Video News Release: Mission V crew enters HI-SEAS Mars simulation habitat on Mauna Loa

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Contact:
Kelli Abe Trifonovitch, (808) 228-8108
Director of Communications and Outreach, UH System
Kim Binsted, (808) 956-3548
Professor and HI-SEAS Principal Investigator, Information and Computer Sciences
Posted: Jan 20, 2017

From left, Joshua Ehrlich, Laura Lark, Sam Payler, Brian Ramos, Jay Bevington and Ansley Barnard.
From left, Joshua Ehrlich, Laura Lark, Sam Payler, Brian Ramos, Jay Bevington and Ansley Barnard.

**Link to video and sound (details below): http://bit.ly/2j05c7Y

At approximately 4:50 p.m. on January 19, 2017, six astronaut-like crewmembers entered a geodesic dome located 8,200 feet above sea level on Mauna Loa on the island of Hawai‘i, which will serve as their home for the next eight months.

They are part of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa’s Hawai‘i Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) project, which has been operating long-duration planetary surface missions  to investigate crew composition since 2012.  This is the fifth in a series of HI-SEAS missions.

NASA funded HI-SEAS missions 2, 3 and 4 with a $1.2 million grant and has provided $1 million for missions 5 and 6 (scheduled for 2018).

Said Kim Binsted, HI-SEAS principal investigator and UH Mānoa professor,This is the best and most obvious place to do this research.  Both because of the physicality – as you can see, it looks like we're on Mars – but also because of the range of expertise available at the University of Hawai‘i.  We’ve got some of the world’s top planetary scientists. We’ve got some of the world’s top astronomers.”

The crew will be monitored by an experienced mission support team and will perform exploration tasks such as geological field work and life systems management.  The conditions, such as delayed communication and partial self-sufficiency, are explicitly designed to be similar to those of a planetary surface exploration mission.  Daily routines include food preparation from shelf-stable ingredients, exercise, scientific research, equipment testing and tracking resource utilization such as food, power and water.

In August 2016, HI-SEAS successfully completed its first one-year isolation mission, placing it in the company of a small group of analogs that are capable of operating very long-duration missions, such as Mars500, Concordia and the International Space Station. 

For more information on HI-SEAS, see www.hi-seas.org.

Link to video and sound (can only be viewed by using professional editing software): http://bit.ly/2j05c7Y

Mission V entrance B-roll (1:40):

Exterior of habitat 3 shots

Crew drives up and gets out of van 2 shots

Crew enters habitat 1 shot

Soundbites:

Kim Binsted, HI-SEAS Principal Investigator and University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa professor (:20)

“For the next two missions the key is crew selection.  We’ve changed our selection process, so we’re doing a whole series of psychological tests.  We’re doing a series of cognitive tests, as well as more structured analysis of their educational and professional backgrounds.”

Kim Binsted, HI-SEAS Principal Investigator and University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa professor (:16)

“This is the best and most obvious place to do this research.  Both because of the physicality – as you can see, it looks like weʻre on Mars – but also because of the range of expertise available at the University of Hawai‘i.  We’ve got some of the world’s top planetary scientists. We’ve got some of the world’s top astronomers.”

James Bevington, HI-SEAS Mission V Crew Commander (:08)

“Iʻm looking forward to building relationships with my crew. I fully anticipate coming out with five new best friends.”

Ansley Barnard, HI-SEAS Mission V Crew Engineer (:15)

“Iʻll be looking at optimizing our power and water resources uses.  So Iʻm excited to understand the engineering problem, because the habitat is an impressive facility and it really is quite a complicated unit.”

Flickr album link (please credit University of Hawai‘i):
https://www.flickr.com/photos/uhawaii/albums/72157677141586901