One of the items on my list of things to do at the Mars Desert Research Station was to take a look at any scrap piles that may be on the premises and also at what was in the everyday trash. The area known as Antarctica or the Engineering Area just south of the Hab is hidden behind a pair of natural mounds both from the Hab and its access road. There I found discarded PVC pipe and fittings (from the old GreenHab I), some copper, aluminum and steel; also some wood, old 5 gallon paint drums, and assorted discarded (probably nonfunctioning) equipment.

Daily life in the hab itself produces a significant volume of items that would normally be recycled. Alas, Hanksville is quite small, and rather isolated; there is no place that accepts recycling within a hundred miles. So there really is no practical way to recycle paper, plastic bottles, or aluminum cans, unless one hauls them back to Grand Junction or Salt Lake City. These items are not sorted, but just discarded with other household trash. Plastics #1 and #2, glass bottles, and aluminum cans are regularly available as well as the PVC and other items stored in the scrap area because they are too large or bulky to fit in trash bags.

With the right “spirit,” all of this scrap and trash becomes “opportunity.” How so?

On the Lunar and Martian frontiers, art and craft will play a major role in making us feel at home. But the sort of preferred art and craft materials with which those with artistic and craftsman talent are used to working will be in short supply, exorbitantly expensive to import from Earth. Yet even on Earth, many an artist and craftsman cannot afford the preferred materials. When you have more talent than money, anything free that is workable will do. All you need is the appropriate tools for the chosen materials, and inspiration.

All of the materials mentioned above have been used by others to create art and artifacts. For inspiration, simply do a Google search; you will find websites with content to get your imagination started on aluminum can art, PVC art, plastic bag art, and more. You will find more help at your local library or arts and crafts store.

Now you might think that this kind of “crude” art is good mainly to teach children creative self-expression or to give bored old folks something to do. But it is really a matter of talent and creativity. People who have both have produced some beautiful creations out of trash. There have been prestige exhibits that feature creations from recycled items exclusively.

What’s any of this got to do with the Mars Desert Research Station? In the evening after the work of the day is done, we write our reports and the balance of the time before we turn in for the night is ours to use as we each please. We can watch movies, play games, get lost on the Internet, or -- work on some project. There is no reason why art and craft cannot or should not be engaged in. At least, that is how it should be. All too often we are fighting a losing cause against a very slow satellite network connection. Some days it is better, and we do have time.

Not all volunteers will feel the urge to express themselves in some physical medium. While there is great effort taken to balance the talents of crew members, and almost every crew will have some creative people, that doesn’t mean that there will be a painter, sculptor or any kind of craftsperson.

But if you are the type, and are chosen for a crew, you should know that these possibilities exist. Of course, nothing in the rules or guidelines prohibits crew members from bringing along art and craft materials of their choice with which to pass free time hours.

We brought along a vintage bottle cutting kit to kickoff a supply of art & craft resources at the Hab so that future crew members can try their hands at creating things from commonly available scrap and trash items at MDRS.

Art & craft produced at the Mars Desert Station can be brought home as souvenirs or sold at auction at a Mars Society Convention or other opportunities to help raise funds for the analog program. But it can also be used to decorate the common and private areas of the Hab itself. And that would indeed be simulating what will happen on the frontier. These options seem exciting to me, and I just thought I’d like to share that with you.