2023-04-12 13:09:54
A team of nine Catalan scientists is about to embark on an extraordinary journey. These are the crew members of the Hypatia mission: a research project created to study what life would be like for the first earthlings on the red planet. The initiative, which is scheduled to take off this Sunday, will take place in a ‘martian simulator’ set in the Utah desert (USA). From there, the Hypatia team will live for two weeks with the lifestyle (and conditions) that would be found on Mars. His project starts on Earth, but one day his teachings could help the first explorers of the red planet.
“We are embarking on a very special and space mission,” she explains enthusiastically. Mariona Badenas-Agustí, mission commander. He first trip of the Hypatia project will take place between April 16 and 29 at a Martian station located in a desert that is very reminiscent of conditions on Mars, both for its iron-rich soil and for its extreme temperature fluctuations. There is an extraterrestrial habitat developed by the Mars Society in which it can be found from a biology and geology laboratory to various space observatories, rooms to develop engineering projects and living areas for the crew members. And in the same way that it would happen on Mars, everything is designed to keep the crew safe in the face of the hostile conditions of the red planet.
For two weeks, the members of the Hypatia mission will dedicate themselves body and soul to conduct scientific experiments and also, they will become the subject of study themselves. On the one hand, as explained by those responsible for this mission, experiments will be carried out on extraterrestrial agriculture (to understand how plants should be grown on Mars) and microbiology (to know how some organisms would react in extraterrestrial conditions). On the other hand, the project also plans to test the scientists to understand How is coexistence managed in this type of environment? and how each one of them adapts in such a different environment.
scuba rides
Everything is designed to simulate the experience of a stay on Mars. The members of the mission must vstretch at all times with the regulatory astronaut suits, they will eat dehydrated food and have a limited supply of drinking water. In the same way that would happen on Mars, they will have to live in controlled environments, they will only be able to go out at certain times (and following strict security protocols) and they will not be able to communicate in real time with the other earthlings.
“During the entire mission we will work as if we were really on Mars and had to face the hostile conditions of the planet”
“Throughout the mission we will work as if we were really on mars and we would have to face the hostile conditions of the red planet”, explains Carla Conejo González, one of the members of the mission. “When we go out into outer spaces we will put on diving suits to simulate what it would be like to walk on a planet with a hostile atmosphere and no breathable air. We have also prepared ourselves to deal with emergencies of all kinds because, if they occurred on Mars, we should know how to react,” adds the scientist.
Scientific references
The Hypatia mission will be composed of nine Catalan scientists: astronomer Mariona Badenas-Agustí, biologist Carla Conejo González, mathematician Ariadna Farrés Basiana, researcher Laia Ribas, physicist Neus Sabaté, aerospace engineer Cesca Cufí Prat, analyst Anna Bach, engineering student Helena Arias Casals and the scientific journalist Núria Jar, who will be in charge of documenting the day to day of the mission. “We need to change the narrative of space exploration and show that everyone can contribute to this exciting world”, explains the communicator.
“We need to change the narrative of space exploration and show that everyone can contribute to this exciting world”
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One of the great objectives of this mission, beyond the extraterrestrial experiments, is to become a source of inspiration for present and future generations. Especially for girls and young women in search of scientific references to be inspired by. “One has to create a more inclusive and diverse science where women have the recognition and visibility they deserve”, explained the members of the team during a press conference held this Wednesday at the Llotja in Barcelona.
The launch of this mission has cost about 50,000 euros and has been driven by a coalition of entities among which stand out the Catalunya La Pedrera Foundation, the Banc Sabadell Foundation and the Generalitat de Catalunya. The mission calendar foresees, for now, a single two-week trip to the martian station of Utah but, in the future, the members of Hypatia are already planning to expand the project. “We are working so that there will be another mission by 2025 and, from there, trips every two years. Our goal is not only to launch more missions, but we also want to incorporate people from different backgrounds and profiles”, explain the members of Hypatia’s first mission on the eve of her trip to Mars.
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