Introduction and Background

• Interview with Zara Mirmalek, senior research scientist at Bay Area Environmental Research Institute and NASA Ames Research Center
• Author of "Making Time on Mars" - examination of NASA's 2004 Mars rover mission organization across three sites on two planets
• Discussion of ethnographic work on Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) mission

Zara's Path to NASA

• Started NASA work in 1999 at Ames Research Center studying airline delays at San Francisco International Airport
• Moved to Southern California for doctoral program in 2001
• Recruited by Dr. Roxanna Wales (lead ethnographer at NASA Ames) in 2003 to join MER mission
• First time ethnographers worked on NASA mission (though ethnographic studies existed for other NASA projects)
• Silicon Valley context: ethnographers from tech companies moved to NASA Ames, creating unique opportunity

Ethnography at NASA

• Ethnography = study of culture in institutional communities
• Participant observer role: contributing to organization's goals while maintaining critical distance
• Work system design team specifically asked to study culture and contribute to technology development
• Challenge: balancing organizational contribution with non-directed research stance
• Ethnographers selected by principal investigator several years before rover landing

Mars Exploration Rovers Mission Overview

• Scheduled operations: January 2004 to April 2004 (90-day nominal period)
• Goal: search for evidence of water and life-sustaining elements on Mars
• Two solar-powered rovers on opposite sides of Mars
• Remote operation for 90 Mars days (sols)
• Interplanetary work system: two Mars sites + one Earth building (JPL Pasadena)

Mars Time Infrastructure

• Mars day = 24 hours 39.6 minutes (vs Earth's 24 hours)
• Scientists had to shift work schedule forward 40 minutes daily
• Each rover worked during Mars daylight hours
• Two science teams, each dedicated to one rover
• When one rover worked, that team slept; when rover powered down, team worked
• Building had separate floors for each rover team (could move between floors = "crossing to other side of Mars")

Time Management Challenges

• Decision rationale: work when sun is up (like pre-industrial farm time)
• Solar power efficiency during Mars daylight hours
• Previous success: Pathfinder mission used Mars time briefly without problems
• No large clocks provided - assumption scientists would "do the time math"
• Software programs displayed Mars time on various devices

Physical Infrastructure Supports

• Blackout curtains to block Southern California sunlight
• Color coding: Spirit rover floor (red chairs/signs), Opportunity rover floor (blue chairs/signs)
• Color codes became ineffective over time - people confused about which floor they were on
• Mars terrain mosaics on walls helped people orient themselves to workspace
• MER boards (designed for displaying images) became primary timekeeping devices
  • Each floor had 5 MER boards
  • Groups used them as clocks showing multiple time zones
  • Displayed 2-4 time zones: Mars sites and Earth locations

Mars Watches

• Created by two JPL engineers who found local jeweler to slow down watches
• Cost: $125+ with optional Mars face design (+$30-50)
• Problems: expensive, stopped keeping accurate Mars time, required jeweler maintenance
• Example: One supervisor wore 4 watches - Mars time (2), Earth time (2), plus sleep study device
• Many became mission artifacts rather than functional timepieces

Human Factors and Recommendations

• Pre-mission study recommended 4 days on, 3 days off schedule
• Material circulated with Mars time management advice
• Advance notice given about time transition difficulties
• Some people didn't follow recommended schedule

Personal and Social Impacts

• Scientists stopped going home during 3-day breaks
• Dilemma: stay on Mars time or shift to family time during breaks
• Staying on Mars time while alone at home became burdensome
• Some chose to remain near JPL with others following Mars time
• Could work as many days as wanted, maintaining Mars time community

Workplace Culture and Fatigue Management

• Employee assistance programs available
• Open complaints about time/fatigue rare in main science workspace
• Complaints expressed in camaraderie/jest, quickly passed over
• Private complaints in offices, hallways, cafeteria - "release of steam"
• Self-censoring in public science areas
• NASA culture values: astronaut-like ability to surmount obstacles
• "Failure is not an option" mentality
• Boasting about operating on little sleep common in high-achieving organizations

Organizational Factors

• 90-day sprint mentality vs long-term career considerations
• "Every day could be the last day" temporal reality
• Robots could fail at any moment, creating urgency
• Knowledge transfer between missions through people rather than just documentation
• Personnel move between missions, carrying informal practices forward

Personal Researcher Experience

• Zara worked 7 days on, 1 day off schedule
• Wanted to observe as much as possible across both floors
• Developed preference for dark rooms with fluorescent lights over natural sunlight
• Expected long-term impacts on relationship to time and work