{"id":33970,"date":"2025-03-07T12:29:50","date_gmt":"2025-03-07T11:29:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ieec.cat\/?p=33970"},"modified":"2025-03-13T12:17:21","modified_gmt":"2025-03-13T11:17:21","slug":"meet-estel-blay-the-ieecs-martian-analog-astronaut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ieec.cat\/en\/meet-estel-blay-the-ieecs-martian-analog-astronaut\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Estel Blay, the IEEC\u2019s Martian analog astronaut"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Estel Blay with the Mars Desert Research Station at the background.<\/span>
Hypatia Mars<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Tomorrow, 8 March, is International Women\u2019s Day, a day celebrated every year to call for gender equality and women\u2019s rights. The <\/span>Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia<\/span><\/a> (IEEC \u2014 Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya) wants to take this opportunity to highlight the participation of one of its workers, <\/span>Estel Blay<\/b>, IEEC program manager working at <\/span>ESA Phi-LabNET Spain<\/span><\/a>, in the Martian analog mission <\/span>Hypatia II<\/span><\/a> last month.<\/span><\/p>\n

The mission was prepared by <\/span>Hypatia Mars<\/span><\/a>, a female-led association with the goals of developing Martian research, bringing this research closer to society and raising awareness of women in science to create role models for girls and children.<\/span><\/p>\n

From 2 to 15 February, <\/span>Hypatia II brought<\/b> a team of 7 women to the Mars Desert Research Station<\/b> (MDRS), located in the Utah desert, under isolation and environmental conditions that aimed to mimic the conditions on Mars. The location created an immersive experience, where the crew truly felt what it is like to be on Mars, from the red desert terrain, to the extremely windy conditions and temperature drops, to the limited and scheduled extravehicular activities (EVAs). <\/span><\/p>\n

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Estel Blay was part of the Hypatia II crew, which allowed us to get a better understanding of what these missions mean, not just for the future of Mars exploration, but for future female generations. Along with Blay, who took the role of scientist & health and safety officer, there were 6 other women that made up a multidisciplinary team: <\/span>Ariadna Farr\u00e9s<\/b> (crew commander), <\/span>Anna Bach<\/b> (crew executive officer & artist in residence), <\/span>Helena Arias<\/b> (crew engineer), <\/span>Marina Mart\u00ednez<\/b> (geologist & GreenHab officer), <\/span>Jennifer Garc\u00eda Carrizo<\/b> (crew journalist) and <\/span>M\u00f2nica Roca i Aparici <\/b>(mission specialist & crew engineer). Additionally, two women were selected as back-up crew members: <\/span>Laura Gonz\u00e1lez Llamazares <\/b>(engineer), and <\/span>Luc\u00eda Matamoros<\/b> (scientist). <\/span><\/p>\n

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Science in Mars<\/h2>\n

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The crew, therefore, went to the MDRS in order to conduct scientific experiments in an environment that resembles Martian conditions. In particular, this is a way to study the effects that being on Mars can have on women in factors such as menstruation, nutrition, physical activity, circadian sleep rhythms, and other stress-related biological variables.<\/span><\/p>\n

In turn, Blay conducted three experiments throughout the mission. These experiments were her own proposals as part of her application to Hypatia II:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n