Crew Experience at the “Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station” during the 2003 Field Season

The preparation of manned space exploration missions beyond Earth orbit requires precursor activities such as integrated space mission simulations at dedicated Earth-based analog facilities. In recent years, the Mars Society, with the support of private donors, has built several of these facilities. The lessons learned by the crews simulating planetary exploration activities on board those stations are generating a body of knowledge that can make a significant contribution to the design and operation of future planetary bases, as well as improve the next generation of such simulation facilities. Drawing from the author’s first-hand experience as a crewmember during the 2003 field season at the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station, the Mars Society’s analog simulation facility on Devon Island in the Canadian High Arctic, this paper provides a compilation and first analysis of the crew’s experience.