A Yellow Jacket on Mars
by Clarence Oxford
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Aug 05, 2024
When the door to NASA’s Mars Dune Alpha habitat in Houston closed, Georgia Tech alumnus Ross Brockwell was virtually transported 152 million miles to the Red Planet as part of the Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA) mission.
For 378 days, Brockwell, a 1999 civil engineering graduate, and three other crew members took part in this study, designed to explore the challenges of deep space travel and its impacts on human health and performance. They engaged in robotic operations, habitat upkeep, farming activities, and simulated Mars surface walks using virtual reality, all while managing limited resources, isolation, and confinement.
“Sometimes, you get chances in your lifetime, and if I don’t get a chance to actually go to Mars, if I can take this chance to help us get there as a planet, I’m honored,” he said.
Inside the 1,700-square-foot habitat, Brockwell served as the mission’s flight engineer, focusing on infrastructure, design, and leadership. He learned to anticipate failures and plan contingencies, while NASA collected valuable data on the crew’s physical and cognitive health.
“There was a lot of science, but some of the science was focused on us as the participants – our physiology and our performance – to make the mission as realistic as possible,” he said.
Effective communication is vital for space missions. Messages from Mars to Earth took an average of 20 minutes, testing the crew’s ability to function in isolation. Despite limited external communication, the crew bonded through team activities and celebrated milestones together. Brockwell even used a 3D printer to make a bracket for a mini-basketball hoop.
Meals in the habitat resembled those on the International Space Station, with shelf-stable food and some cultivated crops like tomatoes. Brockwell debunked common myths about astronaut food, stating, “I say with all sincerity, it was delicious.” His favorite was a peanut chicken and wild rice mix, and the crew often got creative by mixing different ingredients.
One of Brockwell’s biggest surprises was how quickly the mission passed.
“I hoped and thought it would be that way, but we proved that a well-comprised crew can have a good time while doing this. There were a lot of cliched expectations that there would be issues that we just didn’t have. I think we demonstrated that a mission like this can be a huge success and an enjoyable, positive experience, not just something to be endured,” he said.
Reflecting on his education at Georgia Tech, Brockwell highlighted the importance of engineering fundamentals and open-mindedness. With a master’s degree in aeronautics from Caltech and his CHAPEA mission experience, he believes systems engineering is essential for future space exploration.
“Thinking about the effect of every component on every other component and the emergent properties from complex systems is crucial. I think that systems thinking is going to become increasingly important. Ecology and ecological thinking need to be part of it, especially for aerospace. If you’re thinking about deep space exploration, an understanding of ecological principles and closed-loop systems will be key,” he said.
After the mission, Brockwell cherished the sights and smells of Earth. Yet, if given the chance to travel to Mars, he would eagerly volunteer.
Related Links
Georgia Tech
Mars News and Information at MarsDaily.com
Lunar Dreams and more