What would it be like to live on Mars?
The Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station in the polar desert of Canada's Devon Island. Credit: The Mars Society
What would it be like to live and work on Mars? To find out, scientists simulated the experience of living in an isolated, Martian-like environment, and doing science in space suits. Their experience and research will aid astronauts in a real Mars mission, 30 years in the future.
Earth & Sky’s Lindsay Patterson spoke with Kim Binstead, who spent 100 days at the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station in far Northern Canada. She was the chief scientist on the mission. She said that in her experience, the most important part of a Mars mission is crew cooperation and happiness. But let’s start with the basics: What did you eat?
I hope there’s cooking on Mars, too. TV dinners for three years would be painful. One of my favorite parts in Stanislaw Lem’s “Pirx the Pilot” is cooking on the moon. I like the idea of the astronauts sitting down for family-style meals every day.
-Ned