In: On To Mars 2, edited by Zubrin, RM, and Crossman, F. Collector's Guide Publishing Inc.
Each year the Mars Society makes a call for volunteers from all over the world to man their Mars research stations where they can simulate a first habitat for humans on the planet Mars. This year Jonas Jonsson was selected as a member of Crew 20 (Dec. 20 – Jan. 4) and Ryan L. Kobrick of Crew 25 (Feb. 25 – Mar. 13) for the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) situated in the red desert of Utah. MDRS is one of the two stations that the Mars Society is operating. The other one is FMARS (Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station) and is situated on Devon Island in Canada. The purpose of these stations is to study and learn how humans live and work in Martian situations, to learn as much as possible about a future mission to Mars right here on Earth. Throughout our stay we experienced many obstacles that are realistic to what future explorers might face while living on Mars and we will try to share from our own experiences what we have learned and try to inspire the next generation who will hopefully be the ones that will actually make this reality.