Search

Lava tube exploration has become an important part of discussions relating to the search for life on Mars by both humans and robots. On Mars, lava tubes may contain biosignatures and existing lifeforms. Alternatively, on the Moon, lava tubes may serve as sheltered environments for the construction of human settlements. Nevertheless, lava tubes can also be difficult environments for robotic operations and they can pose a safety hazard to humans as well. It will thus be extremely important to prepare for lava tube exploration by humans and robots in analog environments on Earth. The Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) habitat is a lunar and Martian analog research station located on the volcano Mauna Loa in Hawaii. The International MoonBase Alliance (IMA) organises missions at HI-SEAS, during which crews of six analog astronauts perform research and technology testing relevant to the exploration of the Moon and Mars. The missions that take place at HI-SEAS can be of varied duration, from several days to several months, depending on the needs of the researchers. They are open to space agencies, organizations and companies worldwide to take part in, provided their research and technology testing will help contribute to the exploration of the Moon and Mars. Since the HI-SEAS habitat is located on lava flows, its surroundings provide valuable access to performing high-fidelity planetary science fieldwork with very little plant or animal life present, and a wide variety of volcanic features to explore, such as lava tubes, channels, and tumuli. This terrain is also ideal for rover and in situ resource utilization (ISRU) testing because of its great similarity to the basaltic terrains on the Moon and Mars. HI-SEAS crews have performed a number of biochemical and geophysical research projects in the lava tubes accessible to them near the habitat. They explored and collected research samples while wearing Extra-vehicular Activity (EVA) analog spacesuits and following strict EVA protocols. These activities are very challenging for the crew, due to the bulky gloves and EVA equipment they have to wear, while performing precise biochemical research that is sensitive to contamination. The crews also have to take into consideration their safety, their limited life support systems during EVAs and a number of other factors relevant to space exploration missions. Further studies will be needed to assess how best to combine scientific goals with human exploration goals during future human missions, which may use lava tubes as a resource as well as a key site for scientific research.

We give an update on ILEWG EuroMoonMars Results, with emphasis on activities and field campaigns that took place in 2019-2020 including lunar astronautics events during 2020 pandemics. We present life and research at Moonbase from EuroMoonMars campaigns EMMIHS HISEAs, EMMPOL Poland that simulated science and operations at future Moonbases. EuroMoonMars is an ILEWG programme following up ICEUM declarations as a collaboration between ILEWG, space agencies, academia, universities and research institutions and industries .EMMIHS campaigns (EuroMoonMars-IMA International Moonbase Alliance- HiSEAS): EuroMoonMars 2018-20 supported field campaigns at IMA HI-SEAS base on Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii. The International Moonbase Alliance (IMA), an organization dedicated to building sustainable settlements on the Moon, has been organising regular simulated missions to the Moon or Mars at HI-SEAS. In 2019, the EuroMoonMars campaigns were launched at HI-SEAS, bringing together researchers from the European Space Agency, VU Amsterdam, ILEWG and IMA. Six scientists, engineers, explorers, journalists spent two weeks at the HI-SEAS station performing research relevant to both the Moon and Mars there. Research and technological experiments conducted at HI-SEAS will be used to help build a Moonbase .EuroMoonMars during 2020 Pandemics We had to replan and adapt EuroMoonMars workshops and fields events. A number of hybrid and virtual events could be organized following safety distancing instructions. We conducted 35 weekly plenary EMM teleconferences (Fridays 17h CET) and many EMM splinter groups meetings.2020/06 EMM Iceland CHILL-ICE Scouting. A small team explored locations and collaborations for installing a deployable research habitat in lavatube for May 2021. 2020/10 EMMPOL EuroMoonMars Poland. We were able to organise in controlled safety conditions 2 one-week Moonbase isolation simulations, in order to conduct a number of research investigations, human factors studies, with 5 crew supported by a remote support team.*Acknowledgements: We thank ILEWG EuroMoonMars field campaigns crew 2016-2020 (including the EMMIHS crew and remote support team from EMMIHS 1-4 and EMMPOL1 &2 .

Introduction: Simulated missions to the Moon and Mars have been taking place at the analog research station HI-SEAS (Hawaii - Space Exploration Analog and Simulation) since 2013. The so-called Martian and lunar habitat, HI-SEAS, is located in Hawaii and its research projects are run by the International Moonbase Alliance (IMA) [1]. Numerous aspects of space missions are simulated in order to make them be as realistic as possible, including time delays in communication, emergency procedures and performing relevant research. In 2019, the EuroMoonMars campaign was launched at HI-SEAS, bringing together researchers from the European Space Agency (ESA), IMA, the International Lunar Exploration Working Group (ILEWG), VU Amsterdam and many other international organizations [2,3]. The campaign aims to increase awareness about the research and technology testing that can be performed in analog environments, in order to help humans become multi-planetary species. Furthermore, the research and technological experiments conducted at HI-SEAS are going to be used to help build a Moon base in Hawaii, and ultimately to create an actual Moonbase on the Moon, as part of IMA’s primary goals [3,4,5]. The EMMIHS II mission research: EMMIHS-II was the second campaign organized by the EuroMoonMars group, taking place from December 8th-22nd, 2019. When the crew left the HI-SEAS habitat, they wore analog space-suits and went through full extravehicular activity (EVA) protocols to perform their research in the simulated lunar terrain. The crew was supported by a Mission Control Center (MCC) based in Hawaii and a Remote Support team based at EuroMoonMars ESA/ESTEC in the Netherlands [2,3,4,5]. The main research themes of the EMMIHS-II campaign were as follows: Engineering research: Crew engineers are responsible for numerous tasks to ensure nominal operations and the maintenance of the EVA and habitat equipment. They prepare a daily Engineering Report for the MCC, which includes the status of the equipment, recommendations for improvements and any requests for support. They are also responsible for supporting other crew members’ research projects if needed. At least two crewmembers should serve as crew engineers with strong analytical, troubleshooting and hands-on technical skills. Lava tubes as habitats: Detailed investigations were performed of the lava tubes in the vicinity of the HI-SEAS habitat [Figure 1]. They were subsequently compared to lava tubes on the Moon, with the intension of creating an environmental guideline for the architectural lunar habitat development in lava tubes. Figure 1. EMMIHS-II crew exploring lava tubes with drone in-field recognition. Nutrition for astronauts: Dietary needs and the health of each crew member was monitored and the crew followed a pre-prepared personal menu based on their intolerances and daily activities. Various digestive problems were identified. In order to avoid this on future missions, the dietary intake of vegetable fiber for each individual could be estimated before the mission start in order to adapt the fruit and vegetable rations individually. It was found that freeze-dried food did not contribute to the emotional well-being of the astronauts. Growing fresh food using analog lunar soil: The fast-growing garden cress was sown in analog lunar soil collected by the HI-SEAS habitat. Coarse soil mixed with a small amount of compost is sufficient for germination and plant growth in the first stage of plant development. In the future, such crops could be grown more extensively in greenhouses on Mars or the Moon as sources of nutrients and oxygen for the crew, as well as to reduce compost and fertilizer payloads. 3D additive manufacturing: Dual extrusion 3D printing technologies were used to assess how additive manufacturing can improve livability in a space habitat. For instance, personal items for the analog astronauts’ leisure time activities and engineering tools were printed. Their effects on the crew were evaluated in a comparative survey. Privacy and color during space missions: Comparative daily surveys were undertaken by the crew to evaluate the effects of different types of privacy and color deprivation situations. The findings will serve as a basis for future architectural design concepts in extra-terrestrial habitats. Emergency medical simulation: A casualty evacuation (CASEVAC) exercise was performed to execute a mock injury while 1) maintaining simulation conditions as if on an EVA, or 2) “breaking simulation” to allow the crew to train for a real world situation. The in-simulation injury scenario was executed in the spirit of a robust approach to understanding the unexpected problems which may arise during space exploration [Figure 2]. Figure 2. EMMIHS-II crewmembers are performing a CASEVAC (Casualty Evacuation) drill during an EVA. Outreach: Outreach and educational activities were performed in order to reach out to and inspire as many young people as possible to be interested in STEM subjects. Some of these projects involved installing a Moon gallery at the HI-SEAS habitat, creating videos for school children during the missions, and performing research experiments designed by students all around the world. Future plans: Future missions at HI-SEAS include more EuroMoonMars IMA HI-SEAS (EMMIHS) missions, collaborative missions with ESA, NASA, universities worldwide and with companies. These missions will continue to contribute to the development of technologies to lay a foundation for creating a sustainable settlement on the Moon. Acknowledgments: First, we would like to thank the EMMIHS II crew (M. Musilova, S Kerber, A Wanske, J D’Angelo, A P Castro de Paula Nunes, C R Pouwels), the Mission Control from HI-SEAS (Andrew Cox et al.), ILEWG’s EuroMoonMars Manager B. Foing, and the Remote Control team (A. Jageli, J. Preusterink, A. Beniest, A. Sitnikova, et al.). We would also like to thank our sponsors and their generous support: Ruag Space, Capable BV, Kurtz Ersa, dB Matik AG, Tridonic GmbH CoKG, and the Brazilian Space Agency (AEB) References: [1] https://hi-seas.org [2] Musilova M, Rogers H, Foing B, Sirikan N. et al. (2019), EMM IMA HI-SEAS campaign February 2019, EPSC-DPS2019-1152 [3] Sirikan, N., Foing, B., Musilova, M., et al. (2019). EuroMoonMars IMA HI-SEAS 2019 Campaign: An Engineering Perspective on a Moon Base, IAC, 21-25 October 2019. Washington DC, USA. [4] Musilova, Michaela, Henk Rogers, and Bernard Foing. “Analogue research performed at the HI-SEAS research station in Hawaii.” Geophysical Research Abstracts. Vol. 21. 2019. [5] https://moonbasealliance.com/

Introduction The Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) habitat is a lunar and Martian analog research station located on the active volcano Mauna Loa in Hawaii [1]. Missions that take place at HI-SEAS are open to space agencies, organizations and companies worldwide to take part in, provided their research and technology testing will help contribute to the exploration of the Moon and Mars [Figure 1]. The International MoonBase Alliance (IMA) has been organizing regular simulated missions to the Moon and Mars at the HI-SEAS habitat since 2018. A series of EuroMoonMars IMA HI-SEAS (EMMIHS) missions have been taking place at HI-SEAS since 2019. These missions bring together researchers from the European Space Agency (ESA), IMA, the International Lunar Exploration Working Group (ILEWG), European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC), VU Amsterdam and many other international organizations [2,3]. The EMMIHS missions typically last for two weeks each. During this time, the crew is isolated within the HI-SEAS habitat, which they cannot leave without performing EVAs (Extra-Vehicular Activities) in analog spacesuits and with the permission of Mission Control, also based in Hawaii [3,4,5]. A remote support team at ESTEC, the Netherlands, provides further support for the crew. Figure 1: Analog astronauts entering a lava tube entrance close to HI-SEAS. Research Projects The surroundings of the HI-SEAS habitat are covered in lava and they contain very interesting geological features from a planetary science perspective, such as lava tubes. Crews and researchers have been collaborating with scientists at NASA Goddard, for instance, on performing biochemical and geophysical studies on some of the lava tubes. Research at HI-SEAS is thus focused on collecting geological and geochemical samples with implications for astrobiology, past lunar and Martian geology, and for habitability research purposes. The crews also perform architectural research inside the habitat and inside lava tubes, with implications on human psychology during long duration space missions. Furthermore, the effects of radiation on humans and the potential of growing food using local regolith is also studied at HI-SEAS. Technology Field-Testing From a technological point of view, the crews at HI-SEAS also test various equipment that is likely to be of great importance to humans living on the Moon and Mars. These include different types of rovers, drones and 3D printers. All of these technologies have proven to be very useful and needed by the crews. Future campaigns will be further developing tests on these devices and they will be integrating them even more into the mission operations. Outreach & Educational Work Missions at HI-SEAS also aim to increase the awareness about the research and technology testing that can be performed in analogue environments, in order to help humans become a multiplanetary species. Mission crews thus perform outreach and educational activities as well. Their goal is to reach out to and inspire as many young people as possible to be interested in STEM subjects. Some of these projects involve installing art projects at HI-SEAS, creating videos for school children and performing research experiments designed by students from all around the world [Figure 2]. Figure 2: IMA mission crewmembers performing outreach activities. Future Plans The research and technological experiments conducted at HI-SEAS are going to be used to help build a high fidelity Moon base simulator in Hawaii, and ultimately to establish an actual base on the Moon, as part of IMA’s major goals. Such technology testing will include closed-loop systems, in situ resource utilization, construction of agricultural systems and other sustainable processes at HI-SEAS. Furthermore, future missions at HI-SEAS include more EMMIHS campaigns, collaborative missions with ESA, NASA, University of Hawaii and with companies, such as SIFT and Ketone Technologies. Acknowledgements We would like to thank the crews EMMIHS-I through to EMMIHS IV (S. Mulder, A. Weert, M. Musilova, N. Sirikan, J. Burstein, B. Pothier, S. Kerber, A. Wanske, J. D’Angelo, A. P. Castro de Paula Nunes & C.R. Pouwels, et al.) and the HI-SEAS Mission Control support staff (Andrew Cox, Paul Ponthieux et al.). We would also like to thank the ILEWG EuroMoonMars remote support team (B. Foing, J. Ageli, J. Preusterink, A. Beniest, A. Sitnikova, M. Heemskerk, et al.). References [1] https://hi-seas.org [2] Musilova M, Rogers H, Foing B, Sirikan N. et al. (2019), EMM IMA HI-SEAS campaign February 2019, EPSC-DPS2019-1152 [3] Sirikan, N., Foing, B., Musilova, M., et al. (2019). EuroMoonMars IMA HI-SEAS 2019 Campaign: An Engineering Perspective on a Moon Base, IAC, 21-25 October 2019. Washington DC, USA. [4] Musilova, Michaela, Henk Rogers, and Bernard Foing. “Analogue research performed at the HI-SEAS research station in Hawaii.” Geophysical Research Abstracts. Vol. 21. 2019. [5] https://moonbasealliance.com

The time for humans to return to the Moon is upon us. This time we will not just go to the moon to collect some rocks and to leave only footprints. This time we will build permanent settlements and colonize the Moon. Our plan is to enable the building of international Moon settlements. There are numerous space agencies, companies and research institutions working on building rockets that will carry payload to the moon but what we do when we get there has mainly been focused on small scale rover based exploration. It is high time we started the work of designing and building human lunar settlements. The idea is to gather all of the space agencies, companies and research institutions to work in one place where they can combine forces and robotically build prototype Moon structures and landing pads on Earth, with the goal of creating robots that will be sent to the Moon to create human settlements. The group of participants who will carry out the Research & Development is called the IMA (the International MoonBase Alliance). Accomplishments to date: HI-SEAS (the Hawai’i - Space Exploration Analog and Simulation): We held five long duration Mars missions with NASA and the University of Hawaii in a habitat we designed and built on Mauna Loa, an active volcano and the biggest mountain in the world (by volume) on the Big Island of Hawaii. Each mission comprised of 6 crew staying in a 110 sq m (1,200’ sq. ft.) dome to test crew selection and crew psychology (Figure 1). If during the mission crew members left the habitat, that was considered an “Extra Vehicular Activity” (EVA). EVAs were conducted according to strict EVA rules with crew wearing analog spacesuits. All communications from the habitat to the rest of the world were delayed 20 minutes each way to simulate the lag in communicating with Mars. The missions varied between 4 to 12 months in length. Figure 1: The HI-SEAS habitat. In the last few years, we have pivoted from NASA Mars missions to IMA Moon missions, which are shorter in duration (from weeks or days). These missions are more about giving a larger group of people practical “off-world” experience and about testing research experiments and technologies needed to build a lunar settlement (Figure 2). We have built a “Mission Control” facility. We are testing new and much improved EVA suits equipped with 3D cameras and head-up displays to better communicate with Mission Control. Figure 2: HI-SEAS lunar mission crewmembers performing an EVA in a lava tube. PISCES (the Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems): PISCES is a State of Hawaii R&D group. We have worked with NASA to sinter powdered Hawaii lava rock (96% the same chemistry as lunar regolith) into building materials stronger than specialty concrete. We created “pavers” which we deployed into a landing pad using a rover and tested it with a mounted rocket engine (Figures 3 & 4). Rodrigo Romo who heads up PISCES, spent 6 months in Biosphere 2 giving us a wealth of information about sealed self-sustaining environments. Figure 3: PISCES rover testing. Figure 4: PISCES rocket engine test. IMS (the International MoonBase Summit): We held the first IMS in October of 2017. 100 scientists, engineers, designers, economists, legislators, astronauts and students, gathered in Hawaii to brainstorm the first permanent lunar settlement. Out of this gathering was created the IMA. We published our findings in a book called “Mahina”, the word for Moon in Hawaiian. It is our plan to build a first Moon Settlement and call it “Mahina Lani” or “Moon Heaven”. The plan going forward: IMA (the International MoonBase Alliance): The IMA plan calls for a 1,000 acre “lunar landscape” campus on which we will build lunar structure prototypes. We are now in phase one on a much smaller scale. We are building a sealed windowless 12 meter (40’) diameter dome with an airlock. Our plan is to build it out of layers of “radiation proof” cement and use spherical projection systems to simulate windows and other desirable features. We plan to conduct a series of experiments with different internal configurations to simulate crew quarters, mission control, engineering bays, food growing facilities, meeting rooms, common areas, mess halls, recycling centers and entertainment spaces. The IMA vision is to send robots to the Moon that will 3D print structures that will be occupied by humans when the time comes. The focus will be on using ISRU (In Situ Resource Utilization) to build self sustaining lunar settlements (Space Ports). The oceanic rock of Hawaii ideal because it is the closest simile to lunar regolith that's we can find on Earth. Hawaii is also a melting pot of Asian and American cultures, so it’s the perfect place for cooperation by and between American and Asian space settlement efforts. Let’s all work together and build a permanent lunar settlement, a MoonBase, by the end of this decade, “not because it’s easy, but because it’s hard” (quote by John F. Kennedy).

As of 2018, the International MoonBase Alliance (IMA), has been organizing regular simulated missions to the Moon and Mars at the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) habitat. HI-SEAS is a lunar and Martian analog research station located on the active volcano Mauna Loa in Hawaii. The missions that take place at HI-SEAS can be of varied duration, from several days to several months, depending on the needs of the researchers. They are open to space agencies, organizations and companies worldwide to take part in, provided their research and technology testing will help contribute to the exploration of the Moon and Mars. The crews are supported by a Mission Control Center based on the Big Island of Hawaii as well. A series of EuroMoonMars IMA HI-SEAS (EMMIHS) missions have been taking place at HI-SEAS since 2019. These missions bring together researchers from the European Space Agency (ESA), IMA, the International Lunar Exploration Working Group (ILEWG), European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC), VU Amsterdam and many other international organizations. Crews on these missions perform geological, astrobiological and architectural research; technological tests using drones, 3Dprinters and rovers; as well as performing outreach and educational projects. The EMMIHS missions typically last for two weeks each. During this time, the crew is isolated within the HI-SEAS habitat, which they cannot leave without performing EVAs (Extra-Vehicular Activities) in analog space-suits and with the permission of Mission Control. The EMMIHS campaigns aim to increase the awareness about the research and technology testing that can be performed in analogue environments, in order to help humans become multiplanetary species. Furthermore, the research and technological experiments conducted at HI-SEAS are going to be used to help build a Moon base in Hawaii, and ultimately to create an actual Moon base on the Moon, as part of IMA’s major goals. Future missions at HI-SEAS include more EMMIHS campaigns, collaborative missions with ESA, NASA, University of Hawaii, University of South Florida and with companies, such as SIFT and Ketone Technologies.

IntroductionConcepts for designs of extra-terrestrial habitats are experiencing a growing importance in the space industry. New technologies and innovative materials bring the need for novel spatial arrangements in these habitats. Two of the most important components to improve habitability in extra-terrestrial habitats - the situation of privacy and color application - have been addressed in a lunar simulation (EMMIHS-II) at the Hawai´i Space Exploration Analog and Simulations (HI-SEAS) habitat. This analog astronaut mission was initiated by the European Space Agency’s (ESA) EuroMoonMars (EMM) and International Lunar Exploration Working Group (ILEWG) in cooperation with the International MoonBase Alliance (IMA).The question of how much privacy is necessary to create a liveable environment in an extra-terrestrial habitat has engaged space architects for the last decades. [1] The same keen interest has been attributed to the importance of color in guiding architectural conceptions in the often colour-less environment of outer space. [2] Less attention has been paid to the issue of semi-private space. Past analog astronaut missions at the HI-SEAS facility came across not only a lack of private space but also a scarcity of areas crew members could retreat to without completely leaving the common space. [2] Such semi-private areas bear great potential both from a spatial and psychological point of view.MethodologyThe research results presented here are based on several experiments conducted during the EMMIHS-II lunar simulation at the HI-SEAS Mars/Moon Research Facility.Potential benefits on crew cohesion, work effectiveness and personal mood were studied through setting up a semi-private area and assessing its use by the crew.Further experiments investigated the analog astronauts’ reaction to disparate color situations inside the habitat and this semi-private space.The findings will serve as a basis for future architectural design concepts in extra-terrestrial habitats and also offer the potential for further investigations during future analog missions.AcknowledgementsFirst, we would like to thank our fellow EMMIHS-II crew members (M. Musilova, A. J. D’Angelo, A. P. Castro de Paula Nunes, C.R. Pouwels) and the EMMIHS-II mission sponsors. In addition, our gratitude goes out to the HI-SEAS Mission Control, ground support at ESA/ESTEC and the ILEWG EuroMoonMars manager, Prof. B. H. Foing, for enabling this research. References[1] K. Kennedy, S. Capps (2000). Designing Space Habitation. Space 2000. 10.1061/40479(204)6.[2] I. Schlacht, H. Birke (2011). Space design: Visual interface of space habitats. Personal and Ubiquitous Computing. 15. 497-509. 10.1007/s00779-010-0326-4.[3] S. Häuplik-Meusburger, K. Binsted et al (2017). Habitability Studies and Full Scale Simulation Research: Preliminary themes following HISEAS mission IV.[4] Musilova, M., Rogers, H., Foing, B.H. et al (2019). EMM IMA HI-SEAS campaign February 2019. EPSC-DPS2019-1152.[5] EuroMoonMars Instruments, Research, Field Campaigns and Activities 2017-2019. Foing, B.H., EuroMoonMars 2018-2019 Team. 2019 LPI Contrib. No. 3090.

Astronaut nutrition is an important aspect to consider for extra-terrestrial missions. It encompasses microbiological risks for humans, individual nutritional needs and the social well-being of astronauts. During a two-week analogue astronaut mission to the Moon, research focusing on the dietary needs and health of each crew member was performed. A crew of six analog astronauts, from the EuroMoonMars IMA HI-SEAS II (EMMIHS-II) mission followed a pre-prepared personal menu based on their intolerances and daily activities. The first things that needed to be considered was the sanitary aspect of the missions, as it severely limits food choices. Fresh foods that are consumed on Earth are microbiologically fragile and occupy an important conservation space air. In order to ensure food safety and optimize storage space, the only food taken on the EMMIHS-II mission was freezedried.Prior to the mission, the food rations and distribution amongst crewmembers was determined according to the average nutritional and calorific needs of the group. To maintain a basal metabolism, a balanced nutrition is required. A healthy and sufficient food intake is of high importance, particularly due to the regular physical activity each crewmember performs during Extra Vehicular Activities (EVAs) that the crew performed daily.It was not possible to determine the actual amount of energy consumed on a daily basis during this mission for logistical reasons. It was also not possible to weigh out the food for each individual crewmember, as it would have taken up too much of the mission time. In the future, portions could be determined in terms of “cup sizes” per person, as this would be the most realistic measure for the preparation of freeze-dried food. Furthermore, various digestive problems have been identified throughout this mission. Possible explanations for these issues could be a too abrupt change of eating habits including the lack of consumption of fresh fruits, fresh vegetables and the lack of fiber-rich cereals. In order to avoid this on future missions, the next strategy could be to first estimate the dietary intake of vegetable fibre for each individual before the mission start, in order to individually adapt the fruit and vegetable ration recommendations.A diverse distribution of culinary recipes is also recommended for the preparation of future missions, in order to improve the taste of the meals for the crew. Taste is an important part of the pleasure of eating and as a result, it heavily influences the intake of food. This inevitably has an effect on the physical and mental well-being of the crew.Finally, the social and psychological aspect of food plays an important role in the mental well-being of the astronauts. In this context, it was found that the food preparation and meal-sharing moments enabled the team to strengthen their social ties, which was in favour of their fulfilment. However, on the other hand, pleasure from eating and each crewmembers’ appetite did often not correspond to this. Hence, it was found that the freezedried food did not contribute to the emotional wellbeing of the astronauts.

Introduction Additive manufacturing technologies have been successfully implemented in the concept designs for human interplanetary missions for some years. They not only play an important role in the designs of future-extra-terrestrial habitats, but the benefits of 3D printing have already been successfully tested on the International Space Station (ISS). [1] However, while such studies of in-situ manufacturing techniques concentrate heavily on applications in the area of engineering or on the potential of 3D printing sustenance, they regretfully neglect to explore the potential benefits additive manufacturing could have for the Human Factors of space exploration. [1, 2]Based on experiments during a lunar simulation at the Hawai´i Space Exploration Analog and Simulations (HI-SEAS) habitat, this paper investigates how additive manufacturing can improve liveability in a space habitat.Personal objects and leisure time items are indispensable for manned space exploration, as they greatly contribute to the astronauts’ mental health and psychosocial balance. Access to a 3D printer bears the potential of a much greater flexibility and variety in personal items, and could also offer the possibility to customize leisure objects to specific needs and moods of astronauts. In addition, through the limited payloads and possibilities of recycling everyday objects, additive manufacturing technology offers the opportunity to greatly enhance the sustainability the of any human extra-terrestrial mission.Methodology In December 2019 the European Space Agency’s (ESA) EuroMoonMars (EMM) and International Lunar Exploration Working Group (ILEWG) initiated an analog astronaut simulation in cooperation with the International MoonBase Alliance (IMA). During this mission (EMMIHS-II - EuroMoonMars IMA HI-SEAS) the Human Factors of Additive Manufacturing Study was conducted as a basis for this paper. Psychological effects, changes in mood and work effectiveness, and the possibility to create and maintain a connection to Earth by 3D printing seasonal objects and decorations, were assessed.The study delivered positive results about the use of additive manufacturing from a Human Factors point of view, as well as the confirmation of the use in engineering. The results open up the possibilities for further studies of the Human Factors of additive manufacturing during future analog simulations.AcknowledgementsFirst, I would like to thank our fellow EMMIHS-II crew members (M. Musilova, A. J. D’Angelo, A. P. Castro de Paula Nunes, C.R. Pouwels) and the EMMIHS-II mission sponsors. In addition, my gratitude goes out to the HI-SEAS Mission Control, ground support at ESA/ESTEC and the ILEWG EuroMoonMars manager, Prof. B. H. Foing, for enabling this research. References:[1] T. Prater et al (2019), Overview of the In-Space Manufacturing Technology Portfolio, NASA & ISS National Lab Microgravity Materials Science Workshop, Georgia, US.[2] M. Terfansky, M. Thangavelu (2013), 3D Printing of Food for Space Missions, California, US.[3] M. Musilova, H. Rogers, B. H. Foing et al (2019). EMM IMA HI-SEAS campaign February 2019. EPSC-DPS2019-1152.[4] EuroMoonMars Instruments, Research, Field Campaigns and Activities 2017-2019. B. H. Foing, EuroMoonMars 2018-2019 Team. 2019 LPI Contrib. No. 3090.

Introduction: Food demand and the lack of plant nutrients are the main reasons to establish a sustainable agricultural ecosystem on celestial bodies, such as Mars and the Moon. Different kinds of fresh crops, grown in a greenhouse, deliver essential macro and micro nutrients, which have a positive impact on the well-being of humans. Thus, they will also heavily influence the social interactions of future astronauts. Food development is therefore one of the main activities that will need to be established as soon as possible upon the landing of a human-led mission on another planetary body.In addition, crops can be used for air purification and thus oxygen production. Experimental research has been conducted, during a two-week analogue astronaut mission (EMMIHS-II: the second of the EuroMoonMars-IMA-HI-SEAS missions), to grow crops, from garden cress seeds, sown in soil that resembles the regolith on Mars and the Moon. This plant was used because it is easy and fast to grow, which is a priority for research projects during these short-duration missions. In addition, this research will help in reducing compost and fertilizer payloads for upcoming space missions involving human crewmembers.Methodology: In a remote volcanic region in Hawai’i, United States, the geology and therefore its soil is quite similar to the regolith on Mars and the Moon. For these reasons, the Hawai’i Space Exploration Analog and Simulations (HI-SEAS) habitat was constructed and is being used in this area for space-related research purposes.In this habitat, a greenhouse setting had been built with basic requirements for plant growth. The local soil in each of the 70 pots had pre-determined ratio’s with a compost mixture: 0%, 1%, 2%, 3%, 5%, 10%, 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%. For these settings, the assumption was made that shielding from Solar Energetic Particles (SEP) and Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR’s) was present. These types of radiation, and thus shielding from the radiation, would be of high relevance on Mars and the Moon to protect the crops there from malformations and death. Future habitats may be located in lava tubes or covered by regolith to address these requirements.Here, the presented results focus on the needed ratio of compost to ‘Martian’ simulant soil for garden cress. The results indicate that coarse ‘Martian’ soil with 2% of compost is sufficient for establishing sufficient germination and plant growth in the first stage of plant development. This result leads to promising expectations for other nutrient-soil ratio experiments. In particular for the growth of potatoes and beans, as they are high in nutrients per m3.Studies on different kinds of soil ratio’s, nutrients delivered per m3, radiation shielding and the architecture of an indoor greenhouse setting are of significant relevance to future missions to the Moon and Mars and thus deserve further investigation.

Glaciers and ice sheets are significant sources of dissolved organic carbon and nutrients to downstream subglacial and marine ecosystems. Climatically driven increases in glacial runoff are expected to intensify the impact of exported nutrients on local and regional downstream environments. However, the origin and bioreactivity of dissolved organic carbon from glacier surfaces are not fully understood. Here, we present simultaneous measurements of gross primary production, community respiration, dissolved organic carbon composition and export from different surface habitats of the Greenland ice sheet, throughout the ablation season. We found that microbial production was significantly correlated with the concentration of labile dissolved organic species in glacier surface meltwater. Further, we determined that freely available organic compounds made up 62% of the dissolved organic carbon exported from the glacier surface through streams. We therefore conclude that microbial communities are the primary driver for labile dissolved organic carbon production and recycling on glacier surfaces, and that glacier dissolved organic carbon export is dependent on active microbial processes during the melt season. Glacial systems are important sources of dissolved organic carbon to downstream ecosystems. Observations of carbon dynamics on the Greenland ice sheet reveal substantial melt season production and export of microbial dissolved organic carbon.

doi: 10.7185/geochemlet.1611 Darkening of glacier and ice sheet surfaces is an important positive feedback to increasing global temperatures. Deposition of impurities on glaciers is primarily believed to reduce surface albedo, resulting in greater melt and mass loss. However, no study has yet included the effects of biological activity in albedo reduction models. Here, we provide the first experimental evidence that microbial activity can significantly decrease glacier surface albedo. Indeed, the addition of nutrients at ice meltwater concentrations to microbe-impurity mixtures resulted in extensive microbial organic carbon fixation and accumulation in Green land Ice Sheet surface debris. Accumulated organic carbon, over the period of a melt season, darkened the glacial debris in our experiments from 31.1 % to 15.6 % surface reflectivity (used as an analogue for albedo in our calculations), generating a strongly absorbing surface. Our experiments are the first to quantify the microbially-induced potential melt increase for the Greenland Ice Sheet (up to an average of 17.3 ± 2.5 Gt yr-1 at present and up to ~85 Gt yr-1 by 2100, based on our first order calculations). Mass loss from glaciers will conceivably intensify through enhanced microbial activity, resulting from longer melt seasons and fertilisation from anthropogenic sources.

skCUBE is 1U cubesat designed and developed in Slovakia over a period of years from 2012–2015 with expected launch in to the low-Earth orbit in 2017. It carries an experimental very-low-frequency (VLF) radio waves detector, which will attempt to record whistlers — radio signals from dispersed radio frequency components of lightning's. A lot has been found about these radio waves caused by classical lightning in past already, but there is not much known about VLF radio from rarer terrestrial luminous events (TLE) like gigantic jets. Gigantic jet is a type of lightning directed upwards between storm clouds and lower ionosphere. We will attempt to use VLF data from this detector to learn more about these phenomena. However, in essence we want to study peculiarities in all detected VLF spectrums regardless of type of lightning together with properties of Earth's ionosphere. Due to design limitation of skCUBE, we placed the VLF detector inside the satellite. The VLF detector consists of air-core loop antenna, trans-impedance amplifier and microcontroller capable of signal processing directly on-board. It works in two modes, slow and fast. Slow mode will detect gradual changes in VLF radio on timescales comparable to the whole orbit of satellite (< 90 minutes), whereas the fast mode will be capable of fast sampling of short events like whistlers (< 0.1 seconds) based on excess in pre-determined power flux density threshold.

The Slovak Organisation for Space Activities (SOSA) has been active in various types of space-related activities since its establishment in 2009. They include launching stratospheric balloons, the development of the first Slovak suborbital rocket ARDEA, a spaceflight simulator and many others. SOSA, together with the Žilina University in Žilina, the Slovak Technical University in Bratislava, the Technical University Kosice and a handful of private companies, have designed and created the first Slovak satellite skCUBE, which is due to be launched into space in 2017. The numerous unique technologies, which have been developed during the creation of skCUBE, are now being sold as products internationally. Recently, an effort to create a new space vision and strategy for Slovakia has been initiated by SOSA, together with several Slovak universities and international partners, including the Technion — Israel Institute of Technology and the ETH Zurich University. Their plan is to develop and launch a CubeSat fleet to detect gamma ray bursts from space. Part of this initiative is also the establishment of space incubators by SOSA across Slovakia to train and involve students directly space-related technologies.

What is astrobiology? Which fields does it comprise and what makes an astrobiologist? Ask five scientists and you may end up with six different definitions. This issue was raised at the first symposium of the European network of Astrobiology Graduates (AbGradE), held last year in Edinburgh, when discussing whether the attendees’ fields of study were represented in the astrobiology community.

Extreme radiation–resistant microorganisms can survive doses of ionizing radiation far greater than are present in the natural environment. Radiation resistance is believed to be an incidental adaptation to desiccation resistance, as both hazards cause similar cellular damage. Desert soils are, therefore, promising targets to prospect for new radiation-resistant strains. This is the first study to isolate radiation-resistant microbes by using gamma-ray exposure preselection from the extreme cold desert of the Antarctic Dry Valleys (a martian surface analogue). Halomonads, identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, were the most numerous survivors of the highest irradiation exposures. They were studied here for the first time for both their desiccation and irradiation survival characteristics. In addition, the association between desiccation and radiation resistance has not been investigated quantitatively before for a broad diversity of microorganisms. Thus, a meta-analysis of scientific literature was conducted to gather a larger data set. A strong correlation was found between desiccation and radiation resistance, indicating that an increase in the desiccation resistance of 5 days corresponds to an increase in the room-temperature irradiation survival of 1 kGy. Irradiation at −79°C (representative of average martian surface temperatures) increases the microbial radiation resistance 9-fold. Consequently, the survival of the cold-, desiccation-, and radiation-resistant organisms isolated here has implications for the potential habitability of dormant or cryopreserved life on Mars. Key Words: Extremophiles—Halomonas sp.—Antarctica—Mars—Ionizing radiation—Cosmic rays. Astrobiology 15, 1076–1090.

The first molecular-based studies of microbes in snow and on glaciers have only recently been performed on the vast Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS). Aeolian microbial seeding is hypothesized to impact on glacier surface community compositions. Localized melting of glacier debris (cryoconite) into the surface ice forms cryoconite holes, which are considered 'hot spots' for microbial activity on glaciers. To date, few studies have attempted to assess the origin and evolution of cryoconite and cryoconite hole communities throughout a melt season. In this study, a range of experimental approaches was used for the first time to study the inputs, temporal and structural transformations of GrIS microbial communities over the course of a whole ablation season. Small amounts of aeolian (wind and snow) microbes were potentially seeding the stable communities that were already present on the glacier (composed mainly of Proteobacteria, Cyanobacteria, and Actinobacteria). However, the dominant bacterial taxa in the aeolian samples (Firmicutes) did not establish themselves in local glacier surface communities. Cryoconite and cryoconite hole community composition remained stable throughout the ablation season following the fast community turnover, which accompanied the initial snow melt. The presence of stable communities in cryoconite and cryoconite holes on the GrIS will allow future studies to assess glacier surface microbial diversity at individual study sites from sampling intervals of short duration only. Aeolian inputs also had significantly different organic δ(13)C values (-28.0 to -27.0‰) from the glacier surface values (-25.7 to -23.6‰), indicating that in situ microbial processes are important in fixing new organic matter and transforming aeolian organic carbon. The continuous productivity of stable communities over one melt season makes them important contributors to biogeochemical nutrient cycling on glaciers.