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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pascal Lee | 2/2 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal_Lee | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T13:17:02.753389+00:00 | kb-cron |
== Haughton–Mars Project == The Haughton–Mars Project is an international multidisciplinary field research project centered on science and exploration studies at the Haughton impact crater and surrounding terrain on Devon Island, Arctic Canada, viewed as an analog site for the Moon and Mars. The Haughton–Mars Project Research Station or HMPRS, at 75°26′N, 89°52′W, is the world's largest privately operated polar research station. In 2005, the HMPRS was selected to become a node of the Canadian Space Agency's newly formed Canadian Analogue Research Network or CARN program. The HMP RS is managed and operated by the Mars Institute in collaboration with the SETI Institute, and currently supports research from both NASA and the Canadian Space Agency. Pascal Lee's principal collaborators on the HMP at NASA Ames Research Center are Christopher McKay (HMP Technical Monitor), Terry Fong (Director, Intelligent Robotics Group), and Brian Glass (Director, Autonomous Technologies Group). Lee's key collaborators on the HMP at the Mars Institute include Stephen Braham (HMP Deputy Lead and Chief Field Engineer), John Schutt (HMP Base Manager and Chief Field Guide), and Kira Lorber (HMP Logistics Manager).
== Pressurized rovers == In May 2003, Lee led an Arctic winter expedition to drive the Mars Institute's Mars-1 Humvee Rover from Resolute Bay on Cornwallis Island, to Cape McBain on Devon Island across the Wellington Channel's 40 km of sea-ice. The Mars-1, bright red in color, is a modified M997 military ambulance Humvee manufactured by AM General of Mishawaka, IN. Accompanying Lee were American explorer John Schutt and Canadian Inuit field guides Paul Amagoalik and Joe Amarualik of Resolute Bay. The crossing was a success and the Mars-1 has since been serving on the Haughton–Mars Project as a mobile field lab and concept vehicle for future pressurized rovers to be used on the Moon or Mars. NASA's first simulated pressurized rover field traverse was conducted at the Haughton–Mars Project in July 2008 using the Mars-1. Lee commanded the mission while Andrew Abercromby of the NASA Johnson Space Center served as field lead of the rover traverse investigation. In April 2009, Lee led the Northwest Passage Drive Expedition to ferry a second Humvee, the bright yellow Moon-1 Humvee Rover, from Kugluktuk, Nunavut, to Devon Island, on sea-ice. Accompanying Lee were veterans John Schutt and Joe Amarualik, expedition technician Jesse Weaver, and cameraman Mark Carroll of Jules Verne Adventures. The team succeeded in driving 494 km in 8 days from Kugluktuk to Cambridge Bay, along the fabled Northwest Passage, establishing a record for the longest distance driven on sea-ice in a road vehicle. Plans to drive on from Cambridge Bay to Resolute Bay were abandoned due to extremely rough sea-ice conditions. At one point along the drive from Kugluktuk to Cambridge Bay, the Moon-1 partially fell through a lead (crack in the sea-ice), but was ultimately rescued by the expedition team. The Moon-1 was eventually flown from Cambridge Bay to Resolute Bay where it waited a year before completing its journey to Devon Island. In May 2010, Lee led the second and final phase of the Northwest Passage Drive Expedition by driving the Moon-1 Humvee Rover from Resolute Bay, Cornwallis Island, to Domville Point, Devon Island. Accompanying Lee were veterans John Schutt, Joe Amarualik, Jesse Weaver, and Mark Carroll, and documentary director Jean-Christophe Jeauffre of Jules Verne Adventures. The 150 km journey, of which 60 km were on sea-ice, took 12 days. The Moon-1's arrival on Devon Island was hailed as in important success for the Haughton–Mars Project, as it opened the way for dual pressurized rover simulations using the two Humvee rovers working in tandem. Lee also participated in field tests of NASA's Surface Exploration Vehicle (SEV), formerly known as the Lunar Exploration Rover (LER) or Small Pressurized Rover (SPR). In August 2008, Lee was pilot scientist of the first field test of the SEV, which was conducted under the auspices of the NASA Desert RATS project at the Black Point Lava Flow site in Northern Arizona. NASA Astronaut Rex Walheim was pilot commander of the 1-day mission. The SEV was developed at the NASA Johnson Space Center principally under the leadership of astronaut Michael Gernhardt and robotics engineer Robert Ambrose.
== Mars habitats == In 1998, Pascal Lee proposed the creation of a Mars Lander-like habitat at Haughton Crater on Devon Island to support field studies of requirements for future human Mars exploration. After co-founding the Mars Society, Lee led the development, establishment, and early operation of the "Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station" or FMARS, the world's first simulated Mars habitat. The FMARS was conceived by Lee to serve as a new research element of the Haughton–Mars Project. The Mars Society collaborated on the HMP through the 2001 field season, but since 2002, the society is no longer a partner of the HMP.
== Drake equation == Based on probable values for the Drake equation, Pascal Lee proposed that the number of intelligent civilizations in the Milky Way is 1 or very close to 1, implying that we are alone. The main contributor to such a low number is the fraction developing intelligent life, which is based on how much time it took for intelligent life (Homo erectus) to develop compared to the overall age of Earth (4.6 billion years).
== References ==
== External links == Haughton–Mars Project Mars Institute SETI Institute