'Amazing experience': Calgary engineer returns from Mars mission simulation in Utah

Calgary engineer Zac Trolley appeared on The Homestretchin January to talk about his plans to participate in a Mars mission in Utah, where he recently spenttwo weeks in a simulation of a trip to Mars.

Trolley made a return visit to The Homestretch to talk about the experience.

Q: How did you get involved with this project?

A:The crew that was selected from the International Space University, which I went to in 2014. Every year there's a slot available for an ISU crew, and I was put on the mission almost a year ago now Iwas the backup crew, someone dropped out [and] I got selected.

It was an amazing experience.

Q: How did it all unfold? Paint us a picture.

A:I hopped on a plane, took the redeye down to Utah, we rented a car, and drove a few hours down some windy roads, down through a four by fourpath,turned a corner and there was this base out in the middle of the desert. Itkind oflooked like the Badlands, and we were out all on our own.

There was a director there to help us get acquainted, the other crew was there, we got the handover, then the airlock closed and we were on Mars.

• 'This is step one', says Calgary engineer off to Mars 'mission' in Utah desert

Q: Was it a big facility?

A:The main habitat was about eightmetres in diameter. [It had] two floors but with 6 people, that's not a lot of room.

There were some other smaller units we had a green house, a science dome but if you're having a bad day, there's not a lot of space to go and hide.

Q: Did you go on any space missions?

A:If you want to leave the habitat, you have to don a space suit and that procedure is a bit timely. Youhave to be fully protected, so [you need to wear] boots, gloves, coveralls, a backpack which is about [11.33 kilos] 25 pounds, with your helmet on, so when you go outside, you're actually completely cut off from the outside world, which is a bit disconcerting, actually.

WATCH Zac Trolley chat with CBC Calgary's Rob Brown about his Mars 'mission'

7 years ago

Duration 3:36

WATCH Zac Trolley chat with CBC Calgary's Rob Brown about his Mars 'mission'

Q: What was day-to-day life like?

A: It was pretty mundane. Because you're in charge of operation of the facility, so we'd get up at 8 o'clock, and do a breakfast meeting. Lay out the plan for the day. Then there's making breakfast, cleaning up breakfast, doing activities like, for myself as the crew engineer checking the water system, checking the power system, ensuring all the suits were still functioning properly.

Then, if we had a mission or were going out travelling somewhere, suiting up, getting suits on, then coming back, getting suits off, cleaning up, writing reports, doing other experiment activities.

We were doing 12 to 16 hour days for twoweeks it takes a lots oftime andeffort.

Q: How was the food?

A:We had a big can of Tang and a bunch of freeze dried foods so part of the engineering was developing meals that were palatable, every day, day in day out.

Q: Did you exercise every day?

A:For us, we were going outside fairly regularly andwith the suits on, it's actually a lot of work just walking around. That gave us a lot ofexercise.

Q: Who was in your crew?

A: Our commander isa professor at an aeronautical university in Florida. Our XO actually works in mission control for the space station. Our Japanese associate works in human factors design.

We had an astronomer from down in the states as well who does all kinds of kids outreach. Our artist-in-residencedoes underwater aerobatics she was a deep sea diver for many, many yearsand does a lot of suit testing andart under water.

Q: Why an artist in residence?

A:In Contact, if you remember that movie, at the end they said, we should have sent a poet. When you go throughthis experience, how do you [ultimately]tell the story?

She actually brought a 360 camera, and we recorded a lot ofvideo in 360, so we can share that experience.

Q: So do you still want to go to Mars?

A: I'm quite resolved to go to Mars.

Q: What's next?

A:I'm actually looking at some other facilities to go andtry out on and work with them. Eventually what I wantdo is try andintegrate more coordination between the facilities, so the facilitiescan start specializing anddeveloping certain skill sets that not everyone has to replicateand I'm hoping to find a niche where Canada can fit into that program.

Q: What's your takeaway from it all?

A: That we're going tomake it.

It's going tobe a hard road, its going tobe a difficult road, but from the people I've talked to, from the people I met, from the conversations I'm having now, it's a question of when its going tohappen.

With files from The Homestretch

• MORE CALGARY NEWS| State of emergency for overland flooding continues in Taber area
• MORE CALGARY NEWS| Calgary's Top 10 worst potholes by complaints