MDRS Crew 85
Decmber 12, 2009 - December 25, 2009
Daily Crew Reports

Name	Speciality
William R Kramer	Commander
Jack Cackler	Chief Biologist
Rahul Goel	Engineering Officer (Mechanical)
Jennifer Larmore	Executive Officer / Health & Saftey Officer
John Porter	Engineering Officer (Electrical) / Information/Communications Officer
Sarah Smith	Chief Geologist

William R Kramer	William is pursuing a Ph.D. in political science at the Hawaii Research Center for Futures Studies, University of Hawaii. His dissertation focuses on intellectual property rights and bioethical issues related to the discovery and exploitation of extraterrestrial biological entities and the potential terraforming of extraterrestrial worlds, such as Mars. This project follows a career with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Hawaii and the Pacific Region where he specialized in field biology and in Washington, D.C., where he managed the Service's Endangered Species Recovery Program. Since retiring from federal employment, William has taught biology and bioethics at both the secondary and university levels and is currently a consultant to the U.S. Navy on endangered species and other natural resource issues. Originally from Maryland, he now lives in Kailua, Hawaii, where he enjoys backpacking, wood-turning, cooking, and music of all kinds. In addition to the duties of Mission Commander, William will use the two-week immersion in the MDRS simulation to help focus his thoughts on his dissertation research. Do human explorers have an ethical obligation to sterile, lifeless extraterrestrial worlds? How might that relationship change with the discovery of past or present life? What policy implications would emerge should microbial-scale biological entities be discovered? How might a crew exploring a body such as Mars react to the discovery of extraterrestrial life? While the Mars Society's MDRS program has proven to be an excellent testing ground for direct human interaction with an extraterrestrial environment, it also provides a unique opportunity to explore philosophical questions and research political policy issues, as well.
Jack Cackler	Jack is a Master's student in Statistics at Stanford with a minor in Aero/Astro, who did his undergraduate work there in Human Biology with a minor in Computer Science. He has worked in the space industry on a variety of projects primarily at NASA Ames Research Center and Johnson Space Center including analyzing bacteria survival rates in the upper atmosphere, developing software to monitor and predict solar radiation, developing countermeasures to aid neurovestibular function in microgravity, and using satellite imaging to help manage disaster risk in Central America. He is especially passionate about furthering space exploration and using space technologies to aid the world's less fortunate. Outside of space, he lives in and runs a 24 hour counseling center at Stanford and loves working with Camp Kesem, a Stanford camp for kids whose parents have cancer. As a crew biologist, he is looking forward to executing several missions that will hopefully contribute to one day putting life on Mars.
Rahul Goel	Rahul is an Indian graduate student at MIT pursuing a Masters degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics. Before joining MIT, he did his undergraduate education at IIT Bombay in India majoring in Aerospace Engineering. He is interested in Space Systems Engineering, and is strongly interested in the human-related aspects of spaceflight, like crew performance, space physiology, and Human Factors. After completing his Masters in 2010, he would like to get some work experience in industry for 1-2 years before returning to MIT for PhD. One of his main ambitions is to fly to space, hopefully on an Indian rocket. In his free time, he enjoys playing tennis, squash, gyming, or watching movies. As a Crew Engineer, he is excited to contribute his time and effort toward achieving the mission goals of Crew 85 and adding to the experiences of his fellow crew members, while learning some biology and geology on the way.
Jennifer Larmore	Jenni currently attends Lake-Sumter Community College as she finishes the prerequisites to enter a Doctor in Pharmacy program in Fall 2010 and then a PhD. Growing up in the Central Florida town of Clermont has allowed her to watch nearly every space shuttle launch from Kennedy Space Center outside her home, school or at KSC. Space exploration is very important to her and she aspires to be an astronaut to Mars. In May, she attended the Space Florida Undergraduate Academy at Kennedy Space Center. During the summer she interned at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. At NIH, Jenni really enjoyed her research in the microbiology laboratory and she looks forward to going into a career of research. Jenni is extensively involved in her community and looks forward to sharing her experience at MDRS with the community, especially with the Girl Scouts. Jenni has been active in Girl Scouts for 15 years, and after earning the highest award in Girl Scouts, the Gold Award, she was selected as a 2008 National Young Woman of Distinction. In the little free time Jenni has, she enjoys anything involving water, working on computers, photography, anything outdoors, exploring new things, working out in the gym and volunteering. While at MDRS, Jenni looks forward to being the Executive Officer and Health and Safety Officer for Crew 85. She will also be focusing on biology research projects involving E. coli, extremophiles and contamination. Jenni is aiming to obtain enough data to publish a scientific paper.
John Porter	John Porter is pursuing a Masters degree in Computer Engineering at the University of Idaho. After finishing his undergraduate degrees in both Computer and Electrical Engineering (also from the University of Idaho) he obtained a research fellowship through the Idaho Robotic Lunar Exploration Program (RLEP). This allowed him the unique opportunity to work with the Intelligent Robotics Group at NASA Ames Research Center extensively over the course of two years. This experience has helped narrow John's research interests to extreme environment robotics, such as those found in space and on the battlefield. In his limited spare time John enjoys living and loving life. Always learning a new sport or activity, John is currently an avid fencer and snowboarder. He also enjoys fishing, hunting, hiking and SCUBA diving. As a new member of the MDRS society, John is excited about his roles as an Engineering Officer and Information/Communications Officer and is optimistic about Crew 85's expedition.
Sarah Smith	Sarah has always been interested in space, especially after a family trip to Kennedy Space Center during her high school years. At a young age she realized that physics and chemistry were not her strong points so for a while dismissed the idea of pursuing a career with a NASA. She attended Central Michigan University (Fire Up Chips!) with a double major in Earth Science and Geography and a minor in Natural Resources. This allowed her to take a variety of classes in many fields, including astronomy, biology, oceanography and meteorology, strengthening her love for Earth's natural processes. Courses in Geographical Information Systems (mostly remote sensing and basic cartography) reignited her interest in space. After realizing that NASA is not just about physics and chemistry, but includes many disciplines working together for the common goal of space travel, she once again dove into the world of space. After completing her Bachelors of Science in 2008, Sarah received an internship working for Midland County GIS in Michigan. She continued to take graduate courses at Central Michigan in the research and GIS fields and is currently pursuing a Masters degree in Geographical Information Systems. She hopes to apply that knowledge to site selection analyses for a lunar or Mars surface landing. After graduation in December 2010, she hopes to pursue a career in GIS, either in the space industry or with a government agency. During her time at Central, Sarah was the PR Chair of the Central Michigan Homecoming Committee for 2 years; a senior mentor for the First Year Experience classes team-teaching the "Welcome to College Life" course; and a member of CMU's Program Board. In her spare time she enjoys learning about Space and NASA's history as well as Animal Science and watching the Discovery Channel. She is an avid ice hockey player and enjoys a good game of softball or rollerblading outdoors as well as caring for her two dogs, Hercules and Stretch.

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