Yesterday evening, the Austrian Space Forum (@oewf) hosted a Twitter Q&A with MARS2013 Expedition Lead Gernot Groemer. For those who could not join us during the session, we have collected the many interesting questions and answers below:

Q: “When you dream, do you dream of Mars or of Earth?”

A: “We are not on Mars but not on Earth either but we dream of space exploration nonetheless.”

Q: “What do the analog-astronauts in their real life?”

A: “We have a researcher in the field of astrobiology, a student and an engineer who work in IT. (3 total).”

Q: “After two weeks in the desert, what was your most memorable experience?”

A: “The first steps on the first day of the simulation mode that a lot of things went right to get to this point.”

Q: “A girl today asked me during the Workshop at a High School in India How could she relate to such Mission in future as Biology student?”

A: “A lot of work is for astrobiology and we need biologists when we search for life on Mars to start with.”

Q: “What is the highest temperature measured inside a Auouda.X suit in Morocco?”

A: “The highest temp inside was around 30˚C which is the peak temp we can handle with the thermo control system.”

Q: “What was most unexpected compare to the Dachstein ice cave sim?”

A: “All the hardware we brought performed exactly as we expected. They are robust enough to survive 5 weeks in desert”

Q: “Können Marsonauten nach der Landung sofort gehen? Wenn ja auch mit Aouda?”

A: “Sie werden gehen können, aber mit einem Raumanzug Tage, wenn nicht Wochen bevor sie den Planeten erkunden können.”

A: “Aouda ist nur ein Raumanzug Simulator und ist leider nicht tauglich fuer die Raumfahrt.”

Q: “What is fundamentally different about #simulateMars that you would not find in e.g. #simulateMoon #simulateTitan, etc…”

A: “Titan: it’s the temperature (very cold liquid Methane), for the Moon it’s the missing time delay compared to Mars.”

Q: “what was the toughest moment Crew had to face during Mission? How are we going to plan to overcome such problem once we are on Mars”

A: “Challenge of the dust storms and we face them. Simulation-wise when we lose communication in critical moments.”

Q: “If @MarsOneProject knocked on your door one morning to place an order for 4 fully functional suits. Could you deliver ?”

A: “We could deliver but it would require time. We have the know how to deliver functional suits.”

Q: “Das heißt 20 Tage Aufenthalt auf dem Roten Planeten ist zu wenig?”

A: “20 Tage Aufenthalt ist zu wenig auf Mars.”

Q: “What letter will be the next Aouda suit?”

A: “We have not decided yet. We have Delta, Sierra and X-ray so far.”

Q: “why are there no female analog-astronauts?”

A: “The Aoudas could accomodate female analog astronauts but we did not have any apply for the job. Maybe you want to?”

Q: “Do yiou have any links to actual Mars mission planning yet? In other words: Will there be an Aouda ‘flight model’ suit?”

A: “We are in touch with mission planners. Aouda is a research prototype. A forerunner of the actual Mars suit.”

Q: “I know the expedition isn’t finished yet, but… any indication of potential scientific results on the horizon?”

A: “Most definitely. Details will be discussed at the science workshop in May and then published afterwards.”

Q: “Who is the main ‘customer’ for the suit and rover analogue data?”

A: “Client #1 are principal investigators, #2 are agencies interested in workflow #3 the OeWF itself #4 industry.”

Q: “Will it be open source in time?”

A: “Most of science data will be available for research and biomedical data is protected. Does that answer the Q?”

Q: “Do you have any idea how many miles the two suit simulators and the rovers have traveled in the desert?”

A: “A rough estimate would be around 600 kilometers.”

Q: “what if you get a free wish for you next project, what would you wish?”

A: “A pressurized rover and customized quad bikes.”

Q: “Again, given MARS2013 isn’t even finished, are there already any embrionic next plans (before PolAres arctic)…? Locations? Dates?”

A: “We are planning several short missions of 2-3 days, before heading for the arctic. No locations or dates fixed yet.”

Q: “in what decade do you predict a manned mission to Mars”

A: “We would say 2035 which means the first human is already born to set foot on Mars.”

Q: “Do you think Dennis Tito’s plan to go to Mars in 2018 is a publicity stunt?”

A: “2018 is not doable. Not rocket, no suit, no plausible launch window and no infrastructure.”

Q: “Did you experience any stress due to the communications time delay?”

A: “Most definitely. Biggest stress was waiting for critical response during simulated emergency.”

Q: “How long do the batteries last in the suit during an EVA?”

A: “That depends on the usage of thermo control and ventilation. About 4 hours.”

Q: “What would you say how much sleep you would get in average per night?”

A: “Depending on the Flightplan and dust storms between two and nine hours.”

Q: “How do you account for the lower gravity on Mars during your simulation?”

A: “Our suits are designed to give exactly the weight/force ratio you have on Mars.”

Q: “Is it physically demanding to wear the suit during the EVA ? How heavy are the suits ?”

A: “Working in the suit is physically demanding. 45kg, plus exoskeleton= trying to run in SCUBA suit.”

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Q&A and asked a lot of interesting questions, and don’t forget to follow the Austrian Space Forum on Twitter!