NASA Consults US Navy for Mission to Mars

NASA scientists announced in September 2015 that liquid water flows on Mars, at least in small amounts, during the planet's warmer seasons. For a future mission to Mars, NASA may utilize water already present to sustain human life during time on the red planet. To plan for a long-range mission, the space agency relies on the U.S. Navy for help.

Submarines in the fleet spend months at a time at sea, and sailors have to cope with confinement, cramped spaces and time away from family for long stretches. This isolation means submariners must rely on each other in remote environments with inhospitable surroundings. The same may occur with a crew of astronauts on a mission to Mars. In 2010, the U.S. Navy embarked on a study to research how submarine crews react to each other so commanders could learn how well teams work together. The military hopes this study leads to better evaluations of submarine crews.

NASA wants the Navy's help to ascertain how a mission to Mars could work on the same principles. The agency wants to start an experiment in early 2016 at a military facility in Groton, Connecticut to examine long-term effects of isolation on team resilience. NASA wants to answer basic questions, such as, "How do teams of people operate after being together for long periods of time?"

The military's research took nearly four years to complete, and the Navy determined how facets of teamwork, such as dialogue, critical thinking and decision-making skills, may improve during setbacks. The result of study included a way for submarine commanders to assess teams in adverse conditions. NASA wants to find information along the same lines, only with a mission to Mars that could last several years as opposed to several months.

Submarine commanders cannot always radio to base for help in clutch situations. A space commander going to another planet faces similar challenges in that some decisions may have to occur before consulting with mission control. NASA wants to find out some of the best ways commanders and teams can cope with adverse conditions when help remains more than a simple phone call away.

Another collaboration between NASA and other industries may help a future mission to Mars. A 3-D printer delivered to the International Space Station in late 2014 created a new faceplate. The idea behind a 3-D printer in space revolves around the need to make repairs in a pinch should something break down in orbit or on the way to another world. The printer receives digital instructions from ground-based engineers; an object prints, and astronauts fix whatever they need. During a long-range mission, help cannot possibly arrive in time, so a 3-D printer can save the lives of a team going to Mars.

NASA already has a capsule in Houston that emulates conditions of a manned mission to Mars for 30 days at a time. The space agency plans to send video and audio recordings of four-person teams in this capsule to the Navy lab in Connecticut for analysis. The military's past experiences may help secure NASA's future thanks to the results of this study.

Photo courtesy of Paul T. at Flickr.com