The small white buildings dotting the barren red landscape of the Bentonite Hills might appear to be on Mars, but that’s only because people like Planetary Science Institute Research Associate Megan Russell volunteered their time to remove the silverscale and saltlover bushes that are well adapted to this arid land.
Russell spent a week in October at the Mars Desert Research Station near Hanksville, Utah with up to 12 other volunteers at times, tackling various construction projects to update the station and prepare it for the next season of analog – or simulated – astronaut missions.
In addition to early morning landscaping, she helped cover the rough metal on a stairwell with rubber. Crew members remove their shoes when leaving the first-floor workspace to keep the living area above as dust free as possible, Russell said, and this project sought to make the stairs more comfortable on their bare feet.
She also helped install and paint modular slat walls in two crew rooms.
“It was the vision of the directors to make the rooms more ‘spacey’ looking,” she said and give the analog crew members the ability to customize their living area with modular shelving.
Russell also had the opportunity to sleep in the habitat for a few nights.
“We were lucky though because we didn’t have the same constraints as the analog astronauts,” she said. “We were able to go out without spacesuits and had regular food.”
Director of Refits Kay Radzik made vegan tacos for the volunteers with textured vegetable protein, an ingredient often used by analog astronauts as a source of protein, Russell said. The next night another crew member made chili with leftover taco ‘meat,’ and Thursday they ventured to Hanksville for a team dinner.
That same night, the refit crew caught a glimpse of the aurora as they traveled back from dinner.
“Everyone was helpful, mindful and interesting to talk to,” Russell said. “It was such a cool group, because some had experience with refits and some didn’t have any. They came from far and wide and included a retired engineer, an architect, and a programmer. There was also an author who shared his short story about Mars with us. I didn’t know anyone when I arrived, and we left as friends.”
