Crew 291 Andrew Wheeler

Andrew Wheeler

Profile:

Andrew is a senior geologist for a geology, surveying, and engineering consultancy, supervising exploratory drilling programs and mentoring graduate and junior geologists on site. He has also served in similar roles in projects around the world. Andrew has served as a member for Crew 214 and 215 at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah in 2019, commanding 215.  He also led an expedition to FMARS in July 2023.  He will serve as commander for Crew 291 at MDRS in early 2024. He has a B App Sci in Applied Geology (QIT Queensland Australia), Post Graduate Diplomas in Science (Earth Science) and Education (UQ Queensland Australia), and collaborates in research into Martian geology.

Research:

Whilst at MDRS, Andrew will return to previously mapped locations to retrieve geological specimens for experimentation in the science hab. It has been shown on previous expeditions to the MDRS, that water can be extracted from the minerals by simple heating and CO2 liberated from carbonate rocks by reactions with vinegar. These fluids can then be made available for the follow-on Crew 292 to investigate means of creating propellants and life sustaining gasses. In addition, sensors will be deployed outside the hab to monitor the local atmospheric conditions and these will be compared with data acquired on the recent FMARS15 expedition to the Arctic Research Station on Devon Island, Canada.