crew212-experiment

Development of a telescope for cosmic muon flux and density measurements

This project is based on the upgrading of a compact telescope based on small and gastight Glass Resistive Gas Chambers (“minigRPC”) build last year by Sophie Wuyckens and is aimed at performing a feasibility study of possible research on Mars geology. The first part of the project will be an improvement of the software used to to collect and analyse the data. The second part will be the eventual refinements we could perform on different parts of the detector to make sure the data we get are the most reliable possible. The third part will consist of the collection of in-field data at the MDRS, and its analysis. The goal will then be to make a study of the muon flux generated by interactions of primary cosmic rays and, if time allows,to proceed to a radiography or tomography (3D) of the landscape (mountains, hills, etc.) of the Utah desert with “muography”. This technique is very interesting for planets exploration. For instance, we could radiograph Mars and characterize its interior and tell about the planet evolutionary state and history as well as even finding some places geologically well-adapted places for future colony implantation.

Automating high-precision tasks with drones

While the GPS may be enough for a variety of tasks, when it comes to precisely checking tank levels or approaching a precise object on the ground, it’s just not precise enough. First, we need to gather a list of these tasks and evaluate what precision they would need (an error of less than 1 meter ? 5 centimeters ?).
 
Multiple techniques, that are already studied here at UCLouvain, will be tested to improve the precision of the drone and help it focus on particular points. For example, color dots or special QR codes can be positioned near an object or on top of it to assist the drone for positioning itself. The camera takes a picture then the on-board computer can analyze its position but also its inclination angle to the surface. Recognizing the shapes requires different tweaks depending on the environment, and a Martian-like reddish ground with rocks is very different than the clean gray floor of a building. If successful this may come handy for an experiment of our Commander, Carl-Henrik, which may require to gently dropping cubic probes of high value in a specific position.
 
For even further precision, a theodolite (the large measuring stick used by surveyors) and a prism could be used to guide the drone with an error margin smaller than an inch.

Fully autonomous 3D mapping

We plan to improve usability and efficiency of drone 3D mapping to the next level. The first step will be to gather data and software used by our predecessor Bastien Baix from the UCL to Mars 2018 mission. Mapping techniques are constantly evolving and updating the software behind the project is necessary.
 
The core idea will be to automate the procedure itself. The precision of the built-in GPS positioning system (an error margin of 1-2 meters) and the camera should be enough to fully automate the gathering and treatment of mapping data. UCL to Mars already owns a Parrot Bebop 2 drone that was bought by the previous crew for last year’s experiments that we intend to reuse, and existing technologies can be used to create and share 3D paths in the area of the MDRS.
 
The challenge will be to optimize the paths everyday, test the functionalities and find the easiest, fastest way to get updated data on site. This will require work before the mission for development and during It for optimization and continuous testing. The final goal would be to develop and test a powerful tool for 3D mapping in a desert environment that is complete, robust and easy to use even for non-engineers.

Impact of a Martian lifestyle on sleep quality

A correct and regular sleep is essential for the recuperative power of the crew. For a long-term mission, the recuperative power is crucial for the preservation of the reflexes and the cognitive functions of the members of the crew.
 
The particular conditions of such a mission which are among others the confinement, the seclusion and the closeness with the team 24 hours a day could have a serious impact on the quality of the sleep of the members of the team.
 
This is why we will analyse the quality of sleep through complete polysomnography, actimetry, critical flicker fusion frequency and neuropsychometric tests.

Martian Constitution

His research will consist in the drafting of a Martian constitution. Today, no rules or legislation apply to Mars. However, law is necessary to organise the human society, as Martian missions are going to develop.
 
He would like to draft it together with the crew because a text of such importance needs to gather all different opinions in order to be as democratic as possible. Nevertheless, he is going to play a central role in it. His project consists in writing articles and submitting them to the crew for a vote. Of course, he will take into consideration the crew’s opinions and he will be very thankful for every idea coming from them. The final goal is to have a coherent text who may be applied to future Martian missions.

Spirulina as space food

As water is a limiting factor on Mars, lots of questions related to how to grow food on the Red Planet remain unsolved. On this purpose, current scientific researches focus on developing technologies to grow highly nutritive food requiring small amount of water. One possible option is spirulina! Indeed, those cyanobacteria are highly prospective for astronauts’ alimentation during future martian explorations. Not only can it be taken as a dietary supplement enriched in proteins, but it has also therapeutic properties.
 
In that sense, we propose to establish a spirulina culture during our mission. The experiment will study the effect of space mission conditions on the culture system, including the small amount of space, materials and water available, the monitoring of the system and finally considering alternatives to improve the culture in such conditions.

Enhancing leguminous plant nutrition via mycorrhiza symbiosis in a Martian simulated environment

As a one-way trip to Mars is estimated at 6 months at the shortest, a round-trip mission to the Red planet could last years. Therefore, setting up technologies to grow food in complete autonomy seems crucial. One main issue remains enhancing plant nutrition and increasing their resistance to stress and drought.
 
To elucidate that point, we propose to study beneficial mycorrhizal fungi connecting with plant roots and forming a network of fungal fibres, bringing water and nutrients to the plant. They support the plant for its entire life and improve yield.
 
On one hand, we will study how this network develops in a Martian simulated soil. On the other hand, we will measure the effectiveness of the symbiosis with a leguminous plant in such conditions. Through this research, we aim to expand scientific knowledge on how Martian conditions affect symbiotic relationships between terrestrial organisms.

Deployment of a swarm of CubeLands

Mars presents a dynamical environment that cannot be fully described by measures taken by a small number of probes. However, current Martian missions are very costly and do not allow to cover large region of its surface. In order to get a more comprehensive view of Mars climate evolution, we propose to rely on miniaturized landers, called CubeLands that could be deployed on large strand of Mars surface via drones. Those landers will include several scientific instruments such as a thermometer, a light/radiation, pressure, CO2, wind or magnetic field sensor in order to characterize the environment and provide new insights into its evolution.
 
In contrast with CubeSats which could deploy large solar panels and antennas, CubeLands are affected by the planet gravity. Therefore, we propose to rely on ultra-low power RF transceiver to reduce the power consumption and be able to use a single solar panel covering one of the CubeLand side. However such transceivers have a much lower range which implies that Cubelands could only communicate with nearest neighbors. A transmission algorithm will therefore be included in each lander in order to transmit, via the CubeLands network, their information to the deployment unit which in turn could transfer the set of data to the Earth. The concept will be tested at the MDRS via the deployment of a dozen of landers via a drone. The electronic system will be based on the Arduino platform and include sensors, a solar panel, a charging unit, a battery for data collection during the night and a transceiver for data transmission to the main unit via the landers network.

Devices of interest tracking with Ultra Wide Band geolocation system

Here on Earth, GPS technology brought various tools to our society in a wide tech area. Up there on Mars, it might be as useful to implement GPS-like devices and keeping track of what’s going on in our new Martian civilization. Nowadays, there are different geolocation technologies for different purposes. In regard of the relatively small size of our facilities and the precise experiments undertaken, the most relevant setup is the one which maximize accuracy at the expense of the detection range. Using this configuration, we will be able to monitor near EVA, conducted by our astronauts and rovers.

© M.A.R.S. UCLouvain 2020