Project:

The Mars Society research stations are analogue Martian habitats installed in several places around the world in order to simulate what life would be like in a real manned Mars mission. The existing and planned stations are:
- Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (FMARS) in Devon Island, Canada;
- Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in Utah, USA;
- Euro-Mars in Iceland (planned);
- Mars-Oz in Australia (planned).

Figure 1: The MDRS in February 2004 (Credit Mars Society)

The idea of sending an all-female crew of 6 to one of these analogue habitats was born in August 2004 at the Summer Session of the International Space University (ISU). In this intensive, two-month program, students from all over the world participate in classes, workshops and team projects to learn about space from different perspectives: science, technology, but also policy and law. This ISU approach is named “The 3 I’s” (Interdisciplinary, International and Intercultural).

During the 2004 session, there was a presentation by Dr. Sheryl Bishop (UTMB, University of Texas Medical Branch) on her studies in crew composition and group behavior in isolation. It was noted that very little data is available for all-female crews, and consequently a group of 12 ISU female affiliates was formed to put together the present research proposal “MONA LISA” for a rotation at one of the Mars Society research stations.

This research proposal will first describe the main research topic: assessing group dynamics in an international female crew in a Mars simulation. Of course, apart from the main research topic, the crewmembers will carry on group and individual research projects, which will be described next. Then, since an all-female crew would be a first in the Mars Society research stations, it is likely to attract a lot of attention in the media, and therefore an outreach plan will be prepared. Finally, the budget and schedule for this research proposal will be presented.