From Mars to the North Pole: the first all-female mission to reach the Arctic

BarcelonaThe third crew of Hypatia, a Catalan initiative that conducts and disseminates space research, is already underway with a very clear objective: to carry out the first expedition to an Arctic research base made up exclusively of women. In the summer of 2027, ten scientists, including Catalan specialists, will land at the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (fMARS), an analog station located on Devon Island in the Canadian Arctic archipelago, which simulates challenges similar to those astronauts would encounter. In addition to the personal projects each crew member will develop, Hypatia III will contribute to scientific research at the station in collaboration with the regional government of Nunavut and its population. The goal is to monitor the permafrost—that is, ground frozen for at least two years—and assess water quality to detect possible contamination from meltwater. Furthermore, they will also study cellular aging, which is accelerated in space due to radiation. For this reason, the astronauts will follow a diet to improve their biological resilience, and also to potentially improve life expectancy on Earth.

Unlike the two previous missions, in which the astronauts went to the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in the Utah desert, this time the mission is evolving into a Martian exploration expedition in a more remote location and under extremely cold conditions. This fact, as explained by aerospace engineer Estel Blay, expedition commander and also a participant in Hypatia II, presents an additional challenge. "We've added another layer of complexity because, for example, the nearest hospital is a four-hour flight away, which means a much higher degree of isolation," she explained.

In addition to Blay, the expedition will include Laura González, Lucía Matamoros, María Lastra, Qi Gao, Anna Sabaté, Roser Bastida, Carlota Keimer, Andrea Jaime, and Marta Milà. They will all carry out tasks and experiments to contribute to scientific research on the Red Planet. The ten selected scientists are between 26 and 50 years old and represent diverse backgrounds, from communicators to aerospace engineers, nanotechnologists, and biologists. One example is the project that Roser Bastida, a scientist specializing in science communication, will undertake: a book of poems set in a dystopian future where animals must migrate from Earth to Mars. "In a way, I'll be able to experience firsthand what the animals in the poems will go through," Bastida noted.

Breaking Prejudices

As in previous missions, in addition to Blay, the crew will also include more veteran astronauts, such as engineer Laura González and nanotechnologist Lucía Matamoros, who were on standby aboard Hypatia II. González's role will focus on supporting Blay's leadership and working on 3D printing projects. Matamoros, for her part, will focus on the human factor and, more specifically, on how the crew members' bodies react to extreme situations of stress and confinement: "I will also look at how this relates to cognitive resilience and, being an all-female crew, how hormonal cycles influence all these analyses."

From now on, the team has a year and a half to prepare for the mission. In this sense, the crew members see the expedition as an opportunity to break down prejudices. "If someone closes their eyes and imagines an astronaut, they think of a very specific role, and that's what we want to change," emphasized engineer and team member Anna Sabaté.