Brian Shiro’s Pseudo-Planetary Adventure

Delores Clark
NOAA Communications & External Affairs

August 1, 2009 — Of all the places Brian Shiro could go on his summer vacation, he went to Mars. Well, at least the place on Earth that most closely resembles Mars.  

Shiro, a geophysicist with NOAA’s Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) in Hawaii, spent four weeks during July in the Canadian Arctic carrying out scientific fieldwork designed to increase our understanding of what it would be like to live on the Red Planet.

The simulated “mission to Mars,” organized by the Mars Society, took place on Devon Island, the largest non-inhabited island on Earth. In this frigid, barren, crater-filled desert environment, Shiro shared quarters with five other volunteer crewmembers from around the world — each scientist bringing unique skills, and all committed to advancing human settlement on Mars.

Based near the island’s Haughton Crater, crewmembers conducted numerous experiments wearing spacesuits. They also contended with high winds, snow storms, equipment failures, and housing repairs. One of Shiro’s tasks was to install the first seismic station on Devon Island that senses ground movements associated with earthquake activity. He also searched for subsurface groundwater. Shiro and members of the crew posted accounts of their daily activities in a blog on the mission’s Web site.

The simulated Mars mission is not the first for Shiro, who has been involved with geophysical field projects in other remote locations including Antarctica, Alaska, Fiji, Tonga, and the Northern Mariana Islands.

“I hadn’t been on an expedition since 2003 and it was past due,” says Shiro. “Plus, this expedition combined three things I like most: science, outdoors, and space.” 

Growing up in Arkansas, Shiro was a big science fiction fan who favored H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, and “Star Trek.” As a Boy Scout, he developed a passion for the outdoors, which included hiking, camping, exploring, and later, marathon running and scuba diving.  It was a stint in a junior high space camp, however, that piqued his interest in science and space travel. 

Shiro has held positions with NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Goddard Space Flight Center, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He has also applied for the space agency’s astronaut program, where he made it all the way to the “highly qualified” list before being cut.

Shiro accepted a position at NOAA's PTWC following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. He is one of 12 scientists who share 24/7 rotational duties assessing earthquakes for potential tsunami generation.

“When the NOAA opportunity came along, I was happy to take it because it meant that I could I put my seismology experience to practical use helping people in the wake of the tsunami,” says Shiro, who also serves as the PTWC webmaster and is one of the leads on a project to expand and upgrade Hawaii’s seismic network.

Shiro says that the only bad thing about the expedition was missing his wife Holli and their active toddler, Henry.

“Although the [Mars] simulation doesn’t allow for real-time, two-way communication, we [my family and I] were in frequent contact online — we exchanged photos and they could read my Web posts,” says Shiro. “I couldn’t have done this without the support of my family and my NOAA colleagues.”

You can follow Shiro’s adventures by visiting his science blog at www.astronautforhire.com.