The Last Day:
After months of preparation, on June 4, 2023, a trio of American Public University & American Military University students entered UND’s ILMAH for their 13 day mission to Mars. Over the course of those 13 days our ARG-4i crew conducted research for each of their studies, that will contribute to scientific knowledge of how to successfully operate on another planet as humanity makes its way back to the moon, and on to Mars.
This group conducted research on the effects of an MRE diet on muscle development, the wear-and-tear of a habitat to understand what materials and techniques could be used to help create sustainable habitats on another planet, and microgreen studies to determine if greens can successfully grow in lunar or Mars regolith. During their time they also facilitated necessary repairs and installments for the habitat, and learned what it is like to live in an isolated environment with a small group, and time delayed communication with Earth.
The APUS Analog Research Group is proud of what our ARG-4i team accomplished during their mission, and happy to have them back on Earth. We can’t wait to see where their research leads them, and hope to find them on another one of our analog teams in the future.
If you have been following along with our updates, and you would like to support our 4i team and AARG, you can check out our Bonfire store for an ARG-4i mission shirt https://www.bonfire.com/store/apus-analog-research-group/ and of course you can revisit all ouf our social media posts if you would like to catch up on what the crew did each day. Thank you for supporting our ARG-4i crew and following along with their journey! We hope you enjoy these photos from throughout the mission.
ARG-4i Crew:
Crew Commander - Dennis Miller
Mission Specialist - Olivia Turner
Mission Specialist - Beau Malnack
