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Peace Country cartoonist is on a mission to Mars . . . research station, that is

'Ever since I was a kid, I always kind of dreamed of wearing a spacesuit, so I guess this is probably the closest representation I can get to as an adult,' said Dan Barnfield

Published Oct 05, 2026  •  Last updated Oct 09, 2026  •  3 minute read

Dan Barnfield, a cartoonist and educator, works in his home studio in Cochrane, northwest of Calgary, on Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. For a week in October, Barnfield will be trading his Alberta scenery for the Martian landscape of Utah, where he'll join Crew 327 of the Spaceward Bound program at the Mars Desert Research Station. Brent Calver/Postmedia

A Cochrane cartoonist and educator is blasting off to Mars, with his pencil and sketchbook in hand.

Or, rather, he’s headed to a space research station in the Utah desert, known for its close resemblance to the harsh Martian terrain.

Dan Barnfield has been selected to join the NASA-funded Spaceward Bound program at the Mars Desert Research Station from Oct. 12 to 16 — a five-day professional development workshop for K-12 science teachers and educators.

The research station, located roughly 12 kilometres outside the tiny town of Hanksville, Utah, is a space analog facility that scientists can use to experience life in a simulated Martian habitat, according to the Mars Society, which operates the private research facility.

It has been developed to simulate a Martian research base, with inhabitants living and working there in isolation, under the same operational constraints that astronauts would potentially encounter on the red planet.

The compound includes confined living quarters, engineering bay, greenhouse, science laboratory and two observatories.

“It’s basically a theme park for people who take space very seriously — and somehow they let me in,” wrote Barnfield, a former Calgary Sun prepress employee, on his website.

What spurred the cartoonist’s upcoming Mission to Mars is that he created a new Canadian kids’ cartoon show called BLAST OFF! which will premiere on Telus Optik TV next fall. The show will follow Barnfield, his rooster sidekick named Rusty, and his “crew” — a.k.a. the show’s viewers — on a fictional asteroid colony called Bunkhouse.

The first season will include six episodes, each focusing on a mission Barnfield is tasked to complete.

“We’re given a problem that needs to be solved, so, in order to solve that problem, I go into my community and see what’s being done at the community level, and then I reach out to researchers from the Canadian Space Agency and past astronauts to see exactly what they’re doing in space to combat the same issues,” Barnfield explained.

Barnfield said he stumbled on the Mars Desert Research Station while researching ideas for BLAST OFF! and saw there was a callout for educators to apply to join the Spaceward Bound program. He reached out on a whim, and after explaining the premise of his show, was accepted into the upcoming cohort.

Once he’s at the research compound, Barnfield and his crew will spend the week studying the surrounding desert landscape as a stand-in for Mars. Their tasks may include testing soil or rock samples or conducting field observations.

“I know they do a lot of testing and stuff there, and part of the reason for the program that I’m going on is that they’re trying to get more students interested in STEM,” he said.

“So they’re really trying to bring in educators, teach them a little bit of what’s actually going on there, about the science, and give them some hands-on experience so they can take it home and use it in their classroom.”

To properly pretend they’re on Mars, crew members will have to put on pressurized space helmets in an airlock before they’re allowed to exit the research facility to collect samples. They will use four-wheel ATVs as “rovers” to navigate the rocky surface and will eat dehydrated food back at camp.

In addition to participating in the research activities, Barnfield will also use his artistic skills to document the entire week via sketches and artistic journaling, which he said may be incorporated into the first season of BLAST OFF!

While he said he’s excited to experience life in a Martian habitat, Barnfield said he’s most looking forward to the chance to wear a simulated spacesuit.

“Ever since I was a kid, I always kind of dreamed of wearing a spacesuit, so I guess this is probably the closest representation I can get to as an adult,” he said.

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