First Observation regarding the Psychological Impact of Growing Vegetables during a Manned Mars Mission Simulation at the Mars Desert Research Station

Abstract

The amount of food t o bring and eventually to produce on Mars during a manned mission and the psychological aspect for a human crew to be cut from an earth -like environment and to live and work in an isolated environment are still debated. Design considerations of a greenhous e as part of a Martian human settlement include, beside growing vegetables for consumption, the possibility for astronauts to attend plants and relax in a garden -like area, possibly reminiscent of an earthly environment.. During international simulation c ampaigns of manned Martian missions organized by The Mars Society , several human crews lived and worked in confined isolation. International crews of mixed gender and professional qualif ications conducted various scientific and oper ational tasks as Martian crews would. Operations were conducted as they would be during a Ma rtian mission, including delays in radio comm unications and Extra -Vehicular Activities (EVA) with specially designed unpressurized suits. During a two week simulation of a manned Mars miss ion at the Mars Desert Research St ation (MDRS), four different sort of vegetables have been grown for 12 days in the manned Habitat and in a detached experimental gree nhouse accessible during simulated EVA’s. The six crew members were asked to partici -pate in the observation and reporting of the germin ation and growth process. At the end of the