Whitefish woman to describe “Year on Mars”

Whitefish scientist and explorer Carmel Johnston will speak at the Mission Mountain Audubon Society’s Dec. 1 meeting about her experience participating in a year-long research program simulating life on the planet Mars.

Her presentation, “A Year on Mars,” will take place in Polson Library at 7 p.m.

As the commander of the NASA-funded HI-SEAS Mission 4 project, Johnston spend on year in a dome on a Hawaiian volcano designed to replicate the harsh conditions and rocky terrain that future astronauts will encounter on the red planet.

One of the mission’s goals investigated how small groups work together during a simulated journey through deep space and living on an alien world. The study was designed to learn what makes an effective team, why things fall apart and how does isolation affect the crew?

“We want to learn everything that can go wrong before it goes wrong in space and prevent it from happening” Johnston said in a press release.

Carmel Johnston grew up in Whitefish and earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Land Resources and Environmental Science from Montana State University. Before her year in the dome, Carmel studied permafrost thaw in Alaska as well as soils in Idaho and Montana. Her focus today involves sustainable agriculture. on Earth and in deep space.