ReadersDigestAustraliaNewZealand-April2018

April• 2018 | 61

READER’S DIGEST

to carry out longer and longer EVAs

into the crater.”

Closer to home, Clarke hopes an

analogue station planned for South

Australia’s Arkaroola – Mars-Oz –

will be operational one day. Mean-

while he’s pleased that the two North

American stations have given more

than a thousand people a taste of

what working on Mars might be like.

The Mars Society’s credibility is

sky-high.“Manymembersofthe

US society work for NASA,” Clarke

points out. “A number of NASA re-

search projects have run at the

stations – a hydroponics project,

drilling equipment tests, ield robot-

icstrials.It’safacilitytheycanuse.”

And one that, the Mars Society

hopes, will help the Red Planet inally

gain a firm green light for human

visitation. “We’re reaching a point,

if we haven’t already, where robotic

exploration will be delivering dimin-

ished returns,” Clarke says.

“Whileveryuseful,it’slimited.

It’sabitliketryingtogetanappre-

ciation for Thailand purely on the

basisofpostcards.Ifwe’regoingto

be serious about space exploration,

peoplegoingiswhat it’s all about.

It’s the next step.”

hose risks go beyond engineering
issues. “A typical Mars mission would
take about six months to get there, 18
months on the surface and six months
coming home,” Clarke says. Crews will
face unheard-of isolation. he poten-
tial for the worst bout of cabin fever in
human history is obvious.
Clearly, it’s vital, Clarke says, that
crews “work hard, support each other
and get along well”. Mars Society mis-
sions have long monitored the psy-
chology of group dynamics in remote,
restricted environments.
“We understand now how a lot of
this works,” Clarke adds. “You need
to select the right skills, the right per-
sonalities, the right level of emotional
intelligence – and also a group that
will mutually help. If people are going
to be months or years in an extremely
isolated environment, they have got
to be friends, be like family. They
can’t simply be colleagues or poten-
tial competitors.”
Despite arduous fieldwork and
challenging weather, Clarke found
himself “rather sad” to leave FMARS.
he crew bonded well – “like family”,
and “we were just getting into our
stride, building confidence in the
terrain, our skills and our equipment

GRAND TOTAL

What a bargain grandchildren are! I give them

my loose change, and they give me a million

dollars’ worth of pleasure.GENE PERRET