On the importance of analogue space missions
Every fortnight, we hand over the blog to one of the Cambridge Shapers for their take on the biggest issues affecting young people in Cambridge and around the globe. This fortnight, we hear from Eleonore Poli. Eleonore is a PhD student in Materials & Metallurgy, a Global Shaper and an analogue astronaut.
Analogue space missions replicate (on Earth) certain aspects of space missions with the objective of evaluating feasibility, and then optimising missions. A typical example of an analogue mission subject of study, for example, would be the effects of isolation from the world with a tight schedule of activities to perform.
By being performed on Earth (sometimes underwater), both the costs and risks for those analogue space missions are vastly minimised. Although effects of microgravity are often not replicated in those missions, there is a large array of experiments that can be tested — from physiological and psychological responses, robot performances in extreme environment as well as habitat architecture.
With the aim for humans to return to the Moon in 2024, and the next space objective being going to Mars with a possible human settlement, the last decade has given birth to an increasing number of analogue space missions. One of those analogue space missions is Asclepios. Based in Switzerland, it aims at simulating a lunar base for a duration of 10 days. Experiments from Universities across the world are performed by astronauts, and the mission takes place in a remote location. The astronauts can leave the base only for extra-vehicular activities (EVA) and must wear a spacesuit at all times during those events.
As an analogue astronaut and commander for the first mission of Asclepios, I had to undergo a tough selection that replicates (to a degree) the selection process from the European Space Agency. With my teammates, we then received leadership, radiocommunication, and extreme environment training (such as ice diving, sleeping by -7°C) . We were then taught how to perform the experiments for the Universities and how to transmit the data to the mission control centre during the mission, as well as how to interact with media. Examples of experiments are the geomapping of an unknown terrain for future exploration, the use of a robot for the monitoring and maintenance of plants, biological and physiological data (EEG, ECG, mood, fatigue levels).
Asclepios, as a student project, has taught hundreds of students how to create an analogue space mission, how to prepare astronauts, a base, manage medias. It is a wonderful opportunity for space lovers to prepare for a future that will see humans on Mars. I would recommend to anyone who has the opportunity and a passion for space to join such projects, as they bring humanity forward and push boundaries of the individuals involved.
