Analog Missions

The ELASCA Project is a platform for conducting a wide array of analog exploration missions. Click here to read more about the field of analog exploration.

While most analog exploration activities are based in the environments that simulate lunar or planetary conditions (Deserts, the arctic, volcanoes), the ELASCA Project’s mission is to use a spaceflight simulator inside of an expedition truck to travel to those remote environments.

By operating in this fashion, the ELASCA project will be able to simulate both the process of traveling to the moon and mars, and arriving to conduct exploration and research activities.

The ELASCA Project is a virtual reality, fully-immersive simulation. Analog astronauts will board the simulator vehicle and operate the spaceflight simulator while the expedition truck drives to a chosen analog environment (such as arctic Alaska). During the multi-day drive, the crew will experience the lifestyle of real astronauts flying to the moon or mars. The interior of the simulator will be a realistic mock-up of currently designed spacecraft.

When the simulator vehicle arrives on site, the analog astronauts will don spacesuits and exit the vehicle through an airlock. Then, they will conduct research, training, and exploration activities in the analog environment.

The simulator vehicle will have a payload bay, which can carry rovers, supplies, instruments, or materials to build a model SpaceHab. However, the payload weight and volume capacity will be designed to match only what could be carried in a real-life space craft. Any gear needed to complete the mission – including food, water, and fuel for the crew, will be limited to what could be realistically transported in space.

Thousands of miles from their starting point, operating out of a tiny craft, and relying only on themselves and the limited supplies they could transport in their vehicle, the analog astronauts will experience the conditions of visitors to an extraterrestrial world.

1. All materials and labor for analog exploration activities and usage on site will be transported in the simulator vehicle.
2. All food, water, provisions, and fuel for the crew to use at the base site will be transported in the simulator vehicle.
3. EVAs at the base site will be under rigorous time constraints that match the time that could be expected during a Lunar or Martian EVA.
4. The payload of the simulator vehicle will match the payload capacity of current production spacecraft capable of traveling to the Moon or Mars (Ex: NASA Orion capsule).
5. Most missions will be carried out during the Alaskan winter, when the environment will be at its coldest/darkest.
6. The team will not use any water, organic material, or resources from the property on which the base site is situated except for rocks and dirt to simulate Lunar or Martian regolith.
7. Once the simulator vehicle leaves the Virginia “launch” point, the crew will not procure any supplies or outside assistance for the mission.
8. If an emergency forces the crew to seek outside assistance or resources, the base and the project will be reset to their status prior to the outside intervention.