Dispatch from Mars Society Arctic Expedition Robert Zubrin July 21, 2001
Explorers need maps. We have some good aerial photographs of the region around Flashline Station, but an
aerial photograph is not a map. A map requires mathematical organization, which is imparted to it by a
system of coordinates.
In most countries around the world, people use latitude and longitude to grid their maps. But in the Arctic, the distances represented by degrees of latitude and longitude differ immensely, and longitude degrees on the same chart can differ significantly from each other, making this system inconvenient. Instead, many people have come to use a system of grids known as Universal Transverse Mercator, or UTM. In the UTM system, locations are given in kilometer distances north of the equator and east or west of various meridians. In the UTM system, the location of Flashline Station is around 8379.7 km N, 420.5 km E.
Robert Zubrin putting UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator) grid on aerial photo to create a map.
We have a topographic contour chart with UTM coordinates in the station, but aerial photos give a much better sense of the nature of the ground. So in order to turn our aerial images into maps, this morning I used the data in the contour plots to lay down UTM grids on the photos, marking them off with 2 km separations between lines. Our GPS receivers have an option to display in UTM, and using it out EVA teams can report their UTM coordinates via radio. This in turn makes it easy for the capcom at the station to both follow their progress and to mark off their ground-truth characterizations of various features imaged on the photos. This latter function – ground truth -is very important. You see certain patterns on aerial photographs, but until you actually go to one of them, you don’t know what they represent. But having visited one, you then have a pretty good basis for guessing what all the other similar features in the image might be.
A map of the FMARS environs marked in UTM grid lines. It is marked in gridlines separated by 2 km. The EW coordinate system runs from (4)14 km to (4)24 km E the NS grid goes from (83)70 km N to (83)80 km N. FMARS is at around 73.384 N, 20.737 E. Furthest extent of todays EVA was 79.483 N, 16.339 E.
While it is possible that an early human Mars expedition could have navigational assistance from a GPS-like space-based navigation system, it is unlikely, as placing such an elaborate satellite constellation into orbit around Mars would cost much more than it would be worth. A cheaper solution would be to simply place radio beacons in several locations in the region surrounding the base. This would create a local navigation system, whose output could be read and analyzed to produce the equivalent of UTM GPS.
Our EVA team today was Charles, Brent, and Cathrine. Their mission was to explore the ridges and canyons to the north of the Von Braun Planitia. I served as capcom, while Christine continued her analysis work in the lab. Every 15 minutes or so the team would call in with the UTM coordinates and site descriptions, and I would chart their progress on the map. They departed the station at 12:21 PM. At 1:30 PM they were on a high butte at Waypoint 32, located at 8379.28 N, 416.96 E, or 79.28 N, 16.96 E for short. This is almost 7 kilometers from the Flashline Station. Nevertheless, I could receive their handheld radios loud and clear.
The EVA crew of Frankel, Frandsen, and Bos almost suited up before excursion.
I received several more reports from them, but after 2:15 there was nothing. I tried to raise them every half hour, but there was no response. This did not worry me excessively; they were headed for an area of ridges and canyons, and terrain could easily cut off their VHF radios. Moreover the weather was fine and there were three of them to help each other, plus Joe Amaralik riding shotgun if he were needed.
Sitting alone on the hab upper deck with no radio reportage coming in, I didn’t have a lot to do, so I fired off a status report to Mission Support in Denver. I’ll quote some of it.
“Our overall status has improved. The Mars Society 5.5 kWe gasoline generator that failed early in the season has been repaired and is back on line. Please continue you efforts to locate two 5.5 kWe diesel generators in Edmonton or Yellowknife, however.
EVA crew members Bos and Frankel navigating on Von Braun Planitia.
“We were also able to repair one of the two spacesuit battery chargers, so the impending crisis in that department has been averted. Thanks to Dewey and Gary for the useful advice, and to Dewey for including the necessary spare parts. But please include another charger and extra spare coaxial connectors in your next logistics shipment.
“Steve has had partial success in getting his high data link working, and it may be operational by tonight. If so, we will be able to send much more pictures, videos, and voice logs.
“Crew health is good, and the weather is perfect.
“Robert
“PS: By the way, how is “First Landing” doing on amazon?”
The reader will observe that we request both advice and logistical help from our Mission Support people in Denver. The former is realistic for Mars missions, the latter is not. We had a breakdown in our battery charging equipment for the spacesuit backpacks. So we relayed this to Mission Support, and two of the guys there (Dewey Anderson and Gary Snyder) got an identical unit, took the thing apart, figured out how to fix it, and transmitted us the necessary instructions. Fortunately, in this case, Dewey had included the required spare parts to implement the fix in the initial supplies of the station and we had the necessary tools, so the repair was successfully accomplished. This is exactly the way things will be done on an actual Mars mission.
But in other cases we did not have the foresight to include enough spares, so we are forced to ask for them now. I do not view that as an embarrassment. Rather, it is strong proof of yet another reason why we need simulation stations like this one to prepare for human Mars missions. We need to take the full complement of expedition equipment out in the field and subject them to months of gritty field work, and see what spares and tools are needed for the crew to maintain all critical systems. Keeping launch mass down on a human mission to Mars is essential; we can’t afford to take an unlimited supply of everything. We need to find out what fails, and what doesn’t, and what is the minimum set of tools and spares required to reliably cover all the bases. The only way to get that kind of knowledge is through field experience.
Charles Frankel descending a steep butte.
Another aspect of our relationship with Mission Support is illuminated in the postscript. They help us in personal matters. My novel “First Landing,” about -what else – the first human mission to Mars went on sale July 10. I left civilization on July 7, and I’ve been wondering for the past 10 days how the book has been faring. Some people say that writing a first novel is like giving birth to a child. I don’t think that is quite true, but there is an element of truth in it. There is also a feeling of vulnerability. A lot of your spirit goes into your novel, and when it finally goes on sale, it is part of your soul that is being held up to public judgement. What do people think of it? The question has been gnawing at me. I could easily find out by going to amazon.com on the net, but that is not allowed by simulation rules, since a crew on Mars could not surf the net. So I sent a query to Mission Support. The answer came back; good news! Out of over a million books they have on sale, it’s running number 1,631.
By late afternoon I was starting to get a bit concerned about EVA crew, but at 5:10 Cathrine finally reported in. It had been a terrain cut off. All was well, but the team had had its share of adventure.
I got the full story when they finally reached the hab about 6 PM. The crew had indeed descended the far side of a ridge to try to make it to a canyon, but had repeatedly been blocked in their forward progress by various combinations of boulder fields, rocky moguls, and snow. Rather than give up, they had doggedly doubled back again and again to try alternate forward routes. They got stuck many times, but managed to help each other get free. Finally, they made it to a site where the canyon could be imaged, but unfortunately its walls did not appear to display clear stratification. So they took some rock, soil, and water samples, photographed everything around, and headed back, only to discover that the difficult terrain they had managed to traverse going downhill was much worse going up. Nevertheless, with suit batteries running low, they made it out and back to the hab without breaking sim. At close to 6 hours in duration, it was our longest EVA yet.
The third crew has the stuff.
