The crew of the Mars Desert Research Station rotates every 2 weeks. These are the scientists and engineers who live and work on site within the MDRS. They explore all of the facets of human exploration in a simulated Mars environment. The MDRS will be active for a 7 month period.

Expedition Beta Mission Objectives:

Expedition Beta will be a training and research mission, which will expose a selected group of researchers to a typical Mars analogue working environment, and will cross-train participants in several exploration-related disciplines outside of their expertise through a series of hands-on workshops, and collaborative field research. Six research projects will be carried out, in the fields of psychology, geology, biology, energy utilization, and exploration protocol. Expedition Beta will be the second in a series of Mars Society Canada (MSC) training missions, building on the success of 2004's Expedition Alpha to MDRS, and previous large-scale research missions such as 2003's Expedition One to MDRS and 2004's Expedition Two to Arkaroola, Australia. Successful participants of the training series will have the opportunity to contribute to future large-scale expeditions being planned for the Canadian Arctic, Iceland, Australia and Chile's Atacama Desert, among other locations.

We will be carrying out research for 6 studies during Expedition Beta:

1. Mars Analogue Reconnaissance Mapping Aided by Multispectral and Digital Elevation Data. (André Dunford, Crew Geologist)
2. A Survey of Halophilic Microorganisms at the Mars Desert Research Station. (John Thaler, Crew Biologist - with Shannon Rupert & Vuong Nguyen)
3. Assessment of the Energy Utilization at MDRS. (Jonathan Martin, Crew Researcher/Engineer)
4. Assessing Group Dynamics In a Mars Simulation. (Remote PI: Sheryl Bishop, University of Texas Medical Branch; managed onsite by Melissa Battler, Commander)
5. Mapping the Extent of Oyster beds in the Dakota Sandstone. (Melissa Battler, Commander & André Dunford, on behalf of Stacy Sklar)
6. HERMES (Human Expedition Research for Mars Expedition Science) protocol training and data collection. (Ryan Kobrick, Executive Officer & Melissa Battler, on behalf of Stacy Sklar and Rocky Persaud)

Mars Analogue Reconnaissance Mapping Aided by Multispectral and Digital Elevation Data
André Dunford, Crew Geologist

To make efficient use of time and resources spent by human researchers during a reconnaissance mission on the Martian surface, remotely sensed data of the area of investigation will first be collected and analysed, allowing for a more focused and concerted field program. The combination of multispectral and digital elevation data provide a powerful tool in analysing the physical and geological characteristics of a region in three dimensions, presenting a realistic visualisation of the terrain to be studied.

In this investigation multispectral data from NASA’s Landsat 7 satellite and digital elevation data from NASA’s Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) will be employed to conduct reconnaissance geological mapping of the area surrounding MDRS.

A Survey of Halophilic Microorganisms at the Mars Desert Research Station
John Thaler, Crew Biologist

Saline environments identified by crews 41 and 42 will be sampled on ExBeta for halophilic microorganism diversity. Evaporite deposits, particularly gypsum, can harbour halophilic organisms adapted to the high salt conditions. Further sites will be selected and assessed as time permits. Saline agar plates will be inoculated with the collected gypsum and soil samples and incubated at 37 degrees celsius. Raw and cultured samples will be transported back to Earth where Vuong Nguyen (ExOne) will identify the halophiles using molecular techniques.

Assessment of the Energy Utilization at MDRS
Jonathan Martin, Crew Researcher/Engineer

The bulk of the project will consist of evaluating the current energy system utilized at MDRS regarding the potential for increased energy utilization. Recommendations may include, among others, higher efficiency equipment, heat recovery systems, and co-generation. Additionally, the possible benefits of load levelling will be evaluated by monitoring the electrical consumption and equipment usage during the course of the mission. To learn more, please visit:

http://chapters.marssociety.org/canada/expedition-mars.org/ExpeditionBeta/

Extended research proposals are listed on the “Crew Biographies” page, and end-of-mission progress reports will be posted on the “Research” page.

Along with conducting his own research at MDRS, crew Geologist, André Dunford, will also be producing a film in high-definition documenting the activities of the mission, and outlining the goals and objectives of Mars Society Canada’s analogue research program. The film production will be sponsored by IPX Entertainment (IPXN) and showcased on SpaceChannel.TV. The film is scheduled to be launched at the end of summer, 2006.

Melissa Battler
Commander, MDRS-44