Crew 293 Mission plan 19Feb2024
Name of person filing report: Yves Bejach
Our Crew is as follows:
Commander: Marie Delaroche
Executive Officer / GreenHab Officer: Mathurin Franck
Astronomer: Lea Bourgély
Engineer: Leo Tokaryev
HSO: Lise Lefauconnier
Journalist: Erin Pougheon
Scientist: Yves Bejach
Crew 293, gathering 7 students of ISAE-Supaero (Toulouse, France) is planning to perform a range of scientific experiments that articulates around two main axes: human factors experiment and technology demonstrations. It is the 10th consecutive mission from Supaero students and the second one to last 4 weeks.
Physics
Two experiments from the French National Center of Scientific Research (CNRS) have been performed at the MDRS for several years already. We are planning to gather additional data for this season as well. These activities will require EVAs.
· LOAC (Light Optical Aerosol Counter): LOAC is an optical aerosol counter, measuring the concentrations of different particles in the air and classifying them by size.
Related EVAs: Two EVAs planned for the first week to install the device. Every two days, the batteries will have to be changed and the data will have to be collected. The latter procedures can be part of other EVAs.
External points of contact: Jean-Pierre Lebreton and Jean-Baptiste Renard, CNRS.
Point of contact within the crew: Lea Bourgely.
· Mega-Ares: Mega-Ares is a sensor precisely measuring the electric field and the conductivity of the air. It is the little brother of Micro-Ares, the only payload of the Schiaparelli lander (ExoMars 2016). This year we’ll also install a wind-mill that will give us aditionnal data.
Related EVAs: Performed simultaneously with the EVAs planned for LOAC. Two EVAs planned for the first week to install the device. Every two days, the batteries will have to be changed and the data will have to be collected. The latter procedures can be part of other EVAs.
External points of contact: Jean-Pierre Lebreton and Jean-Baptiste Renard, CNRS.
Point of contact within the crew: Lea Bourgely.
Technology
Technology demonstrations are planned, one of them being the continuation of the two last missions of ISAE-Supaero (Crew 263 and 275). They are based on technologies developed by the French Space Agency (CNES) and its health subsidiary (MEDES).
· AI4U: AI4U is an AI tool designed to help and assist astronauts in their daily tasks (environmental measurements, voice recognition). The aim is to test this AI assistant in real or close-to-real scenarios.
Related EVAs: None.
External points of contact: Gregory Navarro and Laure Boyer, CNES.
Point of contact within the crew: Mathurin Franck.
· Echofinder: Onboard the ISS, ultrasound scanners are teleoperated by trained specialists. As we travel further away from Earth, communication delays will increase and teleoperated devices will no longer be usable. The goal of Echofinder is to enable autonomous ultrasound acquisition sessions without any knowledge in medicine and any communication link with an experienced sonographer. The Echofinder tool uses augmented reality and an AI to help the operator capture usable imagery of the subject’s organs.
Related EVAs: None.
External point of contact: Aristée Thévenon, MEDES.
Point of contact within the crew: Yves Bejach.
· Photogrammetry: Re-conducting an experiment started by last year’s crew (Crew 275) which aims to determine how a 3D map created thanks to drone photogrammetry could improve an EVA crew’s performance during an outing.
Related EVAs: Three EVAs per week, starting the second week. The first one’s goal is to create the 3D map and decide where to position checkpoints on a designated area (one area per week). For the 2nd and 3rd ones, the EVA team will go to each checkpoint, having prepared the EVA using the standard 2D and 3D map respectively.
External point of contact: Alice Chapiron, ISAE Supaero student (Crew275)
Point of contact within the crew: Yves Bejach
· Neuroergonomy: Experiment aiming to evaluate the importance of vision compared to other senses in our perception of space.
Related EVAs: None
External point of contact: Maelis Lefebvre, ISAE-Supaero
Point of contact within the crew: Leo Tokaryev
Human factors
Human factors experiments are arguably the ones that benefit the most from taking place during an analogous mission.
· KTHitecture: Measure of the stress of analog astronauts and of the influence of environmental parameters on the stress using Polar bands bracelets, sleep monitoring using Dreem headbands, questionnaires, evaluation of the position of the analog astronauts in the station, and environmental measurement (temperature, humidity, etc.).
Related EVAs: None.
External point of contact: Michail Magkos, KTH.
Point of contact within the crew: Lise Lefauconnier.
· MELiSSA: The MELiSSA project (Micro-Ecological Life Support System Alternative) is a European project led by the European Space Agency (ESA) aiming at developing a highly circular and regenerative life support system for space missions. The ALiSSE methodology (Advanced Life Support System Alternative) was developed as part of the project to provide an impartial evaluation tool of each technology system, including mass, energy and power, efficiency, crew time, crew risk, reliability, and durability. The proposed activity within the MELiSSA project focuses on the operational aspects of preparing recipes from higher plants and aims for a preliminary evaluation of the "crew time" criterion.
Related EVAs: None
External point of contact: Blandine Gorce, ESA
Point of contact within the crew: Mathurin Franck
· Trace Lab: The purpose of this research is to better understand the role that emotion and coping strategies have on team dynamics within ICE (Isolated, Confined, Extreme) teams. The findings from this study will aid in the understanding of the role of affect within teams operating in ICE conditions – something that has been highlighted as being important by researchers, Antarctic expeditioners, and astronauts. Experiment conducted in collaboration with Trace Lab, University of Florida.
Related EVAs: None
External point of contact: Andres Kaosaar
Point of contact within the crew: Marie Delaroche
· AMI – Anomalies Monitoring Interface: Software allowing random anomalies to occur within the station to simulate problems that could happen in a real environment and see how we could react. The main goal is to improve the simulation.
Related EVAs: Potentially emergency EVAs in case of depressurization of ammoniac leak. It is worth noting that such emergencies cannot be mistaken for real ones as it is not a problem that can occur within our earthly MDRS.
External point of contact: Quentin Royer, ISAE Supaero student (Crew275)
Point of contact within the crew: Marie Delaroche
· Timepercept: Subjective time perception in confined environments, such as isolation or imprisonment, often leads to a distortion of time experience. The phenomenon is significant in understanding the psychological effects of confinement and has implications for mental health management in isolated or controlled settings like space missions or solitary confinement. Experiment conducted with the University of Krakow.
Related EVAs: None
External point of contact: Mateusz Daniol
Point of contact within the crew: Erin Pougheon
Outreach
· Media: Several articles and interviews in French newspaper and on radio
· Scientific mediation: We, like all Supaero Crews that came before us, try to share our passion for space and science in general by engaging in intervention in middle and high school. This year, we developed with high-schoolers a 3-step project around growing food on Mars.
Related EVAs: One as early as possible to retrieve some martian soil in which to plant radish seeds.
External point of contact: None
Point of contact within the crew: Mathurin Franck