Target reached!
We will pay travel expenses, accommodation and MDRS fees.
WoMars - MDRS Crew 241
London, England, United Kingdom
Aim
Our goal as Mars analog astronauts is to evaluate the scientific, social, and medical performances of women under Mars-like conditions.
FEBRUARY UPDATE
YOU DID IT! Thank you so much! Our place at the Mars Desert Research Station is now secured.
If you still want to donate, this is how your money will help :
- the cost of stay on the MDRS (cost: 7250$ total)
- the flights (cost: around 800$/ crew member)
- the 2 required hotel nights before and after the mission (cost: around 100$/ crew member)
- the fuel to and from MDRS (cost: around 800$ total)
Thank you again so much!
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Our team wants to go to Mars!
Who are we?
- Julie Hartz: Commander + Crew geologist
- Laurène Delsupexhe: Crew engineer
- Cristina Vázquez-Reynel: Crew executive officer
- Marta Ferrán-Marques: Crew scientist + Media officer
- Paula Peixoto: Crew biologist + Health and Safety officer
- Kelly Vaughan-Taylor : Crew geophysicist
We have been selected to participate in a two-week mission at the Mars Desert Research Station in February 2021! We will be one of the very few all-female crews to partake in this project. Our goal as Mars analog astronauts is to evaluate the scientific, social, and medical performances of women under Mars-like conditions. This research aims to provide crucial data on female performance in space exploration that is currently lacking in the literature.
To begin we need to collect 1500$ (250$ per person) to secure our place by the end of February.
More info about MDRS in https://mdrs.marssociety.org.
Our team
Julie Hartz has an initial background in physics and geoscience that she acquired in her home country, Switzerland. After a year spent on travels and internships in marine biology and numerical modelling at the French National Geological Survey, she finally chose to settle far from home, in Sydney, Australia, to specialise in geochemistry. Soon after she started her postgraduate degree at Macquarie University, Julie discovered the interdisciplinary field of Astrobiology and decided to dedicate her academic life to the search for life in the Universe. Her ongoing and already awarded research focuses on the traces of microbial life that are preserved in rock samples from Martian analogues.
Adventurer at heart, Julie flew a plane solo for the first time at the age of 15. She is always seeking the next challenge on land, in the air, or under water. Certified deep scuba diver, Julie recently let go of air tanks and regulators to start diving deep under water on a single breath. Committed to empower women in sports and science, in 2012 she co-founded the first Women’s Soccer Team of her home University in Switzerland that is still thriving in the regional championship today.
Laurène Delsupexhe recently graduated with a Diplôme d'Ingénieur, the equivalent of an MSc in Aeronautical Engineering, from ESILV. Her curriculum also included a year at the Politecnico di Milano in their master of Aeronautical Engineering. She participated in the PERSEUS project initiated by the Directorate of Launchers of the CNES in which she studied vibrations' reduction on an experimental rocket to ensure the launcher's structure could tolerate the vibrations originated from lift-off.
A 6-month internship at the European Space Agency concluded her studies. She joined the Vega programme and worked on the SSMS (Small Spacecraft Mission Service) and Space Rider projects. On the first project, she coded a programme on Python allowing to determine the best configuration of springs on the separation systems to avoid any angular velocity, and by extension, collision. She built the database of the second project.
Always eager to challenge herself, she's currently working on her PPL (Private Pilot Licence) and enjoys kick-boxing.
Cristina Vázquez-Reynel is an enthusiastic aerospace engineer passionate about all areas of aerospace design, materials and composites. She possesses natural leadership qualities and is an effective relationship builder with strong team-working and problem-solving skills, always trying to create a positive team environment. Cristina has been enrolled in several projects during the academic career. In her MSc, her group project and thesis were related to an Augmented Reality applied to Aircraft Maintenance. Currently she works as Design engineer for L3Harris and her day-to-day tasks consist of finding creative solutions in the mechanical engineering field, and transforming these ideas into real products. This includes customer requirements, structural integrity, material properties and manufacturing processes. During her career she has gained essential skills such as how to work with different people and how to promote teamwork. She is passionate about facing engineering challenges with proactivity and initiative, always ready to share new ideas. In her spare time, Cristina likes playing volleyball and travelling around the world.
Marta Ferran-Marqués was graduated in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain. After that, she did an MSc in Aerospace Materials at Cranfield University, where she was offered a PhD position between Sensor Coating Systems Ltd. and Cranfield University. Marta’s objective is to understand and to improve the Thermal History Coating. A heat-sensitive luminescent coating that can sense and memorize temperatures of up to 1,600°C, that will open up a range of new application opportunities. This will be the first ever post operation surface temperature measurement technique to measure at this elevated range.
Marta is awarded with a Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 scholarship. The Industrial Fellowship scheme is conducted by the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 to annually award a three-year research scholarship to approximately eight “young scientists or engineers of exceptional promise”.
In her spare time, Marta likes to sing, play the guitar and dance.
Paula Peixoto graduated in 2017 in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain. She decided to pursue a Nanomedical career by studying a Master of Science in Translational Biomedical Research at Vall d’Hebron Hospital. Today, she works within the laboratory for the study of the pathogenesis of immune-mediated neuronal disorders. The main objective of the project is, not only to understand how information is long-term encoded in the brain, but to develop an animal model that could help understand several neurological rare disorders. During this period Paula will be trained as an animal research assistant and a data scientist. She worked with human samples such as blood, muscle biopsies, CSF biopsies, and different cell lines. She worked in a hospital environment during her master thesis, dealing with patients. Paula has strong organising and planning skills as well as excellent problem-solving skills. She is productive and efficient under stress conditions. Moreover, she feels comfortable working in a team environment or independently. Paula, as part of a whole female crew, thinks that women should pursue a not only a scientific career but any kind and become the future of the world. The whole team makes a statement, women and science are a perfect combination.
Kelly Vaughan-Taylor has a Bachelor of Science majoring in Geology and Geophysics from Macquarie University. She also has a Bachelor of Science majoring in Psychology. She is currently undertaking a Masters of Research in Earth Sciences combining elements from both geophysics and geochemistry. Her multidisciplinary history allows her to conducts an array of different experiments in differing areas of science depending on the mission goals. During her time at Macquarie University she has also completed many field surveys, particularly in desert environments. These field surveys allowed her to develop skills in areas such as mapping, identification and sampling of rocks, use of geophysical survey equipment, survey design, post processing data and report writing. Team work is another essential skill that she have learnt in the field. Surveys often required members to work in small groups over long periods of time. Refined social skills are necessary to ensure work is completed efficiently and professionally. She has also conducted extracurricular projects within Macquarie University. One of these projects included testing thermodynamic models against real rock samples. Another project compared rare earth element fractionation of different xenoliths depending on their source material. She has developed a passion for space exploration and has enrolled in many university courses focusing on extra terrestrial exploration.
Our Role
Julie H will be the crew commander and will have responsibility to lead WoMars' activities from preparation and successful running of the mission. Also, as the crew geologist she will lead the exploration EVAs around the station and focus on sampling the surrounding geologic units for accurate stratigraphic reconstructions.
Laurène D will be the crew engineer, she will be responsible for the maintenance and monitoring of the station, its buildings and systems.
Cristina VR will be the crew executive officer, she will mostly be working on logistics for the mission and day-to-day task schedule while at MRDS as well as programming in different languages. As part of her individual research, she will study the possible applications of Augmented Reality in the different tasks during the mission.
Marta FM will be the crew scientist and journalist, she will conduct research on new materials that could be used under Mars’ conditions and she will also be responsible for the daily reports so she can keep you all updated!
Paula PM will be the crew biologist and Health and Safety Officer (HSO) , she will mostly be working on the operational safety of the crew and the campus and leading a biomedecine research project focused on epigenetics.
Kelly V will be the crew geophysicist, she believes that understanding the different geological structures on Mars can enhance the understanding of the formation of our own planet as well as drive the search for extraterrestrial life.
Our Research
Being one of the few all-female MDRS crew, we believe this is a great opportunity to study the scientific, social, and medical performances of our team. Performances will be assessed on both an individual and group scale and based on criteria such as achievements, food/fluid consumption, vital signs, length of EVAs, amount of sleep etc… Some methods may include individual mission logs (videotaped or hand-written), individual vital signs record (e.g., using a connected watch for heartbeat, number of steps, body temperature, blood pressure), food/fluid consumption records, length of menstruations if applicable. Moreover, each crew member will be required to provide a research log, monitoring their research objectives, achievements, and obstacles encountered. These mission logs will represent a significant part of the group performance assessment. This research aims to provide crucial data on female performance in space exploration that is currently lacking in the literature. An IRB approval will be required for this research.
Individual Research
Julie H: The research I intend to carry out as crew geologist involves field exploration and astrobiology. The future manned missions to Mars will have as major objective the assessment of the current and/or past habitability of the surface of Mars. Therefore crew geologists, supported by rovers, will have to sample the surrounding geologic “terrains” according to their physical performance limitations. The research I intend to carry out aims to test the statistical representativity of different sets of samples in a Martian analogue. For example, the Mars 2020 rover sampling system is designed to collect between 30 and 40 ~15g samples of rock and regolith. I wish to test this configuration of samples and compare it to 2 other sets and assess which one enables the best stratigraphic reconstruction of the local geology. The methods may include field exploration techniques (e.g., aerial imaging, field reconnaissance through EVAs), field observations (e.g., stratigraphic logging, macro- descriptions, hand-lens-based mineralogy), sampling methods (e.g., hammers, scoops, aluminium foil/zip bags), sample analyses in Science Dome (e.g., micro-descriptions with microscopes, micro-scale stratigraphic logging, paleoenvironment assessment), and results processing (e.g., comparison of logs with available data/literature, statistical analysis of representativity/heterogeneity). As research outcomes I expect to (i) assess the best fitted sample configuration for stratigraphic reconstruction, (ii) building a “catalogue” of potential biosignatures that can be identified in a Martian analogue using a basic astrobiological protocol mostly-based on observations, and (iii) providing insights into potential design improvements of Martian rovers.
Laurène D: Apollo 11 walked, Apollo 12 abandoned their trolley which was supposed to help and finally the lunar rover Apollo 15 had brought broke: the perimeter of the Moon the astronauts could explore was limited. During the mission, different systems of transportation will be studied to understand which one would be the most appropriate to travel around Mars.
Cristina VR: Given my experience with Augmented Reality (AR) simulation for training and complex maintenance. I’d like to study all possible applications that this technology could have in our everyday tasks as well as in any maintenance required. AR could be used as an aid for visualisation of results in inspection and to guide repair activities. This includes any geometrical check, external or internal defect monitoring or non-destructive techniques can be utilised such as visual inspection, ultrasonic testing, X-ray testing or thermography.
Another area of interest could be to use AR to help in an inspection or repair from a remote location, in this case on Earth. In this case, an expert would be connected remotely to the AR device use on Mars and could guide with 3D visual features. Moreover, AR is used in many new applications for training. This could be another area to address. The tool developed could help people on Mars but also could be very useful for training new members before the mission.
The aim would be to identify areas where this technology could be beneficial, for that I will record every task performed. I will classify them as repetitive or isolated and degree of difficulty. Then I will assess possible benefits of AR as a reduction in time or difficulty.
The next steps after this research would be, firstly, to design the structure of an AR tool that could address the areas found. And finally, to develop a prototype for one of the identified applications in order to test its benefit.
Marta FM: Firstly, I would like to understand how a low gravity environment can affect additive manufacturing (AM). AM can help to greatly lower the cost of commercial space activities by continuing to drive the development of advanced materials, including metal replacement, high-performance polymers and composites. I would also like to grow some plants in the harsh soil of Mars. If humans are to live on Mars, they will need a stable supply of food. Temperatures in Mars may reach a high of about 68⁰F at noon, and a low of about -100⁰F at night. New materials for astronaut’s EVAs suits are needed to withstand these extreme temperatures and to be resistant to abrasion. Teflon and Orthofabric are two of the materials proposed by NASA and I would like to study how these are affected by the Martian environment.
Secondly, as the social media officer, I am planning to write a diary everyday in which I will explain first our objectives, then, everyday success and failure and finally the achievements accomplished in these two weeks. As a group we have thought it may be interesting to upload a video talking about one topic every day: Geology, Physics, Astronomy, Biology and Engineering. The objective of social media posts is to encourage girls and boys around the world to pursue their dreams and make more people aware of the astronaut career. The number of women in aerospace is still very low due to the lack of not just confidence but also knowledge. There are no books on how a woman feels in space, how much they need to eat to survive or even on how they deal with their menstruation. I think all of these will be very useful information to report for future astronauts’ generation.
Paula PM: One of the most interesting and controversial topics about life in space is the modification of the DNA expression due to external and internal environmental factors: epigenetics. Microgravity, food, pressure, hydration and changes on sleep patterns are common factors that usually alters epigenetics. Our proposal is focused on studying day by day the differences on our own regulation machinery by analyzing genes related to circadian cycle, bone formation and muscle maturation. In order to accomplish this assessment, blood samples will be collected everyday and freeze to analyze them once back in Earth. Moreover, we will keep an exhaustive control of our physical and health conditions by measuring blood pressure, weight and body fat index.
Kelly V: My primary research I wish to carry out as the crew scientist will be to survey and map fields of interest. Due to the locality on ‘mars’, surveys are not able to be conducted the same way as on Earth. I primarily wish to design and implement geophysical surveys with these limitations in mind. A Mars analogue is a perfect situation in which to highlight areas that may be problematic for researchers on Mars.
I will undertake subsurface imaging and regional mapping of areas. The exact techniques used will be dependent on the areas of interest designated by the crew as a whole. I further wish to find samples in different areas and compare their compositions to geological regions on Earth. These findings, if conducted on Mars, would shed light on the differentiation history of Earth and uncover more of the geological history of mars.
These methods are all small-scale surveys however this may be a good opportunity to trial the implementation of ambient seismology on a Mars. Ambient seismology is successfully used on Earth to survey deep structures without the need for a seismic source. On Earth, ambient seismic signals are created primarily from ocean interactions. While Mars does not have oceans, it may produce sufficiently large signals from atmospheric interactions to measure deep structures. While this project would be an insufficient time to measure any statically meaningful results, it would be a useful tool in estimating the difficulties in setting up and conducting the experiment.
Sponsorship
Besides this crowdfunding to secure our place, we are also looking for sponsors. If you wish to test and qualify your products on a Mars analog mission or know someone who would, please feel free to contact us. It can be about cartography using drones, a dehydrated meal plan, renewable energy power systems, the possibilities are endless! Moreover, any help to pay travel expenses, accommodation and MDRS fees is welcome. We hope to hear from you soon.
To know more visit www.womars.co.uk or contact on [email protected].
You can also find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Sic itur ad astra!
This project successfully funded on 17th February 2020