2022
OSS – On Site Support supported the crew of the analog astronauts without interacting with them. They took care of infrastructure that had to be in place on “Mars” for the mission to run smoothly, such as relocating and maintaining the Wi-Fi infrastructure and replenishing water supplies. The OSS team was also stationed in Israel near the test site, but had no direct contact with the analogue astronauts, who completed their mission in isolation. Only during the EVAs specially trained members of the OSS team did accompany the analog astronauts at a certain distance to ensure their safety at all times.
In the following interview, Judith Kümmel, head of the OSS team, and Florian Voggeneder, member of the OSS team and our mission photographer, report on their impressions of the AMADEE 20 mission.
How big was the OSS team in Israel in October 2021? (What specialisations were there, what needed to be covered)?
Judith: On the OeWF side in the OSS team we were 16 people, plus the OSO team (On-site Operators) from Israel with 13 people from D-Mars. The maximum number of people we had working in the field on one day was 12, the minimum towards the end was five.
Specialised tasks were Medos (medical officers), Field IT, Quartermaster, Safety, Photographer and Media. In addition, we were responsible for several experiments and also for housekeeping and cooking. The OSO team manned the checkpoint at the entrance to the habitat, made the road closures during the EVAs, took over transport tasks and shopping, refuelling the vehicles (also the quads and rangers) and helped us.
How long were you on site and how long were your working days on average?
Judith: A few of the OSS team were on site for the whole duration of the mission – from 2.10.21 to 1.11.21, others between 10 days to 3 weeks – depending on availability.
Florian: Depending on the Daily Activity Package, some of our working days started at 06:00 with breakfast and morning briefing. The day officially ended with the evening briefing at around 20:00. Depending on our specialisation, some of us were still busy with preparations and follow-up work until late at night.
Did you have any free time and thus the opportunity to get to know the country and its people a little better?
Florian: Since we were not in isolation as a support crew, we were able to escape from the daily mission routine from time to time. Of the four planned “Black Days” (our days off), we finally had two available. For both of these days, local and international crew members organised excursions together, while two volunteers stayed behind in Mitzpe Ramon for the safety of our analogue astronauts.
The first day we explored the Old City of Jerusalem from Jaffa Gate to the Austrian Hospice. On the way back to the Negev, we floated in the Dead Sea after dark.
On the second day off, we crossed the Negev Desert to the port city of Eilat, snorkelled in the Red Sea and played cards on the beach at sunset, returning to our accommodation late at night.
On the last days of the mission, we received the surprising news that the Israeli President Yitzchak Herzog had heard about the AMADEE-20 mission through the media and invited us to Jerusalem, complete with space suit simulator. A few days later, we actually lifted an AOUDA spacesuit simulator off the pickup truck in front of the presidential residence and took it past very attentive security guards to the audience.
What were the most exciting/curious events during the mission?
Judith: It was definitely exciting when Gernot and I arrived in Israel at the end of September and found out that the habitat was not ready yet, so we could not prepare it for the arrival of the crew. But thanks to everyone’s active help, our analogue astronauts were able to move into their quarters just one week later.
For the last days of the mission, a large WLAN conversion was planned in the field. Since our IT person was unavailable on this day, Flo took over and, sacrificing our day off, managed to successfully rebuild the WLAN for the next EVA together with the OSS and OSO team members.
In our quarters in Mitzpe Ramon, we once had snakes in the basement. We saw the first one just as it was making its way up the stairs. Gal Yoffe caught it and took it to the desert. Medical emergencies we have fortunately only had minor ones – abrasions and slight sprains.
What does the desert taste/smell like? So do you only have the desert dust on your shoes/clothes, for example, or does it literally crawl all over you?
Judith: What does the desert smell like? Refreshed after the rain, sandy in the storm, clean in the sun, soothing at night.
The ouveralls, by and large, have done a good job of not letting the sand get all over your body. Mostly. But you still find it everywhere. On the ground, on the tools, the vehicles were covered in it and the solar panels needed regular sweeping.
How impressive is the night sky? (I assume it’s dark there, really dark, and light pollution is not an issue. Is that true? How does the desert sound at night?)
Judith: My last night in Mitzpe Ramon I slept on top of one of the containers. With my sleeping bag right under the stars. It was beautiful. The place of the container was sheltered from the wind, but down in the valley it whispered lightly between the stones. That’s an experience I would repeat in a heartbeat.
When you now look back on the mission, what do you take away from this time?
Judith: I take with me the many impressions that this mission has left on me. Getting to know a new country, working together with highly motivated people from all walks of life who are willing to do anything and make their holidays and free time available. No matter who, whether doctor or student, pilot or employee, everyone was ready to pitch in, help out and take on any task.
It was the cohesion and cooperation that made this mission so special for me. No matter the nationality or the background – we were 1 team!
Florian: And what are my plans for the next mission? Definitely to sleep more ;-)
Thank you very much, Judith and Florian!
More detailed information about the mission: https://oewf.org/en/amadee-20/
And here you can find more wonderful pictures: https://www.flickr.com/photos/oewf
Dieser Artikel ist auch verfügbar auf: German
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