Mars Institute "Moon-1" Humvee Rover reaches Devon Island, High Arctic.

PRESS RELEASE: Moffett Field, CA and Vancouver, BC, 18 April 2010 - An international team of researchers led by Mars Institute scientist Dr. Pascal Lee successfully reached Devon Island, High Arctic, on Sunday, 16 May, 2010 after a 13-day, 150 km vehicular journey from Cornwallis Island to Devon Island, along the fabled Northwest Passage.
The Northwest Passage Drive Expedition team of six departed Resolute Bay, Nunavut, on 5 May aboard the Mars Institute’s Moon-1 Humvee Rover and two snowmobiles. After encountering several days of immobilizing snowstorms and extremely rough sea-ice conditions, the team finally reached the west coast of Devon Island late in the evening of 16 May.

“It’s both a great joy and a relief to get our Moon-1 onto solid ground on Devon Island” said Lee. “This final sea-ice crossing was quite a challenge, but we had a fantastic team and vehicle, and we just kept working at it”.

Accompanying Lee were Mars Institute crew members Joe Amarualik, John W. Schutt, and Jesse Weaver, and the Jules Verne Adventures documentary team comprising filmmaker Jean-Christophe Jeauffre and director of photography Mark Carroll.
The primary goal of the Northwest Passage Drive Expedition is to transfer the Mars Institute’s new Moon-1 Humvee Rover to Devon Island, a location known to present unique scientific and operational similarities to the surface of the Moon and Mars. There, the rover will be used as a concept vehicle simulating future pressurized rovers to be driven by humans to explore other planetary bodies. The expedition is an integral part of the Haughton-Mars Project (HMP) on Devon Island where research in space science and exploration is being conducted by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the Mars Institute, the SETI Institute, and other partnering organizations.

Last year, Lee’s team logged a record-breaking drive of 494 km in the Moon-1 along a western section of the Northwest Passage, the longest distance ever driven on sea-ice in a road vehicle. This year, the team applied the same winning strategy to avoid the roughest areas of sea-ice along the Wellington Channel. It used a variety of radar satellite remote sensing data and its own surface reconnaissance by snowmobile to find the smoothest possible ice route between Abandon Bay, Cornwallis Island, and Domville Point, Devon Island, where the Moon-1 is now safely parked.

The next step will be to drive the Moon-1 overland to the Haughton-Mars Project Research Station on Devon Island later this Summer, where it will be used in conjunction with the Mars-1 Humvee Rover already deployed there to begin long-range dual pressurized rover exploration studies.

“The arrival of the Moon-1 on Devon Island ushers in a new phase in our space exploration work that will be critical to enabling humans to explore other worlds sooner, more safely, and more productively” remarked Lee.

The Mars Institute’s Moon-1 Humvee Rover on solid ground at Domville Point, Devon Island, in the evening of 16 May 2010.

Posted by Kira Lorber at 7:46 PM | Comments (0)

The 2010 Northwest Passage Drive Expedition has reached Resolute Bay after the 13 day expedition. The crew will start flying south starting tomorrow, and are all happy to be returning home.

Posted by Kira Lorber at 6:02 PM | Comments (0)

The 2010 Northwest Passage Drive Expedition is pleased to announce they Moon-1 Humvee Rover's arrival on the solid land of Devon Island. The crew will be settling down for the night soon, and announces "The Moon-1 is on Devon".

Posted by Kira Lorber at 11:37 PM | Comments (0)

The 2010 Northwest Passage Drive expedition Moon-1 Humvee Rover is now fixed up and the crew members are on their way, finding the best route to the solid land of Devon Island. They aim to reach the coast tonight, where they will feel more secure resting overnight on solid ground.

Posted by Kira Lorber at 6:33 PM | Comments (0)

The Northwest passage Drive Expedition is currently working on the Moon-1 Humvee Rover, with parts brought back from HMPRS by John Schutt and Jesse Weaver. Visibility is still poor but the crew hopes to get to the coast of Devon Island later this evening.

Last night at 2220 CDT Mark Carroll was the first to spot a polar bear that was watching the Humvee Rover. The crew at the Moon-1 Humvee rover watched the Polar Bear for a couple hours until it went far away from the vehicle. The crew was never in any immediate danger but are happy to now have the parts necessary to fix the Moon-1 and continue on their way.

Posted by Kira Lorber at 2:56 PM | Comments (0)

The Northwest Passage Drive Expedition 2010 continues to pause on sea ice while poor visibility prevents the return of John Schutt and Jesse Weaver to the Moon-1 Humvee. Weather forecast remains poor for the next couple days but the crew is hoping for the best so the expedition can continue.

Posted by Kira Lorber at 3:09 PM | Comments (0)

The Northwest Passage Drive Expedition is currently a few miles away from the coast of Devon Island; they are resting on solid sea ice with the Moon-1 Humvee. The crew has been performing maintenance on the vehicle; needed because yesterday's crossing of the rough sea ice and heavy snowfalls was hard on the vehicle. Dr. Pascal Lee has sent John Schutt and Jesse Weaver on two snowmobiles to the HMP research station in order to get spare parts from the Mars-1 Humvee that is currently at HMPRS. Jesse and John will be staying overnight at HMPRS and will be driving back on their snowmobiles to the Moon-1 Humvee tomorrow, May 15th. The plan is to fix the Moon-1 Humvee and continue on their way.

The crew is doing well and busying themselves with route planning for the next day and opportunistic science.

Posted by Kira Lorber at 10:54 PM | Comments (0)

Northwest Passage 2010 Drive Expedition has stopped for the night: The expedition is pausing six miles short of the Devon Island coast. While pausing, the crew will work on the Moon-1 Humvee and also get some rest. The heavy snowfall has been hard on the vehicle and also tiring for the crew members. The crew is well and looking forward to continuing the expedition tomorrow.

Posted by Kira Lorber at 10:46 PM | Comments (0)

Northwest Passage Drive Expedition 2010- The expedition is currently driving over the sea-ice of Wellington Channel. The recent heavy snowfalls are a cause of concern for the expedition: Causing the expedition to drive slow and also makes it difficult to find the best path to take. The crew is in good spirits and enjoying the sea-ice traverse before they get back on solid land.

Posted by Kira Lorber at 8:29 PM | Comments (0)

Northwest Passage Drive Expedition 2010- After an evening check-in, the crew reports making some progress today. Follow the Expedition Here

Posted by Kira Lorber at 10:29 PM | Comments (0)

Northwest Passage Drive Expedition- 2010: Status Update-
The expedition is on its way again, with the goal of reaching the coast of Cornwallis Island today. The heavy snowfall will slow down the expedition but the crew members are happy to be on the move again. Weather conditions are slowly improving and the crew is very optimistic for the sea-ice crossing.

Posted by Kira Lorber at 6:50 PM | Comments (0)

Northwest Passage Drive Expedition 2010: Day 7 Update:

The Northwest Passage Drive Expedition continues to be on hold due to weather conditions, with large amounts of snow fall that has reduced visibility to less than one mile. The team continues to hold their position and wait until the weather and visibility improves.

Posted by Kira Lorber at 6:43 PM | Comments (0)

Northwest Passage Expedition Drive - 2010: Day 6 Update: The crew is again on hold today due to poor weather - Blizzard conditions have stopped the expeditions progress. All surrounding areas are also in blizzard conditions. The team is in good spirits despite all the delays and are hoping to continue the expedition tomorrow if conditions improve.

Posted by Kira Lorber at 7:52 PM | Comments (0)

The 2010 Northwest Passage Drive Expedition is still on standby, currently in white-out conditions. The weather has not been stable enough for the expedition to cross over the sea ice. In the meantime, the crew is waiting patiently. The crew members are also continuing to perform maintenance on the vehicle.

Posted by Kira Lorber at 8:39 PM | Comments (0)

The 2010 Northwest Passage Drive expedition team is holding at their present location. All crew members are in good spirits, and are performing maintenance on the vehicle The expedition is expected to depart again when conditions are stable.

Posted by Kira Lorber at 8:44 PM | Comments (1)

The team managed to continue driving on the expedition late last night when the conditions improved for a bit. They ended up stopping when the visibility became poor, with near white-out conditions. Everyone is doing good; Spirits are high and everyone is enjoying the quiet and beauty of the Arctic while waiting for conditions to improve.

Posted by Kira Lorber at 9:42 AM | Comments (0)

Day 2- Northwest Passage Drive Expedition-2010 continued on the expedition on Cornwallis Island early this morning, driving a short distance before stopping due to poor viability. The team is looking forward to improved visibility conditions and is hoping to reach the east coast of Cornwallis Island tomorrow when conditions improve. Everyone is safe, happy and being patient waiting out the white out conditions.

Posted by Kira Lorber at 6:30 PM | Comments (0)

The NWPDX 2010 team left Resolute Bay today in the late afternoon after a full day of preparation. They stopped outside of Resolute Bay due to poor visibility; Whiteout conditions and a lot of fresh snow.

The team is aiming for an early start tomorrow with weather conditions forecast to steadily improve over the next couple days. Although the visibility is poor the team's spirits are high, and they are looking forward to their next destination goal, the area of Helen's Haven on the edge of Cornwallis Island.

Posted by Kira Lorber at 9:52 PM | Comments (0)

From 5 – 8 May 2010, the Mars Institute’s Dr Pascal Lee and his teammates Joe Amarualik, John W. Schutt, Jesse Weaver, Jean-Christophe Jeauffre, and Mark Carroll will be completing the Northwest Passage Drive Expedition. They will be journeying from Resolute Bay, Cornwallis Island, to the Haughton-Mars Project Research Station, Devon Island, High Arctic, aboard the Moon-1 Humvee Rover, a simulator for future pressurized rovers that will be used in long distance human exploration on the Moon and Mars. Follow their scientific odyssey here as they drive a final 200 km across the Arctic, including the critical 35 km stretch of rough sea-ice separating Cornwallis Island from Devon Island.

Posted by Marc Boucher at 2:23 PM | Comments (0)