The Worst Thing on Mars is Powdered Milk

Hemani Kalucha (bottom of image above) recently became the second member of our group to put in a tour of service at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah, USA (the other being former PVL MSc Eric Shear). She shares her experience and some great photos below.

by Hemani Kalucha

Sitting on top of the North Ridge at 3 pm on a Saturday, I experienced, for the first time, a real “deafening silence”. I was 200 metres above the Utah desert, and I could see nothing but miles of reddish sand until the horizon in every direction. It was a peaceful moment that marked the end of our two week rotation at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS), an analogue facility in the middle of the Utah desert. Our crew was made up of six members – Maria Grulich (Commander), Luis Monge (Engineer), Jess Todd (Greenhab Officer), Me (Journalist), Rawan Alshammari (Doctor), and Ghanim Aloitabi (Astronomer). Together, it was our job to live and work as astronauts on Mars. 

View of the Habitat

The big cylinder to the right in the above image is the main “Habitat” and living space for the crew. It has six narrow cabins, a kitchen, a dining area, a bathroom, and space to suit up for EVAs (Extra Vehicular Activity – or when the crew goes outside). There is a robotic observatory, to the left, which the crew astronomer can remotely control to capture observations. Science projects are conducted in the Science Dome (not visible in the picture), a lab equipped with apparatus and a great view of "Mars." Lastly, there is an engineering workspace behind the habitat (also not pictured) and a greenhouse (immediately to the left of the habitat) where crews maintain plants to grow and get some fresh vegetables in their meals!

Inside the Habitat
 

The Greenhouse

The Science Dome

Aside from all the maintenance the Habitat requires, each day is full of cooking, cleaning, science, and reports back to Earth, which are due between 7-9 pm. Our commander had the cheery tradition of waking us up at 8 am sharp with some soothing German techno house each morning. If the music didn’t leave you unsettled, the gravelly taste of powdered milk in your cereal combined with rehydrated strawberries would definitely do the job. Caution: never, absolutely never, attempt to make a smoothie with powdered milk – you may lose your appetite forever. Of course, this horrible set of events was always upturned by the cool science we managed to do – grow blue corn in "Martian" soil, build a robot to assist with EVAs, and set up an antenna on "Mars" that captured Cuban propaganda from hundreds of kilometers away. I won’t lie to you, science is cool, but driving golf buggies while wearing a space suit in the desert is cooler.

Using the Robot on EVA
 

 Antenna Up and Running on "Mars"

EVAs with Rovers

After reports were done, we finally had some time to enjoy ourselves. And even though the air in the habitat felt stale, and we smelled of dusty sweat, and time lost all meaning, the crew got along swimmingly. The nights were as fun as middle school camp summers. We played King Mao aggressively, talked global politics, and laughed incessantly to mask our exhaustion. My favourite parts were the cultural nights, where each member cooked an authentic meal, taught us about their country’s language, dress-code, and history. These nights always led to some wonderful conversations till one in the morning.