Traveling To Mars: Why Your Quarantine Data Is Useful
Document your quarantine experience
While most of us are in quarantine, the similarities between being quarantined at home and confined to a space shuttle are evident to some of us. Can’t we use this opportunity to crowd-source data for the advancement of science?
Mission to Mars
The idea of traveling to another planet has been a deep curiosity for many humans. This curiosity is referenced as early as 1865 from Jules Verne, who wrote about a trip from Earth to the Moon in his novel, From the Earth to the Moon: A Direct Route in 97 Hours, 20 Minutes.
As we know it, approximately 100 years later, a man did set foot on the Moon. Elon Musk shared his vision in recent years to help humans become multi-planetary and create a settlement on Mars. He estimates that at around $500,000 for a ticket, “Most people in advanced countries, in their mid-forties or something like that, could put together enough money to make the trip.”
While NASA, SpaceX, and others aspire for the first human trip to Mars, there are still many hurdles to overcome — technically, economically, and logistically.
One part of the preparation is the long seven month journey in a shuttle. We don’t know the actual physiological and psychological impact on humans in confinement for several months with limited supplies, or do we?
Mars 500 Mission
From 2007–2011, the Mars 500 Mission was organized by Russia, the European Space Agency, and China. It was a psychological isolation project designed to test the effects of the spaceflight to Mars; three different crews volunteered in a mock-up spacecraft. While this yielded relevant physiological, social, and psychological data in close-quarters isolation, it was an expensive project with limited data points.
Below you can see the different compartments and simulation with a total habitat volume of 550 meters cubed.
At best, we have limited data from expensive studies involving handpicked humans in isolation in a confined space.
Enter COVID-19.
Canadian astronaut, Chris Hadfield, likens self-isolation to flying a spaceship, “you’re part of a crew trying to accomplish an objective.”
Documenting our quarantine could provide valuable data for space scientists who are planning the journey to Mars. While this might not be as accurate as the Mars 500 Mission study, it will give us significantly higher data points. With current-day technology such as wearables, plenty of data is readily available for many of us.
Collecting the base data
Criteria such as initial age, weight, livable space, number of rooms, number of toilets, number of people shared with, and underlying health conditions form the base data. As needed, this could be expanded to details like heating, water supplies, internet connection, and other amenities. Initial food supplies could also be included, and then compared later on with how many days the individual or household went without requiring a top-up in supplies.
We should also define the basic rules of what is acceptable and what is not. For example, houses with gardens should be rejected — as going outside for a short walk any time during this confinement would bring the clock back to zero.
But for practicality, grocery deliveries could be accepted. In reality, all the food should be available in rations onboard the Mars spacecraft. Still, we could imagine a scenario where extra food supplies can be delivered from the International Space Station, or futuristic Moon bases or satellites for refueling purposes.
Day to day documentation
The next step would be to consider a daily diary that captures hard facts on vitals, food intake, and medical conditions. In this diary, information such as a day to day self-assessment, mental health, and related observations could also be included.
Below is a simple table, but it could be expanded to include general daily activities, as well as other leisure, and the percentage of time spent doing these. Some of us are more curious and enthusiastic about documenting our lifestyle activity and so additional applications such as those that log sleeping or screen-time could also be used. It may be recommended to define key trusted applications, as this would keep the data somewhat consistent and easier to extract when it comes time for assessment and analysis.
Ideally, the data should also be open-source for all space agencies and research institutions to access. Private personal information would be optional and would require consent.
