Image of the Mars Society latest Mars desert station mission: The Mona Lisa - Leonardo project, an all female workshop to assess group dynamics in an international all-female/all-male crew in a Mars simulation. Courtesy of the Mars Society (Click to enlarge)
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Mars Society's latest mission accomplished: All female crew to Mars
Posted: Jun 09, 2005 01:42 pm EDT
The Mars Society will hold the 8th International Mars Society convention at the University of Colorado, Boulder, August 11-14, 2005.
The society also just finished its latest Mars desert station mission: The Mona Lisa - Leonardo project; an all female workshop to assess group dynamics in an international all-female/all-male crew in a Mars simulation. The study checked for composition variables such as personality and leadership styles, group size, cultural and gender mixes, role and power structures - areas frequently cited to have affected group performance and impacted group functioning.
Stress test
"Positive group outcomes depend on the alignment of sub-group goals and those of the broader mission," writes the team. Each crewmember took a personality test before the rotation; then during the isolation period at MDRS, the crewmembers had to take a set of three measurements:
Salivary samples to measure physiological stress;
Cognitive performance evaluation using the CogHealth software;
Online survey on group functioning, perceived stress and coping strategies.
These measurements were taken three times during the mission: on Day 1, Day 6 and Day 12. The results of the Mona Lisa crew will be compared to the ones of the Leonardo crew, and the results will be published in a paper at the IAF congress in October 2005.
In 1990, an engineer at Martin Marietta named Robert Zubrin caused a sensation by proposing Mars Direct, a way of getting to the Red Planet without stopping at either the ISS or the moon: "The whole mission could be accomplished in a decade, rather than 20 years, as NASA is proposing," he said and founded the Mars Society.
The society offers the latest News from Spirit and Opportunity, and several projects on Earth simulating and researching the Mars environment. These are the guys you might have heard of before taking off for the North Pole (from Canada) - they are the ones doing all kinds of stuff on Devon Island.
Winter expeditions run in Utah. Volunteers are working in full simulation mode in the barren canyonlands. They explore the surrounding terrain, cataloging more waypoints, and analyzing the geology and biology of this fascinating and remarkably Mars-like region.
Applications are considered from anyone in good physical condition between 18 and 65 years of age without regard to race, creed, color, gender, or nation. Scientific, engineering, practical mechanical, wilderness, and literary skills are all considered a plus. Dedication to the cause of human Mars exploration is an absolute must, as conditions are likely to be tough and the job will be very trying. Those selected will be required to participate in certain crew training exercises and to act under crew discipline and strict mission protocols during the simulations.
The Mars Society will pay travel and related expenses from Salt Lake City, Utah during training and simulation, but there will be no salary. Volunteers will need to pay their own travel expenses to Salt Lake City.
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