Monthly Archives: September 2021

artist's interpretation of the red planet

For the last decade at least, the second man to walk on the Moon - Apollo 11 lunar module pilot Col. Edwin Buzz Aldrin - has frequently been photographed with a Get Your A To Mars t-shirt. Aldrin has long wanted to forgo a return to the Moon and head straight to the red planet instead.Question is, just how many behinds are we talking about on that first trip to the Martian surface?

The number of crew on the first trip to Mars at first seems like something that would automatically be dictated by launch costs, in situ resources utilization (ISRU) and logistics.But theres also a human, psychological factor involved.In interpersonal settings of any sort, the sheer numbers of people at any given event can be crucial to its success or failure.

There isnt a real Goldilocks number for a Mars crew; the general opinion is that you need a group ofat least five people, social psychologist Sheryl L. Bishop, professor emeritus at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas, told me. This lower boundary comes from the social psychological research in two areas - even versus uneven groups and groupthink - where the desire to avoid group conflict stifles dissent, she says.

In groups of four or less, Bishop says, the pressure to avoid conflict and disagreements is strongest and dissenting individuals will frequently simply remain silent even on important issues. This could result in critical problems being ignored in their early stage of emergence, she says. But when a group is five or larger, individuals seem to feel empowered to disagree and speak up about their differences of opinion, she notes.

But there are intangibles that can impact the ideal upper limit on crew numbers.These include the quality and nature of the missions leadership; the heterogeneity of the crew, including their personalities, skill sets, professional backgrounds, even their religion, nationality, gender and politics.

The sweet spot has often been the even number of six.But if the crew is in a tight squeeze and needs to vote on life-or-death decisions, thats one of the pros of an odd numbered crew roster.

Even so, the major space agencies appear to have given more emphasis to personality and work culture of potential astronaut crews than to the sheer numbers selected for any given mission.

Two Astronauts in Space Suits Confidently Walking on Mars, Exploration Expedition on the Planet's ... [+] Surface. Red Planet Covered in Rocks, Gas and Smoke. Humans Overcoming Difficulties.

In the early days of space flight, it was simply about getting astronauts into space.But by the time we send astronauts to Mars, there will be more options; one idea is to simply send two separate crews of six each to the same landing area in order to maximize the number of working personnel once on Mars itself.

As NASA points out, the optimal Mars mission length entails a long surface stay with a fast transit time of no more than six months each way, which would easily allow for more than a year on the Martian surface.So, when thinking about such long missions, crew numbers become even more important.

As anyone with social skills intuitively understands group dynamics matter.Think about dinners out with close friends; anything beyond six is a bit much. Conversations tend to break off into twos and threes and theres a lack of group cohesion which can sometimes quickly lead to tension even at a dinner table. Its also why at private house parties, a core group of four or five people are usually ensconced in deep conversation in the kitchen.

The challenge is to avoid a group so large that it becomes difficult for everyone to be heard, interferes with group identification or allows for subgroups to form, says Bishop.You want enough of a crew to provide diversity and redundancy in skills, but not so many that being a part of the group becomes a challenge, she says.

Group cohesion is better in smaller groups than larger groups because the interdependencies amongst group members is greater and creates greater cohesion, said Bishop.

A higher number may be called for to promote redundancy if something goes catastrophically wrong during a Mars mission.

Its presumed that a Mars crew will have extensive opportunities to cohere as a group, says Bishop. The best approach would be to start with a larger candidate group during the selection process with the intent of selecting a minimum of five members and expand with two to four more individuals, she says.

As to how best to choose these final crew members?

Science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinsons portrayal of the selection process for the first hundred in his 1999 book, The Martians, comes very close to the process needed, says bishop. The space agencies do utilize team training in various extreme environments for current space crews, but they will need to do so much more extensively and intensively for a Mars crew, she says.

In The Martians, a group of 158 candidate Mars walkers are dropped into a dry Antarctic valley during polar summer and are expected to build a base in which to winter.

This stay in Antarctica was a kind of test, or winnowing, Robinson writes.Some candidates were going to drop out, others would be invalidated out, and others placed on later trips to Mars. They were capable, brilliant, assured, used to success.

Robinsons fictional roster of potential Mars colonists sounds very much like the type of gung-ho overachievers that NASA has always loved.But as bishop points out, the longer any potential crew has to bond before departure, the better.

The more effort that goes into creating a tightly knit, cohesive group that identifies as a group and has practiced working and living together, the larger the group can be, says Bishop. For Mars, this would support groups probably not greater than nine.

But with the advent of the commercial space industry, the old rules may no longer apply.Humans may try for Mars sooner than any of the major space agencies would ever have dreamed.Heres hoping this new breed of commercial crew planners spend enough time figuring out not just who, but how many to send to the red planet.

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Whats The Magic Crew Number For Astronauts Headed To Mars? - Forbes

The Mars helicopter's 12th flight flight went to the geological wonder that is the South Stah region. It climbed 32.8 feet for a total of 169 seconds and flew about 1,476 feet to scout the area for later scrutiny by the land rover.

This image taken by NASA's Perseverance rover on August 6, 2021, shows the hole drilled in a Martian rock in preparation for the rover's first attempt to collect a sample. Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo

This enhanced-color image from the Mastcam-Z instrument aboard Perseverance shows a sample tube inside the coring bit after completing the coring activity on August 6. The bronze-colored outer ring is the coring bit. The lighter-colored inner ring is the open end of the sample tube. A portion of the tube's serial number 233 can be seen on the left side of the tube's wall. Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo

This image, taken by the Mars helicopter Ingenuity during its ninth flight, shows a rocky terrain in the Jezero Crater area on the Martian surface on July 5, 2021. Photo courtesy of NASA

This image looking west toward the Seitah geologic unit on Mars was taken from the height of 33 feet (10 meters) by NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter during its sixth flight on May 22, 2021. Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo

NASA's Perseverance Mars rover used its dual-camera Mastcam-Z imager to capture this image of "Santa Cruz," a hill about 1.5 miles away from the rover, on April 29. The entire scene is inside of Mars' Jezero Crater. The crater's rim can be seen on the horizon line beyond the hill. Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo

NASA's Perseverance Mars rover took a selfie with the Ingenuity helicopter on April 6, using the WATSON (Wide Angle Topographic Sensor for Operations and eNgineering) camera located at the end of the rover's long robotic arm. The image was constructed of 62 individual images, taken in sequence while the rover was looking at the helicopter, then again while looking at the WATSON camera, stitched together once they are sent back to Earth. The Curiosity rover takes similar selfies using a camera on its robotic arm. Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo

Perseverance acquired this image of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter using its onboard Rear Left Hazard Avoidance Camera on April 4. The helicopter will soon make its first attempt at a powered, controlled flight of an aircraft on another planet. Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo

Perseverance acquired this image of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter on March 29 using its SHERLOC WATSON camera, located on the turret at the end of the rover's robotic arm. Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo

The debris shield, a protective covering on the bottom of Perseverance, was released to allow the Ingenuity helicopter to fold out of the rover on March 21. The debris shield protects the helicopter during landing; releasing it allows the helicopter to rotate down out of the rover's belly. Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo

Perseverance acquired this image of its "ejectable belly pan" laying on the surface of Mars on March 14 using its onboard Left Navigation Camera. Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo

Perseverance acquired this image of its "ejectable belly pan" laying on the surface of Mars using its SHERLOC WATSON camera, located on the turret at the end of the rover's robotic arm. Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo

A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. In cooperation with the European Space Agency, subsequent NASA missions would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis. Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo

Perseverance acquired this image on March 6, of the area in front of it using its onboard Front Right Hazard Avoidance Camera A. Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo

Perseverance took this photo on March 4 of a rocky mound in Jezero Crater, which NASA scientists said is likely a remnant of an ancient river delta. Photo courtesy of NASA

Perseverance acquired this image of the area in back of it using its onboard Rear Left Hazard Avoidance Camera. Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo

Perseverance acquired this image using its onboard Left Navigation Camera on March 3. The camera is located high on the rover's mast and aids in driving. Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo

Perseverance shows a plate fastened to the rover aft crossbeam (lower right) with three fingernail-sized chips stenciled with nearly 11 million names of Earthlings. The full-resolution image was taken by the Perseverance rover's left Navigation Camera (Navcam) on February 28. The names were submitted as part of the Send Your Name to Mars campaign. Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo

The rover can be seen in this enhanced HiRISE color image at its landing site six days after touchdown on February 24. Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo

Perseverance rover acquired this image using its left Mastcam-Z camera. Mastcam-Z is a pair of cameras located high on the rover's mast. Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo

Perseverance documents the Martian surface. Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo

The Martian surface is documented is detail from Perseverance. Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo

The navigation cameras aboard the Mars rover captured this view of the rovers deck on Monday. This view provides a look at PIXL (the Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry), one of the instruments on the rovers stowed arm. Photo courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech

This panorama, made by the navigation cameras aboard Perseverance, was stitched together from six individual images after they were sent back to Earth. Subsequent missions, currently under consideration by NASA in cooperation with the European Space Agency, would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these cached samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis. Photo courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech

This is the first high-resolution, color image to be sent back by the Hazard Cameras (Hazcams) on the underside of NASA's Perseverance Mars rover after its landing on February 18. Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo

This high-resolution still image, from the camera aboard the descent stage, is part of a video taken by several cameras as NASA's Perseverance rover touched down on Mars. Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo

Perseverance can be seen falling through the Martian atmosphere in the descent stage, its parachute trailing behind, in this image taken on Thursday by the High-Resolution Imaging Experiment camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The ancient river delta, which is the Perseverance mission's target, can be seen entering Jezero Crater from the left. Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo

An illustration depicts the rover driving in the foreground across the plain of Jezero Crater, where the robotic explorer landed safely. Image courtesy of NASA

An image showing where Perseverance Mars rover landed is shown during a NASA Perseverance rover mission post-landing update, on February 18, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. Photo by Bill Ingalls/NASA | License Photo

Members of NASA's Perseverance Mars rover team watch in mission control as the first images arrive moments after the spacecraft successfully touched down on Mars. Photo by Bill Ingalls/NASA | License Photo

The first photos taken by NASA's Perseverance Mars rover after landing on the Martian surface. A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo

These computer simulations show Perseverance landing on the Martian surface. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, paving the way for human exploration of the Red Planet and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith. Image courtesy of NASA | License Photo

In this illustration of its descent to Mars, the spacecraft carrying NASA's Perseverance rover slows down using the drag generated by its motion in the Martian atmosphere. Hundreds of critical events must execute precisely on time for the rover to land on Mars safely. Entry, descent, and landing, or "EDL," begins when the spacecraft reaches the top of the Martian atmosphere, traveling nearly 12,500 mph. The cruise stage separates about 10 minutes before entering into the atmosphere, leaving the aeroshell, which encloses the rover and descent stage, to make the trip to the surface. Image courtesy of NASA | License Photo

An illustration of Perseverance on Mars, launched from Earth in July. It is the fifth rover to successfully reach Mars, and is the first of three that may return rocks samples to Earth. Image courtesy of NASA | License Photo

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NASA offers new website to look at Mars rover images - UPI News

NASAs Mars Perseverance rover is shown at its landing site in Jezero Crater in this view from the Explore with Perseverance 3D web experience. This interactive web tool features a 3D model of the rover on 3D landscape created from real images taken by Perseverance. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Two interactive web experiences let you explore the Martian surface, as seen by cameras aboard the rover and orbiters flying overhead.

Its the next best thing to being on Mars: Two online interactive experiences let you check out Jezero Crater the landing site and exploration locale for NASAs Perseverance rover without leaving our planet.

One new experience, called Explore with Perseverance, allows you to follow along with the rover as though you were standing on the surface of Mars. Another interactive Where Is Perseverance? shows the current location of the rover and Ingenuity Mars Helicopter as they explore the Red Planet. Its updated after every drive and flight and allows you to track the progress of Perseverance and Ingenuity, in their journeys on and above the Red Planet.

Its the best reconstruction available of what Mars looks like. JPL software engineer Parker Abercrombie

Explore with Perseverance is made mostly with images taken by the rover from various vantage points, with additional images from the HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Experiment) camera aboard NASAs Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter overhead.

Its the best reconstruction available of what Mars looks like, said Parker Abercrombie, a senior software engineer who is leading the software development at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. The agencys Mars Public Engagement team recruited Abercrombie and his colleagues, who work on similar tools for the mission team, to develop a public-friendly experience by stitching together and reconstructing the Perseverance and HiRISE images.

The team plans to update the site regularly with new views from the spacecraft and the rover and some new points of interest, as they are found. For example, says Abercrombie, we can highlight scientifically interesting rocks and other features, or the Ingenuity helicopter flight locations.

Abercrombie believes the site will help people understand the perspective as if they were on Mars. Its sometimes hard for people to grasp location and distance from Mars images. Its not like here on Earth, where you can get your bearings by looking at trees and buildings. With the Martian terrain, it can be really hard to wrap your head around what youre seeing.

This video clip of the interactive 3D experience, Explore with Perseverance, shows how users can follow the activities of the Mars rover at Jezero Crater. The web tool features a 3D model of the rover on a 3D landscape created from real images taken by Perseverance. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The dashboard makes it easy for parents and teachers to share the 3D views with kids, bringing them along as Perseverance explores.

The 3D tool is based on the Advanced Science Targeting Tool for Robotic Operations (ASTTRO) that the rovers science team uses to select interesting targets for the rover to study but has been modified to make it more user-friendly.

Its a unique challenge to set things up so people can browse in a way theyll understand, since users have varying experiences in using 3D environments, Abercrombie said. This is a great opportunity for the public to follow along with the mission, using the same type of visualization tools as the mission scientists.

The Curiosity mission has a similar experience built by the same team.

The Where Is Perseverance? map allows you to see more of what were doing and where were going, said JPL Mapping Specialist Fred Calef. It, too, is based on ASTTRO, and Calef notes that youll get the data almost as fast as the engineers and scientists do. Plus, youre using practically the same software the team uses, so everyone can explore the way we explore in almost the same way, Calef says, zooming in, zooming out, and panning around.

The map shows the rovers route and its stopping points with markers indicating the Martian day, or sol, and youll get the overview of where Perseverance and Ingenuity might head next. Terrain maps like this one allow scientists to spot interesting places to look for possible evidence of ancient life, and youll be able to share in the journey.

When Ingenuity flies, its usually a burst of activity and then a lull for a couple of weeks. The rover, says Calef, drives more often, though not as far, traveling around 130 meters [142 yards] on its longest drive (sol) to date. When we find a geologically interesting spot, well stop for a week or so to check it out.

You can get more news about the activities of Curiosity on Mars at the Mars Science Laboratory/Curiosity website, and follow the latest about Perseverance at the Mars 2020/Perseverance website.

A key objective for Perseverances mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planets geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith.

Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA, would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.

The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASAs Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.

JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.

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Interactive Web Experiences: Take a 3D Spin on Mars and Track NASAs Perseverance Rover - SciTechDaily