Mars Society Belgium

The first entirely Belgian MDRS crew. From left to right: Nicky De Munster, Pierre-Emmanuel Paulis, Margaux Hoang, Arjan van der Star, Nancy Vermeulen, Nora Martiny.

From 7th until 20th of February 2010 an entirely Belgian crew will perform a simulated Mars mission in the United States of America.

The news is official now: an entirely Belgian crew has been selected to simulate a Mars mission on board of the Mars Desert Research Station in the desert in the south of the US state Utah.
During 15 days the crew will lock itself in voluntarily in a Marshabitat two stories high and 8 meters in diameter, entirely isolated from the rest of the world. Going outside will only be done in adapted space suits.
This expedition is organised by the Belgian chapter of Mars Society, a global organisation that promotes research and education on Mars and eventually the colonisation of the red planet. Early 2009 the Belgian chapter was founded by a few passionate ethousiasts of space flight and astronomy, and of Mars in particular.
It's self-evident that this is a big first for our country, because several fellow countrymen may have already participated in such an expedition, never before was the entire crew composed of Belgians.
It is composed as follows with three Flemish and three Walloon:

• Nancy VERMEULEN (Antwerp)
• Nicky DE MUNSTER (Waregem)
• Arjan VAN DER STAR (Lanaken)
• Pierre-Emmanuel PAULIS (Ferrières)
• Nora MARTINY (Malmedy)
• Margaux HOANG (Sprimont)

This composition not only respects the equilibrium between sexes, but also between the Flemish, Walloon and even German community.
The aspect youth was not overlooked, because in thrirty-odd years they will probably be the ones to set foot on Mars for the first time.
Promoting science is one of the goals of Mars Society Belgium.
Hence the world of education can't be missing. Four out of six participants are active teachers.
Since this will be the 90th team that will stay in MDRS, it will carry the official name MDRS 90.

Goals of the mission MDRS 90:

The goals are mainly scientific and educational.
Every member pulls his weight, and takes responsibility in the group.
The experiments concern several scientific domains such as: biology, geology, hydrograhpy, meteorology, geography, solar-energy, compostation, protection of the environment and recycling of water.
The water project continues the experiments of "OasISS", the current space mission of Frank De Winne. Frank is by the way godfather to Mars Society Belgium.

The most notable experiments schedules are:

• testing of a robot (the VRP: Véhicule de Reconnaissance des Parois) that was developed by engineer Alain Souchier (SNECMA, France). This robot will decend down cliffs to study geological layers, detect presence of fossils and search for water sources.
• a stratosphere balloon will be launched. This will rise to an altitude of 50 kilometer. A camera on board will take pictures and atmospheric observations will be made.
• an experiment with respect to compostation in space with worms to check how one can minimize resupplies during a Marsmission.
• measuring the energy of the Sun and the amount of UV (RMI).

The most important educational events are:

• direct radio and video contact with different schools and companies, both in Flanders and Wallonia (the list is not yet finalized).
• provide additional material for the educational workshop “Mars Quest” by GROEP T Leuven Education College.
• development of an educational program for the Mars camp of the Euro Space Center, based on the experience gained.