The APUS Analog Research Group (AARG) was awarded a $6,120 grant from the APUS Graduate Studies and Research office to support APUS student participation in the Inflatable Lunar-Mars Analog Habitat (ILMAH) Analog mission in collaboration with the University of North Dakota (UND).
AARG is a student-organized moon and Mars analog research and planning organization and is a subsidiary organization to the APUS chapter of the AIAA. The current focus is on organizing research-driven space analogs with APUS students and faculty serving as the principal investigators and analog astronauts. AARG seeks to increase APUS student involvement with human spaceflight, moon and Mars expedition planning, and provide research opportunities in environments analogous to space.
Three graduate students and one APUS faculty instructor will travel to the University of North Dakota (UND) in Grand Forks, North Dakota in October 2021. During their stay, they will receive two days of training on spacesuit and habitat systems, and then conduct a ten-day Mars analog mission inside the Inflatable Lunar-Mars Analog Habitat (ILMAH). ILMAH is a NASA grant-funded multi-purpose space research station located on the UND campus. It consists of five modules: the core module, plant production module, extravehicular activity (EVA) and maintenance module, geology research module, and the exercise and human performance module.
During their stay, each crew member will conduct their own research, support mission logistics, as well as contribute to ongoing research at the UND's Human Spaceflight Laboratory. Research findings will be presented at a future APUS Graduate Studies research event.
Mission updates and progress will be posted on the AARG blog and the AARG website https://apusarg.wixsite.com/aarg. To get involved with the AARG, please email apus.arg@gmail.com.