Apply for the 10th Season of the Mars Desert Research Station
The Mars Society is now seeking crew members for the 10th season of field operations at the Mars Desert Research Station, scheduled to run between 6 November 2010 and 9 April 2011.
Individual researchers, students, teachers as well as full crews are invited to send in their application for one of the world's longest-running and most successful space simulation projects!
Interested parties should send a resume to
mdrs-applications@marssociety.org, before the 15 September 2010 deadline. NOTE: Those that apply before 15 August have the greatest chance of being accepted as the selection process starts in August this year.
Applications should include
§ your full name
§ full contact information (home/work address, telephone numbers, email address(es)
§ 3 references from work or school environment
§ your resume
§ proposed projects for your rotation
§ a list of all crew rotations dates, that you would be available to participate in,
§ plus the crew position (engineer, biologist, geologist, journalist, etc) that you are seeking.
§ experience in leading expeditions/ teams if you wish to be considered for crew commander
§ any food allergies / being a vegetarian or vegan (because of the ongoing food-study)
§ research project(s) for your rotation, or even several rotations during the season (having a research project aimed at publishable results is definitely a leg up in getting selected)
To enhance your chance of finding a crew rotation it is very important that you list ALL slots that you could participate in.
Potential rotations are as follows:
Nov. 6 – 20 Stoker led crew: DOMMEX
Nov. 20 – Dec. 4 Mars Society selected crew members
Dec. 4 – 18 Mars Society selected crew members
Dec. 18 – Jan. 1 (Spaceward Bound) student crew (NOTE: You MUST be on station during Christmas and New Years eve if you attend this shift. This is hard on many students, as you are not permitted voice communications with the outside world.)
Jan. 1 -15 Mars Society selected crew members
Jan 15 – 29 Mars Society selected crew members
Jan 29 - Feb. 12 Mars Society selected crew members
Feb. 12 - 26 EuroGeoMars
Feb 26 - 12 March DOMMEX & EuroGeoMars
March 12 – 26 student crew
March 26- April 9 Mars Society selected crew members
April 9-23 JUMP_Catholic University of Louvain
Only the crew dates with ‘Mars Society selected crew members’, plus the student crews are fully open to any applicant.
Note: Often the student crew rotation in March is filled by a team from a University as this falls in spring break at many universities. For many years the Georgia Technical University has been filling this rotation.
If you are from the university of Louvain, Belgium, or from Georgia Technical University in Atlanta, or any other university that is sending a team, you have two options:
· apply to the university crew to be considered
and/or
· apply to The Mars Society (TMS) to be considered for any crew that is selected by TMS.
It is possible to apply as a full (university) crew, please contact us a.s.a.p. if you are considering this.
From 15 August on the selection committee will decide which rotations will be approved, and which applicants will be invited to participate. All applicants will be informed of the committee's final decision as soon as possible after it is made.
Please note that while previous MDRS crew experience will be a bonus on your application, it is by no means mandatory.
We expect you to have a good command of the English language, both spoken and written, as not being able to communicate quickly and fully with mission support instructions, is a severe handicap. Also because we demand that you will have read and even studied all crew briefing documents, the MDRS Quick Guides and all documents we send you to prepare for your rotation. However if your English is not that good, please be honest about it, and mention your primary language, in order to give the selection committee the chance to team you up with someone who speaks your primary language.
Whatever is the case with your language abilities, you are fully expected to comply with the Mission Support guidelines in the use of the MDRS facilities.
Preparation for your rotation includes following the Mission Support discussion list prior to any assigned rotation for all crewmembers. All crew commanders and crew engineers are expected to participate in the Mission Support discussion for at least two weeks before and two weeks following their assigned rotation. This to ensure smooth crew changeovers between crews.
Every crewmember is expected to provide the Mars Society:
· a full list of media attention he/she receives (with weblinks where applicable);
· a full list of any publications/lectures/ presentations stemming from the MDRS crew rotation, (with weblinks where applicable).
Costs of participating in a 2 week rotation at MDRS:
Every participant is expected to pay $1,000 to cover the costs of the 2-week simulation.
There is a limited number of two types of grants available:
A) Matching funds grant from The Mars Society: anyone securing funding from a sponsoring institution will receive a matching $500 grant from The Mars Society
B) Full Spaceward Bound student / teacher grant of $1,000 plus a $500 travel grant
Information on who is eligible for these grants can be obtained here
<
http://quest.nasa.gov/projects/spacewar ... index.html >
Deadline for applications for these grants is 15 September 2010
To be eligible for either of these grants, a student or teacher must be willing to give a minimum of 5 presentations or lectures over the next 12 months after his/her rotation about the MDRS project.
Included in the participation fee you pay to The Mars Society is:
- transportation from Grand Junction, Colorado, where every participant is expected to arrive no later than the Friday night before the start of the rotation. The return trip to Grand Junction, CO, will be on the Saturday evening at the end of the two week rotation. NOTE: Flying out should not be booked before Sunday morning after your rotation.
- food during the rotation
- water, heating, electricity, SEVERELY limited internet
- use of science and engineering and general equipment, science reagents etc, ATVs, HabCar
- use of EVA suits / backpacks
Not included in the participation fee:
- Costs of gasoline for the trip from Grand Junction to the Hab and the return trip from Hab to Grand Junction. (160 miles one way)
- Costs of two hotel nights for the overnight stay on Friday night before your rotation and Saturday night after your rotation.
- The Mars Society has an agreement for a competitive room rate in Grand Junction with the Sandman Best Western motel. Sharing of hotel rooms is recommended.
The Best Western room rate includes free breakfast and free wi-fi internet, plus an airport shuttle between GJT Walker Airfield and the Best Western.
For a list of what to bring in gear and clothes please read the crew briefing documents carefully.
Every crew is expected to participate in a number of season-long projects. At the moment that is the
1) Ongoing food study in cooperation with JSC under supervision of Dr. Kim Binsted of the university of Hawai’i. All food including snacks at the MDRS will be provided by The Mars Society.
Other season-long research projects might be added before the season starts in November.
Anyone applying for the position of crew engineer, a vitally important job for the station as a whole and your crew in particular, needs to have a varied background in many engineering / handyman duties, and needs to be willing to be trained on the systems of the station by the Engineering Team. You must follow instructions from Mission Support.
No modifications or additions to the facility will be conducted without prior approval from Mission Support Engineering.
**** the MDRS is a constantly changing facility. ****
Do NOT presume you know its systems and procedures from previous years. Read the documentation we will provide you with in the crew briefing and the other crew documents very, very carefully and follow the rules in those documents.
Failure to do so will result in broken systems and in making life for your crew and following crews potentially much more difficult.
NOTE: The Mars Society is contemplating to instate a damage fee deposit of $2,500 per crew to cover the frequent damage that MDRS property receives caused by not complying with the Mission Support guidelines.
We will keep you posted on this development.
Good luck to all applicants!
Questions should be directed to
mdrs-applications@marssociety.org.
-The Mars Society
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