M.A.R.S. UCLouvain - Martian simulation program for researchers and students

Bastien Baix

Role : Crew Engineer
Studies : Engineering

Bastien Baix has been selected as crew engineer of the team UCL to Mars 2018. Currently following a Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering and Environment at the Université Catholique de Louvain, he has a strong interest in drones and their applications in the field of civil engineering. His passion for space exploration led him to initiate 2 experiments related to the drones at the MDRS. He is also involved in many extra academic activities like the junior entreprise of the UCL: LSM Conseil.

Bastien’s project :

Cartography with drones & MDRS drone monitoring

The project involves the use of a drone in the field of geomatics for a mission at the MDRS. Establishing a detailed and interactive mapping of the environment close to the station is a relevant objective. Indeed, carrying out efficient and secure missions is only made possible by studying the relief, the gradients and the […]

Ariane Sablon

Role : Crew Biologist
Studies : Biology

Ariane Sablon recently graduated in Biomedical Sciences at the Université catholique de Louvain. During Bachelor and Master programs, Ariane integrated several laboratory research groups. As her Master thesis, she worked during one year on innate immunity and cytokines signaling, where she practiced the Crispr-Cas9 method on human cell lines. Then, she spent 5 months in Montreal, Canada in a lab interested in metabolism, especially in liver diseases and diabetes. Through these different internships, Ariane learned to create, reason, perform, analyze and interpret experiments. Beside the scientific aspect, it also made her acquire a team spirit and forged her mind to be critical. Today she feels comfortable with the idea of managing a project in biology and ready to schedule some experiments to reach those goals.

Ariane’s project :

Martian bread : fermentation based on bacteria from human microbiota

The Apollo 11 mission brought the first humans on the moon and back in 8 days 3 hours and 19 minutes. An inhabited mission to Mars will take years – the one-way trip is estimated at 6 months at the shortest. The organization of such a journey requires spectacular scientific and technological skills, including the […]

Martin Roumain

Role : Crew Pharmacist
Studies : Pharmacy

Martin Roumain recently graduated in pharmaceutical sciences at the Université catholique de Louvain. During his studies, he decided to work in a research group (Bioanalysis and Pharmacology of Bioactive Lipids research group) as a research student. His work consisted in analyzing biological samples such as cell cultures, blood, plasma or tissues, using a mass spectrometer. This formation taught him scientific rigor, communication skills and the ability to work in a team. He now works in the same group as a PhD student and teaching assistant. As a pharmacist, he has strong scientific knowledge, particularly in medical sciences, chemistry and biology. His multidisciplinary training makes him a good addition to the crew.

Martin’s project :

Study of drug degradation at Mars Desert Research Station

Medications degrade over time. Degradation of an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) can result in reduced drug potency and increased toxicity due to the formation of degradation products. This degradation is accelerated by suboptimal storage conditions, as well as by some environmental factors of a Mars expedition such as microgravity, temperature variations and radiations, which may […]

Impact of a Martian lifestyle on memory and reflexes

On Mars, several factors may have consequences on our organism such as the confinement, the change of scenery and the energy consumption spikes due to additional activity. These factors can induce fatigue and lead to decreased attention and memory performance, and increased reaction time. Being 225 million kilometers away from Earth, the crew will be […]

Mario Sundic

Role : Crew Botanist
Studies : Bio-engineering

Mario Sundic is a 21 year old bioengineering student. Currently finishing his bachelor’s degree in Belgium, he plans to study plant and microbial genetics abroad, with the aim of working in an innovative biotech company. His passions include ecology, biotechnology, photography, and languages, as he is currently fluent in four languages and learning a fifth one. In addition to this, he is an avid traveler, having visited over 25 countries by his own means, and counting. He will serve the double role of Crew Journalist and GreenHab Officer in the MDRS.

Mario’s project :

Construction of a vertical NFT hydroponics system in the MDRS

A steady supply of food for the astronauts is one of the most fundamental requirements for any autonomous long-term space mission, such as an expedition to Mars. That food will almost exclusively be supplied by plants grown hydroponically in very tightly packed greenhouses, with very high exposure to different risk factors. It is therefore essential […]

Sophie Wuyckens

Role : Crew Physicist
Studies : Physics

Sophie Wuyckens will assume the role of Physicist and Astronomer of the MDRS crew. In 2013, she started physics studies at Université de Mons, Belgium. She spent her third year of Bachelor at Université Laval, Québec, Canada. In 2016, she decided to continue her cursus at Université catholique de Louvain (Belgium), where she chose the field of particle physics and cosmology field. She is now in her last year of the Masters degree and has chosen muography as her memoire topic.

Sophie’s project :

Development of a telescope for cosmic muon flux and density measurements

This project is based on the building of a compact telescope based on small and gastight Glass Resistive Gas Chambers (”minigRPC”) and is aimed at performing a feasibility study of possible research on Mars geology. The first part of the project will be a simulation optimizing parameters for the detector conception. The second part will […]

Frederic Peyrusson

Role : Crew Biologist
Studies : Biology

Frédéric Peyrusson will assume the role of biologist and medic of the MDRS crew. After a master degree of Health Engineering and a master degree of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Frédéric started his PhD in 2013, in Bacteriology, at Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium. His topic deals with persistence of Staphylococcus aureus, especially the ability and survival strategies of the bacteria to survive in particularly unfavorable environments.

Frederic’s project :

The effect of hydrogel on the plants growth in the GreenHab

In the next long-duration exploration, plant systems will become essential components: the farther and longer humans go away from Earth, the greater the need to be able to grow plants for food and atmosphere recycling. Thus, we definitely need robust and innovative plant systems which work in particular environments and with limited equipment, space, water […]

Biocompatibility of the simulated Martian environment for Terrestrial organism

Future long-duration space missions raise a lot of challenging questions. Can terrestrial organisms survive in a Mars environment, and what are the physical and chemical limits for Life? Biocompatibility of the Martian environment for terrestrial organisms is of particular interest for Astrobiology and space exploration. In that sense, we propose to study adaptation and survival […]

Michael Saint-Guillain

Role : Crew Executive Officer
Studies : Computer Sciences

Michael Saint-Guillain assumes the role of executive officer of the team UCL to Mars 2018. He started his PhD studies in 2013 at Université catholique de Louvain (Belgium), and in 2016 at Université de Lyon (France), in Computer Sciences. Specialized in operations research (a subdomain of applied mathematics involved in planning and decision making), he is mostly active in dynamic and stochastic vehicle routing problems.

Michael’s project :

Operation scheduling on MDRS under uncertainty: comparing classical and robust models

We will consider the problem of scheduling a set of (experimental and logistic) operations in a constrained context such as the MDRS. When taking uncertainty into account while designing models, a robust solution that minimizes the probability of a failure in the mission global objectives can be obtained. Based on real-life operations at MDRS, we […]

Maximilien Richald

Role : Crew Commander
Studies : Chemistry

Maximilien Richald got his degree of chemical engineering at Meurice institute in Brussels in 2015. For two years, he has been doing a Phd in chemical synthesis at the Université catholique de Louvain. Maximilien already had the opportunity to work several times in pharmaceutical companies, in research departments and also in catalysis. These professional experiences gave him tools to deal with differents fields of science and provided him strong scientific knowledge. Furthemore, he worked abroad during 7 months where he was trained to manage a team and brought a project to life. All of these experiences prepared him to lead this mission to success.

Maximilien’s project :

Spirulina as a food solution for astronaut

An astronaut eats one kilogram of food, breathes one kilogram of oxygen and drinks three liters of water. Astronauts also produce waste, mainly water. During long-term space mission, it is impossible to carry as much food and water for reasons of costs and logistics. Let’s recycle! The MELiSSA project (Micro-Ecological Life Support System Alternative) focuses […]

Analysis of soil chemical composition

Bringing human life on a mission will be the first step of the Mars odyssey. Bringing humans to Mars is already a challenge, but keeping them alive is another one, and a much more complex one. In order to reach this objective, the humans who will live on the Red Planet will have to produce […]

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