NEWS FROM MARS

Allen Mirkadyrov, an American citizen of Azerbaijani origin, is almost ready to fly to the Red Planet.

Allen Mirkadyrov is of Azerbaijani descent and is one of the participants in the third experiment to simulate an expedition to Mars, called Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS). The project, which is being financed by the NASA research programme, was set up to study human capacity and its limits during life on Mars.

The "Martian" HI-SEAS base is located in an isolated area at a height of 2,500m above sea level on the slopes of the Mauna Loa volcano on the island of Hawaii. There are just six people in the crew.

- Allen, do we really need a manned flight to Mars?

- Yes, of course. If at some time in the distant future we intend to use Mars as the second planet inhabited by humans, then, naturally, we shall have to fly there, and fly many times. At this moment in time the Red Planet is being studied by various Mars rover vehicles, probes and satellites which supply us with important information. However, these space vehicles will never replace man. They will not be able to study the surface of the planet the way people can. For example, whereas a typical Mars rover can travel a few hundred metres a day, a man can cover ten times that distance in the same amount of time. And most importantly, if during research an instrument needs to make an independent decision about what to do next, it will not be able to do so without the permission of its computer programme. But in the same situation a cosmonaut will be able to immediately make a decision and achieve the desired result. Otherwise, critically important data or vitally significant details could be lost if we always rely on technology in taking decisions.

And here's another (although not very probable) reason for a manned flight to Mars…Should we at any time encounter against alien beings, then a cosmonaut, rather than a Mars rover, is much more likely to gain from such a meeting. A cosmonaut will be able to try to make contact with an unknown being, whereas a Mars rover would await a command from his programme as to how to proceed. Such an important contact could open an entirely new phase of human history and civilization. If such a moment was passed by our loss would be immeasurable.

- But this mission cannot be carried out without risks. After all, we should never forget about the high level of radiation, the low atmospheric pressure, the danger of meteorites and so on…

- Any bold mission connected with outer space, especially one never attempted before, will always entail risks. Yes, a flight to Mars won't be easy. Without the protection of the atmosphere like here on Earth, we shall have to protect ourselves from the radiation on Mars. We will have to get used to non-atmospheric conditions and the constant danger from meteorite strikes. Right now we are doing everything possible to study as many of these risks as we can, and then how to more effectively protect the crews on Mars from all possible dangers. I am certain that the first crews on Mars will be subjected to the most onerous tests, whether it be strenuous activity or the psychological isolation from Earth and other people. Despite all the dangers and the possibility of failure, man will still continue with his missions to go further into outer space. There may be casualties among the first cosmonauts to Mars, but this, too, will not halt progress.  There have always been and will always be risks…

- Aren't you afraid of the unknown?

- Of course, to some extent. That's a quite normal human reaction. However, curiosity and the thirst for knowledge outweigh any emotions of fear of the unknown.

- What made you leave your ordinary way of life and sign up to this project?

- An understanding of the importance of advancing our knowledge in the sphere of the psychology and physiology of crews who will fly to Mars in the future. I believe that this expedition/experiment, like others of a similar nature, will bring enormous benefit in man's understanding of his personal limits and constraints, which will help us to fly safely and successfully to and back from the Red Planet.

- What requirements are there on the members of this experiment: psycho-physiological, intellectual, ethical, and so on?

- I have to say that our approach to selecting the crew was a very strict one. Each member of the crew had to pass a standard NASA medical inspection, as all astronauts have to. Besides this, one has to have at least the same level of education as the current American astronauts in engineering or science. After the medical inspection and confirmation of a suitable education, there are a whole number of psychological tests and procedures that must be passed. The purpose of these tests is to understand which candidate will suit which crew. This is a matter for the official crew selection committee. As well as physical, psychological and educational standards each participant in the project must undergo a 10-day programme of survival in outer space, as a member of a team.

- You will be spending eight months in a confined space. That seems to me quite difficult. After all, you won't have the most elementary things like the sky, your family and friends. And surely it must be difficult from the psychological point of view as well…

- You are absolutely right. It's hard being in a confined space. That's what these experiments are all about. They must show the researchers how the human psyche changes or not under the influence of the conditions and constraints here. This information will help NASA in the future in selecting the ideal cosmonauts for inter-planetary flight crews.

- In a confined space "a fly turns into an elephant". Has there been any friction between the members of the project?

- We get the occasional altercation. I wouldn't call it friction because it's usually forgotten a couple of hours later or even earlier than that. After apologies all is forgiven.  We are all perfectly aware that we shouldn't show anger or offence for long. At the end of the day our mutual survival and existence depend on all the members of the crew. The more we are at each other's throats, the less chance we have of ending this expedition successfully.

- What do you do in emergencies? For example, if someone is ill or there is a tropical storm?

- In emergencies we have the right to evacuate and even halt the expedition entirely. We have a mobile phone with a permanent signal and charge which is used in emergencies. If someone here is badly ill or has a serious injury, then we can call a doctor who can be here in a couple of hours. Unfortunately, we can't get help any earlier than that. A doctor once came to us when one of the members of the crew cut his finger badly. He had to sow the finger right there in the habitat. In the event of a tropical storm, a hurricane, volcanic eruption or some other natural disaster we can leave our habitat and move into the helicopter landing pad which is a few metres away. There we are put on a helicopter and we all fly as a crew to the security area. Because local natural disasters can be predicted fairly accurately in advance, we are told every day what the weather is like outside, about earth tremors, and so on.

- What does the "Martian house" that you are living in look like?

- The two-storey "Martian house" is a habitat about 11m in diameter and with an area of 1,000 sq m. On the first floor there is a kitchen, a dining room, bathroom and laboratory. On the second there are sleeping quarters with small "cells" and another toilet. You can see it on our website: www.hi-seas.org. 

- I expect you do "walks around Mars". Do you have to put on a suit with an oxygen tank for this?

- Quite often we take "walks" outside the habitat. We have to carry out geological, engineering and micro-biological tasks. When we go outside the habitat we do put on our spacesuits, but without the oxygen tanks. We breathe in ordinary air because it steadily penetrates the suit. Our suits are not hermetically sealed and are not artificially pressurized. All simulations are carried out under normal atmospheric pressure conditions and an ordinary amount of oxygen. It is possible that in future simulations the suits will be fitted with oxygen tanks and other real things that might be on Mars.

- Allen, let's talk a bit about food. I know that members of the mission have been particularly pleased with dishes like borshch, Moroccan tajin and fabada. Was it easy to prepare them?

- We make everything our resources and imagination allow. Of course, they're not quite like they should be. For example, our "borshch" consists of a claret-coloured liquid, in which we use freeze-dried beetroot (the mild drying of substances in which the dried object is frozen and then placed in a vacuum chamber - author's note). We all do everything we can to surprise and win over the others at the table because all this effort helps us create amazing dishes. We have a list of our favourite dishes which we repeat from time to time.

- Each of you has a week doing the cooking. What do you offer your friends? Have you had the chance to show your mates Azerbaijani food?

- I usually make meat or fish dishes with garnish. I have often cooked cutlets to a Baku recipe from my half-cousin and her mother (Mehriban and Nigar Rustamova). They have often helped me with all kinds of recipes and tips. It was from their recipe that I made meat pies, potatoes and mint rice, which was quite a hit and I have been asked to repeat it a number of times. As far as purely Azerbaijani dishes are concerned, I have given them xingal [lamb and noodles]. I made it with freeze-dried beef. That's my very favourite dish and I decided to make it here as soon as I had the chance. Everyone loved my xingal, especially Sophie Milan (a member of the crew - author's note), who still asks me for the secrets of our cuisine… My next Azerbaijani cooking venture will be qutabs [pancakes]. I will try to make them from my family's recipe in Baku. We'll see what happens. I wanted to make qutabs before, but because we didn't have any sumac I decided to wait until they brought some.

- I see you use dry-frozen products. Don't you miss fresh ones?

- Of course, I miss having fresh products After several months of eating only dry-frozen food we have started trying to remember how we used to eat fruit, vegetables, meat, eggs, and so on. Thank goodness, four months later we had our first harvest of fresh vegetables! It was coriander leaves. We literally wolfed down everything we had grown by then. After coriander we grew fennel, then mushrooms and then even one tomato. This was down to our Canadian girl who took up a project to grow fresh vegetables and greens for the whole crew. The latest which she brought to the table recently was spring onions. Again, we simply devoured them with great satisfaction… The things most in demand which we really miss are eggs, fresh meat, fruit and vegetables and chicken breasts. I don't mind telling you, we also miss cold beer, red and white wines and other drinks.

I must admit, I also miss our Baku chocolate-waffle cakes very much. I can see now that special chocolate-waffle cake that cost 3 roubles, 5 copecks in Baku in the 1980s.

- What foods must you really have on Mars?

- In my view, to live and work properly and well on Mars you must have products from all the vital groups in the food pyramid. The first is bread. It is fairly easy to bake, using the simplest small oven. We bake bread here every 3-4 days. Next come preserves. First, they don't spoil with keeping, and second, they don't need to be prepared - you just open a can and eat. Third are nuts and porridge. Nuts are full of protein and can easily substitute for meat as a source of protein. Porridge is very easy to make, simply adding hot water. It keeps for along time and provides a lot of energy.

ALLEN MIRKADYROV 

Allen Mirkadyrov was born in Baku on 5 May 1979. In the summer of 1991 Mirkadyrov's family moved to the USA. He received a BA in space engineering at the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) and a master's degree in aerospace engineering at San Diego State University (SDSU). After completing his studies he served in the US Armed Forces, and in 2010 obtained a post as aerospace engineer responsible for flight security on NASA orbital missions.