SOL 5: Science is our AMI*
“It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.” -The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
Today, we started to use the AMI software, Anomaly Monitoring Interface, which was developed by former MDRS SUPAERO Crew members. Thanks to that, we simulate the time used for technical management of the station. Indeed, in the International Space Station, astronauts are reserving half of their time on reparation and maintenance operations of different station’s systems. AMI enables us to reinforce our simulation, allocating time in our schedule to virtually manage our station in the Martian desert. How does it work? On the interface, we can virtually follow our energetic consumption in real time, activate systems in each module like scientific equipment, heat activation, … For example, if Yves goes to the Science Dome to turn an experiment on, we can switch them all in the software and AMI calculates our energetic consumption by lowering the battery level. Our purpose is to simulate our real energetic consumption, so we can optimize it. Energy is a precious resource on Mars (like on Earth!). Every station’s module is linked to the interface: the Hab, the place we live; the RAM, our repairing facility; the Science Dome where we perform experiments; the Observatory and the GreenHab. The software can alert the Crew if an anomaly occurs. They can be minor, and resolved quickly, or deteriorate emergencies such as module depressurization! Regarding simulation, this interface enables us to really dive into conditions closer as possible as the real space mission conditions. We want to ameliorate the software, pass it from Crew to Crew, and, at the end, correlate our reaction times to our physiological sensors ‘data.
During lunch, Mathurin and Leo called us to eat after cooking an excellent meal for two hours. We all left our computers where, for some of us, we had been working all morning. Others came back from different modules. On the Upper Deck’s table, we installed the meal. We ate vegetable pancakes, cooked thanks to the MELiSSA activity, an ESA project, whose aim is to study how much time we need to prepare our meals with real vegetables! We’re aiming to prepare three MELiSSA meals per week. It was a pleasant time because we didn’t eat dehydrated food for once! After enjoying all our delicious pancakes, we continued working during the afternoon.
A lot of Crew members went to the Science Dome this afternoon! Indeed, we have a lot of our experiments set up there. Léa, Marie, Lise and Mathurin performed their first session of the Neuroergonomy experiment. They alternatively laid down on the ground or sat down in front of their computers. Mathurin worked on the settings of AI4U, an artificial intelligence designed to help astronauts in their everyday life. Finally, Marie was once again the patient for ultrasounds, due to the EchoFinder experiment. It might happen often during our mission: she’s the only subject of the experiment, and we all need to try the software various times on her!
*AMI means “friend” in French