Tag Archives: ESS Queen Elizabeth II

Commissioning Day: The Carl Sagan

01 Monday Feb 2016

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  • Mars Date/Time:  Year 1, Sur One, Sunday, Sol 29 (1.1.29)  9:04 AM NST
  • Earth Date/Time:  Monday, 1 February 2016  10:00 AM PST

There was no doubt this was the Auxiliary Command Deck or ACD, but it was odd. It was designed to be functional in a weightless or gravity environment. It was a ten meter diameter section with multiple layers of control stations down its thirty meter length. It looked like a nine-story silo with partial decks reaching out to the center. On each deck there were chairs facing the outside wall.

The walls had video displays that extended up to the ceiling and on each screen were live images of inside sections of the ship, the view around it, data or information vital to ship operations, or personnel on the QE II, Earth Spaceport Prime, or at one of the ESEP Earth-based Centers.

Each deck hung in space. They extended toward the center, but stopped leaving a two meter circular corridor the length of the Command section. In addition, each floor had three gaps with ladder-like rungs protruding out of the wall to allow crew members to easily move between floors.

Only six mission members were in the ACD of the Earth Space Ship (ESS) Carl Sagan, named for the famous scientist who rebooted science in the minds of millions of people.

Eight more managers and directors of Earth Spaceport Prime were also loitering in the ACD. They needed no tour because most of them had been intimately involved with configuring both ships in advance of this first human mission to Mars.

The rest of the crew was on board their sister ship, the ESS Queen Elizabeth II or QE II. In three weeks all 28 crew members would leave Earth orbit for Mars. This ship would be piloted by remote control to meet up with the QE II a few days after it left Earth orbit.

Carl Sagan, 1934-96, Scientist, Author, Educator, Visionary

Carl Sagan, 1934-96, Scientist, Author, Educator, Visionary

Ann Flores, the First Officer, kept checking her monitor. She was following the progress of the VIP tours being conducted by Captain Ken Hart and Commander Jenna Wade. They were leading six Earth Space Exploration Program (ESEP) executives around the ship in two groups. The ESEP Center Director, Nick Castillo, was with Captain Hart’s group and they were returning down the Quill to the ACD.

Captain Hart and his tour slowly descended down the guide pole in the central corridor into the ACD. Flores quickly turned from her monitor and stood at attention and announced, “CAPTAIN ON DECK!” Immediately the crew moved to the edge of each of their floors and stood at attention.

The Captain said, “At ease.” and then he looked at Flores and frowned. “We’re not going to do that all the way to Mars are we?,” he asked. “It is protocol, sir,” she replied.

The Captain moved his VIP’s to the Command Floor. Just as they settled in on the Captain’s section Flores announced, “COMMANDER ON DECK!” Again, the crew stood at attention as Commander Wade and her tour descended to the Commander’s section across from the Captain.

Wade looked at the Captain and said, “That’s going to get old, quick.” Hart replied, “She’s enthusiastic,” and then added, “Today is a day for formality. I’m sure we won’t be ‘announced’ once were underway.” “Good.” Wade said, “This isn’t the Enterprise.”

Castillo interrupted, “I believe it’s time.” Wade looked at Castillo and nodded, then turned back to Hart and said, “Captain.” At that the Captain pulled out his tablet and hit the COMM icon and said, “All hands, all ships, this is the Captain, CODE ALERT!” At that all the crew members on both ships stood at attention their stations watching the screen in front of them. Around the Command Deck life-sized screens showed astronauts at attention on both ships ready for what was to come.

Hart then announced, “Crew of the Carl Sagan and Queen Elizabeth II, standby for an announcement by ESEP Director Nick Castillo.”

Celebration Surprises

31 Sunday Jan 2016

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  • Mars Date/Time:  Year 1, Sur One, Saturday, Sol 28 (1.1.28)  1:42 PM NST
  • Earth Date/Time:  Sunday, 31 January 2016  2:00 PM PST

Today is a day of celebrations. In a surprise arrival, ESEP Mission Director, Nick Castillo and five other ESEP executives ferried up to Earth Spaceport Prime. Castillo sent over a temporary crew to the QE II and ordered all 28 crew members to join the executives and spaceport astronauts for a pre-commissioning party.

Celebration party set up for Spain ESEP Center

Celebration party set up for Spain ESEP Center

On Earth, the families and friends of the crew were invited to a ESEP party at one of the three ESEP Centers in the United States, Japan, and Spain/France. All four parties were connected through video links on human sized monitors around each room and allowed everyone to interact across the planet and in space.

With the ESEP personnel in orbit, tomorrow’s commissioning of the ships and crew will be done in person, rather than by video link. The idea of sending up the ESEP executives was discussed two months ago, but it was contingent on how tests and drills on the ships went in this last month.

Tonight the crew will return to their ship and will have dinner with the Commander and Captain as hosts. Castillo and the ESEP team were also invited to join the crew. After dinner there will be short team meetings to review tomorrow’s schedule of events, responsibilities, and requirements, then all crew members will be in quarters by 21:00 NST.

On Mars Time

30 Saturday Jan 2016

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  • Mars Date/Time:  Year 1, Sur One, Friday, Sol 27 (1.1.27)  2:21 PM NST
  • Earth Date/Time:  Saturday, 30 January 2016  2:00 PM PST

The Earth Space Exploration Program (ESEP) is now officially on Noctis Standard Time (NST). This is the time zone on Mars that the primary landing sites for Mars Mission 2016, near the Noctis Labyrinthus feature.

The Noctis Labyrinthus Time Zone on Mars

The Noctis Labyrinthus Time Zone on Mars

It also means we are now on the Mars calendar and today is Friday, Sol 27, Sur One. There are sixty days in this month. The orbital transfer to Mars will begin later this month and the crew will arrive in Mars orbit in the third month, or Sur Three.

The crew will not start shift rotation until Sunday, Sol 29, after the ship and crew have been commissioned. Most of the crew will either the 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM shift or the 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Two astronauts will be on duty on the Command Deck from 4:00 PM to 12:00 midnight, and another two from 12:00 midnight to 8:00 AM.

Sur One

Sur One

Each crew member will have three days of light duty in every ten days. Light duty may mean shorter hours of scheduled work, a lighter workload, or assignment to a special duty. Whenever possible, the team members work together to plan a group schedule so that tasks can be planned based on the number of team members on duty at any given time.

Tomorrow crew members will be preparing for Sunday’s (Earth’s Monday) commissioning ceremonies both ships and the crew will be commissioned.

Finals Week

29 Friday Jan 2016

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  • Mars Date/Time:  Year 1, Sur One, Thursday, Sol 26 (1.1.26)  2:59 PM NST
  • Earth Date/Time:  Friday, 29 January 2016  2:00 PM PST

Today the crew is finished testing on the systems on ESS Queen Elizabeth II and the ESS Carl Sagan. As the crew is currently on board the QE II, a crew of spaceport astronauts filled in for the testing on the Sagan.

A mishap did occur during Thursday’s test of the Sagan’s Impulse Cycle Propulsion (ICP) pellet propulsion. An astronaut broke his leg when a pellet moved into position for firing. The situation was investigated and it was determined that the astronaut had not notified the Pilot on QE II that he was in the loader area. New requirements were instituted to require video monitoring of the propulsion section by at least two crew members during any use of the propulsion drive on either ship.

Sagan ICP Gun Section near where an astronaut broke his leg this week

Sagan ICP Gun Section near where an astronaut broke his leg this week

With the exception of Thursday’s accident this week’s testing has gone well. The crew has run simulated test firings of the propulsion systems of both ships without actually launching a pellet or detonating it. All other systems are ready for the orbital transfer to Mars.

The next few weeks the crew will be loading in final supplies, running drills, and preparing to leave Earth for a minimum of 21 months. The crew is ahead of schedule and tomorrow will be light duty before Monday’s commissioning of both ships.

Also, tomorrow the entire program switches over to Mars time. This date was selected to give the crew adequate time to adjust before orbital transfer and it will have minimal impact on the crew. At 12:00 PM PST the clocks will convert to 12:21 PM NST.

Mars Calendar: 12 Long Months

28 Thursday Jan 2016

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  • Mars Date/Time:  Year 1, Sur One, Sol 25 (1.1.25)  3:38 PM NST
  • Earth Date/Time:  28 January 2016  2:00 PM PST

Creating the Martian calendar required understand why Earth’s calendar is divided into units. In some cases there is a clear astronomical reason (one planet rotation equals a day,) but other units, such as weeks, have no celestial cycle to establish the unit.

However, the month and year on Earth can be traced to certain astronomical patterns.

MONTH and YEAR
Earth months are loosely based on the orbit of the Moon. The Moon orbits Earth more than twelve times per year, but there is a clear link between the phases of the Moon, and the length of a month.

Mars has two Moons, but they’re orbits are not useful in establishing a time unit similar to Earth’s month standard; however, because Mars is tilted on its axis similar to Earth, it does experience seasons. Those season’s can be measured by the two equinoxes and two solstices.

Earth’s division of seasons
Mars division of seasons

However, because the orbit of Mars takes almost twice as many days (Earth days) than Earth, the seasons are almost twice as long and they have more variance (length) than Earth’s seasons.

Mars takes almost twice as long as the Earth to orbit the Sun, and Mars orbit is more non-circular than Earth's

Mars takes almost twice as long as the Earth to orbit the Sun, and Mars orbit is more eccentric than Earth’s

To establish a Mars month, ESEP divided the Mars year (one orbit around the Sun) into four seasons. Each of those seasons are divided into three, roughly equal months. The full Mars calendar can be seen here.

ESEP began the calendar on the Winter solstice for the Southern Hemisphere, which occurred on 3 January 2016 (Earth Date.) The first six months are measured by the Winter and Spring in the Southern Hemisphere (called Sur) and the second six months are measured by the Winter and Spring of the Northern Hemisphere (called Nor.) 

Mars Calendar: Why Seven Days Make a Week

27 Wednesday Jan 2016

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  • Mars Date/Time:  Year 1, Sur One, Sol 24 (1.1.24)  4:16 PM NST
  • Earth Date/Time:  27 January 2016  2:00 PM PST

As we have noted, a calendar is a human device, not a scientific one. This is especially true when it comes to the construction of a week. A day is determined by the time it takes a planet to make one rotation on its axis. A year is determined by the time it takes a planet to make one orbit of the Sun. 

A week = 7 days because our ancestors saw seven significant moving objects in the sky.

A week = 7 days because our ancestors saw seven significant moving objects in the sky.

However, a week has no astronomical cycle. It is simply a device humans created. A calendar doesn’t have to be divided into weeks; however, over time we have allowed the ‘week’ to define a boundary between work and rest. For this reason alone it would create problems to revise or eliminate the use of the ‘week’ concept in the Mars calendar.

WEEK
Humans have divided the Earth calendar into weeks simply because they knew of seven moving heavenly bodies in the sky. Those seven objects were the Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn. The Latin/Spanish names for those objects are Sōlis/domingo, Lūnae/lunes, Martis/martes, Mercuriī/miércoles, Iovis/jueves, Veneris/viernes, Saturnī/sábado. The English version of the days of the week were heavily influenced by the germanic language; however, the names still correspond to the names of the seven moving objects in our sky.

The first month of the Mars year is 60 days long and has 8 1/2 weeks.

The first month of the Mars year is 60 days long and has 8 1/2 weeks.

A week is simply a repeating pattern of the names of seven objects in Earth sky. If Earth had two Moons, or if Uranus or Neptune were in an orbit close enough to be visible to the naked eye, we might have an eight-day week, instead of seven. 

Despite its simplistic invention, the week is an important part of how humans note time, so ESEP has chosen to keep the same convention for the Mars calendar; however, because a day on Mars is 40 minutes longer, the days of the week are not in sync. On any given day, the days of the week will not usually be the same on Earth and Mars. When it is Friday on Earth, it is probably not Friday on Mars.

Some discussion occurred regarding changing the name of Tuesday (Martis in Latin) to Terra, since Tuesday was named for Earth’s perspective of Mars, and from Mars perspective, Earth would be one of the significant moving objects in the sky. The idea was rejected. 

Mars Calendar: What’s in a Day

26 Tuesday Jan 2016

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  • Mars Date/Time:  Year 1, Sur One, Sol 23 (1.1.23)  4:54 PM NST
  • Earth Date/Time:  26 January 2016  2:00 PM PST

It is important to remember that a calendar is a human device, not a scientific one. Humans have divided time into units in order to keep track of the past, present, and future events, and science has worked to make time units more precisely measured. Thus, creating time units for Mars is to establish the standard for humans to use to reference past, present, and future events.

There are many possible ways to establish time units on Mars, but the Earth Space Exploration Program (ESEP) determined that fusing elements of Earth time units with the characteristics of Mars would be the most efficient. 

An Earth Day is defined by one rotation of the planet

An Earth Day is defined by one rotation of the planet

DAY
One Earth day is based on one rotation of our planet. It is divided into 24 increments, called hours. Hours are divided into 60 minutes, and minutes are divided into 60 seconds.

One Mars day is also based on one rotation of the planet; however, compared to Earth, Mars rotation takes approximately 24 hours and 40 minutes. Because it is so close, and we are accustomed to the 24 hour clock, scientists have established a “Mars clock” that also has a 24 hour day. They did this by making each second of Mars time slightly longer than an Earth ‘second,’ so there are still 60 seconds to a Mars minute, and 60 minutes to a Mars hour, and 24 hours to a Mars day.

A Mars Day is about 40 minutes longer than Earth's

A Mars Day is about 40 minutes longer than Earth’s

However, this makes a Mars day out of sync with an Earth day, but that is unavoidable. Earth rotates faster than Mars, therefore, Earth days occur faster than Mars.

Space, Oxygen, and the Botany Challenge

25 Monday Jan 2016

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  • Mars Date/Time:  Year 1, Sur One, Sol 22 (1.1.22)  5:33 PM NST
  • Earth Date/Time:  25 January 2016  2:00 PM PST

Most of us take plants for granted. Earth’s supply of plants seems inexhaustible, and if you garden, you might believe that some plants (weeds, in particular,) cannot be killed.

However, plants and humans have a bond that cannot be severed. Plants provide food, remove carbon dioxide, and most importantly, they produce oxygen. Humans cannot live without plants.

Sending humans to Mars presents a difficult challenge in that relationship as the demands of plants for light, water, and care is high. At the same time, their output of oxygen and food is minimal in small environments. This is why most human environments in space have used chemical reactions to remove carbon and produce oxygen and water.

Since plants can’t replace more efficient chemical processes in space travel, the botanist challenge is to compete with the chemical processes, and the Botany Division of ESEP has taken on that challenge.

Carbon taken from the air is the source of all plant growth. Faster growing plants absorb more carbon.

Carbon taken from the air is the source of all plant growth. Faster growing plants absorb more carbon.

Our ships rely primarily on chemical processes to create oxygen and to remove carbon; however, air is circulated through the botanical sections to give plants the first opportunity to remove carbon from the air. In addition, plants are part of every inhabited section of the ship, including all crew quarters.

Mostly bamboo plants are used outside of the botanical areas and they are automatically maintained by a computer program that senses soil moisture and analyzes soil content. When the bamboo plants reach a certain height, a member of the Botany team harvests the wood, stows it, and replants a seedling. The wood will be processed on Mars at the first extraterrestrial woodworking shop.

Botanists cannot yet replace the need to produce oxygen through chemical reaction, but their priority is to make humans less dependent on the chemical process to produce breathable air by incorporating natural, biologic sources of oxygen into the human environment.

Who’s In Charge?

23 Saturday Jan 2016

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  • Mars Date/Time:  Year 1, Sur One, Sol 20 (1.1.20)  6:51 PM NST
  • Earth Date/Time:  23 January 2016  2:00 PM PST

When the United States went to the Moon they were guided by ‘Mission Control.’ In many ways the astronauts were dependent and subservient to the people on the ground. In part, that was because the critical information that supplied data about ship operations was in the massive computers on the ground.

Mars Mission is not controlled from the Earth-based control centers. The mission crew does work with ground based centers; however, those perform an advisory role, not an authoritative one. When the ships and crew are commissioned, Commander Jenna Wade will be the final authority on all ship and mission decisions.

Mars Orbital Transfer Path

Earth to Mars in 110 days

This is not an arbitrary decision, but one of necessity as time delay between Earth and Mars could mean the difference between life and death for the crew. In addition, the crew will almost always have more information about a situation than anyone on Earth.

That is why 1 February is more than just ceremony when the ships and crew are commissioned. The mission actually begins on that day and when ESS QE II departs orbit on 24 February, it will just be another day for the crew…well, maybe another BIG day.

It Takes More Than Just Being Smart

22 Friday Jan 2016

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  • Mars Date/Time:  Year 1, Sur One, Sol 19 (1.1.19)  7:29 PM NST
  • Earth Date/Time:  22 January 2016  2:00 PM PST

It is Rocket Science, so you would expect that the Earth Space Exploration Program (ESEP) would have really smart people…and we do.

But that isn’t enough. Many of the hundreds of thousands of people who work for and with ESEP have advanced degrees, but in an endeavor that has never been done before you have to have people who go beyond smart. As the program has grown ESEP has sought out people who were leaders in their field, but not all of them are still with the program.

Werner Von Braun Prez Kennedy

Dr. Werner von Braun with President Kennedy (credit:  Space.com)

When the United States was designing ships to go to the Moon, Dr. Werner von Braun, the most experienced rocket scientist at the time, ridiculed an engineer that proposed building a separate ship (the Lunar Excursion Module or LEM) that only landed on the Moon and then brought the astronauts back to the main ship (the Command Module.) In the end von Braun realized he was wrong and accepted the engineer’s plan as the best, and possibly only workable concept.

In space, nothing is straightforward or easy. People have to have the ability to do more than just the math. People have to apply skills that they don’t have and see a larger viewpoint than just the problem they’re trying to solve.

Everyone on the crew has spent time in other positions with ESEP. As the ship came together, so did the people who would be crew members. Often the person selected to be on the crew was also the person who was integrally involved with planning, designing, or building the function of the ship that they will responsible for on the mission. The 28 crew members are the best of the best and know more about the history of every part of the ship than almost anyone else.

These people didn’t just learn how to take tests in school, they learned to question, to examine, and rethink any problem. In many ways they are not ‘good employees’ that follow instructions, because they often possess more information about their part of the ship than their superiors. They are creative monsters of thinking and we wouldn’t be going to Mars without them.

The Laundry Challenge

21 Thursday Jan 2016

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  • Mars Date/Time:  Year 1, Sur One, Sol 18 (1.1.18)  8:07 PM NST
  • Earth Date/Time:  21 January 2016  2:00 PM PST

One problem that was never been solved in all our decades in space is doing the laundry. The astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) never washed their clothes. They wore them as long as they could stand and then they put the dirty clothing on the Russian Progress vehicle that brought supplies to the station. Then the Progress vehicle would undock and burn up in the atmosphere in a planned return designed to destroy the craft.

On the International Space Station the laundry challenge was solved by not doing any

On the International Space Station the laundry challenge was solved by not doing any

That works when you’re in 400 km in orbit above Earth and you have a resupply ship coming every few weeks. It doesn’t work millions of miles away from Earth, you have 28 astronauts on board, and all of them will be on the mission for a minimum of 21 months.

To go to Mars we had to solve the problem and we did by rethinking the cleaning process. Solving the gravity issue has helped because even a little gravity keeps water from free-floating; however, the real solution was making laundry a continuous process that washes one item at a time.

Our space washing machines are not what you will find in your home. Our Attire Washing Systems (AWS) are high-efficiency machines that are designed to save energy, time, and save and recycle water.

The difference is that the AWS is more like a conveyor process where each clothing item is processed one piece at a time. Only this conveyor is circular and wraps around itself in an enclosed system that clothes enter, are processed, then come out dry and clean. 

Cloth fed into the center of the machine is infused with the cleaning solution as it goes up and over the top of the entry point. Near the top the cloth is pressed to push out dirt and the cleaning solutions. As the cloth come down it is rinsed. At the bottom of the cycle the cloth is then pressed again to push out as much water as possible. As the cloth rises up and over the washing cycle it is travels through a chamber that briefly exposes it to a micro-vacuum environment that sucks out most of the remaining water. On the way back down it is exposed to dry heated air that finishes the process and is expelled into a basket for the astronaut to collect.

It takes about four minutes to load a week’s worth of personal laundry. Once the clothing, sheets, and/or towels are fed into the AWS, the first item comes out in three and a half minutes, and in a little over ten minutes the astronauts laundry is done.

The ultimate test for the AWS will be the fine grit of Mars; however, our rover missions have given our engineers good information on what to expect once humans are on the planet. Fortunately, most of the dust will be on the suits, not inside them.

Quill Length and Gravity

20 Wednesday Jan 2016

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  • Mars Date/Time:  Year 1, Sur One, Sol 17 (1.1.17)  8:46 PM NST
  • Earth Date/Time:  20 January 2016  2:00 PM PST

In a previous article we discussed the importance of a gravity environment (SEE:  The Need for G’s.) We explained that the “Quill” sections are perpendicular to the core and rotate to create an artificial gravity environment for the astronauts.

However, spinning something doesn’t create gravity. It creates a force that can imitate gravity if the spin rate is correct for distance from the axis (or core.) In the case of our ships, we spin the Quill sections at two revolutions per minute.¹

Spinning a structure like a spaceship will create an outward force that can feel similar to gravity; however, near the axis or core of the ship (core sections are 30 meters in diameter, so the radius is 15 meters) the effect is barely noticeable. As an astronaut moves farther into a Quill, and away from the core, the effect increases until, at 224 meters, the astronaut experiences the equivalent of Earth’s gravity, or 1G.

RotationSpeedOfCentrifuge.svg

GRAPH 1.0 – G Force and Rotational Speed versus Radius from the Axis

Since each Quill section is 33 meters, it requires seven Quill sections to reach the distance needed for a 1G environment. This means that Quill sections designed for human habitation are seven Quill sections long with the crew quarters in the sixth and seventh Quill.

Work stations are in sections three, four, and five where gravity is equal that on Mars (.38G) or greater. The ladder tube (a two meter diameter corridor with a ladder) that runs the length of each Quill has color coded lights that indicate the percentage of G force at that point. (SEE:  Table 1.0)

TABLE 1.0 – Color Codes For Gravity Environments

  • RED:                 0 to .19 G
  • ORANGE:   .20 to .3.9 G
  • YELLOW:    .40 to .59 G
  • GREEN:       .60 to .79 G
  • BLUE:        .80 to 1.00 G
  • VIOLET:             +1.00 G

The Command Section at the front of the ship is part of the core, but does not rotate with the rest of the ship. This means it is in a weightless environment; however, because the ship uses cameras instead of windows, there is no reason for the Command team to be In the Command Section during the orbital transfer from Earth to Mars; therefore, an Auxiliary Control is in the fourth section of a Quill. The Command Team operates out of Auxiliary Control for almost the entire trip.

¹The Coriolis Effect is a force that acts on a body at a right angle to the downward force of the spin. In this case, spinning the Quills too fast would cause a human to feel ‘the spin’ as well as the downward force. Humans do not tend to sense spin rates of two revolutions per minute or less.

Blast Propulsion

19 Tuesday Jan 2016

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  • Mars Date/Time:  Year 1, Sur One, Sol 16 (1.1.16)  9:24 PM NST
  • Earth Date/Time:  19 January 2016  2:00 PM PST

Both the ESS QE II and the ESS Sagan are have blast propulsion, known as Impulse Cycle Propulsion (ICP). This consists of a series of explosions behind the ship that push it forward.

Mars Pulse Engine Drive

Artist rendition of a Blast Propulsion Drive

Each bomb, or pellet is pushed out of the engine section of the ship and is attached be a wire or tether. When the pellet reaches the correct distance the tether pulls taught and signals the ship. At that millisecond the computer on the ship sends the detonation code to the pellet and it explodes. The strength of the explosive force on the ship is determined by the pellet type and size, and the length of the tether. Acceleration of the ship is determined by explosive force and the frequency of pellet deployment.

The engine section consists of a blast plate and blast umbrella that absorbs most of the blast. The blast plate and umbrella is connected to the ship by sixteen resistance rods, or shock absorbers, that both cushion the shock of the pellet detonation and generate power using electrostatic generators on each rod that produce electricity from friction.

The blast umbrella plates also have electrostatic generator shock absorbers rods that also generate electricity for the ship as well as absorb more of the pellet blast to propel the ship.

The ship also has the more traditional chemical-based engines to correct and alter course. Each Quill section has it’s own engine and it is tied into the Command section. The engines on the Quill sections are primarily for landing on Mars. 

Acceleration of the ESS QE II is designed for 9.81 meters per second per second, which is equal to 1 g (the same gravity force of Earth at sea level.) It can accelerate up to 2 g; however, the needed speed to accelerate to 150,000 km/hr (41.67 km/s) only requires 4.25 seconds of acceleration at 1 g, so 2 g acceleration is not needed. In fact, the QE II will accelerate to 45,000 km/hr on the first day, then evaluate the ship’s performance. It will then accelerate to 100,000 km/hr on the third day, and then match speed with the ESS Sagan on the six day.  

The ESS Sagan will leave orbit two and a half days after the QE II departs, but will accelerate to 150,000 km/hr over a 12 hour period. It will overtake the QE II. The QE II will disassemble and recombine with the Sagan creating one larger ship. The combined ships will continue their 110 day trip to Mars. Other than course corrections, the ships will not use the ICP engine again until it is time to decelerate for Mars orbit.

The Earth/Mars Dance

16 Saturday Jan 2016

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  • Mars Date/Time:  Year 1, Sur One, Sol 13 (1.1.13)  11:19 PM NST
  • Earth Date/Time:  16 January 2016  2:00 PM PST

Any journey begins with a beginning point and an ending point. Our journey to Mars is no different; however, in this case the beginning point and the ending point are in motion and the distance between them varies depending on where each planet is in their orbit.

Launch Day
Closest Approach

Mars and Earth will be at their closest point on 30 May 2016. To take advantage of this the ESS Queen Elizabeth II and the ESS Carl Sagan will depart for Mars in late February and arrive in June. We call this a “up” orbital transfer because the ships are coming up from behind the planet to meet it in its orbit.

However, we will also be using a “head” orbital transfer in future missions. This is when the departure planet is ahead of the destination planet. It requires more fuel in most cases; however, it gives us more opportunities to send ships between the two planets. The next three missions to Mars will be using the head orbital transfer.

Because Earth moves faster than Mars, an up orbital transfer to Earth is impractical once it is ahead of Mars in orbit. For this reason the first return mission to Earth will be a ‘head’ orbital transfer in April 2017, and that mission won’t arrive at Earth until November 2017.

Crew Training and Alert Drills

13 Wednesday Jan 2016

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  • Mars Date/Time:  Year 1, Sur One, Sol 11 (1.1.11)  1:16 AM NST
  • Earth Date/Time:  13 January 2016  2:00 PM PST

The ESS Queen Elizabeth II will depart Earth orbit in exactly six weeks. Currently the 28 crew members are in orbit preparing both the ESS QE II and the ESS Carl Sagan for departure.

In the next few weeks the crew will be stocking the ship with the more perishable items, perform final tests on ship systems, and conduct training aboard both ships.

Our emergency codes are not to prepare for battle, but to save lives

Our emergency codes are not to prepare for battle, but to save lives

Part of the training will be drills in the event of a crisis. Each crew member is assigned areas of responsibilities in an emergency. In some situations the crew members will be required to seal up the compartment they are in and shelter-in-place; however, some situations will require all crew members to take action to resolve the crisis as quickly as possible.

Among the emergency codes are:

Code Command – All Command Staff are to report in to the Command Module and/or move to that section. All other staff is to stand by for further instructions. (Normally for a crisis requiring an immediate decision from the Command Staff regarding an imminent threat to ship or crew.)

Code Alert – All crew members report to assigned stations, secure the area and await further instructions. Code Alert is also the call to prepare to abandon the ship.

Code Med (Location) – Medical staff to identified area.

Code Tag – All team members call or report to their Director or Commander immediately.

Code Air (Location) – Pressure leak within the ship or habitat or other environmental threat that may endanger the crew and/or ship. Each member to seal doors, report, and await instructions.

Code Fire (Location) – A fire or threat of fire exists. A crew members are trained to take specific actions based on the location of the fire.

Code Green – A threat to the Botanical section of the ship or habitat. Usually this would be a computer generated alert when sensors indicate a severe problem.

No Windows = A Better View

11 Monday Jan 2016

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Date: Year 1, Sur One, Sol 9 (1.1.9)

Windows are a relic of primitive space travel. When building a spacecraft in the 20th century the astronauts had to see outside the ship, so windows were installed. They had to be a heavy, thick, and transparent material because the lack of pressure outside meant that any normal window would explode.

Windows on ISS

Windows on the International Space Station (ISS)…great when there is something to look at, but not so much in the black of space

Windows didn’t help the astronauts see any better than normal vision and restricted the view to the direction the window faced. Windows also didn’t record the view, so the benefit of a window was completely dependent on an astronaut looking out of it.

When Neil Armstrong dirtied his boots on the Moon, everyone else saw a grainy image of shadows and light that looked vaguely like something hopping down a pole. Today, a moon landing today would have three or four high-definition (HD) cameras fixed on an astronaut’s descent down the ladder, and there might even be a drone with a camera using thrusters hovering over the event. We would watch in amazement on an HD screen that would make us feel like we were there on the Moon, looking through a window at the historical moment.

The fact is that using today’s HD cameras gives us a better view than any window ever designed. In addition, we can use cameras that can see in the dark, and see in different wavelengths of light outside of normal human vision.

Designing a spacecraft with windows makes no sense when cameras can provide better imaging and can do more than the human eye. For that reason we have almost no windows on our ships, and we have a better view of the outside.

No fewer than eight cameras provide our command ships with a forward view. Each of those cameras can be tilted, panned, and zoomed. Normally all eight cameras are focused ahead with approximately the same view. Four of the eight cameras ‘see’ in a different wavelength than the visible spectrum and all eight cameras can be used to look at independent views.

In addition we have over 50 cameras on the core section that give a 360°/360°/360° (X/Y/Z axis) view of the ship and it’s surroundings. The Quills each have 24 outside cameras that, like the cameras on the Core Sections, can be viewed by anyone, on any monitor on the ship.

The Command Deck is an array of monitors that allow the crew to visually observe the outside of the spacecraft, however, the system is not dependent on a crew member staring at a monitor. Computer programs track and alert the crew of any unusual movement outside and/or near the ship using a broad light spectrum and radar. The view of each camera on the ship is recorded and can also be accessed after an event that requires investigation. 

However, the crew will not have much to look at during the transfer from Earth to Mars. Months of looking at a mostly black background would likely reinforce the isolation of the astronauts. To address this issue, interior monitors can also be switched over to recorded video of a landscape or place that will give an astronaut a sense of being back on Earth. 

There are three windows in each Command Module that will allow human eye observation of the outside; however, it is unlikely that they will be of much use to the crew until they are in orbit above Mars. Even then, the camera system will give better, more detailed images than the windows will provide.

Mars Mission 2016: The Crew

11 Monday Jan 2016

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Date: Year 1, Sur One, Sol 8 (1.1.8)

The finalized crew of the Mars Mission 2016 has been announced. There is still the possibility of changes in the next few weeks; however, at this time these are the 28 primary crew members that are training for the 24 February departure.MM2016 Org Chart

(NOTE:  EMT = Estimated Mission Time)

Mission Commander – Jenna Wade (EMT:  27 months)
Jenna will command all aspects of the mission and will be stationed at Mars Alpha Base (2nd Landing.)

Team

  • Lanny Deaton-Science Director
  • Roman Guzman – Engineering Director
  • Naomi Pierce – Communications Director
  • Ken Hart – Captain/Mars Port Commander
  • Wendy Stevens – Counselor
  • Kayla Summers – Physician 

Science Director – Lanny Deaton (EMT:  27 months)
Lanny will oversee all science programs for the mission and will be stationed at Mars Alpha Base (1st landing.)

Team

  • Steve Conner-Areology Officer
  • Jacob Reese-Archeology Officer
  • Alexander Rivera-Biology/Environment Officer
  • Sying Wang-Botany Specialist
  • Heidi Massey-Botany Specialist

Engineering Director – Roman Guzman (EMT:  27 months)
Roman will direct all construction, maintenance, and repair during the mission and will be stationed at Mars Alpha Base (1st landing.)

Team

  • Lanita Case-Engineering Officer
  • Jeramy Prater-Munitions Officer
  • Tory Hankins-Plant Officer
  • Ling Cho-Logistics Officer
  • Abdul Karem-Logistics Specialist

Communication Director – Naomi Pierce (EMT:  27 months)
Naomi will oversee all communications, data collection, and mission reporting and will be stationed on the Mars Port in orbit.

Team

  • Paige Flores-Comm Officer
  • John Schultz-Comm Specialist
  • Krista Parker-Comm Specialist
  • Jennifer Nagi-Data/Record Specialist

Captain ESS QEII/Sagan, Mars Port Commander – Kenneth Hart (EMT:  27 months)
Ken will Captain the ESS Queen Elizabeth II, then take command of the ESS Carl Sagan when the ships merge. Upon arrival at Mars he will become the Commander of the Mars Port and be stationed there.

Team

  • Ann Flores-First Officer/Mars Orbit Control Director
  • Dane Paris-Pilot

Mission Physician – Kayla Summers (EMT:  27 months)
Kayla oversee and monitor the health of the mission crew and she will be stationed at the Mars Alpha Base (2nd landing.)

Team

  • Jai Wong-Nurse Practitioner
  • Alberto Sowers-Nutritional Officer

Counselor – Wendy Stevens (EMT:  27 months)
Wendy will assess the mission crew on an ongoing basis and will make recommendations for crew changes, mission assignments, and crew returns. Wendy will be stationed at the Mars Alpha Base (2nd landing.)

Team

  • Ian Banks-MET Reserve
  • Peyton Rhodes-SKY Reserve

How We Get To Mars: The Ride

08 Friday Jan 2016

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Date: Year 1, Sur One, Sol 5 (1.1.5)

There are 36 Quill sections that will be included on the first mission to Mars on the ESS Carl Sagan. An additional 12 sections will make up the ESS Queen Elizabeth II. Since each Core section can hold up to 12 Quill sections, there will be a total of four Core sections, each with 12 Quills. 

Mars Planet Situation 18 JUN

Planet positions when Mission 2016 reaches Mars

In addition to the Core/Quill sections there will be a Operations and Command section for each ship. There will also be two fuel storage sections, a pulse engine section (PE), a thrust absorption section (TAS). a chemical thrust engine section, four solar arrays, and a auxiliary engineering section for each ship. 

The ESS Queen Elizabeth II will leave Earth orbit on 24 February and the ESS Carl Sagan will leave on 26 February. The unmanned Sagan will accelerate faster and overtake the QEII on 29 February. The two ships will then integrate into one ship over the next few days.

Because of the sectional design of the ships, each craft is named according to the designation of the command section, which is typically the leading section. In the case of integration of two ships, the command section that  is:  1) part of the larger craft, 2) facing forward and, 3) is near the front of the craft, keeps its designation for the entire craft.

During this mission the ESS Carl Sagan will keep the designation through the entire mission. The command section for the ESS Queen Elizabeth II will be docked to the command section of the Sagan and serve as auxiliary command. At some point the command sections of the Sagan and the QEII will both return to Earth when the first crew rotations occur in late 2016 and throughout 2017.

It is important to note that while the Sagan and the QEII prepare to leave orbit, two more ships are being assembled for a Fall 2016 departure. At this time the plan is to send two craft to Mars approximately every six months for foreseeable future. Timing of each mission will depend on the needs of the Mars team and the location of Mars in relation to Earth.

Because we are no longer depending on the Hohmann Transfer, (using the minimum fuel to travel from Earth to Mars and back,) we have fewer issues with launch windows. The average speed of the ESS Carl Sagan will be about 150,000 km/hr. This will put it in orbit around Mars on 18 June.