page_title: Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station
section_title: 2009
hierarchical_section_title: Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station / Research and accomplishments / 2009
caption_attribution_description: English: FMARS-12 Commander Kramer showing the water extracted from the gypsum sample he collected in the field
context_page_description: The Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station is the first of two simulated Mars habitats established and maintained by the Mars Society.
context_section_description: The crew flew the Maveric unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) six times over Devon Island. Four of these flights were conducted in‐sim for the first time ever, supporting the idea that human Mars explorers could launch, operate and recover a UAV while encumbered by a spacesuit. This capability expanded the crew's field of view and the rate at which they could survey surrounding terrain. The Maveric UAV was deployed at the sites of several hydrothermal pipes, where aerial footage of these features with correlated GPS track information was captured for analysis, aiding later site sampling by crew geologists.
  Several GPS units including a Trimble GeoXM, helped the crew navigate on a long‐distance EVA to the Gemini Hills, an extensive deposit of hydrothermal breccia created by the Haughton meteor impact. The primary objective was to locate and sample a gypsum deposit at this site. Gypsum is a hydrated calcium sulfate mineral which is 20% water and is found in abundance on Earth and at many locations on Mars. Used to make plaster of Paris, sheetrock, cement, and other building materials, this white mineral will be an important resource for Mars industry. The crew returned to the Hab with samples from the gypsum deposit, crushed and heated them, and recovered pure liquid water and plaster of Paris. This ISRU demonstration was a first for a Mars simulation.
  Seven of the sixteen FMARS EVAs were devoted to two geophysical experiments. One project was to install Devon Island's first seismometer, a Trillium Compact provided by Nanometrics. The crew scouted deployment locations and installed the equipment while fully in‐sim, a first for Mars analog research. Seismic stations similar to this will provide important understanding of the interior of planets including Mars, particularly the deep crust, mantle, and core. The second geophysical project tested how effectively human explorers in space suits could deploy low frequency electromagnetic survey equipment, a TEM47‐PROTEM provided by Geonics Limited, to search for groundwater beneath Haynes Ridge near the hab location. Future human Mars explorers may conduct similar surveys in their search for life and resources to support human settlement.
  The crew conducted and were subjects in a research study using a Class IV High Power Laser therapy device provided by Lighthouse Technical Innovation, Inc. Crew members received treatment on focused areas before and after each EVA. The laser therapy is effective due to the penetration of coherent laser light into the tissues causing deep heating and local vasodilation. The additional blood supply provided by the dilated vessels can serve many functions, most notably preparation of the muscles for physical exertion and accelerated healing of muscle soreness, strain, or pain from past injuries. The laser therapy at the FMARS Hab was effective in relieving symptoms caused by physical exertion and was concurrent with the quick healing of minor injuries, recovery from an illness, and the complete lack of muscle pulls or extended soreness.
  The Omega Envoy Project, a team vying for the Google Lunar X PRIZE, provided a prototype lunar rover for testing during the FMARS 2009 mission. The rover was assembled and tested prior to the mission by 4Frontiers Corporation interns, in coordination with the Florida Space Grant Consortium and NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate. Outfitted with a communications and video package designed in collaboration with the University of Central Florida DARPA team, the rover was continuously operated via the internet from the team's headquarters in Orlando, Florida. This demonstration proved key technologies and provided essential teleoperational experience related to communicating with and controlling the rover from a remote location. It provided a deeper understanding of the complexities to be encountered in lunar rover operation.
  For all FMARS 2009 EVAs, the crew wore a Garmin Forerunner combined GPS and heart rate monitor system to gather concurrent geographic and physiological data. Crew members also captured geotagg
caption: Crew member Vernon Kramer with a sample of water extracted from solid rock.
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