Mission Control Carter Observatory
During the two weeks of the expedition, Carter Observatory Wellington acted as "New Zealand Mission Control".
Carter’s stunning library was transformed into a high-tech mission control for the duration of the crew’s stay in Utah. A suite of laptops along with Mars themed exhibits set the scene and allowed students, teachers and the public to interact with KiwiMars Crew, find out about the mission, and learn more from expert astronomers.
Carter also provided dedicated staff members to look after Mission Control and interact with visitors. This included short presentations about the project and the mission progress at least twice a day, incorporating the latest updates from the base.
All planetarium shows during this time included Mars content and updates from the crew, inspiring visitors to go out and look for the planet for themselves in the night-time sky. Carter also provided a venue for meetings in the build-up to the mission and for a public event once the crew return from Utah.
Education Log-MDRS
The following log is written to give a record of what type of questions were being asked by the students, teachers & visitors at Carter Observatory who interacted with the crew in SIM. The method of communication was via “Chatroll” an online tool of instant messaging.
This instant messaging took place almost every day (see logs) from 1600 hrs to 2300 hrs MDRS time (10 AM to 5 PM NZST).
Questions from public at Carter (Saturday in NZ) | Answers offered by the crew (various crew members) |
|---|---|
Have you any muscle aches and pains from being in a space suit? | Yes our muscles do get a bit sore from putting equipment on and we have to walk long distances sometimes as well |
Did you reposition the solar garden/clock? | In the evening we planted a Mauri stone. There we placed stones in the 4 Cartesian corners for the Maori navigational points. This was at the site of the new observatory and a new solar garden was created |
Does it feel like another planet? Will it be strange when you get back to N.Z? | Yes it does feel like another planet here. The landscape and all that goes with it is so unlike anything I have ever seen. Getting back to N.Z will be a little strange indeed |
How have you found the heat living in the desert? | The heat has been dry and warm which is nothing like living in N.Z (can we warm but humid there) |
As this is the last official day of the mission do you feel that everybody has achieved everything they came to do at MDRS | Yes I think speaking on behalf of all the crew that they all feel this way. We all came from different backgrounds and goals to achieve and fulfill |
What was your goal? (personally) | My goal was to bring what we were doing here to the teachers and students of N.Z. To promote interest in the Earth and Space Sciences in the N.Z curriculum |
If you were chosen to be an advisor to a future Mars mission what areas of development and general research would make a mission to Mars more effective in terms of planning and funding? | Food preparation-selection and variety, suit research for comfort and functionality and Hab design for crew comfort and functionality to just name a few |
How do you determine your day? Ie. hours of sleep and being awake? | As the Martian day is very similar to an Earth day we try and keep it as normal as possible. Ie. sleep 8 hours at night and normal activities during the day which are planned out by a mission schedule |
| What is the difference in gravity between Earth and Mars? | Mars is about half the size of Earth and has 1/3 of its gravity |
Electric universe theory? | Some scientists believe the universe is held together by electricity not gravity…Henry Poincare came up with this and not Einstein…more research needed (from the person asking the question) |
With all the risks and challenges in getting to Mars do you think it’s worth sending a manned mission there? | Well probes can give us plenty of information and data but I think a manned mission has something extra even given the inherent risks. We as human kind need to explore new places and to know for ourselves |