Crew 4 - Crew Reports

March 25, 2002

MDRS Log Book

Dr. Judith Lapierre Reporting

It is my privilege to command the 4 crew on Mars Desert Research Station. Our crew is composed of 6 individuals who share more than a similar passion for space exploration but also a vision that is human and scientific of space exploration and settlement.

There is Shannon Ruppert, our chief biology, Andrew Hoppin, our chief geologist, remote sensing expert and space business man, Joel McKinnon, information technology specialist and geologist, Jennifer Knowles, our space engineer and Matt Lowry, physics teacher and field assistant. Lowry will be replaced by Alex Kazerooni, biomedical scientist as of April 3rd. I have arrived at the station after more than 14 hours since I had departed from Montreal. Althought the distance I travelled by car from Salt Lake City was amazingly unique, scenic and absolutely breathtaking, I found the station to be quite far. Then, taking into perspective that a real trip to Mars would take several months, I felt relieved in a sense. I started to appreciate the surroundings even more. I got to the Hab at around 16h00 and was welcomed by the remaining crew 3 members, waiting for my arrival so they could return to our spaceport or SLC. They have quickly briefed me on operations, science and communications, safety and daily extra-vehicular activities. I was then alone in the Hab preparing for our crew's upcoming arrival. Shannon and Joel arrived at 21h30 when I was just about to give up on expecting them! They brought our grocery for the next 2 weeks and we further prepared our new house. We went to bed rather early and were woken up by our next three crewmembers, Andrew, Jennifer and Matt who had spent many hours in several airports, waiting for connections.

Today was a very special day for our crew in many respects. Not only did we learned the daily operations and challenges of an isolated station (refueling the generator, supplying our water container, maintaining power maintenance inside the hab, exploring the environment in space suits that limits our dexterity, performing radio communication among us and with the Hab, etc), but every hour we spent together brought us closer to getting to know our new colleagues and Habmates. Extreme confined environment missions are not strictly about developing professional working relationships but also about being able to live and support each other as this is truly a collective mission.

In addition, today, international press announced that an international manned mission to Mars would be planned before the end of this century. Representatives from NASA, from space industry, from the European and Russian space agencies are collaborating on such a grandiose project. That news that came to us through mission support later today really did increase our pride in our 14-day preparation mission. To transform such a vision of human expansion on other planets into reality, is also insuring our future as a society based on information, knowledge and human values of determination, boldness and pacifist ambition.

Our crew went into simulation mode as of 17h00 this afternoon with two EVA's being performed. Our crewmember Matt offered not only to prepare a delicious dinner tonight that he called pasta planitia, but to become our official station cook! Verbal reports followed to mission support in San Diego and the written commander's, geologist's, engineer's, reports were still being written at 23h45. Tomorrow is a very significant day, after managing our daily living/working routine operations, our crew is to establish its collective scientific goals and plans in the fields of geology, psychosociology, biology, human factors and public relations.

More to come tomorrow!

Bonne nuit.

Le 25 mars 2002, Station scientifique MARS du désert

J'ai le privilège de commander le quatrième équipage de la station scientifique MARS du désert. Notre équipage est composé de 6 individus qui partagent plus qu'une même passion pour l'exploration spatiale mais aussi une vision

Aujourd'hui, est un grand jour: la presse nous annonçait qu'un projet international de vol habité sur Mars serait réalisé avant la fin de ce siècle. Effectivement, des représentants de la NASA, de l'industrie spatiale américaine et des agences spatiales Européennes et Russes collaborent actuellement à la réalisation de ce projet d'envergure. Cette annonce vient pour plusieurs scientifiques spatiaux et planétaires, pour plusieurs passionnés de l'espace, pour tous ceux qui sont préoccupés par l'avenir de notre race humaine, en tant que collectif social et connaissances d'une civilisation notre mission en mode de simulation a commencé à 17h00, i.e. qu'à partir de cette heure, nous entrions virtuellement au cœur même de ce que officiellement alors Notre mission durera 14 jours.

Crew Biographies

Andrew Hoppin's personal explorations as a student and entrepreneur have taken him to Brown

University for a degree in Planetary Geology, to Washington DC to attend the NASA Academy at

Goddard Space Flight Center, to Berkeley for a degree in Environmental Science / Remote Sensing, to

Vienna to attend the International Space University, to Costa Rica to conduct urban planning

research for Rotary International, and to Manhattan to found and run a sports computer game

company. Today, Andrew serves as President of MoonFront LLC, a new generation space consulting

firm. In those moments where there is just nothing new available to explore, he loves to play soccer,

and, well, just play, preferably with other primates.

Jennifer Knowles is a Spacecraft Simulation Specialist at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston,

Texas. Upon graduating from college in 2000 with a B.S. in Physics she pursued her desire to work in

the space program and relocated halfway across the country from the East Coast. She works

regularly with the astronauts and hopes to become one herself in the future. Perhaps by then, with

the help of the work being done now by Jennifer, the rest of the MDRS crews, and the Mars Society,

Mars exploration will be a reality.

Dr. Judith Lapierre is a space scientist of the human and health sciences domain. Her current work

is in cyberhealth at the Université du Québec in Hull, specializing in mission support strategies to

improve human health and adaptation to extreme confined environments. She was in Antarctica in

1998 as part of her postdoctorate research program with the International Space University based in

Strasbourg. She was also representing the Canadian Space Agency in 2000 during the longest

international confinement experiment and has volunteered in July 2001 in mission support,

Denver-Colorado for the FMARS missions of the Mars Society. Staying and working on MDRS with

such qualified crewmembers is a privilege for her. It contributes also to knowledge development and

it’s the next best thing to a real trip to Mars!

Matt Lowry is a high school physics teacher from Vernon Hills, Illinois. He has both a B.S. and M.S.

in physics, with a certification to teach both physics and mathematics. He has been a supporter and

advocate for the human exploration of space since he was a teenager, and in recent years he’s

become an active member of the Mars Society. In this regard, he is the chapter contact for the

Chicago-area chapters of the Mars Society, and Matt also helps to maintain the Chicago chapter

email list and website.

When Matt's not teaching or imagining bouncing along the dunes of Mars, he enjoys practicing the

Japanese martial art of Aikido, stargazing with his telescope, watching cheesy movies with his wife

Carmen, and terrorizing and being terrorized by his cats -- Sebastian, Sophie, and Meggie.

Joel McKinnon is an information specialist from Moss Beach, CA and a staff writer for

NewMars.com. Joel has lived many lives since attaining a BS in Geoscience from Penn State in 1980;

including a brief career as a bassist-songwriter from the progressive rock band Jupiter Sheep. After

several years developing a variety of internet skills, he’s chosen to pursue his passion for exploring

the secrets of planetary geology by returning to academia as a grad student this fall. Joel’s 5 year old

son Jeremy has been designated to personally locate a homestead for the family on Mars.

Shannon Rupert is a professor of biology from San Diego, California. Recognizing that no plant life is

known to exist on Mars, she has shifted her research from plant breeding systems to finding life in

extreme environments. She is an active member (and the only woman) of the San Diego Chapter of

the Mars Society. She tells friends that she wanted to come to MDRS to wear the spacesuit and while

that is true, a deeper reason is because she wanted to be part of something bigger than herself,

something that could advance both science and humanity. She is an avid hiker, owns a small house

in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park filled with Mars art and is currently building an observatory to

house her 8 inch SCT telescope. She has been married for one week (!) and has a 20 year old son and

17 year old daughter.

Engineering Report

Jennifer Knowles & Matt Lowry Reporting

Water Systems: The internal water tank has been filled to maximum this morning. Leak on the output end of the pump was noticed. Leaking water was caught and poured back into the external tank. Plan to look into options to fix the leak in the near future. Also noted that the water pump is supposed to receive oil before each use.

Power and Fuel: One small fuel tank was filled using the hand pump today, after several minutes of trying to figure out how to open the large drums. The hand pump also has a leak on the output side, seems the leak is due to dry-rotting of the hose. Plan to troubleshoot this leak before filling more tanks. This evening power flickered several times before going out. Upon investigation of the generator, it was determined that the oil level was too low and the generator was in the process of its safety shut-down. Approximately 1.25 quarts of oil were poured into the generator and power was restored. More bottles of oil will be needed before week's end.

EVA Equipment (including ATVs): The zipper of Suit #2 is broken. The zipper-pull has become detached from the suit, as there was no zipper-catch at the top of the zipper-teeth. Intend to fix suit tomorrow. During the afternoon's EVAs, the bright yellow ATV had trouble restarting. After rocking it back and forth, crew was able to restart it and return to hab. One other ATV has a low tire pressure as well as substantial balding. We have decommissioned it for the time being and are attempting to contact Lamont. Mission Support has been contacted.

Safety: All forms (3) have been completed and signed by the six crew members. Nothing more to report.

Computers and Communications: Normal operation.

General Maintenance & Waste Management: It appears that the Biolet is getting very full and may be reaching capacity. In addition, the Biolet appears to be leaking from a seal on the floor, and the odor can be smelled throughout the Hab. We will contact Mission Support for advice on how to handle the Biolet situation, as we believe it will take a specialized repairman to fix the problem. Also, a crew member unclogged the outlet line. This needs to become a regular procedure.

GreenHab: Nothing to report.

EVA Report

Shannon Rupert Reporting

EVA Scenerio Overview

This was our first EVA and although it was short (suiting up for the first time actually took longer), it was quite an experience. Joel, Jennifer and I left the Hab at 5:46 pm, heading NNE across the landscape. This EVA tested my first impressions of the suit. Shortening the torso of the suit by six inches would have made it a very good fit for me, but lacking a way to keep it bunched around my waist meant restricted walking. I am working on a way to rectify this problem. The backpack was surprisingly comfortable and fit well enough that scrambling uphill wasn't a problem. Once we put our helmets on and attached the comm and cooling systems, the suit felt very real and for the first time I understood the seriousness of the simulation. We walked about a half a kilometer, admiring the landscape and savoring the experience. We climbed a small hill for a photo op (Joel took a terrific shot of our shadows) and then it was time to return. We did a little geology on the way back, picking up rocks (a challenge in our gloved hands) and trying to identify them. We arrived back at the Hab at 6:47 pm and, after spending some time in the airlock, were greeted by Judith with the news that an international manned mission to Mars was being studied. The news justified what we are doing here and lent an air of importance to our first EVA.

DATE: 03-25-02

Not Received

EVA Highlights (EVA CDR)

Not Received

PRE EVA OPERATIONS

Not Received

AIRLOCK INGRESS/DEPRESS

Not Received

HAB EVA MONITORING

Not Received

POST EVA INGRESS AND CLEANUP

Not Received

EVA CREW: COMMENTS/OBSERVATIONS/LESSONS-LEARNED

EVA CDR: Not Received

EVA MDRS1: Not Received

EVA MDRS2: Not Received

March 26, 2002

MDRS Log Book

Dr. Judith Lapierre Reporting

All of us woke up later this morning, not much before 8 am. That first day had really gotten to us I think. We all reported deep sleep during the night except for Joel who did not sleep well not for lack of comfort but because of coffee… He worked late last night on making sure that you could follow our mission with the photos he provided to the webmaster. Our first meeting of the day was accompanied by Joel's famous breakfast burritos. Three scientific priorities were planned for today: our geologist' scientific reconnaissance mission at about 5 kilometers away from the Hab (ATV EVA), our biologist sample collection around the Hab (pedestrian EVA) and a short qualitative questionnaire from my own research work on human adaptation to life in extreme environments. Hab maintenance tasks came in the way of our scientific goals and really gave an "unexpected" twist to our day, having half our team working off sim for several hours. The relatively new Biolet station toilet (on the first level) decided not only to leave us with some interesting odors but also to release its content both solid and liquid on its floor. Matt, Shannon and I worked 4 hours to control and restore the functions of that toilet. Mission support provided almost on time recommendations after we presented to them our plan of action. It implied emptying its content into a hole away from the Hab and insuring proper draining. Digging into the desert soil can be challenging but the most challenging task was that of Matt: don't remind him what he had to do that day, please! What really came out of this was both these crewmember's positive attitudes and how each one provided assistance to each other. It got us thinking for some time, that we were really on another planet, having to solve this important issue with creativity and humor. It was as if this unfortunate incident had just created and reinforced this bond between us. We had to postpone our pedestrian EVA until tomorrow and Jennifer became our Habcom to support the ATV EVA. Several communications were attempted with Andrew and Joel while they performed their 4 hour EVA. At our post EVA meeting, our crew decided that communication protocol were needed (signs, "morse" and verbal) to insure a link between Hab and crew and for security reasons in case of emergency.

Our Mars analogue has shown us today that it's more than an analogue and its experiences recall us life on MIR and on ISS! This will be part of any settlement missions on Mars: key factors to successful survival and quality of life on other planets will be resourcefulness, creativity and cooperation. A little tolerance for our new environment's constraints will certainly help as well! It is really today that we suddenly understood that all of this could be taking place on Mars. Many of us expressed having felt this today: for some, it was the 4 hour EVA and exploration and for the others, it was the challenges of settling on a new planet (.. and fixing a broken toilet). Plans don't always go as planned and we must make the best of what is given to us. The crew on EVA readjusted their science objectives along the way and the crew inside was unable to fulfill some of its planned scientific goals.

The most interesting part of today was dinner. Sharing our varied experiences, eating another good meal prepared by Shannon and discussing other life issues made us feel like home. We felt we had accomplished a lot today! I enjoyed my first night sky watch while going out to refuel the generator with Matt - sky was bright and stars were shining a light that gave the desert even more Mars like features…where living on Mars analogue almost became experiencing life on Mars.

I will sign off now and take part in our first recreational activity: the movie "The Fifth Element".

Bonsoir.

Vivre en environnement analogue mais expérimenter la vie sur une autre planète

Judith Lapierre, 26 mars 2002 - Station scientifique MARS du désert Un sommeil très profond accompagna chacun des membres de notre équipage, à l'exception de Joël qui se leva ce matin plutôt fatigué. Un peu trop de café hier soir alors qu'il téléversa les images qui vous ont permis de suivre notre première journée. Notre première réunion de la journée fut tenue dans une ambiance fort agréable accompagnée d'un petit déjeuner nourrissant préparé par Joël. Trois objectifs scientifiques prioritaires ont été identifiés pour la journée : la première, accordée au travail des géologues Andrew et Joël, lesquels nous ont présenté un plan d'exploration et de reconnaissance d'une zone située à 5 km (sorties en VTT) et déjà explorée par les membres de l'équipage 2. La deuxième à Shannon, notre biologiste pour la collection d'échantillons du sol près de la station (sortie pédestre). Jennifer et moi-même allions l'accompagner et l'assister.

Finalement, priorité aussi à mon investigation sur l'adaptation à la vie en environnements extrêmes. Matt devait alors assurer la communication avec les membres exécutant des sorties extra véhiculaires (poste radio) et procéder à la réparation de la pompe servant à au ravitaillement du générateur. Des tâches liées à la maintenance sont venues cependant modifier notre journée et entraînèrent l'interruption temporaire de la simulation pour la moitié de l'équipage pour des raisons de sécurité et de bien-être. Au-delà des odeurs nauséabondes, la nouvelle toilette Biolet installée la semaine dernière au premier niveau de la station laissait aussi s'écouler son contenu solide et liquide. Matt, Shannon et moi-même avons donc travaillé durant 4 heures afin de restaurer les fonctions de la toilette et d'assurer la désinfection des lieux. Le responsable du centre de soutien de Denver a répondu d'ailleurs rapidement à nos messages et il fit suivre une consultation à distance avec les techniciens de Biolet. Cela impliqua de nombreux défis dont celui de creuser un trou dans le désert pour y enterrer les solides mais le défi le plus important fut de loin, celui de Matt - ne lui rappelez surtout pas ce qu'il accomplit cette journée là- à lui de vous le dire. Ce qui m'impressionna le plus d'ailleurs fut l'attitude positive de chacun et la démonstration de comportements d'assistance de part et d'autre dans l'exécution de ce travail d'équipe. L'humour fut de la partie et contribua certainement au lien important qui s'établissait entre nous, comme si cette mésaventure venait cimenter davantage nos rapports. Notre sortie extra véhiculaire pédestre fut remise à demain. Jennifer est alors devenue la responsable des communications radios avec Andrew et Joël. Nous rencontrons toujours beaucoup de difficulté à établir une communication claire et net entre la station et les membres qui travaillent à l'extérieur. La réunion post-sortie extra véhiculaire nous amena à décider en équipe d'établir des protocoles de communication (signes, morse et verbaux) afin d'améliorer le processus, d'assurer le maintien d'un lien entre la station et les membres à l'extérieur et d'assurer la sécurité en cas d'urgence. Si le temps nous le permet, nous veillerons à transmettre une première ébauche de document avant notre départ.

Notre station nous a démontré aujourd'hui qu'elle n'est pas seulement analogue mais que ses expériences nous rappellent certaines situations connues sur MIR et sur la Station spatiale internationale. Les incidents rencontrés sont ceux que rencontreront les spationautes lorsqu'ils s'installeront sur Mars ou ailleurs. Les facteurs clés à la survie et à la qualité de vie sur une autre planète seront l'ingéniosité, la créativité et la coopération. Un peu de patience envers notre nouvel environnement est aussi important ! C'est vraiment aujourd'hui que nous prenions cette soudaine conscience que cette aventure pourrait fort bien se dérouler sur Mars. Plusieurs d'entre nous ont ressenti cette impression et l'ont rapporté au cours du dîner. L'exploration extra véhiculaire de 4 heures pour certains et les défis de l'installation interplanétaire pour les autres (… ou de la réparation de toilette!). La meilleure planification ne parvient pas toujours à contrer les imprévus : les objectifs scientifiques de l'équipage à l'extérieur ont été réajustés en cours de route suite à l'analyse du terrain et ceux de l'équipage à l'intérieur ont aussi été modifiés, l'une des recherches n'ayant pu être complétée comme prévue.

La partie la plus intéressante, sans aucun doute, est l'heure du dîner alors qu'on se retrouve pour partager nos diverses expériences de la journée, pour manger ensemble et parler aussi d'autres choses. On se sentait déjà chez soi après cette seconde journée fort bien remplie. J'ai même eu l'occasion ce soir après le dîner, le temps de procéder au ravitaillement du générateur avec Matt, d'observer quelques instants magiques le ciel clair et étoilé : la lumière qu'il laissait planer sur le sol faisait ressortir de façon assez stupéfiante la topographie martienne… d'où cette vive impression d'être en environnement analogue mais d'expérimenter la vie sur une autre planète.

Je vais aller rejoindre les autres pour la première activité de récréation, le visionnement du film Le cinquième élément...

Good night.

Commander's Report

Dr. Judith Lapierre Reporting

Today was a very productive day. Our morning meeting was captured on camera for Dr Clancy's research on human factors, led during this rotation by Joel. We revised our planned ETV EVA for Shannon, leading the expedition, Jennifer and myself. Shannon's goal was to collect soil samples at Candor chasm, 2.5 km east of the Hab. Jennifer and I were to test new communication protocols, both hand signal and morse called MarsE for Mars Emergency communication protocol. Joel was going to focus on Dr Clancy's research today including documenting EVA preparation. Andrew was going to further develop his plan for digital mappings of the waypoints. Matt was taking turn on being Habcom for the day.

EVA prep was much more efficient today with 2 crewmembers assisting EVA crew. Checklist proved useful. ATV EVA was cancelled and turned into a pedestrian EVA about 1 km west of the Hab. Two of the 3 ATVs would not start, batteries appeared dead. EVA crew revised their proposed plan and went ahead on a pedestrian EVA to fulfill part of their scientific goals and pursuing the communication protocol testing.

Remaining crewmembers worked on the ATVs. Keeping keys out of the ignition but into the EVA prep room was reinforced as a way of preventing this from occurring again. Pedestrian EVA lasted 45 minutes approx. (see report). New communication protocols with Hab in case of radio failure or partial success proved successful Crew recommends using them from now on when radio communication between crewmembers and with hab less than clear. Telemedicine test by HSO will be tried again tomorrow as agreed with flight surgeon. Pick up at Hanskville for the Biolet toilet - problem to be fixed tomorrow by Matt and cables bought for potential battery problems with the ATV. Hab laboratories were prepared for this rotation work and some organizational issues inside the Hab solved by Andrew and Shannon.

Water refill performed- 60 gallons. Small overflow inside the Hab from the container on third level quickly resolved. Innovation tried tonight: crew held a second meeting after quick EVA debriefing before mission support times. This meeting serves the goal of addressing all of crew's issues that can be forwarded to mission support early in the evening for efficiency, as status reports of activities and as initial next-day plan. Several issues were identified and forwarded. Starband network was done however for part of the evening and we have not received information from Mission support. Four decisions were made: to continue Biolet monitoring for another 24 hours when normal use will resume, to monitor and refuel the generator on specific times: midnight, eight and four, to fill out Habcom logs during EVA's and to modify the EVA template for optimal efficacy and thoroughness. Two safety procedures developed (generator and ATV- see report). EVA plans for 48 hours: Thursday: Andrew, Matt and Judith to identified area by crew 1 (dinosaurs fossils) to identify further waypoints and test new communication protocols at long distance (on ATV's). A night "Phobo" walk is planned tomorrow night with 5 crewmembers and one Habcom to test use of spacesuits in limited light, pedestrian activity, dexterity and radio communication.

Friday morning: Shannon, Joel and Jennifer will pursue Shannon's biology work. Andrew and Joel proposed to the crew new roles and functions for each. Crew supported their proposals and Andrew will increase his involvement into the development of a public affairs officer and Joel taking on increased responsibility with the human factor research and journalistic role (to be expanded and developed over the second week). Awaiting mission support's approval. These changes are justified and will maximize our crew's expertise and efforts. Looking forward to another full day on Mars analogue.

Geology Report

Andrew Hoppin & Joel McKinnon Reporting

In our first full EVA, the geology team traveled West from the Hab to Skyline Rim to along the route previously traveled by crew 2. We wished to visit the cliffs near waypoint 60, 3.2km Northwest of the Hab, to investigate the seepage reported by crew 2 at that location, and then to explore the cliffs to the South beyond the range of previous EVAs to the Southwest. We were seeking candidate locations for a proposed study of canyon formation by sapping, a process known to occur in other areas of southwestern Utah (Laity & Malin, 1985). This is also considered a strong possibility for what has caused the formation of valley networks on Mars, particulary in the southern highlands.

For this reconnaissance we were hoping to identify a contact between a permeable aquifer and an impermeable aquiclude underlying it that could satisfy one of the chief requirements for the development of these formations. There is also a particular structural requirement; the groundwater circulating through the aquifer must descend toward the heads of drainage basins so the bedding must be dipping slightly in the appropriate direction. Our findings were that there was indeed moisture seeping out from beneath permeable sandstone formations along Skyline Rim, but the bedding planes seemed to be roughly horizontal, resulting in a accumulation of moist shaly talus at the bases of the cliffs rather than forming canyon heads.

There was an interesting formation of a 3-4 inch thick layer above reach that seemed to fracture at 90 degree angles and was highly resistant. A sample was collected for study.

We continued further South below the cliffs of Skyline Rim, seeing significant evidence of additional seepage from the bottom of the resistant layer high up on the cliffs, but not in any location accessible by foot or ATV.

The terrain changed markedly as the cliff face swung away to the West and dropped lower, with the resistant layer disappearing and valleys becoming more frequent and more deeply cut. We hiked to the top of one peak (waypoint 92, our highest elevation of the day) through thick ashy layers of the Mancos Shale formation, took panoramic photos of the terrain across the valley to the Southwest, and collected rock samples on a ridgeline near the top. The sample appears to be gypsum in a form that tends toward radiating nodules that break into conical fibrous clumps.

From this peak, we saw a small canyon below to the southwest that was markedly different from any other valleys we have seen to date. Instead of a traditional v-shaped canyon, this canyon was U-shaped, with a long flat base and wide flat bottom in between two low straight side walls We were overdue to return to the Hab however and could not investigate the canyon further on this EVA. We're dubbing this canyon "half-pipe," and hope to return soon.

Engineering Report

Jennifer Knowles & Matt Lowry Reporting

Water Systems: Nothing to report.

Power and Fuel: Fuel pump has been fixed. Will test tonight.

EVA Equipment (including ATVs): Lamont arrived today to fill the ATV tires. Also informed us of the tan ATVs oil-guzzeling's habit. He advised us to check the oil level on that ATV before each use. Bald tire on that ATV will not be replaced, nor will the broken brake handle (left handle) be fixed. Also showed us how to put the ATVs in reverse. EVA Suit 2 back zipper has been repaired.

Safety: HSO went through the all checklists. Detailed list of items missing will be sent at end of week. Non-sparking wrench (for use with opening the gas drums) has been found and placed on drums.

Computers and Communications: EVA Habcom communications needs to be reworked. Too much static is received over the line. This is going to be studied more in the very near future. Internet connection is lost often for long periods of time. We are unable to get the Net2Phone to work properly as well.

General Maintenance & Waste Management: Lamont removed some of the trash outside. The Biolet took up most of 3 of the crew member's time today. It was discovered this morning to be overflowing. Upon recommendation from Mission Support, the humus tray was removed and emptied according to HazMat standards. The contents have been buried approximately 0.25 km away towards the NE and the site marked with a stick. Biolet was reassembled and the entire Biolet room has been deconned several times. Parts have been ordered to upgrade the ventilation pipe to industry standards. These should arrive tomorrow.

GreenHab: Plants inside the Hab have been watered.

EVA Report

NBC Denver watches the Crew catalog biological samples and geographical points from the Hab to Lithe Canyon in intense heat on balky ATVs.

EVA Cmdr: Andrew Hopkin
EVA MDRS1: Joel McKinnon

EVA Scenerio Overview

Today's EVA 46 was targeted towards a location a few kilometers West of the Hab. The objective was to identify potential locations for a proposed study of canyon formation by seeping processes. The first target was to investigate the cliff seepage reported by crew 2 on the cliff face of Skyline Rim near waypoint 60, followed by a search for other candidate study locations in previously unexplored terrain to the South along the cliff face.

DATE: 03-26-02

EVA Call Sign: EVA-46

EVA Scenerio	Looking for Canyon seepage along Skyline Rim
EVA HAB COMM (s)	Jennifer
	CDR	MDRS1	MDRS2	MDRS3
EVA CREW (Name/#)	Andrew/2	Joel/5
EVA START TIME (PET):	12:50	EVA STOP TIME: Scheduled/Actual	26:00/27:10

EVA Highlights (EVA CDR)

This was our first EVA of significant length from the Hab, and our first experience with the ATV's in varied and occasionally rough terrain. A good deal of time was spend familiarizing ourselves with the GPS units and getting used to the terrain that ATVs can handle. However, we were able to follow well-formed wheel tracks most of the way to the rim and made good time there and back. The biggest challenges were finding passable routes for the ATV to terrain as high as possible along the cliff face of Skyline Rim, and then hiking high up very steep grades of loose material to reach outcrops of interest along the cliff. Operations were hampered by a balky microphone in Suit 5, so that Joel could hear but not be heard. Also, communications with HabCom were virtually impossible from Southern portions of the cliff face 4-5 kilometers from the Hab.

PRE EVA OPERATIONS

Nominal suit donning and preparation.

AIRLOCK INGRESS/DEPRESS

Nominal ingress and depress. Radio check on handsets worked nominally.

HAB EVA MONITORING

NOMINAL EVA COMM/SAFETY CHECK (Hourly Operation)	Comm ck 1	Comm ck 2	Comm ck 3	Comm ck 4	Comm ck 5
TIME	13:35	13:50	14:30	15:00	16:30
EVA # (If Simultaneous EVAs)
ATV Odometer OUT/IN
REPORTED MAP LOCATION	unintelligible	unintelligible	unintelligible	unintelligible	unintelligible
REPORTED STATUS	OK	OK	OK	OK	OK
Auxiliary Information			Near Waypoint 60		5 km from Hab

POST EVA INGRESS AND CLEANUP

Suit vacuuming. Hab crew were out of Sim due to Biolet failure and cleanup effort, and airlock was out of service as a result.

EVA CREW: COMMENTS/OBSERVATIONS/LESSONS-LEARNED

EVA CDR: Hiking ability up steep loose material was significantly more limited for EVA CDR who was wearing standard suit boots than for EVA MDRS1 who had medical clearance to wear personal hiking boots. We both became significantly more comfortable and facile with navigating rough and steep terrain on ATVs. Suits were very comfortable in 21 degree temperatures while on ATVs, and somewhat hot while climbing steep slopes.

EVA MDRS1: It was a blast to get out on a long EVA for the first time and get my first taste of the thrill of riding ATVs out across this amazing terrain. I learned quite a few lessons, including the fact that the radio microphones should not be trusted to remain operational. Also, it's important to tie the rock hammer to its belt holder. Mine wasn't and it's now out there somewhere. I got an ATV stuck once because I was a little too conservative going through a deep dip.

The end point of our EVA afforded me an opportunity to create a 360 degree panorama of some amazing terrain. The clays of the Mancos Shale formation which formed most of these canyons had an abundance of "daisy gypsum" nodules which we collected samples of for later study.

March 27, 2002

Biology Report

Shannon Rupert Reporting

Biology objectives for rotation four got underway today with collection of samples for a working test of the "McDaniel's Hypothesis". Co-investigators of this project are Shannon Rupert (on-site) and Jonathan Butler (Point Loma Nazarene University, San Diego, CA). The "McDaniel's Hypothesis" suggests that the ability to detect high concentrations of microbial life on the face of an escarpment might be a means of detecting high concentrations of subsurface water (see MDRS EVA VII and Biology Science Report, 16FEB2002). Finding a way to quantify richness and distribution of microbes on escarpments on Earth may have practical applications on Mars, should we find surface-dwelling microscopic life there. The project has two objectives: develop a simple protocol for quantification of biological richness and water content in soil samples of interest and determine if a correlation exists between biological richness and water content of soil samples if surface microorganisms are distinguishable when the sample is taken. (Life leading you to water.) Soil samples are being taken from as many microhabitats as can be located along several separate escarpments with the potential for harboring microbial life. Location, temperature, sun and wind exposure, and evidence of runoff are being recorded. Richness of microbial life is being determined through a) microscopic analysis and b) CO2 released from sample.

We use CO2 output as a measure of biological richness in the arctic regions for Global Carbon Models. These data will be analyzed for trends across samples and across escarpments. The idea of combining biological and geological analysis in an attempt to locate water, whether on Mars or Earth, is an intriguing one. These simple experiments are designed to test that concept, but also to test a scientist's ability to collect field data in a simulation exercise. Additionally, while we acknowledge that the "McDaniel's Hypothesis" stems from a discussion held during Rotation #1 and is not a formal hypothesis at all, investigating it is in keeping with the spirit and goals of the Mars Analog Research Station Project.

Eleven samples were collected during a pedestrian EVA (EVA 47) executed near the Hab. Our original goal was to scout for escarpments in the Candor Chasm area, however problems with the ATVs meant we had to choose an alternative location near the Hab. We followed the ridge to west of the Hab south until we found an area when samples could be taken from escarpment areas that contained water during heavy rains as well as areas from which water would quickly drain. We used a soil corer at a 10 cm to collect samples. My original plan was to collect samples from a depth of 30 cm but that proved difficult in the hard and rocky soils because the corer did not have an adequate tip. Samples were then massed at the lab and a small massed vial of soda lime (approx. 8 g) was placed into the sample container. Four mL of distilled water were added to each sample and the sample was then mixed with a toothpick. The water was added because all but one of the samples contained no apparent water. Soda lime does incorporate water as well as CO2 into its structure, but since the same amount of water was added to each sample, it will not affect my results. The sealed containers were then placed in the incubator for 25 degrees C and after 8 days the soda lime will be remassed and the samples checked under the microscope for evidence of microbial life.

Collecting samples in full sim was quite an experience. Handling the corer wasn't a problem (except for the heat), but handling the small sample containers was a challenge in the bulky gloves. I had labeled the containers before the EVA but needed to relabel them in the field as I collected more of one type of sample than the other. I must have spent a full minute just trying to get the Sharpie out of my large suit pocket! Things went much smoother in the lab and I had a terrific view of the Mars flag floating on the breeze outside the small round window over the lab bench.

Tiffany Vora, biologist from Crew 3, had left 14 samples in the incubator along with a note to check them for microbial activity in a few days. When I removed them this afternoon, I found that although 13 of the samples contained no growth, the turbidity of a sample labeled "Green gypsum and NaCl" suggests that microbial life is thriving there. I will contact her to determine the location and history of the sample.

My next collecting EVA will be on Friday. Tomorrow I plan to complete an inventory of the lab supplies and equipment and work on integrating the lab protocols created by Crew One into the Hab Operations Manual created by Crew 2.

Engineering Report

Jennifer Knowles and Matt Lowry

Water Systems: Water tank was refilled at 2:19pm. This lasted until 2:57pm. Unfortunately at that time it was discovered that the water level was at its max and water from the hose was backsplashing onto the loft floor. There was some drippage into Room 4. Water spill was quickly cleaned up and the pumping stopped. The end of the hose that attaches to the water pump continues to leak. That end appears to be missing an O-ring; we believe that this is the cause of the leak. We plan to remedy this situation tomorrow.

Power and Fuel: AmericaGas came by this morning to fill the propane tank. During the first generator filling of the day, some gas was spilled on the muffler, causing the gas to smoke. The crewmembers kept a safe distance from the generator until the smoking ceased. This event has motivated us to come up with a safer procedure for filling the generator. This system is listed under the Safety section of the Engineering Report.

In addition, it appears that our fix for the leaking fuel pump has worked. We used the pump this afternoon to fill some of the gas jugs, and we noticed no sign of leakage.

EVA Equipment (including ATVs): 2 ATV's were found to have dead batteries at the start of this afternoon's EVA. ATV EVA had to be aborted. Lamont was contacted and arrived shortly thereafter. Jump cables were purchased this afternoon as a precaution against future mishaps. Also, ATV keys have been removed from the ignition and relocated to the EVA room. Each key is labeled. These keys are to be brought in after each use on EVAs. Lamont also showed us how to start manually start a dead-battery ATV by either pulling on a hand cord or by kick-starting it. Only as a last resort are we to use the jumper cables to start an ATV with a dead battery using another ATV battery.

Also, we have developed a technique for documenting EVAs in a much more efficient manner. We've found that if the HabCom maintains a record of all EVA activities (from suiting up to checking in, etc.) during the EVA, then we can more accurately document the EVA at the end of the day. A small EVA Log Book will now be placed next to the HabCom radio to facilitate this documentation.

Safety: We have devised a safety protocol for filling the generator. The procedure is as follows and a copy of it will be located on the inside of the outer door in the secondary airlock:

Both crewmembers must put on gloves (labeled specifically for this task) and safety goggles before leaving the Hab.
Turn off the generator and wait 5 minutes (to allow to cool before pouring in gas). During this time, gas canisters can be refilled from the barrels if need be.
One crewmember opens the red gas canister accordingly, being sure that the cap is screwed on properly and that the funnel is fully extended (to prevent gas leakage while pouring).
Second crew member checks that the funnel was properly screwed on and extended.
When ready to fill the tank one crew member holds the canister while the other directs the funnel into the generator tank.
If there is any spillage of the gas onto the generator during the pouring, wait 5 minutes before restarting the generator.

Computers and Communications: Computers normal. A new system of EVA Communication was developed during this morning's crew meeting, and tested during the day's EVA. A system of hand communications for EVA members was devised in the event that some radio communication between them was lost. It is described as the following:

Arm raised pointing to sky = Yes

Arm lowered pointing to ground = No

Arms raised above head in shape of O = I'm okay

Arms crossed = Stop

Arms beckoning towards self = Come here

In addition, a system of hand communications was also developed for EVA crewmembers riding ATVs. These signals basically mirror the old-fashioned bicycle hand signals; note that all ATV signals must use the left hand, as the right is busy controlling the ATV acceleration.

Pointing straight out to the side = turn left

Raised with thumb pointing to the right = turn right

Pointing towards the ground = slow down / stop

A system for communication between Habcom and EVA team was also developed in the event too much static is heard over the communication line and voice transmission is lost. The system is one of radio "clicks". We have dubbed it "MarsE Code" (Mars Emergency Code). It is as follows:

1 click = Yes

2 clicks = No

3 clicks from EVA team = We are okay

3 clicks from Hab = Are you okay?

5 clicks from EVA team = We are returning to the Hab

5 clicks from Habcom = Return to Hab

10 clicks = There is a problem

General Maintenance & Waste Management: Trash was removed during the day's EVA. In addition, the Biolet seems to be functioning normally: the heater and fan are both running, and there is no spillage on the floor of the bathroom or leaking under the Hab. This evening the temperature in the Biolet room was found to be 71 degrees F (20.5 degrees C), which is slightly warmer than the rest of the first level of the Hab.

Our experience with the Biolet over the last couple of days has caused us to consider the development of contingency plans in a real Mars Hab when there is a danger of either hazardous chemical leakage or biohazard contamination. Given our intimate experience with the Biolet, we feel these are important questions that must be considered.

GreenHab: Nothing to report.

EVA Report

NBC Denver watches the Crew catalog biological samples and geographical points from the Hab to Lithe Canyon in intense heat on balky ATVs.

EVA Cmdr: Shannon Rupert
EVA MDRS1: Judith Lapiere
EVA MDRS2: Jennifer Knowles

EVA SCENERIO OVERVIEW

Judith, Jennifer and I were planning an EVA to Candor Chasm to collect soil samples. We entered the airlock at 12:10 pm full of anticipation for our first ATV EVA. We soon discovered that the ATVs had not been properly secured at the end of the last EVA and as a result, only one ATV was operational. At 12:55 pm we began a pedestrian EVA to the south of the hab. At 0.3 kilometers, we entered a broad indent in the ridge running east of the hab and collected eleven samples. Elevation was 1370 meters and UTM coordinates using NAD 83 were 12 S 0517900 UTM 0425600 as measured by hand from 1:24000 topographic map. Tomorrow's EVA will GPS this location. After sampling, we returned to the Hab but along the way tested a system of hand signals we developed in order to communication when radio contact is poor. We have also developed a series of radio button clicks we call MARSE code to communicate in an emergency over the radios after we noted that even when we couldn't hear each other due to static, the clicking of the PTT button always came through loud and clear. Our test of the communications system was successful. We reentered the airlock at 1:53 pm. It was over 80 degrees out and we were very hot.

DATE: 03-28-02

EVA Highlights (EVA CDR)

This was our first EVA traveling North of the Hab. We were surprised at how quickly vegetation appeared as we traveled to the Northeast along "Lowell Highway," which underscored for us how unique the location of the Hab is in providing a strong visual analog of Mars. Lithe Canyon, the terminus of our exploration, was as beautiful and geologically varied as advertised, and yielded ideal sample locations for Shannon. We especially enjoyed viewing old waterfalls and extensive dinosaur bones down canyon.

Andrew's suit was fitted with a television camera on top of his helmet, and an audio transmitter for the television crew. The biggest challenges were intense heat while hiking in Lithe Canyon, and a mechanical issues with one ATV which stalled repeatedly on the way back to the Hab. Also, we tested microphones on the "voice activated" setting but found that Matt microphone was active most of the time while on the ATVs due to background noise, which impeded our ability to communicate with one another. Once again the communications with the Hab were not possible beyond several kilometers from the Hab. Finally, we had a somewhat successful field test of "Marse Code," in which a series of "clicks" of the transmit button on the radios can convey messages such as "We're ok," "Returning to Hab," etc. when static on the radios makes voice communication unintelligible.

PRE EVA OPERATIONS

Nominal suit donning and preparation. 10 minute delay for installation of television microphone and camera on Andrew's suit.

AIRLOCK INGRESS/DEPRESS

Nominal ingress and depress. Radio check on handsets worked nominally.

HAB EVA MONITORING

POST EVA INGRESS AND CLEANUP

Normal ingress, but suit vacuuming was deferred in order to get crew out of suits as rapidly as possible due to significant heat exhaustion.

EVA CREW: COMMENTS/OBSERVATIONS/LESSONS-LEARNED

EVA CDR: If not for the GPS and previous EVA reports, we would never have thought that beautiful Lithe Canyon was close by at the road turnoff. The rapid change in the terrain heading into this canyon was dramatic, and the canyon was a feast of history, from ancient waterfalls to dinosaur bone fields. Thrilling!

I was also pleased to find that the television equipment I was fitted with (camera and audio) was imperceptible to me and didn't interfere with the EVA in the least, and that the television crew was respectful of the research underway and did not try to interfere with the mission in the least.

EVA MDRS1: I was collecting soils samples for Shannon's research along the way to the Lithe Canyon. We stopped on the way to the canyon (3 samples of wet and dry sun exposed) and inside the canyon (2 wet samples). This was my second experience (the last being while on a pedestrian EVA near the Hab) with biological sampling, and second sampling in space suit but my first being responsible for that. Matt assisted me most of the times. It was really interesting to experience being a field biologist on Mars. At the canyon, I needed to sit down and wait for my crewmembers going further down into the canyon- the sun was really getting to me and the climbing was difficult at times with the weight of the suits and backpack. I joined them however to the fossils site and that felt incredible. Witnessing that on a field expedition is something, I will never forget. We felt on Mars!

EVA MDRS2: To me, this EVA proves the necessity of having humans on Mars performing exploration rather than robots. For instance, I seriously doubt that robots would have been able to hike through the rough Lithe Canyon terrain and find the 'dinosaur formation' we had discovered. There was also a problem with one of the ATVs on the way back, and it kept stalling (a total of ~12 times); we were able to get the thing started and restarted, whether it was by pushing or kick-starting. I believe the humans have got the robots whipped when it comes to such things, because what robot would have been capable of 'fixing' such a situation under those constraints?

I also noted that my sunglasses began to fog up in the middle of the EVA, even though my faceplate was clear. I would suggest in the future that EVA teams should use the soap solution to clean not only their faceplates but their sunglasses as well. Also, Andrew and I had a lot of problems with sweat dripping into our eyes, which made seeing clearly even more difficult. We suggest that teams going out on EVA should consider wearing sweatbands to prevent this.

In addition, this EVA also outlined to me the inherit danger of these activities. A combination of the harsh sunlight, rugged landscape, and faulty equipment (i.e., an ATV that kept stalling) made for exhausting conditions that left our team quite drained by the time we returned to the Hab. Clearly, these activities are not something to be taken lightly. But despite the dangers of this EVA, I felt an exhilaration I've seldom felt, and I'll cherish the memories of this day for the rest of my life.

March 28, 2002

MDRS Log Book

MDRS Log, Commander Judith Lapierre

A day in the canyon and a night under the moon

Have you ever seen dinosaurs' fossils in the field? Have you ever experienced the feeling of exploring another planet, another world? Maybe you have since our world has still numerous isolated areas. Climbing, scuba diving and taking part on trek all do share some common features of exploration.

However, it is the integration of the conditions here on Mars Analogue that makes it a specific planet exploration experience! Riding those ATV's in the field and reaching our targeted was amazing. Although we used the main ATV track, named Lowell highway by earlier crewmembers, it really felt as if we were the only ones there (with the media crew following in the back!!) . The surroundings kept changing from really dry areas with sand, to seeing cactus and small bright colored desert flowers to exclusively rocks in the canyon. The view of the horizon was truly breathtaking and we would have to remind ourselves to keep watching the bumpy road ahead and not the surroundings…The high point of our day was definitely the discovery of those bones fossils right in the canyon.. There is no words to describe our feeling and experience as history was unfolding itself just in front of our eyes (but see our photos!).

Our EVA commander Andrew lead a very successful "filmed on camera" EVA and managed to keep our crew's spirit even when our return to the Hab was not so easy : sun rays were very strong, some problems with one ATV (one had to be re started almost 12 times and pushed by crew), we felt fatigue because of the climbing, and very hungry. What an adventure! A lot of excitement in the Hab about our exploration when we returned and then, a well deserved resting period. Shannon had cooked for us an excellent Vegetarian Chili, very spicy but truly appreciated by all. Who said eating on Mars analogue would be boring? Our crew has certainly benefited from excellent cooking abilities and this is fully credited to the crewmembers and not the commander!

We then had our second highlight of the day, a pedestrian EVA led by Jennifer: it became MDRS first full sim night EVA. See Jennifer's report about that incredible experience. This was another one of those days where crew collaboration proved truly essential. Nothing or almost nothing could be accomplished in solo, assistance and shared responsibilities are a must. Furthermore, we understood clearly that no robotic exploration could ever compare to what can be achieved by human exploration: decisions, versatility of movement in hazardous terrain, and intuition/minds for investigation are clear advantages of human exploration over robots.

Une journée au canyon et une soirée sous les étoiles

Judith Lapierre, le 28 mars 2002 - Station scientifique MARS du désert Avez-vous déjà identifié des fossiles sur le terrain? Avez-vous déjà eu le sentiment d'explorer une nouvelle planète, un autre monde? Certes, des expéditions en montagne, dans les profondeurs de l'océan nous rappellent ces sentiments mais ce qui caractérise l'exploration planétaire ici c'est l'intégration de toutes les conditions de simulation.

Nous avons rejoint notre destination prévue après environ 1:30h de conduite en VTT sur le chemin appelé communément ici, l'autoroute Lowell. Ce qui m'étonna le plus, c'était d'observer les changements dans l'environnement. De notre point de départ, des dunes de sables très sèches, puis des cactus et des fleurs du désert aux couleurs vives pour arriver enfin au canyon, où des vues spectaculaires offraient à nous. La tentation était si forte de regarder tout autour vers l'horizon, monts enneigés, strates variés, élévations…mais le casque limitant notre champs de vision et la route assez sinueuse nous rappelaient à l'ordre assez rapidement! Le point culminant de notre expédition fut certainement la découverte de signes de vie sur la planète que nous explorions : des fossiles de dinosaures se trouvaient là, dans le canyon, exposés à l'œil de l'observateur.

Aucune expression ne peut rendre justice à l'expérience et aux sentiments d'être témoin de cette fameuse page de notre histoire sur Terre (mais je vous invite à regarder nos photos!). Notre commandant d'expédition Andrew a mené sa mission avec succès et beaucoup d'attention des médias. Il est même parvenu à garder notre motivation lorsque au retour, nous avions chaud, nous ressentions beaucoup de fatigue suite à la marche en montagne, nous avions faim et en plus, l'un des VTT ne voulait pas démarrer et s'arrêtait fréquemment. Douze fois, nous avons du le pousser pour l'aider à redémarrer Toute une aventure, digne d'explorateurs à la recherche. Une période de repos suivit afin de reprendre nos énergies pour la préparation de la seconde exploration du jour. Juste avant, Shannon a préparé le dîner : un excellent chili végétarien très épicé et fort apprécié. Qui a dit que les repas sur Mars serait ennuyant? Puis, vint l'exploration pédestre sous la lune et sous le ciel de Mars…commandée par Jennifer : la première exploration de nuit en mode de simulation complet!

Une expérience à lire - voir le rapport de Jennifer. En somme, une autre journée fort bien remplie. Deux éléments majeurs à retenir : le travail d'équipe est essentiel- presque aucune des activités d'exploration ne peut être accomplie sans assistance et partage des responsabilités et enfin, aucune mission robotique se compare à l'exploration humaine : la prise de décision, la versatilité des déplacements en terrains accidentés et l'esprit critique/l'intuition sont des avantages clairs de l'exploration humaine.

Commander's Report

Dr. Judith Lapierre Reporting

Generator was out this am- breaker problem quickly solved. Shower for one crewmember had to be postponed until tomorrow. Telemedicine Net2phone test was successful. NBC media arrived to the Hab at 9:00 am and joined our morning meeting. Five scientific goals were set and achieved for today:

Morning EVA that lasted 4.5 hours into Lithe canyon (waypoint: 13) led by Andrew with a team of two: myself and Matt (Shannon became commander inside Hab during my EVA)
Bill Clancey's human factor's research led by Joel
My own research on psychosocial issues
Shannon's biological soil samples and lab protocol work
Night Time full sim EVA.

Other activities planned were biolet pipes repair and installation but that has been postponed to tomorrow for lack of time this pm and post EVA exhaustion. Jennifer was Habcom during the morning EVA and myself, night EVA. During the morning ATV EVA, Andrew had a camera set by NBC on his helmet and shots were taken of all exercises in the field: waypoint identification, soil sampling (wet and dry in sun exposed areas) and search for signs of life... A pedestrian EVA of 1 hour was performed in that area: hiking was found to be difficult at times because of heat and need to climb. Hiking in canyon areas needs extra attention. Fossils were discovered: (see EVA report) and that was the most incredible experience. Fox was seen far away by leading EVA commander.

Heat became a real problem, water was necessary and appreciated. One crewmember stopped the pedestrian EVA, sat down and waited into the canyon to prevent further fatigue/heat problem but could follow with the eyes the other 2 crewmembers going further down into the canyon. On the way back, some problems with automatic ATV that had to be manually restarted 12 times. The whole EVA crew returned safely at Hab with in mind, the most extraordinary experience of Mars analogue. The other half of the crew performed usual Hab maintenance and personal planned science work.

Following this EVA a short post EVA meeting led to a period of rest/relaxation activities, the EVA team feeling extremely tired. Work activities resumed at 18h00. Night EVA planned: crew instructed to stay in the surrounding of the Hab for less than an hour and to follow the same rules as usual day pedestrian EVA. Shannon's EVA was cancelled; she reported not feeling well and I recommended that she stays in and report her night EVA to the next one during our rotation. Crew's EVA preparation took less than 50 minutes. This morning, we have implemented a new EVA preparation protocol in accordance with the initial checklist. Radio, helmet, backpack, gloves, nametags are all checked and installed on a large table beside the EVA room for each crewmember to be going on an EVA. This was found to increase drastically suiting efficiency and structured preparation. Night EVA preparation was found to require more practice. EVA crew had to repeat three times their 5 min airlock decompression: came back inside Hab to get another radio that was found to be malfunctioning in the airlock although it had been tested during preparation and a flashlight had been left inside the Hab. See report for details about our full sim EVA commanded by Jennifer.

Preliminary plan for tomorrow: Installing the pipes of the Biolet. In-sim repair was discussed but found too risky as one must climb 10 feet on a ladder. Will be fixed in am tomorrow before morning EVA lead by Shannon and including Joel and Jennifer. Soil samples into the Candor chasm and further geology observation by Joel. Other hab maintenance will be closing the hole in the biolet toilet. Each crewmember to perform their own science in the pm. Fridays evening plan is: special "aurevoir"celebration to Matt (as he is leaving our crew unfortunately on Saturday to be replaced by Alex whom we are looking forward to meet!) and for Shannon (we had promised her a post stag wedding party last month as she is spending her honeymoon with us instead of her husband of one week!).

Biology Report

Shannon Rupert

Six samples were collected by Judith on EVA 49: single dry samples at Waypoints (WP) 162 and 163, a wet sample at WP 166, two wet samples at WP 167 and a wet sample at an unknown waypoint. These were processed in the same manner as previous samples. Due to a media crew shadowing the EVA, getting the waypoint for EVA 47 was postponed until tomorrow.

Since I spent all day inside the Hab, I reorganized the lab, mainly by relocating all chemicals to a single cabinet, except those kept in the refrigerator and freezer. I also created a new inventory of supplies, equipment and chemicals on an Excel spreadsheet to be used and updated by each crew. It will be posted on the MS website and can be accessed by crew scientists prior to their rotation to better assess what they need to bring to accomplish their scientific goals here at MDRS. Since it was a paperwork kind of day, I also began updating the lab protocols in the Hab Operations Manual.

Until yesterday, when I brought my first samples into the lab and started working there, the lower deck of the Hab was like an empty shell. No one in the crew stayed down there any longer than it took to walk from the stairs to the EVA room or bathroom. Now it has become part of our living space.

Engineering Report

Jennifer Knowles and Matt Lowry

Water Systems: Nothing to report.

Power and Fuel: Lost power this morning at 8:10. Turned off heater and other systems. Power did not return. Checked breakers in Hab, they were not the problem. Two crewmembers went out of sim to check on the generator. Determined that the problem was a tripped breaker (we surmise that this was due to the water heater). Power was restored within 20 minutes.

The generator was refilled this morning at about 8:25am, and once again at 4pm in the afternoon. We have decided to try fixing ourselves to a 'refill schedule' of midnight, 8am, and 4pm.

EVA Equipment (including ATVs): Two EVAs were held today: a daytime ATV EVA and a nighttime pedestrian EVA. The daytime EVA encountered difficulties communicating with the Hab. The Fourtrax-300 ATV also provided lots of trouble for that EVA crew on the way back to the Hab. It stalled numerous (roughly 12) times and would not start without a push start or kick-start; this caused the EVA crew to spend a lot of time and energy simply getting back to the Hab. We plan to explore the reasons for the Fourtrax's mechanical failure tomorrow. The second EVA was a nighttime EVA and went normally - except that it was at night and really cool!

Safety: Crewmembers on the daytime EVA were overwhelmed with the heat, and they also made the mistake of not eating heartily before going on such a long EVA. During the EVA debrief the HSO and an EVA member made suggestions on ways to avoid overheating. The commander has sent an email to Mission Support with the ideas described in detail.

Computers and Communications: Starband is often down. We are still having difficulty communicating between the Hab and the EVA groups using the radios. We believe that the repeater has "succumbed to the elements, theft, or a vandalistic shotgun blast" as it will not respond even to a test. An email has been sent to Mission Support about this problem.

General Maintenance & Waste Management: Trash was removed from the Hab during the EVA. We have received word from a Biolet technician on its proper use and plan to follow his advice. Tomorrow we intend to install the new tubing for the Biolet.

During the nighttime EVA, the team pumped the leach-field pump, and they also cleaned out the leach-field exit line.

GreenHab: Plants in the Hab have been watered.

Maximum Outside Temperature: 85 degrees F

Minimum Outside Temperature: unknown - 37 degrees F according to www.weather.com

Human Factors Report

Bill Clancey is involved in an extensive study of research station simulation practices for the purpose of creating a detailed simulation model of "a day at the hab." At such a station. Most such research to date has been performed at the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (FMARS) station on Devon Island as part of the Haughton Mars Project, but Bill hopes to acquire additional data from studies of crew activities at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in the spring 2002 season of operations. He will be acquiring fine grained detail on his rotation (Crew 5- April 7-21) and hopes that I might provide additional data to supplement his observations under the conditions of a different commander and crew to study.

Bill has instructed me to observe crew behavior and activities in several ways. He is interested in observing how the crew interacts while performing various research station duties and in understanding the crews priorities for how facilities are used, how space is occupied at various phases of the day, how crewmembers use their time, where they store personal belongings, how communal equipment is used and maintained, and how the crew keeps clean and how they entertain themselves.

To accomplish these observations I am utilizing several techniques the use of which Bill has pioneered in his earlier studies at FMARS. Various common activities such as generator and water refills, EVA preparation, and morning and evening briefings will be studied through the use of video and time-lapse photography. "Snaplists" will occasionally be used to track the whereabouts and activities of the crew over the course of an entire day. These require the recording of what everyone is doing throughout the hab at 15 minute intervals from daybreak until evening. I am insuring that crewmembers keep accurate logs of various activities throughout the day such as generator and water system maintenance and EVA communications and activities. Finally, I will be conducting interviews and compiling detailed observations of the crew's priorities in how they make use of time and resources in a typical day in the hab.

So far, I have made use of video to observe in detail a morning briefing followed by the EVA preparation activities, and then recorded the evening briefing that followed the day's EVA. These observations were made yesterday (3/27/02), the third full day of the simulation for Crew 4. I will be repeating this sequence of observations near the end of the current crew's rotation to see how the methods and procedures have changed with time.

Today (3/28/02) I began the use of "snaplists" at 7:30 am and will continue it until midnight tonight. For this purpose I found it useful to create an Applescript to speak the phrase "record snaplist" every fifteen minutes. At each interval I log the activity and location of each crew member, including myself. An example of two such intervals is shown below:

1:15pm

Judith: on EVA

Jennifer: doing log (habcom station)

Andrew: on EVA

Matt: on EVA

Shannon: decorating stateroom

Joel: applescripting (main workstation table)

1:30pm

Judith: on EVA

Jennifer: habcom checking with crew (habcom station)

Andrew: on EVA

Matt: on EVA

Shannon: bio lab inventory (stateroom)

Joel: logging (main workstation table)

In addition, I employed manual time-lapse photography to record pre and post-EVA procedures at one minute intervals. My digital camera doesn't have the capability to do this automatically, so I again employed Applescript to give me a spoken prompt at one minute intervals. In my first attempt in the pre-EVA procedures I used a watch with a sweep second hand and found it extremely difficult to regularly note the time to take the picture. The automatically generated spoken prompt worked much better. Another advantage of manual shots is that the camera can be moved as needed to avoid obstacles (like the back of someone's head for instance). I hope to employ this procedure for a variety of operations as the mission proceeds such as for refilling the generator and the water system.

Thus far I have not formalized surveys and detailed observations of crew priorities regarding utilization of time, space, and food resources but have made many informal observations which will be duly noted.

In conclusion, I've just noted the value of the snaplists before even completing one day's observations. Already it becomes clear how crew members have established regular zones of occupation throughout the hab. I am almost always at the main workstation table, Judith usually at the habcom station, Andrew commonly at the main workstation table, Jennifer often at habcom or at main table, Matt can be just about anywhere at any time. Various factors seem to play into this; Jennifer has no computer so uses the habcom station when she can, Matt is a jack of all trades without a specific research role and hence his free floating behavior, Judith as commander is obviously based most commonly at habcom.

EVA 48 Report

NBC Denver watches the Crew catalog biological samples and geographical points from the Hab to Lithe Canyon in intense heat on balky ATVs.

EVA Cmdr: Andrew Hoppin
EVA MDRS1: Judith Lapiere
EVA MDRS2: Matt Lowry

EVA SCENERIO OVERVIEW

Today's EVA 48 was targeted towards a location a 5.2 kilometers due North of the Hab. The objective was to collect waypoints and biological samples along the route to Lithe Canyon along a route that has been traveled frequently by previous teams but never had waypoints or samples recorded. Shannon requested that the team collect soil core samples from several rivulet and escarpment locations along the route. The waypoint collection was also in support of the Geology Team's Geographic Information Systems project; specifically, the new waypoint data along this important route will help to assess the accuracy of the digital elevation model and also help to accurately register digitized aerial photography for the region. We were accompanied on this EVA by a television crew from NBC in Denver.

DATE: 03-28-02

EVA Scenerio	Biological Sample and Waypoint (for GIS) Collection
EVA HAB COMM (s)	Jennifer
	CDR	MDRS1	MDRS2	MDRS3
EVA CREW (Name/#)	Andrew/2	Judith/5	Matt/6
EVA START TIME (PET):	11:00	EVA STOP TIME: Scheduled/Actual	14:00/15:30

EVA Highlights (EVA CDR)

This was our first EVA traveling North of the Hab. We were surprised at how quickly vegetation appeared as we traveled to the Northeast along "Lowell Highway," which underscored for us how unique the location of the Hab is in providing a strong visual analog of Mars. Lithe Canyon, the terminus of our exploration, was as beautiful and geologically varied as advertised, and yielded ideal sample locations for Shannon. We especially enjoyed viewing old waterfalls and extensive dinosaur bones down canyon.

Andrew's suit was fitted with a television camera on top of his helmet, and an audio transmitter for the television crew. The biggest challenges were intense heat while hiking in Lithe Canyon, and a mechanical issues with one ATV which stalled repeatedly on the way back to the Hab. Also, we tested microphones on the "voice activated" setting but found that Matt microphone was active most of the time while on the ATVs due to background noise, which impeded our ability to communicate with one another. Once again the communications with the Hab were not possible beyond several kilometers from the Hab. Finally, we had a somewhat successful field test of "Marse Code," in which a series of "clicks" of the transmit button on the radios can convey messages such as "We're ok," "Returning to Hab," etc. when static on the radios makes voice communication unintelligible.

PRE EVA OPERATIONS

Nominal suit donning and preparation. 10 minute delay for installation of television microphone and camera on Andrew's suit.

AIRLOCK INGRESS/DEPRESS

Nominal ingress and depress. Radio check on handsets worked nominally.

HAB EVA MONITORING

NOMINAL EVA COMM/SAFETY CHECK (Hourly Operation)	Comm ck 1	Comm ck 2	Comm ck 3	Comm ck 4	Comm ck 5
TIME	11:30	12:30	13:30	14:15	15:00
EVA # (If Simultaneous EVAs)
ATV Odometer OUT/IN
REPORTED MAP LOCATION	Near waypoint 77	unintelligible	unintelligible
REPORTED STATUS	OK	OK	OK
Auxiliary Information	Collecting biological sample	"Marse Code" was used; voice not possible	Communication attempted unsuccessfully	Communication attempted unsuccessfully	Communication attempted unsuccessfully

POST EVA INGRESS AND CLEANUP

Normal ingress, but suit vacuuming was deferred in order to get crew out of suits as rapidly as possible due to significant heat exhaustion.

EVA CREW: COMMENTS/OBSERVATIONS/LESSONS-LEARNED

EVA CDR: If not for the GPS and previous EVA reports, we would never have thought that beautiful Lithe Canyon was close by at the road turnoff. The rapid change in the terrain heading into this canyon was dramatic, and the canyon was a feast of history, from ancient waterfalls to dinosaur bone fields. Thrilling!

I was also pleased to find that the television equipment I was fitted with (camera and audio) was imperceptible to me and didn't interfere with the EVA in the least, and that the television crew was respectful of the research underway and did not try to interfere with the mission in the least.

EVA MDRS1: I was collecting soils samples for Shannon's research along the way to the Lithe Canyon. We stopped on the way to the canyon (3 samples of wet and dry sun exposed) and inside the canyon (2 wet samples). This was my second experience (the last being while on a pedestrian EVA near the Hab) with biological sampling, and second sampling in space suit but my first being responsible for that. Matt assisted me most of the times. It was really interesting to experience being a field biologist on Mars. At the canyon, I needed to sit down and wait for my crewmembers going further down into the canyon- the sun was really getting to me and the climbing was difficult at times with the weight of the suits and backpack. I joined them however to the fossils site and that felt incredible. Witnessing that on a field expedition is something, I will never forget. We felt on Mars!

EVA MDRS2: To me, this EVA proves the necessity of having humans on Mars performing exploration rather than robots. For instance, I seriously doubt that robots would have been able to hike through the rough Lithe Canyon terrain and find the 'dinosaur formation' we had discovered. There was also a problem with one of the ATVs on the way back, and it kept stalling (a total of ~12 times); we were able to get the thing started and restarted, whether it was by pushing or kick-starting. I believe the humans have got the robots whipped when it comes to such things, because what robot would have been capable of 'fixing' such a situation under those constraints?

I also noted that my sunglasses began to fog up in the middle of the EVA, even though my faceplate was clear. I would suggest in the future that EVA teams should use the soap solution to clean not only their faceplates but their sunglasses as well. Also, Andrew and I had a lot of problems with sweat dripping into our eyes, which made seeing clearly even more difficult. We suggest that teams going out on EVA should consider wearing sweatbands to prevent this.

In addition, this EVA also outlined to me the inherit danger of these activities. A combination of the harsh sunlight, rugged landscape, and faulty equipment (i.e., an ATV that kept stalling) made for exhausting conditions that left our team quite drained by the time we returned to the Hab. Clearly, these activities are not something to be taken lightly. But despite the dangers of this EVA, I felt an exhilaration I've seldom felt, and I'll cherish the memories of this day for the rest of my life.

EVA 49 Report

EVA Cmdr: Jennifer Knowles
EVA MDRS1: Andrew Hoppin
EVA MDRS2: Joel McKinnon

EVA SCENERIO OVERVIEW

Tonight's EVA 49 was targeted towards a peak about 2 kilometers East of the Hab. The objective was to identify potential hazards of a nighttime EVA.

DATE: 03-28-02

EVA Scenerio	Moonlight walk to nearby peak
EVA HAB COMM (s)	Judith
	CDR	MDRS1	MDRS2	MDRS3
EVA CREW (Name/#)	Jennifer/3	Joel/5	Andrew/2
EVA START TIME (PET):	21:12	EVA STOP TIME: Scheduled/Actual	23:00/22:53

EVA Highlights (EVA CDR)

This was the first nighttime EVA of our crew, as well as the first fully simulated night EVA of the entire MDRS project. After performing some maintenance duties, the three of us set out for "Phobos Peak", always keeping the Hab in sight.

Distances in the dark are quite deceiving. What looks like is close might actually be far away. Flashlights are a must. The full moon provided us with most of our light, but the additional lighting was necessary when climbing Phobos Peak and even during some of the hike back. Surprising, even at night we were very hot in the spacesuits and the helmets fogged up so much that we were forced to stop walking every once in a while (protocol for cleaning the helmets before usage was not followed and should be). Communications worked as expected (no specific challenges with night communications).

PRE EVA OPERATIONS

Nominal suit donning and preparation.

AIRLOCK INGRESS/DEPRESS

Had several ingresses and depresses. During first depress Andrew's radio stopped working properly. Ingress was required to reenter Hab. During second depress our crew was lacking one flashlight. Ingress was again required before reentering Hab. Final depress/ingress was nominal.

HAB EVA MONITORING

NOMINAL EVA COMM/SAFETY CHECK (Hourly Operation)	Comm ck 1	Comm ck 2	Comm ck 3	Comm ck 4	Comm ck 5
TIME	21:15	21:31	21:57	22:26	22:53
EVA # (If Simultaneous EVAs)
ATV Odometer OUT/IN
REPORTED MAP LOCATION
REPORTED STATUS	OK	OK	OK	OK	OK
Auxiliary Information	Taken our trash; pumped leech field				Returning to Hab

POST EVA INGRESS AND CLEANUP

Suit vacuuming.

EVA CREW: COMMENTS/OBSERVATIONS/LESSONS-LEARNED

EVA CDR: The landscape at night with a full moon shining was an incredible sight to behold. It gave one the sense of being in a very foreign place. Our hike took us across what we believe is an old lakebed. I also traversed my first patch of desert sand! At 10pm we finally had reached the peak. It is amazing how deceiving distances are at night. What we thought was a nearby peak ended up being one mile away!! But we were determined to reach our destination! We thought it would be a great place to take in the view, and we wanted to see that view! Our hill ended up being more of a rocky mini-mountain. Which is quite a challenge to climb up when donning spacesuits. But it was well worth the trouble. Once we reached the top we found our selves at the edge of a canyon. We spent several minutes at the peak, which we have named Phobos Peak, catching our breath, enjoying the view, pointing out planets (did we see Earth??), and taking pictures before we began the hike back to join the others at the Hab.

On our walk back to the Hab we passed an interesting rock formation. Several rocks had been weathered by wind and water in a manner that they formed something of a pedestal or table shape low to the ground. We took pictures of them so look for those on the web.

All in all it was a fantastic moonlight EVA! I hope I get the chance to view all of these features in the daylight on another EVA!

March 29, 2002

MDRS Log Book

MDRS Log, Commander Judith Lapierre

First week thoughts

Our first week is getting to a close end. We will be losing one of our crewmember, time for Matt to get back to Earth! We all wish he could stay with us: who is going to fix everything and even work on the biolet with a big smile? He was very proactive; during the day, he would be analyzing everything that could be fixed, fixing them and improving our conditions here. During the evenings, he would be the one to remind us (if not force us) us to take some time off for leisure and social activities. He even became our MDRS official entertainer: teaching us the Mars chess, playing card/mind tricks one night, he would see things that no one would see (Mars duck, for example) and organize our Friday night at the Mars Movie "small screen" Theatre (mezzanine level of the Hab): a magician has left the Hab but his spirit remains with our crew. We will welcome our habmate, Alex on Sunday. We were just discussing last night on how difficult for him it could be to join a crew that has already spent a week together. We decided all to make sure we would make him feel part of the team right from the start. When looking back at our first and second days here, it seems like a very long time ago. I guess, the learning opportunities and diverse life experiences (plus the long hours) that have been given to us here in such a short period make it that way. I really can say at this time, that the crew selection for our crew was made it such a way that each brought a different expertise along that has been maximized through our interactions. To come to MDRS, you must definitely be eager to learn, be open to new experiences, flexible enough to live comfortably with unpredicted events while demonstrating a interest in sharing your knowledge/ideas with the others and developing creativity. It is those five qualities that will define the success of our mission scientifically and socially by defining also our new way of life or “Mars Modus Vivendi”. One will not survive alone on Mars. Almost everything we do on Mars analogue is with our Habmate- from assisting with radio com during EVA`s to switch from crew channel-2:00 to Hab channel-2:01 to generator maintenance and preparation of meal periods). We must know that we can rely on one another. After a week, we have seen this and trust is building up if not established for all. We all have taken on the different tasks, roles and functions needed for daily Hab maintenance, operations and scientific program. Watching Star Wars last night was our well deserved special night. Although some of us fell asleep during the showing of the movie, all will remember our last night’s dinner (Jennifer`s famous Martian Duck), the laughs, the popcorn and Jennifer`s companion: Snuff. .

Réflexions de la première semaine

Notre première semaine tire déjà à sa fin. Demain, Matt reprend le chemin vers la réalité, retour sur Terre pour lui! On souhaiterait le retenir pour encore quelque temps. Notre équipage perd un membre important : qui prendra plaisir à tout réparer, même la biolet et ce, avec un grand sourire? Matt était très proactif, durant le jour, il analysait les conditions de notre station, trouvait des solutions aux problèmes rencontrés et veillait à améliorer le quotidien. Le soir, il se faisait un devoir de nous rappeler de prendre du temps pour un peu de socialisation et de loisirs. C’est ainsi qu’il est devenu l’organisateur des soirées récréatives de la station scientifique Mars du désert : il nous a appris à jouer aux échecs martiens, nous a présenté de tours de cartes un soir, il voyait ce qu’on ne voyait pas (le canard martien par exemple) et organisa notre soirée cinéma «petit écran» à la mezzanine de notre station ce soir. Nous accueillerons Alex dimanche, le dernier membre de notre équipage. Nous discutions hier soir justement des défis potentiels qu’il aurait à relever dans son intégration à notre équipage, à la station depuis déjà une semaine. Il nous apparaissait alors important de prendre une décision collective. Il faut agir de façon à que notre nouveau colocataire de station sente qu’il fait partie de l’équipe dès son arrivée. Si je pense maintenant aux premières journées ici, elles m’apparaissent très lointaines. Je suppose que ce sont toutes les occasions d’apprentissages et les expériences variées (en plus des longues heures de travail) qui nous ont été données qui expliquent cette sensation. Je peux vraiment affirmer à ce point, que la sélection des membres de notre équipage était telle qu’elle faisait en sorte que les expertises spécifiques de chacun seraient maximisées par nos interactions à la station. Participer à une mission à la station du désert implique nécessairement que le candidat soit avide de connaissances, ouvert à de nouvelles expériences, flexible afin de pouvoir gérer confortablement des situations imprévisibles, qu’il ait une facilité à partager son savoir et ses idées et finalement qu’il fasse preuve de créativité. En fait, le succès de nos missions du point de vue scientifique et social dépend de ces 5 qualités : elles définissent notre « modus vivendi ». Survivre sur Mars sera impossible pour une personne seule. Presque toutes les activités ici s’accomplissent avec nos collègues : que ce soit l’assistance mutuelle lors des contacts radio en sorties extravéhiculaires (pour passer du canal 2:00- communication inter-membres à 2 :01 pour la communication avec la station), la maintenance du générateur de la station ou la préparation des repas. On doit avoir la certitude que l’on peut compter sur autrui. Après une semaine, nous constatons qu’effectivement, nous pouvons compter sur nos collègues de station. La plupart diraient que la confiance règne au sein du groupe ou qu’elle se développe graduellement. Chacun d’entre nous a eu l’occasion au cours de cette semaine d’opérer presque toutes les tâches, de tenir tous les rôles de la station et du programme scientifique. Visionner le film de Star Wars ce soir était une récompense extraordinaire. Même si certains d’entre nous sont tombés endormis avant la fin du film, tous se souviendront de notre dernier repas (le Canard martien de Shannon), les éclats de rire, le popcorn et le compagnon de Jennifer : Snuff...

Commander's Report

MDRS Log, Commander Judith Lapierre

Our EVA’s plans of the day were changed as one of our ATV was returned to its Earth owner for the day. Our morning was occupied with half the crew finishing last night’s first full sim night EVA reports (commanders: Jennifer and Andrew) and the other half working on three Hab maintenance activities of the day. The first one involved plugging the small hole in the bathroom behind the biolet with foam and securing it. The second one included changing the pipes of the biolet and reconnecting the hose (2 hours of work). That included work under the Hab- site assessed by HSO beforehand to assess security and make recommendations. Finally, fixing the water pump to prevent leakage when pumping fresh water from the container and filling up our water tank was done. At our pre-EVA meeting after report writing, EVA’s have been postponed to 16:00 h for safety reasons and to prevent heat exhaustion. Shannon commanded the ATV EVA and was assisted by Jennifer. Explored site was Tank Wash for its escarpment and regolith – a reconnaissance mission was performed due to time constraints (soil sampling to be performed next EVA). Joel commanded a pedestrian EVA to the site (named by our team Phobos Peak) that had been explored on last night’s EVA situated East 1.5 km from the HAB. The goal was to produce a preliminary comparison analysis of the pathway (night versus day) and to get a better sense of the geological features and potential dry lake bed (see reports). Shortly after having left the Hab, one EVA crew was stopped for 10 minutes by capcom (Andrew) following my advice; one crewmember’s water connector inside helmet was dislodged and water Crew returned to Hab, followed regular EVA procedure with airlock and resumed EVA. Andrew also worked on his digital mapping this pm and performing his first Habcom activity. Our post-EVA meeting took place during dinner and report writing for 1 hour this evening. We are planning a Friday night in the Hab (considering this is our main option and preferred one!) with a special movie: Phantom Menace. Matt is leaving us tomorrow. We want to spend “social” time with him and that is the only way to force him not to work (by planning to stop all work activities at 21:30 on our Friday night). After 5 days into the mission, all of us have taken on each different tasks involved in Hab maintenance and SIM operations. Joel will complete his tomorrow by taking on HabCom.

Plans for tomorrow : Three scientific goals are planned for Saturday: the first pressurized rover EVA (half SIM mode) prototype testing (Shannon to command, Andrew as crew and Jennifer as off-sim assistant to perform operational assessment recording); my psychosocial research with Matt as he is leaving (questionnaires and interview) and survey questions from Joel. In addition, an expedition to Skyline rim to check the MDRS repeater is planned in the afternoon after leaving Matt at the bus in Green River. Two of the crewmembers will stay in: Joel as Capcom to test radio communication on Skyline Rim while three crewmembers work on the repeater and myself, to pursue my research.

Biology Report

One aspect of human biology to which we have, as a crew, devoted a large part of our time is hygiene. When we first arrived, there was a problem with the Biolet (a composting toilet). Although it had only recently been installed, the compost holding area had overflowed and it took more than three hours to empty and clean up the problem. The result was a fully functioning toilet and a delightful change in the fragrance of the Hab. Today we removed the old ventilation pipe and replaced it with a type recommended by the manufacturer and have high hopes for the remainder of our rotation being Biolet problem free. The result of our attempts to keep a standard of cleanliness was an increase in water use; an increase that we felt was necessary for our health.

Then there is the shower situation. Despite all our attempts to operate the hot water heater, we have never successfully heated a tank of water. As a result, only two of us have showered or even sponge bathed since we arrived. We have a plan for tomorrow morning that seems promising, however, and hope to shower soon.

In addition to these challenges, each day the temperature rises and EVAs become more uncomfortable due to the heat build up in our suits. Today, for example, we planned an early morning EVA that was postponed due to some logistical problems, and we decided to execute our EVA later in the afternoon.

I write this because we often get so caught up in the search for life outside the Hab that we forgot to focus on life inside the Hab and its implications to human biology. Finding ways to keep the balance between living harmoniously with the microorganisms that inhabit our living space can be challenging in such confined quarters. It will be even more challenging on Mars.

Engineering Report

Jennifer Knowles and Matt Lowry

Water Systems: We refilled the water tank starting at 2:15pm and ending at 3:05pm; a total of 40 gallons was put into the tank. In addition, we fixed the leak by jerry-rigging an o-ring onto the water pump hookup, and it worked quite well. No leaking was noted this afternoon.

Power and Fuel: Nominal. We are down to one barrel of fuel, and Lamont has been notified of this. Generator maintenance and refueling is progressing normally.

EVA Equipment (including ATVs): This afternoon, Lamont came to base to take the large yellow ATV for the weekend. He also plans to come by tomorrow to pick up the other two as well. We figured out the problem with the Fourtrax-300; apparently, the air vent on top of the gas tank was closed, and this was easily rectified by opening the valve. Before this afternoon's ATV EVA, both ATVs were topped off with gas, and the Foreman-400's oil level was checked.

At the beginning of the ATV EVA, a crewmember's water mouthpiece and inner piping came off inside her helmet, with the result being that water spewed from her tank all over the inside of her helmet.

Three EVA suits (numbers 4,5, and 6) were experiencing trouble with their fans starting up. These three suits had their fuses replaced, and all but one appear to be functioning nominally now; the exception is suit #4. Options for repairing this suit will be investigated in the near future.

Safety: During entry into the Hab, the wind blew the airlock door into a crewmember's helmet. All is well.

Computers and Communications: Computers nominal.

During the afternoon pedestrian EVA, the two-way radio communication between the EVA team members was non-functional. However, com-link with HabCom was established and worked well.

We think the repeater is non-functional, and we plan to investigate in the near future.

General Maintenance & Waste Management: The trash was gathered from inside the Hab and removed. The trash pile outside must be removed soon, as it is reaching capacity.

Much work was performed on the Biolet system today. The hole at the base of the Biolet going to the outside has been plugged with a Styrofoam plug and duct-tape. Also, we replaced the ventilation tubing attached to the back of the Biolet, and this new tubing was attached to the appropriate ventilation pipe with duct-tape. It should also be noted that the Biolet is now fully functional for women.

The leach-field was rotated earlier today, and that seemed to stop the leakage of waste onto the ground. However, by mid-afternoon the leaking had begun again. It has also been noted that no waste is exiting through the designated outlet pipe, probably because it is all draining from the leach-field drum.

GreenHab: Plants in the Hab have been watered.

Maximum Outside Temperature: 93 degrees F

Minimum Outside Temperature: 29 degrees F

Geology Report

Mid-Rotation GeoSciences Report

The "shakedown" field research conducted by the first several MDRS crews is complete and the geology of the Skyline Rim region surrounding the Habitat is well characterized. However, we have found that it is difficult for a new crew to take full advantage of the research conducted by previous crews and to build on their work. There are four factors which contribute to this circumstance:

The Habitat has lacked certain basic field and laboratory geological equipment, including such items as Jacob staffs and aerial photographs.
There are no published geological maps of Skyline Rim at useful scales (nothing under 1:500,000) according to USGS, so there is no refined source of reference data for all crews to use as their common baseline for field research and terminology.
Data collected to date by each field team has inconsistencies in location reporting methodologies, sample nomenclature, etc., which make it difficult for a crew in the field to compare its data to data from other crews with confidence.
Outstanding research data and analyses are difficult for other crews to access efficiently, especially while in the Field, because relevant information is scattered among different sources and is often difficult to correlate with a team's specific location in the field. For example, a photograph of a particular strata might be online and in the HabCom computer hard drive in the Hab, while a single map with pen and pencil marks showing waypoints and the route of EVAs hangs on the wall in the Hab, and aerial photos of the region are limited to single copies that have not been referenced to the unique Waypoint/EVA map and cannot be marked up or taken into the field because they are the only copies in the Hab.

This combination of limited resources and limited dissemination and coordination different types of data limits the ability of a new field crew to effectively extend the work carried out by previous crews, and to begin work efficiently as soon as they arrive on site. A good deal of time is necessarily spent trying to figure out what previous crews accomplished and familiarizing oneself with the region, but the process of integrating and leveraging knowledge accrued by previous crews and of the study area can be vastly more efficient and effective.

As a result of these observations, as well as the current Geology crew's experience with remote sensing and geographic information systems, a major project during crew 3's rotation will be to upgrade the resources available to support the research of future crews and also the research of remote researchers continuing their work after they leave the study area, or who never get the opportunity to work at MDRS at all and can only work remotely. The progress of this effort will be reported under the auspices of a GeoSciences report periodically.

This effort has two major components:

To inventory and identify basic field and laboratory geology supplies and equipment at the Hab and identify missing assets, and where possible, to acquire those assets. To this end, we have already acquired some basic equipment that was previously missing at the Hab, including a Jacob Staff, hand lenses mineralogical immersion oils and a 5 foot tube coring kit.
To create a digital geographic information system (GIS) which can serve as a dynamic archive for many types of geological and biological data collected at the Hab and from remote sources such as satellite imagery, and to produce basic initial maps that make use of the new GIS combined with field data collected by crews 1-4. A GIS and the maps it can produce will provide a consistent, accessible and intuitive reference data set that will allow new crews to familiarize themselves with previous research and the study area even before they arrive at the Hab, work more efficiently while at the Hab, and continue their research and coordinate with future crews after they leave the Hab. There are myriad components to the GIS effort, and all of them may not be completed during our rotation. These components envisioned are, in sequential order:
1. Acquiring public-domain (packages under consideration include MapMaker Gratis, TNT Lite, and FreeView), affordable (already have DeLorme 3-D Topo Quads at the Hab but not in active use yet), or donated GIS software (have calls into ESRI).
2. Acquiring requisite hardware to allow the GIS and its underlying data to be readily accessible to MDRS crews (at first this will take the form of a 10 gigabyte portable external hard disk that the current crew will be donating which can be added to the MDRS LAN).
3. Acquiring raw digital geographic data such as topographic maps and digital aerial photography and using it to build the underlying structure for the GIS (already have acquired 8 meter digital orthoquads aerial photography, 1:24k DEM, 1:24k Digital Topo Quads for Skyline Rim Quad, and have identified 15m panchromatic ASTER satellite imagery free for download).
4. Integrating existing digital data collected by Crews 1-4 (primarily GPS waypoints and associated data currently in Excel Spreadsheet) into the GIS.
5. Establishing consistent procedures for the collection and categorization of "metadata" categories that will allow basic field data sets (both geological and biological) to have meaning relative to one another in digital form and in geographic relationship to one another.
6. Creating intuitive instructions for future MDRS crews and others unfamiliar with GIS technology to access and make effective use of the GIS, and to collect waypoints in a such a way that they can easily be integrated into the GIS.
7. Using the GIS populated with data collected by MDRS crews to support and in some cases direct new research opportunities around the Station.

This effort is intended to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the field research being done at MDRS. While empirically attractive, this result is particularly desirable given the propensity of the media outlets that cover MDRS to focus on the "fun" and "campy" nature of life here, rather than the hard scientific research that is being conducted at MDRS-- more effective research work may yield more accurate coverage of the aims and activities underway at MDRS. In particular, the GIS may assist in this effort because it yields the ability to share in intuitive compelling visual formats the fruits of the research conducted at MDRS, in the form of new original customized maps. The public relations value of such tangible visual products may be great.

In addition to these digital mapping efforts, the Geo team continues to conduct EVAs to enhance the density and extent of geology samples and waypoints collected, and to support the biology research program with geology context where appropriate.

EVA 50 Report

EVA Cmdr: Shannon Rupert
EVA MDRS1: Jennifer Knowles

DATE: 03-29-02

This, the Golden EVA at MDRS, was first planned as a morning trip to Candor Chasm. With the loss of one ATV, the proposed EVA was rescheduled for next week and an alternate trip was planned to Tank Wash. The temperature was rising rapidly and we opted to execute the EVA later in the afternoon. This proved a wise move, as the wind increased and the EVA was completed without overheating the EVA team.

This was the first ATV EVA for both Jennifer and I (the first two being cancelled for circumstances beyond our control) and it was wonderful to finally get away from the Hab to see the landscape we had been studying for days via maps and prior EVA reports. The route was a simple one, north on Lowell Highway to the spectacular Tank Wash area. Our destination was Waypoint 25 to collect samples for my project but because of time limitations, we scouted for possibly escarpments and regolith areas but did no sampling. It is our intention to return to the area this weekend and complete the sampling. This may be accomplished via the first EVA in a pressurized rover--due to our ATVs being unavailable this weekend, we are planning to use my Pathfinder in SIM.

One of the things that made this EVA so enjoyable was that communications were working. In prior EVAs, our comm links to each other and to the Hab have been very bad. Jennifer and I had clear communications the entire time for this EVA and it made travelling across the unknown terrain as a team enjoyable.

EVA 51 Report

EVA Cmdr: Joel McKinnon
EVA MDRS1: Matt Lowry

DATE: 03-29-02

Objectives:

To compare a daytime EVA to a nightime EVA revisiting the same terrain. Comparisons should be noted of navigational ability, suit operational efficacy, general ability to make scientific observations. Additional objectives are to further categorize geology of Phobos Peak, wind-blown formations in the flats, and possible dry lake bed.

Summary: A repeat of the journey out to "Phobos Peak" to compare a day and night EVA over the same route. Additional geological observations recorded: windblown, lakebed, sapping features. This, the Golden EVA at MDRS, was first planned as a morning trip to Candor Chasm. With the loss of one ATV, the proposed EVA was rescheduled for next week and an alternate trip was planned to Tank Wash. The temperature was rising rapidly and we opted to execute the EVA later in the afternoon. This proved a wise move, as the wind increased and the EVA was completed without overheating the EVA team.

Commander's narrative (Joel McKinnon):

Today's second EVA was a two person pedestrian excursion to the hill we visited the previous night by moonlight which we have dubbed "Phobos Peak." This EVA was notable in two other respects in that it was the first EVA I have commanded and was the final EVA for Matt before he departs on the weekend Mars-Earth shuttle.

Objectives of the EVA included an attempt to get an idea of how a day and night EVA compare, over the same terrain, in terms of ability to navigate, visually analyze the features observed, and how the suits constrain our ability to perform in the field. Geological features of interest included the apparently windblown formations we had observed in the wash on the way to the hill, the wash itself which had been possibly interpreted as a dry lake bed, the blocky lithology of Phobos Peak which contrasts strongly with the smoothed features nearby, and an apparently fluvial feature at the base of the peak which I suspected might exhibit some evidence of groundwater sapping.

Straight out of the airlock (time 5:25pm) we discovered a communications difficulty. The radio I was using was communicating fine with HabCom, but I could not communicate with Matt because he was hearing my transmissions only out of my radio's external speaker. Also, he noted that my battery was low. We decided to use my radio only for communications with HabCom and to use close proximity "loud voice" protocol to talk to each other.

The first evident difference from the nocturnal EVA, besides, the fact that it was daylight, was that the wind had picked up considerably from the previous night's perfect calm. I found this enhanced the effect of the suit being a useful protector from the environment rather than just an encumbrance. Though the day was fairly hot, the wind seemed to take the heat away from us so that my long pants and long sleeves didn't make me uncomfortably hot as I had expected.

As we walked out toward Phobos Peak I noted the terrain was spectacularly beautiful. We crossed several stream-carved washes and gullies and each seemed to have it's own unique textures and colors- all of them beautiful in the low angle sunlight. About 0.7 km to the peak we came across the odd formations we had investigated by moonlight that appear to be wind eroded. Matt noted they are mushroom-like in appearance. We took a waypoint here on our way back and I'll comment further on this later in the report.

There is a particularly wide wash that Andrew had commented appeared to be a dry lake bed when we had seen it by night. I had agreed noncommittally at the time, but by day it seemed clear to me that it was a was a wash that may have pooled briefly, but was unlikely to have been an established lake. This seemed to me a good example of how perceptions can be fooled by the low light at night.

We established a good comm check with HabCom and proceeded to climb the hill. Low down, the footing was soft and hard going on the loose talus, but got firmer and easier as we went up. We had to pause for breath a couple of times, but soon reached the top. The ascent seemed much easier by day and I think the difference was largely psychological. By night we didn't know exactly what we were getting into and anxiety level was consequently increased significantly

At the peak we had a fantastic view of the surrounding terrain and I decided to make a 360 degree photographic panorama. To do so I had to stand erect in high winds on top of a large rock, significantly alarming Matt, who prepared to grab me by the leg if the wind decided to pick me up and send me flying over the precipice on the other side. No such event occurred and I completed the task successfully. We took a waypoint at the peak (#100) and took a sample of a course grained conglomeritic sandstone that comprised the resistant blocky material that lay all over the mountain.

After descending the mountain we took another waypoint (#101) at the base where there was an interesting gully I thought might be partially formed by groundwater sapping. A resistant sandstone had been undercut by fluvial activity and I propose that this may be enhanced by groundwater sapping. Photographs and a geological sample were taken of the resistant layer. The undercut material proved very difficult to sample without a rock hammer. I tried using nearby rocks for this material without much success. Nearby I took a photograph of what appeared to be cyptogamic soil. This dark blotchy material is apparently of biological origin and was evident at much of the base of the peak but rarely seen in the open area between the peak and the hab.

Our last two waypoints were taken near the windblown formations. The first (#102), was a section corner we shot for navigational purposes, the second (#103) was taken at the site of the formations only about 50 meters to the northwest. The windblown formations occur at several places in the wide wash that Andrew has dubbed "Pedestal Flats." I found the resistant capping material too strong to get a decent sample without a rock hammer. Nearby one of the pedestals I found a sample of a dark, fine grained rock free floating on the wash that appeared to be transported from some distance because it bore no resemblance to any nearby lithology.

Last but not least, my camera failed due to dust getting into the telescoping mechanism. I had kept it out and unprotected in the wind for quite awhile so wasn't surprised. Fortunately, I was able to extricate the sand grain or whatever it was and the camera regained full functionality.

Secondary narrative (Matt Lowry):

Joel and I went out on my last EVA (Shannon's suggestion - thanks girl), which was to Phobos Peak. Phobos Peak is an incredible jumbling hill of rock directly to the East of the Hab across the road, and its name hails from the fact that each night we see the moon (i.e., 'Phobos') rise over this hill. The distances here are deceiving, and what looked to be a small hill only 10 minutes walk away ended up being about 40 minutes away by foot.

On the way we encountered a very interesting set of rock formations that I dubbed 'mushroom rocks' due to their flat, toadstool like appearance. Joel and Andrew seem to think that these features are windblown in origin, since the area beneath the harder rock is eroded. The end result is a very alien looking set of stones, and it helped to add to the overall feel of being on another planet. It kind of makes one think that if we find things this exotic and interesting here on Earth, just imagine what treasures Mars and other worlds hold for us. Of course, we'll never know unless we look.

After noting the mushroom formations, Joel and I made our way to the base of Phobos Peak. It was a very large pile of rock! I felt dwarfed next to it, but Phobos Peak itself is puny compared to the much larger and more distant Henry mountains to our South. I could only imagine what the first human explorers on the Tharsis Bulge of Mars would feel at the sight of Olympus Mons looming ever larger for days and days.

Joel and I then hiked to the very top; the ascent was both tiring (it would be a challenge even without wearing the EVA suit and backpack) and a bit treacherous. We got there just in time to see the beginning of the sunset… absolutely astounding and terribly beautiful at the same time. While at the top Joel and I took some photos, and the wind was whipping at us quite strongly (we guess that the gusts were roughly 30-35mph). At one point I was concerned that Joel was going to be blown off the edge of the ridge because the helmets & backpacks act almost like sails. If he had been blown off, the drop and steep down slope before him wouldn't have stopped for about 300-400 feet at least (maybe more). I was also prepared to grip onto him and hold him back from the edge, but at the same time I wasn't sure that his inertia wouldn't have also carried me over the edge. This and the hard climb up Phobos Peak served again to remind me of the foreboding beauty that nature possesses; I have been, time and again, stunned at the glory and danger I have encountered here at the hands of the environment.

Our descent was much faster and easier (gravity was helping us this time), and on the hike back to the Hab we were treated to a wonderful sunset. At one point, I remarked to Joel that the lower light levels during the sunset were very Martian because of Mars' greater distance from the Sun. A combination of the lighting and terrain gave us a very fond memory of our excursion to Phobos Peak. As a momento, I picked up a very pretty pink-white rock that is translucent when held up to strong light. I figured that it would be a nice reminder of my last EVA during this simulation.

I hope that my experiences here (I leave tomorrow) will contribute to form the foundation for others - perhaps some of my students - to actually go to Mars in the future. Let us hope that it will be sooner rather than later.

On to Mars!

Airlock timeline:

Departure ingress: 17:25
Departure egress: 17:30
Return ingress: 19:03
Return egress:19:08

Waypoints: New:

#100, UTM 425.0175N, 051.9391E
#101, UTM 425.0213N, 051.9289E
#102, UTM 425.0435N, 051.8695E
#103, UTM 425.0485N, 051.8682E

Revisted: (none)

Communication checks:

Check time: 17:54

EVA team location: Under Phobos Peak
Status: OK
Additional notes: none

Check time: 18:05

EVA team location: Ascending Phobos Peak
Status: OK
Additional notes: none

Check time: 18:19

EVA team location: At summit
Status: OK
Additional notes: none

Check time: 18:49

EVA team location: Pedestal flats (windblown formations)
Status: OK
Additional notes: none

Special circumstances: Winds gusting to about 30mph from the west. Radio communication failed at start of EVA between EVA personnel but Commander to HabCom was successful throughout.

Conclusions/lessons learned Commanders radio battery was low resulting in decision to abandon attept at intercommunication between EVA personnel. This must be checked before entering airlock. Lack of rock hammer inhibited ability to take geological samples. See narrative for geological observations.

One of the things that made this EVA so enjoyable was that communications were working. In prior EVAs, our comm links to each other and to the Hab have been very bad. Jennifer and I had clear communications the entire time for this EVA and it made travelling across the unknown terrain as a team enjoyable.

Culinary Report

Shannon Rupert Reporting

"Martian Duck" recipe

In honor of Matt Lowry's departure (ask us about the duck reference)

In the crock pot (slow cooker), place one cleaned whole chicken. Surround and top it with:

one medium onion
6-8 cloves garlic, cut up
baby carrots
small red potatoes, halved
and other fresh vegetables as desired

Season with adobo, lemon pepper and fresh lemon basal, oregano, cilandro and rosemary from the greenhouse.

Cook on high 4-6 hours or low all day.

Serve over rice with corn:

In a saucepan, add two cups rice to two tablespoons hot olive oil. Stir to mix oil and rice, add 2-2.5 cups water and a can of corn. Bring to a boil, then simmer 20 minutes.

Do not serve with fruit cocktail (Jennifer thinks that would "just be too weird".)

March 30, 2002

MDRS Log Book

Dr. Judith Lapierre Reporting

This weekend started with having to say goodbye to one of us. Before he left, we all were very excited about the approval we received from Mission Support Denver to test our pressurized exploration vehicle (PEV), a space version of Shannon’s Nissan Pathfinder. We needed a name for that first mission and vehicle. We got the two Mars Globes with several identified sites on it and selected one that suited all of us.

Aonia was selected and represents a terra in the Southern hemisphere of Mars. Then, we all worked on proper Mars Rover identification and plates (check that out…). That mission was one to exclusively test feasibility, advantages over ATV, constraints and requirements and included Rover pilot Andrew and Crew Shannon.

That allowed to include another member that was not in sim (therefore not wearing a spacesuit) to accompany the space crew and document all pertinent information, to insure safety and assist in any way. Crew returned after a short hour to insure Matt’s Earth return through Green River by Shannon’s Pathfinder.

This successful first half sim operational PEV Aonia mission led to a full scientific sim on Sunday with the same pilot and crew Joel. Aiming for Muddy Creek across Big Wild Horse Mesa, the Rover crew were targeting new waypoints identification and sampling of 10 biological samples in wet areas.

On another mission, off sim, a trip to Skyline Rim was necessary to assess MDRS Voice Communication System repeater, 900 feet west of the Hab. Jennifer, Shannon and myself found our way to the specific site and assessed the solar panels, checked the repeater and tested radio communication with the Hab.

What started as off sim maintenance activity turned out to be an extraordinary scenic hike in the desert and to the top of that rim. An incredible silence was surrounding us through which nature’s presence could confirm its superiority! One of those memorable moment where you feel on top of the world but so very small… On our way back, a desert rabbit ran away from us, reminding us to get back to the Hab for our Easter’s celebration.

This was a wonderful weekend of exploration: discovery of our abilities to create occasions for more knowledge development and recognition of our nature’s strength and fragility!

Transformer des problèmes en occasions: Les journées Aonia et le sommet de la ceinture Skyline

La fin de semaine a commencé avec l’obligation de se séparer de notre collègue Matt. Il participa cependant à l’organisation des deux journées qui suivirent son départ. Nous obtinrent la permission de procéder à l’évaluation d’un véhicule routier pressurisé pour nos déplacements et expéditions d’exploration au lieu des habituels V.T.T.(non disponibles).

Quelques idées, quelques modifications, quelques efforts et nous transformèrent le Pathfinder de Shannon en véhicule spatial motorisé. Sélectionner un nom pour notre mission et notre nouveau véhicule devint une activité collective : un globe martien avec plusieurs sites identifiés nous amena à sélectionner Aonia (terre australe de Mars).

Puis, Aonia devait arborer les couleurs de Mars et avoir une plaque d’immatriculation pertinente ( faut voir les photos!). Les objectifs de cette mission se résument en vérifier la pertinence d’un véhicule pressurisé, identifier les avantages (comparativement à l’exploration par V.T.T.), identifier les contraintes qui y sont liées et finalement, analyser les conditions préalables.

Le pilot de mission était Andrew et notre collègue Shannon. Les objectifs ci haut ont permis d’inclure un membre de notre équipage dans cette mission sans être en simulation. Jennifer devait alors documenter les informations pertinentes, assurer la sécurité et procurer de l’assistance au besoin. L’équipage revint à la station une heure après permettant à Matt de rejoindre la Terre via Green River (par le Pathfinder de Shannon).

Le succès de la mission de samedi permit, dimanche, de préparer et de mettre en œuvre la seconde mission du PEV (« pressurized exploration vehicle »), celle-ci scientifique et en mode de simulation complet! Notre pilote Andrew, accompagné de Joel se rendit à « Muddy Creek » de l’autre côté de la « Big Wild Horse Mesa » afin de procéder à l’identification de cette zone par satellite et à la collecte d’échantillons biologiques en milieux humides.

Nous avons aussi atteint le sommet de la ceinture Skyline afin de procéder à une analyse du système de communication de la station. Shannon, Jennifer et moi-même partirent pour environ de 3 heures à la recherche de l’antenne et de l’instrument de répétition situé à 900 pieds à l’Ouest de la Station afin de l’analyser et de la réparer au besoin. Les panneaux solaires, l’antenne et l’instrument de répétition étaient en place.

Nous avons aussi vérifié la clarté des signaux envoyés à la station. Ce qui avait commencé comme une activité de maintenance hors simulation (plutôt ennuyante) s’est transformé en randonnée pédestre extraordinaire dans le désert. Cette région nous offrait des panoramas absolument magnifiques et pittoresques. Il y avait un silence incroyable autour de nous qui laissait cependant régner une présence naturelle plus grande que tout!

Un peu comme ces moments où l’on se sent au sommet du monde mais à la fois très très petit… Sur le chemin du retour, tout près nous, le lapin du désert prit sa course et nous rappela de rentrer pour un dîner de festivités pascales. En somme, un week-end d’exploration : découvertes de notre capacité à créer des occasions pour développer et augmenter le savoir qui nous permettra un jour de poser les pieds sur Mars et reconnaissance de la grandiose force de la nature et de sa fragilité.

Commander's Report

Dr. Judith Lapierre Reporting

One major activity today of which one scientific/operational breakthrough. Our crew had its first half sim PEV (pressurized exploration vehicle) test to collect data on challenges, advantages and requirements for such transportation during a mission. We named our PEV Aonia and used it for a short EVA towards Tank wash (see reports). Rocks were collected for analysis. Planning, implementing and evaluating this mission was a very much-appreciated collective and creative task.

Everyone's input was included. The energy that was felt was amazing. We are planning to further test this rover and use it for our scientific objectives again on a full sim. While a crew of three went on that EVA with Shannon commanding, Andrew, piloting and Jennifer documenting the experiment, the rest of the crew stayed inside. Joel and I shared Habcom as we had to complete both our research with Matt, before he left.

Matt fulfilled his task, functions and roles like an exemplar crewmate – we will miss him. One non-urgent medical issue was addressed to our flight surgeon and quickly answered. Net2phone use was proved successful after HSO Jennfier had initially addressed the issue by regular e-mail. New EVA template completed today by Joel to make technical reports more searchable in the future (metatags), to make them more engaging to the general public and to facilitate webmasters work.

General Hab maintenance today- regular activities in addition to further personalizing our habitat. Our post-EVA meeting looked into better managing generator power in order to have to break sim less often during the day for the generator fuses. Also, there is definitely that need to better adapt suits simulators to desert conditions (summer gloves, helmet heat sun visor, t-shirts): heat becomes a health and safety issue.

Furthermore, suits should be exposed to the sun once a month as a radiation treatment to kill any microbes and deodorized and disinfect. Special Chinese dinner tonight prepared by Andrew (secret recipe, sorry!) and entertainment by Andrew and Jennifer. Easter eggs preparation to end the night.

Plans for tomorrow : Scientific: 1) Full sim of a dual EVA including a crew of two on the PEV (pressurized exploration vehicle) and of two on ATV`s – destination to be determined tonight according to geological observation and biological sampling; 2) Compile data from leaving crewmember on psychosocial research and human factor research 3) Geological digital mapping (configuring imagery and testing different softwares).

Hab maintenance: Other: 1) MDRS voice communication system verification reported to Sunday because of late departure of leaving crewmember Matt at Green River – drivers returned to Hab at 18H30. Verifying repeater status at Skyline Rim (off sim- because of distance, highway and 2 mile walk to the repeater); 2) PEV operations; 3) public outreach: send e-mail bulletin for Mars Society for our 1-day interactive communication with the public and plan the activity.

Engineering Report

Jennifer Knowles

Water Systems: Nothing to report.

Power and Fuel: Nominal operation. Oiled the generator in the morning.

EVA Equipment (including ATVs and PEV): Nominal. Lamont came by to inform us that he is only taking one of the three ATVs for the weekend.

The Pressured Exploration Vehicle (PEV) was tested this afternoon in half-sim. Refer to EVA 52 Report for more details.

Safety: During the afternoon's refueling of the generator, the gas tanks were refilled. When unplugging the large gas drum, the plug popped into the air when loosened due to air pressure that had built up within the drum.

An alarm on the Weather Wizard system has been set to notify crew when outside wind speeds reach 48 km/hr or higher. At these speeds the outside Mars flagpole must be taken down. Notes on the Weather Wizard windspeed alarm have been written for a later update to the MDRS Operations Manual.

Computers and Communications: Nominal operation.

General Maintenance & Waste Management: The trash was gathered from inside the Hab and removed.

GreenHab: Plants in the Hab have been reorganized and watered.

Maximum Outside Temperature: Unknown*.

Minimum Outside Temperature: 49 degrees F*

*An update to the MDRS Operations Manual has been written about how to obtain the daily max/min outside temperatures.

EVA 52 Report

EVA Date: 3/30/02
EVA Cmdr: Shannon Rupert
EVA Pilot: Andrew Hoppin
EVA Mission Support: Jennifer Knowles
EVA HabCom: Judith Lapierre

Operational Test of MDRS Pressurized Rover 01 "Aonia"

This was the first test for the use of a pressurized rover in a simulation. Because it had never before been attempted, it was executed in half-SIM and a mission support crewmember accompanied the EVA team. The rover, christened "AONIA" by the crew, was a four-wheel drive SUV (now changed to PEV--pressurized exploration vehicle). All mission objectives were accomplished and successful.

Commander’s narrative (Shannon Rupert):

Our crew was very excited about this EVA. Yesterday we had been informed that our use of the ATV's would be restricted until Monday, 4-1-02. During a planning meeting to assess the situation, we came up with the idea to use my Nissan Pathfinder as a pressurized rover in SIM, something that had never been done in the MARS Program. After many suggestions of names for our PEV, we all agreed on Aonia, named for Aonia Terra, in the Southern Hemisphere of Mars.

We had decided to first approach ingress using the front doors, because it was the most direct way to get into the PEV. However, we were unsure whether we would be able to sit in the front seats in our backpacks. If we were not able to get in through the front doors, we would have to enter the PEV through the rear hatch and remove our backpacks in the cargo area, and that would have been a definite challenge. After a few awkward attempts and more than a little laughter at our predicament, both Andrew and I were able to get through the front doors and into the seats. Both seats were as far to the rear as possible and in a reclining position. Once inside, we were both quite comfortable,

Getting the doors closed was our second challenge. Since the helmets and backpacks severely limited our movement, I was unable to reach the door to close it. A frustrating struggle followed, until finally I had to ask Jennifer to attach a rope to the handle that could be hooked to the interior and pulled to close the door. We decided to forego normal pressurization time because we were extremely hot in the closed vehicle. Starting the vehicle, we took off our gloves and turned on the air conditioner, a welcome relief.

Andrew was pilot and we drove to Tank Wash at a comfortable pace. I enjoyed the trip in the cooled air and wished for a quickly removable helmet or faceplate. Andrew's voice was muffled inside his suit but communication without the radios was possible.

Once at Tank Wash, I discovered exiting the PEV was very easy. I swung my legs out first and then just slid out of the door. We stayed at Tank Wash only long enough to test the accessibility of the PEV (the back hatch and cargo area was easily accessible, the rack on the PEV's top could only be accessed from the side while stepping up on the back door floorboards).

I guess that first ingress, although silly and awkward, taught us more than we thought, because getting into the PEV was very easy at Tank Wash. The return trip was uneventful, we were able to make contact with HabCom much easier with our bare hands, and it was a cool, comfortable ride.

There was no time to celebrate our success when we arrived at the Hab, as we had to drive a crewmember to Green River for the return trip to Earth.

Secondary narrative (Andrew Hoppin):

The first pressurized rover EVA (brought to you by Nissan) by an MDRS crew was very instructive &emdash; as the pilot, I learned that: 1) extending what we learned on ATVs, we proved that it is feasible to operate sensitive machinery that requires small motor muscle control reliably in the EVA suits 2) we will be able to extend the length (and therefore the range) and field research capability of our EVAs considerably using a pressurized rover due to climate control (air conditioning) and storage (for carrying additional field equipment and collecting a greater number of samples 3) the pressurized rover, contrary to my expectations, does NOT enable more RAPID transportation in the field area than ATVs due to the rough condition of the tracks and 4) the rover has a distinct disadvantage for some field work in remote areas because it cannot readily go off established wheel-tracks.

Technical Log

Objective(s):

Testing range of movement within PEV
Identifying the advantages and disadvantages of the PEV
Identifying equipment requirements for a PEV
Identifying adaptations needed for optimal PEV functioning in the field
Testing overall PEV feasibility

This was the first test for the use of a pressurized rover in a simulation. Because it had never before been attempted, it was executed in half-SIM and a mission support crewmember accompanied the EVA team. The rover, christened "AONIA" by the crew, was a four-wheel drive SUV (now changed to PEV--pressurized exploration vehicle). All mission objectives were accomplished and successful.

Personnel:

Shannon Rupert (Commander)
Andrew Hoppin (Pilot)
Jennifer Knowles (Mission Support)
Judith Lapierre (HabCom)

Airlock timeline:

Departure ingress: 13:10
Departure egress: 13:15
Return ingress: 14:00
Return egress:14:00
*see Special Circumstances

Waypoints:

New: none

Revisted: 25

Communication checks:

Check time: 13:46

EVA team location: Lowell Highway
Status: OK
Additional notes: none

Special circumstances:

Because this was a half-SIM and because we needed to get a crewmember to Green River, the EVA team did not depressurize in the PEV or airlock.

Conclusions/lessons learned

Range of movement within PEV

Able to enter and leave the PEV with more ease than originally thought possible
Pilot (Andrew) felt that he could have driven the PEV had it been a stick shift, he felt that having an automatic transmission was a definite plus.
Much easier to manuveur once PEV is pressured and gloves, helmet can be removed

Advantages and disadvantages of the PEV

Advantages:
- Plenty of space for samples, computers, communications equipment
- Can attach samples, equipment to roof of PEV
- Can go far distances
- Possibility of overnights (might test later)
- Can carry ATV in a trailer
- Flat tires can be repaired by crew
- Good weather protection
- Can transport up to 4 crew members
- Can set the interior temperature
- Can have food supplies inside
- Easier to record data in PEV with gloves off
- Night travel is safer
- Extra supplies can be carried such as gas, air
- Tire pump/patch kit for emergencies can be easily carried
Disadvantages:
- Not as fast as ATVs
- Cannot travel in restricted areas
- Due to size, PEV cannot travel through overly narrow passageways or steeps trails
- Vehicle interior can get very hot when sitting
- ***Air conditioning is important when outside temperatures are warm. If possible, start the PEV prior to ingress—once the doors close on a hot day, it is miserable inside an enclosed vehicle in the suits.***
- Helmets bump ceiling in rough terrain
- Parts of spacesuit (ie. Air tubes, zipper string) can get caught of parts of the PEV when entering and leaving
- Difficult for shorter individuals to close an open door from inside the PEV

Equipment requirements for a PEV

All emergency equipment must be easily accessible
Ropes attached to the inside door handles for easier closing of them

Adaptations needed for optimal PEV functioning in the field

Computer station in PEV
Removable face plate on helmets
Cooler for food/water
Easily accessible toilet
Doors need to be engineered so can be opened/closed by people of all sizes

Overall PEV feasibility

A PEV opens new possibilities for longer EVAs and greater capacity for data collection and exploration.

March 31, 2002

MDRS Log Book

MDRS Log, Commander Judith Lapierre

Transforming problem into opportunities:

Aonia days and Skyline Rim summit

This weekend started with having to say goodbye to one of us. Before he left, we all were very excited about the approval we received from Mission Support Denver to test our pressurized exploration vehicle (PEV), a space version of Shannon’s Nissan Pathfinder. We needed a name for that first mission and vehicle. We got the two Mars Globes with several identified sites on it and selected one that suited all of us. Aonia was selected and represents a terra in the Southern hemisphere of Mars. Then, we all worked on proper Mars Rover identification and plates (check that out…). That mission was one to exclusively test feasibility, advantages over ATV, constraints and requirements and included Rover pilot Andrew and Crew Shannon.

That allowed to include another member that was not in sim (therefore not wearing a spacesuit) to accompany the space crew and document all pertinent information, to insure safety and assist in any way. Crew returned after a short hour to insure Matt’s Earth return through Green River by Shannon’s Pathfinder.

This successful first half sim operational PEV Aonia mission led to a full scientific sim on Sunday with the same pilot and crew Joel. Aiming for Muddy Creek across Big Wild Horse Mesa, the Rover crew were targeting new waypoints identification and sampling of 10 biological samples in wet areas.

On another mission, off sim, a trip to Skyline Rim was necessary to assess MDRS Voice Communication System repeater, 900 feet west of the Hab. Jennifer, Shannon and myself found our way to the specific site and assessed the solar panels, checked the repeater and tested radio communication with the Hab.

What started as off sim maintenance activity turned out to be an extraordinary scenic hike in the desert and to the top of that rim. An incredible silence was surrounding us through which nature’s presence could confirm its superiority! One of those memorable moment where you feel on top of the world but so very small… On our way back, a desert rabbit ran away from us, reminding us to get back to the Hab for our Easter’s celebration.

This was a wonderful weekend of exploration: discovery of our abilities to create occasions for more knowledge development and recognition of our nature’s strength and fragility!

Transformer des problèmes en occasions:

Les journées Aonia et le sommet de la ceinture Skyline