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Manresa's Estel Blay to command simulated Mars mission Hypatia III in the Arctic

The aerospace engineer will lead the expedition on Devon Island, the world's largest uninhabited island, scheduled for the summer of 2027.

Image of a research station in the Arctic simulating Martian conditions, featuring snow and isolation.
IA

Image of a research station in the Arctic simulating Martian conditions, featuring snow and isolation.

Aerospace engineer Estel Blay Carreras, originally from Manresa, will lead the Mars analog mission named Hypatia III, which will take place on Devon Island, in the Canadian Arctic, during the summer of 2027.

The Doctor of Aerospace Science and Technology, born in Manresa in 1988, previously participated in the earlier edition, Hypatia II, which took place at the Mars Desert Research Station in the Utah desert (USA), where she served as Health and Safety Officer.
For the upcoming mission, the simulation will move to the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station, located on Devon Island in the Canadian Arctic archipelago. This location change, managed by The Mars Society, will provide a much more extreme experience, adding cold, snow, ice, and severe isolation.
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"The conditions at this base are much harsher and of a much higher complexity."

Estel Blay Carreras · Aerospace Engineer and Hypatia III Commander
Devon Island is the world's largest uninhabited island, reinforcing the isolation and allowing the team to “create a much more demanding scenario, more similar to what a future crewed mission to Mars might be,” according to Blay. The mission, led by women, aims to promote space research and highlight female talent in STEAM fields.
As commander, Blay will oversee the overall functioning of the mission, including safety and logistics, especially considering that the nearest medical center will be four hours away by plane. The renewed crew will tackle new research areas, such as cellular aging, the use of satellite data for monitoring the terrestrial surface, and communications in contact-free environments.

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