When the first international mission in the University of North Dakota’s (UND) Inflatable Mars/Lunar Habitat (IMLH) was launched last fall, four students from Argentina, Colombia, Mexico and Peru entered the facility to spend two weeks running experiments to help NASA and their program to explore the moon and Mars. After the successful completion of the mission, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, accompanied by U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), visited the UND John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences, calling the work being done there “second to none.”

At UND to also discuss future collaborations, Bridenstine explained the university’s importance to the Mars/Lunar program. “The University of North Dakota is delivering – on behalf of NASA – technology that is helping us understand the earth, helping us understand the earth’s atmosphere, helping us better predict weather events and the climate. Beyond that, the University of North Dakota is helping us with human space flight. What happens here enables us to do more than ever before.” He confirmed, “UND will be part of NASA’s future space exploration efforts.”

According to Pablo de León, director of UND’s Human Spaceflight Laboratory, the Habitat mission was the eighth IMLH mission and conducted tests and experiments similar to previous missions designed to assist NASA with long-duration exploration of the moon and Mars.

Mission Accomplishments

“This was the first attempt for us to offer our habitat to external institutions,” de León said. “They also learned and benefitted from the platform we have here at UND and provided that to the space community in general. They ran some of their experiments that were devised in their own institutions and also with some experiments we set for them. They had a fairly busy schedule during these two weeks.”

“During the analog mission, the crew members had a full agenda of experiments, many of them provided by NASA, plus some others, which are sent to us by universities and research centers around the country. During this specific mission, the crew developed procedures to grow plants under artificial conditions, like the ones that the astronauts will find on either the moon or Mars. One of the modules in our habitat was developed to produce edible plants, so we can study the best way to produce food for future astronauts. We are working with NASA on the best way to do this, maximizing results and reusing the waste produced, and even converting Mars regolith (soil) into a viable medium to grow plants.”

Also, according to de León, “We also tested an Electroencephalograph (EEG) system that astronauts will be able to bring during the missions to learn more about how the brain react to long duration space. We also tested a number of behavioral traits including sleep quality, responses to stress and others. Some other experiments involved getting into a spacesuit and going outside to test construction techniques and tools and repair protocols that will be needed in a Mars mission.”

Although development of the IMLH was funded through North Dakota NASA EPSCoR (Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research), the international mission is funded by the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC), a global non-governmental, non-profit organization and network. It represents university students and young space professionals to the United Nations, space agencies, industry and academia. Additional funding came from the respective universities of the four crew members.

The habitat, just west of the UND campus, is roughly the size of the International Space Station—similar in volume to a 747 airliner. It has five modules, which include a core module for eating and sleeping, a plant production module, an exercise module, a geology and microbiology lab module, and an extravehicular activities (EVA) module with a workshop.

NASA Impressed!

Among his observations on the visit, Bridenstine noted the importance to NASA of spacesuits being designed by de León. “One of the amazing capabilities here is the spacesuits,” Bridenstine said, describing how they enable astronauts to live and work in the vacuum of space in high-radiation environments and extreme temperatures. “Now, because of the good work of the University of North Dakota, we’re going to have some capabilities and technologies that enable us to walk on another world. They are amazingly complex spacesuits; every spacesuit is a spaceship.”

Six years after the first IMLH mission was conducted, Pablo de León, a native of Argentina, said the latest mission with international participants was significant because it represented what space exploration should be about.

“I see space exploration as something that represents every person on this planet,” he said. “For me personally, it’s important because people from Latin America – for the first time – have the opportunity to participate in the habitat. Space exploration is something for all humanity – not just for one country. Of course, the United States plays a leadership role.”

Meet the Crew

Mission commander Danton Bazaldua, an engineering student at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, said he was honored to be part of the project. He worked with drones and remote sensing for research on Martian soil for his university’s space program and the Mexican Space Agency.

Atila Meszaros, an undergraduate biology student from Peru at the University Cayetano Heredia, where he studies evolution and extreme astrobiology environments. He’s a member of the Peruvian Association of Astrobiology.

Marcos Bruno, a mechatronics engineering student from Argentina at Universidad Nacional de Cuyo in Mendoza. His research interests include robotics, 3D printing, programming and artificial intelligence.

David Mateus, a mechatronics engineer from Colombia, is studying for his master’s degree in systems and computational engineering at Universidad Nacional de Colombia. He is member of the aerospace development and research group at the university.

“We have developed a strong space program component at the University of North Dakota,” de León  concludes, “Not only do we educate part of the workforce of tomorrow’s space programs, but we also contribute helping NASA to get back to the moon and Mars.” •

Sources: The University of North Dakota, Newswise and Pablo de León