Table of Contents

Devon Island Journal, Summer 2004

by Alexis Lussier-Desbiens

• Friday, July 23, 2004
• Sunday, July 25, 2004
• Friday, July 30, 2004
• Monday, August 2, 2004
• Wednesday, August 4, 2004

Friday, July 23, 2004

It has been 14 days since Matthew Bamsey (who is an intern like me), Thomas Graham (a greenhouse specialist) and I left Montréal on July 9. Alain Berinstain, the project investigator, joined us on July 18.

To give you an idea of where we are, Devon Island is located in the Canadian Arctic, in Nunavut near Resolute, on the 74th parallel. In July, the temperature fluctuates between 0 and 8ºC and the sun shines constantly. There's some snow on the ground, as well as many rocks and a meteorite crater.

We arrived on July 10 after a six-hour flight from Ottawa to Resolute, with a stop in Iqaluit. Gordon "Oz" Osinski, a geologist who specializes in craters, met us at the airport, telling us that our equipment, which had been sent two weeks earlier had arrived safely (thanks to the invaluable services of the shipping staff at CSA). We sorted out some details before boarding the plane to Devon Island. The airplane was a Twin Otter, an impressive aircraft that requires very little runway and can carry up to 10 tonnes of equipment and passengers.

 

After a 45-minute flight, we touched down near the camp on a runway that didn't look like a landing strip at all! In fact, it was nothing but a small flat surface! We met John (the camp manager; he has 23 years of experience in the Arctic), A.C. (a carpenter), and Steve, Christine and Francky (three Inuit assisting in the smooth operation of the camp).

Since arriving in Resolute, I feel like a child seeing snow for the first time! Things are brown, white or blue (land, snow or water); it all seems so new. I keep looking around everywhere because I don't want to miss anything. When we arrived, the camp consisted of two main tents serving as the kitchen and offices, a greenhouse, two tents used as bathrooms and the tent of each project participant. Another tent has been set up to establish permanent communications and a module linking all these tents is currently under construction.

We have been working on the greenhouse since our arrival. A problem with the power supply prevented the greenhouse from operating smoothly through the winter. The majority of our work consists of increasing the power capacity of the greenhouse, making the greenhouse more reliable and getting everything ready to grow vegetables before our arrival next season. The work is progressing well. Almost all of the systems are operational; we still have to complete the software, install the growing bins for plants and set the telemetry to control the greenhouse from the CSA. Despite our meticulous planning prior to leaving, many solutions must be found on the field. Each day brings new findings that would apply to Mars: the dynamics of a colony, the experiments that could be carried out in the field, travel preparations, the isolation, communication difficulties, the food, and more.

A typical workday starts are 8 a.m. and finishes around 8 or 9 p.m. Since it never gets dark, at least no darker than a cloudy day in Quebec, sleep does not come easy (I dream of turning off the light upon returning to Quebec!!). We work seven days a week here, but now that we are a few days ahead of schedule, we are taking a bit of time for leisure activities and exploration. For example, Oz took us to visit a small part of the crater, explaining the various types of rocks and how they were formed. Fascinating!

 

 

We recently made a set of bocce balls out of rocks (though the terrain makes playing very difficult!) and I brought a golf club and some balls. We are on our third hole! Did you know that the astronauts who went to the moon also brought along golf equipment? We take advantage of the midnight sun and enjoy some conversation on the steps of the greenhouse. Each project participant has many fascinating experiences to share!

In the next few days, new project participants should be joining our group, increasing our numbers from 8 to 18! The final components of the greenhouse will soon arrive and we will begin the integration testing. It will take about a week to test all the greenhouse systems in operation. A field trip is also planned for tomorrow. Unfortunately, we no longer have a digital camera, so our next reports will not be accompanied by photographs.

Sunday, July 25, 2004 – expedition Day 16

Today it is partly sunny and windy—a perfect day for our electric power supply system that works on six solar and two wind panels. The batteries are completely charged and we use the extra energy to heat a thermal mass (a barrel of water) that releases the energy accumulated during the night. This power supply system has been in use since last Friday and no problems have arisen so far, although the weather has been cloudy and calm ever since.

Matt has also finished most of the software program for controlling the greenhouse. We have conducted a number of operational tests of from 6 to 24 hours' duration and we are currently studying the data to be sure that the greenhouse is working properly and identify any remaining "bugs." I can tell that the part that maintains the temperature is working wonderfully: during the day, the temperature stays between 20 and 25 degrees Celsius, and during the night, between 15 and 20. This is the most comfortable area in the camp—and probably on Devon Island!

The infrastructure is also in place for autonomous greenhouse communications; all that remains is to configure the software. We are using an onboard computer named Arthur to communicate, and a special antenna to communicate with the MSAT satellite. We expect to transmit greenhouse data as well as images taken by the three video cameras (a view of the exterior and two of the growing trays) every hour.

Yesterday, Darlene, a NASA specialist in lakes in extreme environments, invited us to accompany her on one of her expeditions to collect water samples from a neighbouring lake. It was a rest day for the greenhouse team. We left around 11:30 a.m. with our equipment for the day, our lunch, a few radios and a gun. We ate lunch near the lake. While Darlene was collecting her samples, we spent our time relaxing, exploring the area and taking pictures. Darlene gave us a short lesson on the life forms that live under such difficult conditions. We made a detour on the way back to see more of the area. I think that four weeks here will be too short—there are so many things to discover. I'm afraid that my pictures won't capture what it's actually like to be here. As Buzz Aldrin said of the moon, it's "magnificent desolation."

Friday's flight brought other researchers to the site. A joint team from NASA and Honeybee Robotics is here testing the operation of a drill. A French student is studying the formation of polygons (the pattern caused by soil drying, by erosion, or by the presence of water) on the crater floor. A geochemist is studying methods of detecting life in hostile environments. And there are researchers working on a spacesuit that records and transmits vital signs to a station in Houston.

Our work in the coming days could change. We are waiting for propane to heat the greenhouse and plant growing trays, still in Resolute. A flight should arrive with this equipment within a few hours, but if it doesn't, we'll have to rethink our plan.

Friday, July 30, 2004 – expedition Day 21

Last night, we finished installing all the systems. Luckily, the growing bins arrived on Wednesday's flight. Since then, we have worked non-stop to install and complete the connections to the control system. In a few minutes, we will start the entire system, which will run until we leave, probably on August 2. We have planned a number of tests: plant growth, dormant mode (low-energy consumption), security system check, telemetry, etc.

Tom is supposed to be leaving on this afternoon's flight. Matt, Alain and I are staying to finish testing the system. Tom has worked hard to complete installation of the new plant growth system. We now have a drip watering system that delivers water directly to the roots of each plant.

In the last few days, we had opportunities to hear three of the camp's scientists give talks. Oz told us about his study of the geology of the crater for his PhD research. More specifically, he was analysing the transformation of carbonates at the time of impact. The results of his work raise questions concerning the theory about how a collision of a meteorite triggered the extinction of the dinosaurs.

JD spoke on how astronauts were affected by space travel from a physiological point of view. During the first few minutes in space, for example, astronauts experience a constant urge to urinate. In fact, in the absence of gravity the body believes that it contains too much blood; the blood rises to the upper part of the body and is eliminated in the urine.

In the last talk, John spoke about how life can be detected by analyzing water particles contained in rocks and grains of sand and how this technique is being applied on Mars.

We will spend the coming days making an inventory of the equipment on site, packing, ensuring that everything is working well, and closing camp.

Monday, August 2, 2004 – expedition Day 24

When I wrote my last summary, the greenhouse seemed to be working perfectly. We've since found that such was not quite the case. The computer reboots after several hours of uptime, and we can't tell why. We tried a number of things: changing the bases, removing and replacing modules, disconnecting components and rechecking the maximum energy drain, etc. All of which gave us a better understanding of how the greenhouse works and solved some other minor problems, but the computer keeps on rebooting. It's a tough problem to solve since it happens at random intervals, separated by long periods of normal operation. And we haven't time to sort it out, since our airplane leaves today. Fortunately, the computer always reboots without any difficulty and operations continue normally until the next reboot.

It's been difficult, over the last few days, seeing so many people leave. Each person had become a good friend, of course, but they also all have specific roles in keeping the camp running smoothly. Seeing them go leaves us with a feeling of emptiness and insecurity.

I had brought my personal stash of maple sugar for my tea, for desserts and just to share some of this Quebec delicacy with the other project participants. And for the first time, I met someone that didn't like it at all, who would even spit it out-Pauline, an Inuk from Grise Fjord. Fortunately, most Inuit that I met do like it!

 

Pauline and Rhoda are teaching us the Inuktitut alphabet. The alphabet is made up of symbols, 60 in all, each of which represents a particular sound. So now I can speak Inuktitut, but can't understand what I'm saying! Because of these lessons, I've also figured out why the Inuit would smile when I introduced myself to them. My name means "sock"... Alain's means "foreigner", that's much better!

I also took advantage of these last few days to join in some reconnaissance expeditions. We went through a forest of fossilized coral, crossed rivers and snowbanks, got stuck in the mud, and saw a fox skeleton with flowers growing through it! I find that a perfect illustration of the cycle of life, the importance of each spark of life and the fragility of our planet. A shame we had to come so far to realize it!

Wednesday, August 4, 2004 – expedition Day 26

After 26 days on expedition, we're finally back in Ottawa. We're celebrating our return with those few expedition team members that were on the same flight as us. We got back without any problems. We arrived in Resolute on August 2 and explored the environs, walking on the broken pack ice and watching the children playing in the streets! Then, on August 4, we boarded the plane for Ottawa.

Upon arriving in Ottawa we got reacquainted with darkness: we saw our first sunset in several weeks, we saw the moon for the first time in four weeks, we had to get used to constant noise, etc. I find re-adapting to civilization is more difficult than the initial adaptation when I came to Devon Island. I loved how simple life became, the importance of each little detail, the fraternity between members of the group, the absolute silence, the midnight sun, the discoveries I made, the contact with another culture, etc.

Since our return, we have been analysing the greenhouse data. Much of our work has been devoted to trying to find out why the computer keeps rebooting. A quick once-over doesn't seem to show any simple reason for these reboots. Before we finish our internship, Matt and I will also be working on documenting the various greenhouse components, to ensure continuity in the work.

We'll be observing the growth of the plants until October. Thereafter the greenhouse will remain alert to environmental changes but will halt plant growth. This is called hibernation mode. At winter's end, when the sun rises again, the greenhouse will start the plants in the second tub growing. So we'll have fresh lettuce and tomatoes for our next season of exploration.

And there you are, an amazing experience!

A rainbow above the satellite dish that is our link to the outside world.

The Haughton-Mars Project Arthur Clarke Mars Greenhouse was donated by SpaceRef Interactive, Inc. and established at the project's Base Camp (now Haughton-Mars Project Research Station) with initial sponsorship support from NASA. The greenhouse facility is currently managed and operated by the Mars Institute, in partnership with the SETI Institute and Simon Fraser University. Dr. Alain Berinstain of the Canadian Space Agency and the University of Guelph is the current Principal Investigator in the Arthur Clarke Mars Greenhouse. The ongoing investigation is supported by the Canadian Space Agency, the University of Guelph, Simon Fraser University, and the SETI Institute.