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- Audio - Profile
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Abstract: Mars Society Australia has
proposed to build a Mars Base to explore the technical and physiological
issues related to long term living on a similar base on Mars. The project is
called MARS-OZ and is one of a series of similar projects constructed in Utah
(MDRS) and Devon Island (FMARS) in the Canadian Arctic. A third (E-MARS) has
been built and will be deployed in Iceland.
MARS-OZ will be located at Arkaroola in South Australia. The region has
considerable value as a mars analogue, with features of astrogeological and
astrobiological interest as well as a wide range of terrains. Arkaroola also
offers a good combination of accessibility and security and is well located
for outreach activities.
An evaluation and detailed discussion resulted in adopting a horizontally
landed bent biconic lifting body shape with a ‘landed’ payload mass of 25-30
tonnes as the basis for the habitat structure. The methodology of assembling
a number of biconic structures to form an extended integrated base was also
explored. This provides a valuable comparison with other research stations
which are vertical two (FMARS and MDRS) or three (E-MARS) deck structures.
The outcome is a unique Australian design of a Mars base. The crew are
provided, living quarters, exercise and medical facilities, work space to
study field samples, airlocks, dust cleaning equipment, water and air
recycling equipment and a garage with a rover (the W.A.- built Starchaser
Marsupial) for long distance surface exploration.
PROFILE: David
Willson is a Director of Mars Society Australia
and the current Project Manager of MARS-OZ, the Australian Mars Research
base, to be constructed in Arkaroola,
South Australia. He started
with the project 18 months ago, assisting Jonathan Clarke with the design.
David has a background in industry as projects engineer, site engineer and
mechanical design engineer. He has tendered, designed and implemented
projects worth up to $10m. The industrial work includes shiploaders,
stackers, mobile equipment, steam distribution systems and acid processing
for wharf facilities, processing plants, mines and industrial sites. In
particular he has been Responsible Mechanical Engineer and site engineer for
a number of large (up to 450 tonne) mobile machines and has also been
involved in a $1m research and development project which included a test rig
scale model sizing and construction and computer simulation. David has a keen
interest in space travel and is also a member of the Tasmanian Astronomical
Society. He has had a private pilots licence since 1991. David has 2 children
in their late teens and lives in Hobart
Tasmania. He has also lived and
worked in England and Germany.
PROFILE: Dr Jonathan Clarke is Director of Field
Research with Mars Society Australia.
A Canberra-based geologist with experience in the mineral and petroleum
industry, academia, and in government surveys, Jonathan now works for
Geoscience Australia.
He has worked in every state of Australia, mostly in the arid
interior. In addition he has practiced geology in New
Zealand, the Philippines,
and the Atacama desert of northern Chile, one of the most Mars-like
areas on earth. Dr Clarke led the Jarntimarra-1 expedition, and took part in
Expedition One in Utah, U.S.A, in 2003. Dr. Clarke was, until recently,
Manager of the MARS-OZ project and is leader of Expedition Two, helping to
coordinate and plan the activity from its inception.
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