happen
Feb 8 2013, 3:21 PM
MDRS (guest): it would mean we are not alone
Feb 8 2013, 3:21 PM
WEGC2 (guest): k
Feb 8 2013, 3:21 PM
WEGC2 (guest): 
Feb 8 2013, 3:21 PM
MDRS (guest): so far we don't know of any other place that may have life on it
Feb 8 2013, 3:21 PM
WEGC (guest): DO U LIKE MARS BARS ????   lol  
Feb 8 2013, 3:22 PM
MDRS (guest): so if we found life on other places in our Solar System or Universe it would help us understand how life formed
Feb 8 2013, 3:22 PM
MDRS (guest): yes I love Mars bars
Feb 8 2013, 3:22 PM
WEGC3 (guest): We have to go thank SOOOOOO MUUUUUCH   have fun on Mars
Feb 8 2013, 3:23 PM
MDRS (guest): thank you and hope to have the chance to visit you as well perhaps
Feb 8 2013, 3:23 PM
WEGC (guest): Thank you for taking the time to talk to us 
Feb 8 2013, 3:23 PM
MDRS (guest): thank you for being here
Feb 8 2013, 3:23 PM
MDRS (guest): Mars over and out
Feb 8 2013, 3:24 PM
WEGC (guest): Over and out from the East Girls (9ANS)

 

"This is an exciting opportunity for students around the country to talk to real scientists doing real exploratory work at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah," said Kiwispace Education Coordinator Haritina Mogosanu. A crew member on two previous MDRS missions and Flight Director for TasMars, Mogosanu said "students don't need a passion for Mars, just a passion for knowledge".

"The varied work done by the crews at MDRS covers human interaction, geology and geography, palaeontology  nutrition, engineering, biosecurity and more," she said. "There are so many areas of the New Zealand science curriculum covered."

The TasMars 2013 Team - following on from last year's KiwiMars mission - was stationed at MDRS two-week analogue mission to study planetary science, engineering, biosecurity and human factors at the mock Mars base.

Two members of the crew (David Willson and Jen Blank) are from NASA AMES Research Center in the heart of Silicon Valley in California. Willson is an Australian engineer working on future Mars sample return instrument concepts. Blank is a geochemist and member of the Mars Science Laboratory science team working with the Curiosity rover that landed on Mars last August. The other two members are Melanie Newfield, a biosecurity manager at New Zealand's Ministry for Primary Industries, and Emma Braegen, an aeronautical engineer from Australia working for BAE Systems.

Courtesy of the KiwiSpace Foundation, all schools around New Zealand have a chance to interact live with the team at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) via the mission's chat facility page. 

The TasMars crew will remain at the base until 10 February. 

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