Simulating Mars in Hawaii:NASA and Partners Develop New Tools for Human Exploration Missions

NASA and its international and domestic academic partners have simulated a Mars mission on a Kilauea lava field in Hawaii.The Kilauea Iki crater where the latest study was held is similar to basalt-rich landscapes on Mars.The project is called the Biologic Analog Science Associated with Lava Terrains,or BASALT.During the exercise,biologists,geologists and geochemists worked together to understand the lifeforms,such as bacteria,that grow on these rocks and the factors allowing them to thrive.This may help scientists choose the best sites to target for signs of life-current or past-on Mars.According to Darlene Lim,a scientist at NASA Ames Research Center,California:
It is a unique integration of science,operations and technology research in service of future human spaceflight.*
The 2017 field tests took place from 1-21 November and were a follow-on to two previous iterations of BASALT.The team thoroughly evaluated scientific methods,exploration procedures and new versions of software tools for planning explorer timelines,based on previous research.Innovative tools that allow multiple users to see and explore the Martian landscape were tested by collaborators from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory,California.This project is working to identify;design;test;and build the tools humans will need when they first set foot on Mars and begin to study a new world.*
Besides the NASA centres,researchers from the University of Edinburgh,Scotland,and McMaster and York Universities in Canada,participated along with US universities such as Cornell University,New York and Arizona State University.Astronaut Stan Love from the Johnson Space Center in Houston was one of the two researchers wearing 45-pound explorer packs carrying technology for relaying information to Mission Control "back on Earth."These two researchers tested navigation and data transmission tools and operated with communications delays and bandwidth limitations future space travelers will experience on Mars.

Update:Two of Three Deceased Family Members Had Post-Flu MRSA Infections

Two of the three recently deceased family members who had contracted H3N2 influenza in Lusby,Maryland were found to also be infected with post-flu MRSA bacterial infection of the lungs,the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene indicated.Those who died were Lou Ruth Blake,81,and her children Lowell,58,and Vanessa,56.Another daughter,Elaine,51,who lived at home and was her mother's main caregiver,also fell ill and was hospitalized,as was Ruth Blake's sister.Elaine has since been released from hospital and her aunt is improving.
It is possible that the deceased children contracted both the flu and post-flu MRSA infections from their mother while visiting with her.Ruth Blake had been vaccinated with a flu shot;the children had not.Although generally effective,vaccination is not foolproof-especially among the elderly.MRSA,a variety of staphylococcus aureus,is called the flesh-eating bacterium because of its extreme toxicity.Amputations and even death are not uncommon from this dangerous,antibiotic-resistant organism.When lungs have been inflamed by the flu,they are more susceptible to infection by the MRSA bacteria.MRSA bacteria can live harmlessly on the skin for extended periods,apparently waiting for an opening.There have been many previous cases of post-flu infection with this antibiotic-resistant MRSA pneumonia.