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- [Overview]
- Upper Level
- Lower Level
- Airlocks
- Crew Quarters
- Greenhouse
- Engineering
- Observatory
- Rovers
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Analogue Research Stations are laboratories for learning how to live and work on another planet. Each is a prototype of a habitat that will land humans on Mars and serve as their main base for months of exploration in the harsh Martian environment. Such a habitat represents a key element in current human Mars mission planing. Each Station's centerpiece is a cylindrical habitat, "The Hab," an 8-meter diameter, two-deck structure mounted on landing struts. Peripheral external structures, some inflatable, may be appended to the Hab as well.
Features visible in the picture:
- [Airlock] door: Entry to a small room, where crew members wait while the room is 'pressurised'. At MDRS, this is simulated using a 5-minute time delay. There is a similar airlock called 'engineering' or secondary airlock on the opposite side.
- Greenhouse: Contains the water recycling system at the front and the glasshouse at the back.
- Satellite dish: Enables the communication via internet with the crew. The bandwidth is very restrictive, 450 Mb/day that includes sending all daily reports to Mission Support Mars, photos and keeping webcams live.
- Observatory: Harbours a Celestron CGE 1400 Telescope that uses a STV Deluxe ST2000 XM camera for taking digital images of the night sky.
- Rovers: 4 individual rovers are provided to the crew: Viking, Opportunity I, Opportunity II and .... There is also a 'pressurised rover' (4WD) for longer trips or to be used in emergencies.
- Solar Panels
- Weather station
Live Webcam
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Aerial View
Click on the image for a larger view.
Image courtesy of Doug Martin, Mars Society at Georgia Tech.