Eight Days in Inner Space: My Experience at the Moon Desert Research Station

The author spent the week from February 28 through March 7, 2006, at the Mars Desert Research Station (a.k.a. "Moon Desert Research Station", or "MDRS", for the duration of the Moonbase simulation) near Hanksville, Utah, as a crewmember for the first Moonbase mission simulation (hereafter referred to as \´Artemis Moonbase Sim 1" or "Moonbase Sim 1") conducted at that site. This paper reports selected crew activities and experiences during Moonbase Sim 1, summarizes data from the author\´s research projects on water reclamation, spacesuit biomechanics, and crew time allocation, and makes recommendations for future efforts in both simulation and actual mission preparation. The author\´s primary research project on water reclamation involved installing flow meters and performing various water tests in order to evaluate usage rates and quality of the water used by the crew. Used (gray) water draining from the sinks and shower in the crew habitat module is routed through PVC pipes into the GreenHab, which consists of a series of aerobic and anaerobic water tanks, filters, and a UV treatment device, all housed in a greenhouse-like structure next to the MDRS habitat module. Flow meters measure gray water flow rates coming into and going out of the GreenHab. The water data collected during the Moonbase Sim 1 are summarized in the paper, along with recommendations for further developments in water reclamation systems. Some of the projects undertaken by other crewmembers include a study on color differentiation within a substantially monochromatic environment, the development of a virtual reality tour of the MDRS and local environs, a crew psycho-social survey, and the development of an "Early Space Frontier Diet". Results of these projects can be reviewed at this website address: www.marssociety.org/MDRS/fs05/0311/sum.asp Finally, this paper offers observations and recommendations in the areas of overall simulation design, system and equipment design, crew selection, personn- el policies, and facilities requirements.