Mission Aletheia

5th Annual Mission to Mars Engineering Design Competition hosted by The Mars Society https://education.marssociety.org

Overview

Aletheia was a collaborative Mars mission concept developed for the Mars Society’s International Mission to Mars Design Competition. The project was completed by a team of middle and high schoolers working remotely across the East Coast of the United States. Different members took up the engineering, science, and human operations departments, and together, put together a cohesive, fleshed out plan. It accounted for everything from the exact scientific instruments required for our chosen objectives, safety measures for the crew, rules for settling disputes between crew members, power and communication systems, and the masses of every item used in the mission.

My Contribution

I was the sole member of the science department and led the development of the mission’s overall structure, including:

Defining the scientific objectives and research strategy
Selecting and justifying the Oxia Planum landing site
Designing the experimental program and scientific investigations
Recommending scientific instrumentation and analytical methods
Collaborating with the engineering and human operations teams to ensure an integrated mission design

Working with teammates across the United States strengthened my experience in remote collaboration, scientific communication, systems thinking, and of course lifting each other up.