Österreichisches Weltraum Forum Austrian Space Forum
AMADEE-24 Mars simulation
simulating human-robotic surface activities in Armenia
AMADEE-24 is a Mars analog simulation in Armenia, managed by the Austrian Space Forum hosted by the Armenia Aerospace Agency . The expedition will be carried out in a Martian terrestrial analog and directed by a dedicated Mission Support Center in Austria. A small field crew of highly trained analog astronauts with spacesuit simulators will conduct experiments preparing for future human and robotic Mars exploration missions.
Simulating Mars human-robotic surface activities in terrestrial analogs has evolved into an efficient tool for developing exploration mission architectures. They facilitate to understand the advantages and limitations of future Human planetary missions, becoming an added value for the development of remote science operations, helping to understand the constraints and opportunities of the technology and workflows.
The test site in the province of Ararat was selected for their geological and topographic similarity to Mars. The AMADEE-24 mission presents an excellent opportunity to:
- Study equipment behaviour involving the simultaneous usage of instruments with the option of humans-in-the-loop (via two high-fidelity spacesuit simulators, portable system, etc.)
- The development of platforms for testing life-detection or geoscience techniques, robotic support tools for human missions and concepts for high situational awareness of remote support teams.
- Studying the analog as a model region for its Martian counterparts.
- Serving as a catalyst to increase the visibility of planetary sciences and human exploration.
- Evolving the know-how of managing human missions to Mars deploying a realistic model for a Mission Support Center – Astronaut actions and the encompassing decision making framework.
Updates
Austrian Space Forum concludes challenging Expedition in Armenia
On April 05 2024 the Austrian Space Forum (OeWF) concluded its 4-week Mars Analog Mission AMADEE-24 that had been hosted by the Armenian Aerospace Agency. The analog astronauts and supporting teams in Armenia and Austria overcame some challenging situations to […]
AMADEE-24 Picture of the Day
Day 25: 05 April 2024How time does fly! With a heavy heart we say Good Bye to our test site in Armenia, overlooked by the majestic Mount Ararat. We will now start packing our equipment, rovers and spacesuit-simulators. Our thanks […]
As part of our commitment to safety, collaboration, trust, and integrity, we’re actively working on integrating the International Guidelines and Standards for Space Analogs into our practices.
Timeline
| Oct 2022 | Original Announcement of Opportunity released |
| Feb2023 | AMADEE-24 Science Definition Workshop |
| May2023 | Experiment interactions defined & preliminary mission definition |
| 31Aug-03Sep2023 | A-24 Dress Rehearsal I (in Peuerbach near Linz, Austria) |
| 17-19Nov2023 | A-24 Crew Experiment Training |
| 26-28Jan2024 | A-24 Dress Rehearsal II, experiment readiness review followed by a hardware freeze |
| Feb2024 | Shipment to Test site |
| 05Mar – 05Apr024 | AMADEE-24 Field Mission |
| 12Mar024 | AMADEE-24 Mission Start Day |
| April2024 | Return of hardware to Austria, shipping back to home institutions |
| Sep2024 | AMADEE-24 Science Workshop |
ExploringTomorrow. ExploringMars
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AMADEE-24 Analog Astronauts
Meet all our analog astronauts
Scientific experiments
| Name | Kategorie | Institution | Kurzbeschreibung |
|---|---|---|---|
| IAQHabitat | Engineering / Habitat | Frauenhofer WKI, Germany | Habitat indoor air quality measurement. |
| Emotions in Extreme Environments | Human Factors / Psychology | OeWF/Human Factors Bielefeld University, Germany | AA intrinsic/extrinsic emotion regulation strategies, using CERQ questionnaire + audio recordings, emotion listing and logbook in the evening. |
| FaR SiDe | Human Factors / Medicine | OeWF/Aouda spacesuit prototype Institute of Mechatronics, University of Innsbruck | Biomech model verification of estimations of skeletal muscular and cardiovascular fatigue, using motion capture, force sensors, EMG/ECG, NIR, spirometry. |
| GeoPrep | Geoscience | Institute of Geology, Mineralogy and Petrology University of Innsbruck Austria | Geo-sampling selection and curation within habitat; performing a petrological analysis with simple tools (incl. cutting / polishing samples), microscopy optical/Raman/IR; post mission lab analysis. |
| iROCS | Robotics | Forschungs & Entwicklungs GmbH FH Upper Austria Austria Julius-Maximilians-University Würzburg Germany University of Applied Sciences Würzburg-Schweinfurt Germany | Robotic scene-understanding/obstacle evaluation, sample collection and identification, semantic mapping and terrain modeling in desert environments with mobile, spherical robots or with handheld devices. |
| MEROP | Human Factors | Instituto Superior Técnico University of Lisbon Portugal | Human-robotic multimodal teleoperation interface for AA teleoperations and MSC t/m visualization; this shall allow AA’s to switch between semi-autonomous teleoperation and direct control. |
| Staying Alive | Engineering /Habitat | ZARM – Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity University of Bremen Germany | A photobioreactor as the air revitalization component of the Hab life support system, equipped with a situationally aware and interactive sensor network. The study also assesses the psychological impact, reactor control from Earth and crew interfacing. |
| ALIX | Engineering | Radboud University The Netherlands Eindhoven University of Technology The Netherlands | Radio interferometry-based location tracking using room-scale antenna setups to investigate cm-scale tracking, as well as ground receiver stations for km-resolution. |
| SAMPLE | Robotics | Institute of Software Technology Institute of Geodesy University of Technology, Graz Austria | Rover traversability, teleoperations for sample acquisition and transport to Hab using semi-autonomous traverse finding rover. |
| RAMSES | Robotics | University of Klagenfurt, Austria Institute for Production Science University of Technology, Graz, Austria Joanneum Research, Graz, Austria | Fully autonomous multi-sensor-based helicopter system capable of taking off from a charging dock atop a Mars rover, then conducting aerial reconnaissance for operator-requested POI inspection or autonomous terrain mapping before landing back on the rover to recharge. |
| Hort3Space | Life Science | ENEA Biotechnology Laboratory, Casaccia Research Center, Italy BIOAG (Biotechnology and Agroindustry Division), La Sapienza, University of Rome DIMA (Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering), Italy | An automated multilevel cultivation prototype, equipped with cultivation specific full spectrum LED lights placed inside a sterile grow room in an inflatable self-erecting tent to evaluate cultivation performances, supporting the diet of the crew. |
| HUMANISE | Human Factors / Robotics | Maneesh Verma Masaryk University, Kamenice, Czech Republic | Teleoperations comparison using brain computer interaction, augmented reality,and gamepad for comparison to reduce overall mission workload on astronauts. |
| PRESSURE | Human Factors | Neuropsychology and Experimental Psychology Lab University of Cádiz Spain | Crew stress simulation – emergency situation (technical/medical type) where teams will have to organize and execute a rescue operation during an EVA. The emergency scenario will consist of a combined technical and not serious medical condition.The technical problem will be simulated by time constrained problem-solving tasks. |
| GENES4MARS | Human Factors | Institute of Biomedicine and Pharmacy Russian-Armenian University Institute of Molecular Biology NAS RA Armenia | Astronaut performance and health monitoring with automated ECG and investigation of the changes in health-risk-associated gene expression patterns in blood and urine samples of astronauts |
| GEOS-24 | Geoscience | Austrian Space Forum University of Innsbruck, Austria | Application of the Exploration Cascade & Sampling strategy, geomapping & IR/RAMAN spectroscopy |
| AVAWT (independent experiment) | Engineering | Bazoomq Space Research Laboratory Armenia | Power generation and measurement of wind velocity with a wind turbine. Testing a structural improvement to the turbine to increase the efficiency. |
Experiment Videos Spotlight
Mission architecture
Exploration Cascade
The AMADEE-24 expedition will focus on the interplay of the respective instruments and experiments relevant for human-robotic Mars missions. Based upon the research question of how to identify biomarkers, which in turn is traditionally based upon the characterization of the (paleo-)geoscientific environment, the experiments will be selected to reflect a realistic sequence of activities.
This strategy is based upon the “exploration cascade”, an algorithm defining an efficient deployment sequence, providing the framework for the question: “which instrument needs to be active where and when, leading to what kind of data sets, leading to what kind of knowledge, leading to which type of input for the tactical flight planning”
As suggested by Neveu et al. (2018) life-detection measurements must be sensitive, contamination-free regarding the absence of interfering signals, and reproducible; one or more features must be detectable, preserved, reliable, and compatible with life on Earth. Experiments will be scheduled according to a flight plan defining the resources, location and timing as well as considering the processing pipeline between data acquisition in the field, data transfer and integrity checks and the subsequent near-real time interpretation to formulate a hypothesis. This than translates into a scientific input into the tactical flight planning for the field crew.
Further information / links:
- Our Analog Astronauts
- The Mission Support Center
- Analog planetary research
- Academic thesis on the Exploration Cascade
- OeWF Peer-review publications
AMADEE-24 MARS SIMULATION
IN COOPERATION WITH
SUPPORTED BY
Fortis (official timekeeper for AMADEE-24), Thomas Krenn, Land Tirol, Gebrüder Weiß (logistics partner),
EasyMotionSkin (official training provider), Land Oberösterreich, XBionic, AfroCoffee, Backaldrin, Wettercafe
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