The Haughton–Mars Project (HMP) is an international

interdisciplinary Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several other fields like sociology, anthropology, psychology, ec ...

field research Field research, field studies, or fieldwork is the collection of raw data outside a laboratory, library, or workplace setting. The approaches and methods used in field research vary across disciplines. For example, biologists who conduct f ...

project being carried out near the Haughton impact crater on

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

's northern

Devon Island Devon Island ( iu, ᑕᓪᓗᕈᑎᑦ, ) is an island in Canada and the largest uninhabited island (no permanent residents) in the world. It is located in Baffin Bay, Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is one of the largest members of the ...

. Human-centered computing (HCC) studies are aimed at determining how human explorers might live and work on other planetary objects, in particular on

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

. Conducted jointly by

SETI The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) is a collective term for scientific searches for intelligent extraterrestrial life, for example, monitoring electromagnetic radiation for signs of transmissions from civilizations on other pl ...

and the Mars Institute, the project's goal is to utilize the Mars-like features of Devon Island and the impact crater to develop and test new technologies and field operating procedures, and to study the human dynamics which result from extended contact in close quarters. This knowledge will be used in planning missions by both humans and robots to other terrestrial bodies. The HMP came about as a

postdoctoral research A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to pu ...

proposal by

Pascal Lee Pascal Lee (; born 1964) is co-founder and chairman of the Mars Institute, a planetary scientist at the SETI Institute, and the Principal Investigator of the Haughton-Mars Project (HMP) at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. H ...

, then a

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

graduate student. The proposal was approved by the National Research Council and

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...

Ames Research Center The Ames Research Center (ARC), also known as NASA Ames, is a major NASA research center at Moffett Federal Airfield in California's Silicon Valley. It was founded in 1939 as the second National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) labo ...

in 1996. By 2000, the science and exploration research goals had been set, and a number of features which could serve as Mars analogs had been found. The core module of the NASA HMP Base Camp, the HMP X-1 Station, had been built. It serves as a hub, connecting a number of tents in a star-like configuration. The project is funded primarily by NASA, but draws nearly half of its support from other sources. A large number of governmental and non-governmental organizations and agencies worldwide contribute annually to the project's activities. As well as financial contributions, the project has also been the recipient of gifts such as the Arthur Clarke Mars Greenhouse, donated by SpaceRef Interactive, and a specially-equipped

Humvee The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV; colloquial: Humvee) is a family of light, four-wheel drive, military trucks and utility vehicles produced by AM General. It has largely supplanted the roles previously performed by the or ...

, donated by

AM General AM General is an American heavy vehicle and contract automotive manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana. It is best known for the civilian Hummer and the military Humvee that are assembled in Mishawaka, Indiana. For a relatively brief period, ...

. The active period of the project is in the summer, when tens of researchers, students, support staff, and media arrive on site. A core group of about ten stays the summer, while other individuals stay for shorter periods. Local high school students are hired to assist with field activities. Ten participants in the project voluntarily underwent comprehensive field immunology assessments. The purpose of the study was to evaluate mission-associated effects on the human immune system, as well as to evaluate techniques developed for processing immune samples in remote field locations.

References

Additional References

Haughton-Mars ProjectHaughton-Mars Project Website
* ttp://www.space.com/adastra/adastra_haughton_050208.html NASA Haughton-Mars Project - Summertime on a "Planet" Close to Home {{DEFAULTSORT:Haughton-Mars Project Economy of Nunavut Mars Scientific organizations based in Canada Human analog missions Science and technology in Canada Devon Island

See also

References

Additional References