Mission Control Carter Observatory
During the two weeks of the expedition, Carter Observatory Wellington acted as "New Zealand Mission Control".
Carter’s stunning library was transformed into a high-tech mission control for the duration of the crew’s stay in Utah. A suite of laptops along with Mars themed exhibits set the scene and allowed students, teachers and the public to interact with KiwiMars Crew, find out about the mission, and learn more from expert astronomers.
Carter also provided dedicated staff members to look after Mission Control and interact with visitors. This included short presentations about the project and the mission progress at least twice a day, incorporating the latest updates from the base.
All planetarium shows during this time included Mars content and updates from the crew, inspiring visitors to go out and look for the planet for themselves in the night-time sky. Carter also provided a venue for meetings in the build-up to the mission and for a public event once the crew return from Utah.
Education Log-MDRS
The following log is written to give a record of what type of questions were being asked by the students, teachers & visitors at Carter Observatory who interacted with the crew in SIM. The method of communication was via “Chatroll” an online tool of instant messaging.
This instant messaging took place almost every day (see logs) from 1600 hrs to 2300 hrs MDRS time (10 AM to 5 PM NZST).
Questions from students (Queen Margaret College) | Answers offered by the crew |
|---|---|
Do you think a change in décor will help the mood of the crew in the Hab? | Yes I think a change of décor would be a great idea. Some great colours would help the crew as they pass the time away |
Are you all getting on well together in that cramped space? | Yes we are doing well together as a crew apart from a few” discussions” we have together on occasion but we work these out fairly quickly |