Canada and Analogue Sites for Mars …

               Canada and Analogue Sites for Mars
                          Exploration
                                Stephen Braham and Peter Anderson*
                                         Simon Fraser University
                            Pascal Lee, Richard Alena, and Brian Glass
                                      NASA Ames Research Center

                                                Abstract
Canada contains a unique site for possible analogue studies of Mars, from Mars-related
science to studies of technologies that may be used for robotic and human exploration of
 other planets. This is the Haughton Crater, on Devon Island, Nunavut, in the Canadian
  High Arctic. This location is presently the site of an exciting NASA-led field research
                           program, the Haughton-Mars Project.

    The Authors describe the collaboration between SFU and NASA during the 1999 season
      of the Haughton-Mars project, in the area of space-based and medium-range packet
       radio communications. The work demonstrates the ample opportunities for use of
     Canadian communications expertise and technology in space exploration, as well as
     having an immediate impact on areas important to Canadians, such as TeleLearning,
                             TeleMedicine, and disaster response.

      Finally, the Authors describes the relevance of the Haughton-Mars project to the
    Canadian space program, and also indicate other potential locations of Canada where
              Mars and Moon analogue exploration research might take place.

Introduction
We have entered an exciting age, in which we are witnessing the detailed exploration of
our solar system. We are reaching out to touch Mars with our robotic technology, and we
are approaching the start of the century in which we will surely touch it with our own
hands. There is a wide range of expertise and technology in Canada that may be applied
in this new age of exploration, from communication systems and telematics through to
microgravity science and operational space medicine. The PolyLAB and Telematics
Research Laboratory, both located at Simon Fraser University, have recently
demonstrated the possibilities via an exciting collaboration with NASA Ames Research
Center, and many Canadian research partners, in the Canadian High Arctic.

With our present robotic surface and orbital probes of Mars, especially the NASA Mars
Surveyor Program, and future human expeditionary missions, it is crucial to locate places
on Earth in which analogue environments to those on the Red Planet exist. Needs range
from the geological and biological, to allow us to understand processes that are taking
*
    E-mail: {sbraham,anderson}@sfu.ca

    E-mail: {pclee,ralena,bglass}@mail.arc.nasa.gov
place on Mars, to the rugged locations needed to verify exploration technology such as
communications, teleoperation, and mobility. Facilities are also needed for the
reproduction of the physical environmental conditions on Mars, for all the reasons
previously mentioned.

The Haughton-Mars Project
The Haughton-Mars project (HMP, cf. Ref. 1) is a NASA-led field research program
(Principal Investigator Pascal Lee), dedicated to the study of the Haughton Crater and
surroundings, on Devon Island, Nunavut. The twenty-kilometer diameter crater was
formed in an impact approximately twenty-three million years ago. Today, the region is a
cold, polar desert, and thus presents a wide variety of geological features and biological
attributes that may shed new insights into the nature and evolution of Mars. The scientific
study of the Haughton site provides a unique opportunity to also study the strategy,
technologies, and human factors relevant to planning the future exploration of Mars by
robots and humans.

PolyLAB and the Telematics Research Laboratory
The PolyLAB, headed by S. Braham, is a Sun Microsystems Technology Research
Excellence Centre specializing in advanced applications of network computing (cf. Ref
2). The focus of the laboratory is particularly on the building of scientific collaboration
systems for applications ranging from TeleLearning and TeleMedicine through to support
of large-scale scientific research and other forms of technical telecollaboration. There is
an increasing focus on the system needs for delivery over radio and space-based
networking systems. The lab has high-power network computing facilities and has
developed many advanced products and applications, especially in Java, through a wide
range of funding sources. The PolyLAB is presently co-operated by the Centre for
Experimental and Constructive Mathematics, at SFU, and the Telematics Research
Laboratory. PolyLAB is a research laboratory for the North American OpenMath
Initiative (NAOMI), an organization working on the implementation of standards for
scientific and technical communication.

The Telematics Research Laboratory (TRL, cf. Ref. 3), headed by P. Anderson, has been
established to perform research into all aspects of Telematics, ranging from networking
infrastructure for TeleLearning through to TeleMedicine, but with a crucial focus on the
needs of disaster communication and emergency preparedness. The TRL has close
working relationships with Industry Canada and the Communications Research Centre
(CRC). TRL facilities include a range of regional and local radio networking solutions, as
well as Ku-band access to the Anik E1 spacecraft. The laboratory provides information
services for a wide range of disaster and emergency preparedness agencies, ranging from
local groups through to the United Nations and NATO.

The 1999 NASA HMP Expedition
HMP Expeditions have generally been comprised of several distinct phases of scientific
and technical investigations, lasting approximately ten days. The 1999 Expedition was
made up of four such phases, with logistical support in the field from the Polar
Continental Shelf Project (cf. Ref. 4). A Base Camp was established in the crater, in the
Haughton River valley. S. Braham was present for all four phases, spending thirty-four
days in the crater. Four space-based communication systems were deployed by the
NASA-SFU team, including R. Alena and B. Glass, of NASA Ames Research Center,
who were responsible for Communications and Computing for the 1999 field season.
Two of the systems were satellite telephones supplied by Canadian companies; two
MSAT units provided by TMI Ltd, and an Iridium unit provided by InfoSat Ltd., both
donating time and equipment. Twenty-four hour network communications was provided
by a C-band terminal linking to the Canadian Anik E1 spacecraft, terminating in a
terminal located in Ottawa, both provided by the CRC. A second very high-speed link
was used to the NASA Advanced Communication Test Satellite (ACTS) under the
command and control of the NASA Glenn Research Center, terminating at a dish located
at the United States Air Force Research Laboratory, located in Rome, New York. Ground
station hardware and extensive technical support was provided by CRC, including a state-
of-the-art ultra-small aperture terminal (USAT) unit. This was integrated to a range of
radio networking solutions, including an SFU-provided medium-range packet networking
system, using hardware provided by WiLan Ltd. of Calgary. All of the systems
mentioned above have been explored by TRL for disaster communications, and by the
PolyLAB for TeleLearning applications.




                      Figure 1: C-band Terminal and Base Camp
On HMP, NASA Ames is conducting experiments demonstrating communication and
collaboration techniques applicable to remote field science activities, including the use of
mobile vehicles. The communications infrastructure described above was used to provide
network connectivity both in Base Camp, and on all-terrain vehicles (ATV) that could
move throughout the area, and connect back to the Internet via the radio and satellite
systems. The ATVs provided for long-range exploration of the crater, and provide a
model for rover exploration of Mars. The communications infrastructure was used in a
range of experiments. These included links with Mission Control Center at NASA
Johnson Space Center and TeleMedicine work with both the NASA teams and Dr. Gary
Gray, M.D., Flight Surgeon at the Canadian Space Agency. S. Braham also established
links with Canadian Space Agency/Team Canada booth located at the UNISPACE III
conference in Vienna, including a videoconference exchange with Canadian astronaut
Chris Hadfield. Communication issues for the Mars Arctic Research Station (MARS), a
long-term research facility planned by the Mars Society as a contribution to NASA HMP,
were also explored.
The 1999 field season of HMP returned a wealth of geological and biological
information, and the mobile and base communication experiments allowed the
investigation of a wide range of issues involved in field exploration on the Earth, Mars,
and elsewhere.

Impact and Possibilities
Canadian technology was able to provide significant capabilities for the 1999 field season
of the HMP, and the collaboration between US and Canadian team members was
extremely beneficial and exciting for all. Furthermore, the possibilities for the future are
even more exciting for Canadian involvement in the exploration of Space; Canada
possesses a site of extreme importance for analogue studies of Mars, a site that has the
potential to be important in future human missions to the Red Planet. More importantly,
Canada has the facilities to support the development and testing of technologies that
could be deployed during future expeditions. For instance, environmental chambers that
can simulate the Mars environment are available at the SFU Aerospace Physiology
Laboratory (cf. Ref. 5) and at the Defense and Civil Institute for Environmental Medicine
(DCIEM). There are also locations within southern Canada, such as the Pocket Desert in
British Columbia, that provide terrain relevant for some equipment tests. Canadian
scientists have also made a significant geological or biological contribution to the
Haughton-Mars Project (cf. J. G. Spray, in these Proceedings). Benefits for Canadian
space exploration are obvious, but there are also significant benefits for other important
areas of Canadian life. The Canadian Arctic, especially Nunavut, represents an area
where TeleMedicine and TeleLearning research and deployment are essential to
enhancing the quality of life. Extensive scientific research taking place in the rich
heritage that is present in the Canadian North benefits all Canadians. The technologies
that can be developed and tested also provide for the essential needs of disaster
communications and emergency preparedness, as well as providing a boost for Canadian
communications research and industry. Interestingly, Devon Island, on the shores of the
Northwest Passage, might find its true value as a Passage to Mars.

Acknowledgements
The Authors would like to thank all members of the Haughton-Mars Project, NASA, the
US National Research Council, the Polar Continental Shelf Project, the Geological
Survey of Canada, the Nunavut Research Institute, Communications Research Centre, the
Canadian Space Agency, NASA Glenn Research Center, United States Air Force
Research Labs, the United States Marine Corps, Carnegie-Melon University, the National
Geographic Society, the Mars Society, WiLan Ltd, TMI Ltd, InfoSat Ltd, Salisbury and
Associates Inc, and the members of PolyLAB and TRL at SFU. SFU's contribution was
funded in part by the High-Performance Computing Network.

References
1) Haughton-Mars Project, http://www.arctic-mars.org
2) PolyLAB Sun Technology Research Excellence Centre, http://polylab.cecm.sfu.ca
3) Telematics Research Laboratory, http://www.cprost.sfu.ca/telematics.html
4) Polar Continental Shelf Project, http://polar.nrcan.gc.ca
5) Altitude and Aerospace Physiology, http://www.sfu.ca/~ablaber