EVA Med Evac Sim update
Monday's EVA Med Evac Simulation was a success, having met all of the intended objectives. Click for more photos and a summary of the day's events.
Photo HMP-2006 / N. Wilkinson
In summary, the 2006 HMP Lunar Medical Contingency Simulation demonstrated that an injured suited crewmember could be safely extracted from difficult terrain, similar to what might be expected in a lunar EVA, and transported to a remote site for diagnostic and therapeutic care. A number of issues developed unexpectedly during the sim that challenged the crew and sim planners. However, the team was able to complete the mission, which involved real-time communications and coordination between members of the Exploration Payload Operations Center at NASA-Johnson Space Center (ExPOC), International Space University (ISU) in Strasburg, France, and the Payload Tele-Operations Center (PTOC) in Montreal, Canada.
In addition to those organizations mentioned above, coordination and implementation of the exercise on Devon Island was carried out by participants from Simon Fraser University, Hamilton-Sundstrand, Virginia Commonwealth University, University of Colorado (Boulder), Rocky Mountain Rescue, the Canadian Space Agency, NASA-Johnson Space Center, NASA-Ames Research Center and Mars Institute.
The morning was spent ensuring that everything was ready for the simulation Photo HMP-2006 / N. Wilkinson.
Rick Scheuring (left) and Pascal Lee (right) exploring the landscape. Photo HMP-2006 / N. Wilkinson
The sim participants were in communications with each other, the HMP RS, Houston, Montreal and Strasbourg, relaying their observations and impressions of the terrain. Photo HMP-2006 / N. Wilkinson
"Houston, I've fallen and I can't get up." Photo HMP-2006 / N. Wilkinson
Top left, moving clockwise: ExPOC (Houston); stationary camera capturing the recovery effort; helmet-mounted camera relaying Rick Scheuring's perspective of the emergency scenario. This video and audio was shared in real-time between the HMP RS and mission controllers in Houston, Montreal, and Strasbourg. Photo HMP-2006 / N. Wilkinson
