It was the first quest of its kind, with a mission to learn more about living and working on the moon or Mars.
On April 27, a four-person crew was sealed inside the Space Analog for the Moon and Mars (SAM) for six days in Oracle, Arizona, for the Inclusion 1 mission.
The goal of the mission was to simulate the physical reality of being far from Earth.
According to Kai Staats, the Director of Research for SAM at Biosphere 2, the crew was provided with a "mission-specific email address" that allowed them to communicate with Mission Control, colleagues, friends, and family. Through email, the crew was provided 24/7 tech support, and research, while Staats' team was able to review daily updates.
Email was used to communicate because "Email is the only internet communication that can transmit over such distances without timing-out because it does not require bi-directional communication as with websites, Facebook, and Instagram," Staats told ABC15 via email.
SAM is a highly specialized, air-tight facility just steps away from the iconic dome at the University of Arizona's Biosphere 2. It was created to study what it might be like to live and work on the surface of the moon or Mars.
"I think the most important thing that we learned is that it works,” said Bailey Burns, a mission engineer for Inclusion 1.
Burns, a Blue Origin aerospace systems engineer, focused on environmental control and life support systems while conducting the mission.
"This is definitely a viable thing that we are doing here,” Burns said. “The life support systems. It all worked, the water systems, there are things that we can improve upon but overall, we can do this."
The crew lived in an environment with increased air pressure, according to Staats, as the might on the moon or Mars.
"The internal pressure is greater, not less, than outside the habitat," Staats told ABC15. "This is an accurate simulation for a real habitat on the Moon or Mars where there is no or very little atmosphere outside, therefore the pressure inside must be greater."
For their six-day mission, the four-person crew lived in an 1,100-square-foot space, which included places to eat, grow food, sleep, and use the restroom.
They also washed, cooked, and stayed hydrated with roughly 60 gallons of water over the course of the six-day mission.
Mission Medical Officer, Dr. Eiman Jahangir, who is also a cardiologist, said he believes research for projects like Inclusion I is important for space exploration.
"Let's say a researcher has an idea that they think would be great to do for NASA astronauts,” Dr. Jahangir said. “By demonstrating it here, you have more information that you can then take to NASA and say, ‘Hey, look. We've proven this! We think this will really work.’ Before they spend all that money, time, energy and actually send it up to space, we know it's going to have some chance of actually working."
Dr. Jahangir, also a space enthusiast and two-time NASA astronaut candidate finalist, told ABC15, "That's the beauty of this place because it really does provide a stepping-stone as we move towards traveling to the Moon or Mars."
A second crew will enter SAM for a mission called Inclusion II on Wednesday, May 10, at 10 a.m.
For more information on the Inclusion missions, click here.
For ticket information, visit biosphere2.org.
IF YOU GO:
University of Arizona Biosphere
232540 S Biosphere Rd.
Oracle, AZ 85623
520-621-4800
