"First Light" of the Aouda CPU
29. May 2009
As of 29th of July 2009, 17:02, the Aouda On-Board Data Handling System is alive: in a first OBDH integration session Klaus Bickert, the team leader of the Aouda OBDH group (assisted by Sebastian Sams (Aouda OBDH), Christoph Lindner (HTL Anichstrasse) and Aouda project manager Gernot Groemer) was able to obtain the first sign-of-life from the central processor, a Toradex Robin Z510 based on Intel Atom Z510 1.1GHz.
"As small as it may seem (getting a mainboard to work)" Gernot Groemers stated, "this is nevertheless a pivotal moment in the development of Aouda. Besides a few voltage glitches and an initial problem with the memory card reader the first test went pretty smooth. We are fairly excited to finally see the functional processor for our prototype suit. Metaphorically speaking, this could be interpreted as the first "Brain wave" of Aouda - so let's hope for a smooth birth during the comissioning between 1.-3. July 2009 in Kramsach in a marble pit resembling the rocky surface of Mars."If all things work out as planned, there will be a live coverage via Webcast directly from the test site during the first steps of the spacesuit simulator onWednesday, July 7th around 10 or 11 a.m..
PolAres Schedule Update
Between 01 - 28. February 2013, the Austrian Space Forum will conduct an integrated Mars analog field simulation in the northern Sahara near Erfoud, Morocco. Directed by a Mission Support Center in Austria, a small field crew will conduct experiments preparing for future human Mars missions mainly in the fields of engineering, planetary surface operations, astrobiology, geophysics/geology, life sciences and other.
This field mission is supported by the Ibn-Battuta-Center at the University of Marrakesh, Morocco. The Austrian Space Forum now solicitates proposals to be reviewed by a selection panel. The deadline for submissions is 15. June 2012, the announcement of the successful experiments will be released on 15. July 2012.
Detail
The analysis of Mars analogue environments on Earth is of paramount importance for the interpretation of the data from past, present and future orbital and landed missions, as well as mission planning (both robotic and human). Sedimentary environments in particular attract strong interest because they can retain the palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental history of the planet and under the right conditions may harbour fossil or present life signatures.
Date: 25. - 27. October 2012
Location: Conference Centre of the Hotel Meridien N'Fis at Marrakech, Morocco Organization: European Space Agency, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, International Association of Sedimentologits, Ibn Battuta Centre, IRSPS, Universite Cadi Ayyad.
Between 01 - 28. February 2013, the Austrian Space Forum will conduct an integrated Mars analog field simulation in the northern Sahara near Erfoud, Morocco. Directed by a Mission Support Center in Austria, a small field crew will conduct experiments preparing for future human Mars missions mainly in the fields of engineering, planetary surface operations, astrobiology, geophysics/geology, life sciences and other.
