Powering by challenges of the Selene II lunar analog mission — Commander’s suppose: Lunar day 7

The HI-SEAS habitat, situated on the volcano Mauna Loa and breeze by the Global MoonBase Alliance.

(Image: © Fabio Teixeira)

Dr. Michaela Musilova is the director of Hawaii Order Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) program, which conducts analog missions to the moon and Mars for scientific compare at a habitat on the volcano Mauna Loa. Currently, she is in expose of the two-week Selene II mission and contributed this suppose to Order.com’s Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.

Commander’s Fable for the Selene II Mission at HI-SEAS


Lunar Mission Day 7 (Nov. 24, 2020)

“There would possibly possibly be no hope on the horizon”— those are positively the gloomiest phrases that I in actuality own ever spoken at some level of a mission. Trying out of 1 in all the two home windows in our habitat did not insist me any solace. All we would possibly possibly perchance see are thick, grey clouds. The Selene II crew has been confined to the within the HI-SEAS analog home position for over 5 days in a row which potential of so known as “lunar grime storms” (rain storms or thick fog). Our habitat is found at 8,200 toes in altitude on Mons Hadley, the Moon (a.k.a on the volcano Mauna Loa in Hawaii). At this altitude, the storms can linger for days on pause. We can’t traipse away our habitat at some level of these storms, as we would possibly possibly perchance possibility getting injured and our EVA (Extra-Vehicular Job) equipment would acquire broken. On the moon, this would mean possibly loss of life.

The crew is made from Operations Officer Fabio Teixeira, who is the Founder and CEO of Hypercubes, a startup with roots at the Global Order University and Singularity University. He’s a visionary home entrepreneur with a holistic approach to meals security and sustainability. Our Crew Journalist is the photographer Cassandra Klos. She is one among our three Mars analog veterans who has been working on a long period mission on home simulations. 

Dr. Lindsay Rutter is one other Mars analog worn who at level to holds a JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Tsukuba. She is the Crew Bioengineer and he or she’s the spend of her bioinformatics and bioengineering background to switch trying immense home biology datasets. Our third Mars worn is Karen Rucker, who is a spacecraft radiofrequency engineer performing the position of Crew Programs Engineer for Selene II. Karen is hooked in to STEM outreach, bettering dialog in home and in distant analog environments cherish at HI-SEAS. Ben Greaves is a returned agricultural Peace Corps volunteer and our Crew Engineer, with a background in managed environmental agricultural engineering. His compare is deeply occupied with hunger equity and designing off Earth greenhouse methods. Within the discontinuance, my title is Dr. Michaela Musilova and I’m the crew’s Commander. I am an astrobiologist and a lunar and Martian analog astronaut with journey in main over 20 simulated home missions.

At some level of the Selene II mission, we dwell and working at HI-SEAS as equally as imaginable to what the foremost settlers on the moon would journey. Our lifestyles right here and all of our activities are extraordinarily small. We are repeatedly monitored by Mission Administration on Earth, we spend solely freeze-dried meals, we are small in our water present and our energy comes from photo voltaic power. At some level of shocking weather days, we possibility working out of power if our photo voltaic panels don’t recharge our habitat’s batteries. 

Right here’s precisely what we now had been going by on this mission. Mud storms had been raging outside the habitat for days on pause, inflicting us to are living with minimal quantities of power. Every day, we now had been making extra and further sacrifices to live to recount the tale with the minute power that we now own left. The Solar now and again peeks by the thick clouds to recharge the batteries quite bit, but not enough to power all of our applied sciences for the period of the habitat.

On lunar mission day 4, we made up our minds as a crew to insist the temperature down in the habitat by several levels. On this contrivance, we would possibly possibly perchance keep some power that would possibly possibly perchance traipse in direction of heating our minute position. With just a few deep breaths, we living the thermostat to 63 levels Fahrenheit. Right here’s the thermostat for the total habitat even though, so the particular temperature in deal of formula of the habitat can traipse all of the style down to almost 50 levels F. We positively felt it at evening. That’s when all americans took out all of our sweaters, jackets and hats to live to recount the tale the evening. Other folks wearing blankets as skirts grew to turn into a brand fresh fashion vogue on the moon as effectively.

This unanimous crew sacrifice used to be removed from all the pieces that we now had been doing to address our power constraints on this mission. We now had been unplugging all the pieces that isn’t in actuality important to our survival, alongside side most technological gadgets wished for our compare initiatives. It’s a tough decision to attain for my crewmembers, but we are all attentive to how important it is for us to pause a power outage. Within the case of a power blackout, we would possibly possibly perchance want to switch on an emergency EVA (extravehicular assignment) in precarious prerequisites to flip on our generator. The possibility of such an EVA outweighs the compromises the crew desires to attain to imagine our power from working out. On the opposite hand, I’m haunted that our solely efforts would possibly possibly perchance not be enough to lead definite of the blackout. 

I vastly care for the crew’s joint efforts to acquire us by this exhausting spot. Most importantly, they’ve been keeping every deal of’s spirits excessive by cracking jokes your complete time, getting prepared low power, but light very tasty meals and I’ve even taught the crew some hula dancing to cheer them up. Assuredly even though, their efforts will be quite over the tip. As an illustration, one crewmember asked me if they would possibly possibly add the water restful by the dehumidifier into our soup…

Trying out the window did not insist us important hope this day. Hope for an EVA that is and hope for recharging our batteries. EVAs aren’t what our mission is ready and the potential, effectively, we can have pause without deal of it for now. We are light very fervent to switch on EVAs, as they’re wide for exploration, scientific compare and a trade of ambiance from the habitat. On the opposite hand, the crew going by and overcoming challenges together is the unswerving goal of our mission. From that perspective, I undoubtedly own deal of hope. I used to be correct taking a predict the monstrous blueprint. When taking a predict at my crew I in actuality feel that hope dies final.

Commander Musilova signing off to a in point of fact chilly evening with hope on the next day’s horizon.

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