HI-SEAS IIII (Hawaiian Space Exploration Analog and Simulation #4) is the longest NASA space simulation in history. A social and scientific experiment involving 6 people, for 1 full year, on a volcano in Hawaii to simulate life on Mars.

A Biologist, an architect, an engineer, a physician, a physicist and a Crew Commander

Dr. Sheyna Gifford served as the crew’s Health Science Officer and Habitat Journalist, taking photos and writing articles for the full year on her blog, liveonmars.life. Gifford got out of the dome in August 2016 and was recently interviewed on one of my favorite shows, Nerdette from WBEZ Chicago where she offered some profound advice for those interested in space travel.

HI-SEAS IIII mission aimed to not only find out how much food, sleep and exercise would be needed but also how they would work together as a team, what the warning signs are, when NASA should step in and what is the best dynamic for the crew to carry out the mission.

What becomes of the people that stay on another planet for a year? How well do they get along during that year? How does the teamwork hold up? What are the factors that contribute to a cohesive crew or a more dysfunctional crew? Are there warning signs that NASA can learn to look for so that they can intervene? If so, how do they intervene?

In preparation the 6 space cadets were shipped off for a week to attend the NOLS training course (National Outdoor Leadership School). The week long hike through the Grand Tetons would serve as their first crew introduction. Gifford says it “taught the crew that it won’t always be easy, it will always be work and sometimes it will be really, really fun.”

The geodesic dome located on the side of a volcano is where the 6 cooked, exercised, grew plants, danced, sang and threw parties. The German Chief Scientific officer loved playing salsa and Latin music, The commander from Montana played country and Gifford preferred punk rock and jazz. There were 6 people and 7 days of the week. Each cooked one day, played music one day and on the 7th day, rest. Gifford describes the dynamic in the bio dome as “Lovingly antagonistic, much like the original Star Trek; there was a constant dynamic between the Commander, the Chief Medical Officer and the Chief Scientific Officer.” The details of crew dynamics are limited to protect crew confidentiality and because the scientific teams are still analyzing the data. Kim Binsted, project principal investigator for HI-SEAS…

…What you find is there’s going to be conflict on these long-duration missions. It just happens. So what you want instead are both individuals and teams that are resilient; that are able to come back from conflict and get back to a high-performing level. And that’s something that you can both select for and train for. Calla Cofield, SPACE.com

The idea being that isolation from the outside world might have effects that we are not anticipating. Keeping a group locked together and expecting them to perform at a high level. On Mars, you can’t just turn around and come home if something goes wrong. Gifford describes space exploration, “It’s a lot of figuring out a new culture, developing one. What does it look like when humans are given the opportunity to build a whole new culture, to start fresh? How does it work? What do they need to make it succeed?”

When asked why Gifford would sign up for such an experiment, she replied..

“We need to advance a LOT if we are going to make it as an interplanetary species. We need to learn what we need to learn, what questions to ask. This is part of my duty to the human race, to science and to our country, who is part of an ongoing space effort. Also, because I always wanted to do it! This is living the dream. It’s a beautiful thing when you get to achieve the thing you always wanted and you still have more than half a lifetime to go.

Money can’t be exchanged for goods and services on Mars. There is no currency. You might trade a back massage for doing the dishes but there is no formal commerce. Imagine that for a moment. No currency, no commerce. What do you have to offer?

“Space builds community, that’s what it does, and that’s the best we are when we put everything else aside and focus on working together, solely on the mission.” — Gifford

Gifford asks, If you are someone who finds travel to Mars appealing, if you are interested in space travel, picture yourself as already traveling in space. Imagine you are in space, on a very large ship, a ship the size of Earth. And just like in space, resources are limited. You only have so much space, so much food, so much water, so much air. Begin to look around your world and think of yourself as having only so much of anything. Behave accordingly.

1. Buy only the food you’re going to eat and if you don’t eat it or use it, compost it.
2. Turn lights off.
3. Wash dishes in the sink and then use that water to do the floor.
4. Plant something that generates oxygen.
5. And really choose when you buy things, when you purchase things, when you fill your life with stuff, think of it as the thing you want with you on your ship. And if you don’t want it with you on your ship, do you really want it?
6. Fill your life with the people you want with you on your ship. And if you don’t want them with you on your journey to the unknown…. maybe choose other people.
7. Most of all, decide who it is you most want to be in life and be that person. Be your boldest, most brilliant most generous, most patient individual because that’s the kind of person who survives in space. Not the academic genius but the social genius. The person who looks past frustrations and finds the greater mission with the people in their lives, those are the people who make it in space. If want to be a space cadet. Start now.

Above all, living in the dome forces you to enjoy a slower pace of life, conserve resources, and find happiness in the simple things. Who wouldn’t want to give that a go? — Carmel Johnston, Why Everyone Should Live in a Dome for a Year

Space Food!

“I’m pretty sure they find all the smartest people on earth and put them in the NASA food lab. If you don’t have well fed people — you don’t have science. No coffee, no science, no donuts, no science,” — Sheyna Gifford

Mars food is delicious. NASA’s lab caters the menu to suit each type of crew and each individual has their own unique menu. Bearnaise for the Europeans, Borscht for the Russians and Texas Barbecue for the Americans. They even made chicken nuggets! Dippin’ dots need not apply.