M.A.A.R.S. The Atacama’s Journey

Benjamin POTHIER & HERVE Production (planetary Collegium, Plymouth and Paris, UK/FR)

ABSTRACT:

M.A.A.R.S. stands for Mars Atacama Analog Research and Simulation. A team of 7 people will be exploring and investigating the Atacama Desert of Chile and the Ojos Del Salado Volcano in the Andes as an anolog to the environments that Astronauts would find on Mars or the Moon. The 15 day trip will be the opportunity for the team to conduct a variety of experiences and mesurements they prepared for scientific purpose and to get more grip on future space missions, including the test of Astronauts Gloves. Many members of the expedition are candidates in an commercial Astronauts training program. In addition to the expedition in itself and the beauty of the places we’ll be shooting in 360°, the Atacama journey resonnates with the future of transportation and how this will change our perspection of distance. The Atacama’s journey invites the humanity to consider the place where we live as an experiment for the place where we may be living our future. The expedition will be Leaded by Dr Ulyana Horodyskyj, an Astronaut Candidate in the PoSSUM program and former Mission Commander of the NASA HERA XIII simulation mission.

DESCRIPTION:

A short Documentary full dome movie, [MAARS] brings the audience to the hard daily life of Astronauts candidates and geology researchers during a training expedition to the Atacama desert, the driest desert on Earth and Mars Curiosity’s Rover test site, and the most similar environment to the Mars and Moon on

Earth. From fantastic landscapes that are out of this world to a first person view of the summit of Ojos Del

Salados, the Highest Active Volcano on Earth , To exclusive interviews of a former NASA mission

Commander or the Director of a Commercial Astronaut training program , join the team during this exciting mission, and get a glimpse of the future of Human kind !

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIE:

Benjamin Pothier is a French Director and Artist-researcher.

PhD research in Arts/Anthropology/Architecture at the Planetary Collegium, CAIIA hub of Plymouth University (UK)

> Achievements:

Crew Member NGOZUMPA Glacier 2016 expedition up to 5500 meters on an unexplored Glacier in the

Himalayas with Glaciologist and Astronaut Candidate Dr Ulyana Horodyskyj

Technical advisor and base Camp Crew member for BENDING HORIZONS EVEREST 2015 Art/Science Expedition (2015)
Grant recipient of the French Norwegian center in Humanities and Social Sciences (2014) for his researchin Anthropology, Art History and Architecture
Second Prize Winner , CREATIVE SPARKS / D.I.Y DAYS PARIS 2014
First French Artist selected for the ARS BIO ARCTICA 2014 residency at Kilpisjärvi’s Biological Station in Lapland, organized by the Finnish Bio Art Society,
First French Artist invited by THE FARM,INC. a New York based cultural organisation, to participate to the ARCTIC CIRCLE RESIDENCY 2013, in the international territory of Svalbard.

He has presented his work and research internationally:

HERVE is french based Communication agency specialized in Virtual Reality projects. Its aim is to promote VR 360 production, arts and design using new technologies.