Final Countdown

With only ONE month left to go, our theme song is finally singing true.. "It’s the FINAL countdown! Doo do doo doo, do do doo do doo!” The theme song for our mission, “Final Countdown” by Europe, first caught on during our halloween costume party / finally-able-to-watch-the-world-series party. Our mission support team was kind enough to record the final game of the World Series for us. However, for several days, there were problems with uploading such a large file, so we finally were able to watch the game on Halloween, which was the first holiday that we celebrated together in the dome.

As we were waiting for the file to download, I started playing the “Final Countdown” song, which is part of the movie Hot Rod’s soundtrack. The file took longer than expected to download, and we ended up listening to the song over and over; when the song restarted each time is was an ironic act of hilarity, so rather than waiting impatiently, we were all happily singing “doo do doo” until at last, the game successfully downloaded!

Since then, our theme song has debuted quite often. It's sometimes blasted on the speakers when it’s time to begin our NASA behavioral tasks in the afternoons, or to gather up the troops for dinner. Of course, we also played this song as part of our countdown for ringing in the new year. However, in one month, we will sing "do do doo do doo" together with more meaning than ever, as it will truly be the final countdown to our mission end.

On June 13th, we will exit the HI-SEAS habitat, affectionally called the “dome” and rejoin our Earthling friends and colleagues. After eight months of dome life, we will collide with our loved ones and stuff our faces with fresh fruits. I’m feeling peachy, and other crew members are craving fresh pineapple, watermelon, and raspberries. We are anxious to reunite with our friends and favorite foods. But that’s not all… 

The US Army Golden Knights jump team is planning to take us tandem skydiving as a simulated re-entry back to Earth! What an extreme transition, from being confined to this 1000-square-foot dome to free falling into a vast landscape!!! And if that’s not exciting enough, our 7th crew member who motivates us to workout everyday, Tony Horton, founder of P90X fitness program and his fiancé Shawna will also be jumping back to Earth with us! We feel beyond amazed that this is happening and are so incredibly grateful for this opportunity. As Tony would say, this is the countdown to epic sky-diving X!!

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/video-footage-captures-skydive-13000-feet-26755752

Ironically, the first time I watched the Hot Rod movie, which made the “Final Countdown” song into a favorite of mine, I was with some of my Army friends from the ROTC program at Embry-Riddle. One of these friends from college, Capt. Darren Ekey, came up with the idea for this simulated re-entry back to Earth. The crew and I were so enthusiastic about the idea, but remained in disbelief about such an amazing prospect. Well now the plans have come together, and it’s starting to sink in. 

For our 1-month countdown to mission end, the dramatic nature of Europe’s “Final Countdown” song actually seems more appropriate than ironic for once. 

"We're leaving together,
But still it's farewell.
And maybe we'll come back
To earth, who can tell?
I guess there is no one to blame
We're leaving ground (leaving ground)
Will things ever be the same again?

It's the final countdown.
The final countdown" - Europe

We owe a big thanks to Ekey and mission support for planning this epic celebration of HI-SEAS mission III completion. June 13th will truly be making dreams come true, as we jump from the sky together as a crew, along with some of our amazing colleagues on mission support, Tony Horton, who we consider as our 7th crewmember, and of course, the Army paratroopers who have made this all possible. Hooah!

Immeasurable Heart

A heartbeat is the vital sign of blood pumping through our vasculature; but not only that, a beating heart is the opportunity to experience life and achieve goals. The figure of speech "having heart” describes a person's will to win, strength to endure, or compassion for helping others succeed. Here at HI-SEAS, the crew is pushing toward the finish line with immeasurable heart: one team, one goal. 

The countdown clock is winding down, only six weeks until the mission ends on June 13th. I’m feeling a bit sappy for this post. But I’ll also compare some heart rate data from workouts, so it's quant-friendly too. I’m thinking about a poem that I wrote a longtime ago called “Immeasurable Heart” that was expressing how people rise up to meet challenges. The symbolic "heart" is a desire within a person or the motivation of a team, that can be a boundless, mysterious force.

Certainly, Hollywood embraces the unpredictability of human nature. In movies and TV shows, plot twists from evolving personalities are often what inspire hope in the audience, or provoke fear. Some classic stories of transformation that come to mind.. the dysfunctional team that finds purpose, defies the laws of probability, and manages to win the championship.. the seemingly loyal friend who succumbs to temptation, betrays for personal gain, and becomes the despicable villain.. or the rich, powerful bully who experiences empathy, reforms selfish behavior, and becomes a compassionate person. Though outlandish, I think there’s some underlying truth to these “change of heart” scenarios, in that we are dynamic, sentient beings with capacity for change. 

The extreme nature of this mission has changed all of us in some ways. Necessarily, we have had to become more patient and accommodating in order to live in this environment. We also have had to adapt to limited modes of entertainment and exercise, so I've definitely watched more movies than ever before. In general, I feel more centered and in touch with myself, maybe because of the lack of social media and text messaging or because of the daily surveys and journaling. I'm not sure how else my personality may have changed but reuniting with the real world will most likely reveal some differences.

I promised some data to offset the talk about how we feel inside and stuff like that ;) So here’s some actual measurements of my heart's performance. I've been recording workout data with Hexoskin biometric shirts, which monitor cardiac and respiratory function along with the cadence and acceleration of movements. The figure below is Hexoskin biometrics data with added labels for each of the six circuits during the P90X plyometrics workout video. 

With the daily motivation of the crew (especially Martha and Zak) and thanks to P90X fitness program, I’m in better shape compared to when I started the mission. The tables below are comparing my performance while working out to the same P90X plyometrics video in November 2014 and recently in mid-April.

November 2014:

April 2015:

These Hexoksin data show that I have increased the intensity of my movements (more steps per minute and higher acceleration) while maintaining similar cardiac and respiratory output (heart and breathing rates are at the same level). In summary, Tony Horton is the man! We’ll be doing P90X3 workouts until mission end, pushing play and working hard with our 7th crew member! :)

FUNdraising

Purdue Day of Giving – an annual university-wide effort to build a better, stronger, more affordable Purdue – is next Wednesday, April 29th. There are several contests and competitions that make this FUNdraising effort into a truly FUN event. Get involved, promote the event on social media, and watch your favorite Purdue units climb the leaderboard! Click HERE to learn more.

I’m giving from “Mars” but don't be intimidated if you’re aiming for the "Donation from Person Living Furthest from Campus" challenge from 7-8pm (EDT) on April 29th, as simulated Mars is only 4200 miles away on the slopes of Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii. However, I will be keeping an eye on the "Most Unique Photo with Purdue Day of Giving Logo” challenge from 11am - noon (EDT), as recently I went out on EVA to create the photo below. Boiler up!

Purdue Day of Giving flag on simulated Mars (Photo Credit: Neil Scheibelhut)

In the spirit of Purdue Day of Giving, I'm donating to two outstanding schools at Purdue, as I am forever grateful to the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering for giving me the chance to begin graduate school at Purdue and to the School of Industrial Engineering for enabling me to extend my stay at Purdue for doctoral studies!

My Purdue story begins in the summer of 2009, after graduating from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. I was still eager to keep studying and jumped at the opportunity to begin graduate school at Purdue, also known as the cradle of astronauts! After 21 years of Florida sunshine, I packed up all my belongings and embarked on the road trip to Indiana. 

The view out my window changed from Florida orange groves to the wide open fields of Georgia, then I stopped for a couple nights to recharge in the Smoky mountains of North Carolina. On the road again, I snapped some photos of the rolling hills of Tennessee, passed through the horse farms of Kentucky, and I couldn’t miss the corn fields of Indiana! The sight of the Purdue billboards on I-65 confirmed that at last I had arrived!

During my master's studies in the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, I furthered the development of biological scaffold for the repair and replacement of vascularized tissue under the advisement of Dr. Eric Nauman in the Human Injury Repair and Replacement Technologies (HIRRT) lab. It was “good stuff” as Eric would say! For my doctoral studies in the School of Industrial Engineering, I am developing data analytics for automated detection of health and stress states via wearable devices, such as Jawbone UP wristbands. By leveraging data to promote health and human performance, I aspire to improve the health of astronaut crews in space as well as citizens on Earth!

The 8-month mission here on simulated Mars is quickly coming to a close. I must say that I am increasingly excited to get back to West LaLa! I can't wait to be on-campus in August and soak in the freshness that comes with the beginning of a new academic year. I look forward to reuniting with my colleagues and waving at some new faces on the "Hello Walk" :) I will never again take that sidewalk for granted! After 8 months of confinement with only five other people, it'll be refreshing to see hundreds of Boilermakers on campus!

Green Spacesuit

I’m happy to report that golf fans here on simulated Mars are increasing in number!  With the recent adventure of hitting golf balls in our spacesuits (see last post) and our watching the Masters Tournament this weekend, the entire crew has developed a burgeoning interest and baseline understanding of golf.

The Masters, the first major PGA tournament of the year, is played at Augusta National golf club, a prestigious, private golf course with only 300 members; the club is invitation only, with members including Bill Gates and Condoleezza Rice. Each of these members receives a green sport coat with the club logo. This iconic green jacket is also awarded to the champion of the Masters tournament each year. Perhaps, golf champions on Mars should be awarded with a green spacesuit!

Jordan Spieth, 2015 Masters Champion (Photo: Jamie Squire/ Getty Images)

One of the signature sections of Augusta National is known as “Amen corner” which is a stretch of three holes that have been the stage for much drama over the years. This corner of the course begins with Number 11 “White Dogwood,” the longest and most difficult Par 4 on the course. It's 505 yards from the starting tee to the middle of the green, whereas the other Par 4 holes are on average about 440 yards. The 2015 Masters champion, Jordan Spieth, has an average drive distance of about 295 yards, so after an average drive, he’d have a 210-yard approach shot into the 11th green.. how would this differ on Mars?

Since Augusta National is seated on land that was formerly a plant nursery, each hole has a name that reflects the plant life decorating the hole. I can only imagine a red, desert-like landscape for a Martian golf course, so the calculations below should be further refined to account for differences in the distance that a ball rolls on carefully manicured grass versus hitting the dust-covered, rocky surface of Mars.  However, if 295-yard drives on Earth would carry 635 yards on Mars, here's the Martian equivalent of Augusta National:

The physics of golf is actually simpler on Mars. Without an atmosphere, Mars has just 1% of Earth's air density. Thus, aerodynamic forces such as lift and drag are trivial on Mars with magnitudes less than 10e-6. Simple projectile motion equations that only consider gravity are appropriate for computing the trajectory of a golf ball on Mars.  Opposed by only about 1/3 of Earth's gravity, every Mars explorer could hit the ball further than PGA tour players on Earth!

The club head speed of a tour player swinging a driver ranges from 100-150 mph. On Earth and Mars alike, momentum and kinetic energy are transferred from the golf club to the less massive golf ball, resulting in an initial velocity for the golf ball that is higher than the velocity of the golf club.  Most of the energy sets the ball into motion, but some of this kinetic energy is lost as the club hits the golf ball; this is accounted for by the coefficient of restitution (which USGA rules dictate should be less than 0.83).  An expression for the initial velocity of the golf ball is found by combining and simplifying the conservation of energy and momentum equations:

If we assume that velocity of the club head is 55.8 m/sec (125 mph), mass of the golf ball is .0459 kg, and mass of the club head is 0.195 kg, then the initial velocity of the golf ball is 82.7 m/sec (185 mph).

The projectile motion of the golf ball can be calculated based on the initial velocity of the ball and the launch angle.  A standard driver has a loft angle of about 9 degrees; however, the driver connects to the ball on the upswing of the pendulum motion of a golf swing adding about 3 degrees of loft. After combining the kinematics equations for both the x and y directions, the distance traveled by a golf ball on Mars is given by:

With an initial golf ball velocity of 82.7 m/sec and launch angle of 12 degrees, the distance traveled by a golf ball on Mars would be 748 meters or 818 yards!  

Let’s compare to the golf ball that I recently hit on simulated Mars (see last post).  I was restrained by my spacesuit and only hit my 7-iron about 90 yards, instead of the usual 135 yards when freely swinging.  Using simple projectile motion to analyze the corresponding differences in club head speed, I lost about 6.8 m/s (15.2 mph) from swinging in a spacesuit. Even with the handicap of a spacesuit, a tour player on Mars would hit 635-yard drives!  Better yell FORE!

Watch my swing in a spacesuit at https://youtu.be/B2Bm1miYTi8

Merry Martian!

It feels like Christmas again!  I’m basking in the glow of my computer screen as I watch the finished product of my video seminar for Florida Space Institute. The deadline snuck up on me, so it's been a whirlwind!  But I’m proud of the finished product and obsessed with the golf footage that I added into it.

Last week, on a whim, before I was reminded of the seminar deadline, I asked Zak if he’d like to go out on EVA with me to hit some golf balls over the weekend.  I didn’t realize how hectic of a weekend it would become.. but in the midst of slaving over iMovie, golfing was a timely, much needed break!  Zak even designed and 3D-printed some golf balls for the occasion; once added to the few real ones that I brought with me, we had an even dozen!

On Sunday March 22, the monumental day when golf made it to "Mars" ;) I woke up early, had a cappuccino with Martha, and started practicing for my research presentation. Then, I sat down with the crew for our weekly brunch / debrief meeting to recap events from the last week and make plans for this week.  Afterwards, I spent 2.5 hours recording footage in the airlock, which Neil transformed into a media room for me.  At 4:30pm, I emerged from the airlock and asked Martha what time it was!  I felt exhausted and lost from all of the video taping, but I did not miss the opportunity for the golf EVA!  It was epic!!! 

Move over Alan Shepard, we golfed on sMars!!! (Photo credit: Zak Wilson)

Looking back, I’m so thankful to my sister’s husband, Lee who insisted that I take one of his golf clubs with me.  My last stop before heading to “Mars” in Hawaii was Naples, FL, as I was soaking up family time and cuddles from my niece Maura.  In fact, the day of my flight, I still had lots of little, last minute things to do before I’d be ready to catch my evening flight.  However, I just kept putting it off and relaxing with Maura.  We played with her toys, watched cartoons, and we didn’t even bother getting dressed for the day!

Quality time with precious Maura before heading to "Mars" in Hawaii

Tick tock, oh no!  I rushed around, Lee and my brother Steven rushed out to get a memory card for my camera and an 8-month supply of multivitamins.  Eric and I headed to the eyeglass store for my prescription lenses that were waiting for pickup.  We all met up again to say the last goodbyes, and Lee managed to fit a 7-iron into one of my bags!

The other sentimental part of this story is the 7-iron itself.  I took a look at it and realized it was the golf club of one of my close friends Cody Brownell.  I looked up at Lee with a puzzled face, and he explained that he had bought the clubs off Cody awhile back. Cody, how awesome that your 7-iron made it to Mars?!! ;)

My golf swing in a spacesuit! (Photo credit: Zak Wilson)

Pinches and Sound bites!

My granddad, aka Papa, comes from Irish heritage.  In good humor,  after something unfortunate happens, I've heard him cynically say, "Well that's the luck of the Irish!" Despite not finding many four-leaf clovers or pots of gold, the Dunn family has made some lasting St. Paddy's day memories. So yesterday, I was proudly wearing my green on "Mars" to celebrate, but other crewmembers were not so festive.. I had to resort to a bit of pinching!  It reminded me of elementary school, which is fitting because I've been working a lot lately on preparing outreach presentations for K12 schools, as well as research institutes.

As part of the preparation, I’ve thought back on TED talks, the gold standard for science communication.  In TED talks, the message is always crisp and clear, delivered in a carefully-woven storyline that is both interesting and relevant to society. It seems that the merit of science communication can be judged by how clearly and succinctly one can explain research findings and why they matter.  This weekend, it was excruciatingly difficult to pick and choose what to include in a 3-min video explaining the scope and relevance of my research.  I can’t imagine what it’s like for the TED speakers who condense an entire research career into one 15-min talk!

To share this “Mars” experience, I need to effectively reduce eight months of dome life into the sound bite of a 3-min, 15-min, or even 30-min talk.  Now I’m realizing that this 8-month mission in itself is just a sound bite in contrast to a real Mars mission.  It will take eight months just to travel to Mars!  The story of our crew is like the abridged version of a book that has yet to be written on the challenges of living and working in a Mars habitat environment.

A quick overview on other upcoming outreach!  Last night, we took some video footage of our sushi meal (well, instead of fresh fish, we used canned albacore to make spicy tuna rolls) as part of our outreach with students in Japan. Recently, we’ve been working on a comic book for explaining the combination of educational backgrounds, talents, and personalities required for a successful Mars crew (this is still a work in progress, nerdy superpower ideas are welcome!)  And today, we will put together a tour of our habitat for all to see on YouTube sometime soon!  Please contact me if you're interested in collaborating on outreach with your local schools! (joceydunn2@gmail.com)

Well, it seems that everyone had exciting weekends, so I'll share a bit about our epic Pi day celebration!!  I even had to make an exception to my Lenten promise of no desserts, because of the special centennial Pi Day this year (3/14/15 9:26:53), just had to participate, also it was the first sunny day in two weeks! 

In celebration of Pi day: French Silk, Pecan-Apple, and Pizza Pies!!

Now that we actually have enough solar power to run the treadmill (yay for sunshine!) I’m catching up on my mileage (current total 25 miles in 28 days of Lent!) slowly running off the pies.. at least there's good sugar in my Irish blood!

Rain, Rain

Lately, we’ve had some cloudy, rainy days, so we are not generating enough solar power to support our elaborate cooking or even heating!  Turning down the thermostat in order to conserve enough energy to make it through the night, so although I am not exactly living in solidarity with my friends who are suiting up in layers of wool and trudging through the snow, it’s cold up in here too!

Rain, rain, I love your sounds, but we might need you to go away soon.. there’s only so much gasoline and hydrogen supply on sMars.  Here’s our forecast for this weekend, it’s looking bleak.. but actually much better than it has been!  We need sunshine from morning to mid-afternoon for the batteries to fully charge.

HI-SEAS monitoring system, called UILA (hawaiian for lightning / electricity)

All the rain has made me reminiscent of Florida afternoon thunderstorms in the summertime.  I really can smell when rain is coming, and it’s not anything as distinct as those “Fresh rain” candles, just a dampness in the air. Here, though, I certainly cannot smell the rain, since we only go outside in spacesuits, but I do enjoy the sounds of the storms.  In yoga this evening, it started raining again just as we went into shavasana (aka corpse pose, lying down and relaxing at the end of yoga). It was blissful!  The yoga we did today was an audio class, so I think my sense of sound was on high alert from listening to the instructor.  

In the recording, I could also hear kids playing in the background and at one point I heard a couple seconds of a dog barking.  Such ordinary sounds are making me nostalgic!  The other night, I heard a plane flying over.  I became so alert and listened intently, savoring it!  The sound of the gas generator, which is our backup energy source, also has been reminding me of the ole days.  

In high school, junior year, there were several hurricanes in a row, such that we had nearly a consecutive month of school closings due to power outages.  Still the show went on, I remember finishing up a research paper and dropping it in the teacher’s mailbox, so that we could stay on track with our curriculum. I doubt that'd happen in the school system today.. makes me feel old! And so does the fact that our 10-year high school reunion is this year!

Florida landscapes: sunrise on Lake Jackson, Oak trees at my parent's house, my niece and Aunt Shirley playing by the pool as some ominous-looking gray clouds are drifting in, and a gator on the golf course!

During hurricane days, Mom and Dad would hook up the generator to power some of the more critical amenities, such as the refrigerator, freezer, lights, fans, and the stove.  I remember Momma Dunn making a huge supply of the best chicken and rice I’ve ever had.  Though it was brutally hot without air conditioning, at least we had some good grub and the hurricane breezes ;) 

Here we also have a refrigerator and more importantly a lab freezer that we do not want to lose power, but MOST importantly our composting toilets have fans that must keep blowing!!  Side note, it will be so strange to flush a toilet when I get out of here, since I'm sure it will feel like such a waste of water. But the water savings here definitely comes at a price, check out Sophie's great blog post about us being "halfway between Mars and Earth, halfway between start and finish, and halfway between astronaut and plumber!"