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It is Earth Year 2076, and a now-routine "Voyage
to Mars" is bringing the latest crew of astronauts into Martian orbit....
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| This new crew has been specially trained to replace
the astronauts who have been inhabiting Red Planet for the past two years. |
The Mission Scenario:
In Earth years, it is 2076, and a now-routine
Voyage to Mars has brought the latest human crew into Martian orbit.
Control of the incoming flight has been transferred from Houston's Mission
Control to Mars Control at Chryse Station. The crew arriving from Earth
on the Mars Transport Vehicle has been specially trained to replace the
existing crew of astronauts, which has staffed Mars Control for the past
two years. The newcomers will continue their predecessors' scientific
explorations.
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It was 100 years ago when Viking 1 & 2 made the first United States' robotic
landings on Mars in the late 1970s, giving humans their first up-close look
at the Martian surface.
A renewed interest in Earth's planetary neighbour was spurred by Mars Pathfinder
with its July 4, 1997 landing and its small robotic rover named Sojourner.
This microwave-sized rover rekindled the human spirit of exploration as it
crawled around an ancient flood plain on Mars, sniffing rocks and snapping
pictures that provided the most detailed look ever at the Red Planet's surface.
The success of Pathfinder and its little hitchhiker set the stage for an armada
of robotic spacecraft that over the next three decades paved the way for the
first human landings on Mars. The data collected during the early years of
the new millennium by robotic explorations and spacecraft in Martian orbit
have directed the human explorations.
Studies of the ancient flood plains and incredible canyons are part of an
effort to find out what happened to the water that once flowed across Mars,
to find out if the planet once had a more Earth-like environment, and if so,
why it changed and if this change could happen on Earth. The crew on the Martian
surface has collected and analyzed a great number of geologic and soil samples,
as well as data gathered by moon-bound probes.
The Mars Control team is charged with the selection of entry and departure
trajectories before the land-in and subsequent lift-off of the Mars Transport
Vehicle can occur.
The crew on the Mars Transport Vehicle is tasked with the launching of probes
targeted at the Martian moons. A probe will be launched to Phobos prior to
landing, and then another to Deimos before the flight back to Earth.
Both the relief crew and the planet-based crew will be under tight deadlines
to gather important data and communicate information to the teams, the spacecraft,
and the Mars base. The crew also will gain an appreciation for the "luxuries" of
planet Earth - such as air, water and food - as compared to a barren planet
such as Mars.
| Navigation Team (NAV) |
| Team Objectives: |
- Getting to Mars isn't easy; it's up to the Navigation Team.
- Mathematical computations must be made to keep a spacecraft on course.
The precise manoeuvres such as launching, docking, and landing are
critical to the mission's success.
- On board the Mars Transport Vehicle the NAV team verifies the spacecraft's
position by triangulation and determines the proper angle for thruster
firing to achieve Mars orbit.
- NAV then determines the landing path for landing the spacecraft on
the rocky Martian surface.
- The final task is to prepare the spacecraft for proper lift-off and
return to the mothership for the voyage back to Earth.
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| Communications Team (COM) |
| Team Objectives: |
- The Communication team's mission is to establish a verbal link between
the spacecraft and Mars Control on Mars.
- NASA Communication Officers or Capcoms are astronauts trained to
give instructions to astronauts in orbit and funnel information between
the spacecraft and the mission controllers, engineers and scientists
on the ground.
- At the Challenger Centre, the COM officers are just as vital, sending
messages among seven other teams and controlling remote cameras.
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| Data Team (DATA) |
| Team Objectives: |
- Scientific data is often the main goal of a space mission. Ensuring
that the data reach Mars is the responsibility of the DATA team.
- There are a lot of decisions to be made in any space mission, so
accurate information is a must.
- The DATA team uses computers to send information between the Mars
Transport Vehicle and Mission Control on Mars.
- They are a vital link helping to ensure the success of the mission.
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| Life Support (LS) |
| Team Objectives: |
- The Life Support team makes sure that there is enough air, water
and electricity to complete the mission.
- The Life Support team makes sure that the spacecraft has enough air,
water and electricity to function efficiently.
- Life support has to take accurate readings, change oxygen filters
and deal with the occasional crisis. Don't forget: you might not notice
when you are breathing, but you certainly will notice when you are
not.
- The life support team will also be taking an inventory of new experimental
crops that will be used for food production on Mars.
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| Remote Team (REM) |
| Team Objectives: |
- Martian samples need to be tested in a self-contained environment,
so the Remote team works with a glove box to provide the crew and Mission
Control with geological information.
- The Remote team has several experiments to conduct, including testing
soil for metal content, classifying rocks and identifying their characteristics.
- One of the questions they will attempt to seek answers to: "Was
there ever life on Mars?"
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| Probe Team (PROBE) |
| Team Objectives: |
- Space probes need to be assembled and launched to collect data from
the two Martian moons - Phobos and Deimos. It's up to the Probe team
to make it so.
- Space probes are very complex and expensive to build and launch,
so a highly dedicated team is needed to design, test, and deploy them.
- During the MTV's flight to Mars, the probe team is in contact with
its counterpart in Mars Control, double checking every step to ensure
the probe provides valuable data after launch.
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| Isolation Team (ISO) |
| Team Objectives: |
- Certain chemicals are needed to conduct some experiments. Using remote-controlled
robots, the Isolation Team tests chemicals too dangerous to be handled
directly by people.
- To keep the danger to a minimum, a shield protects the cabin crew.
- It's up to the Isolation team to conduct research and data analysis
of radioactivity, meteorites, and hazardous chemicals.
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| Medical Team (MED) |
| Team Objectives: |
- The doctors on the Medical team have one very important task: to
keep everyone healthy and working at top efficiency.
- Radiation, motion sickness and muscle atrophy are very real problems
in space, and are constantly being checked.
- The MED team on the MTV checks astronaut breathing rate, skin temperature,
heart rate and radiation levels.
- If the need arises, the medical team is ready to perform any operation.
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