UBC Mars Colony

Elon provides some comments on former captain Kyle's fuel plant diagram! (reddit.com/r/spacex/comme…)

Fresh shipment of goodies from our good friends over at dashelectronics.ca ! Congrats to them on their recent launch (essentially an online candy store for engineers) @dashelectronics #supportsmallbusiness #yvrtech

Thanks so much to all who have applied! Submitted an application but haven't heard back from us yet? Stay patient, final decisions will be made by the end of this week. Our next recruitment period will begin in January 2021.

Imagine Day is finally here! Head to the main event here: amscampusbase.ubc.ca/fair_map?id=33 and visit our virtual booth for a link to join our live information session running from 2:00 to 6:00pm.

Applications are open! Help us develop a fuel production plant on Mars, start up a brand new food production project, or help out the support team. Visit our website (ubcmarscolony.ca) and click on "Join Us". Visit our virtual imagine day booth for a live Q&A

The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover has launched and is on track to land at Jezero Crater on February 18th, 2021! Bon voyage!

We still have no access to our proper team space, but thankfully our Mechanical Team Lead has been able to continue assembly while in social isolation in his garage. Check out these photos showing the main reactor body of our Sabatier test reactor.

The Korolev crater near the north polar ice cap of Mars is a permanently stable deposit of ice (up to 60 km in diameter & 1.8 km deep). This crater was named after Sergei Pavlovych Korolev, a Soviet engineer responsible for launching the first satellite, dog, and person in space!

Ingenuity is an autonomous helicopter hitching a ride with NASA's perseverance rover to Mars. If successful, this opens the doors to testing second-generation helicopters on future Mars missions, as well as the rapid aerial exploration of Mars! mars.nasa.gov/technology/hel…

Thank you to @FluorCorp (Fluor Canada Ltd.) for their contribution to our team, allowing us to purchase only the best fittings for our Sabatier reactor testing apparatus. Fluor Canada has been providing engineering services across Canada and around the world since 1949!

Giving a HUGE thank you to @aalborgflow for continuing to be a key sponsor. They recently provided us with service to our gas flow controllers, allowing our experimentation to proceed safely and reliably. Check them out for all your instrumentation needs! aalborg.com

The sample/caching system of NASA's Perseverance is made up of three robots (and over 3000 parts): A 7' autonomous arm with a percussive rock drill; a small saucer-like bit carousel; and the "T-Rex Arm" which moves samples between modules. jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?…

Unlike Earth, whose magnetism comes from its molten iron core, Mars has what is called an induced magnetic field. When solar wind hits Mars' atmosphere, electrons become stripped from atmospheric atoms causing the upper atmosphere to become ionized. mars.nasa.gov/news/8680/mave…

The world witnessed a historic event this weekend when SpaceX's Crew Dragon successfully launched 2 NASA astronauts into space on Saturday and docked with the International Space Station! It has been 9 years since the last space shuttle docked at the ISS from the US

Every spring on Mars, frozen carbon dioxide (called "dry ice") covered plains in the upper latitudes begin to thaw and crack - releasing streams of dry ice that carry material upward and outward and stain the basalt dunes. Think of it like snow - except it comes from underground.

Olympus Mons is the tallest mountain (and volcano) on Mars with a summit height of approx. 21.9 km. Although popularly thought to be the tallest mountain in the solar system, the mountain peak in the centre of the Rheasilvia crater on the asteroid Vesta is about 22.5 km tall.

Have you ever heard about the Zambian Space Program? In the 1960's Edward Makuka Nkoloso had a dream of landing Zambians on the moon (and even Mars). One training exercise included rolling down a hill in an oil drum. Watch this video to learn more: youtube.com/watch?v=7TI9ix…

@elonmusk @PPathole @Erdayastronaut @farrier_nyker @GeetPurohit3 @YoavOffek This diagram was created by our founder and former captain Kyle Marquis. We're a teamof undergraduate students currently working on this project! Lab scale test reactor build is in progress. You can view more detail about this diagram here: reddit.com/r/spacex/comme…

@PPathole @Erdayastronaut @farrier_nyker @GeetPurohit3 @YoavOffek Looks about right. Ice mining/refining on Mars & maximizing total system efficiency will be hard. CO2 is easy, as Mars atmosphere is mostly that. Also has good amount of N2, which is important for life.

Wishing good vibes for all in 2nd half 2020

Big love to @UBC_Mars_Colony. Great overview and activities. Engineering Club life is awesome, apparently, and great advice from our visitors. Surviving 1st year? Organize your life! Great to see Templeton alumni… instagram.com/p/B8IM9BAHNFS/…