Marspedia - User contributions [en]

Crew 189 - ISAE Supaero

2019-03-24T19:22:34Z

NathanielFromMars:

[[Category:Mars Desert Research Station]]

Victoria Da-Poian will be the Commander of the MDRS-189 mission. She is one of the two veterans taking part in the new mission as she was member of the MDRS-175 crew as the biologist. She is an active member of ISAE Supaero space events as she organized the SpaceUp France in 2017 and took part in different space related associations (space pole and CubeSat club). She was also vice-president of the « Junior Enterprise » of ISAE-Supaero (Supaero Junior Council) and Ambassador of the social and cultural expansion of our school (OSE ISAE Supaero). After her 2017 mission, she completed an internship at the Astronaut Training Center in Cologne (ESA / EAC), and is currently doing an academic exchange in Moscow. In her free time, she enjoys practicing piano, violin and climbing.

Louis Mangin will be with Victoria the commander of the MDRS 189 mission. He was already part of the crew 175 as the journalist. He is currently working as a trainee in Lyon in a start-up that uses the latest AI technologies to minimize the electrical consumption of buildings. When he was living on the campus, he was a rower in the ISAE-Supaero rowing team, organizer of the Supaerowing student regatta, and a tutor with the social association OSE ISAE Supaero. In his free time, he is also a runner, a mountain-climber, a cinephile or a poker player.

Laurent Bizien will be the Health and Safety Officer of the MDRS-189 crew. Promotion 2019 of ISAE Supaero, he is the current treasurer of the school’s charitable association (Solid’aires). As a volunteer firefighter as a lifeguard on the beaches, he passed several first aid diplomas. He is a candidate for a semester at the Moscow State University and an internship at NASA. In his free time, he practices baseball, volleyball and skydiving.

Franco-American born in France, Jérémy Auclair will be the GreenHab Officer and the Biologist on board. Promotion 2019, he is an active member of the club, very invested for the smooth running of the next mission. Passionate about space and astrophysics from his young age, this mission is one more way to flourish in his formation. He plans to do an internship in North America in the field of aerospace. He is also an active member of the school’s associative life, and various clubs with varied backgrounds. During his free time, he enjoys practicing sports, rowing and volleyball, as well as getting lost in reading and taking pictures. He will also be the photographer of the mission.

Promotion 2019, Benoit Floquet will be the astronomer of the MDRS-189 mission and is the current treasurer of the club M.A.R.S. Passionate about the space domain for many years, he is also involved in our school’s associative life. He is responsible of the Solidarity pole of the Students Association and takes part into the entrepreneurship (ISAE Supaero Entrepreneurs) association in the communication pole. Also a sportsman, he has been practicing gymnastics for 15 years and skydiving. He applies for a Master in Innovation at the French famous school « Polytechnique ».

Promotion 2019, Gabriel Payen will be the on-board flight engineer of the MDRS-189 mission and is the current president of the M.A.R.S club. He is also member of the student association as event manager. He has been a sportsman for several years and has been focusing for one year on mountain sports, such as climbing, mountaineering and skiing. He began this year a three- years research formation in applied mathematics. He applies for his gap year for the UNIS University located in an Arctic Circle archipelago where he would study geophysics for six months.

Alexandre Martin, also promotion 2019 will be the journalist during the MDRS-189 mission. He is a member of the ISAE Student Association as chairman of the communication department. He shares his free time between the football club, of which he is the president and captain, tennis but also kite surfing club. He is fascinated by space, mathematics and economics. He is currently applying for a master’s degree in financial mathematics in the United Kingdom.

[[Crew 189 Astronomy Reports]]

[[Crew 189 EVA Reports]]

[[Crew 189 GreenHab Reports]]

[[Crew 189 Journalism Reports]]

[[Crew 189 Mission Summary]]

[[Crew 189 Operations Reports]]

[[Crew 189 Sol Summaries]]

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/crew-189/ source]

Crew 188

2019-03-24T19:21:37Z

NathanielFromMars:

[[Category:Mars Desert Research Station]]

Dr. Ryan L Kobrick – Commander

Dr. Ryan L. Kobrick is an Assistant Professor of Spaceflight Operations (formerly Commercial Space Operations) in the College of Aviation at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) with teaching duties and research in the new ERAU Spacesuit Utilization of Innovative Technology Laboratory (S.U.I.T. Lab).

Dr. Kobrick received his Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Queen’s University, Master’s of Space Studies degree from the International Space University, Master’s of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from The Pennsylvania State University, and Doctorate of Philosophy degree in Aerospace Engineering Sciences (focus: Bioastronautics) from the University of Colorado at Boulder. His NASA GSRP Fellow Ph.D. work with NASA Glenn Research Center was titled “Characterization and Measurement Standardization of Lunar Dust Abrasion for Spacecraft Design and Operations”. Ryan participated as a crewmember of simulated Mars missions four times in Utah and was selected for a 100-day simulation in the High Canadian Arctic on Devon Island. He worked at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a Postdoctoral Associate in the Man-Vehicle Laboratory on a gambit of space exploration research projects. Dr. Kobrick worked at Space Florida as a Project Manager for Research and Development, focusing on Florida efforts including research competitions as well as education programs to catalyze technology development from the academic and business communities.

In his volunteer time, Ryan is the Chairman and President of Yuri’s Night, the World Space Party, which celebrates human spaceflight every April 12th. In 2015, Dr. Kobrick was inducted by the International Astronautical Federation into the Young Space Leaders Recognition Programme. He plays ice hockey, sails/races, SCUBA dives, skis, hikes, and enjoys photography and film making.

Renee Garifi – Executive Officer

Renee has previously participated as the Executive Officer of Crew 147 and Commander of Crew 162. Renee is currently contracted as a flight controller for the International Space Station program. She has an undergraduate research background in astrobiology and holds a Master of Science degree in Space Studies with Human Space Flight.

Her previous research topics include the astronomical investigation of exoplanet transit candidates, extremophilic microbial stress adaptation responses to spaceflight, microbial adaptation to lunar soil simulant and biophysical research on the colloidal amyloid protein fiber formation theory of neurodegenerative diseases.

Renee is also a founding member of the International Space Station for the Nobel Peace Prize Initiative. As she develops her knowledge of space systems professionally and academically, her future goals include working on the next space station program after ISS; either in orbit around the Earth, Moon or Mars. She is currently pursuing a second Master of Science degree in Space Systems Engineering and hopes to extend this topic to a future Ph.D. research degree. She enjoys challenging herself by competing in triathlons and serves as a NASA Emeritus Docent at the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

Tatsunari Tomiyama – Health & Safety Officer

Tatsunari will serve as the Health & Safety Officer for Crew 188. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and participated in the Space Studies Program 2015 in Ohio. Recently, he has been successfully certified as an associate human factors professional from the Board of Certified Professional Ergonomics. He enjoys swimming as a regular physical exercise and flying aircraft while studying aviation human factors for his master’s degree.

Currently, he is contracted with Embraer Executive Aircraft and solves issues for the aircraft manufacturing processes. At the same time, he is studying Aviation Human Factors at the Florida Institute of Technology for his master’s degree and is researching about pilot performance and influencing factors.

Previously, he has researched hypobaric hypoxia issues for astronauts on the International Space Station while assisting with hypoxia training for professional pilots. At MDRS, he will be researching potential human activities to improve quality of life on Mars.

Zac Trolley – Crew Engineer, GreenHab Officer

From an early age, Zac had a fascination with Mars and the possibility of people visiting the Red Planet. His imagination was captivated by the Pathfinder mission that left small rover tracks on the plant’s surface. He began to investigate what it would take to move from rover tracks to footprints.

After high school, Zac attended SAIT, a local technical college and became an electrical technician, building and installing oil field equipment in Alberta, Canada. In 2008 he went back to school to earn his engineering degree. He traveled across the country to Lakehead University in Ontario. There he became involved in student politics, engineering competitions and was voted in as the president of the school’s engineering society.

After a few more years of energy industry experience, he began taking his dream of visiting Mars seriously. He graduated from the International Space University in 2014 and began speaking at schools and science centers shortly after that. Recently, he has been making the business case for traditional industries to incorporate space technology into terrestrial applications. He believes that a strong partnership between terrestrial companies and Martian ambition is the key to Martian settlement.

Julia De Marines – Crew Astronomer

Julia De Marines is an Astrobiologist and science communicator who teaches at the Chabot Space & Science Center. She holds a Masters degree in Space Studies from the International Space University (Strasbourg, France) and a Bachelors degree in Astronomy from the University of Colorado. Her research focus has been primarily on the subject of remote biosignature detection.

She has 10 years of planetarium experience including delivering live astronomy shows using Zeiss, Uniview, and DigitalSky. She also works with Blue Marble Space (non-profit science organization) initiatives: Ad Astra Academy, SAGANet.org, and Distant Vantage Media Labs to inspire and educate students and the public on the wonders of space science. Look for her event, “Space in Your Face!” – a variety show involving comedy, space cover songs, science demos and guest speakers.

Dr. Sarah Jane Pell – Artist in Residence

Award winning artist and simulation astronaut Dr. Sarah Jane Pell joins MDRS Crew 188 as the Artist in Residence. She holds a PhD in Visual Arts, a Masters in Human Performance, and graduate studies in Space Sciences, Biotechnology & Bioinformatics and Suborbital Mission Operations.

Sarah is an experienced commercial diver, performance artist, and interdisciplinary researcher, focused on novel supports for human performance and expression in extreme environments. An Australia Council Fellow exploring “performing astronautics”, she is currently leading research into mixed reality for 3D live performance reporting.

Pell is a commercial suborbital spaceflight candidate, spacesuit validation test pilot, and concept designer. She served as the Simulation Astronaut for Project Moonwalk, EU subsea lunar analogue human-robotic cooperation trials in 2016, and is a candidate for future undersea missions in 3 countries.

The MDRS is an opportunity for Dr. Pell to build experience “in terrestrial environments” having largely developed and led EVA Simulation trials underwater, on seas and at high altitude, or in sci-fi film, VR and theatre.

[[Crew 188 Astronomy Reports]]

[[Crew 188 EVA Reports]]

[[Crew 188 GreenHab Reports]]

[[Crew 188 Journalism Reports]]

[[Crew 188 Mission Summary]]

[[Crew 188 Operations Reports]]

[[Crew 188 Sol Summaries]]

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/crew-188/ source]

Crew 187

2019-03-24T19:20:25Z

NathanielFromMars:

[[Category:Mars Desert Research Station]]

Cynthia Yacel Fuertes Panizo – Commander & Astronomer

Cynthia was born on April 15,1995 in Lima – Peru. She has a degree in Systems Engineering from National University of Engineering – Peru. In addition, she was an international student in 2014 in Keimyung University – South Korea.

In 2017, Cynthia was a finalist in the national championship Startup Peru organized by the Ministry of Production with her startup called “AUREDU” where her aim was to improve the teaching-learning process using an augmented reality application, her positions were CEO and CTO. Currently, Cynthia is working at Banco de Crédito del Perú (BCP), it’s the biggest bank in Peru characterized by being a leader in technological innovation.

Cynthia likes to share her knowledge in science and technology, that’s why she has been working as volunteer since 2013, as professor of algorithm, augmented reality and math in National University of Engineering and SUMA, a group of volunteer workers of BCP.

She has strong interest in space issues, that’s why being part of MDRS will be an opportunity for her to contribute with her knowledge to achieve one of the greatest dreams of humanity: go to Mars. As Dr. Robert Zubrin said there are three reasons why go to Mars is a goal: science (Mars is the closest planet to Earth), challenge and future (Mars is the future). Besides, this experience will help Cynthia to spread the space issues among the Peruvian students.

Atila Kahlil Meszaros Henostroza – Executive Officer

Atila was born on February 13, 1998 in Piura-Peru. He is an undergraduate biology Peruvian student in the Science and Philosophy Department at Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia. His main focus is Evolution specifically on Astrobiology. He’s a current member of the Peruvian Association of Astrobiology (ASPAST).

His passion about space science and his dreams about being one of the first Martians are his main drives and he fervently believe that the achievements and discoveries that will be made in the following years, related to astrobiology, will not only take us one step beyond Earth, but a step further for the advance of the humankind.

However, these advances would be useless if they were not transmitted to others. For him there is no greater reward than sharing the passion and knowledge of science.

Luis José Antonio Díaz López – Crew Engineer

Luis José was born on April 14, 1993 in Cascas-Peru. He is a Mechatronics Engineer. He belongs to the Peruvian Robotics Association and The Robotics Club “Robotronics-UNT”, participating in several international robotic contests. He also belongs to the Astronomical Association of Trujillo (ATA), promoting space sciences and curiosity about planets, stars and the universe for all people.

Luis José takes part on Hack Space-Trujillo where he shares his knowledge in electronics and robotics with others. The Crew engineer is dedicated to research and he has specialized in the development of electronic projects and solutions and has extensive experience in the construction and programming of Drons (UAV’s).

He has been working on methods for stress reduction in extreme isolation conditions and improvement of simulation conditions for survival on Mars, especially in the design of a thermoregulation system for the interior of the simulation suits. The fact of being part of a crew in the MDRS is a higher step for reaching his greatest goal: Be an astronaut.

Hernán David Mateus Jiménez – GreenHab Officer

David was born on 1995 in Bogotá Colombia. He is Mechatronics engineer and currently he is studying a master in systems and computational engineering at the National University of Colombia. He is member of the Aerospace Development and Research Group of the National University where he is involved in projects related with satellites and space farming.

The summer of 2016, he participated in the Samara Summer Space School “Advanced technologies for nanosatellite´s experiments in space” and cooperated in the project Inter-Ion. Also, he is cofounder of a recycling company named FAHYSA SAS where he has developed the function of CEO and projects engineer.

David wants to measure evapotranspiration in the greenhab in order to give engineering recommendations to improve its design and prove a solution for localization on mars using a star tracker

Oscar Ivan Ojeda Ramirez – Crew Scientist & EVA engineer

Oscar was born on October 18, 1987 in Bogotá-Colombia. He is Mechanical Engineering student at Universidad Nacional de Colombia. He is the coordinator of the Aerospace Research and Development Group of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia (GIDA-UN), as well as the National Point of Contact for the Space Generation Advisory Council in Colombia.

In GIDA-UN he has led projects in rocketry, space policy, and currently is working in the Cóndor Space Suit Simulator, and more recently he participated of a Research internship at Purdue |University, where he developed a wheel to be used in rovers, as well as 3D printers of cementitious materials.

Oscar is passionate about human exploration of outer space, and in particular of planet Mars, his interest in being part of team Latam II is to test his projects on human systems and performance, robotic systems, and gather knowledge on analogue research.

Danton Iván Bazaldua Morquecho – Health and Safety Officer

Danton was born on May 9th, 1993 in Mexico City. He is a Telecommunications Engineering student at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. He is studying at last the semester of his degree.

He was coordinator of a workshop of Analog Simulations for Mars and part of the coordination of the local team during the organization of the Space Generation Congress 2016 in Guadalajara, Mexico and the International Congress of Astronautics 2016.

His enthusiasm has given him the opportunity to get involved in different kinds of projects as scientific research, and outreach with associations of science and technology by working as a volunteer. He was part of the team that won the first place in the Space Mission Design Exercise 2016 hosted by Mexican Space Agency and The University of Surrey.

In 2017 Danton won the “Global Grants Program 2017” award of Space Generation Advisory Council and organization that works in collaboration with the United Nations focused in space research and outreach. Danton was the General coordinator of SpaceUp Mexico in 2017.

He has participated in different events of outreach in the space science and technology topic. At the same time he has been involved in research groups of Space Policy as well as in projects in development of nano satellites, remote sensing and Mars Analogue Simulation in Space Generation.

For Danton has been an honor to be selected as part of the MDRS Crew 187 LATAM-II taking the chance as a great opportunity to continue his work in space technologies as well as an opportunity to collaborate with people from all Latin America developing science and technology in benefit of mankind and the continent.

Tania Maria Robles Hernandez – Journalist

Tania was born on January 17, 1994 in Mexico City, Mexico. She is a last year student at mechanical engineering in the mechanical design area at the largest university in the country at National Autonomous University of Mexico.

She has more than two years of experience in science and technology journalism at the National Science and Technology Council of Mexico news agency to communicate the aerospace engineering and space sciences research of the country.

Since 2015 she is the National Point of Contact of Mexico or national representative of Space Generation Advisory Council, a non profit organization supported by United Nations to provide voice to the young students and professionals in the space field. By now she is also involved and founder of the first aerospace student organization in the university leading and coordinating the outreach and communications direction by working together with university media.

She is also social media coordinator of UNAM Space and College of Engineering Aerospace Association, as well of events as the first Space Up Mexico. Since a year ago was invited to participate as mentor in STEM groups to motivate and help kids in pursuit their science career.

She got a scholarship to attend the International Summer Space School of Samara University in Russia in 2016 and to the Southern Hemisphere Space Studies course in University of South Australia and International space University in Adelaide Australia during 2017 learning about a big amount of topics as space policy, space propulsion et.

She has been recognized by Mexican Space Agency for her efforts and been invited to several events to talk about young students and professionals in the Mexican space sector. This experience at MDRS will help her to develop her personal abilities and as a personal training to reach her main goal in life of becoming a real astronaut.

[[Crew 187 Astronomy Reports]]

[[Crew 187 EVA Reports]]

[[Crew 187 GreenHab Reports]]

[[Crew 187 Journalism Reports]]

[[Crew 187 Mission Summary]]

[[Crew 187 Operations Reports]]

[[Crew 187 Science Reports]]

[[Crew 187 Sol Summaries]]
[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/crew-187/ source]

Crew 186 - Boilers2Mars

2019-03-24T19:19:08Z

NathanielFromMars:

[[Category:Mars Desert Research Station]]

Max Fagin – Crew Commander

Max graduated from Purdue in 2015 with a masters in aeronautical and astronautical engineering, completing a thesis at the Rapid Design of Systems Laboratory on the design of supersonic retropropulsion systems for Mars entry descent and landing. He previously completed a BA with a double major in physics and astronomy from Vassar College and a BE in mechanical engineering from Dartmouth College, where he conducted research with the Lynch Rocket Lab, designing high altitude balloon payloads to investigate upper atmospheric gravity waves and to aid in supernova measurements for Dark Energy surveys. He has previously worked for NASA and SpaceX, and currently works for Made In Space designing hardware for on-orbit manufacturing. He enjoys flying, hiking and skiing, and was previously the EVA engineer for MDRS Crew 99 in 2011.

Kshitij Mall – Executive Officer

Kshitij Mall is a Ph.D. candidate at Rapid Design of Systems Laboratory, School of Aeronautics & Astronautics, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA. working in the areas of Optimal Control Theory and Atmospheric Flight Mechanics. He is the founder and president of the Mars Society Purdue Chapter, the executive officer of Purdue’s Mars Desert Research Station team, and a student intern at Mars Academy USA. He received his master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering at Purdue University in 2013 and his B.Tech. in Mechanical Engineering in India in 2010. In between his bachelor’s and master’s degrees he worked as a Computer Systems Engineer at Infosys Technologies Ltd. in India. He is working on trajectory optimization for entry, descent, and landing of human-class Mars missions. He has worked on a Japanese-Vietnamese satellite, MicroDragon, and has been a part of a NASA MSFC project on developing system-of-systems evaluation architecture for human-class Mars missions. He has been the founder and president of many other aerospace and non-aerospace organizations in the past. He is a student pilot with 70 hours of flying experience on five different aircrafts and has rich interest in sports. He also happens to be a writer of a fiction novel and has been a contributor to an aerospace book on optimal control theory and applications.

Melanie Grande – Crew Engineer

Melanie is currently a senior in Aerospace Engineering at Purdue University. She
has also studied at the Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany, and
works in systems engineering for space mission analysis at NASA Langley
Research Center. She is passionate about enabling future Mars missions and
developing the technology to make this possible, including space propulsion
systems as well as the use of virtual reality (VR) to improve crew autonomy. In
her free time, she likes to read, climb, and travel.

Cesare Guariniello – Crew Geologist

Cesare is a Research Associate in the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics in Purdue University He holds two Master degrees, in Robotics and Astronautical Engineering, from the University of Rome “La Sapienza”, and a PhD in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Purdue University. His research ranges from System-of-Systems design and architecture to space applications, cybersecurity, and defense and includes projects with NASA, the US DoD, the US Navy, and MITRE corporation. Cesare recently expanded his research in the field of Earth Sciences, where he is pursuing a Master degree in Planetary Geology. Cesare is an active member of the alpha chapter of the honor society of aerospace engineering, Sigma Gamma Tau, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and the American Astronautical Society (AAS). In 2016, he was presented with the Leadership Award for his effort and service to the Purdue University INCOSE Student Division. Also in 2016, CERIAS awarded Cesare with the prestigious Diamond Award for outstanding academic achievements. He authored several journal and conference papers, and served as peer reviewer for multiple top rated journals. Outside academia, Cesare enjoys a wide variety of activities. He is member of the Mensa Club, the Mars society, the Planetary Society and – after obtaining all three levels of amateur radio license from the Federal Communication Commission – the American Radio Relay League (ARRL). As a fencer, he represented Purdue university in various collegiate tournaments, in quality of member and captain of the men’s foil team. In 2014 he obtained his first scuba diving certification, and in 2016 he obtained his Private Pilot License from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Justin Mansell – Crew Journalist

Justin is a Master’s student at the Purdue School of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
His research with the Rapid Design of Systems Laboratory focuses on combining
innovative artificial intelligence algorithms with traditional methods of trajectory
optimization. Applications include guided spacecraft entry, aerocapture, and
defense systems such as the DARPA Falcon Project. Justin has also taken part in
several conceptual spacecraft design studies and recently led the design of a multi-
spacecraft mission concept to explore Saturn and Uranus. The work was presented
to the NASA Outer Planets Assessment Group (OPAG) and published in Advances in
Space Research. Prior to coming to Purdue, Justin studied physics and astronomy in his hometown of Calgary, Canada. His undergraduate research ranged from airglow imaging with Canada’s CASSIOPE satellite to building, testing, and deploying antennas to study Earth’s radiation belts. He designed and tested radio and radiation instruments that flew on the 2015 NASA High Altitude Student Platform (HASP) and was awarded the Venkatesan Silver Medallion for outstanding academic achievement. Outside of academics Justin holds an Industry Canada amateur radio license in addition to both Transport Canada and FAA Private Pilot Licenses. He is an avid hiker and snowboarder. His ultimate goal is to become an astronaut, but his enthusiasm for science and engineering extends to many different fields. After completing his Master’s degree in Spring 2017 he plans to continue his studies at Purdue to the Ph.D. level.

Mark Gee – GreenHab Officer

Mark Gee is an undergraduate at Purdue studying for a triple major in biological engineering, biochemistry, and plant breeding. He enjoys studying plants at the molecular level and hopes to adapt plants to grow on other planets.

Sam Albert – Health and Safety Officer

Sam Albert is currently studying Aeronautical & Astronautical Engineering at Purdue University, and is also pursuing minors in Computer Science and Global Engineering Studies. At Purdue, Sam has pursued opportunities ranging from study abroad to faculty-led research. Last year Sam served as the National Representative for the Purdue Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS) chapter, and is now the Chair of the Council of Chapters for SEDS USA, where he coordinates the more than 50 chapters nationwide. Sam is also an inducted member of Sigma Gamma Tau, an ambassador for the Global Engineering Program, and the Vice-Chair of the Purdue Student Publishing Foundation.

James Nolan – Crew Backup

James Nolan is a M.S. candidate in Dr. Jenna Rickus’s Lab, Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Purdue University. He researches electrochemical and optical sensors and their application to neural and cancer physiology. His B.S. in Biological Engineering is also from Purdue University. In his free time, James organizes the Lafayette, IN English-Spanish Conversation Exchange Meetup.

[[Crew 186 Astronomy Reports]]

[[Crew 186 EVA Reports]]

[[Crew 186 GreenHab Reports]]

[[Crew 186 Journalism Reports]]

[[Crew 186 Mission Summary]]

[[Crew 186 Operations Reports]]

[[Crew 186 Science Reports]]

[[Crew 186 Sol Summaries]]

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/crew-186/ source]

Crew 187 Mission Summary

2019-03-24T19:14:35Z

NathanielFromMars: Created page with "Category:Mission Summaries ONFEBRUARY 10, 2018 Mission Summary – Crew 187 – Team Latam II Mars Desert Research Station Mission Summary Crew 187 – Team Latam II..."

[[Category:Mission Summaries]]

ONFEBRUARY 10, 2018
Mission Summary – Crew 187 – Team Latam II
Mars Desert Research Station

Mission Summary

Crew 187 – Team Latam II

Commander/Astronomer: Cynthia Yacel Fuertes Panizo (Peru)

Executive Officer: Atila Kahlil Meszaros Henostroza (Peru)

Crew Engineer: Luis José Antonio Díaz López (Peru)

GreenHab Officer: Hernán David Mateus Jiménez (Colombia)

Crew Scientist/EVA Officer: Oscar Ivan Ojeda Ramirez (Colombia)

Health and Safety Officer: Danton Iván Bazaldua Morquecho (Mexico)

Journalist: Tania Maria Robles Hernandez (Mexico)

Commander’s Statement

I had the honor of working with a highly talented crew, not only professionally, but also personally. Our roots come from Peru, Colombia, and Mexico; but in our hearts, we carry the responsibility of representing all of Latin America, which we will always do with our best effort. Each member of the crew was a key to success the mission; their experiences, knowledge in science and engineering, their high commitment to make the simulation as real as possible, his teamwork and constant support were valuable; always following the philosophy of “All for one and one for all!”.

Every day on Mars was a great adventure; we celebrated a Martian birthday, we recharged a diesel tank, we saw the sun, the moon, the constellations, among other wonders of the universe, we were the first explorers of a canyon, and we had the honor that all the crew wishes to have, to give the name to a canyon and a road; in this way El Dorado Canyon and Despacito Road – because you have to go slowly along this road for the safety of each crew member – are now part of the MDRS map. El Dorado was an ancient legend about a city full of gold that challenged every explorer who dared to look for it. For us to call it that reflects the curiosity that awoke in us as new explorers of Mars and the desire to leave in there a Latin American mark.

I feel proud of each member of this crew since at their young age they have achieved great things with that courage and strength that characterizes every Latino. No matter how big the challenge and the obstacles that each one has to overcome, I am sure that with effort, courage, and dedication they will be able to do it; as well as we all defeated together the adversities that they had in our stay in the MDRS. In these fabulous 15 days, each one gained experience, acquired new knowledge, expanded his way of seeing the universe and learned from others. More than being part of a crew, we are part of a family … a Martian family!

The crew 187 is eternally grateful for the support and trust gave by The Mars Society, Dr. Robert Zubrin, Dr. Shannon Ruppert, Mission Support and all the people and institutions that believe in each one of us.

Ad Astra,

Cynthia Fuertes Panizo

Commander of the Crew 187 – MDRS

Summary of the EVA’s activities

EVAs on Space exploration are not routine, and for sure, in the first stages of Mars exploration, will surely keep that trend. Every EVA is different to the other, not only because the goals change, also because the circumstances change as well. One of the most interesting aspects of the simulation while on MDRS is the possibility to simulate such activities and experience the first two statements firsthand. While most of the crew’s projects were meant to be developed in or close to the habitat and campus, performing EVAs is an extraordinary opportunity to learn and test ourselves in a physical and psychological way. To be able to test our capacity of reaction to the unexpected, to solve problems that arise from thin air, to cope with stress, and to be able to come back home every day, to a cup of warm chocolate, and be ready the next day to go through that again. All that while wearing the space suit simulator, complete with gloves and boots.

Crew 187 performed a total of 15 EVAs, not counting the frequent excursions of our engineer to the generator. Most of our destinations were suggested by Director Shannon, taking us to previously unexplored zones of the MDRS area. Some of the EVAs where more routine, used to cycle the batteries of the rovers, in order to extend their life, 4 of this EVAs were performed. The other EVAs allowed us to test the projects of some of our crewmembers. The general testing was successful, attaining most of the science goals. Also, we were able to explore places that had not been visited before, or in a very long time by previous crews. Most of the activities went without trouble, but it’s important to mention the finding of the cougar prints, as well as the battery drain of Deimos, which led the team to find solutions for taking the vehicle and themselves home.

Oscar Ojeda

EVA Officer

Summary of the Greenhab

In the end, the Greenhab was as beautiful as the beginning. During the mission, we had to make some changes in the interior to give more space to the aquaponics and take care of the plants that were in front of the fan that had been damaged. After these modifications, we received a high resistance tarpaulin to place it under the cover and protect the plants that are exposed to solar radiation. During the two weeks, 3 projects were developed in the Greenhab, which involved an assembly of aquaponics, germination of different types of quinoa in two types of soil, one analogous to Mars and another commercial. In addition, we worked on the measurement of evapotranspiration of a quinoa crop in Martian analogous soil, the data that was obtained will be analyzed to give recommendations for the Greenhab and the irrigation process.

David Mateus

Greenhab Officer

Summary of the Operation reports

During our stay at the MDRS, the diesel tank was recharged for a total of 300 gallons, which allowed us to feed the electric generator, in charge of supplying power to the Habitat and all the structures of the station. It should be noted that due to the problem of water level control over the bedrooms, we successfully manufactured an alarm with a water level sensor to be alerted at the precise moment in which the key was to be closed.

Also, based on the problem raised with one of the Rovers during a long-term EVA, we implemented a security protocol in which, from now on, it is mandatory to carry a survival kit (food and tools), as well as thick ropes that allow towing a vehicle in the event of a breakdown.

Luis Lopez

Crew Engineer

Final reports of the Projects

Mobile application as help agent in MDRS

Cynthia Yacel Fuertes Panizo

Systems Engineer. Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería, Lima – Peru

cynthiayfp@gmail.com

According to Gardner, Android is the Operating System with more users around the world, therefore the apps that I will develop will be for Android. I am working using Unity, Monodevelop, Vuforia, JDK and Android SDK.

During the Sim, I worked doing the app for Musk Observatory. I organize this app into 5 parts: Safety Instructions, Potential Hazards, Hand Control, Alignment, and Focus. When you select the first option, a PDF will be downloaded with the Safety Instructions. In the second case, a pop up will be displayed with the advice of the Potential Hazards. In the third case, it will allow to recognize the Hand Control of the telescope and overlapping it with the main parts of it and when you select it you will be able to know a short concept about each one. For the fourth and fifth case, a PDF will be downloaded for each one. Also, I have the intention of working with the equipment of the science dom. I already collected the information that I need to do it. Moreover, I have the intention to test the final app with future crews.

Spreading space issues using a mobile application

Cynthia Yacel Fuertes Panizo

Systems Engineer. Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería, Lima – Peru

cynthiayfp@gmail.com

During the Sim, I worked collecting the information that I need, like pictures, videos, 3D mapping of some zones that we went and so on. When I come back to Peru, I will start to create the app and in the end, I am planning to test it in a school of a vulnerable area of Peru in order to spread a different kind of topics like MDRS, Mars, Space and so on.

Resistance of Peruvian crops to Mars analog soil

Atila Meszaros

Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima – Perú

atilameszaros1@gmail.com

Three kinds of quinoa and one of kiwicha were selected to prove their resistance to Mars analog soil and to prove their value for being included in future martian diets. During Sol 7, three replicas and one control were planted. They’ve been watered once a day with 250 mL of water. Till now, the control hasn’t germinated, and we are expecting, even the ones that are planted on the mars analog soil, to start germinating during the next two Sols.

Aquaponics trade-offs and comparison with regular gardening methods on MDRS

Atila Meszaros

Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima – Perú

atilameszaros1@gmail.com

This project will be developed through the following months and will be taken within the intern program, with the support of the Green Hab Officers of the following crews to keep it running. Initially only the hydroponic functions will be used, and a cost-efficient comparison will be made between the hydroponic system and the regular gardening techniques. During this rotation, the aquaponics system is almost fully set up and we are going to start doing any time soon the leak tests.

Design and implementation of a thermoregulatory system for the homologation of the internal temperature in the EVA suits used by the analogous astronauts in the MDRS

Luis José Antonio Díaz López (Cascas, Perú)

Ingeniero Mecatrónico de la Universidad Nacional de Trujillo, Perú

luisjosedl14@gmail.com

The implementation and testing of the project were successful. Due to the cold, only the heating system was tested, which uses a ceramic resistor commonly used in 3D printer extruders. This resistance is part of the heat exchanger system that transmits, by convection, the heat to water. A water pump is responsible for circulating the thermoregulated liquid inside a bag for blood donation, which is regulated thanks to a temperature differential that takes as reference the external temperature and the temperature inside the suit (specifically in the area where the heart is located). Likewise, the temperature reading is stored in a microSD memory next to the date and time to have a chronological reference of the temperature compensations that the system had to perform.

Evapotranspiration on Mars

Hernan David Mateus Jimenez

Mechatronics engineer, student of master of science in systems engineering

Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogota Colombia

hdmateusj@unal.edu.co

Evapotranspiration is the physical process that converts the liquid water from a green area in vapor water by the action of both transpiration and evaporation. One way to measure evapotranspiration is using a device named lysimeter that measures the weight of the crop and the weight of leachate continuously.

The lysimeter started to be assembled since the beginning of the simulation but started to take measurements of evapotranspiration on Sol 8, because some pieces had to be repaired and it was necessary to do an EVA to take Martian soil. Also, it was necessary to determine the amount of water to mix with the Martian Soil and get the best texture. The data recollected during the six Soles are going to be analyzed in Colombia in order to get a list of recommendations to improve the use of water in the Greenhab and on the crops that use Martian Soil.

Positioning system based on star recognition

Hernan David Mateus Jimenez

Mechatronics engineer, student of master of science in systems engineering

Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogota Colombia

hdmateusj@unal.edu.co

In this project, we wanted to prove a software that says what your location is, based on a photo that you take from the sky. This software was developed in python using Opencv library. The objective was to measure the accuracy of the software in order to develop in the future useful positioning systems for night EVAs.

During the simulation we were able to take the enough amount of photos to build a sky map where the descriptor SIFT is going to search the similarities with a taken photo to find your location.

Field evaluation of the Cóndor Space Suit Simulator

Oscar I. Ojeda

Universidad Nacional de Colombia

oscar6ojeda@gmail.com

The project aimed to evaluate the performance of the Cóndor Space Suit Simulator, as well as its independent systems. The activities consisted on partaking on EVAs with the suit in different configurations, the EVAs were classified in short, medium, and long range. The systems tested were the complete donning, and the flexible part combined with the Exo suit, available in the MDRS. The EVAs consisted on technical, biological, and geological activities, as well as basic mobility, and vehicle manipulation. Several observations on improvements were made and will be implemented for the next version of the suit. In general, the results were positive, with a high range of movement, combined with enough restriction, to simulate properly a space suit.

Testing of a PXCM based wheel for a planetary rover

Oscar I. Ojeda

Universidad Nacional de Colombia

oscar6ojeda@gmail.com

The project aimed to do a basic field test of a 3D printed wheel, aimed for a planetary surface rover. The test made use of a simple automatized rover, which was implemented in the MDRS. The wheel was printed by ITAMCO and designed in Purdue University. The wheels were received in the station and assembled. First, the performance of the rover was observed with traditional commercial wheels, traversing different types of terrain, which is an analog for Mars. Afterwards the wheels were installed in the rover and tested again, over analog terrain. The results observed showed an equivalent performance while assuming terrain. Further laboratory and field testing is suggested to fully characterize the performance of the wheels, however the first testing showed positive results.

Remote sensing in mars analogue surface

Danton Bazaldua1 Walter Calles2

1UNAM, MEXICO 2IPN, MEXICO

danton.bazaldua@spacegeneration.org1 , walterabdias@gmail.com2

The DRONE DJI SPARK to mapped 5 km of surface around MDRS to analyze with Cameras and digital processing for 3D in Martian soil. This drone mapped the soil of the MDRS and the habitat during 5 EVA for two weeks which will help to take images at 40 meters of height to be later analyzed by a digital processing in 3D which will help us to better understand the characteristics of the Mars surface as well to follow in automatic pilot the way of astronauts in each expedition after that the Drone analyzed the characteristics of the surface of the MDRS as well as the type of soil and its basic characteristics using Matlab and Pix4D to analyze the images of the Habitat taken by the drone.

Remote sensing of vital signs

Danton Bazaldua1 Walter Calles2

1UNAM, MEXICO 2IPN, MEXICO

danton.bazaldua@spacegeneration.org1, walterabdias@gmail.com2

OBJECTIVE: This device was a E.C.G monitor as well as some important aspects like the pressure and the internal humidity of the space suit of MDRS CREW 187, through a system of monitoring focused to the Extra Vehicular Activities (EVA). E.C.G module moreover the body position, galvanic response skin that will transmit the data to the user interface in which are presented in real time to the astronauts in a smart watch or an interface pc. However, the monitor has a problem with the connectivity and was complicated used during EVA but it was used to monitoring before EVA expedition. The medical data has been useful for HSO during the mission to keep the Crew 187 and design protocols to choose the member of each expedition.

Cognitive function dynamics in a martian analogue simulation

Betel Martínez Valdés 1, José Eduardo Reynoso Cruz 1 & José Luis Baroja Manzano 1

1Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Psychology Deparment,

Mexico City

betelmarvall@gmail.com

During the two weeks monitored different cognitive abilities fatigue levels in Crew 187 members and it was compared with control group of external participants not related to the Analogue Simulation.

Fourteen adults were part of the study. The groups were paired by the sex, age, lateral dominance and level of studies. The subjects from the support group and the control paired will be chosen voluntarily.

Cooperation dynamics in a martian analogue simulation

Betel Martínez Valdés1, Oscar San Pedro Caligua 1

1 Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City

betelmarvall@gmail.com

During this experiment analyzed the dynamics of cooperation and working team. Reciprocity between the Analogue Simulation Crew 187 members. The cooperative behavior between crew members during the analogue simulation to Mars was apply a Collective-Risk Social Dilemma in which six astronauts will be players and one coordinator. This task will be applied five times in two weeks this information will help to analyze the status of the cooperation during an analogue mission.

Science communication and documentary to space projects of young scientist and professionals in Latin America

Tania Robles

Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City

taniarblsh@gmail.com

Latin America is an emerging and growing region in the global aerospace sector. Because of its capabilities to offer development and manufacturing services at low costs, it has been accepted as one of the supplier regions of the most important companies and space agencies.

Despite this, Latin America is an area that has not developed its infrastructure and human resources capacities in the sector. Some of the causes can be the ignorance of the decision makers. For this purpose, an outreach project has been created on the work of young Mexicans and foreigners in the space field, as well as the importance of these issues.

The project consists of documentation of the problems and actions of young students to solve problems of academia and industry.

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/category/mission-summary/page/2/ Source]

Crew 188 Mission Summary

2019-03-24T19:13:02Z

NathanielFromMars: Created page with "Category:Mission Summaries POSTED ONFEBRUARY 10, 2018 Mission Summary – February 10th MDRS Crew 188 Mission Summary Team ISU on Mars Mission Dates: 27 January..."

[[Category:Mission Summaries]]

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 10, 2018
Mission Summary – February 10th
MDRS Crew 188 Mission Summary
Team ISU on Mars
Mission Dates: 27 January – 10 February 2018

Commander: Dr. Ryan L. Kobrick, Canada/USA

Executive Officer: Renee Garifi, USA

Health & Safety Officer: Tatsunari Tomiyama, Japan
Crew Engineer: Zac Trolley, Canada
Crew Astronomer/GreenHab Officer: Julia DeMarines, USA

Artist in Residence/Crew Journalist: Dr. Sarah Jane Pell, Australia

We are Team ISU. We are a highly motivated group of scientists, engineers, thinkers, creators and innovators from around the world who hold graduate degrees from the International Space University (ISU) Masters and Space Studies Programs. This distinguished university has provided all of us with an invaluable life experience that has shaped our collective careers in the current space industry. We share a passion for space research, engineering, the arts, mission design, operations, and exploration that unites us as a tightly bonded team of space adventurers.

Team ISU has closed out their third rotation at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS), comprised of two weeks of intense research, team building, and simulation training on Mars. Our expertise and experience in international, intercultural and interdisciplinary professional teams prepared us for the variety of unique mission challenges. For example, Crew 188 dealt extremely well despite adversities including stress and safety concerns. Our diverse backgrounds supported a unique problem-solving culture and aptitude for collaborating on a common goal. The first Mars settlement will undoubtedly be an international venture. The culture was an important part of our MDRS time as we shared meals, workouts, workshops, and videos between EVA’s. Publications and creative engagement are underway from our mission’s research projects. We conclude with a sense of gratitude, pride in our work and excitement for the future.

Overview of Team Goals

· Continue an annual partnership between participants from the International Space University and planetary analogue research stations.

· Productively function as an international and interdisciplinary team.

· Gain team and individual experience in a Mars analogue simulation.

· Learn from the team’s collective background and experiences.

· Experiment and gather data towards publications.

· Promote awareness and passion for space exploration via education and outreach.

· Share with the public how research is conducted in an analogue situation.

Summary of Research Experiments

1. Increasing Spaceflight Analogue Mission Fidelity by Standardization of Extravehicular Activity Metrics Tracking and Analysis

Analogue missions allow the flexibility of capturing many different operational data. This Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) Spacesuit Utilization of Innovative Technology Laboratory (S.U.I.T. Lab) project focused on capturing physical and biometric data from the 15 extravehicular activities (EVAs). Investigated EVA metrics included collecting GPS data (timestamps, waypoints, distance traversed), the “task” or EVA objectives, and biometrics (heart rate, respiratory rate, skin temperature, blood oximetry, and body acceleration). For consistency pilot data was collected with one crewmember, and future studies will build to full crew tracking. The investigation of human performance data with respect to workload expenditure will help identify energy limitations, thus maximizing explorers’ potential.

2. Remote Video Capture Analysis of Spacesuits for Spaceflight Analogue Expeditions

The crew successfully captured on video prescribed range of motion tasks for an unsuited subject, and the subject wearing two different types of simulated spacesuits used at MDRS. The crew reported on operational checklist improvements and sent data to the ERAU S.U.I.T. Lab. This approach derives how to communicate effective instructions to a remote crew, and then analyze simulated spacesuit performance. The MDRS Crew 188 collected the second set of data with the first videos provided by the Hawai’i Space Exploration Analogue and Simulation (HI-SEAS) 2017 mission. Improvements from the MDRS 188 team were sent both the AMADEE-18 in Oman and the Mars Society Israel mission at the Makhtesh Ramon Crater, both occurring in February.

3. Dust Abrasion and Operations Investigation of Thermal Micrometeoroid Garment (TMG) Gloves

Final Frontier Design (FFD) outer-layer Thermal Micrometeoroid Garment (TMG) spacesuit gloves were worn on EVAs by one crewmember. The gloves were photographed before the mission and after every EVA to examine the abrasive wear for post-mission analysis. The gloves offered realistic dexterity limitations that would be expected in a pressured garment and outer layer.

4. Martian Dust Filter Tests

A new filtration unit from NASA Glenn Research Center was used to examine airlock dust contamination post EVAs. Measurements with an optical particle detector were taken five times encapsulating each EVA’s operations (pre- EVA before and after the crew entered, mid-EVA, and post-EVA before and after the crew entered). A variety of filters were changed on the filtration unit each test and a special vacuum filter was utilized when cleaning the airlock. All these test combined will look at particle size distribution and total load. Data collected from this research will further facilitate the mitigation of astronaut’s and habitat systems’ exposure to dust particles on the surface of celestial bodies.

5. In-situ testing of VEGGIE prototype plant growth hardware: Orbital Aquifer System for VEGGIE (OASYS)

We utilized the GreenHab facility to test a new prototype vegetation system invented by NASA KSC scientists for watering plants in reduced gravity environments. Lettuce and basil were selected as ideal demonstration crops for their quick germination times and ease of harvest. The newly built GreenHab provides controlled temperature, humidity, and light for a variety of vegetable crops growing throughout the field season. Due to limited time within the mission, the vegetable growth period was only 9 days. The OASYS system proved the effective germination of only one lettuce seedling from one of the three plant watering pillows due to an issue with the size of the pillows being larger than normal and the wicks not staying moist. Photos and data were sent to the principal investigators who rated this to be a positive test of the hardware.

6. Performing Astronautics

Artist-in-Residence Dr. Sarah Jane Pell’s MDRS Crew 188 research forms part of her Australia Council Fellowship project titled Performing Astronautics. The aim is to explore the bodily practice of navigation beyond Earth’s atmosphere as an experimental and emerging practice in human performance and expression at the advent of the commercial space era. Dr. Pell initiated EVA experiments, workshop activities, movement participation and reflective pursuits, promoting interdisciplinary exploration and Earth analogues to contribute a critical cultural and aesthetic suite of responses to the MDRS experience including:

1) Bending Horizons 360: human-environmental interactions on the Mars Analogue environment in 8K 360-degree Panorama and 3D Video data.

2) Bubbles on Mars a creative Imagineering experiment on phenomena of blowing bubbles on Earth, to transfer and adapt for a Mars sci-art activity.

3) Mars Olympiad: a series of speculative fiction performances designed and documented for a Virtual Reality or future immersive teaching and learning experience, and international outreach engagement coinciding with the Opening Ceremony of the Winter Olympics, to expand knowledge and imaginative capacity for human performance, and teamwork on Mars.

4) Super Blood Blue Moon Total Lunar Eclipse: 6K 360-degree Panorama Video of the Astronomical Phenomena from the Mars Desert Analogue Station.

5) Participation in research and interviews in support collaborations with a fellow crew on EVA spacesuit validation [in partnership with Final Frontier Design FFD], environmental interactions, science and engineering engagement, human factors and performance research, with local crews, future MDRS Crew participants, and global Analogue Crews.

As Crew 188 Journalist in Residence, Dr. Pell contributed an adaptation of Maslow’s human needs for future life on Mars, reported on public outreach activities and reflected on the Mars Society MDRS mission priorities Science, Simulation and Science (adding a little of space art and society) and sharing in the conversations and personalities shaping the shared human experience of life on a simulated Mars station.

Dr. Pell thanks the support of A/Prof David Barnes of the Monash Immersive Visualisation Platform [MIVP] for the provision of an Insta360 Pro Camera; and Professor Brenton Dansie of the University of South Australia who generously supported Dr. Pell’s participation in MDRS Crew 188. Performing Astronautics is supported by the Australia Council: the Governments Arts Funding and Advisory Body.

7. Potential Human Activities to Improve Quality of Life on Mars

Tatsunari Tomiyama performed this Human Factors research project. Throughout this mission, the data collection has been completed 3 times and the detailed data performance must be completed later with statistical software tools. However, rough data analysis has been performed using tools in Microsoft Excel. The data analysis shows that personal hygiene will be strongly influenced for the quality of life during this simulation. Following to that, water and radio communication would also likely be influenced. Final details of the result will be analyzed later using computer software.

8. Project Stardust

This collaborative meteorological investigation of micrometeorite samples collected from field sites all over the world now includes samples taken from MDRS. We collected field samples from loose topsoil (<0.5 in) from hilltops surrounding the habitat, filtered, separated and imaged potential micrometeorites other spherules ranging in size from 50 µm to 2 mm, both extraterrestrial (iron ore-containing), terrestrial and anthropogenic that have fallen through the atmosphere and landed on Earth’s surface. Soil samples in a range of particle sizes were bagged and labeled for submission to the principal investigator for further analysis by scanning electron microscope, which we do not have access to here.

We are very excited to bring this project to MDRS because micrometeoroids contribute to the composition of regolith (planetary/lunar soil) on other bodies in the Solar System, not just Earth. Mars has an estimated annual micrometeoroid influx of between 2,700 and 59,000 t/yr. This contributes about 1 m of micrometeoritic content to the depth of the Martian regolith every billion years. These types of analyses on Earth help us understand how the solar system was formed as we venture out to explore it.

9. In-situ Chlorophyll Detection

Julia DeMarines, an astrobiologist, tested out three Chlorophyll detecting devices that are being prototyped by researchers from NASA Ames and Robotics Everywhere LLC (www.f3.to). These handheld Chlorophyll detectors can be operated in the field, indoors, and potentially underneath a Mars rover using chlofluorescence. The results were mixed but overall positive. Julia first tested them indoors using a variety of living and non-living samples collected in the field, in the Green Hab, and around the Hab. Once she was familiar with the interface, she was able to test these samples and get positive results from several leaf samples and negative results from green rocks and green plastic. She was also able to repeat results after resetting the devices. She was able to get a false positive using a green Sharpie marker and was also able to get false negatives on Sage Brush collected from in the field and tested in the science lab as well as Sage Brush measured in the field. Also in the field, she was not able to get a positive detection on a very green agave-like plant. Overall, the detectors are promising to use if the interface were a little more user-friendly and easier to see while in the field and while wearing gloves.

10. Mars-to-Mars Hangout: Connecting Mars Basecamps Across the Red Planet

The ERAU S.U.I.T. Lab created an opportunity for the MDRS Crew 188 to connect live via video conference with the AMADEE-18 analogue simulation simultaneously running a Mars research mission, located at the Kepler Station, Dhofar Region, Oman. The MDRS Crew 188 completed their Mars simulation by communicating in real time with a crew facing similar challenges, echoing an authentic multi-crew mission to Mars located at different base camps.

CONCLUSION

What brings this team together is our common dream of space exploration. With a vast collective experience of working in international teams, a skill fostered and developed by ISU, our crew understands the importance of defining roles within a team and have learned to cope with high-stress situations in small living spaces. Completing a mission together at MDRS has challenged us to improve our professional communication while expanding our friendships.

We would like to extend our gratitude to the MDRS Mission Support Team who have supported our crew every evening during the Comms window. Special thanks goes to Dr. Shannon Rupert, Kayundria “Kay” Hardiman Wolfe, Bernard Dubb, Veronica Brooks, Sylvain Burdot, Graeme Frear, Jennifer Holt, Nishat Tasnim, Peter Detterline, Chris Welch, Volker Damann, Barnaby Osborne, Geraldine Moser, Joshua Nelson, Michael Davies, Dr. Chris McKay, Matteo Borri from Robotics Everywhere LLC, Dr. John Deaton, Morgan Eudy, Heather Allaway, Anderson Wilder, Dr. Luke Roberson, The NASA-KSC VEGGIE Team, Juan Agui, the International Space University Southern Hemisphere Program, University of South Australia, Monash University, Monash Immersive Visualisation Platform, Australia Council, Blue Marble Space, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, NASA Florida Space Grant Consortium, Space Florida, Dr. Robert Zubrin and the Mars Society, The Musk Foundation, MDRS Crew 147 and 162 and our friends and families back home who have supported us during this two-week mission.

Ad Astra!
Crew 188

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/category/mission-summary/page/2/ Source]

Crew 189 Mission Summary

2019-03-24T19:11:53Z

NathanielFromMars: Created page with "Category:Mission Summaries POSTED ONMARCH 10, 2018 Crew 189 Final Mission Summary MDRS Crew 189: Team ISAE-Supaero Mission Summary Report March 9, 2018 1) Intro..."

[[Category:Mission Summaries]]

POSTED ONMARCH 10, 2018
Crew 189 Final Mission Summary
MDRS Crew 189: Team ISAE-Supaero

Mission Summary Report March 9, 2018

1) Introduction
a- MDRS 189 mission origins

Crew Member Country MDRS Role
Victoria Da-Poian France Commander
Louis Mangin France Commander
Jérémy Auclair France Greenhab Officer
Benoit Floquet France Astronomer
Laurent Bizien France Health & Safety Officer
Gabriel Payen France Crew engineer
Alexandre Martin France Crew journalist

Team ISAE Supaero has begun their fourth rotation at MDRS, comprised of three weeks of intense research, team building and simulation training on Mars. Our team is composed of seven highly motivated scientists, engineers from the French aerospace engineering school ISAE Supaero.

b- Crew objectives
To productively function as an interdisciplinary team of aerospace engineering students
To gain team and individual experience in a Mars analog simulation
To learn from the team’s collective background and experiences
To produce a scientifically publishable report, including experimental results
To promote awareness and passion for space exploration via education and outreach
To conduct engaging experiments that will be shared on the team website
To share with the public how research is conducted in an analog situation
To study crew group dynamics and teamwork of a Mars analog mission
To obtain scientific results for our sponsors (human factors researchers, CNRS researchers)
To improve the EVA performances during our simulation
To fix and clean materials in the station

2) Crew 189
a- Crew bios

Victoria Da-Poian will be the Commander of the MDRS-189 mission. She is one of the two veterans taking part in the new mission as she was member of the MDRS-175 crew as the biologist. She is an active member of ISAE Supaero space events as she organized the SpaceUp France in 2017 and took part in different space related associations (space pole and cubesat club). She was also vice-president of the « Junior Enterprise » of ISAE-Supaero (Supaero Junior Council) and Ambassador of the social and cultural expansion of our school (OSE ISAE Supaero). After her 2017 mission, she completed an internship at the Astronaut Training Center in Cologne (ESA / EAC), and is currently doing an academic exchange in Moscow. In her free time, she enjoys practicing piano, violin and climbing.

Louis Mangin will be with Victoria the commander of the MDRS 189 mission. He was already part of the crew 175 as the journalist. He is currently working as a trainee in Lyon in a start-up that uses the latest AI technologies to minimize the electrical consumption of buildings. When he was living on the campus, he was a rower in the ISAE-Supaero rowing team, organizer of the Supaerowing student regatta, and a tutor with the social association OSE ISAE Supaero. In his free time, he is also a runner, a mountain-climber, a cinephile or a poker player.

Laurent Bizien will be the Health and Safety Officer of the MDRS-189 crew. Promotion 2019 of ISAE Supaero, he is the current treasurer of the school’s charitable association (Solid’aires). As a volunteer firefighter as a lifeguard on the beaches, he passed several first aid diplomas. He is a candidate for a semester at the Moscow State University and an internship at NASA. In his free time, he practices baseball, volleyball and skydiving.

Franco-American born in France, Jérémy Auclair will be the GreenHab Officer and the Biologist on board. Promotion 2019, he is an active member of the club, very invested for the smooth running of the next mission. Passionate about space and astrophysics from his young age, this mission is one more way to flourish in his formation. He plans to do an internship in North America in the field of aerospace. He is also an active member of the school’s associative life, and various clubs with varied backgrounds. During his free time, he enjoys practicing sports, rowing and volleyball, as well as getting lost in reading and taking pictures. He will also be the photographer of the mission.

Promotion 2019, Benoit Floquet will be the astronomer of the MDRS-189 mission and is the current treasurer of the club M.A.R.S. Passionate about the space domain for many years, he is also involved in our school’s associative life. He is responsible of the Solidarity pole of the Students Association and takes part into the entrepreneurship (ISAE Supaero Entrepreneurs) association in the communication pole. Also a sportsman, he has been practicing gymnastics for 15 years and skydiving. He applies for a Master in Innovation at the French famous school « Polytechnique ».

Promotion 2019, Gabriel Payen will be the on-board flight engineer of the MDRS-189 mission and is the current president of the M.A.R.S club. He is also member of the student association as event manager. He has been a sportsman for several years and has been focusing for one year on mountain sports, such as climbing, mountaineering and skiing. He began this year a three- years research formation in applied mathematics. He applies for his gap year for the UNIS University located in an Arctic circle archipelago where he would study geophysics for six months.

Alexandre Martin, also promotion 2019 will be the journalist during the MDRS-189 mission. He is a member of the ISAE Student Association as chairman of the communication department. He shares his free time between the football club, of which he is the president and captain, tennis but also kite surfing club. He is fascinated by space, mathematics and economics. He is currently applying for a master’s degree in financial mathematics in the United Kingdom.

b- Mission preparation and organization
Our advantage is to have two crewmembers who took already part in the simulation last year. Louis and I, were the journalist and the biologist of the Crew 175. This year, we will lead the new team (crew 189). For one year, we are working on our mission, teaching and giving our best advice to the new crewmembers. Our knowledge and experiment are going to benefit the crew in order to best perform during our Martian mission.

3) Experiments: descriptions and results
Physical Training (Louis Mangin): Every morning, we performed physical exercises in order to stay in shape during our 3-weeks simulation and to analyze our performances. We had a sport session before breakfast every day. It was designed to be quick, not to use too much energy or tire us and to last around 30 minutes max. It was intense enough to dissipate the lack of exercise we had. Most of us are athletic so that being locked-on would have been difficult without exercising. The program was split in 7 exercises using various muscles and done to push up cardio. I measured the number of repetitions we did during one minute for each exercise. Everybody progressed during the mission to reach good maximums in the end. The fact that we were keeping tracks of our performance and that we did it together created a good emulation amongst the crewmembers, helped building team cohesion and detect individual fatigue.

Nutrition energetic (Alexandre Martin): During our 3-weeks experiments, we monitored our weight (fat percentage, water percentage, bone percentage, estimation of the calories consumption). This experiment aimed to ensure the good nutritional health of each member of the crew. I calculated the nutrient intake and measured the weight, muscular mass, fat mass and hydration rate of each member of the crew in order to provide a daily follow-up. I could observe that our caloric intakes were reduced at the time of the mission, as we are less active and are doing less sport. Almost each member of the crew has lost weight, up to 2.8 kilograms. This loss of weight has shown to result both from an important loose of fat and from a small loose of muscle: crew members have lost up to 1.8 kilograms of fat mass, and up to 0.8 kilograms of muscle. However, the athletic performances of the members of the crew have been enhanced in the meantime, mainly due to Louis’ daily imposed sport session.

Teamwork (Gabriel Payen): The game tasks a player with disarming procedurally generated bombs with the assistance of other players who are reading a list of instructions. This experiment has been designed with a researcher and a fellow student from ISAE-Supaero to study decision making and leadership abilities. Almost every day, teams of three had to play “Keep Talking and nobody explodes”, a computer game where one must defuse a bomb with the help of his teammates’ instructions. Subjects and conversations were recorded, and the deminer’s sight was followed with an eye-tracker. I simultaneously observed them to take notes about their behaviour and ask them to fill personality surveys.
Now, the data will be analysed at ISAE-Supaero.

Rover Piloting (human factors, Jérémy Auclair): The goal of this experiment was to see how the subjects changed their performances on a given task (driving a small Lego rover on a given track). What was mainly studied was how their decision taking and the precision of their driving changed during the mission according to how they felt (without any feedback on their scores). It was complicated at first because I had quite a few issues with the equipment and software (batteries, eye-tracker and SSH connection software). But once those issues were solved the experiment ran smoothly. I will give the data I gathered to the doctorates that gave me this task for further analysis, but I saw that everybody increased their precision during the three weeks.

Emergency Procedures (Laurent Bizien): Future Martian crews will have to be trained and prepared for every injury case they’ll encounter. Yet, because of the extreme conditions of Mars, emergency procedures developed on Earth will have to be adapted. Thus, after a few lessons, we trained to emergency situations in the Hab surroundings: how to transport a wounded crew member, how to put him/her in the Rover… The lack of mobility didn’t make the thing easy. Afterwards, I taught the other crew members how to use the rescue equipment present in the station. The first aid explained, we were able to apply the techniques in EVA. Twice, at the end of an EVA, a member of the crew had to simulate an injury and the other had to deal with it and to transport him/her up to the Hab. Once in the station, people remaining in the Hab had to pursue the cares. The experiment resulted in a good rhythm for everybody and development of good reflexes.

EVA Logger (Louis Mangin): I wanted to deploy a system to allow us to keep a precise history of an EVA. This system I developed used a smartphone and an Android App I created to be as simple as possible for the user. The smartphone was to be used only as a button, touched periodically by the EVA leader. The user would browse an action tree, with nodes spelled by the app in a headset. To select the wanted one, he will simply touch the screen anywhere while the App will keep looping on categories. I struggled a lot with the touchscreen use in the outside, and finally managed to use it fixing the phone with tape, and a special pen, attached to a finger. I had results for the last week, allowing us to have precise debriefings of EVAs with timed events.

EVA efficiency (Victoria Da-Poian): The goal of the experiment was to assess, for each of our EVAs, this index in order to understand the importance of each task (preparation and debrief). This index is used in the document “Exploration Systems Mission Directorate – Lunar Architecture Update” – AIAA Space 2007 September 20, 2007, chapter “Extravehicular Activities (EVA) and Pressurized Rovers, Mike Gernhardt from NASA Johnson Space Centre analyses EVAs efficiency. The WEI is the ratio between EVA duration and the total duration of preparatory activities and activities post EVA. We managed to have our index between 2 and 5 depending on the EVA preparation and previous debrief. It seems to be consistent with the results of the crew 43 lead by Alain Souchier.

LOAC (Jérémy Auclair): The LOAC instrument (Light Optical Aerosol Counter) Measures aerosol (solid and liquid particles between 0.1 µm and 50 µm) concentration in ambient air and gives an indication of the typology of the measured particles (mineral, salt, carbon, liquid, etc.). Bringing and installing this instrument was more challenging than I thought; I built a power system before leaving France, it broke on SOL 2 because of a faulty solder. I broke again on SOL 3 and SOL 15, but I managed to fix it quickly each time. Concerning the power supply, I thought the car battery we bought would last longer than it did, its autonomy decreased after each charge. However, the instrument worked perfectly and gathered very interesting raw data, the French scientist who gave me this instrument is waiting impatiently to receive all the collected data to start processing and analyzing it further.

Localization (Benoit Floquet): My experiment consists in a navigation device. It is composed of 3 components: a GPS ship, an electronic card and a LCD screen. It aims at helping members of an EVA to find their way, for example when they get back to the Hab. First, with the GPS and the electronic card I can compute my position, the distance and direction to the nearest Point of Interest. Then I can predict my direction of movement with a linear regression over a few past positions. Finally, with these two directions, I can write on the screen an order to turn right or left with an angle so that we are aiming the Point of Interest. Overall, I can add some noise on the measure of position in order to determine how accurate a localization device should be in a Mars-like environment. The goal is to create such a device without the use of a GPS. During the simulation, I had few problems with the GPS ship so I couldn’t use it as much as I wanted.

MegaARES (Gabriel Payen): MegaARES (Mega Atmospheric Relaxation and Electric field Sensor) is an instrument developed by Grégoire Déprez and his team of researchers at LATMOS (Laboratoire atmosphères, milieux et observations spatiales), France. It can measure the electric field in favorable weather conditions. This instrument will probably land on Mars one day. Grégoire lent it to me to see if it operates correctly and to study coupled effect with Jeremy’s LOAC instrument (aerosol counter). My mission was to set it up during an EVA, maintain its power supply outside and gather data every week. Assembling it outside with our gloves and suits was tricky but very interesting: it took a 3-hour EVA. It was tiresome and required a good amount of teamwork. We also had to deal with batteries issues: they emptied quicker than expected and had to be changed every two or three days instead of every week. Fortunately, plugging an USB key to get the data and disassembling it at the end of the mission was much easier.
Now, the data and hardware will be sent back to Grégoire and his team for analysis.

Solar panels experiment (Laurent Bizien): Dust on Mars is a real issue. Due to the lack of gravity, it could limit the performances of future Martian solar panels by accumulating on them. Hence the idea of a solar panel dust cleaner. Not using water, it consists in a rotating microfiber brush going back and forth on the solar panel using a band. The rotation and travel speeds are controlled by an Arduino card and a dual motor controller. At the beginning of the simulation, I assembled all the elements on a support and did my first performance and stability tests. Because of the absence of feedback loop, the system wasn’t stable (the brush headed step by step towards one of the end of the guide shafts) and the solar panel wasn’t properly cleaned. I added stop points in order to guarantee the stability. We took the dust cleaner on EVAs on three occasions and each time, it cleared out dust pretty well and allowed the mobile phone plugged on the solar panel to charge.

Time analysis experiment (Victoria Da-Poian): My goal was to analyze the activities, their duration and our planning in order to see the evolution of the crew during our simulation and our efficiency depending on our activities.
Each day I asked my crewmates the time they spent doing 7 different activities (sleeping, personal, social (team, community, meals, free time spent together…) maintenance, inside operations (EVA or experimentation preparation, daily briefings, psychological tests, inside experiments), external operations (EVA), reporting). It has been really interesting to see the impact of the fatigue during the three weeks simulation depending on the role, the involvement, the simulation expectations…

Water monitoring: I monitored water consumption like during MDRS 175. The whole crew participated in and kept track of drinking, cooking water, flushes, showers and Greenhab usage. The main differences with MDRS 175 we can spot is that flushes are now very reasonable, as one flushes consumes roughly 8 times less with the new system. In the other hand, the Greenhab consumes way more than last year, where it was just restarted after it burned down. This term is now the second biggest one, after the remaining one, composed mostly of dish washing.

4) MDRS 189 videos, photos, documentary
We would like to thank Laure Andrillon, independent journalist and TF1 team composed of Axel Monnier and Bertrand Guez, who both “played the game” and understood that our operations on the field are surely not yet at astronauts and agencies professional level but are also far more than amateur activities.

5) Conclusions
In conclusion, we had many experiments related to the human factors and the EVAs efficiency. We analyzed the impact of the isolation and the confinement on our efficiency. This team was together thanks to our common dream of space exploration. After spending 2 years in our aerospace engineering school in France, our crew understands the importance of defining roles within a team and will learn to cope with high-stress situations in small living spaces. Completing a mission together at MDRS challenged us to improve our professional communication while expanding our friendships and our shared passion for exploration.

We consider our mission to be a success and we are happy of what we have done during our three-weeks simulation.

We would like to extend our gratitude to the MDRS Mission Support Team who have supported our crew every evening during the Comms window. Special thanks go to Shannon Rupert, Atila Meszaros, Scott Davis, Peter Detterline, Dr. Robert Zubrin and the Mars Society, The Musk Foundation and all the previous and next Crews.

Ad astra!

Victoria Da-Poian , Louis Mangin

Crew 189 Commanders (and really proud of this awesome crew)

Jérémy Auclair, Gabriel Payen, Benoit Floquet, Alexandre Martin, Laurent Bizien

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/category/mission-summary/page/2/ Source]

Crew 186 Mission Summary

2019-03-24T19:10:21Z

NathanielFromMars: Created page with "Category:Mission Summaries POSTED ONJANUARY 12, 2018 End of Mission Summary – Crew 186 End of Mission Summary Crew 186 – Boilers2Mars Commander/Astronomer: Max Fag..."

[[Category:Mission Summaries]]

POSTED ONJANUARY 12, 2018
End of Mission Summary – Crew 186
End of Mission Summary
Crew 186 – Boilers2Mars

Commander/Astronomer: Max Fagin
Executive Officer: Kshitij Mall
Crew Engineer: Melanie Grande
Crew Geologist: Dr. Cesare Guariniello
Journalist: Justin Mansell
GreenHab Officer: Mark Gee
Health and Safety Officer: Samuel Albert

Commander’s Statement

As Purdue students and alumni, Purdue’s heritage with human spaceflight is a heritage we all take very seriously, and that heritage was on full display for the duration of this mission. I am happy to say that every member of this crew has risen to the highest standards expected of would be space travelers, and I am proud of every member of this crew for doing their jobs with skill, effectiveness, professionalism, robustness, and the positive disposition that space travel demands of those who pursue it. I would be proud to call any of you my crewmates on a real mission to Mars.

When undertaking challenging journeys like this, I often find there are two types of travelers. First, there are the kind who are happiest when things are going right. The kind who love it when a plan works. The kind who revel in practicing, planning and simulating every facet of the journey beforehand just as much as they love the journey itself.

Second, there are the kind of travelers who enjoy a journey more when things are going poorly, because it allows for a chance to test their skills in the face of danger. They revel in being just beyond the margin and only barely in control, because the experience will leave them with a harrowing story to tell when they get home.

Personally, I’m in the first camp. I subscribe to the perspective that a stressful and harrowing adventure is a sign of poor planning. Things sometimes go wrong that are beyond our control. And during those times, true stories of courage and heroism often emerge, especially in space travel. But there is nothing to be celebrated in seeking such situations. Because of our desire for narrative satisfaction, it’s the near disasters that often become our most cherished stories, but those stories of right ought to be told just as much about the textbook missions, and the hard work that made them possible.

That is why I am so proud of what we have accomplished as a crew during our time at MDRS, and why I will remember the time so fondly. Our mission was productive, exciting, and educational, but it was never stressful or harrowing. It has been a privilege to command such a talented and driven group of people.

Thank you to Ashwati Das and the Purdue Mars Society. Thank you to Professor Porterfield, Professor Mitchell, Professor Horgan, Professor Grant, Professor Whitfield and Professor Dumbacher, and thank you to Erin Easterling and Brian Huchel. Thank you to Mars Academy USA, Purdue Honors College, WIEP, ABE, SAO, and PESC. Thanks to the many Mars Society volunteers who have put in their time and hard work over the decades to make MDRS possible, and to those who specifically supported us on our mission: Veronica Brooks, Sylvain Burdot, Kevin Seidler, Kay Wolf, Jennifer Holt, Graeme Frear and Bernard Dubb. Thank you to Dr. Robert Zubrin and the Mars Society Leadership, and final thanks to Dr. Shannon Rupert for being our on-site support.

Boiler Up, Hammer Down!

-Max Fagin, 01/02/2018

Our Mission, By The Numbers

12 days in sim
125 person-hours of EVA total time
24 person-hours of EVA rover time
138 km traversed on EVA
515 gallons of water consumed (including GreenHab)
~1700 photos taken
86 geological spectra collected
580 grams of edible crops harvested from GreenHab
636,445 strands of DNA sequenced from microbes found in the hab

Summary of EVA Activities
Max Fagin, Commander

We conducted a total of 10 EVAs during our mission (11 were planned, but light snow on Sol 9 caused it to be delayed to Sol 10). Our EVAs lasted anywhere from 1-5 hours, traversing a distance of 138km total and reaching a maximum of 6.2 km from the hab. A map of every EVA we took is shown on the next page, overlayed on the MDRS regional map.

Something like the electric rovers of ATVs are an essential part of an effective Mars surface exploration campaign. However, they must be considered in the same class as the rockets and spacecraft that delivered the astronauts to Mars: As means, not ends. The best field science is still done when an astronaut is on foot and able to devote their complete attention to their surroundings. As such, a goal of this mission was to minimize the amount of “unproductive” time spent on EVAs. This includes time spent en route to targets, and loading/unloading equipment. An EVA debrief was regularly held 1 hour after the EVA had completed with the EVA director who had been the habcomm for the EVA, and a careful timeline was reconstructed from the gps logs carried by members of the EVA. This allowed us to build up an accurate picture of how our EVA time was spent.

A goal at the start of this mission was to spend at least 50% of each EVA on site. We were not able to accomplish this goal. A weighted average across all EVAs yielded only 42% time spent on site. Regardless, the system for reconstructing EVA timelines and locations proved very useful, as it allowed for quickly checking what had and had not worked on past when planning for future EVAs, as well as checking the location of geological samples.

Geology Summary
Dr. Cesare Guariniello, Crew Geologist

As will probably be the case in an actual Mars mission, a majority of our EVA activity was devoted to a geological survey of the region. Not only will such geological activates answer important questions about Mars’ past, but such geological knowledge will shape Mars’ potential as a future home. The need to reduce payload mass for future space exploration is imperative on long term colonial missions, and effective In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) provides just such a way to reduce the materials that must be brought from Earth. For effective ISRU, future Mars colonists must determine material presence, abundance, accessibility, usability, and the best ways to collect them. On this mission, remote sensing techniques) were applied to support of this goal.

Geologic EVAs were performed to the following regions:

URC North Site
East of Greenstone Road
The Moons (Morrison Formation and Dakota Sandstone)
“Boilermaker Canyon”, previously unexplored by MDRS crews (Entrada Sandstone and lower Morrison Formation)
Skyline Rim (Mancos Shale).
The crew collected a variety of samples in these location, and analyzed them with a “PANalytical QualitySpec TREK” portable spectrometer. The 86 Visible and Near Infrared (VNIR) spectra that were collected gave information about the mineralogy of the samples, and will be used to assess water content in the various locations. Temperatures at different depths and in different conditions were also analyzed. These measurements will be used after the end of the mission to determine the correlation between thermal inertia and physical properties of the material, such as cohesiveness and bulk size. The EVAs brought the analog astronauts through diverse fields, ranging from plains covered in clays and characterized by salt deposits to deep canyons where million of years of strata are exposed. All the types of terrains are found on Mars, though the presence of large angular boulders is more prominent in most Martian landscapes. The results were extremely satisfactory, both in terms of Mars analog mineralogy and for what concerns collection of the samples with the various tools, and yielded useful outcomes for ISRU on Mars.

Radio Navigation
Justin Mansell, Journalist

GPS navigation will not be an option for early Mars explorer, and most navigation will need to take place with assets located at the habitat. One solution is to place a directional radio beacon at the hab, and just such a system was designed and successfully tested during our mission. Over four dedicated navigation EVAs, a simulated “lost astronaut” was able to determine their bearing to the habitat using a directional handheld antenna. By taking regular bearings while walking, the astronauts were able to navigate to within a few hundred meters of the habitat from several kilometers away, even when a visor was in place that limited their vision to only their immediate surroundings. The greatest challenge was the overwhelming signal strength at close ranges to the habitat, but this was mitigated by employing the insensitive axis of the antenna to find a bearing at right angles to the direction to the habitat. Future designs will include an attenuator to improve performance near the transmitting beacon and a timing circuit to establish both bearing and range.

Virtual Reality Training to Enable Crew Autonomy
Melanie Grande, Crew Engineer

Crew time will be as precious a resource as water and power on a mission to Mars, and virtual reality is a powerful teaching tool that offers the chance to reduce the amount of time a crew member must spend training for a complex task. For this mission, half the crew participated in a Pre-Mission Training Group (PMTG) and were conventionally trained on two tasks via PowerPoint training modules about three weeks before the mission. The crew learned how to use a portable spectrometer and how to perform maintenance checks on an ATV’s brake system. A Virtual Reality Training Group was given the freedom to use the VR version of the models at their own pace and at any time during their day. The VRTG could also take the training immediately before doing the EVA to complete the taught tasks. Mixed results were observed from the astronauts, but it was interesting to note that the VRTG spent much less time in training, which is positive in terms of maximizing astronaut work hours. However, some steps and details in each stage of the tasks were not given enough attention. Some of the VRTG also put off the training, since it wasn’t specifically scheduled. Participants from both groups did not specifically acknowledge the procedure and safety requirements if damage was found. Finally, the VR modules were limited in their interaction and level of detail, due to time and resource constraints. Future work would explore further the memorization of procedure and the interactivity of the VR applications.

Survey of the MDRS Microbial Environment
Samuel Albert, Health and Safety Officer

Throughout the mission, surfaces in the habitat and GreenHab were swabbed in order to survey the microbial environment at MDRS. These swabs were then run through DNA extraction and amplification using portable PCR technology. Next, the amplified DNA was sequenced using the minion, a portable DNA sequencer that has previously been used to perform identical tests on the International Space Station. Although only 2 of the 4 sequencing runs yielded quality data, these results will be useful in analyzing the microbes present at MDRS. This research was completed in collaboration with NASA JSC, and the results will be part of a larger study on microbial environment in closed, isolated environments, including ongoing research on the International Space Station (Genes in Space-3).

Crew Relaxation with Guided Yoga
Kshitij Mall, Executive Officer

The human mind must remain well maintained on a Mars mission every bit as much as the electrical and mechanical systems of the spacecraft. To that end, the crew started each day by performing 21 different Yoga exercises focusing on breathing, posture, stretching, and meditation for 30 minutes to release stress. After 12 days, the average self reported stress of the crew reduced from 16.8 to 15.0 based on the Perceived Stress Scale Survey. Based on Self-Assessment survey, the crew’s average happiness, positivity, patience, self-confidence, and endurance increased throughout the mission while the fatigue remained stable. Later in the mission, some of the crew members tried a guided meditation VR app and suggested its use over conventional meditation method. The small number of subjects meant a control group could not be followed to isolate the effect of the morning exercises, but even if small, the exercise still promoted crew bonding by ensuring we all began our day at the same time, and with the same activity; the benefits of which cannot be quantified.

GreenHab Summary
Mark Gee, GreenHab Officer

The Greenhab has succeeded in its mission to provide food, house experiments, and bring stress relief to the crew. The harvest on the last sol of our rotation yielded a sampling of fresh microgreens, lettuce, green beans, dill, and cilantro, the first time this has been done this season. The previously planted tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, and peppers are growing well along with the carrots, onions, arugula, radish, lettuce, and Swiss chard that were planted this rotation. Future crews should have a bountiful and tasty harvest. Two studies were successfully completed. One on how to produce microgreens using minimal resources, and the other on how plant growth is affected by the microbiome in an isolated Mars habitat. Time and humidity data were also successfully collected throughout the mission providing insight on the environment the GreenHab crops are exposed to. In addition to being productive, the GreenHab provided a convenient way to relax. Crew members were frequently found enjoying the heat, humidity, and beautiful scenery that the GreenHab provides.

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/category/mission-summary/page/2/ Source]

Crew 186 Science Reports

2019-03-24T19:08:19Z

NathanielFromMars: Created page with "Category:Science Reports POSTED ONJANUARY 13, 2018 Science Report – January 13th MDRS – Crew 186 – Final Geology Report Research Project and Goals The need to re..."

[[Category:Science Reports]]

POSTED ONJANUARY 13, 2018
Science Report – January 13th
MDRS – Crew 186 – Final Geology Report

Research Project and Goals

The need to reduce payload mass for future space exploration is imperative, especially for long-term missions. Experts in the field or space exploration have been working for years on concepts of In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU). The idea of finding, collecting, processing, and using materials found at the destination requires various steps: we need to determine what materials are present and what is their abundance, accessibility, and usability; we also need to figure out what are the best ways to collect them; finally, based on the materials and their properties, we can decide how to process and use them. The simplest ISRU designs propose production of water, oxygen, and propellant [Sanders and Duke,
2005; Cuadros and Michalski, 2013]. However, establishment of bases on Mars will probably require the use of in-situ construction materials and metals, which must be easily accessible [Cooper, 2002; Curreri and Criswell, 1999;
Muscatello and Santiago-Maldonado, 2012; Sacksteder and Sanders, 2007; Wan et
al., 2015]. Identifying appropriate locations, with an adequate amount of resources will be a major factor for the selection of human landing sites, together with the scientific importance of the site [Horgan et al., 2013].

The goal of this project has been to test the use of remote sensing (performed in various locations) to support In-Situ Resource Utilization. Assessment of mineralogy and temperature readings – via remote sensing – has been performed to provide information about material abundance, water content and thermal inertia. The latter will be correlated to particle size and cohesiveness of the material, which in turn suggests the most appropriate tools to effectively collect the material for processing. Simple collection tools including rock hammers, spoons, and trowels have been evaluated in terms of ease of use, and efficacy of collection of the material, based on the physical properties of the material.

The MDRS region, in the Colorado Plateaus, is a good Mars analog, especially in the areas pertinent to the middle Jurassic Entrada Sandstone, the middle and and late Jurassic Morrison Formation, and the Dakota Sandstone. These areas exhibit mudstones and sandstones mainly composed of clays (montmorillonite, illite, and kaolinite, often coated with hematite), strata of paleo-gypsum and other sulfates, and recent evaporites. Most of those minerals are present close to regions of geological interest on Mars, and are dug on Earth for construction and other purposes.

Figure 1. Geology of the MDRS area

EVAs, samples, and results

Six geologic EVAs have been performed by the crew, visiting the following regions: URC North Site, area East of Greenstone Road, and The Moons (Morrison Formation and Dakota Sandstone); “Boilermaker Canyon”, previously unexplored by MDRS crews (Entrada Sandstone and lower Morrison Formation); Skyline Rim (Mancos Shale). The crew geologist and the rest of the crew collected a variety of samples in these location, and analyzed them with a “PANalytical QualitySpec TREK” portable spectrometer. The 86 Visible and Near Infrared (VNIR) spectra gave information about the mineralogy of the samples, and will be used to assess water content in the various locations. The geologist also measured temperature of rocks and soil at different depths and in different conditions, in replacement of measurements that were supposed to be taken with a thermal camera, which was not received in time for the mission. These measurements will be used after the end of the mission to determine the correlation between thermal inertia and physical properties of the material, such as cohesiveness and bulk size. The geologist used a rock hammer and a trowel to simulate collection of different material, under simulated Martian conditions for what concerns EVA suits and bulky gloves.

The EVAs brought the analog astronauts through diverse fields, ranging from plains covered in clays and characterized by salt deposits to deep canyons where million of years of strata are exposed. All the types of terrains are found on Mars, though the presence of large angular boulders is more prominent in most Martian landscapes. Analysis with the portable spectrometer confirmed the presence of mudstone and sandstone, with a few layers of conglomerates, mainly composed of illite and montmorillonite, with some samples of chlorite shales. The iron is almost all present in the form of hematite, thus reducing the occurrence of nontronite. Receding water from the Jurassic Sundance Sea left behind strata of salts in period of dryness. The salt is mainly sulfates, which (together with perchlorates) is present on Mars in various locations of geologic interest. White layers of gypsum, in the form of transparent selenite and white satin spar in the Morrison Formation, are accompanied by pink dikes of manganese sulfate in the lowest strata. Spectra will be further analyzed for water content and impurities. The results were extremely satisfactory, both in terms of Mars analog mineralogy and for what concerns collection of the samples with the various tools, and yielded useful outcomes for ISRU on Mars, described in the last section.

Difficulties and lessons learned: towards Mars

The experience in this project at MDRS was twofold informative, on the geology aspect and on the exploration aspect. The crew geologist, as an analog astronaut, had to face various difficulties in this mission: unexpected situations require a certain amount of flexibility. For example, the absence of the thermal camera, which can be considered analogous to an instrument malfunction, required a last-minute change in the details of the research project. Contingent situations, such as weather or communication failures cut short some of the EVAs, thus reducing the amount of time spent in the field, which of course is much less than what would be spent on a field expedition on Earth. Instruments which are very simple to use on Earth, such as the portable spectrometer or a marker to write on the clipboard, are much harder to use when the analog astronaut is incumbered by a space suit and bulky gloves. With much pride, our crew geologist managed to never break simulation, though at times he had to find ingenious solutions to be able to operate his instruments or to reach certain locations. On the other side, all these occurrences suggested ideas for better design of astronaut tools for use on planetary surfaces, where the presence of gravity needs to be added to the bulkiness of the garments (in orbit, astronauts experience the problem of large gloves, but can have a variety of tools just attached to their belts without their movements being made harder by gravity). Areas that require long walks because not accessible by vehicles suggest that surface EVAs will be probably shorter than in-orbit EVA: the crew geologist performed four EVAs in five days without particular overexertion, but a single EVA to Boilermaker Canyon was harder than multiple EVAs, because of the configuration of the terrain and the longer hiking distance. From a geologic perspective, the site also provided valuable lessons: besides the analogies with Martian mineralogy, the MDRS site gave information on how to use remote sensing to evaluate the abundance of the material, and some of the physical properties to facilitate collection. The mission also showed how much variety of material can be found within short distances, which suggests that more detailed surveys of interesting locations on Mars will be necessary to determine optimal places for human exploration and activities.

In conclusion, despites all the limitations to the fidelity of the simulation (gravity and atmospheric conditions, not-airtightness of the habitat and the space suits), the crew managed to achieve an adequate level of Mars analogy in the geologic EVAs. The landscape, the colors, the cumbersomeness of the suits, and the attention given by the crew to simulation details gave the impression of being exploring Mars and added to the challenges of the experience, producing outstanding results.

Bibliography

Clarke, J. (2003), The regolith geology of the MDRS study area, report.

Cooper, J. (2002), Mining Mars, CMA Management, September 2002, pp. 38-41.

Cuadros, J., and J. R. Michalski (2013), Investigation of Al-rich clays on Mars: evidence for kaolinite-smectite mixed-layer versus mixture of end-member phases, Icarus, vol. 222, pp. 296-306.

Curreri, P. A., and D. R. Criswell (1999), In situ production of solar power systems for exploration: potential for in situ rectenna production on Mars, AIP Conference proceedings, vol. 458, pp. 1623-1628.

Gundlach, B., and J. Blum (2013), A new method to determine the grain size of planetary regolith, Icarus, vol. 223, pp. 479-492.

Hargitai, E., ed. (2008), MDRS unofficial expedition guide, technical report by MDRS crews 42 and 71.

Horgan, B., J. A. Kahmann-Robinson, J. L. Bishop, and P. R. Christensen (2013), Climate change and a sequence of habitable ancient surface environments preserved in pedogenically altered sediments at Mawrth vallis, Mars, 44th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.

Jones, E., G. Caprarelli, F. P. Mills, B. Doran, and J. Clarke (2014), An alternative approach to mapping thermophysical units from Martian termal inertia and albedo data using a combination of unsupervised classification techniques, Remote Sensing, vol. 6, pp. 5184-5237.

Muscatello, A. C., and E. Santiago-Maldonado (2012), Mars in-situ resource utilization technology evaluation, 50th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting Including the New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition.

Presley, M. A., and P. R. Christensen (2010), Thermal conductivity measurements of particulate materials, 4. Effect of bulk density for granular particles, Journal of Geophysical Research, vol. 115 no. E07003.

Sacksteder, K. R., and G. B. Sanders (2007), In-situ resource utilization for Lunar and Mars exploration, 45th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit.

Sanders, G. B., and M. Duke (2005), In-situ resource utilization (ISRU) capability roadmap executive summary, NASA report.

Sanders, G. B., and W. E. Larson (2015), Final review of analog field campaigns for in situ resource utilization technology and capability maturation, Advances in Space Research, vol. 55, pp. 2381-2404.

Wan, L., R. Wendner, and G. Cusatis (2015), A novel material for in situ construction on Mars: experiments and numerical simulations, Northwestern University Center for Sustainable Engineering of Geological and Infrastructure Materials (SEGIM) internal report.

MDRS_Final_Geology_Report.docx

POSTED ONJANUARY 13, 2018
Science Report – January 13th
The Effectiveness of Radio Direction Finding for EVA Navigation in Situations of Low Visibility

Justin Mansell

MDRS Crew 186 Journalist

Motivation

Determining one’s position is a fundamental problem encountered in engineering. On Earth it is possible to use the constellation of GPS satellites to accurately pinpoint your position relative to a location where you would like to go. This capability does not currently exist on Mars, nor will it be likely to exist when humans first set foot on the planet. The difficulty of localizing an astronaut’s position relative to a location of interest is amplified in conditions of low visibility such as night or an unexpected dust storm. The resulting disorientation could greatly imperil any astronaut caught unprepared in such circumstances.

The purpose of this research was to explore how a disoriented astronaut might use radio signals to guide them to a target while on EVA. The core concept is to have the astronaut carry a radio antenna whose sensitivity is directional. Meanwhile, a navigation beacon at the target broadcasts a radio signal in all directions. If the astronaut is unable to locate their query by traditional means they can use the directional radio to determine the direction of the transmitting beacon, and therefore the direction they must walk to reach it.

Figure 1: Searching for the direction of maximum signal.

Experiment Setup

Prior to the mission I assembled a 3-element handheld Yagi antenna from schematics researched on the Internet. The particular design uses foldable elements made from steel tape measure and originated with Joe Leggio for use in amateur radio foxhunts [Leggio, 1993]. This design is lightweight and easy to stow due to the foldable elements. A coaxial cable with an SMA adapter allows the antenna to be plugged into virtually any portable ham radio.

The transmitter beacon is a commercial handheld ham radio with no special modifications. I created an audio file of a Morse signal toning the phrase, “This is the MDRS amateur navigation beacon crew 186”, and broadcast this signal from the beacon by connecting an iPod playing the audio file to the radio with an aux cable. In each test of the navigation experiment the radio beacon was located at the habitat and the Morse signal was broadcast at regular intervals by having a crewmember simply hold down the transmit button. A crewmember on EVA would then attempt to use the Yagi antenna to locate the direction of maximum signal and thereby the bearing to the habitat. The beacon was transmitted on the low power setting of the beacon radio (approximately 2.5 Watts) at a frequency of 146.565 MHz.

The Yagi antenna was used to aid EVA navigation on a total of four EVA’s, two of which were dedicated exclusively to testing its effectiveness. On the first two tests I followed a road on the outward trek and then attempted to follow the navigation signal along a straight line back to the habitat. This took me through unfamiliar terrain but did not adequately represent conditions of low visibility. On the later two tests I gave the antenna to a crewmember unfamiliar with amateur radio and covered the upper two thirds of their helmet with a cardboard visor. This restricted their vision to approximately 5 meters and prevented them from using landmarks to help them locate the habitat. Supporting members of the EVA then led the “lost astronaut” volunteer at least 2 kilometers from the habitat and monitored their safety as they attempted to return to the habitat using the radio alone.

Figure 2: Preparing the lost astronaut before EVA.

Results

The first two tests of the navigation antenna were useful for understanding its performance. The accuracy of the antenna in locating the direction to the beacon generally improves with distance. This is because close to the beacon the signal is strong enough to saturate the receiver even along its insensitive axis. The beacon signal therefore appears to originate from all directions. At greater distances the beacon signal is weak and careful pointing of the antenna may be required to receive it at all. At a distance of 4 kilometers the accuracy of the antenna in determining the bearing to the habitat appeared to be better than 10 degrees. This was reduced to over 90 degrees when within a kilometer of the habitat and worse still when even nearer.

During the tests I found that the poor accuracy of the antenna near the transmitter could be mitigated in the following way. The antenna is least sensitive to incoming signal along a direction parallel to the receiving elements. By searching instead for the direction of minimum signal I could deduce that the beacon was located at a right angle to my current pointing direction. This provided acceptable accuracy at sub-kilometer distances.

On the tests with the cardboard visor limiting the astronaut’s vision the difficulty of navigating by natural senses alone was professed by the arcing paths participants took prior to and in between broadcasts of the navigation beacon. In fact, on the final test the mock “lost astronaut” walked a complete circle with a radius less than 100 m in between two broadcasts of the beacon. To limit the drift of the astronaut’s path it was necessary to decrease the intervals between the beacon transmissions to a nearly continuous broadcast. In both tests with the cardboard visor the astronaut was able successfully navigate to within 500 meters of the habitat despite limited knowledge of their initial position and orientation.

I also note that the surrounding terrain did not appear to have a significant detrimental affect of the performance of the antenna, but this has been difficult to quantify.

Figure 3: Scanning to find the bearing to the hab.

Recommendations

The navigation experiments of MDRS Crew 186 suggest that a handheld directional antenna is a simple and effective means of EVA navigation in low visibility conditions. However, the current set up has several limitations which are noted below.

The current means of searching for the direction of maximum signal provides only the direct bearing to the transmitter beacon. As was found in several of the tests, following a direct path to the beacon is not always possible due to intervening terrain. The user is then on their own to determine an appropriate detour and this may act to further their disorientation. Additional information may be required beyond that provided by a directional antenna in order to navigate successfully.

At distances close to the transmitter the technique of searching for a direction at right angles to the directions of minimum signal proved satisfactory in our experiments. However, because there are always two such directions the astronaut is at risk of following a path directly away from the beacon instead of towards it. This is possible when receiving along the sensitive axis of the antenna as well, but is less likely because the signal strength received by the back lobe of the antenna is generally much weaker compared to the front. Instead of searching for the direction of minimum signal, a better solution would be to attach an attenuator between the antenna and receiver so that the astronaut can reduce the received signal when close to the beacon.

Finally, the rapid drift of participants from their initial heading in between broadcasts of the beacon suggests that either the navigation beacon should be broadcast continuously or astronauts should have some way of preserving their orientation while walking. The later option is desirable because terrain, weather, or the need to handle equipment may temporarily prevent the signal from being received. On Earth an obvious solution is to mark the desired bearing on a compass and follow it accordingly, but this will not work on Mars due to the lack of a global magnetic field.

Figure 4: Finding the habitat using its radio beacon.

Bibliography

Leggios, J. (1993), Tape Measure Beam Optimized for Radio Direction Finding, http://theleggios.net/wb2hol/projects/rdf/tape_bm.htm.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Geoffrey Andrews, Jennifer Pouplin, and Cesare Guariniello at Purdue University for their assistance fabricating and testing the Yagi antenna prior to the mission.

Nav Experiment 13Jan2018.docx

POSTED ONJANUARY 13, 2018
Science Report – January 13th
Science Report (Microbiology)

13JAN2018

Author: Samuel Albert, Crew 186 Health & Safety Officer

Collaborators:

-Marshall Porterfield, Ph.D., Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States

-Sarah Wallace, Ph.D., NASA JSC, Houston, TX, United States

-Sarah Stahl, M.S., NASA JSC, Houston, TX, United States

As part of my role as Health & Safety Officer of MDRS Crew 186, I have been conducting research on the microbial environment in the habitat and greenhouse at MDRS. To do this, I am using the sample-to-sequence method developed by spaceflight microbiologists at NASA including Dr. Sarah Wallace and Sarah Stahl, M.S. This method uses a combination of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and DNA sequencing technology. Specifically, I am using the miniPCR and minION devices, as were used in the Genes in Space-3 experiment on the International Space Station (ISS).

The testing at MDRS is meant to survey the microbial environment in the habitat as an analog for operational monitoring that would be necessary on a Mars base. The ability to perform real-time DNA sequencing will help diagnose infectious diseases and monitor crew health on long-duration space missions. Thus, conducting this research at MDRS increases the fidelity of simulation while collecting useful data on the microbial environment in the habitat.

Four runs were planned originally. The first run encountered errors and yielded poor results, only about 350 reads. The second run, which sampled from crops growing in the GreenHab, yielded much better results, over 600,000 reads. This run was in collaboration with the ongoing experiments by GreenHab Officer Mark Gee. The third run, which sampled from locations on the upper deck of the habitat, yielded strong results as well, about 26,000 reads. The fourth run, which sampled from the bathroom and shower area on the lower deck of the habitat, unfortunately yielded the worst results, with a paltry 34 reads. In the case of the first and fourth runs, any one of the many steps could have gone wrong to produce such a low read count, but the most likely reason is that the flow cells were damaged at some point. The fourth flow cell had over 1000 active pores when a quality control test was performed early in the mission, but less than 600 active pores immediately prior to sequencing.

Following the mission, all results will be analyzed to assess which microbes were found in the various sampling locations. Return samples are also being sent to the Dr. Wallace at Wyle Laboratories at NASA JSC for post-mission sequencing, which will help validate results for runs 2 and 3 and help provide results for runs 1 and 4. These results will be compared with data from similar studies on the ISS (i.e. Genes In Space-3) as well as with data from other analog stations.

Samuel Albert, Crew 186 Health & Safety Officer

POSTED ONJANUARY 10, 2018
Science Report – January 10th
Science Report – Microbiology

10JAN2018

Author: Samuel Albert, Crew 186 Health & Safety Officer

Of the four DNA sequencing runs originally planned, three have been completed so far. The first run encountered errors and yielded poor results, only about 350 reads. The second run, which sampled from crops growing in the GreenHab, yielded much better results, over 600,000 reads. The third run, which sampled from locations on the upper deck of the habitat, yielded strong results as well, about 26,000 results. The fourth run, which will be completed in the last few days of the mission, is planned to sample from the bathroom and shower area on the lower deck of the habitat. Following the mission, all results will be analyzed to assess which microbes were found in the various sampling locations.

POSTED ONJANUARY 8, 2018
Science Report – January 8th
Science: Geology

No geology was performed on today’s EVA, except for collection of salts and clay samples in the region of the Moons. However, there was quite a bit of good lab work: thanks to troubleshooting with PANalytical, the TREK portable spectrometer is able again to communicate with the geologist’s laptop which will allow for quantitative analysis of the spectra.
In the meanwhile, work on the samples collected in sol 4 show the richness of the Moons region: Yellow Moon yielded sulfates (mainly gypsum, in the form of selenite), clays (montmorillonite/nontronite, and illite), hematite, and even some light volcanic ash (andesite). Beige Moon have similar composition, with an abundance of large layers of very pure gypsum.
Sulfates and clays are present on Mars, and constitute regions of high geological interest, since they can indicate hydrothermal
paleoenvironment. Human mission could make use of certain types of clays, analogous to those here on Earth, for construction. This makes the research on those materials even more interesting!

POSTED ONJANUARY 7, 2018
Science Report – January 7th
Science: Geology

EVA #6 was by far the most exhausting of our first 7 sols, but it was definitely worth it (more details in the EVA report). Our excursion into our little “Noctis Labyrinthus”, which we named “Boilermaker Canyon”, brought us into a quite different geological setting than the Morrison formation around the hab. The region is deeply eroded by Muddy creek and its seasonal tributaries, and forms deep canyons and high-walled mesas. The lowest strata belong to the Entrada Sandstone, dating to the middle Jurassic (180-159 million years ago). The location was slightly further away from the Sundance Sea, therefore it is characterized by an impressive sequence of thin layers of sandstone, at times interrupted by mudstone collars. Green colored layers are indicative of wet conditions that occurred in swampy, stagnant environment (reducing environment). The predominant feature that distinguishes this formation to the far Northeast of the habitat is the presence of layers of finely grained salts, indicators of a shift from wet to dry conditions, in which shallow water produced evaporites. In addition, the whole thickness of the formation is crossed by a large number of clastic dikes, most of which constituted by evaporites.
The EVA crew collected samples of the salts and the sandstone both on the way down and at the bottom of the canyon.
Though the route is rough, I hope many geologists will take advantage of the opportunity to study this breathtaking region, which was to date unexplored by any MDRS crew.

Cesare Guariniello
Crew Geologist – Boilers2Mars
Mars Desert Research Station

POSTED ONJANUARY 5, 2018
Science Report – January 5th
Science: Geology

EVA #5 revisited the location to the East of Greenstone Rd, in search of the elusive hematite-coated “blueberries”. Unfortunately, though spectra showed traces of hematite mixed with clay, no spherules were located. Nonetheless, the long EVA was satisfactory since it went through a variety of terrains, including stream beds, dunes, and various layers of sandstone and conglomerate formations. On the way back, the crew stopped at the Kissing Camel Ridge, where -among the sandstone and mudstone layers of the Morrison formation- the crew found boulders collapsed from the Dakota sandstone and conglomerates that top the Morrison formation.

Cesare Guariniello, PhD

POSTED ONJANUARY 4, 2018
Science Report – January 4th
Science: Geology

EVA #4 brought our crew to the Northwest of the habitat, in a region called “Yellow Moon”. The whole region sits between the top member of the Morrison formation (Brushy Basin) and the bottom of Mancos shale, and it is heavily weathered, with soft clay soil. The predominant geological feature of this region is the presence of salts, especially gypsum, from the region of Glistening Seas, through Beige Moon and Grey Moon, all the way to Yellow Moon. Besides samples of crystals, we collected some sandstones with traces of salts.
The different accretion of gypsum crystals, most often occurring in thin layers, and rarely in romboid shape, suggests different water and evaporation processes. The samples will be analyzed in the laboratory, since the short EVA time was just enough for in-situ selection and collection. The area presents outstanding views of the whole region, as described in the EVA report.

Thank you
Cesare

POSTED ONJANUARY 3, 2018
Science Report – January 3rd
Imagine that you are planning an expensive trip to a remote, amazing location that you always dreamed about. A couple of days before your trip, already with your enthusiasm through the roof, you pack your bags with clothing, some electronics and a few treats. Then, you call the agency to discuss the final details, and they tell you that you will be able to drive your vehicle there, and you are welcome to sleep in it. The location is so remote that they do not have any building available for you. In addition, they cannot provide any water. Ah, and there is no gas station anywhere near.

You think a little bit, and realize that this means that you will have to carry with you all the water you need to stay there, and all the gas you need to come back. Furthermore, if you want to sleep in anything better than your car or a tent, you will need to bring with you all the materials to build a better habitat. Obviously, this solution is going to be very expensive because your car will not be enough to transport all of that: you will need a large truck, or maybe multiple vehicles.

However, you have always been quite brilliant, and you think of a possible solution that will allow you to still take your trip, at the cost of a little extra effort: you could figure out if there are water sources at your destination, maybe with the help of your friends who know some geology and some chemistry. Likewise, you decide that you might modify your car and make it capable of using some fuel that you will be able to find or produce at your destination. And if you could also find some building material, then you would need to carry only a few extra tools, but your car would still be enough to reach that breathtaking place!!! The beauty of this place, and the awe you will feel once you are there, are totally worth the work required to make the trip feasible.

This is exactly what all of the people involved in the effort of Mars exploration are doing. It is called ISRU, which stands for In-Situ Resource Utilization. It means that we will not carry everything we need with us, but we will study our destination, figure out what we can find or produce there, and how to do it. The geology research performed by crew 186 is supporting the study of potentially useful materials for ISRU on Mars. In particular, the crew is studying minerals that have been detected on Mars and that are used on Earth for construction and other applications (kaolinite, gypsum), in addition to materials that have geological interest (hematite spherules, sulfates) and occur in the same location. This is suggesting what ISRU materials could be find in regions of potential interest for human landing on Mars, and it will guide the choice of tools for collection of such materials.

The Geology report on Sol 1 described the goal of the geology project of crew 186 in technical details. Future reports will combine technical results and descriptions with other non-technical explanations (similar to this report) of the reasons for the research we do towards our common objective, so stay tuned!!!

Cesare Guariniello, PhD

POSTED ONJANUARY 2, 2018
Geology Report – January 2nd
Crew 186 Geology Report 02JAN2018

The plan of today’s EVA included the two locations that were not visited yesterday: the area East of Greenstone Rd and the area between Robert’s Rock Garden and Zubrin’s Head, both in the Morrison formation. During the drive outbound, the crew geologist gave a short introduction to the other EVA members, who had not participated in the first EVA.
The crew spent a long time in the field, and the geologist was able to select, analyze, and collect various samples of clays in different strata of the Morrison formation. The search for hematite spherules was only partially successful, with two potential candidates found in the second site. The geologist also recorded temperature of the samples, for later analysis of thermal inertia of the material. The problem with the portable spectrometer is currently being addressed by personnel at Purdue.

😊

Cesare Guariniello, PhD

POSTED ONJANUARY 1, 2018
Science Report – January 1st
Science: Geology.

The goal of the geologic project of Crew 186 is testing the use of remote sensing to identify suitable minerals for In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) and to analyze their physical properties for collection and use. Thus, several geology EVAs are scheduled, focusing on materials that are found on locations of geological interest on Mars.
The plan of today’s EVA included three locations, all within the Saltwash and Brushy Basin members of the Morrison formation, South and Southwest of the habitat: the area between URC South Site and Kissing Camel Ridge, the area between Robert’s Rock Garden and Zubrin’s Head, and the area East of Greenstone Rd. The crew geologist gave a short brief to the rest of the crew (a more in depth introduction to the geology of the area is scheduled for tomorrow), and instructed them on the type of samples to be collected during the EVA: different types of clays in the first two locations, and hematite inclusions (spherules, or “blueberries”) in the third one.

Due to delays in the first phases of simulation, the EVA started later than planned, and was consequently cut short. The EVA crew members reached only the first location, and upon directions by the geologist found appropriate samples. The samples were photographed and analyzed with the TREK portable spectrometer. Temperature of the samples was not recorded, due to the reduced duration of the EVA. The samples collected today were a chlorite sandstone, illite/hematite soil, a montmorillonite mudstone, and a clays conglomerate. Once back from the EVA, we reviewed the spectra of the samples, comparing them visually with the USGS library spectra; however, it was not possible to download the data from the portable spectrometer to a laptop, due to a software error which has not been yet been solved. We will work on the connection problem tomorrow, or failing that, all the analysis can be performed after we return to Earth.

HAPPY NEW YEAR
Cesare

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/category/science-report/page/5/ Source]

Crew 187 Science Reports

2019-03-24T19:05:35Z

NathanielFromMars: Created page with "Category:Science Reports FEBRUARY 16, 2018 Science Report – February 16th [English] Hello there! My name is Atila Meszaros and I have the honor of being the first int..."

[[Category:Science Reports]]

FEBRUARY 16, 2018
Science Report – February 16th
[English]

Hello there!

My name is Atila Meszaros and I have the honor of being the first intern of The Mars Society. I have been on MDRS for more than a month. During the first weeks (during the rotation of the Purdue crew), I researched all the literature and information necessary to start working on the Aquaponics project.

What is Aquaponics? It is a system that behaves like a small ecosystem: it combines fish, plants, and bacteria to generate processes of greater efficiency. The fish excrete ammonia, which if its accumulated becomes toxic, water with ammonia goes through biofilters, which contain nitrogen-fixing bacterias. These little ones, are responsible for the conversion of ammonia into nitrites and then nitrates, which, not only are not toxic but serve as nutrients for plants. In this way, the plants filter the water, which returns to the fish, practically new. The objective of this research is to verify if an aquaponics in a Martian Analogous Habitat is really advantageous, comparing to the common gardening methods.

I was one of the crew members of the fantastic Latin American crew 187. During my rotation, I was able to assemble almost all the equipment, while, at the same time, working with my project related to the resistance of Peruvian seeds to Martian analog soil. The seeds that I am using are quinoa and kiwicha. Both are fruits with high nutritional content, and knowing that both are powerful candidates for future Martian missions, is the goal of the project.

The crew of Supaero will be arriving tomorrow, and hopefully, the agronomic part (without fish) of the aquaponics will be working. To compensate for the lack of fish (and its residue: ammonia), external nutrients will be added. The aquaponics project is a long-term one, and to achieve all the goals, I will make a protocol guide which will serve the future Green Hab Officers so that they can be guided during the course of the project. I know it will be in very good hands.

On the other hand, the hunting of halophiles has just begun. Halophiles are beings that, not only support the high amounts of salts but, are in their optimal state. To find them, we are looking for gypsum in different areas where their presence has been previously registered. We have already defined the points of interest and I have already been trained for the hunt.

Also, I consider myself Shannon’s assistant and I try to support in everything that is necessary. One of my personal goals is to learn as much as I can from her. She is a fantastic person and above all, an incredible teacher.

In the course of these weeks, the number of science reports will increase, so check it out!

At the end of the internship, I will make a final report with all the projects we have done and the progress of all the investigations.

It is an honor to be able to give my small grain of sand to this great project that is Mars.

Ad Astra!

Atila Meszaros

[Español]

¡Hola a todos!

Mi nombre es Atila Meszaros y tengo el honor de ser el primer interno de The Mars Society. Me encuentro en el MDRS desde hace más de un mes. Durante las primeras semanas (durante la rotación de la tripulación de Purdue), investigué toda la literatura e información necesaria para empezar a trabajar en el proyecto del Aquaponics.

¿Qué es el Aquaponics? Es un sistema que se comporta como un pequeño ecosistema: combina peces, plantas y bacterias para generar procesos de mayor eficiencia. Los peces excretan amoniaco, el cual al acumularse llega a ser tóxico, el agua con amoniaco pasa a través de biofiltros, los cuales contienen bacterias fijadoras de nitrógeno. Estas pequeñas son las encargadas de convertir el amoniaco en nitritos y posteriormente en nitratos, los cuales, no solo no son tóxicos, sino sirven como nutrientes para las plantas. De esta manera, las plantas filtran el agua, la cual regresa hacia los peces, prácticamente nueva. El objetivo de la investigación es comprobar si es realmente ventajoso un aquaponics en un Habitat Análogo Marciano, respecto a los métodos de jardinería comunes.

Fui uno de los tripulantes de la fantástica tripulación latinoamericana 187. Durante mi rotación, pude ensamblar casi todo el equipo, mientras trabajaba a la par en mi proyecto relacionado con la resistencia de semillas peruanas a suelo análogo marciano. Las semillas que estoy usando son de quinoa y kiwicha. Ambas son de los frutos con mayor contenido nutricional, y saber que ambas son potentes candidatas para futuras misiones marcianas, es el objetivo del proyecto.

La tripulación de Supaero estará llegando el día de mañana, y con suerte la parte agropónica (sin peces) del aquaponics estará funcionando. Para compensar la falta de peces (y su residuo: amoniaco), se añadirá nutrientes externos. El proyecto del aquaponics, es uno a largo plazo, y para conseguir todos los objetivos voy a realizar una guía protocolo la cual servirá a los futuros Green Hab Officers para que puedan guiarse durante el transcurso de la investigación. Sé que estará en muy buenas manos.

Por otro lado, la caza de los halófilos recién ha empezado. Los halófilos son seres que, no solo soportan las altas cantidades de sales, sino que, en ella, se encuentran en su estado óptimo. Para encontrarlos, estamos buscando en yeso en distintas áreas donde ya se ha registrado anteriormente su presencia. Ya hemos definido los puntos de interés y ya he sido entrenado para la cacería.

También, me considero el ayudante de Shannon y apoyo en todo lo que sea necesario. Uno de mis objetivos personales del internado es aprender todo lo que pueda de ella. Es una fantástica persona y sobre todo, una increíble maestra.

En el transcurso de estas semanas, los reportes de ciencias van a aumentar, por todo el trabajo que estaremos haciendo. ¡Échele un ojo!

Al finalizar el internado, realizaré un reporte final con todos los proyectos que hemos realizado y los avances de todas las investigaciones.

Es un honor poder dar mi pequeño grano de arena a este gran proyecto que es Marte.

Ad Astra!

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 10, 2018
Science Report – February 10th
Update information:

The crew who vomited yesterday recovered well.

The crew performed regular work completely.

The crew had enough sleep and rest in the last night.

The crew had breakfast and lunch today as normal. Currently, the crew has an appetite.

There are no adverse symptoms relating to the allergy observed for the crew.

Status:
Recovered

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Tatsunari Tomiyama, AHFP

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 2, 2018
Science Report – February 2nd
Astronomy Report

Name: Julia De Marines

Crew: 188

Date: 02/02/2018

Sky conditions: Hazy

Wind conditions: low to none

Observation start time 4:30 pm

Observation end time: 5:00 pm

Summary: The last two days have been fairly cloudy and I decided to wait until a sunny day to begin solar observing. This morning was very clear and sunny but I was out on an EVA until 13:00 hours. After lunch and some down time I went out to use the Helioscope. By the time I familiarized myself with the equipment and procedures and programing the teslecope, the sun was starting to get low on the horizon. Also, I goofed and put in Daylight Savings Time instead of Standard Time, so I had to redo the programming of the telescope to be positioned correctly. I have a similar control to my personal telescope so it wasn’t a big deal; however, it just ate away at precious time. By the time I had the sun in the eyepiece, it was quite challenging to be able to see the Sun as the eyepiece was too high. I wasn’t sure if there was a way to rotate the direction of the eyepiece to yield a more favorable angle. I didn’t see an obvious way but perhaps I missed something. Stepping on the small chair in the dome is not a safe idea either. I was able to snap a few shots of the sun though the H-Alpha filter through my phone but it is probably not in focus and the sun was dipping below the lip of the dome retractable door.

Objects viewed: Sun

Problems encountered: Eyepiece too high to easily view the sun. Programmed the scope incorrectly at first, observed too late in the day.

Further questions: I was hoping to get some advice or suggestions on an astrophotography artist project I had in mind. I was inspired by watching the sun setting over the nearby hills and I was wondering if there would be a way to capture my crew eclipsing the sun as it is setting over the hill? It isn’t feasible with the Helioscope because the lip of the dome door is too high and I think the magnification is too high. Also, I think the Hab will eclipse the dome before the Sun sets judging by the shadow of the hab as I was leaving the dome. With the equipment we have available, can you think of a way to do this? We were able to accomplish this at Sommers Bosch observatory in Boulder but it’s been too long for me to recall details of how they did this. Please let me know if you have any suggestions for a safe way to accomplish this! Thank you!

[end]

POSTED ONJANUARY 20, 2018
Science Report – January 20th
Good evening Earthlings,

A summary of the crewmembers research follows:

DANTON BAZALDUA, WALTER CALLES

REMOTE SENSING IN MARS ANALOGUE SURFACE

This drone will map the soil of the MDRS during two weeks which will help to take images at 40 meters of height to be later analyzed by a digital processing software which will help us to better understand the characteristics of the Mars surface as well the automatic pilot of drone will help to astronauts recollecting information in difficult areas to explore. After that Using digital image processing algorithms, we will determine the characteristics of the surface of the MDRS using Matlab to analyze the images taken by the drone.

DANTON BAZALDUA, WALTER CALLES

REMOTE SENSING OF VITAL SIGNS

This device will monitor with the E.C.G sensor as well as some important aspects like the pressure before each EVA of Crew 187 LATAM-II. This device will be able to measure the internal temperature of the astronaut as well as the humidity inside the suit in addition ECG module moreover the body position, galvanic response skin that will transmit the data to the user interface to PC and will get the support to Crew 187.

DANTON BAZALDUA, BETEL MARTINEZ

COGNITIVE FUNCTION DYNAMICS IN A MARTIAN ANALOGUE SIMULATION

Analyze the dynamics of different cognitive abilities and its relationship with fatigue levels during the mission, in astronauts and to compare them against a matched control group of external participants not related to the Analogue Simulation. Fourteen adults will be part of the study. A control/cases design will be employed. 7 subjects that are part of the astronauts group of Crew 187 LATAM-II and seven persons paired to every participant from the cases group will be used as the control group. The groups will be paired by the sex, age, lateral dominance and level of studies. The subjects from the support group and the control paired will be chosen voluntarily. The study will be divided in three stages: “pre-mission”, “during-mission” and “post-mission “In each stage, fourteen participants will solve assigned COGNIFIT and Multidimensional Fatigue Test.

COOPERATION DYNAMICS IN A MARTIAN ANALOGUE SIMULATION

Researcher: DANTON BAZALDUA, BETEL MARTINEZ

Analyze the dynamics of cooperation and reciprocity between the Analogue Simulation Crew 187 LATMA-II members 2 women and 4 men between 23 and 30 years old will be part of the study. After that the information of the cooperative behavior between crew members during the analogue simulation to Mars, will be apply a Collective-Risk Social Dilemma in which six astronauts will be players and one coordinator. This task will be applied five times for two weeks.

Researcher: ATILA MESZAROS

Our search for the lovers of extreme just began. Halophiles are organisms that can flourish on high salinity environments, and MDRS sorroundings are the perfect place to haunt them. We’ve made a Halophile Sampling Method Protocol for tomorrow’s EVA to perform a regular sampling on El Dorado Canyon and it will be useful for our next explorations on Copernicus Highway.

The aquaponics isn’t running yet, but it’s almost completely build up. New Moringa seeds are coming pretty soon. We are waiting to do some equipment tests and after that, only one week will be necessary to start running it.

Today Atila’s project related to quinoa and kiwicha just began, pictures showing the planted pots with the seeds on the Mars analog soil are attached. We are looking forward to seeing those babies germinate. Previous germination test suggests that we are expecting seedlings for Sol 12. We will let you know

Researcher: Luis Jose Antonio Diaz Lopez

It was checked that the control modules: DS18B20 + RTC DS3132 + SD CARD are working correctly. The programming of the microcontroller is ready to perform the measurement of the two temperature sensors to obtain the values inside and outside the suit used during the EVA’s. The data sensors are transmitted to a cell phone via a bluetooth module and also store them in a .csv file inside a microsd card for further processing. Tomorrow (SOL 9) it will be tested in a EVA.

Researcher: Tania Robles

Science communication and documentary to space projects of young scientist and professionals in Latin America.

Progress: The documentary process on the participation of young people in space science and technology in Latin America has advanced. According to the observation of the behavior and participation of the crew members, videos and notes about each member have been taken.

Today, the first personal interview was held with the GreenHab Officer, where personal and professional issues related to their projects, decisions and future in the space area in their country and in the international community have been addressed.

In the following days, the missing members will be interviewed and shots will be taken in each one of the work and development environments of the crew members.

Researcher: Oscar Ojeda

Progress: There are two projects in course, the testing of the Cóndor Space Suit Simulator, and the Testing of the PXCM based wheel for a planetary rover. All systems had to be transported completely unassembled, so the first task was related with the assembly and testing of them. At this point the Rover is completely assembled and the software will be tested in the next two Sols. The Space Suit Simulator has already been assembled and tested on short range and mid-range EVAs, the systems of the suit are all nominal, and further testing on mid and long range EVAs will be undertaken in the last 7 Sols.

Researcher: David Mateus

The lysimeter has been assembled and calibrated, in this moment it is tested with Martian soil and without plants. tomorrow It is expected to replant quinoa over the soil that it is tested. The idea is to measure evapotranspiration over this soil, in order to make a list of recommendations to improve the conditions on the greenhab, with the objective of reducing this phenomenon.

Researcher: Cynthia Yacel Fuertes Panizo

Mobile application as help agent in MDRS

Progress:

The purpose of the application is to benefit the majority of the crew members, that’s why I analyzed the market share of mobile operating systems worldwide, a report published quarterly by Gartner, a leading company in market research. worldwide in the technology area. Therefore, the app will be developing to Android.

In order to choose the software of the tools that will be necessary like game engine, IDE (Integrated Development Environment) and augmented reality SDK, the following methodology will be use: First, list the different kind of software of each tool. Second, get the list of the top software. The third step is composed by two parts quantitative and qualitative analysis. Finally, the software of the tools is selected. In this way, Unity (game enginee), Monodevelop (IDE) and Vuforia (augmented reality SDK) are chosen (1).

One of the outputs of this project is an app for the crew astronomers. The target of this app will be the Hand Control of the Musk Observatory, and as it’s appreciate in the picture attached, the app already recognizes the real Hand control.

(1) C. Fuertes Panizo, “Aplicativo móvil de realidad aumentada para mejorar el proceso de enseñanza – aprendizaje”, 2017.

POSTED ONJANUARY 15, 2018
Astronomy Report – January 15th
Science – Astronomy

Name: Cynthia Fuertes Panizo

Crew: 187

Date: 15JAN2018

Sky Conditions: N/A

Wind Conditions: N/A

Observation Start Time: N/A

Observation End Time: N/A

Summary:

Just the status of the Musk Observatory was checked.

· Inside the Manual box was a battery (picture 1).

· Inside Quick Guides box, the Quick Guide and a hand control were found with an advice that said “Spare hand control. Please do not use unless instructed by the astronomy team”. Don’t worry, there is not an intention to use it (picture 2).

· The black box “Sirius Observatories” was turn on. After cheeked the full status of the Musk Observatory, I turned it off (picture 3).

· The picture of the astronomy box is attached (picture 4).

· The astronomy laptop was found in a case on the shelf in the lower hab (picture 5).

· In general, the Musk Observatory looks in good condition. I can’t wait to see the sun from Mars.

Objects Viewed: N/A

Problems Encountered: N/A

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/category/science-report/page/4/ Source]

Crew 186 Sol Summaries

2019-03-24T19:02:53Z

NathanielFromMars: Created page with "Category:Sol Summaries POSTED ONJANUARY 12, 2018 Sol Summary – January 12th Crew 186 Sol 12 Summary Report 12JAN2018 Sol 12 Summary Title: A Bountiful Harvest Before..."

[[Category:Sol Summaries]]

POSTED ONJANUARY 12, 2018
Sol Summary – January 12th
Crew 186 Sol 12 Summary Report 12JAN2018

Sol 12

Summary Title: A Bountiful Harvest Before Entry Interface

Author’s name: Max Fagin

Mission Status: Nearly complete…

Sol Activity Summary: After an animated debate over dimensional analysis and its applicability to breakfast foods (TLDR, we found a way for ‘The Pancake’ to be used as a non-SI unit of time, of distance, and of mass and energy; Manuscripts to be submitted to both Nature and Science upon our return) we geared up for the final EVA of our mission to the base of Skyline Rim. Once the EVA team had departed, Mark and Max began to harvest the microgreens from GreenHab. The EVA team returned with spectra and samples of the shales found in the region, along with a handful of shell fossils they had picked up on the way back through the Moons region. On Mars, such a discovery would be the scientific finding of the century. But here in the Moons region, they are so common as for it to be almost impossible to avoid stepping on them.

Once the sun had set, the team rotated through GreenHab and the Science dome collecting, weighing and cataloging our bountiful harvest of radish microgreens, green beans, cilantro, dill and lettuce. Finally, for our last meal in sim before our return to Earth, we subjected the food to its most critical experiment of all: Ingestion.

Look Ahead Plan: Tomorrow is handoff day. Looking forward to meeting the members of Crew 187 who are now en route. Safe travels!

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: 11C, Wind calm, Fair, Humidity 40%

Crew Physical Status: Healthy

EVA: Geological sampling of shales in the colluvial fan at the base of Skyline Ridge

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Operations Report, Science Report (Geology), Journalist Report, GreenHab Report, EVA Report, Mission Summary

Support Requested: None

POSTED ONJANUARY 11, 2018
Sol Summary – January 11th
Crew 186 Sol 11 Summary Report 11JAN2018

Sol 11

Summary Title: The first of the lasts

Author’s name: Max Fagin

Mission Status: Preparing for a grand finale EVA to a geology site we have saved especially for our last EVA.

Sol Activity Summary: The sun came back out today, much to our appreciation (and the appreciation of our solar panels). Any problem can be fixed in a spacecraft as long as you still have power and comms, and it has been a great weight off our shoulders to only view cloudy days as a mild annoyance, rather than a critical power threat as they might be on a pure solar mission.

The clear weather allowed for our last navigation EVA to take place as scheduled. We now have four complete demonstrations of an astronaut using nothing but the radio beacon to safely return to the hab, two where the astronaut had no experience with the system, and an impaired range of vision. I’m very pleased with Justin for producing such a practical aid to navigation in places where no gps is available (such as Mars … for now at least). It’s an early back to school for some of us, as Melanie has begun taking us on short engineering EVAs to test the efficacy of the VR training module she has developed for teaching EVA tasks. Around the hab, we continue to check off the last remaining items on our individual projects so we can face handoff with a clear schedule.

On a personal note, today was the first day I really saw GreenHab as more than just a greenhouse. I remember contributing to the Kickstarter campaign to rebuild Greenhab after the fire, and it has made me immeasurably proud to see it continue to thrive and grow under Mark’s skillful control while we are here. Stepping into the tropical heat and humidity of GreenHab today after a cold and dry EVA felt as relaxing as stepping into a hot tub. I sat down amidst the plants to appreciate the magnificent oasis thriving in this red/brown landscape, and the environment was so placid that I was not at all surprised when I woke up 15 minutes later to find I had drifted to sleep in my chair. Greenhouse, oasis, zen garden, GreenHab is much more now than just a place where plants grow.

Look Ahead Plan: Our last EVA will take place tomorrow, with one final geological survey to the highest elevation site on our list at the base of Skyline Ridge. Harvesting of our carefully grown GreenHab bounty will also take place tomorrow, we are planning to exit sim at noon on Saturday 01/13.

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: 6C, Wind SSE 8km/h, Fair, Humidity 52%

Crew Physical Status: Healthy

EVA: Preliminary photography of the Plane of Dirt / Skyline Ridge region for the last geology EVA, then walk back to the hab to test the radio navigation system.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Operations Report, GreenHab Report, Journalist Report, EVA Report, EVA Request

Support Requested: None.

POSTED ONJANUARY 9, 2018
Sol Summary – January 9th
Crew 186 Sol 9 Summary Report 09JAN2018

Sol 9

Summary Title: Weathering the mild storm

Author’s name: Max Fagin

Mission Status: Spending the day in hab due to a light snow

Sol Activity Summary: We awoke to cloudy skies and a light snow dusting all around the habitat. The snow was still falling by the time we had finished morning yoga and breakfast, so we decided to postpone today’s EVA. The snow let up by the late morning, but by that point, too much time had passed to complete the EVA before our scheduled return time. This will happen on Mars, there is no more a guarantee of cooperative weather there than there is on Earth, and it’s something future crews will have to learn to work around. Instead we broke out our blankets, sleeping bags, and laptops, and spent the rest of the day working on our own projects. We shared an all crew lunch of mac-n-cheese prepared by Melanie (which was a nice departure from routine, as we are usually on our own for lunch due to EVA scheduling). GreenHab is nearing harvest time, and two dinners from now we are planning a green feast of its bounty of microgreen, lettuce, beans and herbs. And we were even happier to receive a radio call in the afternoon indicating a supply ship had delivered us a new bread maker! We have set it up in our kitchen, and are planning to break it in (de-flour it?) at dinner tonight.

Look Ahead Plan: The uncompleted EVA 8, scheduled for today from 1030-0130, will be rescheduled to tomorrow from 1230-0330, which is after the rain/snow is forecasted to have stopped and the temperatures will have risen above freezing. Sam Albert will also be replaced with Mark Gee as the lost astronaut, but the route and objectives of the EVA remain unchanged.

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: 3C, Wind N 6MPH, Overcast, Humidity 87%

Crew Physical Status: Healthy

EVA: None

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Operations Report, Journalist Report, GreenHab Report, EVA Request, (no EVA report)

Support Requested: The snow and sleet can be heard falling through the vent holes at the escape hatch at the top of the habitat. We have put two old dish towels across the chicken wire to catch it and keep the wooden floor of the attic dry. Is this acceptable as a permanent solution?

POSTED ONJANUARY 8, 2018
Sol Summary – January 8th
Crew 186 Sol 8 Summary Report 08JAN2018

Sol 8

Summary Title: Back to the moon(s of mars)

Author’s name: Max Fagin

Mission Status: All but one of our target EVA sites have been reached, and we are now revisiting sample sites we weren’t able to hit on the first visit. We are also making sure our individual projects will be finished by the end of the mission (just 5 sols from now!).

Sol Activity Summary: Our last EVA to the Moons region was cut short, so we revisited each of the Moons regions and collected a sample of the clay and salt at each site that we had not been able to get the first time. The color contrast from region to region was remarkable to behold; blues, reds, yellows, greys, all due to just small changes in soil chemistry. After we got within 2km of the hab on the way back, we dismounted and tested the radio beacon system to navigate the rest of the way home. Justin and Kshitij then ran a quick three sorties back on the rover to recover the ATVs. Once we were all back at the hab and warmed up, we did some planning for a media event the entire crew will be participating in 2 days from now for students and faculty back at Purdue. Mark spent the day in GreenHab composing some documents to aid future GreenHab officers, Melanie continued the programming of her VR training module, while Sam and Cesare caught up on their own experiments in the science dome.

When we all were back at the hab, Sam filmed a tour of the entire MDRS facility with each of us explaining our roles as part of the crew, then we settled in for an evening episode of ‘Black Mirror’, which has become our crew’s go-to mode for relaxation (And if you’ve ever seen ‘Black Mirror’ you’ll understand why its success at relaxing us is… mixed.)

Look Ahead Plan: Today was the first completely successful test of the navigation system on EVA, we will attempt to replicate the results tomorrow under more challenging conditions on a shorter EVA. The weather forecast is looking less favorable for the next 48 hours, so all EVA plans will be weather contingent.

Anomalies in work: None.

Weather: 1C, winds calm, humidity 80%, Pressure 30.20 inHg

Crew Physical Status: Healthy

EVA: Yellow moon, white moon, beige moon, walk back

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Operations Report, Journalist Report, Science Report, Greenhab Report, EVA Report, EVA Request

Support Requested: None

POSTED ONJANUARY 7, 2018
Sol Summary – January 7th
Crew 186 Sol 7 Summary Report 07JAN2018

Sol 7

Summary Title:

Author’s name: Max Fagin

Mission Status: Back into our regular routine after our relaxing day off

Sol Activity Summary: Today was a follow-up EVA east of the Maxwell Montes area to try and get up close to the stratified cuts in the canyon wall that we found on EVA 3. The USGS topo maps that we had downloaded before our mission made navigation through the canyon possible, but still error-prone. We were not able to reach the stratified layer feature we had previously located, but we did locate another wall along the way in a side canyon with an equally good stratified structure and elected to conduct our sampling there instead of continuing on to the target site (which was still 0.5 miles away). As this canyon is just off the edge of the MDRS map and has no feature name, we have elected to informally name it after our college mascot, Boilermaker Canyon. See the EVA report for more details on navigation. Tonight we plan to make time for some astronomy and an early bedtime.

Look Ahead Plan: Tomorrow’s EVA will revisit the Moons region to target the sites we missed on the first visit to the region, then conduct a walk back experiment with the navigation equipment.

Anomalies in work: The commander experienced communication troubles on this EVA when a radio battery started giving a low voltage warning while en route to the site. By turning the radio off and only turning it on when communications were required, we were able to extend its life until we reached the EVA site. But it meant that the commander was required to always remain within easy reach of another crew member so instructions could be relayed to turn on their radio via hand gestures or simulated helmet contact. As the commander was responsible for navigation, the commander and engineer swapped radios on the way back and walked single file with the incommunicado radio in the 2nd position in line, ensuring the commander had good comm and could direct the navigation out of the canyon. HSO also experienced a loss of radio comms while walking back to the rovers, but this was traced back to the radio inadvertently being placed in scan mode. Communications were restored once this way corrected.

As this is now the second time an apparently fully charged radio has failed to hold charge on EVA, we are implementing a new policy on all our future EVAs that 2 fully charged spare radios will be put in the EVA box, and carried with the EVA team at all times, to be swapped in the event of a low radio battery. This was the most physically intensive EVA we had conducted so far, and we made use of the reserve water supply once we returned to the rovers, drinking it through a camelback to avoid breaking sim. See the EVA report for full details.

Weather: 5C, Wind NNE 9 MPH, Clear, Visibility 10 miles, Barometer 30.25 inHg

Crew Physical Status: Healthy

EVA: Muddy River Canyon east of Maxwell Montes, 5.0 hrs, spectral and geological sampling of the stratified layers in the canyon wall.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Operations Report, Journalist Report, Greenhab Report, HSO Report, EVA Report, EVA Request

Support Requested: None

POSTED ONJANUARY 6, 2018
Sol Summary – January 6th

Crew 186 Sol 6 Summary Report 06JAN2018

Sol 6

Summary Title: The Shared Mythos of Mars

Author’s name: Max Fagin

Mission Status: Enjoying our first day of light duty and the chance to catch up on our individual work.

Sol Activity Summary: As grad students, soon to be grad students or recently escaped grad students, one of our greatest pleasures is to sleep in. And today we did just that, in celebration of reaching the midpoint of our 13 sol mission. We woke on our own schedule, and enjoyed a brunch of scrambled eggs and french toast. We recommend a new standing policy be implemented on Mars missions: AHTBMR, aka, “Always Have The Bread Maker Running”.

A passing comment about Game of Thrones (which GreenHab officer Mark Gee had finished reading that morning) became an engaging discussion about authorial intent and the discernment of canon in fictional universes, over the course of 2 hours spanned such topics as the Star Wars Holiday Special, Ender’s Game, the Bible, and literary theorist Roland Barthes’ essay “Death of the Author”. In the course of the discussion, I was reminded of a remarkable question that only future Mars colonization will answer: How will future Martians view our current stories about Mars and the people who live there? Will characters like John Carter, Sax Russell, Rebecca Sherman, Mark Watney and Bobbie Draper become modern myths to the new Martians? The exploration of Mars is the first instance of humans building a culture on top of a preexisting shared mythology in fiction. Will future Martians adopt that existing mythology as their own, or will they decide to make unto themselves a new one?

We spent the rest of day relaxing around the hab, tending to our own experiments in the science dome and in GreenHab, and driving the NorCal Mars Society Rover around the hab (the rover was confronted by a 4 legged alien that retreated as soon as the rover advanced towards them. Photo of it is in the journalist report, awaiting identification). After sunset, sleet started to fall, and we settled in for a nice dinner and game night, featuring a custom card game designed for our mission by our Crew Journalist, Justin Mansell. The rules of “Mars Quest” are coming in a separate email if you want to follow along at home!

Look Ahead Plan: The sleet has made the ground icy around the hab, and even though the weather for tomorrow is forecasted to be clear, we won’t do an EVA if the ground is icy. But if conditions permit, we plan to revisit the region North East of Maxwell Montes that we visited on EVA 3, as we believe we have found a walking route on the topo maps that would allow us to enter the mouth of the canyon from the south, and access the stratified layers we could previously only photograph from the canyon’s west rim.

Anomalies in work: None (generator and water consumption issues believed to be resolved).

Weather: 2C, light sleet, overcast

Crew Physical Status: Healthy

EVA: None.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Operations Report, Journalist Report, Greenhab Report, Astronomy Report, EVA Request

Support Requested: None

POSTED ONJANUARY 5, 2018
Sol Summary Report – January 5th
Crew 186 Sol 5 Summary Report 05JAN2018

Sol 5

Summary Title: The Hunt for Blueberries and Microbial DNA

Author’s name: Max Fagin

Mission Status: Excited for our first scheduled R&R

Sol Activity Summary: We awoke today to Hans Zimmer’s “Elysium” from the movie Gladiator. Clouds had rolled in as forecasted, preventing the solar panels from being used for daytime power. The generator had failed during the night, and while it was easy to restart, it took a few attempts before it kept running for more than ~10 seconds. We suspect it simply had to warm up, but our reducing the hab power load before turning on the generator may have also helped. After breakfast, we prepared for our first 5 crew EVA to Greenstone Rd to continue the hunt for the hematite blueberries that had eluded us on our first and second EVA. After suit up and a brief radio discussion with Shannon, we decided to drop the navigation component of the EVA and focus on pure geology. Unfortunately, although we spent almost 3 hours on site with 5 pairs of eyes, and obtained multiple geological samples and spectra from around the area (including from the laser spectrometer generously lent to us by NASA Ames) we were not able to find any Hematite Blueberry formations. This evening, we got our first positive results from Sam’s microbe DNA experiment after swabbing around the hab. The PCR machine will continue to run throughout the night, and we eagerly await tomorrow’s results!

Look Ahead Plan: To commemorate reaching the midpoint of our mission, tomorrow will be a light duty day of Hab upkeep and catching up on photo/video uploads and emails, followed by some R&R. No EVAs are planned for tomorrow.

Anomalies in work: Generator failures

Weather: -2C, Winds E at 5 MPH, visibility 10 miles,

Crew Physical Status: Healthy

EVA: Greenstone Rd, 3.0 hrs, Geological sampling and search for hematite blueberries

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Journalist Report, Operations Report, Science Report (Geology), Greenhab Report, EVA Report

Support Requested: The generator failures are concerning, as we have no way to detect them unless someone is outside or in the science dome to hear the generator turn off. We can schedule a round of hourly checks, but it would interfere with our sleep schedule. Any recommendations on ways to prevent/detect the generator failures?

Our water conservation efforts are probably not going to be sufficient, as we are projecting a ~1 sol deficit in our initial allotment of 550 gallons. Of this, 40% is going to Hab usage for drinking, washing and hygiene, 7% is watering our crop experiments, and 53% to watering the crops that were present in GreenHab at handoff. Would it be possible to schedule a water resupply so that we can ensure no interruption to the crops?

Tomorrow we plan to catch up on the photo/video backlog that we have developed. We have heard conflicting reports on upload limits during regular hours. Is it truly unlimited, or is that a mistake?

POSTED ONJANUARY 4, 2018
Sol Summary – January 4th
Crew 186 Sol 4 Summary Report 04JAN2018

Sol 4

Summary Title: The Moons of Mars and the Greens of Earth

Author’s name: Max Fagin

Mission Status: All nominal

Sol Activity Summary: Geologically, Earth’s moon has very little in common with Mars. The geological processes that have shaped the surface of our Moon (vulcanism and impacts) are very different than the geological processes that have shaped the surface of Mars (water and wind). But sitting in an intriguing middle ground are Mars’ moons, Phobos and Deimos. By most metrics, Mars’ moons are fairly typical asteroids, but their proximity to Mars has caused their surfaces to become blanketed in Martian material kicked up by asteroid strikes and swept up by the moons as they snowplow through the space surrounding the planet. As three members of our crew have done thesis level work on how hard it is to land on Mars, we are acutely aware that the first Mars sample return mission may not sample Mars at all, but rather, the impact debris that Mars has deposited onto its moons. In this theme, today a team composed of Cesare, Melanie, Sam and Mark conducted an EVA to the region 5 km North West of the Hab known as “The Moons” (Yellow Moon, Beige Moon, Gray Moon and White Moon). Last night, Cesare gave the entire crew a seminar on the geology of the surrounding area so we could be on the lookout for interesting features on geology EVAs like this one.

We had originally budgeted time for three stops in the region for spectral measurements and sample collection, but the process of strapping the expensive and delicate equipment to our ATVs meant our estimates were incorrect, and we reached our turnaround time after only sampling one. So we must add this site to the increasingly long list of sites that will get a follow-up in a later EVA. Far more science to be done than scientists to do it will be part of a real mission to Mars, but it doesn’t make that constraint any easier to accept!

When the EVA team returned, they were greeted by the sight of the NorCal Mars Society rover wheeling out to meet their ATVs. The rover was successfully navigated for three complete circuits of the campus while the team was out. The ideal Mars exploration mission will utilize robotic resources of every kind (orbital, airborne, and surface) and it’s good to have at least one of those joining our mission.

This evening, Mark took us on a tour of GreenHab where the microgreens he planted 2 days ago are already starting to sprout. Flowers from GreenHab already adorn our dinner table, and near the end of our mission, we expect GreenHab’s food will too.

Look Ahead Plan: In an attempt to check off our science goals more rapidly, tomorrow’s EVA will be a hybrid geology and navigation EVA along the southern end of Cow Dung Rd. The geology team will explore sites south of kissing camel ridge, and drop off the navigation team to attempt a walk back under limited visibility conditions with the navigation beacon.

Anomalies in work: ATV 300 wouldn’t start this morning. We tried starting it again after returning from EVA, after it had been sitting in the sun for 2 hours, and it started up as expected. It was probably just too cold.

Weather: 0C, Winds Calm, Visibility 10 miles, Barometer 30.30 inHg

Crew Physical Status: Healthy

EVA: The Moons, 2.5 hours, geological sampling and spectra of clays in the region

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Operations Report, GreenHab Report, Science Report (Geology), Journalist Report w. Photo of the Day, EVA Report,EVA Request

Support Requested: We are exceeding our maximum daily water consumption target of 40 gal/sol as GreenHab operations ramp up, and are implementing tighter controls on water use to allow GreenHab as much water as possible. We are considering implementing a “3 bin” dishwashing system, any other recommendations on effective water saving strategies would be welcome.

POSTED ONJANUARY 3, 2018
Sol Summary Report – January 3rd
Crew 186 Sol 03 Summary Report 03JAN2018

Sol 03

Summary Title: Where No One Has Gone Before But Many Will Soon

Author’s name: Max Fagin (Commander)

Mission Status: Firmly into the routine of exploring Mars, even though there is nothing routine about it!

Sol Activity Summary: We began with a marathon 4.5 hour EVA to a previously unexplored region near Maxwell Montes, leading to a remarkable box canyon with perfectly vertical stratified layers (see our Photo of the day). On the way back, we split up and successfully tested the navigation beacon meant to help a lost astronaut find their way back to the hab in poor visibility conditions. We also had our first successful use of the Hanksville Repeater “communication satellite” on EVA to bridge some of the regions where direct communication between the Hab and the EVA team was otherwise not possible. This was the first EVA to use all exo-suits, and they performed well beyond expectations (see EVA report). The evening discussion was occupied by important philosophical issues like whether ‘Dune” was best described as “Game of Thrones in Space” or if Game of Thrones was better described as “Dune in the Middle Ages.” Today is GreenHab Officer Mark’s birthday! Celebrations are planned for tonight to commemorate his becoming a preteen (in Mars years anyway).

Look Ahead Plan: Tomorrow is a medium length Geology EVA to White Moon, Beach Moon and Yellow Moon to the north of the hab. The Phoenix rover will also be put to work around the campus.

Anomalies in work: Kinked fuel line running from the generator and apparent leak from under the Hab (see support requested and Operations report)

Weather: 0C, Wind calm, Visibility 10 miles, Barometer 30.31 inHg

Crew Physical Status: Healthy

EVA: North East of Maxwell Montes, 4.5 hours, photographic survey and geological sampling

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Journalist Report, Greenhab Report, EVA #3 Report, EVA #4 Request, EVA #3 Request (see Commander’s note)

Support Requested: We discovered a kinked fuel line by the generator and an apparent water leak coming from under the hab near the EVA airlock porch. Photos are attached to the operations report, please advise if these need repair.

*****

Commanders Note: There was a communication slip on our end last night. We realized after we got back from EVA #3 today that the sol summary indicated the EVA #3 request was ready, but that it never actually got transmitted, nor did it get approved. We did discuss the intended target with Shannon in the Sol summary email thread, and clarified our intended target, but the actual EVA #3 request did not get submitted, nor was its absences noted by any of us until this evening. EVA #3 took place today as we intended, but without the EVA #3 request having been submitted, we realize mission control had no written record of our intentions, a potentially hazardous situation. We are forwarding the (now obsolete) EVA #3 request which we did not submit from last night, along with a summary of EVA #3, and a request for tomorrows EVA #4. We’re sorry it took us 24 hours to notice the omission.

POSTED ONJANUARY 2, 2018
Sol Summary Report – January 2nd
Crew 186 Sol 2 Summary Report 02JAN2018

Sol 2

Summary Title: Elusive Blueberries and Baby Radishes

Author’s name: Max Fagin

Mission Status: All nominal

Sol Activity Summary: Our second day on Mars was opened with the slow-motion electrical chords of Vangelis theme from Chariots of Fire. After our morning Yoga, the second EVA team composed of Kshitij, Cesare, Mark, and Sam departed the airlock to search and sample the hematite blueberry formations at Goldstone Rd. that had eluded the first EVA team. While they were out, the remaining crew members caught up on Hab tasks, including Melanie dealing with a finicky battery charger, and Max watering our brand new Radish microgreens that Mark has spent the last few days preparing GreenHab for. The EVA team had a very successful (if exhausting) long duration EVA, stopping twice under Cesare’s guidance to sample interesting geological features. The hematite blueberries, alas, continued to evade us. Shannon: We formally request a hint.

The connection to the Hanksville radio repeater we had hoped to use today for long-range communication wasn’t ready, so communications were lost between the EVA and Hab almost as soon as they rounded the corner, but the connection was fixed by the time they had returned, and we intend to use it to keep in touch on tomorrow’s EVA. The evening finished with Sam beginning his microbe sampling swabs around the hab, and an engineering EVA to move rover supplies from the RAM, along with a brand new load of soil for GreenHab that a friendly supply shuttle dropped right on our doorstep.

Our crew has developed a new tradition which we have dubbed “The Idiot Box”. It is a box which we leave just outside the airlock all day, into which we put all the equipment which we will feel like an idiot for forgetting on our next EVA. That missing airlock fastener? That thermal probe? That EVA medical kit? Ask any one of us about any of these pieces of equipment and we will all give you the same answer: “Put it in the Idiot Box.”

Look Ahead Plan: Our first non-geology EVA will take place tomorrow, with the three goals of photographing the as yet unvisited Maxwell Montes, testing our new long-range communications system with the Hanksville repeater, and testing the direction radio beacon for navigation.

Anomalies in work: The new generator battery does not seem to be charging as expected

Weather: 0C, Winds W at 3MPH, Humidity 43%

Crew Physical Status: Healthy

EVA: Greenstone Rd take 2, 3.25 hrs, geological sampling for spectral analysis

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Journalist Report, Greenhab Report, EVA Report, EVA Request, Geology Report

Support Requested: The newer of the two generator batteries that we have on hand is not charging as expected. This may simply be due to it being relatively unused (see Operations report for details), but we aren’t sure. We can continue on the one battery for now, but would appreciate advice or sources on breaking in a new battery.

POSTED ONJANUARY 1, 2018
Sol Summary – January 1st
Crew 186 Sol 1 Summary Report 01012018

Sol 1

Summary Title: New Year New Planet

Author’s name: Max Fagin

Mission Status: All nominal

Sol Activity Summary: After staying up until midnight last night to bid farewell to 2017, we awoke at 7:30AM to the music of the Launch Theme from Apollo 13. Kshitij led us in a Yoga routine that will become a daily occurrence for the rest of the mission. We had planned to finish our official crew portraits the previous evening, but sunset intervened, so we quickly donned the EVA suits this morning and stepped outside to capture our official crew portraits. On display were the flags of Purdue (our Alma Mater), our home countries, and the Tricolor-RGB of our new home planet.

Breakfast was crepes smothered with Nutella and maple syrup, prepared by Justin and Mark. Over breakfast, we established the rules of our simulation, and what was expected of each of us to maintain its fidelity. With 15 minutes left until noon (when we would officially enter simulation), we all took the time to pay one last visit to the outside. At noon, we officially entered our simulation and began preparation for our first EVA: A geological sampling mission to the Greenstone Rd. area. Entering simulation late meant we had to return to the hab after only collecting one of the targeted 3 samples, but we will return tomorrow to complete it. Lunch was leftovers from last night’s new year’s feast (it was good enough to enjoy twice), followed by a dinner and witnessing a marvelous supermoon rise. Lunar astronomy on the supermoon is planned for tonight, as the weather looks clear.

We are not the only ones who are feeling the Martian vibe. Even the habitat seems to be feeling it. For example, the generator’s 60Hz AC power seems to be running at ~61.6 Hz for some unknown reason. This is a harmless anomaly, but it means any appliance that gets its clock cycle from the AC power line will run 2.8% fast, accumulating an extra ~38 minutes per day. In other words, due to a technical error, our clocks are actually keeping within 0.2% of Martian time, and only the battery power analog clock on the wall is keeping Earth time… We have no intention of fixing this.

Look Ahead Plan: Tomorrow’s EVA will target the two sample sites we were not able to visit today. Will also experiment with the use of the Hanksville repeater (aka, communications satellite) and our ham radio to avoid comm dropouts between EVA team and MDRS. Thank you comm for the warning this morning about the solar storm! We will deploy our own telescope tonight and plan for some solar astronomy tomorrow morning.

Anomalies in work: EVA Airlock window was installed at the end of the EVA, but is currently secured with zip ties. Looking for a better way.

Weather: Temperature: 6C, Mostly clear, Winds calm, Humidity 39%, Barometer 30.27 inHg

Crew Physical Status: Healthy

EVA: Greenstone Rd, 1.0 hrs, geological sampling for spectral analysis

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Journalist Report, Greenhab Report, EVA Report, Science Report (Geology)

Support Requested:

1) We installed a new EVA airlock window at the end of today’s EVA. Are there any old photos of the EVA airlock window we can use for reference to see how it is supposed to be secured? It is currently zip tied in place, which is adequate, but not pretty.

2) Can Mission Support please change the email of Crew Engineer Melanie Grande to melgrande2@gmail.com we think this will solve some formatting anomalies with the operation report.

POSTED ONDECEMBER 31, 2017
Sol Summary – December 31st
Crew 186 Sol 0 Summary Report 31DEC2017

Sol 0

Summary Title: Happy Arbitrary Orbital Maker!

Author’s name: Max Fagin

Mission Status: All crew members ready and eager to ring in the new Earth year on Mars.

Sol Activity Summary: Today’s non-sim sol began with the handoff from Crew 185 to 186. We swapped staterooms, car keys, and mission patches and bid each other farewell. We then completed two training sessions with Shannon on hab operations and EVA activities, and took a practice non-sim EVA.

We are planning to enter sim at 10AM tomorrow morning, after completing some crew portraits we were unable to complete today before sunset. Tonight, we will finish our mission summary, take one final trip into town for some last minute items, and celebrate the new year with a bonfire. All martians welcome (and their dogs)!

Look Ahead Plan: Complete crew portraits at sunrise tomorrow morning, enter sim, and take first geology EVA to Greenstone Rd. Continue unpacking equipment around the hab.

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: Partly cloudy, Temperature 1C, winds calm, Humidity 64%

Crew Physical Status: Healthy

EVA: All crew members took a non-sim EVA south of the Hab to practice driving and hiking in full gear. We practiced proper hill climbing/descending technique, and breath management to minimize fogging.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Journalist Report, Greenhab Report, EVA Request

Support Requested: Awaiting a new template for the EVA report and EVA request.

Note: We have composed a shared document with all the report templates we have received in order to speed up report composition and minimize transmission errors. One consequence of this is that it will take a few transmission to make sure the templates have been copied correctly. If there are any errors in the report format (anything as small as missing line breaks), please let us know. We update the common document to reflect the changes.

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/category/sol-summary/page/24/ Source]

Crew 188 Sol Summaries

2019-03-24T19:00:40Z

NathanielFromMars: Created page with "Category:Sol Summaries POSTED ONFEBRUARY 10, 2018 Sol Summary – February 10th Sol 13 Summary Title: Mars-2-Mars and Breaking Sim Author’s name: Ryan L. Kobrick, Ph...."

[[Category:Sol Summaries]]

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 10, 2018
Sol Summary – February 10th
Sol 13

Summary Title: Mars-2-Mars and Breaking Sim
Author’s name: Ryan L. Kobrick, Ph.D., MDRS Crew 188 Commander
Mission Status: The mission is complete and the floors are mopped.

Sol Activity Summary:

The simulation came to a close with a Mars-2-Mars hangout on WebEx where crewmembers form MDRS Crew 188 and Kepler Station AMADEE-18. It was a lively chat about life on Mars as our crew ends our mission and their crew begins theirs. The conversation was recorded with several different cameras and a video will be spliced together with field footage.

Soon after our final task, the crew ended our mission at 10:02 am local time bursting from the Hab front airlock with 5 cameras rolling. The blast of fresh air was refreshing but instantly followed by an intense day of cleaning the entire campus from top to bottom. We helped resupply some of the water tanks and removed garbage.

The crew will enjoy relaxing on their last evening at MDRS. Thank you everyone for your support and for following our mission! I hope you enjoyed our diverse reports and photos. Please check out the photos and videos we have tagged with #MDRS188 on social media and check out our online team accounts:

Website: https://isuonmars.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TeamISUonMars
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ISUonMars

Spacesuit Up!
Ryan L. Kobrick, Ph.D.
MDRS Crew 188 Commander

Look Ahead Plan:
We depart MDRS tomorrow morning after our 8 am check-out.

Anomalies in work:
None.

Weather:
Calm winds and hazy skies with warm dropping all day.

Crew Physical Status:
There is a mixture of anxiety to get work completed, excitement to return home to loved ones, and sadness to be separating from our Martian family.

EVA:
15 EVAs were completed during our mission.

Reports to file:
1. Ops Report
2. Sol Summary

Support Requested:
None.

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 9, 2018
Sol Summary Report – February 9th
Crew 188 Sol 12 Summary Report 9FEB2018

Sol 12

Summary Title: One more round then it’s [oxygen] bottles to the ground

Author’s name: Ryan L. Kobrick, Ph.D., MDRS Crew 188 Commander

Mission Status: EVAs are complete, it’s the final crunch.

Sol Activity Summary:

As the Olympic flame is lit back on Earth, our physical challenges in the field come to a close. With two final EVAs, the crew is dusting off the suits and preparing them for the next crew who will start a week later. The morning EVA hiked up to the Hab Ridge for some final 360 filming, chlorophyll sampling and scenic views. The afternoon EVA had a few samples along the way to Toothy Ridge to the North. Final working photos were snapped with a few last planned for tomorrow during our campus cleanup.

As with any online event on Earth, our Mars-2-Mars event will have a slight change of plans with the session being recorded on WebEx and shared immediately afterwards by the Austrian Space Forum (Österreichisches Weltraum Forum, OeWF). Q&A can be submitted to reddit and the crews will address them during the hangout or afterwards as an ongoing discussion.

10Feb2018, 17:00 CET = 09:00 MDRS time (Sol 13) = 20:00 Oman time [16:00 GMT]

reddit Q&A: https://www.reddit.com/r/Mars/comments/7s23yz/mdrs_crew_188_ama

Spacesuit Up!

Ryan L. Kobrick, Ph.D.

MDRS Crew 188 Commander

Look Ahead Plan:

A hangout with #SimulateMars in Oman, the AMADEE-18 mission at Kepler Station. Then we will end the MDRS Crew 188 simulation mid-day as we continue to clean all areas. With our continuous Hab-chores cleaning schedule we should be on track for an early Sunday morning departure.

Anomalies in work:

None.

Weather:

Calm winds and hazy skies with warm dropping all day.

Crew Physical Status:

There is a mixed of anxiety to get work completed, excitement to return home to loved ones, and sadness to be separating form our Martian family.

EVA:

15 EVAs were completed during our mission.

Reports to file:

1. Ops Report

2. Sol Summary

3. Journalist Report

4. Green Hab Report

5. EVA #14 and #15 report

6. Daily Photos

7. Health & Safety Officer Report

8. Mission Summary

Support Requested (same as previous three reports):

– Heater for science dome requested. A purchase order request was made.

– FYI for mission support to be aware of for systems to track and safe operations.

– There are potentially two packages at Hollow Mountain that we would love to have picked up.

– We will pick them up post-sim

– Vegetables were requested due to the insufficient supply for six crewmembers. Non-vegetarians have cut their personal rations to help stretch the supplies for the two vegetarians. We have two celiac members who cannot eat the starches provided. These diets were all communicated before our arrival. In order to feed crewmembers over the next 4 days, 2-3 cans of dried vegetables were requested (or fresh) with the missing items from the original food supply. We were informed today that we will not be getting any form of resupply. Susan Holden Martin suggested we reiterate this request to mission support since it remains open.

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 7, 2018
Sol Summary – February 7th
Crew 188 Sol 10 Summary Report 7FEB2018

Sol 10

Summary Title: Game On!
Author’s name: Ryan L. Kobrick, Ph.D., MDRS Crew 188 Commander Mission Status: Crew feeling good after a full day.

Sol Activity Summary:
Even with one EVA, the crew had a very busy and productive day. The EVA challenged the crew to a new slew of Martian Olympiad events counting down to the Winter Olympic Games back on Earth. An opening ceremony occurred and the crew hopes to share this artistic footage in high resolution 360 views. There are sure to be phots posted across social media, just look for #MDRS188. Meanwhile in the Hab, the NASA Glenn dust load experiment continued and air filtration dust samples were obtained from the EVA crew returning into the airlock. The afternoon was highlighted with staring at the Sun with a Hydrogen-alpha filter seeing sunspots, flares and even an airplane captured on camera passing in front of the Sun! The crew was busy digitally capturing video footage and audio for podcasts, school groups and for a mission documentary. After sunset the crew enjoyed watching the International Space Station pass-by briefly and an Iridium satellite. Who knows what space infrastructure Mars inhabitants will be able to watch from their homes, but they will need some form of planetary connectivity.

Spacesuit Up!
Ryan L. Kobrick, Ph.D.
MDRS Crew 188 Commander

Look Ahead Plan:
Two EVAs are panned that will fill most of the operational day. Afterwards the third and final human factors group chat will occur.

Anomalies in work:
Propane was detected in the afternoon. The crew is carefully monitoring and performing basic bubble testing on pipes. Currently no leaks are detected.

Weather:
Calm winds and clear skies with temperatures dropping rapidly at sunset.

Crew Physical Status:
One crewmember has cold symptoms, which may be due to fatigue but health status is nominal.

EVA:
Two are planned for tomorrow.

Reports to file:
1. Ops Report
2. Sol Summary
3. Journalist Report (combined Sol 9 and 10)
4. Green Hab Report
5. EVA #13 and #14 request
6. EVA #12 Reports
7. Daily Photos

Support Requested (same as previous report):
– Heater for science dome requested. A purchase order request was made.
– There are potentially two packages at Hollow Mountain that we would love to have picked up.
– Vegetables were requested due to the insufficient supply for six crewmembers. Non-vegetarians have cut their personal rations to help stretch the supplies for the two vegetarians. We have two celiac members who cannot eat the starches provided. These diets were all communicated before our arrival. In order to feed crewmembers over the next 4 days, 2-3 cans of dried vegetables were requested (or fresh) with the missing items from the original food supply. We were informed today that we will not be getting any form of resupply. Susan Holden Martin suggested we reiterate this request to mission support since it remains open. [end]

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 6, 2018
Sol Summary – February 6th
Crew 188 Sol 9 Summary Report 6FEB2018

Sol 9

Summary Title: Sacrifice
Author’s name: Ryan L. Kobrick, Ph.D., MDRS Crew 188 Commander Mission Status: Crew is well.

Sol Activity Summary:

I think it goes without saying that our crew made many sacrifices to be a part of this two-week experience (finances, family, work, and much more). One that may not be obvious, and would have been impossible to time, was missing the Falcon Heavy historic launch. The unquestionable highlight for today was SpaceX’s success launch and landings, and what that may mean for future human spaceflight exploration. Today was packed with exploration. Two EVAs including a beautifully choreographed performance optimizing a 360 camera, and a driving excursion to uncharted territory. The crew was able to watch the launch and twin landings in a video later in the evening. Wow. Even watching the launch delayed had a similar impact to being there with family and friends in Florida. It was rocket-eye-candy-overload. Who knows when the next FH launch will be, or where any of us may be located, but we do know that these are the ingredients needed to make a mission to Mars feasible.

Spacesuit Up!
Ryan L. Kobrick, Ph.D.
MDRS Crew 188 Commander

Look Ahead Plan:
Tomorrow solar observations will continue in the morning hoping for calmer weather. An afternoon EVA will celebrate our international diversity and the upcoming Olympic Games with our own Martian Olympiad.

Anomalies in work:
None.

Weather:
The temperatures are cooling off and the winds remain high.

Crew Physical Status:
The crew has been burning on full throttle from 8am until 11pm and pushing hard to the finish line to be fully successful in their scientific and artistic investigations at MDRS.

EVA:
One is planned for tomorrow.

Reports to file:
1. Ops Report
2. Sol Summary
3. Journalist Report
4. Green Hab Report
5. EVA #12 request
6. EVA #10 and #11 Reports
7. Daily Photos

Support Requested:
– Heater for science dome requested. A purchase order request was made.
– There are potentially two packages at Hollow Mountain that we would love to have picked up.
– Vegetables were requested due to the insufficient supply for six crewmembers. Non-vegetarians have cut their personal rations to help stretch the supplies for the two vegetarians. We have two celiac members who cannot eat the starches provided. These diets were all communicated before our arrival. In order to feed crewmembers over the next 4 days, 2-3 cans of dried vegetables were requested (or fresh) with the missing items from the original food supply. We were informed today that we will not be getting any form of resupply. Susan Holden Martin suggested we reiterate this request to mission support since it remains open.
– Our reports have not been posted to the MDRS website since Saturday Feb 3rd. Please check the status of these documents for dissemination. We did see some photos on Facebook.

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 5, 2018
Sol Summary – February 5th
Crew 188 Sol 8 Summary Report 05FEB2018

Sol 8

Summary Title: Team Unity
Author’s name: Renee Garifi, MDRS Crew 188 Executive Officer Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary:
This morning our team awoke to a beautifully and thoughtfully arranged breakfast table with a special greeting written by two crewmembers who wanted to help our team start week 2 of our mission on a high note. Each mission brings with it a unique set of challenges and rewards and I am humbled and proud to be part of such a courageous and strong team.

Every morning at 08:30 we hold our Daily Planning Conference and one crewmember hosts a briefing of the upcoming EVA or team activity that will require the most coordination by all crew. We spent the mid-morning preparing for a 4-person EVA with the objective of scouting filming locations for a performing astronautics project by our Artist in Residence utilizing the Insta360 Pro camera. Two of our crew remained behind at the Hab to serve as HABCOM on the radio with the EVA team and keep up with science projects and tasks around the Hab.

Following the EVA we shared lunch and set about working on our individual projects. We had a productive afternoon followed by a period of relaxation. Our crew is currently in good spirits and communication, stress management and team work is at an all-time high. In the evenings when our crew is not too exhausted, we have started hosting a lecture series here on Mars. After our comms window closes and our crew finishes dinner and dishes, the next scheduled crewmember to present will spend about 30-45 minutes sharing a topic that they are either passionate about or teaching a useful skill. Our crew is comprised of six individuals with strong personal and professional backgrounds that make for informative evening sessions that bond and inspire us.

Ad Astra!
Renee Garifi
MDRS Crew 188 Executive Officer

Look Ahead Plan:
We will perform EVA #10 in the morning tomorrow and EVA #11 in the afternoon.

Anomalies in work:
None.

Weather:
Windy, but not like the high winds of yesterday. Skies were cloudy.

Crew Physical Status:
The crew is tired but in good spirits.

EVA:
Two EVAs planned for tomorrow.

Reports to file:
1. EVAs #10 and #11 request
2. EVA #9 Report
3. Ops Report
4. Sol Summary
5. Journalist Report
6. Green Hab Report
7. Daily Photos

Support Requested (acknowledged yesterday but listed as reminders): – Heater for science dome requested.
– There are potentially two packages at Hollow Mountain that we would love to have picked up.
– Water tank refills will be needed in the next few days.

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 4, 2018
Sol Summary Report – February 4th
Crew 188 Sol 7 Summary Report 4FEB2018

Sol 7

Summary Title: Turning Point

Author’s name: Ryan L. Kobrick, Ph.D., MDRS Crew 188 Commander

Mission Status: Crew is well.

Sol Activity Summary:

Today’s highlights included a pedestrian EVA back to Hab Ridge for micrometeorite and chlorophyll sample collection and scenic views with Tat, Julia, and Renee. The crew enjoyed performing the bubbles experiment a few times including by the science dome for a short video recording. During the morning, Sarah Jane and Zac helped with the spacesuit mobility study that I am conducting with my ERAU S.U.I.T. Lab (see @SpacesuitUp) at several analogue station locations around the world. SJ worked as the technician and Zac the suited/unsuited test subject.

Afterwards the crew had a big lunch followed by round 2 of Tat’s human factors study. It was a very enlightening conversation that identified how we could all help each other with our scientific goals during the mission. There are a lot of projects underway being managed in a delicate balance and a short time budget. Many of the projects already have publication plans lined up at peer reviewed conferences or with partnerships at universities and museums for exhibits. We owe it to our partner PIs around the world to extract the best possible data possible while roaming the red desert.

In the early evening, our #SuperScienceSunday blitz did not go as planned to help reach the public with our messages about exploration and education. Not all plans happen as intended, but flexibility and perseverance will keep our team bonded to face challenges to share something bigger, something that cannot be explained in abundant daily reports and occasional snaps on social media. Our crew wound down with a group meditation session in the science dome, followed by open and very personal discussion, and was crowned with a yoga session to stretch our legs for the next EVA and the next challenge.

Spacesuit Up!

Ryan L. Kobrick, Ph.D.

MDRS Crew 188 Commander

Look Ahead Plan:

Tomorrow EVA 9 will take the crew to a site first explored by Crew 187 in the south regions of our exploration zone. Crew members will work on various projects at the Hab. The following day is likely to be followed by two EVAs so that we can meet our exploration and scientific objectives. Make sure to check out updates on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TeamISUonMars and Twitter: https://twitter.com/ISUonMars.

Anomalies in work:

None.

Weather:

Windy, but not like the high winds of yesterday. Skies were mostly clear.

Crew Physical Status:

The crew is well, but is enjoying a bit of personal space as well.

EVA:

One is planned for tomorrow.

Reports to file:

1. EVA #9 request

2. EVA #8 Report

3. Ops Report

4. Sol Summary

5. Journalist Report

6. Green Hab Report

7. Daily Photos

Support Requested (acknowledged yesterday but listed as reminders):

Heater for science dome requested.

There are potentially two packages at Hollow Mountain that we would love to have picked up.

Water tank refills will be needed in the next few days.

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 3, 2018
Sol Summary – February 3rd
Sol 6

Summary Title: A Blustery Day on Mars
Author’s name: Ryan L. Kobrick, Ph.D., MDRS Crew 188 Commander
Mission Status: Everything is fine, how are you?

Sol Activity Summary:
A two-EVA day today kept the crew busy all day. The morning EVA (Renee, Julia, and I) went North to discover the "Goblins" in Lith Canyon. The crew followed an ancient stream bed into the canyon, a familiar site for myself once we reached a few of the more memorable dips, with a grand opening from rolling red cliffs to an open field followed by a deep canyon drop area near what we hope to confirm was the correct location.

The afternoon EVA (Zac, Tat, and SJ) can be summarized by two words, windy bubbles. EVA double-oh-seven ventured by foot North and scrambled up the red cliffs near Sagan Road to reach the Hab Ridge Road. Performing a variety of bubbles experiments, the crew experience upper wind limits for their expedition. They walked south towards the Hab for a scenic view of our campus from above.

Meanwhile back in the Hab, I was in full science mode taking dust measurements in the airlock and uploading biometric data to Earth. The winds are expected to keep the Hab cool overnight leading into Super Science Sunday… I mean Super Bowl Sunday. The crew is planning to coordinate outreach activities to see if we can help raise awareness for human spaceflight and Mars-forward research.

Spacesuit Up!
Ryan L. Kobrick, Ph.D.
MDRS Crew 188 Commander

Look Ahead Plan:
EVA 8 is being planned to take the crew back up on the Hab Ridge for sample collection and scenic views. The ERAU spacesuit mobility study is being planned for video capture in the science dome. IN the afternoon we will have our next installment of the human factors study. During the day the team will be trying to post awesome social media content for #SuperScienceSunday.

Have a better hashtag?

Let us know on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TeamISUonMars and Twitter: https://twitter.com/ISUonMars.

Anomalies in work:
Robotic observatory currently not functional. MDRS Astronomy lead working problem.

Weather:
A very windy day. Skies were mostly clear.

Crew Physical Status:
The crew is in the groove zone.

EVA:
One is planned for tomorrow.

Reports to file:
1. EVA #8 request
2. EVA #6 and #7 Report
3. Ops Report
4. Sol Summary
5. Journalist Report
6. Green Hab Report
7. Daily Photos

Support Requested:
Heater for science dome requested.
There are potentially two packages at Hollow Mountain that we would love to have picked up.
Water tank refills will be needed in the next few days.

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 2, 2018
Sol Summary Report – February 2nd
Crew 188 Sol 5 Summary Report 2FEB2018

Sol 5

Summary Title: Mars Rocks!

Author’s name: Renee Garifi, MDRS Crew 188 Executive Officer

Status: Almost half-way!

Sol Activity Summary:

Today the crew completed EVA #5 and had a successful afternoon of setting up scientific research hardware, working on personal outreach projects and getting to the overdue tasks that have been previously placed on hold in order to keep pace with the busy mission. We will soon wrap up week number 1 in our home sweet Hab here at MDRS.

The EVA team was excited to share their geological samples collected in the field with the HAB team as soon as they arrived back through the airlock. Julia’s favorite rock found today was a vibrant eye-catching red color that seemed otherworldly and intriguing. They explored a canyon route along Cactus Road and took breathtaking photos and videos of their trek while scouting sights for future science sample collections. Tomorrow, we will be conducting two EVAs with the first scouting for potential micrometeorite deposit sights and collect top soil samples from hill tops to be analyzed for very small micrometeorite rocks. The second will have the crew exploring Hab Ridge by foot to continue to explore our surroundings.

The crew took some well-deserved personal time this afternoon to refresh and gear up for closing out week 1 of our mission. We are looking forward to watching Groundhog Day for the humor and irony (today is Groundhog Day in the USA).

Ad Astra!

Renee Garifi

MDRS Crew 188 Executive Officer

Look Ahead Plan:

EVA 6 is planned for tomorrow to revisit a site from EVA 2 and to further add navigation and waypoint data for the crew to use on all EVAs. EVA 7 is a pedestrian EVA to Hab Ridge. Meanwhile several other projects will be underway inside the dome.

Anomalies in work:

Robotic observatory currently not functional. MDRS Astronomy lead working problem.

Weather:

The weather was clear today with few clouds.

Crew Physical Status:

It was a busy day all around, so we are looking at our mission ahead to plan out key EVAs, science projects, and fun activities to make sure we are having a well-balanced experience.

EVA:

One today, Two tomorrow.

Reports to file:

1. EVA #5 Report

2. EVA #6 and #7 Request

2. Ops Report

3. Sol Summary

4. Journalist Report

5. Creative Report

6. Green Hab Report

7. Daily Photos

Support Requested: Our crew’s reports have not been posted to the MDRS website yet. We would like to request that these be back-posted so that all of our reports and the work we have put into the mission get reflected on the MDRS website.

Per direction from Dr. Rupert, we have removed the broken microwave from the Hab and placed it into the back of the DEIMOS rover for removal. We anxiously await the arrival of our replacement unit by cargo delivery ship.

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 1, 2018
Sol Summary – February 1st
Crew 188 Sol 4 Summary Report 1FEB2018

Sol 4

Summary Title: A sol featuring soul with the devastation of soles Author’s name: Ryan L. Kobrick, Ph.D., MDRS Crew 188 Commander Mission Status: All nominal

Sol Activity Summary:
Let’s jump to the bottom line. My hiking boots were completely destroyed on our hike to Phobos Peak with the soles peeling off the bottom. An EVA with modest to difficult objectives was challenged with equipment failures and ingenuity to solve problems as they occurred. This is the type of exploration we need for a Mars mission. Calculating risks, making decisions, and with collective exploration experience solving problems. There’s going to be a lot of problems. The EVA Macgyver of the day was Sarah Jane, fixing one boot with a safety whistle, and the other with my laces and some zip ties I was using. Between Julia, SJ and I we were challenged physically and mentally. I had suggested Phobos Peak for the EVA, and I was clearly willing to lose my boots over it. Luckily my hiking shoes are rugged and ready to step up to the next EVA challenge.

The crew enjoyed the scenic views from the science dome during a session of Kung Fu Thai Chi in the morning. Every morning needs to start off on the right foot… even if part of your foot falls off later. The crew also cracked into Cottage Cheese with Blackcurrant Puree space desert from the Russian Space Food Laboratory. It’s apparently “approved by space”. Further work continued on the NASA VEGGIE OASYS project in the Green Hab. We also finally opened the dust load experiment that I am running from NASA Glenn Research Center. I’m excited to set up the hardware and see how much dust we are tracking into the hab. It’s a dusty environment, and knowing how dirty it gets during key activities (EVA airlock, post EVA clean up, and more) we can help prepare future life support systems with the correct type of filters.

Spacesuit Up!
Ryan L. Kobrick, Ph.D.
MDRS Crew 188 Commander

Look Ahead Plan:
EVA 5 is planned for tomorrow to revisit a site from EVA 2 and to further add navigation and waypoint data for the crew to use on all EVAs. Meanwhile several other projects will be underway inside the dome.

Anomalies in work:
MDRS Director is coordinating power system updates with contractors. There was a site visit today.
Robotic observatory currently not functional. MDRS Astronomy lead working problem.

Weather:
The weather was clear until mid-day when clouds rolled into the area.

Crew Physical Status:
It was a busy day all around, so we are looking at our mission ahead to plan out key EVAs, science projects, and fun activities to make sure we are having a well-balanced experience.

EVA:
One is on the books for tomorrow.

Reports to file:
1. EVA #5 requests
2. Ops Report
3. Sol Summary
4. Journalist Report
5. Creative Report
6. Green Hab Report
7. Daily Photos

Support Requested:
Website updates.
Microwave timer works, but main chamber is not functioning/heating. [end]

POSTED ONJANUARY 31, 2018
Sol Summary – January 31st
Crew 188 Sol 3 Summary Report 31JAN2018

Sol 3

Summary Title: Winding down before ramping up
Author’s name: Ryan L. Kobrick, Ph.D., MDRS Crew 188 Commander Mission Status: All nominal

Sol Activity Summary:
Sol 2 merged into Sol 3 with the astronomical Super Blue Blood Moon event! The crew had varying levels of sleep hours leading into the early morning event. As you may have seen from earlier reports this was a very rare event, and the show met all expectations. All crew members were able to watch the Moon slowly disappear behind Earth’s shadow leaving a red glowing Moon. Looking at the red Moon created nice mental links to our Martian experience and submersion and let us ponder what it would be like to watch a dual-lunar event on Mars. Because of the rare event, today was dedicated to ramping up our science projects and resting for future EVAs. Personally I worked on my EVA metric study with the help of Tat to edit and name waypoints and record key data into a master spreadsheet. I also recorded a video podcast to post publicly (hopefully soon) interviewing Dr. Sarah Jane Pell. I am sure my students will find it very interesting and I’m expecting their follow up questions will be great! Renee and Zac started working on setting up the prototype of NASA Kennedy Space Center’s VEGGIE OASYS experiment in the Green Hab. It is great that the crew gets to work on an experiment that may one day be used on Mars, and super cool that it is already on the International Space Station. Thank you Dr. Luke Roberson for being the quarterback of this project at NASA KSC! Julia and Zac were also working in the Green Hab today, optimizing the layout and tending to the plants. Tat started a human factors analysis for the MDRS operational structure. This study could lead to consolidated task management and more efficient processes. The lighter day allowed the crew to sync files and prepare to share their experience. Several crewmembers sewed their mission patches onto their flight suits today, preparing to explore in style.

Spacesuit Up!
Ryan L. Kobrick, Ph.D.
MDRS Crew 188 Commander

Look Ahead Plan:
In the morning three crew members will head East to Phobos peak to examine human performance and capture 360 footage in 8k. The afternoon EVA will scout more roads and re-visit a previous site. The crew will be fairly busy with these two EVAs, but other projects will continue to unfold.

Anomalies in work:
MDRS Director is coordinating power system updates with contractors. There was a site visit today.
Robotic observatory currently not functional. MDRS Astronomy lead working problem.

Weather:
The weather was clear all day and provided great views out the surrounding terrain.

Crew Physical Status:
Hydration and altitude adjustment seems to be going well. Some minor skin dryness for some crewmembers. Everyone seems more rested after a more relaxed day on campus.

EVA:
Two EVAs are being planned and requested for tomorrow.

Reports to file:
1. EVA #4 and #5 requests
2. Ops Report
3. Sol Summary
4. Journalist Report
5. Creative Report
6. Green Hab Report
7. Astronomy Report
8. Daily Photos

Support Requested:
None.

POSTED ONJANUARY 30, 2018
Sol Summary – January 30th
Crew 188 Sol Summary Report 30JAN2018

Sol 2

Summary Title: The Human Factor
Author’s name: Renee Garifi, MDRS Crew 188 Executive Officer Mission Status: On track

Sol Activity Summary:

We awoke this morning to a beautiful Martian sunrise and amazing view of the alien landscape out the port hole windows on the second floor of the hab. We held our daily planning conference over breakfast where we mapped out our plan for the day including EVA prep, research hardware set up and how best to accomplish our daily tasks. We also spent some time checking in with each crewmember to discuss factors affecting our health, stress and personal mission goals. We had a positive discussion and everyone felt heard, which is important to the leadership of this team.

We began EVA prep at 09:30 and sent 3 members of our team through the airlock to explore the Martian terrain while the 3 remaining crew set to work setting up research hardware in the greenhouse and science lab. The Artist in Residence and Crew Astronomer have been working all day to prepare a special 360 degree video of the Super Blue Blood Moon Eclipse which begins tonight. Our best viewing opportunity will begin at 04:44 am.

One very exciting event occurred after our EVA crew returned. We received a cargo shipment of our embroidered mission patches! This provided our crew with an unexpected morale boost and helped us feel that much more excited about carrying out a high fidelity analog mission worthy of an official crew mission patch.

Ad astra!
Renee Garifi
MDRS Crew 188 Executive Officer

Look Ahead Plan:
In the late evening/early morning tomorrow, all crewmembers will rise at 04:00 am to view the special astronomical mega event of the lunar eclipse of the January Blue Moon.

Anomalies in work:
MDRS Director is coordinating power system updates with contractors. Robotic observatory currently not functional. MDRS Astronomy lead working problem.

Weather:
A warm day on “Mars” with crewmembers getting quite a lot of sun on today’s EVA.

Crew Physical Status:
Crew are fighting fatigue and dehydration symptoms but are in good spirits.

EVA:
One EVA successfully completed today. We will not have an EVA tomorrow (31 January).

Reports to file:
1. Sol Summary
2. Operations Report
3. Journalist Report
4. EVA #3 Report
6. Daily Photos
7. Mission Summary
8. Green Hab Report
9. Creative Report

Support Requested: See Operations Report

POSTED ONJANUARY 29, 2018
Sol Summary – January 29th
Sol 1

Summary Title: Kicking up Martian Dust
Author’s name: Ryan L. Kobrick, Ph.D., MDRS Crew 188 Commander

Mission Status: All nominal

Sol Activity Summary:

The mission kicked off 1:01:01 local time after a morning of spacesuit training and navigational discussions of the exploration zone. As the terrain changes, each subsequent crew on the "red planet" adjusts to imposed closures of some roads, while other pathways open for exploration. The crew snapped team photos with four nations and four flags, (Canada, USA, Australia, and Japan), and with the one uniting Mars Red-Green-Blue flag.

The crew planned and executed two EVAs geared towards a technical shakedown of equipment and MDRS traditions located at "Marble Ritual". Three crewmembers on each EVA drove surface vehicles to a predetermined destination to make sure the surface suits were adjusted, vehicles driven suited (the ATVs and Rovers), and then on-foot exploration. Additionally, cameras, GPS units, biomedical devices, tablets, and specialized gloves were all tested in Martian analog conditions.

The relived to be underway the crew also realizes that the clock is ticking on their mission and there is a lot of data to collect and share. Things are just getting ramped up!

Spacesuit Up!
Ryan L. Kobrick, Ph.D.
MDRS Crew 188 Commander

Look Ahead Plan:
In the morning three crew members will explore the main superhighways to the North of hab. This will help ground truth critical waypoints, calibrate GPS equipment, familiarize the crew with the regions, and ensure safe exploration of all future EVAs. Crewmembers will be working on calibrating the telescope and 360 camera for the upcoming astronomical mega event of the lunar eclipse of the January Blue Moon.

Anomalies in work:
MDRS Director is coordinating power system updates with contractors.
Robotic observatory currently not functional. MDRS Astronomy lead working problem.

Weather:
A warm day on "Mars" with crewmembers comfortable on EVA.

Crew Physical Status:
The crew is learning how to combat dehydration in this new environment.

EVA:
Two EVAs completed with three crew on each.

Reports to file:
1. Sol Summary
2. Operations Report
3. Journalist Report
4. HSO Checklist
5. EVA Request for Sol 2
6. Daily Photos
7. Mission Summary
8. EVA 001 and EVA 002 Report
9. Green Hab Report

Support Requested:
None.

POSTED ONJANUARY 28, 2018
Sol Summary – January 28th
Crew 188 Sol 0 Summary Report 28JAN2018

Sol 0

Summary Title: Training for Mars
Author’s name: Ryan L. Kobrick, Ph.D., MDRS Crew 188 Commander
Mission Status: All nominal

Sol Activity Summary:
Today was a packed day starting with the early departure of Crew 187. The crew moved into the state rooms and conducted another water refill in the morning to Hanksville. Training with MDRS Director Shannon Rupert covered MDRS rules, philosophy, and key systems. The crew conducted an EVA test of the ATVs and Rovers in preparation for our simulation. The crew united by a common passion for sharing their experience has started sharing highlights with the common hashtag #MDRS188.

Spacesuit Up!
Ryan L. Kobrick, Ph.D.
MDRS Crew 188 Commander

Look Ahead Plan:
The crew will complete training tomorrow morning with the EVA spacesuit systems and general navigation of the local area. The "landing" and simulation will kick-off at approximately High Noon local time. The crew is planning two short EVAs with half the crew (3) on each. Each EVA will use hybrid driving/walking modes to familiarize the crew with nominal operations with the surface spacesuits. Reports and scientific projects will be prepared in the afternoon.

Anomalies in work:
MDRS Director is coordinating power system updates with contractors.
Robotic observatory currently not functional. MDRS Astronomy lead working problem.

Weather:
A beautiful day. Cool and clear.

Crew Physical Status:
Some dry air dehydration symptoms. See HSO Report.

EVA:
ATV/Rover training with Shannon.

Reports to file:
1. Sol Summary
2. Operations Report
3. Journalist Report
4. HSO Report
5. EVA Request
6. Daily Photos

Support Requested:
Creative request information will be coming.

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/category/sol-summary/page/21/ Source]

Crew 187 Sol Summaries

2019-03-24T18:58:53Z

NathanielFromMars: Created page with "Category:Sol Summaries POSTED ONFEBRUARY 16, 2018 Sol Summary Report – February 16th Crew IKEA Sol Summary 16 Feb 2018 SOL 6: Summary Title: Finally… Adventure Tim..."

[[Category:Sol Summaries]]

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 16, 2018
Sol Summary Report – February 16th
Crew IKEA Sol Summary 16 Feb 2018

SOL 6:

Summary Title: Finally… Adventure Time

Author’s name: Atila Meszaros

Mission Status: All nominal

Sol Activity Summary:

I feel like I haven’t been in the Hab all day. The weather looked friendly and allowed us to make our first day of expedition. We spent most of the morning doing the growth mediums for our extremophiles, defining the microbiological points of interest and planning the activities for the arrival of the next crew.

The contractor already has almost the entire ladder of the lower deck made. Tomorrow they will come to finish it. It looks amazing. Tomorrow we will be sending some pics! While the guys worked, we managed to turn on Shannon’s car, apparently, it will not need a new battery. However, we shouldn’t take your eyes off and go carefully in case this event repeats. We picked up a package that contains equipment to record some footage at MDRS and we filled the aquaponics with water to have it almost ready by the time the next crew arrives. By the way, the Green Hab plants are looking amazing.

On our first day of adventure, we entered the Valley of the Stars in search of gypsum that may contain halophiles. Looking in any direction was simply spectacular. It is one of the most majestic places I’ve ever seen. We collected 5 different samples of vein, soil, and eruption. In a few days, we will be sending a Science Report with the findings of our first search.

It has been a very hectic day. But I am happy with everything we have achieved today. Now, I have to clean the Hab for the next crew and move to RAM (I’m going to be the first person to live there, I’m kind of excited).

Thanks for joining us tonight, Veronica!

How are you doing?

Atila

Look Ahead Plan: Recieve Supaero crew. I’m looking forward to meeting them!

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: Temperature: °6C

Crew Physical Status: Healthy

Reports to be filed:

Sol Summary

Operations Report

Science/Intern Report

Support Requested: None

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 15, 2018
Sol Summary – February 15th
Crew IKEA Sol Summary 15 Feb 2018

SOL 5:

Summary Title: Shelter from the Storm

Author’s name: Atila Meszaros

Mission Status: All nominal

Sol Activity Summary:

Another slow and very windy day. The ladders installations and the mud have kept us inside most of the day. However, we managed to go out and we drive Opportunity, Spirit, and Deimos. Due to the new ladder installation, I’ve been trapped in the upper deck almost all day and we had to postpone our adventures until (I hope) tomorrow. All the Hab is screaming because of the winds. It sounds pretty awesome. but I hope I can get some sleep

Thank you very much for being with us tonight!

Atila

Look Ahead Plan:
Getting a new battery for Shannon’s car, taking Rovers out and I’m rooting for finally some field work and exploration!

Anomalies in work:
Installation of brand new ladders for the lower deck

Weather: Temperature: 5°C

Crew Physical Status: Healthy

Reports to be filed:

Sol Summary
Operations Report

Support Requested: None

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 14, 2018
Sol Summary – February 14th
Crew IKEA Sol Summary 14 Feb 2018

SOL 4:

Summary Title: Here comes the sun
Author’s name: Atila Meszaros

Mission Status: All nominal

Sol Activity Summary:

Busy day for everyone. The contractor came and installed the new ladders for the upper deck and just before the end of the week the new lower deck ladder is going to be installed. They look fantastic! I’ll love to be here whit the Ikea project will be complete.

Sadly, the mud persisted due to the lack of wind and warmer weather, so we couldn’t get out and do some field work, tomorrow I bet will be luckier. Instead of going out, I worked all day on the Green Hab on the aquaponics, doing some harvest and organizing everything.

Everything is looking good on Mars, but the wind is sometimes scary, inside the Green Hab, you can almost feel the wind screaming. It’s pretty amazing, though.

Thank you for being with us tonight, Sylvain!

Atila

Look Ahead Plan:

Getting a new battery for Shannon’s car, taking Rovers out and I’m rooting for finally some field work and exploration!

Anomalies in work:

Installation of brand new ladders for the upper deck
Shannon’s car battery died

Weather: Temperature: 6°C

Crew Physical Status: Healthy

Reports to be filed:

Sol Summary
Operations Report

Support Requested: None

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 13, 2018
Sol Summary – February 13th
Crew IKEA Sol Summary 13 Feb 2018

SOL 3:

Summary Title: Ikea and a sea of mud

Author’s name: Atila Meszaros

Mission Status: All nominal

Sol Activity Summary:

The terrible rain of yesterday, which almost left me trapped in the GreenHab last night, continued almost all night. I was waiting for some snow in the morning, but as Shannon predicted, we only had mud. I’ve only been out a couple of times and I no longer have clean shoes.

We have worked all day and we finished all the measurements and selections of the Ikea project, they have been sent to the responsible designer and we will be waiting for their response and feedback. It was more difficult than I would have imagined, but we are proud of the work.

We could not take the Rovers out to consume their batteries due the bad condition of the ground, it would have been very difficult to drive and I had to clean them after that, so we will just way until tomorrow The weather forecast is much better and will give us the opportunity to start some field work.

Look Ahead Plan:

Finally some field work and exploration!

Anomalies in work:

Mud, just hideous mud

Weather: Temperature: 4°C

Crew Physical Status: Healthy

Reports to be filed:

Sol Summary
Operations Report

Support Requested: None

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 12, 2018
Sol Summary – February 12th
Crew IKEA Sol Summary 12 Feb 2018

SOL 2:

Summary Title: Time to come

Author’s name: Atila Meszaros

Mission Status: All nominal

Sol Activity Summary:

After the active day of yesterday and the night of work in the GreenHab, the morning started a little late. All morning and part of the afternoon, Shannon and I were working on the final ideas of the Ikea project and tomorrow morning we will finish it. I never thought it would be so rough. Never underestimate anything.

Today I took Opportunity and Curiosity to consume their batteries to complete their charging cycles. Opportunity’s battery dropped 9 times faster than Curiosity’s, both have almost the same number of hours of use. We have theorized that the fact of having been constantly connected had a great influence. During Crew 188 rotation, Opportunity was disconnected most of the time. We will verify this theory during the following days. In any case, within this week it is planned to get all the extensions to plug every Rover.

Today I had planned to send a GreenHab Report, but I’m just going to start working in the Green Hab, I plan to send it out tonight, but I do not think I can send it in time. I’ll send it after Coms.

Thank you very much for being with us tonight.

How are you doing, Graeme?

Atila

Look Ahead Plan:

Finishing Ikea plans, keep using the Rovers and starting some field work!

Anomalies in work:

None

Weather: Temperature: 5°C

Crew Physical Status: Healthy

Reports to be filed:

Sol Summary
Operations Report

Support Requested: None

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 11, 2018
Sol Summary – February 11th
Crew IKEA Sol Summary 11 Feb 2018

SOL 1:

Summary Title: Bringing It All Back Home

Author’s name: Atila Meszaros

Mission Status: All nominal

Sol Activity Summary:

Finally, I’m back. After a few days in the snow-capped mountains of
Colorado, you don’t have any idea how much I missed the Hab. I try not
to think about the time I have left. There is a lot of work to do and
I’m very excited about this.

The 188 crew left during the first hours of the morning, I chose my
room, I unpacked my bags and with Shannon, we planned all the
activities that we are going to carry out during this week and we went
ahead with some goals of the internship. We were working on the Ikea
project, we have already chosen several items for the kitchen and the
upper deck rooms, and we have big plans for the EVA room and the
Science Dome.

The rest of the day I’ve been working in the GreenHab. A very
difficult task. Most of the plants were completely dry, apparently
they have not been watered for at least a couple of days and others
are drowning. I will try to rescue most of them, especially the
cucumbers, which were the most damaged. As Shannon mentioned, we are
going to be keep just a few plants. Tomorrow I will be sending a
complete GreenHab Report with aquaponics status information.

Thank you very much for being with us tonight. I hope you’re having an
amazing time!

Atila

Look Ahead Plan:

Finish organizing the Green Hab, take out the Rovers and consume their
batteries to complete their cycles and finish selecting Ikea items.

Anomalies in work:

None

Weather: Temperature: 1°C

Crew Physical Status: Healthy

Reports to be filed:

Sol Summary
Operations Report

Support Requested: None

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/category/sol-summary/page/20/ Source]

Crew 189 Sol Summaries

2019-03-24T18:56:23Z

NathanielFromMars: Created page with "Category:Sol Summaries ONMARCH 10, 2018 Sol Summary – March 10th Crew 189/190 Sol Summary Report 10 Mars 2018 Sol 20/0 Summary Title: Welcoming our Belgian neighbours..."

[[Category:Sol Summaries]]

ONMARCH 10, 2018
Sol Summary – March 10th
Crew 189/190 Sol Summary Report 10 Mars 2018

Sol 20/0

Summary Title: Welcoming our Belgian neighbours

Author: Louis Mangin / Maximilien Richald /Michael Saint Guillain

Crew Status: All nominal

Sol Activity Summary:
Hab cleaning in the morning, debriefings, trip to Green Mars, meeting
with university Rover team. Then arrival of crew 190 from Belgium and
knowledge transfer.

Look Ahead Plan: Briefings for crew 190, installation, trip back to
Grand Junction for crew 189.

Anomalies in work: –

Weather: Partly cloudy, very warm.

Crew Physical Status: Fine.

EVA: –

Reports to be file:
Operation report

Support Requested: –

POSTED ONMARCH 7, 2018
Sol Summary – March 7th
Here the Crew 189 Sol Summary Report 07 March 2018

POSTED ONMARCH 6, 2018
Sol Summary – March 6th
Crew 189 Sol Summary Report 06 Mar 2018

Sol 16

Summary Title: TV stars

Author: Louis Mangin

Mission Status: All nominal

Sol Activity Summary:
Today was another special day: a journalist duo came from Washington
to shoot a report for the news on a French national TV. They were very
curious and friendly and should have taken great shots of Lith Canyon
and the station. The reporter followed us wearing a spacesuit during
the EVA. Let’s hope the result looks great!

The afternoon was quieter: human factors experiments, astronomy,
experiments, video editing, demonstrations/interviews for the
journalists…

Look Ahead Plan: Emergency procedures training vol. 2 in the morning,
small EVA in the afternoon to deploy Solar Panels, GPS guidance
system, shoot missing footage for the rotation video

Anomalies in work: –

Weather: Sunny.

Crew Physical Status: Fine.

EVA: Lith Canyon + Battery change

Reports to be filed:
Commander
Journalist
Engineering
Greenhab Officer
EVA report
EVA request
Astronomy report

Support Requested: –

POSTED ONMARCH 5, 2018
Sol Summary – March 5th
Here is the Crew 189 Sol Summary Report 05 March 2018

Sol 15

Summary Title: Beginning of last martian week

Author: Victoria Da-Poian

Mission Status: All nominal

Sol Activity Summary: We began our last week on Mars. Today’s EVA was dedicated to air sensors experiments and to localization experiment. The EVA was not really successful (cf EVA report) but we still have one week left to work on this! In the Hab today, I was pleased to cook a salad (salad, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes!): it was delicious! I took care of the greenhab as Jérémy was outside and as the previous Crew 175 Greenhab officer, I spent some time enjoying the vegetables smells! Then, we spent time working on our experiments (human factors experiment, virtual reality filming…)

Look Ahead Plan: Tomorrow, we will welcome two French television journalists (TF1). They will spend the day with us from our physical training to our afternoon activities.

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: Sunny

Crew Physical Status: Fine

EVA: 11th

Reports to be filed:
Commander
Journalist
Engineering
Greenhab Officer
Astronomer
EVA

Support Requested: None

Cheers,

Victoria
Crew189 Commander

POSTED ONMARCH 4, 2018
Sol Summary – March 4th
Sol 14

Summary Title: The last Sunday on Mars

Author: Victoria Da-Poian

Mission Status: All nominal

Sol Activity Summary: Today was our second day-off and our last Sunday on Mars. We took time for ourselves and worked on some experiments. This day-off was really appreciated by the whole crew.

Look Ahead Plan: Tomorrow will be the beginning of our last week on Mars. Everyone seems really motivated to work hard during these last days and to welcome the journalists on Tuesday!

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: Sunny and windy

Crew Physical Status: Fine

EVA: None

Reports to be file:

Commander

Journalist

Engineering

Greenhab Officer

Support Requested: None

POSTED ONMARCH 1, 2018
Sol Summary – March 1st
Crew 189 Sol Summary Report 01 March 2018

Sol 11

Summary Title: The first EVA without veterans

Author: Victoria Da-Poian

Mission Status: All nominal

Sol Activity Summary: This morning, the crew woke up lately (35 minutes late) , and we decided not to do our physical exercise as an EVA was planned at 9am. After our breakfast, Alex (EVA leader), Jérémy, Laurent and Benoit went outside to perform their first EVA without Louis or me in the team. I have to say I was quite worry to let my “little martians” go outside without Louis or me. The EVA went well even if we faced some radios issues (our Habcom Gabriel was hardly able to communicate with the EVA team …) The afternoon was dedicated to our human factors experiments (the competition is really funny to observe).

Look Ahead Plan: Tomorrow, we will all work on our outside experiments (MegaARES and LOAC), on the radios issues and will explore again Mars. On Saturday, we will welcome a French journalist and everyone seems happy to see a new face. We will all work on our experiments and have our routine (physical training in the morning, human factors experiments, bread competition…)

Anomalies in work: Water leak in the Hab Lower deck

Weather: Cloudy and windy

Crew Physical Status: Fine

EVA: 8th

Reports to be filed:
Commander
Journalist
Engineering
Greenhab Officer
EVA

Support Requested: None

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 28, 2018
Sol Summary – February 28th
Hello again Capcom,

Here is today’s sol summary:

Crew 189 Sol Summary Report 28 Feb 2018

Sol 10

Summary Title: Inside Ops

Author: Louis Mangin

Mission Status: All nominal

Sol Activity Summary:
Today started with another general good performance during the sport session: everybody is in good shape and athletic in this crew! After breakfast, four of us spent the morning upgrading the GrenHab by adding the new shade, and cleaning/ reorganizing it. The day went on with work on our experiments: human factor experiments, location, EVA logger, solar panel cleaner.

Look Ahead Plan: Exploration of Lith Canyon, deployment of location and logger systems, human factors experiments, emergency procedures follow up.

Anomalies in work: Water leak in the Hab Lower deck

Weather: Warm and sunny.

Crew Physical Status: Fine.

EVA: –

Reports to be file:
Commander
Journalist
Engineering
Greenhab Officer

Support Requested: –

Louis Mangin
Crew 189 Commander

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 27, 2018
Sol Summary – February 27th
Crew 189 Sol Summary Report 27 Feb 2018

Sol 9

Summary Title: The day of emergency procedures

Author: Victoria Da-Poian

Mission Status: All nominal

Sol Activity Summary: This morning, after a small issue of alarm (1 hour late on our usual wake up), we had a nice physical training (I was really motivated and did a really nice session!). After our breakfast, Laurent (our HSO) gave us a briefing about the emergency procedures. The afternoon was dedicated to use all this theory during EVA. Louis, Benoit, Gabriel, Laurent and I went outside the Hab to simulate all these emergency procedures. After this interesting EVA, we spent one hour doing the human factors experiment of Gabriel. (I think I am already addicted to this game, and playing with Laurent and Alex is really fun).

Look Ahead Plan: We were already all busy the first days of our second week. Tomorrow, we will all work on our experiments and will not go to EVA. At the end of this week, we will welcome a French journalist and everyone seems happy to see a new face. We will all work on our experiments and have our routine (physical training in the morning, human factors experiments, bread competition…)

Anomalies in work: Water leak in the Hab Lower deck

Weather: Nice and really warm

Crew Physical Status: Fine, still a bit tired from the first week

EVA: 7th

Reports to be file:

Commander

Journalist

Engineering

Greenhab Officer

EVA

Support Requested: None

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 26, 2018
Sol Summary – February 26th
Hello again Capcom,

Here is today’s sol summary:

Crew 189 Sol Summary Report 26 Feb 2018

Sol 8

Summary Title: Getting the rhythm

Author: Louis Mangin

Mission Status: All nominal

Sol Activity Summary:
Today started by a quick EVA, to change LOAC’s battery, followed by an exploration of White Canyon. We spent this afternoon working on experiments and cleaning up the Hab as lower deck was becoming very dirty. The crew is now in good shape and the three of us recording our physical performance this morning scored new records in almost every discipline.
Only some of us lack of sleep, but except from this, everybody is doing great! The only thing worrying us is reduced food’s portions, but we start to adapt to lighter meals.

Look Ahead Plan: Emergency procedures training in the morning, in situ testing during a quick EVA near the hab in the afternoon.

Anomalies in work: Water leak in the Hab Lower deck

Weather: Mostly sunny.

Crew Physical Status: Fine.

EVA: –

Reports to be file:
Commander
Journalist
Engineering
Greenhab Officer
EVA report
HSO report

Support Requested: –

Louis Mangin
Crew 189 Commander

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 25, 2018
Sol Summary – February 25th
Crew 189 Sol Summary Report 25 Feb 2018

Sol 7

Summary Title: Rest Day

Author: Louis Mangin

Mission Status: All nominal

Sol Activity Summary:
We decided to declare two rest days this year because all the lack of
sleep we accumulated last year. No fixed hour of wake up for today,
but everybody was busy by 11:00 a.m. This day was supposed to be free
and dedicated to long run tasks or personal time. In the afternoon, we
split in different team, working in the greenhab to rearrange it,
cooking, producing an encouragement video for school’s student
selected for a TV show. It was also the time for a first individual
debriefing about the sport sessions I organize.

Look Ahead Plan: Change of LOAC’s battery, exploration of White Canyon
in EVA. Experiments repair, backpack change of battery, emergency
procedures inside training.

Anomalies in work: Water leak in the Hab Lower deck

Weather: Mostly sunny, cold.

Crew Physical Status: Fine.

EVA: –

Reports to be file:
Commander
Journalist
Engineering
Greenhab Officer

Support Requested: –

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 21, 2018
Sol Summary – February 21st
Crew 189 Sol Summary Report 21 Feb 2018

Sol 3

Summary Title: First results

Author: Louis Mangin

Mission Status: All nominal

Sol Activity Summary:
Normal start: everybody is now accustomed to the physical training even if some legs are already heavy. The third EVA was supposed to deploy the LOAC but it didn’t go that well. The power system had an issue and wires melted once I pluged it in. We then brought the equipement back to the hab, and went on for the EVA, going East to do a bit of exploration near Cactus Road, and shoot photos for the school.
This afternoon was dense: after lunch break, we answered to a French journalist interview, played the first session of Gabriel’s human factor experiment, installed a new shade on the GreenHab, worked on experiments, so that we didn’t have enough time to fix the backpack’s fans. Tomorrow EVA will then be done using the new version, before we take time to take care of these (this time, I really want to do it tomorrow).

Look Ahead Plan: Third deployment try of LOAC, data gathering of MegaARES, exploration of Candor Chasma, backpack’s fans inspection, end of shade replacement in greenhab.

Anomalies in work: Broken light in the bathroom (no replacement one found). Water leak in the Hab Lower deck, broken fans in spacesuits.

Weather: Cold and Cloudy

Crew Physical Status: Fine, already a bit tired, but everybody naped.

EVA: Second

Reports to be filed:
Commander
Journalist
HSO
Engineering
Greenhab Officer
EVA

Support Requested: New light for bathroom (see Engineering report)

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 20, 2018
Sol Summary – February 20th
Crew 189 Sol Summary Report 20 Feb 2018

Sol 2

Summary Title: First experiments deployment

Author: Victoria Da-Poian

Mission Status: All nominal

Sol Activity Summary: Our day began with our lovely physical training.
It is already adopted by each crewmember. Since this morning, everyone
has experienced the EVAs. We managed to deploy one experiment (the
MegaARES) but a small problem enabled the LOAC deployment. We will fix
it with Jérémy in order to try again tomorrow. Even if Gabriel had a
very foggy helmet (fans problems), and everyone seems really happy and
I have to say the photos Benoit took are really nice. During our EVA,
the rest of the crew fixed the water boiler, cleaned, cooked and
worked on experiments. After the lunch and a little break, Gabriel
showed us his humans factors experiment, and everyone worked on their
own experiments and reports.

Look Ahead Plan: After our first deployment, the second air sensor,
(LOAC) will normally be deployed tomorrow.

Anomalies in work: Water leak in the Hab Lower deck, broken fans in spacesuits

Weather: Nice

Crew Physical Status: Fine, already a bit tired from the first EVAs

Reports to be filed
:
Commander
Journalist
HSO
Engineering
Greenhab Officer
EVA

Support Requested: No more boiler is needed. Would it be possible to
have the RoverCal that is in the RAM delivered in the airlock please?

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 19, 2018
Sol Summary – February 19th
Crew 189 Sol Summary Report 19 Feb 2018

Sol 1

Summary Title: The day of Firsts

Author: Victoria Da-Poian

Mission Status: All nominal

Sol Activity Summary: First physical training, first EVA. We started our day by the very famous physical training of the ISAE Supaero crews. After a nice morning working on our mission planning, fixing our experiments, and getting ready for our first EVA, we had a nice lunch with our first dried vegetables. After the lunch, the all crew worked on the EVA preparation to help the ones going outside and to learn the EVAs functioning. The EVA went fine and we will deploy our experiments tomorrow. Our first bread is baking.

Look Ahead Plan: Because of the wind planned for today, only one part of the crew went out for an EVA in the Hab surroundings to select a location to deploy our air sensors, MegaARES and LOAC. Tomorrow the other part of the crew will go to their first EVA to deploy our experiments.

Anomalies in work: Water leak in the Hab Lower deck, broken fans in spacesuits, water boiler broken

Weather: Windy, cold in the station

Crew Physical Status: Fine, already a bit tired from the first physical training.

EVA: First one

Reports to be file:

Commander

Journalist

HSO

Engineering

Greenhab Officer

Astronomer Officer

EVA

Support Requested: new water boiler (please)

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 18, 2018
Sol Summary – February 18th
Crew 189 Sol Summary Report 18 Feb 2018

Sol 0

Summary Title: Getting Ready

Author: Louis Mangin

Mission Status: All nominal

Sol Activity Summary: Last briefings, beginning of the simulation. We
started by a round trip to Grand Junction to get back the rental car
while the rest of the crew was settling in the hab, learned about the
surroundings and station management with Dr Rupert. Then we learned
about driving, spacesuits, and had a briefing about simulation with Dr
Rupert. We then closed the airlock at 5:50 PM before sunset.

Look Ahead Plan: Because of the wind planned for tomorrow, we changed
of plans, and will only go out for an EVA in the Hab surroundings to
select a location to deploy our air sensors, MegaARES and LOAC.

Anomalies in work: Water leak in the Hab Lower deck, broken fans in
spacesuits, water heater badly calibrated. Two greenhab thermometers
probably broken. Voltmeter not working.

Weather: Very windy, hard to see and to travel without space suits.

Crew Physical Status: Fine, already a bit tired from travel.

EVA: None

Reports to be file:
Commander
Journalist
HSO checklist
Engineering
Greenhab Officer

Support Requested: One or two thermometers.

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/category/sol-summary/page/19/ Source]

Crew 186 Journalism Reports

2019-03-24T18:51:54Z

NathanielFromMars: Created page with "Category:Journalism Reports POSTED ON JANUARY 13, 2018 Journalist Report – January 13th [Sol 13] [The Final Countdown] The team awoke to the song: “The Pioneers of..."

[[Category:Journalism Reports]]

POSTED ON JANUARY 13, 2018
Journalist Report – January 13th
[Sol 13] [The
Final Countdown]

The team awoke to the song: “The Pioneers of Mars” and to the exciting news of the safe arrival of crew 187 on this desert world. After one final pancake breakfast we threw ourselves into our cleaning duties, eager to make a fine impression as the previous team had with us. When our colleagues arrived in the early afternoon with their pressurized rover we had only just finished preparing the habitat for them. There was a short break to introduce ourselves, but the new team was excited to learn the ropes of maintaining the habitat. We organized ourselves into pairs and taught them the quirks of each of the hab’s systems.

With familiarization and photos out of the way, we plan to spend the evening socializing with the new crew over dinner and some card games. Overnight we will travel to the ascent vehicle and begin preparations for launch at dawn. As such, this will be my last update until we reach orbit.

It is said that the 4 stages of teamwork are forming, storming, norming, and performing. Over the past mission I have seen our team pass through each of these stages and though circumstances have been tough at times, I can say with confidence that we leave this world more capable, humorous, considerate, and farseeing than the people we came as. The soaring mesas, grand vistas, and infinite textures of this remote planet have changed us. But our greatest hope is that we have in turn changed it. To make what was a desolate, frozen expanse more livable, meaningful, and ultimately more human: this is the goal of humankind’s voyage to Mars, and the goal, perhaps, of our journey to the stars.

We wish Crew 187 all the best for their mission. For those on Earth, we would like to thank the legions of support personnel for making this grand adventure possible. With luck, we will be seeing you all soon!

Justin Mansell, MDRS Crew 186 Journalist

P.S. Photos attached. Photo of the day: 13Jan2018 Crew186-187 hand off.jpg

POSTED ON JANUARY 12, 2018
Journalist Report – January 12th
Sol 12 – Harvest

Today was our final EVA. A small team consisting of Melanie Grande (crew engineer), Sam Albert (health and safety officer), and myself, departed the habitat around 11 am and embarked on a long and bumpy drive out to Skyline Rim. We did not arrive until well past noon. What initially seemed like a row of jagged teeth along the western horizon soon grew into a towering mesa of red stone that commanded our admiration. It was a humbling vista.

Our purpose was to collect and analyze samples of shale on behalf of our geologist, Cesare Guariniello. To do so, Sam and Melanie ascended an escarpment to the layers of stone strata. Though their height was hardly even half that of the monolithic ridge, Sam reported that he was able to see all the way to the habitat. But given the long drive back, we couldn’t stay for long. By 2:30 pm we had returned to the habitat with only a short break along the way.

Meanwhile, the rest of the crew has been busy measuring the yield of Mark’s microgreens experiment. Though most of the crop was reserved for his experiment, a portion was kept for tonight’s meal. The whole team gathered early this evening to partake in the harvest of fresh radish, lettuce, dill, cilantro, and green beans. It will be the first fresh food we’ve had since the mission began. For the graduate students on the team, the wait has been even longer!

The meal will be one to savor, for it will be our last dinner in this habitat. Mission control confirms that the refueling of our ascent vehicle using in-situ resources has completed and that the vehicle registers nominal on all system checkouts. Tomorrow at noon our crew will depart the habitat, travel to the ascent vehicle, and prepare for launch at dawn on Sunday morning. It will be the culmination of our grand adventure to the Red Planet. But until then, a frenzy of cleaning and preparation awaits!

Justin Mansell, MDRS Crew 186 Journalist

P.S. Photos attached. Photo of the day: 515300_4251200 12Jan2018 Skyline Rim.jpg.
(Sorry for the huge photo, but it really is incredible. The credit goes to Melanie Grande for taking it!)

POSTED ON JANUARY 12, 2018
Journalist Report – January 9th
[Sol 9]

Another slow day at the hab. The crew awoke to frigid temperatures and a shroud of blowing Martian dust – our first sandstorm. Unwilling to test our luck in the tumultuous conditions, we immediately cancelled the planned EVA and have postponed it to tomorrow. Despite the storm, however, life at the habitat remains quite pleasant. The rarefied Martian wind is too tenuous to threaten our immediate safety and instead fosters a sense of coziness here. The crew enjoyed a television show after breakfast and has spent the day working, reading, and debating various topics. For those who participated in yesterday’s chilly EVA the downtime was certainly welcome.

By the late afternoon the dust had begun to clear and a robotic supply rover which landed earlier this week was able to complete its slow trek to the hab. After a quick excursion to obtain the supplies the crew delightfully unpacked a brand new bread maker and put it to use right away. At the time of writing the team is eagerly awaiting the results.

Justin Mansell, MDRS Crew 186 Journalist

P.S. Photos attached. Photo of the day: 09Jan2018 Crew mental health questionable.jpg

POSTED ON JANUARY 10, 2018
Journalist Report – January 10th
[Sol 10] [The
Lost Astronaut]

The day began with our usual order of activities – yoga and breakfast followed by EVA prep. The purpose of this EVA was a dedicated test of the radio navigation experiment. But unlike the previous tests, the astronaut using the antenna would have their vision restricted to only their immediate area by a cardboard visor strapped to their helmet. This, combined with the flat lighting of the gloomy sky, meant there was no possibility of using visual cues to return to the hab. Furthermore, the antenna would not be in the hands of her designer, but the crew’s greenhab scientist, Mark Gee, who possessed no previous experience using the antenna. It was out closest simulation yet of a real lost astronaut imperiled by low-visibility conditions.

Due to the risk of precipitation in the morning, the EVA team did not depart until slightly past noon when the weather began to stabilize. Cesare Guariniello and Melanie Grande supported Mark on EVA (i.e. ensured he wouldn’t accidentally walk off a cliff) and led him on foot to the east until he was thoroughly disoriented. At 1 pm, we switched on the habitat’s navigation beacon. Thirty minutes later, the EVA team emerged from behind a distant ridge within sight of the habitat. Melanie and Cesare later reported that they struggled to keep up with Mark as he aggressively chased the signal back to the hab. But before the test could proceed to completion, a freezing Martian snow began trickling from the skies. By mission rule the team was forced to abort and return immediately.

The team made use of the extra time to relax and prepare for an evening teleconference with the Purdue chapter of the Mars Society. It went splendidly. Since then, Mark has been cross pollinating plants in the greenhab, and Sam Albert, the health and safety officer, made preparations to take additional microbial samples tomorrow. The rest of us are gearing up for another test of the navigation antenna soon.

Justin Mansell, MDRS Crew 186 Journalist

P.S. Photos attached. Photo of the day: 10Jan2018 Preparing the lost astronaut.jpg

POSTED ON JANUARY 7, 2018
Journalist Report – January 7th
Sol 7 – Back to the Grind

Today’s clear skies allowed the warm sun to erase any lingering Martian frost and set the stage for our most ambitious EVA yet. The vast canyon surveyed in EVA 3 was but a tantalizing preview of the wonders that lay below. We had to return.

A team of 4 led by our commander, Max Fagin, suited up and departed the airlock around 10:30 am, reaching the turn-off to the Maxwell Montes around 11:15. But instead of walking north along the canyon’s ridge as we had done previously, the team searched eastward for a safe passage into the canyon itself. They succeeded and soon found themselves immersed in a sprawling labyrinth of rocky channels. Invigorated by the thrill of discovery, the team pressed on, and after some wandering was able to locate the base of the enormous stratified walls identified in EVA 3. The team’s geologist, Cesare Guariniello, studied the crossbeded layers of sandstone and salt with a trained eye, but the wander through the maze of chasms had cost the team time. Before long it was time to head back. The EVA team returned at 3:30 pm, exhausted, but with smiles on their faces.

Nothing exciting is planned for this evening and I’m sure today’s EVA crew will appreciate the downtime. Last night we played our first few trial runs of the self-made cooperative Mars-themed card game which we have named “Mars Quest”. We plan to iterate on the rules slightly, as the game felt a little too easy. But the team still greatly enjoyed the experience.

Justin Mansell, MDRS Crew 186 Journalist

POSTED ON JANUARY 6, 2018
Journalist Report – January 6th
[Sol 6] [Astronaut’s Day Off]

Today was a cold and gloomy day. Even if this wasn’t our day off, I reckon that the crew would have been less than enthusiastic about any EVAs. But the weather has been a perfect excuse for a slow day around the hab.

Our commander, Max Fagin, allowed the crew to sleep in past the usual wake-up time of 7:30 am. Instead of an early breakfast, he cooked us a brunch of French toast and scrambled eggs. The crew was skeptical of the powdered and freeze-dried eggs at first, but warmed up to the taste after a few bites.

Members of the team have since spent the day tending to odds and ends for our various experiments. A sprinkling of tenuous Martian snow dusted the landscape in the late afternoon and has served to make the metallic bulkheads and thick pressure doors of our habitat feel almost cozy. Tonight our executive officer, Kshitij Mall, will treat the crew to a dinner of noodles and fish. Afterwards the crew will relax over a cooperative Mars-themed card game written by myself during today’s free time.

All in all, though the day has been slow, it is a welcome break before we continue with our second EVA to the distant Maxwell Montes tomorrow.

Justin Mansell, MDRS Crew 186 Journalist

POSTED ON JANUARY 5, 2018
Journalist Report – January 5th
[Sol 5]

Temperatures have plummeted and the night left a thin dusting of frost that lingered in the shadows throughout the day. Last night the team planned one of our most complex EVAs yet. One that would require the maximum compliment of 5 crewmembers on EVA at once. The goal: locate elusive hematite “blueberries” (named for their rounded shape and color) that could indicate the presence of liquid surface water in the distant Martian past.

The convoy travelled south to revisit areas explored on EVA #2. This time the team focused our search around a possible ancient stream bed. But alas, the search was unsuccessful. Still, the EVA traversed a variety of terrain and allowed all members of the EVA to gain experience identifying the different geologic formations. Back at the hab, our health and safety officer, Sam Albert, has begun cataloguing microbial samples from around the hab to better understand the microbial environment.

I am also happy to report that last night’s pizza was a hit, if not only due to Cesare’s magic touch that saved the dough. The crew was able to fit in some astronomical observations of the double Martian moonrise before relaxing over a television show. Tomorrow we will continue these leisure activities and have dedicated the day to relaxation to mark the halfway point of our mission.

Justin Mansell, MDRS Crew 186 Journalist

P.S. Photos attached. Photo of the day: 05Jan2018 Building a microbe catalogue.jpg

POSTED ON JANUARY 4, 2018
Journalist Report – January 4th
[Sol 4]

Today proved relatively restful for most of the team. Cesare Guariniello, our geologist, cooked chocolate pancakes for the crew after an early morning yoga session once again led by Kshitij Mall, the executive officer. Though a hearty EVA to the north in search of salt deposits was planned, it was cut short by unanticipated difficulties with one of the ATVs. The EVA team of 4 returned just after 1 pm and, given the strenuous expeditions of the last few days, was more than happy to spend the remainder of the afternoon catching up on various tasks. We deployed a small robotic rover built by the NorCal Mars Society and took turns operating it remotely in the vicinity of the hab. Mark Gee, the green hab scientist, has also made significant progress on his microgreens research and gave the team a tour of his experiments. The gesture complimented the lecture Cesare gave to us last night on the local geology.

Tonight the team will try our hand at making pizza out of the abundance of powdered and freeze dried ingredients. Afterwards we will continue to relax over card games and television shows. Hopefully it will be enough to ease tensions over the nutella. Today’s EVA crew ascended a ridge named “Mount Nutella” (no joke) but the effort proved futile in replenishing our reserves.

Justin Mansell, MDRS Crew 186 Journalist

POSTED ON JANUARY 3, 2018
Journalist Report- January 3rd
[Sol 3]

Today’s EVA was as rewarding and productive as it was grueling. A team of four of us departed the airlock just after 10:30 am and embarked on an epic trek far to the east beyond the bounds explored by any previous crew.

Oh what they have been missing!

An hour of driving brought our rovers to the end of drivable path. From there we continued on foot to the northeast of the Maxwell Montes until we once again reached an impasse. This time: a sheer cliff overlooking a spectacular network of canyons stretching as far as the eye could see! But the real treat were the walls of exposed strata. A hundred feet tall, no less! Though our objective was simply a preliminary survey, I reckon that the crew geologist will soon be back to scrutinize the story contained within the jumbled concoction of earthy hues.

The walk back to our rovers was arduous in the sun and stagnant air, but the EVA team summoned its second wind and proceeded directly into the radio navigation experiment. We drove approximately halfway back to the habitat before splitting into pairs and parting ways. The commander, Max Fagin, and myself were one pair. We dismounted the rovers while the crew engineer, Melanie Grande, and executive officer, Kshitij Mall, returned to the habitat to continue maintenance on the main airlock.

As the two rovers rocked and bounced their way up the dirt path, the commander and I steeled ourselves for the long walk back to the hab. But rather than follow the road, we would be taking a more direct route: one guided through unfamiliar terrain by Morse tones broadcast from the hab and received by us on a utilitarian antenna. It worked perfectly. Homing in on the hab’s beacon, we returned with time enough to spare for many photos. When we at last entered the airlock the elapsed time was nearly 4 and half hours. Grueling indeed!

Back at hab, the crew engineer has been working hard to master the quirks of our fickle generator. The dwindling supply of nutella has also begun to bring out the worst in us. But spirits are high, and our geologist, Cesare Guariniello, has baked a delectable cake in celebration of our green hab scientist’s birthday.

Justin Mansell, MDRS Crew 186 Journalist

P.S. Photos attached. Photo of the day: 521750_4255200 03Jan2018 Stunning strata.jpg

POSTED ON JANUARY 2, 2018
Journalist Report – January 2nd
Crew 186 Journalist Report 2Jan2018

[Sol 2]

The weather is exceptional today. Only faint tendrils of moisture drift lazily across the boundless sky, and we were able to run the habitat for most of the day on solar power alone. The downside to all this, however, could be attested to by the members of the crew who endured the oppressively hot radiance on our second EVA.

Guided by the crew’s geologist, Cesare, the team drove far to the south in search of clay and hematite samples. At one of the sites the crew was able to ascend a nearby butte and was treated to a spectacular panorama of the endless Martian desert. They returned with an overwhelming number of photos and much exhaustion. Our Green hab scientist, Mark Gee, had an especially tiring day, as he spent much of the morning preparing an experiment growing microgreens in conditions of minimal input and testing the effects of the habitat biome on plant growth.

Following a brief rest, the crew returned to preparing experiments and performing maintenance duties on the habitat. These duties included an engineering EVA to move equipment and check the battery status the rovers.

Justin Mansell, MDRS Crew 186 Journalist

POSTED ON JANUARY 1, 2018
Journalist Report – January 1st
[Sol 1] [New Year, New Planet]

The first sunrise of 2018 broke the horizon at approximately 7:40 am this morning and lit the sky with a fiery glow not unlike the sea of ochre shades below. The crew roused with little hesitation and started the day with a yoga session led by our executive officer, Kshitij Mall. By 9 am the team had donned our EVA suits and capitalized on the morning light to conduct photo shoot. It was also our last chance to enjoy the outdoors while still being able to take our helmets off.

With the crew portraits obtained, the crew returned inside the habitat to indulge in a delicious New Year breakfast of fruit crêpes, cooked for the team by yours truly. At noon, the airlocks were shut from both sides and the simulation began.

But our crew isn’t one to vegetate inside the habitat (as cozy as it can be). Almost as soon as the simulation had begun, our ardent commander, Max Fagin, had 4 of us suiting up for our first EVA. The purpose was to analyze rock samples a short distance south of the hab and the EVA also served as an important test of our spectrometer and radio navigation equipment. Upon our return, the crew engineer, Melanie Grande, used some surplus time to replace the window on the outer door of the southern airlock.

Though the EVA was short, it has given the team much to think about. We have since been discussing various logistical items and how to iron out minor bugs in our EVA equipment.

Justin Mansell, MDRS Crew 186 Journalist

P.S. Daily photos attached. Picture of the day: 01Jan2018 Happy New Year.jpg

POSTED ON DECEMBER 31, 2017
Journalist Report – December 31st
Sol 0 – Basic Training

Today the crew completed the last of our training. It was a busy day that began with bidding farewell to crew 185 as they departed the habitat and headed for home. We did our best to help them pack and promptly filled the vacant hab with our own cargo.

Prior to lunch we met with the station’s director to receive a full briefing that reviewed much of the procedures taught to us by crew 185 yesterday. We subsequently took a brief break, which we utilized for lunch and to finish moving into our staterooms.

Our final training task was to learn how to don the realistically bulky space suits. Our commander, Max Fagin, led the briefing based on his experience on a prior mission. With the entire team suited up, we explored the local area on a practice EVA that allowed us to become familiar with the limited mobility afforded by the suits.

Tonight we will celebrate the new year to the taste of lentil soup, oven-baked ziti, and fudge brownies – all cooked by our crew’s geologist and signature Italian chef – Cesare Guariniello.

We plan to formally enter the simulation late tomorrow morning.

– Justin Mansell, MDRS Crew 186 Journalist

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/category/journalist-report/page/20/ Source]

Crew 187 Journalism Reports

2019-03-24T18:49:18Z

NathanielFromMars: Created page with "Category:Journalism Reports POSTED ONJANUARY 28, 2018 Journalist Report – January 27th [draft status] English [Sol 15] [A new Hope] People say that good is for a s..."

[[Category:Journalism Reports]]

POSTED ONJANUARY 28, 2018
Journalist Report – January 27th
[draft status]

English

[Sol 15]

[A new Hope]

People say that good is for a short time. Two weeks, 15 sol have passed and now we are in the opposite place. The 188 crew has arrived on this planet. You will see them smile, sigh and miss as has happened with us.

But to get to this point of the day it is necessary to count the cleaning routine of today. 8 am, brooms and mops ready. Greenhab, Science Dome, Observatory and Hab ready. The suits and helmets in place, clean kitchen and suitcases made.

The International Space University team arrived and our work as hosts began. It’s time to show them the site, tips, ideas and warnings. When we finished we decided it was time for our first meal on Earth and their last meal before Mars in some peculiar Utah-style restaurant in the middle of a Martian road. Milkshakes, hamburgers, fries and chicken strips, the truth maybe is that we only want to recover the lost weight.

Back home the last night begins and the only thing left is to enjoy these hours. I write these final words surrounded by my favorites, planning new projects and collaborations. We do not want to lose ourselves back to Earth.

And now personal feelings but that are shared here as oxygen. This last part is dedicated to Attila, Cynthia, Danton, David, Luis and Oscar, my dear astronauts, my dear Martians.

Thank you for being like that, for laughing and enjoying this time. For being young but one of the most mature and intelligent people that you could know, for being sensitive, educated and so honest, for taking care of us and our humor along with the chocolates, for your madness, fun and friendship, for your nobility, solidarity and companionship, for your intelligence, character and food.

Thank you for allowing yourself to feel and open your minds and hearts to others. We will miss ourselves along with our defects, virtues, personalities and emotions.

Sometimes it happens that from those who least expect something you get the best results. Congratulations astronauts we achieve the goal, we fulfill the mission and now there is nothing left to do here. Soon we will return together or separately, in the near of distant future. Goodbye Mars, hello Earth!

LATAM II thanks all its collaborators and see you soon.

Tania Robles, MDRS Crew 187 Journalist

POSTED ONJANUARY 26, 2018
Journalist Report – January 25th
Crew 187 Journalist Report 25Jan2018

English

[Sol 14]

[Jurassic
Park]

The previous night was long between debates, talks and a delicious ramen soup with meat. Five hours later, it was time to prepare for the last day of work here and the last exploration.

Exploration that by the way had several facets between risk and danger, adventure and adrenaline, emotion, admiration and the Martian. A path of rocks and red plains until the deviation 1101 that started the route with positive and negative drops, jumps and another thousand rocks.

In our vehicles we reached the end of the road where vestiges of ancient or extraterrestrial civilizations had left what appeared to be a container of food and drink where the effect of oxygen with metals would have done its job. We are not alone.

On the left, you can see the trace of what was millions of years ago. Rock formations that would only be possible elsewhere on Earth, in Utah. More than 20 meters in a rigid labyrinth in multiple shades looks out. It would be much easier to go down without our spacesuits but in the end who would like to close their eyes here.

Seeing the ground is also allowed. The rocks here are rare, different, of many colors and ages. From the voice of our almost geologist of the expedition, the area was watery with calm, agitated times and floods or so it seems with the sediments framed in its walls.

Further ahead and in the distance in something similar to a road for Martian ships we observe their passage at interesting speeds, where will they go? Will there have been a Hanksville on Mars? It would be a great coincidence.

With the Sun on our shoulders the way back is the destiny. The ground is full of small rocks that seem not to be rocks. Were there corals on Mars? Antelopes? And snails? Seems that yes. Maybe there was also a Jurassic age here, or that´s what our little Martian souvenirs show.

When the hunger appears there is no worry, the food was enough. At least we managed to lose a few extra kilos. Today we ate a good buffet, although the idea of having Peruvian, Colombian and Mexican food on the plate soon makes our small stomachs resonate.

When the first star shone in the sky of this sol, we all together went to listen to the desert, the nothing, feel the wind and cold, but especially to share our last candies as Martians. And me, I do not even want to think about the end, tomorrow and the farewell, in my life on Earth without their laugh, jokes and presence. Happy last day as Martians.

LATAM II will continue to inform

Tania Robles, MDRS Crew 187 Journalist

POSTED ONJANUARY 26, 2018
Journalist Report – January 24th
Crew 187 Journalist Report 24Jan2018

English

[Sol 13]

[Into
the Wild]

When we arrived we promised to maintain physical condition with exercise and a balanced diet. Today on our penultimate day that is not exactly true anymore. We woke up at 9 o’clock in the morning to rest until the time of the EVA arrives.

Four crew members were chosen to explore the terrain of Candor Chasma, which on maps looked like the red planet but when we arrived it remind us of the home of elephants, giraffes and lions, the very African desert among small canyons and dry rivers, with trees that look like years ago they lost their last drop of life trapped in two rocky walls that force to look up to reach its shore.

We are not only astronauts in the middle of the yellow of these arenas, now we are more, friends and brothers with a responsibility: to give the best of ourselves together and apart, to give the best of our kind. Humans, who without the effort of dozens behind us 5, 10, 20 years ago, who share our blood or not, have brought us so far from home. Soon we will be back.

With the night reaching these mountains and near the end we decided to prepare a gala dinner for the Queen of Mars as some locals call her. It’s amazing the kind of food that can be created when you have cans of dehydrated food and a well-equipped kitchen. Desserts are possible as our chef showed: apple pie with cinnamon, the best dessert in the area, the planet.

The greatness of a person is not measured by how recognized they are but in the work and collaboration that has been given to society. Coming here does not make us more or less, it gives us experience and more duties because having a great power carries a great responsibility as an arachnid would say.

With the hours counted here, we have promised to make better our places of origin and planet, help the people see what we have seen, learned and understood. You can´t understand Mars with words, only with sighs.

LATAM II will continue to inform

Tania Robles, MDRS Crew 187 Journalist

POSTED ONJANUARY 24, 2018
Journalist Report – January 24th
English

[Sol 12]

[Space
Cowboys]

It seems that the first week on Mars we tried to get used to the weather, landscapes and silence. In the middle of our last week, the laughs and happiness of the crew interrupt the void of this desert. And it’s not because we look forward to our rocket travel home, it’s because we now share something no other humans have experienced.

Before noon our space cowboys traveled to red hills and white sand dunes. There the team found rocky treasures and the indicated terrain to test the small Guache, a Colombian rover with the ability to take care of the pockets of its creators without affecting their results. Successful suspensions.

Also there with a landscape that combines the inert orange of the sky and the crimson mountains of the fourth planet taking advantage of the benefits of the distant terrestrial satellites managed to draw maps in three dimensions to help future astronauts on Mars to recognize the zones and learn more of these seductive grounds.

As each afternoon we have enjoyed our food together, they say that with a full stomach, conversations flow easier, our feelings and emotions. Then the human nature of digestion forced us to leave the coexistence to rest in our spaces.

What precedes the end of the day is a stellar marathon from the cloudless Mars. Earth, we can see you. We can see you and miss your good things, but also the bad things like when happiness comes before sadness, like when warm tones are the only colors that surrounds you and awaken in us the sound of birds in the morning or waves crashing on the coast .

This quiet night, the stars shine for us, we are still here Mars.

LATAM II will continue to inform

Tania Robles, MDRS Crew 187 Journalist

POSTED ONJANUARY 23, 2018
Journalist Report – January 23rd
English

Sol 11

The hours of sleep have lengthened in recent days as fatigue begins to be present. Knowing that today four crew members would travel to the distant Lith Canyon, it was a priority to have enough energy and hydration, a full breakfast. We already know that the food will be enough. Sorry Crew 188, it’s important to eat well.

Less than an hour later covered with up to three layers of clothing designed by the best engineers on Earth – or that you can buy in any supermarket of a certain American chain – our astronauts left the habitat in their motorized vehicles to conquer the canyon and impose on the extreme temperatures of the red planet.

After driving on the roads the secondary road seemed difficult to identify but after an hour and a half the end of the road appeared. During the next two hours there was a dance between dodging rocks and thorny plants. It was like a combination between the dry plains and deserts from Africa together with the red mountains of Mars, like an adventures and expeditions documental

It was not easy, for the first time since we arrived the scorching heat and little traces of the uncomfortable human perspiration appeared.

The allowed time of the expedition was diminished more and more and the entrance of the deep cannon continued distant. It is not recommended to mix fatigue, space suits, solar radiation and bags that together reach up to 5 kilograms, take note astronauts.

Finally the walk stopped and after admiring a quarry and flying our little friend the crew decided to walk back to the vehicles. The landscapes were not so impressive but if anything we are sure is that any geologist would envy the memories of today.

Although returning to the road took less time than thought, their bodies were already fighting the situation. Seeing the vehicles at a distance became the greatest joy of the day which filled them with more energy. That energy, the last breath that is given before achieving the impossible. And although one of the explorers tripped every two meters in her attempt to get there, the four boarded safely back home.

During the way back and having in their eyes the wonders and colours of Mars, it is not difficult to inspire yourself and let your mind fly. It is amazing how such different people coordinate themselves no matter how difficult it is and manage to work under one goal when the passion is so great, it is the effect of space.

Now here relaxed and all together we realize that each one reflects a certain personality that complements to form a single system that works surprisingly. Every characteristic such as seriousness, calmness, awkwardness, the good and the bad make us oneself. The countdown is starting but we know that back in Earth our ties will continue there, with faith!.

LATAM II will continue to inform

Tania Robles, MDRS Crew 187 Journalist

POSTED ONJANUARY 22, 2018
Journalist Report – January 22nd
Journalist Report:

English

[Sol 10]

[Apollo 13] [Eng]

With a quiet morning, the Sun 10 began, breakfast of sugary cereal and orange flavored drinks. Then some Martians disguised specialists in terrestrial habitats visited us to take charge of matters related to failed systems. It seems that from today our vital fluid will be safer and more reliable. Showers with hot water will be possible now.

Four of our bravest crew went out in search of the conquest of Mars aboard two rovers. An hour later the radios announced their return, in the habitat we worried. A rover’s battery failed and the cold froze the astronauts’ hands.

After the change of vehicle and warm up better they headed towards Copernicus Highway. Upon his arrival, amazement shinned their eyes. Wherever we go, we are the first to be there. It is the thought that unite our four crew members after traveling to the adventure to know and carry out their investigations. Result: a planetary wonder.

What did they find? A prehistoric land that surrounded in the four cardinal points like being in the middle of a red sea and that as in the movies that we watched in the big screen a dinosaur could appear in the middle of the canyons. Adrenaline and pure emotion.

Meanwhile the habitat consisted of one day of cleaning and inventory of surplus food for the remaining days on Mars. After climbing up and down the wooden stairs we have become accustomed to the feeling of living in a tree house as we did in our childhood.

But the adventure of our explorers did not end there until much later. On the way back another of the rovers consumed his battery until almost totally static. Fortunately we have a prepared and alert crew that managed to reach our home. Although the final result was positive, the road took more than two hours and consumed its energy and heat.

To get home they used brute force and ingenuity between tying ropes, cables, almost flags and pushing flags. Within five minutes of entering the habitat, they were rescued by the Station Director and finally returned safely.

We received them with scarves, sweaters, blankets and hot chocolate with marshmallows. History and enthusiasm have distracted us a lot of time tonight, but luckily we are all together and excited to continue exploring our red earth. There is no doubt that what makes us human, friendship, companionship and love is what will always get us out of trouble, here, there and on any planet, with faith.

LATAM II will continue to inform

Tania Robles, MDRS Crew 187 Journalist

POSTED ONJANUARY 20, 2018
Journalist Report – January 20th

English

[Sol 08]

[Elysium] [Eng]

It is better to try than keep wanting it forever. Last night we tried to watch the movie The Martian with burned popcorn cornered in the sofas to avoid the cold. With the lights off and after ten minutes a guttural sound coming from the sleeping crew interrupted the The Martian’s dialogues. An hour later there was only one survivor left.

Today in Sol 8 the light of our star didn´t wake us up in the morning because clouds darkened the sky and strong winds brought the visit of small drops to our red lands. We did a medium intensity exercise routine and watched the feet of a crew member fly through the air due to her lack of vision when she doesn´t wear glasses.

After breakfast cereal and some juice the day was dedicated to the personal work of each one but especially to the interaction of the crew.

Fortunately for our stomachs and spirits today we receive a small refill of our favorite food packages on Mars. We already thought about how to use it, meat pizza on the last day and food with more portions during the week that remains for us here. Thanks from everyone.

It is said that we are from the land that sees us grow and learn. Here there is no day, hour or second in which we do not share and cultivate new thoughts combined by the variety of cultures that formed us. It was two hours of debate on the pillars and controversial issues of humanity that are still taboo on Earth.

Every decision we have made in our lives has led us to this trip. At 1.7 astronomical units of house is where we finally find the deep silence, a silence that while we walk by the tunnels of the habitat or observe the stars at night makes us think about our life when we return. Will it change? Or during those five minutes before we can leave the habitat wearing our spacesuit, minutes that we enjoy with ourselves and make us reflect and value daily life, colors, family, sounds and flavors. These are mixed feelings.

A few minutes ago the crew returned to the habitat from the tunnels with the announcement of one of the officers about small snowflakes falling on Mars over our habitat. It forced us to satisfy our curiosity until we felt the zero degrees of this desert

Mars is red, but it’s cold.

LATAM II will continue to inform

Tania Robles, MDRS Crew 187 Journalist

POSTED ONJANUARY 19, 2018
Journalist Report – January 19th
Crew 187 Journalist Report 19JAN2018

Sol 07
The Martian

When we lived in Peru, Colombia, and Mexico, the days passed like simple hours where our biggest worries have no place on Mars. Since we arrived on this planet we realized that the food would be better than expected, in large part by our chef. But today in the morning we discovered that our bags and cans of food are disappearing faster and faster.

Although according to calculations we will manage to keep our stomachs almost full before having to return to home. If there is one thing we are sure of, it is that when we will be back in our home, we will have learned to value much more what we have because on Mars we take advantage of every grain of rice even the last. It is possible that in the next few days we use a system of tasks and chocolate exchange for food rations.

We know that with our provisions we can still give ourselves certain luxuries such as continuing to eat meat for six days, being able to make bread for another five and taking hot soups for the cold days that ahead.

We decided to divide the cupboard according to the food we can eat daily because, in fact, 80 percent of our conversations are about the food we could prepare and the desire for fast food we feel. The bascule already shows results in some of us.

The cold was also the protagonist in the seventh Sol. It seemed that the energy systems would not be enough to sustain us for the rest of this day and the next. According to mission control, there is a high probability that rain and snow will be present in the area, so in Sol 8 we prefer to stay in the habitat to continue with the projects.

After an episode of approximately two Earth hours, we have managed to recharge our fuel tank in order to maintain electricity in the habitat. Balance: two crew members bathed in diesel for what of course they took advantage taking their respective shower.

Without success, we have been able to achieve the goal of watching movies at night. “With faith” today we can watch some film accompanied by popcorn or canchita although at the time we are already listening to a sound coming from our stomachs so we wait for the culinary delights of the crew scientist.

A week away from this desert planet we prefer not to think about how classic and boring our routines may seem. We miss you Earth, but not so much.

LATAM II will continue to inform.

Tania Robles, MDRS Crew 187 Journalist

Sol 07
Misión rescate

Cuando vivíamos en Perú, Colombia y México los días pasaban como una sucesión de horas en donde nuestras mayores preocupaciones no tienen cabida en Marte. Desde que llegamos a este planeta nos dimos cuenta que la comida sería mejor de lo esperada, en gran parte por nuestros cocineros. Pero hoy por la mañana hemos descubierto que nuestras bolsas y latas de comida desaparecen cada vez más rápido.
Aunque según cálculos lograremos mantener nuestros estómagos casi llenos antes de tener que volver. Si de algo estamos seguros es que cuando estemos de vuelta en nuestro hogar es que habremos aprendido a valorar mucho más lo que tenemos porque en Marte hasta el último grano de arroz hemos aprovechado. Es posible que los próximos días se cree un sistema de trueque de tareas y chocolate a cambio de raciones de comida.

Sabemos que con nuestras provisiones aún podemos darnos ciertos lujos como seguir comiendo carne durante seis días, poder hacer pan durante otros cinco y tomar sopas calientes para los días fríos que se avecinan.

Decidimos dividir la alacena de acuerdo a la comida que podemos ingerir diariamente porque a decir verdad el 80 por ciento de nuestras conversaciones tratan sobre la comida que podríamos preparar y el deseo por la comida rápida que sentimos. La báscula ya presenta resultados en algunos.

El frío también fue protagonista en el séptimo sol. Parecía que los sistemas de energía no serían suficientes para mantenernos durante el resto de este día y el siguiente. Según control de misión existen grandes probabilidades de que la lluvia y nieve se haga presente en la zona por lo que en Sol 8 preferimos resguardarnos en el hábitat para continuar con los proyectos.

Luego de un episodio de aproximadamente dos horas terrestres hemos logrado recargar nuestro tanque de combustible para poder mantener la electricidad en el hábitat. Saldo: dos tripulantes bañados en diésel que por supuesto aprovecharon su respectiva ducha.

Sin éxito hemos podido cumplir el objetivo de ver películas por la noche. “Con fe” el día de hoy podremos mirar algún filme acompañado de palomitas o canchita aunque en estos momentos y escuchando un sonido proveniente de nuestros estómagos ya esperamos las delicias culinarias del crew scientist.

A una semana de abandonar este planeta desierto preferimos no pensar en lo clásicas y aburridas que podrán parecernos nuestras rutinas ahora. Te extrañamos Tierra, pero no tanto.

LATAM II continuará informando.

Tania Robles, MDRS Crew 187 Journalist

POSTED ONJANUARY 19, 2018
Journalist Report – January 18th
Sol 06
Road to El Dorado

When we lived on Earth the movies always showed the Italian chef throwing the pizza through the air looking like it is possible with moderate difficulty. Pizza with chicken, meat, and cheese is possible on Mars, but could we call it homemade? What is our home now?

After a thorough survey of the crew, we found that family, friends, manners, pets, and food have become part of the constant thoughts before closing our eyes at night. Although on the other hand and at the same time the Earth so far has left us free to habit this planet and again, what is our home now?

But these landscapes and conditions cannot be wasted so for the second time since our ship crossed the Martian skies a team of our astronauts has come out to conquer an unnamed canyon in these lands for which we intend to name as Latin American legend, a mystical and mythological city that would awaken the curiosity of visitors, El Dorado.

Our Dorado was more than a rock formation and showed evidence of life in ways that according to recent studies are physically similar to what on Earth is known as cougars and deer. We do not want to go ahead but it could have been a lunch scene in the afternoon. Adrenaline was in the air. However, the crew acted cautiously and left the site to avoid close encounters of the third type

After a long day the somewhat tired crew has worked all afternoon in their respective areas to advance the projects and meet their objectives so that when the day to return to the blue planet come, we can return victorious and just as Earthlings and now Martians.

LATAM II will continue to inform.

Tania Robles, MDRS Crew 187 Journalist

Sol 06
El camino hacia El Dorado

Cuando vivíamos en la Tierra las películas siempre mostraban a los chef italianos lanzando la masa de pizza por los aires pareciendo que el giro se lograra con una dificultad moderada. La pizza de pollo, carne y queso es posible en Marte aunque ¿podríamos llamarla casera? Es decir, ¿cuál es nuestro hogar ahora?

Después de una encuesta exhaustiva a la tripulación hemos encontrado que la familia, amigos, costumbres, mascotas y comida se han vuelto parte de los pensamientos constantes antes de cerrar los ojos por la noche. Aunque por otro lado y al mismo tiempo la Tierra tan lejana nos ha dejado libres para habitar este planeta y de nuevo, ¿cuál es nuestro hogar ahora?

Pero estos paisajes y condiciones no pueden desperdiciarse así que por segunda vez desde que nuestra nave atravesó los cielos marcianos un equipo de nuestros astronautas han salido a la conquista de un cañón sin nombre en estas tierras para el cual tenemos la intención de nombrar como una leyenda latinoamericana, una ciudad mística y mitológica que despertara la curiosidad de los visitantes, El Dorado.

Nuestro Dorado resultó más que una formación rocosa y nos mostró evidencia de vida de formas que según recientes estudios son físicamente parecidas a lo que en la Tierra se conoce como pumas y ciervos. No queremos adelantarnos pero podría haberse tratado de una escena de almuerzo por la tarde. La adrenalina estaba en el aire. No obstante la tripulación actuó cautelosamente y se retiró del lugar para evitar encuentros cercanos del tercer tipo

Luego de un largo día la tripulación un tanto cansada ha trabajado toda la tarde en sus respectivas áreas para adelantar los pendientes y cumplir sus objetivos para que cuando llegue el día de volver al planeta azul podamos regresar victoriosos, igual de terrícolas y ahora marcianos.

LATAM II continuará informando.

Tania Robles, MDRS Crew 187 Journalist

POSTED ONJANUARY 18, 2018
Journalist Report – January 17th
Crew 187 Journalist Report – 17JAN2018

ENGLISH:

[Sol 05]

[Apollo 18]

Have you ever imagined that millions of kilometers away from Earth on a desert planet within a small research station where seven people live coincidentally one of them would celebrate 24 laps to the Sun? It’s possible.

Today there was no exercise routine but instead there was singing, congratulations and hugs combined with a good dose of milk with coffee and dehydrated egg with canned ham. The birthday girl thanks her flower, chocolates and Martian passport to her new family.

Since the morning, the entire crew has worked in their personal research projects and to carrying out a series of cognitive tests that apparently have caused momentary frustration in some people in the crew. To remember sequences of figures of lions, flowers and umbrellas is difficult, although after all we are already on Mars.

In the greenhab the work doesn´t stop and the dirty suit full of dust of our officer knows it, who by the way also has found in the Porg a new friend who accompanies him to take care of the plants. There we have noticed that beans are appearing and that in one of the plants have started to grow three small tomatoes, so, hopefully, future crews can prepare a good tomato puree.

And speaking of tomato puree and how functional it could be in the habitat, the 187 crew has an answer: a lot. We came to this conclusion after experiencing another of the culinary wonders of the best chef on Mars, our crew scientist who prepared a delicious western dish – very common in fast food restaurants in Hanksville, a small town near some place that simulate our new planet-better known as hamburgers. They have literally been the most spectacular homemade hamburgers prepared with powdered meat and dehydrated cheese that may exist in the universe.

The night is upon us and what remains of the sol will be used in eating a birthday pizza and watch the classic movie October Sky to remember that even in the least expected place at the least planned time there are dreams and goals of young people who look for answers in the sky. And here we are.

LATAM II will continue to inform.

Tania Robles, MDRS Crew 187 Journalist

POSTED ONJANUARY 16, 2018
Journalist Report – January 16th
ENGLISH

Sol 04

Planet of the Apes

Yesterday night didn´t end with movies and popcorn. The habitat became a forum for discussion and opinion where the seven crew members tried to describe the observable universe in all its facets. The conversation went from mysticism to modern physics and then to biology and genetics to end up trying to describe the nature of humanity. Apparently one third of the earth’s gravity has caused the crew’s ideas to fly better.

Today our Sun 4 started ten minutes earlier, 7:13 in the morning and the mats were already on the ground floor of our new home so that our XO made us wake up to the rhythm of 128 bpm as soundtrack.

Two of our Mars mission experiments require soil samples so four crew members went out to collect more than ten kilograms of Martian soil at the same time that our crew scientist tested parts of his space suit made on Earth in the best laboratories of the world and by his own hands. EVA successful, the ziplock bags are almost over.

Commander and journalist visited the solar observatory to find sunspots and some small coronal mass ejections. Who would have thought that the orange circle we see in our telescope would give life to our home millions of years ago but at the same time it seem so insignificant in the vast universe among other billions of stars bigger, smaller, hot or cold.

To summarize our feeling with breakfast, lunch and dinner we can say that we had never before enjoyed healthy food and those little details like a hot chocolate with marshmallows or a homemade bread after a full day of work. The Porg seems happy stealing part of our food ration, luckily our rocket contained enough provisions.

The day concludes with many ideas. Everyone knows their situation, their country of origin and their environment, but if there is one thing we are sure is that borders, titles and names often distance the true success of humanity. And as a clear example, we are here today in red lands representing and speaking for Latin America when nobody ever imagined that it would be possible.

Tomorrow in our Sun 5 a full day of research awaits for us to continue work in our projects although we certainly expect Martian cake.

LATAM II will continue to inform.

Tania Robles, MDRS Crew 187 Journalist

POSTED ONJANUARY 15, 2018
Journalist Report – January 15th
[Sol 03]

[The Force Awakens]

07:20 in the morning on the first floor of the habitat. Apparently someone woke up late but it didn´t stop us from doing the first exercise routine in days since we get Mars. Stretches, flexibility and some strength to start Sol 3. Then a breakfast made of orange and dried egg that looked like a yellow paste. The cooker promises to give it some more flavor tomorrow.

The day of the first Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) for all Crew 187 arrived. Armed with our suits, helmets, oxygen tanks, gloves, boots and communication system the seven earthlings traveled to the nearby mountains and valleys with their vehicles to discover red lands and rocky horizons that make anyone sigh. Are we really on Mars? I wish everyone could see what we do.

When we walk outside it is impossible not to see in the sky those lines caused by the meteorites that cross the sky of the red planet that remind us of the stelae of the planes that fly in our home. Still nothing can be compared with the views that gave us the small Spark drone that traveled with us.

Then more than one hour outside for each expedition ended with a few minutes in the pressurization chamber and a pain in the back and shoulders of our XO that guided both EVAs. Objectives met. Success in the first EVA of Crew 187.

Hungry and tired we beg for food to our chefs who prepared rice with cheese and meat that reminded our Mexican crew members of a certain typical dish prepared with tortillas. Everyone asked for double ration but it was impossible because this will be our dinner.

After lunch we received a visit from the Habitat Director to conclude to understand and know the map of the area surrounding the habitat. There are many roads, many areas and many possibilities. We already have some expeditions in mind that will surely give us large amounts of information. Tomorrow four crew members will go to EVA to collect 15 kilograms of samples of analogue ground for their experiments.

With the night over us and about to conclude the activities we plan to have our first movies night with popcorn. It should be noted that get bored is not an option in the habitat with board games, space chess and more than 50 films for all tastes.

Those fans of space films will understand our excitement when we realize that a small Porg has nested in the EVA Officer’s bedroom. From now on, not only Earth life live in the habitat but also from planet Crait.

A sea of stars has arrived and now it covers us in this third night sleeping in our new home for another 13 nights surrounded by Martian red colour everywhere you see. LATAM II will continue to inform.

Tania Robles, MDRS Crew 187 Journalist

Picture of the day:

518800_425700 15Jan2018 Red Planet.jpg

dav

POSTED ONJANUARY 14, 2018
Journalist Report – January 14th
[Sol 02] [Interstellar]

The day began with the farewell and boarding of the Crew 186 in their spaceship to our planet and old sweet home, Earth. From this dawn we became Martians coming from distant lands between each other: Peru, Colombia and Mexico, but in this desert planet we only represent the Earth and some of its forms of life.

We grew up thinking that astronauts only eat tubes of dehydrated food but on this trip to Mars we discovered that macaroni with cheese, tuna and chocolate cookies will also be part of our diet. Important: We receive food from the Russian Space Food Laboratory, thank you.

In our arrival to the habitat we have settled in our small rooms that barely reach a few square meters that daily will see us sleeping while thousands of stars shine in the sky and a body similar to the satellite of the Earth rises between the Martian mountains illuminating together with the Sun our mornings.

Today the habitat director showed us every corner of the station and the operation. Also we use of Spirit, Curiosity, Deimos, the Red ATV and the three Blue 350 vehicles to explore some roads and nearby lands. We also were showed the Science Lab and the solar observatory for in the next few days be able to use them.

When we returned to the habitat we made our first pressurization test where for five minutes we locked ourselves in the airlock to discuss which songs will be the ones that relax us during the minutes that the process will take. Apparently telling jokes will also be allowed.

Finally the night fell and after writing the reports and planning the activities of the next day we will sit down to eat pancakes and food experiments as well as continue knowing the pleasures and expectations of each crew member.

We hope to start our first EVA tomorrow morning and use our suits along with the helmets to train but not without first performing a morning exercise routine and taking a nutritious breakfast.

LATAM II will continue to inform.

Tania Robles, MDRS Crew 187 Journalist

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/category/journalist-report/page/19/ Source]

Crew 188 Journalism Reports

2019-03-24T18:47:05Z

NathanielFromMars: Created page with "Category:Journalism Reports POSTED ONFEBRUARY 9, 2018 Journalist Report – February 9th MDRS Crew 188 Journalist Report 09FEB2018 “Every Sol, our soul expands”. S..."

[[Category:Journalism Reports]]

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 9, 2018
Journalist Report – February 9th
MDRS Crew 188 Journalist Report 09FEB2018

“Every Sol, our soul expands”.

Sol 12: Authors’ Name: Dr. Sarah Jane Pell, Artist-in-Residence

We Crew 188 have all participated in EVA research experiments and scouting exercises, initiated in workshop and research activities, partaken in movement and reflective pursuits, cultural and culinary exchange, and interviews and candid conversations. Unintended outcomes informed an adaptation of Maslow’s human needs for future life on Mars, numerous operational recommendations and feedback documents, a range of education and public outreach activities, and the anticipated science, arts, humanities and engineering data collection for localized and on-going research. We have also been actively engaged in social media for the purpose of learning, discovering, sharing and promoting interdisciplinary exploration and Earth analogues to contribute a critical cultural and aesthetic suite of responses to the MDRS experience, but have we learned what it takes?

As the night falls, and we watch the ISS above us in the night sky, we connect our journey to the six astronauts currently in space, to the lives of those who have so generously and courageously expanded our capacity for imagination and daring through selfless research and discovery. While we are in no position to compare, we remain humbled, and inspired, in our pursuit of our dreams to be among those who contribute to space exploration. We took time out from our professional lives to come to MDRS to live day-to-day life as early Mars settlers. We navigated the terrain of the desert analogue environment and the simulation conditions. We worked as a crew. We discovered each other and reflected on aspects of our selves and our suitability for the tasks through our engagement with the daily operational and environmental challenges. More importantly, we cared for each other. We cared for the habitat and the landscape. We cared for those who came here before us, and those who are on their way: the future analogue crews and support teams. We remembered that in coming together for peaceful and united purpose, that we can accomplish small things in great ways, and great things in seemingly insignificant ways. We supplemented each other’s weaknesses and complemented each other’s strengths, and gained new perspectives through our transfer and exchange of values and experiences. We discovered what systems and approaches worked effortlessly on Mars and what took immense energy, insight, courage, patience and tact to overcome, or live with. We imagined, created, dreamed and put into action that which inspired our heartfelt curiosities and professional interests. As our cheesy Crew 188 fridge affirmation said, “Every Sol, our soul expands”.

I want to wish the in-coming Crew 189 every success and take this opportunity to personally thank the amazing people who make up Crew 188: Dr. Ryan Kobrick (KOB1), Renee Garifi (Llama Llama Ding Dong), Zac Trolley (Boltz/Bootz), Julia De Marines (Jules Verne), and Tatsunari Tomiyama (Tom Cat). I think the world of you all, and could not have imagined a better crew to explore the red plains with. Thanks also to the Mars Society Operations and Mission Support for their on-going support of our mission. A part of MDRS will be with us always.

Signing off,

Dr. Sarah Jane Pell (Bubbles/SJ), Journalist in Residence, Crew 188.

– – – – –

Dr. Sarah Jane Pell

TED Fellow 2010, Australia Council Fellow 2016, Gifted Citizen 2016

The ‘Performing Astronautics: following the Body’s Natural Edge into the Abyss of Space’ project is assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body http://www.artistastronaut.com

Artist, Occupational Diver, Keynote Speaker, Researcher, Simulation Astronaut http://www.sarahjanepell.com

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 7, 2018
Journalist Report – February 7th
MDRS Crew 188 Journalist Report 07FEB2018

MarsHigh Pyramid: Reinterpreting Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs for Mars

SOL-10 Author’s name: Dr. Sarah Jane Pell

A highlight of SOL 9, Crew 188 watched the delayed transmission of Elon Musk and his teams at SpaceX successfully test flight of the Falcon Heavy rocket into space carrying his Tesla and Mars-tronaut. With the ability to lift ~64 metric tons (141,000 lb) into orbit, and the roar of the crowds with each phased progression, we shared in the ecstatic release knowing that humanity is on its way to Mars.

An hour before, EVA-10: Dr. Sarah Jane Pell, Julia De Marines and Zac Trolley launched the Crew 188 Falcon Light test vehicles propelled by Alkaselza (for the active ingredient: baking soda) and water from the MDRS station, into the analogue CO2 of the Martian landscape. [See Crew 188 Sol 9.
EVA-10 Report].

Upon our return to the Main Habitat, we discussed how humanity might proceed beyond this auspicious point. In examining the basic human needs here at the Mars Desert Research Station, we continue efforts to report our experience to add to the body of knowledge informing future strategies and mission architectures to Mars [see Sol
5. Journalist
Report].

After supper, we watched the film Apollo 13. There was a classic scene where the flight Director says, “I don’t care what the system was designed to do, I care about what it can do… Work the problem people.” Today we asked, how well does the behaviour of the MDRS Simulation participants reflect or support our needs here on Mars? Logic suggests that if we can identify or communicate needs, this motivates us to address our deficiencies, and work on our growth and discovery needs. We reflect on Maslow’s pyramid of needs in an effort to work the problem.

We referred to “A Theory of Human Motivation” the psychology theory proposed by Abraham Maslow and published in Psychological Review 1943. It outlines a hierarchy of human needs (for present life on Earth) as our baseline. Maslow’s five-stage model (1943, 1954) was expanded to include cognitive and aesthetic needs (Maslow, 1970a) and later transcendence needs (Maslow, 1970b). Maslow noted that the order of needs might be flexible based on external circumstances or individual differences. For example, the need for creative fulfillment may supersede even the most basic needs, because it surpasses those needs. Maslow (1987) also pointed out that most behavior is multi-motivated and noted that “any behavior tends to be determined by several or all of the basic needs simultaneously rather than by only one of them” (p. 71).

We see this report an opportunity to adapt Maslow’s pyramid for future human needs on Mars. Instead of focusing on psychopathology and what goes wrong with people, Maslow (1943) formulated a more positive account of human behavior, which focused on what goes right. He was interested in human potential, and how we fulfill that potential. We therefore begin with the highest, and ultimate growth needs, and work downwards to the base needs, reflecting on our status at MDRS and response to this.

8. Transcendence Transcendence needs – A person is motivated by values, which transcend beyond the personal self (e.g., mystical experiences and certain experiences with nature, aesthetic experiences, sexual experiences, service to others, the pursuit of science, religious faith, etc.).

All of Crew 188 agreed that the MDRS scenery all around has inspired daily moments of transcendence. The hike up to Phobos Peak was a highlight for Julia De Marines [Astronomer]: she explains that it was a culmination of the environmental beauty and the feeling of overcoming so many challenges, that led to a peak state of being [See. EVA-05 Report].

Zac Trolley [Engineer] has not noted any moments of transcendence: but he adds the caveat that there is still a possibility of realising a critical position at MDRS in relation to his broader mission towards life on Mars.

7. Self Actualization Self-actualization needs – realizing personal potential, self-fulfilment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences.

As Trolley posted to social media: “The task ahead of us now is to build the infrastructure here on Earth as a dry run for future settlement of the Red Planet…” This is no mean feat. We are here because we hope to contribute to the discussions of the Mars Society and related analogue communities around the globe undertaking this challenge. Trolley explains, in seeking opportunities for self-actualisation there is always a trade-off between what we know and what we don’t know. We often gravitate to the more familiar and comfortable. Engineering systems however require a lot of money and time to install and maintain. They usually require an entire organization to be aligned in the same direction to be effective. So like as a new coming to the MDRS program, it has been a challenge to learn the existing systems, and navigate the organization, to exert the most force to create the most change. He hasn’t figured out how these needs for self-actualization might be met under simulation conditions. The simulation is a stepping-stone into understanding pathways for self-actualization. It is the journey not the destination…

6. Creative Aesthetic needs – appreciation and search for beauty, balance, form, etc.

De Marines [Astronomer] searches for beauty by discovering and exploring rocks on the MDRS plains. The range of exquisite specimens – from the moment we stepped out on our first EVA – has captivated our imaginations and curiosities for what we see, what we can learn, and what we can imagine: from the elemental origins, to the creative sculpting or application of the rocks as an aesthetic or utilitarian artefact.

Zac Trolley [Engineer] finds beauty and appreciation in design: in the same way the sculptor would describe working with a lump of clay, and taking away the excess to reveal what is within, he would take disparate systems and combine them to reveal the whole that they can become together. That requires an immense amount of planning and background information that Trolley is yet to acquire and therefore his ability to creatively design and refine the advanced life support systems to tested on Earth and used on Mars, is pending on MDRS. This challenge is strengthening his belief that organisation and strong leadership is required to connect the disparate systems between universities, analogue systems, hobbyists and enthusiasts around planet Earth.

5. Mental Cognitive needs – knowledge and understanding, curiosity, exploration, need for meaning and predictability.

Ryan Kobrick [Commander] is finding that the MDRS experience is serving his cognitive needs: by using new tools and gaining precision and experience with. Even scouting locations that he has been to ten years ago, he still feels that he is discovering something new, and he is reassured that much of it is still familiar.

For example, going into Lilith Canyon, he wasn’t sure if he knew where he was going, until he made the discovery of a particularly difficult pass, and was reassured that it was particularly memorably, and easily overcome.

4. Esteem Esteem needs – which Maslow classified into two categories: (i) esteem for oneself (dignity, achievement, mastery, independence) and (ii) the desire for reputation or respect from others (e.g., status, prestige).

The Crew has expressed difficulty and frustration at not regularly feeling a sense of dignity, achievement, mastery, and independence under the simulation conditions. Behind the scenes communications between the crew and mission control are regularly mediated, circumvented or edited, and our agency and autonomy has been far from our expectations. Connecting with the outside world during the communications window however serves this need. The crew is receiving messages and interactions from children, from well-respected space professionals, members of the Mars Society, Astronauts and other Analogue Astronauts engaged in Mars missions around the world this month. Direct engagement with our Alma Mata: the International Space University, and professional communities, also reinforce and address our needs for esteem: self-esteem and professional esteem.

3. Love/Belonging Love and belongingness needs – friendship, intimacy, trust and acceptance, receiving and giving affection and love. Affiliating, being part of a group (family, friends, work).

Tatsunari Tomiyama has been conducting Human Factors research [See. Sol 3 Journalist Report] helping us to appreciate and support our group dynamics and social interactions. By communicating our responses and feelings in relation to the demands of the simulation, and the requirements of analogue living, we are building a greater respect and understanding of each other. For the first week, we worked together well as a crew. This week, we bonded more closely. We set aside time to eat, train, relax, meditate and appreciate each other with group sharing exercises, hard-core work-outs, yoga, movies, morning briefings, de-briefings, and workshop salons to share experiences and skills. This week, we found ourselves working together as a family. This special group of individuals each shares a passion for space exploration, a desire to succeed, and demonstrate genuine care for other crewmembers. You could say, Crew 188 are feeling the love: talking about on-going collaborations, visiting each other’s countries and work places, and crew submissions to future space conferences, analogues and sponsors.

2. Security Safety needs – protection from elements, security, order, law, stability, etc.

The Main Habitat protects us from the cold desert night air, the hot midday sun, and the harsh winds and sand abrasion. In fact, we are conducting research with PIs at NASA Glenn Research Centre on the dust intrusion loads (particle size distribution and quantity) as we enter the airlocks after EVAs at MDRS. We have documented the status of MDRS safety equipment, risks, hazards, and anything and any time the stability of our Mars analogue experience has been impacted. For example, the fidelity of our simulation has been compromised every day: we have logged all unscheduled visits – including those in the middle of the night – and interruptions such as on-lookers driving by, stopping and taking photos, while we are on EVA or at the habitat. We have inspected and evaluated the effectiveness of the emergency evacuation equipment, and familiarized ourselves with the limitations and challenges, should we ever need to face an emergency situation during our time at MDRS. Despite our external concerns, the integrity of our internal crew leadership and the environment of respect that Ryan Kobrick fosters, has enabled us to remain as a strong committed and unified crew.

1. Biological and physiological needs – air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep, etc.

For 5 days, Crew 188 lived with a propane leak in the main hab [See Journalist Report Sol 5.
Abbreviated
version.] and another small leak was detected on Sol 10. Crew 188 also didn’t receive a full ration of food or water, and stocks are low. The food supplied supports an unbalanced diet comprising items: – low in nutritional value – high in starch – high in salt – and high in sugar. The Greenhab produce serves research not supplementary food supply. The food missing from the basic provisions, promised resupply, and sponsor foods will not be delivered. The vegetable rations included [tinned dried
corn, peas, broccoli] to support 6 people for 7 days. We supplemented those provisions with fresh vegetables [carrot, celery, kale], to extend to 9 days and served as a side dish (not main meal ingredient). We have 4 days in simulation remaining, no resupply, and the crew is rundown.

Future crews should not expect that MDRS supply the provisions as listed in the Operations Manual. The list has not been updated, the items are not guaranteed, and the MDRS rations will not be sufficient to support your needs. Crew 187 attempted to eat only what was provided. They lost a significant amount of weight and physical and mental condition. With two MDRS alumni crew members, we anticipated the deficit and coordinate a group excursion to shop for supplies before our arrival, but we underestimated the scarcity of nutritional food sources, and now suffer the consequences. We have requested 2 more tins of vegetables to support 6 people for 4 days. Our initial request was denied. We will submit another request, and harvest as much from the GreenHab as we can to sustain crew health.

We were also permitted to collect and transport 450 Gallons of water from Huntsville for use at the MDRS for 14 days. At Sol 9, we had used 370 Gallons of water. The average use is 37 Gallons per day including all drinking water, the water used for the Greenhab, for dishwashing and personal hygiene. We note that on the first night, there were 13 people staying at MDRS (including 3 of us sleeping on the GreenHab floor), and Crew 187 all had showers on the final morning of their departure. Response: water is liquid gold. We have been incredibly frugal, and smelly, for the sake of ensuring that we have enough water to drink and cook. Another 90 Gallons was delivered today. We anticipate that we will manage at this rate until the end of the Simulation with one day to spare provided there are no anomalies. The maintenance of power, airflow and thermal control is difficult to manage by design and condition [See. Sol 1-9 Operations
Reports]. We haven’t discussed sex yet as a Crew, although we have noted the provision of a Pregnancy Kit in the First Aid Kit. The crew sleep and wellbeing are affected by the entire list above.

We are heartened that Maslow outlined the characteristic of self-actualizers and the typical behaviours that lead to these traits. As we sign off, we review this list, and pose it as our recommendation or aspiration, for giving and receiving the best of ourselves for future Mars missions.

Characteristics of self-actualizers:

1. They perceive reality efficiently and can tolerate uncertainty;

2. Accept themselves and others for what they are;

3. Spontaneous in thought and action;

4. Problem-centered (not self-centered);

5. Unusual sense of humor;

6. Able to look at life objectively;

7. Highly creative;

8. Resistant to enculturation, but not purposely unconventional;

9. Concerned for the welfare of humanity;

10. Capable of deep appreciation of basic life-experience;

11. Establish deep satisfying interpersonal relationships with a few people;

12. Peak experiences;

13. Need for privacy;

14. Democratic attitudes;

15. Strong moral/ethical standards.

Behavior leading to self-actualization:

(a) Experiencing life like a child, with full absorption and concentration;

(b) Trying new things instead of sticking to safe paths;

(c) Listening to your own feelings in evaluating experiences instead of the voice of tradition, authority or the majority;

(d) Avoiding pretense (‘game playing’) and being honest;

(e) Being prepared to be unpopular if your views do not coincide with those of the majority;

(f) Taking responsibility and working hard;

(g) Trying to identify your defenses and having the courage to give them up.

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 5, 2018
Journalist Report – February 5th
Crew 188 Journalist Report 05FEB2018

Inspiring people using different language

SOL-8 Author’s Name: Tatsunari Tomiyama AHFP

[English]

The primary objective in this report is to educate and advertise our mission, crew 188, using different language(s). Our crews are mostly English speakers. I am the only crew member who can use an official space language other than English. By writing down English and Japanese, we are trying to educate other people who do not know English in Japan. As a secondary objective, the report is trying to inspire the Japan Mars Society. This report is the first time. Therefore, I would like to introduce our research projects while in the simulation. This report is written in English first for mission operation to help what I am writing and Japanese is followed.

Crew 188 is consisting by the International Space University (ISU) alumni. This is why Crew 188 is called Team ISU. I am also the alumni of Space Studies Program 2015 (SSP15). Other crew members also graduated with their masters and/or participated a program hosted by ISU previously. All of our member hold doctoral degree or a certain professional type of certification. Although I do not hold doctoral degree, I myself have Associate Human Factors Professional
certification by Board of Certification in Professional Ergonomics even though I am still studying for master’s degree.

Our crew member brought multiple research projects for the future space pioneering activity. The research is focusing on the Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) and creating infrastructure at the station. Some of research is assigned by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and significant aerospace research universities such as Embry-Riddle University. We brought over $30,000 for research equipments. In addition to research experiments, our team is trying to perform some public events. Before this report, super blue blood moon has been completed by Dr. Sarah Jane Pell.

We have spent about 1 week of missions while I am writing this report at the station. So far, we are doing well. Crew member statuses are good and there is no major issue on their health. All crew members spent time to complete their work or research and we are trying to be productive. In other words, we are very busy under this extreme environment at the Utah. My research has been accepted during this mission and collecting data on time. I do not know whether it is due to my research settings or not, our team situational awareness is relatively higher than other crew members in my opinion because everyone knows what we suppose to do, but we are recognizing other statuses at the same time.

[Japanese]

このレポートは、我々Crew188任務の宣伝ならびに、火星探査や宇宙関係に興味がある人に向けた事柄を英語以外で伝えることを主目的とする。Crew188は全員英語を何不自由なく使用することができるが、クルーの中で私だけが英語以外の言語を使うことが可能である。このレポートを通して、英語がわからない人でも我々Crew188の任務が理解できてもらえればと思っている。副次目的としては、日本語のレポートを通して日本火星協会をより応援することを期待している。今回は初めてのレポートであるため、クルーの構成と大まかな研究および実験の説明をする。サポートチームとの関係で、日本語でのレポートは最初に英語、そして日本語といった構成になる。

Crew188は国際宇宙大学（ISU）の卒業生で構成される。Crew188がチームISUと呼ばれる所以はこれから来る。私自身も実際にISUのスペーススタディプログラム2015の卒業生である。他のクルーメンバーもISUの大学院ないし、ISUが主催したプログラムに参加した経験を持つ。さらに、メンバー全員が博士号ないし、何かしらの専門家認定証を所持する。私自身はこれを書いている時点では大学院の生徒であるが、ヒューマンファクターズ（人的要因）を専門認定委員会から認定されている。

我々クルーメンバーは複数の研究、実験を持ち込んでおり、すべて将来の宇宙技術やそれに関する活動の創造するためのものである。そのため、Crew188の研究内容は主に船外活動（EVA）や火星探査を支える生活環境整備に関わる内容がほとんどを占める。いくらかの研究自体、米国航空宇宙局（NASA）やエンブルリドル航空大学(Embry-Riddle
Aeronautical University)のような航空宇宙を研究する重要な研究機関からの実験、研究依頼であり、実験及び研究するための備品費用でおおよそ＄30,000ほど掛かっている。実験や研究活動以外にも教育及び宣伝活動を行っている。実際、先日の月食（スーパーブルーブラッドムーン）ではSarah Jane Pell教授が基地で月食を撮影し、その様子がインターネットに公表された。

このレポートを書いている時点でシミュレーションが始まって約1週間がたったところである。現時点での経過は総じて良好であると言える。各メンバー自体の体調や健康状態も良好である。メンバー全員がそれぞれの役割とデータ収集を行い、科学者として、ないし、一、プロフェッショナルとしての仕事をこなしている。言葉を言い換えれば、クルー全員がユタ州の人が生活していない場所で生活していながら非常に多忙であるといえる。しかしながら、個人の見解として、組織としての状況判断能力は他のメンバーと比べて高い判断している。というのも、たった数日ないし、1週間足らずの間でしか顔合わせをしていないのにも関わらず、メンバー全員がこなさなければならない事柄を行い、同時に他のメンバーの仕事や研究を認識しているからである。

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 4, 2018
Journalist Report – February 4th
MDRS Crew 188 Journalist Report 04FEB2018

Crew 188 Science’s the Shit Out of MDRS

SOL-7 Author’s name: Julia DeMarines

The theme for this report is Science. It is the third report in a short series responding to the MDRS “Safety, Simulation, and Science” priority of operations.

BACKGROUND:

In the wise words of Mark Watney in The Martian, “in the face of overwhelming odds, I’m left with only one option. I’m going to science the shit out of this,” and that’s exactly what crew 188 plans to do during our residence at the Mars Desert Research Station. Collectively, we have brought over $30,000 worth of research equipment in hopes to advance scientific knowledge. MDRS provides a unique space in which scientific research can be conducted as if a crew of explorers were carrying out experiments on Mars. Crew 188 offers a diversity of backgrounds and expertise that, collectively, would support groundbreaking discoveries, and innovations, if we were truly on Mars, and aim to tackle the big questions.

These big questions we will be tackling include: how a crew will maintain the health and performance of astronauts living and working in isolated conditions such as on Mars and overcome difficulties; what an optimum extra vehicular activity (EVA) suit and glove design would be for ensuring protection and functionality for its user in extreme conditions; mitigation of dust contamination from EVA’s; optimum crop production with minimal resources in reduced gravity situations; experimental and immersive astronautical performance following a journey that transcends through Earth’s atmosphere and beyond; a 360º camera will capture performance astronautics to give observers a complete and immersive perspective of living on Mars; collection of micrometeorites to add to a worldwide database aiming to yield clues to the solar system’s formation; and last but not least, using in situ chlorophyll detectors to detect signs of life as if on a Mars rover. For a more information please find a more detailed description of our research plans below, and in the meantime, stay tuned for scientific updates!

 SCIENCE:  Summary of Research Experiments

1. Increasing Spaceflight Analogue Mission Fidelity by Standardization of Extravehicular Activity Metrics Tracking and Analysis  Spaceflight analogues include human simulations that attempt to match as many variables of a real mission as possible, but here on Earth and at a fraction of the cost. Each analogue has unique environmental and human performance testing conditions, but they all have limitations. The goal of this Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) Spacesuit Utilization of Innovative Technology Laboratory (S.U.I.T. Lab) research is to improve simulation fidelity through Extravehicular Activity (EVA) data collection, analysis, and feedback, which will help humanity prepare for destinations such as the Moon or Mars. The investigation of human performance data with respect to workload expenditure will help identify energy limitations, thus training explorers to maximize their potential.

2. Remote Video Capture Analysis of Spacesuits for Spaceflight Analogue Expeditions The Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) Spacesuit Utilization of Innovative Technology Laboratory (S.U.I.T. Lab) is designing protocols for the recording of analytical videos for analogue spacesuit performance. This approach derives how to communicate effective instructions to a remote crew, and then analyze simulated spacesuit performance. The protocol development has future applications for distant diagnosis of spacesuits, for example a crew on Mars may need expert technicians on Earth to troubleshoot range of motion (ROM) limitations. Key results and recommendations will be presented in this paper aiming to help advance analogue expeditions and missions to the Moon and Mars.

3. Dust Abrasion and Operations Investigation of Thermal Micrometeoroid Garment (TMG) Gloves  Dust on planetary bodies in a known problem for equipment and astronaut health, as the extreme abrasiveness can cut through the layers of a spacesuit. Dust particles present health risks to astronauts and exposure must be mitigated before sending crews to Mars and beyond. One of the most intricate parts of a spacesuit is the glove. The gloves must have an extremely high range of dexterity to enable astronauts to complete their tasks correctly and efficiently. Wear and tear on the gloves will be recorded and analyzed after the completion of the MDRS analogue mission.

 

4. Martian Dust Filter Tests As humans venture further into space more issues correlated to space travel are being discovered. While the perils of dust particles may not be widely recognized, it is one of the major issues astronauts will face on the surface of the Moon and Mars. Dust particles present a problem for both astronaut health and equipment. Dust particles cling to spacesuits, which upon ingress would begin circulating throughout the spacecraft or habitat. An astronaut’s health is compromised by the dust particle’s potential to stick to the lungs and cause respiratory illnesses. Data collected from this research will further facilitate the mitigation of astronaut’s exposure to dust particles on the surface of celestial bodies.

5. In-situ testing of VEGGIE prototype plant growth hardware: Orbital Aquifer System for VEGGIE (OASYS) We will bring a GreenHab experiment to test a new prototype vegetation system, invented by NASA KSC scientists, for watering plants in reduced gravity environments. Salad bar style lettuce is an ideal vegetable for this demonstration as it is quick to grow and easy to germinate from seeds. The purpose of this research project is to further test candidate crops that need to be performed through an analog study prior to being grown aboard ISS.

6. Performing Astronautics Dr. Sarah Jane Pell’s MDRS research forms part of an Australia Council Fellowship project titled Performing Astronautics. Performing Astronautics explores the bodily practice of navigation beyond Earth’s atmosphere as an Experimental and Emerging Art. Explored in parallel phases combining: 1) instrumental/speculative and 2) operational/performative experimentation and exploration through participation in space analogue training and human spaceflight mission simulations.

7. Bending Horizons 360  “Bending Horizons 360” is supported by Monash Immersive Visualisation Platform [MIVP] with the provision of the Insta360 Pro Camera. The aim is two-fold: firstly to support collaborations with fellow crew researching EVA spacesuit validation [in partnership with
Final Frontier Design FFD], environmental interactions, science and engineering engagement, human factors and performance research. Secondly, to produce speculative fiction short films, new 3D artifacts and novel expressions of video data to capture the range of human-environmental interactions on the Mars Analogue environment supporting a future collaborative partnership between Dr. Sarah Jane Pell and A/Prof David Barnes.

8. Potential Human Activities to Improve Quality of Life on Mars This research project is looking for how the quality of life can improve during Mars simulation as a case study. Currently quantitative data shows that the human activity should be regulated. However, because of long-time requirement for Mars habitat mission, identifying how astronauts’ quality of life can improve during Mars mission need to develop is very important to maintain mission efficiency and space activity as well. This research project is primary looking for what available human activity can improve the quality of life during Mars habitat mission in the future.

 

9. Project Stardust This collaborative meteorological investigation of micrometeorite samples collected from field sites all over the world now includes samples taken from MDRS. These types of analyses on Earth help us understand how the solar system was formed as we venture out to explore it.

 

10. In-situ Chlorophyll Detection “Are we alone?” is a fundamental human question that is shared by humanity. The answer may be right around the corner or perhaps never come but we will never get closer to that answer if we don’t search for life. Researchers from NASA and Robotics Everywhere LLC (www.f3.to) have collaborated on a handheld Chlorophyll detector that can be operated in the field, indoors, and hopefully, underneath a rover using Chl-florescence.

11. Mars-to-Mars Hangout: Connecting Mars Basecamps Across the Red Planet The Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in Utah, will gain communication and opportunity benefits during its two-week mission period by live video connecting with the AMADEE-18 analogue simulation simultaneously running a Mars research mission, located in Dhofar Region, Oman.

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 3, 2018
Journalist Report – February 3rd
Simulation: Imitation of a situation or process for research and training
SOL-6 Author’s name: Dr. Sarah Jane Pell

The theme of this report is Simulation. It is the second report in a short series responding to the MDRS “Safety, Simulation, and Science” priority of operations.

BACKGROUND:
First and foremost, the MDRS analogue attempts to curate a research station model supporting the professional relationship and activities of early settlers.

The simulation, by its nature, combines real working facilities on Earth Mars-like terrain, with instruments and systems for the imitation of a Mars-like situation and various associated process for research and training. There are collective and individual jobs to get done in developing and maintaining the station. Crews define an assigned role and a job position for each member with a myriad of tasks to perform, and conditions to explore.

Ultimately, the MDRS simulation offers an experience for contributing to a body of situational or process-based knowledge unraveling the intricate inner working of establishing a human foothold on Mars.

The simulation evokes many responses. There are moments when we feel like visitors, tourists, customers, test-subjects, staff, scouts, students, researchers, settlers, crewmembers, trainees, simulants and occasionally, frontier explorers.

SIMULATION:
Today, two teams of three Analogue Astronauts simulated “spacewalks” or extravehicular activities [EVAs] across the MDRS Mars-analogue terrain. We designated EVA-7 as an opportunity to implement formal briefing procedures and techniques derived from related analogue EVA SIM procedures (underwater). [See MDRS Crew 188 EVA Coordinator Briefing and De-brief Protocols below. We welcome any suggestions or feedback, and include here for future crews to reference, noting donning and doffing checklists would also be helpful for MDRS EVA Operations].

The EVA-7 profile supported a three-hour spacewalk by three astronauts on the MDRS analogue site to troubleshoot a navigation issue, perform a bubble experiment along the ridge overlooking the habitat, and capture activities in 6K 360 3D Video in-situ. [See EVA reports]

The ways the simulation maintained “high-fidelity” included: instances of loss of direction or radio communication, high winds, unchartered pathways such as climbing up the cliff face, the variety of surface conditions over the 1000 feet elevation, the incredibly rich red and amber marmalade geology, the exertion activities themselves, team-work, sense of adventure and the shared mission.

Ways that the simulation was “broken” included: picking up commercial rubbish in the ravines, watching an SUV drive by along Cow Dung Road, encountering plant biodiversity on the open plains, noticing animal tracks along the ridges, looking out for rattlesnakes and cougars, and using a digital phone as an instrument for checking time.

But, these are the surface conditions: let’s dig a little deeper into the experience. It is not just space, rather the spatiality of the embodied experience, and how we react and feel that determines our relationship to the simulation.

We are “in simulation” when we feel that we need to be ultimately resourceful in charting our own experience. In other words, the conditions need to support our navigation through an experience, with autonomy and agency. Zak Trolley describes many instances where we must suspend our beliefs and open ourselves to the imagined, and this is made easier by proximity to the Mars-like landscape. For example, looking up through the red hills towards the ridge summit, it is easy to see yourself following the Curiosity Rover pathways.

However once reaching the road at the top of the ridge, you have to work so much harder to imagine belonging to an outpost on Mars. On an EVA, Dr. Ryan Kobrick reports the feeling of being constrained to the limitations and requirements of wearing the life-support systems, relying on navigational and time-stamped operations and waypoints, and undertaking pre-authorised research tasks also strengthens the social and collective simulation.

These types of elements draw us closer to the inner experience of the simulation: conscious of the shift in space and spatiality of your own body in time, and perspective. It is a delicate dance between suspending aspects of reality and illusionism, fact and fiction, the serious and the phantasmagorical.

As this the second most important aspect of the MDRS experience, we are embracing and discussing ways to support each other in the enhancement and fidelity of the simulation experience, through playing out the socially coded nature of our roles and curating the themes of our own perspectives.

We recommend that future crews consider an EVA to the top of the ridge to look back over the MDRS station. From that vantage, you can fully appreciate the isolation and beauty of the Mars-analogue site, you can film and be filmed, and the perspective helps frame where you are, and why you would come here.

MDRS Crew 188 EVA Coordinator Briefing Protocols
The EVA Coordinator for each EVA SIM is responsible for conducting a pre-EVA briefing in the presence of the entire EVA team (including Astronauts (EV.1. EV.2. EV.3…,) CapCom, Safety/Medical Officer, Astronaut Attendants and any Technical Specialists). Each team member has a responsibility to give their full attention during the briefing, as in the event of an incident any team member may be required to initiate and/or control emergency procedures.

The content of this briefing must include at least the following information, and must be modified to take account of any other details specific to the particular extra vehicular simulation operation being considered:
1. Identification of the EVA Coordinator (they would normally be the person giving the briefing) and EVA Commander/s for the EVA/s (may or may not be the EVA Coordinator);
2. Nomination of Roles Analogue Astronauts, Standby Astronauts and Astronaut Attendants for the EVA, where applicable
3. Details of life-support equipment to be used during the EVA/s, including any habitats, vehicles, or mobile SSBA (LP compressor or bottle bank), SCUBA, CLLSP pack, oxygen equipment, and First Aid/safety
4. List equipment and any other specific items needed; including vehicles, personal protective equipment, payload instrumentation, tools, guidance and navigation material, timepiece, safety or research equipment
5. Allocation and description of tasks of each EVA team member, outlining all procedures for the extravehicular activity simulation;
6. Full details of the EVA plan, specifically including mission objectives, location, duration, tasks, risk, hazards, mitigation strategies, EVA termination procedures, ‘in SIM’ emergency procedures, safety checks, and communication procedures;
7. Confirmation with Attendant/s and Standby Astronauts/s of their duties, including keeping visual contact with Analogue Astronaut/s or their communications and knowledge of protocols for recovery of injured Astronauts from the analogue environment, rescue procedures, and out of SIM emergency/evacuation procedures;
8. A briefing of each individual regarding their specific tasks, and for analogue astronauts, a check on their fitness to perform the EVA (i.e. asking about tiredness, or any colds, flu’s or injuries they may have, and overall willingness and wellbeing);
9. Details of expected ‘in SIM’ conditions, including weather and terrain conditions, visibility, temperature, range of radio communications, exposure/isolation etc. (NB. these must be confirmed once at the analogue site);
10. Recall signals and protocols;
11. EVA termination points e.g. low air/minimum air limits, technical equipment failure, change of conditions, time in SIM, loss of visibility, fatigue, cold, oxygen toxicity limits, etc.
12. Answers to any queries.
As well as the above, once at the analogue site, the EVA Coordinator must perform the following tasks:
1. Re-evaluate the site, conditions, team, tasks and consequent duration of the EVA;
2. Reconfirm all Analogue Astronaut’s and Standby Astronaut’s health, air supply, equipment etc.;
3. Ensure all required information is recorded on the ‘EVA Record’ Form (may be delegated to CapCom);
4. Conduct a final evaluation of all Analogue Astronaut’s equipment and dress.
MDRS Crew 188 EVA Coordinator De-Briefing Protocols
After every EVA, the EVA Coordinator must conduct a post-EVA debrief with all EVA personnel on the simulation including the following:
1. Checking the health of all simulation astronauts, and recording details of any issues or incidents encountered, including discussing whether risk assessment controls were effective;
2. Noting all tasks achieved and any irregularities described by the astronaut/s;
3. Recording equipment problems encountered, and ensuring the equipment is tagged OUT OF SERVICE;
4. Notifying each astronaut of their EVA details as recorded;
5. Notifying each astronaut of their repetitive group designator, and the time they left the air-lock and the EVA;
6. Detailing any post EVA restrictions to each astronaut, including altitude, heavy work, exercise or showering restrictions, and ensure the astronaut understand these.
As well, the EVA Coordinator should coordinate with the Safety/Medical Officer:
7. Check each astronaut’s health 1, 6, 24 & 48 hours after the EVA (where practicable);
8. Ensure they and the EVA Leader (if other than EVA Coordinator), sign the EVA Record Form/s for the day.
9. Prepare the EVA Report for Mission Control

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 2, 2018
Journalist Report – February 2nd
MDRS Crew 188 Journalist Report 02FEB2018

Safety, Security, and Smelling Gas: Procedures on Mars

SOL-5 Author’s name: Dr. Sarah Jane Pell

During site inductions, Dr. Rupert, Director of the Mars Desert Research Station, explained that “Safety, Simulation, and Science” are the order of priorities and operation during the MDRS Crew rotations. The theme for this report is Safety. Dedicated Simulation and Science reports will follow in the coming days.

BACKGROUND: The MDRS station was designed to mimic the systems integration of a future Martian outpost that supports an optimum crew of 3-7 people. The facilities include the basic infrastructure for self-sustaining living, and supporting typical planetary research-activities and science from astronomy to human health. In addition to the main habitat, there is a green house, a science dome, solar panel array, an engineering unit, parking space, incinerator, generator and two observatories. There are open-air wire tunnels between each module. Since arriving, we have been discovering, documenting and discussing the status of the station’s safety equipment as a matter of priority.   SAFETY: As the Operations reports show, our Crew has been responding to a Propane leak recorded in the main habitat: the place where we eat, sleep, train, relax, prepare reports and prepare for EVA work. As an expert commercial diver with a vested interest in identifying combustible gas, I reported the leak to the Director during our first safety briefing. Subsequently the crew began reporting the same smell in large concentrations on the first and second floors with noticeable concentrations above the gas heater, the gas stove, and crew rooms without ventilation ports. Engineer Zac Trolley and the crew have worked methodically and professionally to report, identify, localize and mitigate exposure to the build-up on site to address this safety concern. We are grateful for the support of Commander Ryan Kobrick (Second Engineer), Executive Officer Renee Garifi, the Mission Support Team, MDRS Director, and our HSO. Remember, we travelled from sea level to high altitude from four corners of the globe: we arrived jet-lagged and fatigued, to a dry, cold desert environment, to adjust to new surroundings as a crew for the first time. Many of our symptoms – bar the undeniable and nauseating odor – could be attributed to any number of causes. Fortunately, the tank readings, the Director’s observation, the combustible gas monitoring sensor and the old-fashioned “bubbles” test, confirmed our suspicions. We are now reassured that steps are being taken to addressing the issue. What happens on MDRS is always an opportunity to learn lessons in real-life for application in space. While our Crew is only here for two weeks, and we have access to fresh air without breaking simulation, we are mindful of the risks and hazards for crews on long-duration spaceflight and those living in confined space closed-loop systems such as submarines or underground mining stations, where contamination is a higher risk to human life than fire. How we respond to risk defines us. We hope to provide the Mars Society with a list of recommendations and simple provisions that were not provided for our SIM, in the hope of supporting the safety and fidelity of future simulation crews.

Dr. Sarah Jane Pell

TED Fellow 2010, Australia Council Fellow 2016, Gifted Citizen 2016

The ‘Performing Astronautics: following the Body’s Natural Edge into the Abyss of Space’ project is assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body http://www.artistastronaut.com

Artist, Occupational Diver, Keynote Speaker, Researcher, Simulation Astronaut http://www.sarahjanepell.com

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 1, 2018
Journalist Report – February 1st
MDRS Crew 188 Journalist Report 01FEB2018

Mount Phoebus: A successful EVA by the Astronaut, Angel and MacGyver

SOL-4

Author’s name: Dr. Sarah Jane Pell

In underwater space analogues where the Astronaut trains for EVA simulations in Neutral Buoyancy, two divers support them: Angel who is responsible for the astronaut’s air-supply, and MacGyver who finds the tools and fixes everything so that the Astronaut can perform and accomplish the mission exercise objectives.

Today MDRS Crew 188 – EVA 4 with Julia De Marines (EV-4 Commander), Dr. Ryan Kobrick, and me (Dr. Sarah Jane Pell) were the embodiment of the successful Astronaut, Angel and MacGyver team. We set out to challenge ourselves and physically condition our bodies for the up-coming Martian Olympiad challenge by carrying our advanced life support systems, carrying out biometric and human factors research, creative research, biological survey and continued systems testing. We walked from the Habitat to Mount Phobeos and through incredibly diverse terrain. I carried a large pelican case containing the Insta360 Pro VR Camera system, an emergency whistle/compass/thermometer/light, and a bag containing a rubber ball and our national flags. Kobrick carried wearable cameras, a Garmin GPS, a toy car, and his body wired up with a range of wearable bio-monitoring systems. De Marines carried the first aid kit, camera, sampling bags and small tools for collecting biological material, and an Earth flag.

Heading out, De Marines found that her WalkieTalkie was only short-range, and therefore Pell and Kobrick had to maintain comms with HabCom. On route, the team found datum markers, chlorophyll specimens, and recorded 360 video of the Mars terrain, with the habitat and Mt. Phobeos. Upon the mountain ascent, Kobrick struggled with condensation and CO2 build up in his helmet. De Marines became his guide, his Angel. Half way up, Pell noticed that Kobrick had lost the sole of his boot. She “MacGyvered” the scarpa with her emergency whistle, tying the sole to his heal and ankle so that he could continue. Upon reaching the summit, his second boot sole came off. This time, Pell used shoes laces to keep it on so that he could descend. The EVA-4 Crew held their national flags aloft in the wind for photos and video taken by the HabCom crew in the Science Dome some 1mile away. After the celebrations and cool down from the wind and shade from the midday sun, Pell and De Marines led Kobrick down the descent route without incident, and the team followed the GPS directions back to collect the Insta360 Pro that had been recording the summit attempt in the midday sun. On route back to the Habitat, the crew found an enchanting small red canyon that we followed. It caused a brief disruption to communications, but it was incredibly scenic and led to some interesting sample discoveries including some ridged amber deposits. On the other side of the canyon, we found an open plain, and in our state of exhaustion and excitement, we played catch with the ball. Such a simple gesture, amplified our sense of fun and exploration. We had spent almost 3 hours in our suits and adjusted our gate, our balance, our sense of bodily extension and coordination to facilitate the augmentation of our life support systems and our apparatus: for this reason, playing with our coordination, dexterity, visibility and reflexes was itself a joyous discovery process. We continued on, with the habitat in sight, only to realise that Kobrick had dropped his walkie-talkie, and we had to back track to find it in the desert. With good humour, and an ease and openness for continued teamwork, problem solving and cooperation, we turned back with our payloads and made light work of our tracking. De Marines found the radio and we continued back to join the rest of the crew supporting us from HabCom. We were greeted with tall glasses of Gatorade, and water, and helped with our equipment, not before measuring our beginning and end total weight/mass and weight loss after the EVA. There were many adventures and learning curves today, and working to overcome these little challenges felt like exactly what it was that we came here for. On a lighter side, we felt that we were training for bigger things, and mused over our planned activities for a future Mars Olympiad. As it happens, the future Olympiad may not only be a test of individual performance but of team dynamics, endurance, and cooperation: where every successful crew, rotates the roles of the Astronaut, the Angel, and the MacGyver.

POSTED ONJANUARY 31, 2018
Journalist Report – January 31st
MDRS Crew 188 Journalist Report 31/01/2018

Human Factors: From Habitability to Humanity

SOL-3 Author’s name: Dr. Sarah Jane Pell

Yesterday felt different. It began after the first six hours of uninterrupted sleep in nearly one Earth week. We convened at 8am for breakfast with a newfound clarity and resolve to self-organize, and prioritize the reasons that we came to MDRS. We structured the day to take steps towards realizing the potentials for our individual and collaborative research objectives. I couldn’t claim that we have found our groove, or fallen into a routine, but today there was a noticeable shift in momentum and perspective from the inner to the outer reaches of the MRSD experience, and back again.

In the morning, Dr. Ryan Kobrick, Tatsunari Tomiyama and Zac Trolley went on EVA-3 to survey the terrain: to geo-locate waypoints and calibrate the GPS with the existing Map coordinates, and scout for suitable research sites. Julia De Mariners and Dr. Sarah Jane Pell set to work on advancing Sci-Art collaboration for the Super Blue Moon Total Eclipse this evening, and Renee Garifi commanded the Hab Comms.

After lunch, the team gathered in the Habitat communal space for a Human Factors research activity designed by Crew HSO Tatsunari Tomiyama. The exercise included 6 open questions for the group relating our MDRS experience of: Communication, Water, Hygiene, WiFi, Crew Roles, and Research. After discussion we provided a subjective score between: 1 – 5 (negative – positive). Our responses were recorded in an open-format discussion and documented via video. The exercise was incredibly valuable and insightful; opening us up to a collective yet nuanced personal experience of the simulation thus far. Well, that is, the exercise helped facilitate learning and a bonding experience for the participants, but the principal investigator did not participate or share with us his responses to these topics. He felt that he must place himself at a distance from the group. It struck me as an odd tension: playing the role of the ‘official observer’ and the HSO role of the analogue ‘astronaut crew’. Nonetheless, the reality of this dual-responsibility resonates with the anticipated demands of future Mars crews. I think back to Tomiyama’s choice of animal totem for life on Mars: the domestic cat, he said, leading to his crew call sign Tom Cat. We see him at meals times but we don’t get to know him through this deliberate displacement. It will be interesting to see how he maps how this affects the crew dynamics, and when he chooses to step in, and step out, of collective activities. We meet again next week, and at the end of the simulation to discuss the shift in our experience of these themes.

At the conclusion of the HSO activity, the crew leaped into action to workshop on the engineering challenge of supporting the artist-in-residence and astronomer’s hope to live stream the Total Lunar Eclipse. Trolley, Kobrick, and De Marinares worked with Pell on finding a suitable location to track the event, a systems installation supporting the camera and the telescope array, creative configuration and Kobrick, Garifi and De Marinares commenced liaison with the MDRS Director, Mission Control, Astronomy and IT support for the infrastructural help needed to execute on the grand idea. Once things were underway, De Marinares began scoping out her own research projects, and how they might be achieved, and balanced with her Green House responsibilities. Engineer Trolley commenced a complete evaluation and status report of all vital systems to bring clarity to the web of interdependency and make-shift, and Commander Kobrick problem-solved from one system to another, while making sure he could map out pathways to support his own research, noting he still had boxes to unpack, necessary for concurrent research demands to be met.

As the sun set, our collective energies shifted to reflect on the big picture: as the reality of the domestic demands from the system maintenance, and interruptions sheds light on the limited time available to us, and challenges arising from prior misconceptions and expectations of autonomy and agency, we chose to focus on what we are here to achieve, and how we may best serve the MDRS community with our commitment and contribution.

It was the perfect evening for a Total Lunar Eclipse. The Crew went to sleep early while the Artist-in-Residence stayed up until 4:40am to attempt a live stream of the phenomena in 4K Panorama Video. As the red halo began a partial eclipse, the crew emerged with cameras, telescopes, slippers and scarves to brace the cold and look to the elliptical glow. At once incredibly beautiful, and infinitely intriguing still. We went to sleep pondering over the view from Mars… would we see an Eclipse of Phobos and what would it be like? I imagine that it would conjure universal feelings that we would share with our Earthly ancestors.

POSTED ONJANUARY 30, 2018
Journalist Report – January 30th
Crew 188 Sol 2 Journalist Report 30JAN2018

Sol 2
Summary Title: It’s only Sol 2?
Author’s name: Ryan L. Kobrick, Ph.D., MDRS Crew 188 Commander

It’s only Sol 2? This is a common type of question asked by hard working groups, and it usually implies a complete unawareness of elapsed time. This phenomenon is insightful that there is strong group cohesion, and is the unfortunate side effect of working too hard. But time is not on our side. Our mission simulation has less than two weeks to climb a science-mountain of projects and ambitious goals to share photos, videos and stories with the world.

Each crewmember was carefully selected by the “Team ISU on Mars” alumni with input from the International Space University who reviewed their strong resumes. Each member of our team has brought their own research projects to test in this analogue environment from their original proposals a YEAR ago. The crew is excited to share their work, their stories, and their experiences as this mission simulation unfolds. Tonight will be a story for the ages, possibly the largest multi-crew, mission support, and Earth-based undertaking of the mission. The event: the observation of the lunar eclipse, a.k.a. the Super Blue Blood Moon. Super because the Moon is apogee (closest approach in an elliptical orbit). Blue because a “Blue Moon” refers to a calendar month with two full Moons. And Blood for the lunar eclipse where the Moon will appear red from atmospheric distortion when Earth’s shadow is cast over the lunar surface. With more branches than a tree, the “what-if” scenarios for taking this event to the public from the desert may never be known. All I will add now is, stay tuned for tomorrow’s report and possible posts from late night on the red planet. The real question is, what will this be like for a crew on Mars watching two moons experiencing astronomical alignment?

Ok, onto today’s news. Our EVA team of Tat (Tomcat), Zac (Boltz), and myself (KOB1, pronounced koh-bee-one) had a productive EVA on the Rovers (two-seat electric off-roading golf carts named after the Martian rovers) mapping out a track along the primary routes with new waypoints. This was to help ground truth existing printed maps with reconnaissance and to help familiarize the crew with their working environment and potential scientific sites for future EVAs. It was my first EVA on these vehicles (they were used in EVA 002 the previous day by others) and a new experience. I was able to ride shotgun and watch my GPS like a hawk with a map in hand. This was extremely efficient as I had hands free to radio updates to my crewmates for our waypoint stops. Our time at MDRS is essentially composed of
experiences and moments. Even after being on 4 previous MDRS missions (25, 44, 56, and 58) and attending 2 University Rover Challenges as a judge, I knew when I signed up for my 7th trip to MDRS that there would plenty to learn. It’s been 10+ years since my last simulation (FMARS 2007 100-day simulation, a.k.a. F-XI LDM) and this trip is a refresher on what it’s actually like to be in the throes of a simulation so that I can stay current, almost like a recertification. MDRS campus has changed immensely in 10 years, but the beat of the simulation remains familiar. The crew back in the Hab was meticulously prepping for tonight’s event, a story best told tomorrow.

Oh one more thing I want to squeeze in here on my personal journey… HI RAFI, I’M ON MARS YAY!

Spacesuit Up!
Ryan L. Kobrick, Ph.D.
MDRS Crew 188 Commander

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/category/journalist-report/page/17/ Source]

Crew 189 Journalism Reports

2019-03-24T18:44:01Z

NathanielFromMars: Created page with "Category:Journalism Reports POSTED ONMARCH 6, 2018 Journalist Report – March 6th Journalist report, 03/06/18: CSI: MDRS An unfathomable mystery arose in the Hab in th..."

[[Category:Journalism Reports]]

POSTED ONMARCH 6, 2018
Journalist Report – March 6th
Journalist report, 03/06/18: CSI: MDRS

An unfathomable mystery arose in the Hab in the early morning. Benoît and Jérémy had cooked some popcorn chicken yesterday, yet Victoria did not want to eat her part on the evening, and spared it for today in her room. However, as she woke up, all the chicken was gone! Several people were suspected: mice at first, yet there were no crumbs around the bowl. Jérémy and Benoît then, as the first one was not in the Hab when she revealed her loss, and as the lack of food for the second is no longer a secret! However, Victoria would have certainly heard it if someone broke into her room to steal her chicken. The case is still open!

Today was quite a special day in the Hab, as we received two journalists from one of the main French television stations TF1. Presenter Axel Monnier and cameraman Bertrand Guez arrived short after 7am, right in the middle of our sport session. They could thus observe us sweat during our last burpees, such a nice start. After a small breakfast with a piece of French bread (well, rather bread with the French flag in it), it was time for most of us to go on EVA! Our both journalists were part of the mission: Axel even followed us in putting a spacesuit on! Gabriel, Jérémy, Victoria and I as their leader were completing the quite large team.

As it has now become routine, we made our first stop at Pooh’s corner to put the LOAC back in its place. It will yet not stay there long, as Jérémy wants to have the time to complete some measurements inside the Hab as well. We then went for the road of Lith Canyon. It seemed that Bertand sometimes needed a specific framework, as he liked to put himself in acrobatic positions on the rover, in order to be able to record us following the rover on our ATV. However, the road was rather smooth, and we arrived at Lith Canyon without any problem.

Our guests were glad to visit this place, which is probably the nearest to a Martian landscape we could get here. The walk was really pleasant, yet sometimes maybe a bit harsh for Bertrand, who had to bear his 30-pound 50000-dollard camera on his shoulder. As we reached another cliff, we decided to stop our way down: Axel and Bertrand could thus deploy their drones and take some aerial shots, after a short interview of the four of us. It was yet already time to go back to the Hab, where our journalists wanted to take some final shots.

They could question us deeper during our lunch, as they wanted to know what our thoughts about that kind of mission were. We finally could show them some of the experiments we had led for the last weeks, as LOAC and MegaARES’ ones, Laurent’s solar panels or Jérémy’s human factors one. But as the afternoon reached its end, it was already time for them to leave us, ready to reach Salt Lake City where another report awaited them. We still have a lot to do in the Hab before the end of the mission, especially with our rotation video, as we still have many shots to do.

POSTED ONMARCH 5, 2018
Journalist Report – March 5th
Hello CapCom!

Here is my report of the day.

Best,

Journalist report, 03/05/18: The beginning of the end

While we were enjoying our evening off, a surprise guest made its appearance in the Hab: a small mouse showed up from under a couch, certainly looking for some food. It has yet certainly been scared by Louis and me, still awake later than our teammates. However, it succeeded in its quest: Gabriel was surprised to catch it eating a piece a chocolate bar he had left near its bed! He has been quick to act, and drove out our little friend, which has not been seen since.

It was even harder to wake up early today after our day off: fatigue is accumulating among the crew. Benoît has notably been unable to get out of bed for our sport session: he got up only when he felt the nice smell of pancakes. Our EVA of the day aimed to improve and test some of our experiments, the main one being the localization experiment of Benoît, which he has been working on in the Hab for a while. To model benchmarks, he had brought some balloons he had inflated with helium gas. Wearing such multicolored balloons, he looked like an astronaut who enjoyed some rides at the fair. Along with Louis, Gabriel and Jérémy, leader of the day, they then left the station.

As it has become a routine, the team started the EVA going to Pooh’s Corner, our instruments’ location. However, as both of the LOAC’s and MegaARES’ batteries had to be changed, it was decided to bring back the LOAC in the station until the next day, as we only have one spare battery. Unlike what we are used to, the team did not go on
exploration today, as they had a lot to do with the experiments. Unfortunately, Benoît’s one could not work because of GPS issues, which he will have to tackle later. In the meantime in the Hab, I started to work on our rotation video: I found the music, created a synopsis, and tried to begin to edit the video: there is yet a lot to do before it is finally completed!

Our afternoons are getting more rhythmic, as the end of the mission is in sight! However, as everyone wants to fulfill his own tasks which can evolve several members of the crew, it is sometimes hard to manage our time! Each member is indeed very busy: Gabriel managed once more our KTNE session; Louis put together a VR video of the Hab; Benoît made new solar observations, etc. There are now only 4 mission days left before our return to Earth, and one of them will be quite different than what we are used to. We will in fact receive two journalists from TF1 (one of the largest French TV station) tomorrow: the day is going to be full of events!

Alexandre Martin, Crew 189 Journalist.

POSTED ONMARCH 4, 2018
Journalist Report – March 4th
Journalist report, 03/04/18: Second day off / Special edition 2: About the MegaARES

Our second day off was quite welcomed today after such a busy week. All the crew could catch up some sleep, and spent some time chilling in the Hab, around films and card games. As intended, I will talk today about our second large outside experience and its instrument: the MegaARES.

The Mega Atmospheric Relaxation and Electric field Sensor is an instrument developed by Grégoire Déprezand his team of researchers at LATMOS (French atmosphere and spatial observations laboratory). Several versions of ARES have been developed before, the most advanced being the MicroARES, which was part of a group of sensors on the DREAMS payload of the ExoMars Schiaparelli module which attempted an automated landing on Mars on 19 October 2016. However, the signal was unexpectedly lost shortly before the planned landing time, and Schiaparelli crashed. MicroARES was thus destroyed and could not take any measure on Mars.

This device is able to record the electric field in favorable weather conditions and is precise enough to catch electric field variations phenomenon known as Schuman and Transverse Resonances. On a planet, such electric phenomenon occurring in the atmosphere could indeed have a major role and link with the planet’s climate and chemistry. Being able to measure the electric field precisely is thus a quite interesting challenge for planetology. Utah Desert’s electric field matches Mars’ atmospheric one on several points. Interesting phenomenon hypothesized to occur on Mars could indeed be caught in the Utah Desert.

Scientists of the LATMOS team will have to wait for the next Martian mission to deploy their instrument, and want to use the time left to improve its performance. Analog mission are thus their best opportunity to work on the device. Through MegaARES, specially developed for Earth measures, data recording, data analyzing and hardware can be tested for a certain length of time at MDRS station. The instrument is used simultaneously with the LOAC, in order to study cross effect between sand and electric field dynamics. LOAC and MegaARES will thus give a large and precise database which could be used for future experiments on the MDRS.

We would like to thank Grégoire Déprez and his team for having accepted to lend us this instrument, and for their trust in us for its use.

Alexandre Martin, Crew 189 Journalist, with the help of Gabriel Payen, Crew 189 Engineer, in charge of the MegaARES experiment.

POSTED ONMARCH 4, 2018
Journalist Report – March 4th
Journalist report, 03/04/18: Second day off / Special edition 2: About the MegaARES

Our second day off was quite welcomed today after such a busy week. All the crew could catch up some sleep, and spent some time chilling in the Hab, around films and card games. As intended, I will talk today about our second large outside experience and its instrument: the MegaARES.

The Mega Atmospheric Relaxation and Electric field Sensor is an instrument developed by Grégoire Déprezand his team of researchers at LATMOS (French atmosphere and spatial observations laboratory). Several versions of ARES have been developed before, the most advanced being the MicroARES, which was part of a group of sensors on the DREAMS payload of the ExoMars Schiaparelli module which attempted an automated landing on Mars on 19 October 2016. However, the signal was unexpectedly lost shortly before the planned landing time, and Schiaparelli crashed. MicroARES was thus destroyed and could not take any measure on Mars.

This device is able to record the electric field in favorable weather conditions and is precise enough to catch electric field variations phenomenon known as Schuman and Transverse Resonances. On a planet, such electric phenomenon occurring in the atmosphere could indeed have a major role and link with the planet’s climate and chemistry. Being able to measure the electric field precisely is thus a quite interesting challenge for planetology. Utah Desert’s electric field matches Mars’ atmospheric one on several points. Interesting phenomenon hypothesized to occur on Mars could indeed be caught in the Utah Desert.

Scientists of the LATMOS team will have to wait for the next Martian mission to deploy their instrument, and want to use the time left to improve its performance. Analog mission are thus their best opportunity to work on the device. Through MegaARES, specially developed for Earth measures, data recording, data analyzing and hardware can be tested for a certain length of time at MDRS station. The instrument is used simultaneously with the LOAC, in order to study cross effect between sand and electric field dynamics. LOAC and MegaARES will thus give a large and precise database which could be used for future experiments on the MDRS.

We would like to thank Grégoire Déprezand and his team for having accepted to lend us this instrument, and for their trust in us for its use.

Alexandre Martin, Crew 189 Journalist, with the help of Gabriel Payen, Crew 189 Engineer, in charge of the MegaARES experiment.

POSTED ONMARCH 1, 2018
Journalist Report – March 1st
Journalist Report – Sol 11 03/01/18

Further, Faster, Stronger

For the second time of the simulation, there has not been a sport session this morning. But this time, that was not because we reached a break day. No, the team just was not able to wake up early enough. Yet we did not stay in bed until noon either! We indeed had an EVA planned at 9am, so we had to hurry! For the first time, neither Louis nor Victoria would be a member of the EVA. Laurent, Benoît and Jérémy made up the team, while I was their leader. We made our usual at our instruments to change the LOAC batteries. However, we realized that the batteries of the MegaARES were also at a dangerously low level. We had to go back to the Hab to ask Gabriel whether we had to change it too, yet he declined, as he believed that could be done tomorrow. We could then go on with the core of our EVA: exploration.

As we were going further north than we ever went before, we decided to ride the ATV: one of each one of us! These ones are indeed way faster and more pleasant to drive than rovers. As we did not bring any heavy material on EVA, there was thus no issue not having rovers. After a 20 minutes’ drive, quite longer than we were used to, we finally arrived to the canyon we aimed to visit today. This canyon was a bit special: he was divided in several stratums under the one we parked the ATV on. The entry of the canyon was decorated by a display panel about dinosaurs, whose fossils are likely to be found here. Not the most Martian of the things we have seen here, but it is yet quite cool to know that! We then tried to enter the first level of the canyon: it has been a bit hard to find a way down at first, but after some researches we finally discovered an easy one. This small trip is the canyon was really nice, even though it revealed to be tiring! We found some small caves where Benoît and I could take a break in, while Jérémy seemed to have borrowed Benoîts lure for small beautiful stones. Once we completed our trip to the depths of the canyon, it was almost time to ride our ATV back to the Hab!

The return trip was outstanding. To be able to drive a lonely vehicle in such a beautiful landscape, the sensation of the ATV rolling over rocks, everything was delightful. But this moment could not last forever, and the Hab quickly appeared in our eyesight, ready to welcome us. Or at least, that is what we thought. We indeed got no response from the Hab: Gabriel, today’s HabCom, remained silent. 10 minutes later, we decided to go back to the instruments to get the empty batteries we left there, not to be cluttered on our ATV. But as we came back, Gabriel finally responded! Yet, it was to ask us to go back where we came from, and turn off the MegaARES… This was however useless, as the MegaARES was already shut down because of the low battery. Gabriel was by the way worth some derogatory remarks because of this meaningless return trip. Remarks we finally regretted when we discovered that our communication issues were due to the walkie-talkies, which stopped functioning.

Our today session of KTNE was quite less successful than the previous one, especially for Benoît and Louis, which were not able to find a specific word in a list of 25 in 3 minutes, and they had several difficulties counting up to 4, which led to some loud funny shouting matches. And today was also the day I could (finally!) take my first shower! I also was able to beat the best score of the crew, going down to 1.2 gallons for my shower. It is hard to say that we had almost lost the habit to smell nice here. This shower was yet really pleasant, and my hair is at last not standing anymore on its own!

Alexandre Martin, Crew 189 Journalist

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 28, 2018
Journalist Report – February 28th
Hello CapCom !

Journalist report – Sol 10

Prepared by : Alexandre Martin (Crew Journalist) – 28 feb 2018

Here is my report of the day.

Best.

Journalist report, 02/28/18: Already mid-rotation!

Today is already our 10th day of mission, which means we are overpassing its half. Altogether, this pivotal day has been rather quiet. No EVA was indeed planned for today. After our daily sport, most of the crew went to the GreenHab in order to replace the tarp, which protects plants from the sun, as it was turned in the wrong direction. A task which was rather hard to achieve: the temperature inside the GreenHab is indeed 100°F in order to preserve plants health, sweating the team. In the late morning, both teams succeeded in each situation of KTNE, which seems to become too easy for us. Jérémy had yet less success in his own experiment: he suffered web connection issues, and Benoît could thus not drive the rover. While Louis and Victoria started an additional sport session, making the team question their sanity, Benoît and Gabriel wanted to live a new culinary experience and decided to mix bread dough with food coloring. The obvious result: bread sharing his color with Smurfs. A black market of food is also starting to be organized inside the Hab, through

As half of the mission is already over, it is time to draw a first review of our experience. Our daily life has indeed suffered a dramatic change since our arrival at the station! To take a daily shower: over. To do the dishes after each meal: over. To eat lavishly: over. To take a break outside anytime we want: over. To be able to contact our close relatives anytime we want: over. To be able to be totally isolated: over. We had to become used to any of these situations! Everyone seems to have its own hardest lack to deal with, yet the separation from friends and family is often he hardest, and then comes the food, then the lack of fresh air. We learned to save almost anything: from food to water, from our oxygen during EVA to our energy during sport session. For the moment, no one has for example taken more than one shower! And those were not the kind of shower that is usually had: we keep the falling water in a large basin to use it to rinse ourselves! The food rationing might be the hardest for the team: even each member of the team was near to come undone since the beginning of the mission! However, only 9 days of mission are remaining, it is up to us to continue to work along the same lines!

Alexandre Martin, Crew 189 Journalist.

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 27, 2018
Journalist Report – February 27th
Journalist report, 02/27/18: In case of emergency

As today’s EVA was planned on the afternoon, our sport session was delayed by one hour. Yet I obviously forgot to change my alarm clock, and I was the only one to be woken up at 6.30am. Hopeless to get back to sleep, I decided to wait for our evil session: the 3 times 20 second mode was back today. However, it seems that the workout benefits to everybody. We indeed all beat our personal scores in nearly every exercise: Louis for example could do 70 push-ups, Jérémy was able to deliver 90 half-squats, while I was capable to do 85 lunges, all in 1 minute. Laurent even succeeded in making 104 head shakes, though real crunches would have been better. After around 10 days in the station, we are all getting in a better shape: each one lost about 2 to 3 pounds of fat!

The day was dedicated to emergency procedures. Our health and security officer Laurent prepared us a 2 hours briefing on the morning. He explained at first the good habits to have when one finds someone injured. What is the most important is to make a statement of the situation: if the place still can be dangerous, what the causes of the incident are, how the victim is behaving. Gabriel was the one to play the victim for a while: he was repeatedly placed in recovery position and was flipped over onto his back. After these global gestures, Laurent became more specific in his showing. We are not in a Martian simulation for nothing! In such environment, these gestures would indeed be mainly practiced through spacesuits… Some gestures are indeed becoming much more complex: in the case of a vertebrae issue, it would be impossible to maintain the head because of the helmet. Cardiac massage would be compromise, and even acknowledge if someone is breathing or not becomes a hard task. Finally, even repatriate someone to the station would be problematic: with our spacesuits, everyone is 20lbs heavier, and there is no solid hold on it.

Laurent was thus leader of today’s EVA, where he would be able to try these procedures on the outside in real conditions, along with Louis, Jérémy, Victoria, Gabriel, Benoît. Jérémy and I would be the only two to guard the fort. While Victoria, Gabriel and Benoît made a short detour to our instruments, in order to change the battery of the MegaARES, Louis and Laurent dealt with some small tasks around the Hab. While the other half of the team came back shortly after, they were ready to go on with the procedures. Victoria seemed to quite enjoy the recovery position, as she has often been in this situation. The team dealt with a lot of different situations and diagnosis, in order to cover a large amount of the injury possibilities that could one day happen into space. In the meantime, I served as HabCom for the team: I was their referent inside of the Hab, harvesting the data they give me about the resources of the station, such as water level, the state of our vehicles, etc. They finally came back into the Hab after only 2 hours, as they had completed everything they wanted to do.

Our evening was punctuated by our traditional KTNE session, which is becoming increasingly harder: instructions are now incomplete in each manual, and teammates have to be coordinated in order to be able to succeed. Gabriel also gave us the first ranking: Victoria and I are at the moment on the top, yet things will certainly change rapidly, as the hardest part is to come! Benoît also seems to be getting some issues dealing with food: while we split our remaining energy bars yesterday between the crew, he already ate almost half of them! It will be hard to keep going like this until the end of the mission!

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 26, 2018
Journalist Report – February 26th
Hello Capcom !

Journalist report – Sol 08

Prepared by : Alexandre Martin (Crew Journalist) – 26 feb 2018

Here is my report of the day

Best regards.

Journalist report, 02/26/18: Water on Mars?

As most of the crew became increasingly hungry over the days, Benoît, with the help of Jérémy, decided to make pizzas. That was not an easy task using only dehydrated products! However, along with some seasonings that Jérémy brought back from the GreenHab, those pizzas were literally amazing, and to go to bed with a full stomach was deeply appreciated!

“Wake up”! This time, I was indeed not woken up by my alarm, that I forgot to put back after our day off, but by Victoria, knocking on my door. After a resting day for our muscles, it was time to go back to sport, and to bring back our body aches. An EVA was also planned for today. And for the first time of the mission, neither Louis nor Victoria would be EVA leader! Jérémy was the one to lead today, accompanied by Gabriel, Victoria and me. We made a short stop at our experiments, in order to change the LOAC battery. However, the voltmeter seemed to have caught a cold, and could not give any information. Jérémy thus almost confused the battery to take back to the Hab with the battery to plug to the LOAC. After having gone further and further north since the beginning of the mission, we decided to travel south this time. However, our map played a few tricks to us, and we had some troubles finding the place we wanted to go to.

We finally arrived at the rim of the canyon we wanted to visit, and we made a small detour in order to be able to get into it. We discovered here something we did not think we would find in such environments: some large bodies of frozen shallow water. Jérémy could not prevent himself from walking on one of them, yet he rapidly stopped when he realized that some cracks began to initiate. After having completed our trip in the canyon and having taken some photos, we went back to our vehicles, and we decided to go back home. This has been a quite short yet very nice EVA!

As our reserves of pasta and rice are starting to decline dangerously, we now have to assault our stock of beans, surely nourishing, but still a lot less tasty. As usual, we spent a lot of our afternoon time playing “Keep talking and nobody explodes”: the difficulty is now way higher (Louis quite notably paid the price) and our team have been split up, leading to some misapprehension and misunderstandings.

Alexandre Martin, Crew 189 Journalist

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 25, 2018
Journalist Report – February 25th
Journalist report – Sol 07

Prepared by : Alexandre Martin (Crew Journalist) – 25 feb 2018

Here is my report of the day

Best regards.

Journalist report, 02/25/18: First day off / Special edition 1: About the LOAC

On day off for the entire team today: no sport or EVA, yet we remain on simulation, and everyone did work a bit on their experiments or on other tasks. Benoît, Laurent and I helped Jérémy transplant carrots in new pots, while Louis finished his work on our encouragements video for our schoolmates preparing their apparition in famous French show “Questions pour un champion”. The rest of the day has been a complete break for the team, before the beginning of our second week of mission: Jérémy and Gabriel have had the luxury to take their first shower today, whereas Laurent and Benoît already took one. Only Louis, Victoria and I still did not have that opportunity. But that does not imply that we are covered by dirt! We indeed wash ourselves daily with disinfecting wipes, which is nonetheless an appreciated comfort.

As I do not have so much more to tell about the crew today, I will explain the purpose of the experience hidden behind the strange name LOAC, as this name has already been quoted several times in my reports. The Light Optical Aerosol Counter (LOAC) is used to measure the air’s concentration in aerosols, which are fine particles in suspension. It gives the size distribution of these particles as well as an indication of their typology (carbon, minerals, salt, liquid, etc.). The purpose of this experiment is to use the instrument in different conditions to get new measurements and analyze their meaning. Two types of measurements will be harvested : outdoor ones, to get information about the airborne dust, and indoor ones, to see how the air quality of a confined space changes according to the activities crew members are having (cooking, changes between day and night, particles brought back from EVA, etc.).

Such particles have indeed an important impact on a planet’s atmosphere, mainly on its climate, but also on human health, the most obvious example being carbon particles, which can stick to lungs and cause severe damages. We have still a lot to learn about Martian atmosphere, its composition and chemistry. This type of instrument has indeed never been used in any space mission before; it would thus give unprecedented science results on another planet’s atmosphere! It is also a great tool to control air quality in a confined space, because of its small size and low consumption as well as the precision of its measurements. Considering a long term space mission, this is an important factor that needs to be controlled; it could prevent disastrous catastrophes and allow a full-time survey of air quality. As you already know if you read some of my reports, we had lots of difficulties in deploying the LOAC, mainly because of its alimentation, yet it is now fully functional!

We would like to thank Jean-Baptiste Renard, research supervisor at CNRS (French main scientific research center) and developer of the LOAC, for having accepted to lend us this instrument, and for his trust in us for its use.

Alexandre Martin, Crew 189 Journalist, with the help of Jérémy Auclair, Crew 189 GreenHab officer, in charge of the LOAC experiment.

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 21, 2018
Journalist Report – February 21st
POSTED ONFEBRUARY 20, 2018
Journalist Report – February 20th
Journalist report, 02/20/18: First scientific and gastronomic hitches

Our first own made bread prepared by Victoria was welcomed after such a long day we had. Though it was somehow a bit compact, it was yet tasty, and with some strawberry jam it made a nice dessert! After having filled our stomachs, it was yet time to go to sleep, to prepare for the second day of mission.

And sleeping early was crucial, as today’s sport beginning time was 7am … Some of our fellow crew members wore their nicest outfits : Benoît put on his shirt of Paris Saint-Germain, while Gabriel chosed the winning combo : fitted black shirt and (very) fitted flashy yellow legging. However, the sport session was shortened for the ones who would go on EVA: Gabriel, Jérémy, Benoît and Commander Victoria were the ones to go out this morning. The EVA followed the purpose of the last one: it was now time to place the measurement instruments, after having chosen the location, according to our observations of the previous day.

However, everything did not work as we expected. The team took a lot more time to be ready than they thought, as they had a lot of material to bring on the rover. The team first went placing the instrument of Jérémy’s experiment, the LOAC. Though it was perfectly working in the Hab, it did not give any result on the outside. After a small check, the team realized the alimentation was broken, and that they had to bring back the LOAC to the station to fix it. The second instrument, Gabriel’s MegaARES, took almost 2 hours to the team to be placed. Gabriel had indeed some issues with his helmet, which started to be covered by fog: he was blinded, and had thus to give instructions to the others members of the EVA team, which was not an easy thing to do. The team learned that some tasks which were usually easy became nearly impossible wearing a spacesuit: to tighten a lonely screw took the team over half an hour, yet they finally succeeded with the help of a perfect teamwork. At the same time in the Hab, Louis wanted to follow Victoria’s example in baking new bread. However, he realized later that he did not put the ingredients in good quantities (especially because of American cooking units, which Louis was not happy to be forced to use).

After the team got back in the station, Jérémy was happy to find 3 red cherry tomatoes in the GreenHab : our first fresh products from there. Those were not really large (especially the one we named Victoria), yet it did not reduce our satisfaction. The afternoon was slower: Benoît learned to play French game “coinche”, but he and Jérémy lost nonetheless in a large way against Louis and Victoria. As we reached the middle of the afternoon, Louis’ bread was finally ready. Yet, even though it looked at first more like a Martian rock than like a French baguette, it was quite comestible after all. It was then time for Gabriel and Jérémy to launch their human factors experiments. However, they suffered some software issues, and so were not able to make their first tries today: these will so normally begin tomorrow. These missed tries conclude a day full of small issues, yet things will certainly get better as soon as tomorrow!

Alexandre Martin, Crew 189 Journalist

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 19, 2018
Journalist Report – February 19th
Dear all,

Here is the Journalist report, 02/19/18: a first step on Mars

Our first evening at the Hab had been festive: Victoria had baked a cake for Louis’ birthday, which occurred a couple days earlier, but which we did not have the time to celebrate. Our two commanders then organized a table tour, letting each one describe what he expected from the mission, what he wished to do here and what he was afraid of. After this long discussion, it was time to go to sleep, except for Louis, who still had to prepare the physical exercises for the next morning.

And these were hard exercises: so hard indeed that Laurent began to feel sick in the middle of the crunchs, and that Gabriel would certainly have vomited if his stomach was not empty, as we even did not take our breakfast yet! While the crew had begun to feel knock-out, breakfast was finally welcomed after such energy usage. Put back in shape, the crew was now able to end the preparation of experiments on the morning, before the first EVA which would occur in the afternoon.

Laurent, Jérémy, Commander Louis and I were the ones to leave the Hab on the afternoon. The EVA had two main purposes: to explore the surroundings of the station, and to find perfect places where we could place Jérémy and Gabriel experiments, as these needed special weather conditions. After having put on our spacesuits, radios and helmets, it was time to say good bye to Victoria, Gabriel and Benoît, and to enter the pressurisation airlock. 3 minutes later we could open the door, and finally discover the Martian landscape. I went down the stairs, and had the luck to be the first one to make a step on this land.

After having accomplished some minor tasks around the Hab, we could ride the rovers to a further land. We stopped at different points along the road, in order to find out the right places to put the measurement instruments for the diverse experiments, and also a mushroom-like rock to show our support to our fellow students of ISAE-SUPAERO which were selected to participate to famous French show “Questions pour un champion”. On the last part of the EVA, we chose to climb up the plateau over the base, in order to get a better view of the base region. And what a view it was, even though I almost lost one of my lungs to get there! As Jeremy took some last pictures, Louis started to struggle finding a way down, and we took a bit more time going back to the rovers. The EVA was near its end, and we went back to the Hab, freezing cold on our rovers because of the wind. We went back to the airlock, waited for the pressurisation, and could finally come into the Hab, and put off our wet suits. One thing for sure, sleep would not be hard to find after such a tiring day!

Alexandre Martin, Journalist of the Crew 189

Voici la version française du rapport du journaliste, 19/02/18 : un petit pas sur Mars

L’ambiance était à la fête à l’étage du Hab pour cette première soirée de la mission : si nous n’avions pas pu fêter l’anniversaire de Louis le jour même à cause de l’enchaînement des événements, nous nous étions rattrapés ce soir, et Victoria avait même cuisiné un gâteau au chocolat pour l’occasion ! Nos deux commandants furent ensuite les instigateurs d’un petit tour de table, afin de savoir ce que chacun attendait de la mission, et quelles étaient nos envies et
appréhensions. Après cette longue discussion, il était temps pour tous d’aller dormir, à l’exception de Louis qui allait nous préparer une séance de sport aux petits oignons le lendemain matin.

Et pour du sport, ce fut du sport. Entre Laurent qui a commencé à sentir la nausée monter au milieu d’une série de crunchs, et Gabriel qui aurait sûrement rendu son petit déjeuner si nous l’avions pris avant la séance, l’ambiance n’était plus vraiment très festive. Alors que l’équipage commençait à se sentir KO, le petit déjeuner fut vraiment une délivrance après une telle dépense d’énergie. Remis d’aplomb, l’équipage était enfin d’attaque pour terminer la
préparation des expériences dans la matinée, afin d’être parés pour la première EVA (sortie extra-véhiculaire) qui aura lieu dès
l’après-midi.

Laurent, Jérémy, notre commandant Louis et moi-même avons donc été les premiers à quitter le Hab. L’EVA se décomposait en deux tâches principales : explorer les alentours de la base, et trouver des endroits où déployer les expériences de Jérémy et Gabriel, qui nécessitent des conditions climatiques particulières. Après avoir difficilement enfilé nos combinaisons, radios et casques, il était l’heure de saluer Victoria, Gabriel et Benoît et d’entrer dans le sas de pressurisation. 3 minutes plus tard, nous pouvions ouvrir la porte, et nous découvrions enfin le paysage martien. Restait 2 marches à descendre, et j’ai eu la chance d’être le premier à fouler cette nouvelle terre.

Après avoir accompli quelques tâches mineures autour du Hab, nous pouvions chevaucher les rovers et nous éloigner de la station. Nous nous sommes arrêtés plusieurs fois au bord de la route afin de rechercher l’endroit parfait pour déposer les instruments de mesures des diverses expériences, aussi un rocher en forme de champignon pour supporter nos camarades de l’ISAE-SUPAERO sélectionnés pour passer devant Julien Lepers. Nous nous sommes éloignés un peu plus dans la dernière partie de l’EVA : nous avons décidé d’escalader le plateau qui surplombait la station, afin de bénéficier d’une vue globale sur la région. Et la vue valait le coup, même si j’ai failli perdre un de mes poumons pour y parvenir … Et alors que Jérémy prenait quelques dernières photos, Louis semblait avoir quelques difficultés à se remémorer le chemin du retour vers les rovers, qui a donc pris un peu plus de temps que prévu. L’EVA touchait à sa fin, et nous étions à nouveau sur la route du Hab, aveuglés par la buée sur nos casques et frigorifiés par le vent qui s’inflitrait sous nos combinaisons. Nous sommes donc rentrés dans le sas, avons attendu la pressurisation, et nous sommes finalement rentrés dans le Hab, où nous avons enfin pu retirer nos combinaisons humides. Une chose était sûre, le sommeil ne sera pas dur à trouver après cette journée éprouvante !

Alexandre Martin, journaliste du Crew 189.

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 19, 2018
Journalist Report – February 19th
Dear all,

Here the Journalist report, 02/19/18: a first step on Mars

Our first evening at the Hab had been festive: Victoria had baked a cake for Louis’ birthday, which occurred a couple days earlier, but which we did not have the time to celebrate. Our two commanders then organized a table tour, letting each one describe what he expected from the mission, what he wished to do here and what he was afraid of. After this long discussion, it was time to go to sleep, except for Louis, who still had to prepare the physical exercises for the next morning.

And these were hard exercises: so hard indeed that Laurent began to feel sick in the middle of the crunchs, and that Gabriel would certainly have vomited if his stomach was not empty, as we even did not take our breakfast yet! While the crew had begun to feel knock-out, breakfast was finally welcomed after such energy usage. Put back in shape, the crew was now able to end the preparation of experiments on the morning, before the first EVA which would occur in the afternoon.

Laurent, Jérémy, Commander Louis and I were the ones to leave the Hab on the afternoon. The EVA had two main purposes: to explore the surroundings of the station, and to find perfect places where we could place Jérémy and Gabriel experiments, as these needed special weather conditions. After having put on our spacesuits, radios and helmets, it was time to say good bye to Victoria, Gabriel and Benoît, and to enter the pressurisation airlock. 3 minutes later we could open the door, and finally discover the Martian landscape. I went down the stairs, and had the luck to be the first one to make a step on this land.

After having accomplished some minor tasks around the Hab, we could ride the rovers to a further land. We stopped at different points along the road, in order to find out the right places to put the measurement instruments for the diverse experiments, and also a mushroom-like rock to show our support to our fellow students of ISAE-SUPAERO which were selected to participate to famous French show “Questions pour un champion”. On the last part of the EVA, we chose to climb up the plateau over the base, in order to get a better view of the base region. And what a view it was, even though I almost lost one of my lungs to get there! As Jeremy took some last pictures, Louis started to struggle finding a way down, and we took a bit more time going back to the rovers. The EVA was near its end, and we went back to the Hab, freezing cold on our rovers because of the wind. We went back to the airlock, waited for the pressurisation, and could finally come into the Hab, and put off our wet suits. One thing for sure, sleep would not be hard to find after such a tiring day!

Alexandre Martin, Journalist of the Crew 189

FEBRUARY 18, 2018
Journalist Report – February 18th
Journalist report, 02/17/18 and 02/18/18: last moments on Earth

Louis had been the last to join us at Grand Junction, picked up by Gabriel, glad of his time of arrival. The mission was finally on its way! After a final brunch at the hotel, Victoria made a stock of bananas (which would be over even before we could see the Hab), it was time to leave civilization! The target: Hanksville, in the deepest paths of the Utah desert.

A journey not so comfortable at last, especially for Laurent, who carried the large MegaARES instrument that Gabriel left him. Nonetheless the road met its end, and we were getting deeper in the desert, towards the Hab. A few turns between giant red rocks later, we finally were able to see the station, among its little brothers, the laboratory, the GreenHab and the observatory. To welcome us, no previous crew was present contrary to the usual, but new stairs were being done, which will reduce falling risks and avoid injuries. It was then time for Shannon’s first briefing, completed with some advices from Attila the Peruvian, yet hard to understand because of Jack the dog, which seems to be into his teenager crisis.

Following a small cleaning session imposed by Victoria, it was now time for all of us to choose our rooms. Well, except for Gabriel, who inherited of the small bed under the celling, in order to take care of the hydraulic pump. A small rover/ATV trip later and we were taking our first meal in the station! A meal which finally revealed to be quite tasty: lyophilised ingredients are not so terrible. However, the crew started to feel really tired and everyone went to sleep to prepare the last pre-mission day!

A sleeping night which was short for Benoît and Louis, who had to bring back the location car to Grand Junction: it is an early morning for them! A few hours later, the remaining members of the crew tasted their first Martian breakfast with powdered orange juice and pancakes … powdered pancakes. The morning is used to put in place experiments which will be completed during the whole 3 weeks, and to finish some secondary tasks, like patch sewing, realized by Victoria, myself and Benoît for diverse results …

As both drivers came back from their journey and everyone filled their stomach, it was the time to take crew pictures! Despite some difficulties (one dog which repeatedly entered the field of view, and a tragic fall of the camera on the ground), photos were nonetheless satisfying. A last rover/ATV trip was organized, which proved to be quite hard due to continuous strong blowing winds and small dust storms that came with it, leading some members of the crew (especially Gabriel) to steal the look of a grandmother with his bandana.

The fatidic hour was near: while Shannon gave us her last advices, we prepared ourselves to the closing of the Hab door. Here begins 3 weeks without seeing the Sun without the helmet. As Shannon wished us good luck and left us, Gabriel finally grabbed the door handle to close the main door. After a few videos and pictures were taken by Jeremy, it was at last time to start the simulation.

6.05pm: the Hab door is closed, here begins the mission

Alexandre Martin, Crew Journalist MDRS 189.

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/category/journalist-report/page/17/ Source]

Crew 186 GreenHab Reports

2019-03-24T18:39:19Z

NathanielFromMars: Created page with "Category:GreenHab Experiments POSTED ONJANUARY 13, 2018 Greenhab Report – January 13th GreenHab Report Mark Gee 13Jan2018 Environmental control: Heating Shade clo..."

[[Category:GreenHab Experiments]]

POSTED ONJANUARY 13, 2018
Greenhab Report – January 13th
GreenHab Report

Mark Gee

13Jan2018

Environmental control:

Heating

Shade cloth on

Ambient with door open

Working Hour: 06:40PM Inside temp at working hour: 16 C Outside temp during working hours: 2 C Inside temperature high: 37 C Inside temperature low: 15 C Inside humidity: 88 %RH

Inside humidity high: 94 %RH Inside humidity low: 16 %RH

Hours of supplemental light:

For the crops 05:00 to 11:59 PM

Changes to crops: Seeds are emerging rapidly.

Daily water usage for crops: 6 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 03:00PM

Research observations: None

Changes to research plants: None

Aquaponics: Not in use.

Narrative: Today was my last day caring for the Greenhab. I feel proud of what I have done. An abundance of thriving plants were left to me and I have not only kept them alive, but brought some to harvest and left the future crews with even more than I was given. It has been fun to water the baby cucumbers knowing that some crew will be enjoying them a month from now.

For the next Greenhab officer, I would recommend starting by taking care of what has been left to you and at the half way point of your rotation seeding a small amount of many crops so that future crew can enjoy a diverse harvest. Below is a table of what is currently growing, actions taken, and notes on what needs to be done in the next two weeks. Everything should be watered every day. There is also an inventory of all supplies available at this time.

Name Quantity Growth Stage Action Notes
Dill Weed 2ft row, ~20 plants Vegetative Thinned plants to 1 inch spacing. Can begin harvesting outer leaves for meals. Leave the center of the plants to regrow.
Rosemary 2ft row, ~20 plants Seedling, 2 true leafs Slow growing. It will be a long time before this is ready to harvest.
Parsley 2ft row, ~50 plants Seedling, true leaf Can thin to 1 inch spacing after Jan 20.
Eat plants you pull.

Cilantro 2ft row, ~30 plants Seedling, 3 true leafs Thinned to 1 inch spacing Should let plants establish 10 leaves before beginning harvest.
Oregano 2ft row, ~50 plants Seedling, 2 true leafs Can thin to 1 inch spacing after Jan 20. Eat plants you pull.
Sage 2ft row, ~10 plants Seedling, 1 true leaf Let grow.
Basil 2ft row, ~40 plants Seedling, 1 true leaf Can thin to 1 inch spacing after Jan 20. Eat plants you pull.
Thyme 2ft row, ~30 plants Seedling, 3 true leafs Let grow.
Chives 2ft row, ~20 plants Seedling, 2 leafs Let grow.
Lavender 2ft row Seeds, not emerged If no emergence by Jan 20, plant something else.
Spinach, Bloomsdale 3 pots, 16 plants. Seedling, two true leafs. Transplanted 06Jan2018 Let grow.
Spinach, Bloomsdale 4ft row Seedling, cotyledon. Planted
06Jan2018

Let grow.
Kale, Blue Curled Scotch 5 pots, ~50 plants Seedling, 3 true leafs Transplanted 06Jan2018 Let grow.
Cabbage, Golden Acre 1 seedling tray, ~20 plants Seedling, 2 true leafs Need transplanting by Jan 15.
Moringa Olifera 14 plots Seeds, no emergence Repurpose pots with Capcom approval.
Paperwhites 3 pots, seven plants Various, sprouted to flowering Move to the habitat for your enjoyment.
Beans, Pole 27 plants 3ft vines, producing flowers and pods Harvest beans when they reach at least 3 inches and you can feel the beans inside.
Cucumber 23 plants, 7 pots 3ft vines, producing flowers and fruit Let grow.
Melon 8 plants 2ft vines, no flowers Let grow.
Peppers 9 pots, 23 plants 8 inches, vegetative Let grow.
Tomatoes 39 pots, 57 plants 6in-48in tall, some flowering Transplanted 05Jan2018 Use cages to support tomato branches. Make sure plants are growing up through the cages.
Radish 1 pot, three plants Vegetative, 1ft tall Harvest after Jan 20.
Radish sprouts 6 sq ft Seedling, cotyledon. Planted 04Jan2018 Harvest Jan 14.
Swiss Chard 1 starter container Seedling, cotyledon. Planted 06Jan2018 Let grow. Thin if needed.
Scallions 5 starter containers Seeds, no emergence Planted 06Jan2018 If no emergence by Jan 20, plant something else
Onion 8 starter containers Seeds, no emergence Planted 06Jan2018 If no emergence by Jan 20, plant something else
Broccoli 1 starter container Seeds, no emergence Planted 06Jan2018 If no emergence by Jan 20, plant something else
Carrot 6 starter containers,
4 pots

Seeds, no emergence Planted 06Jan2018 If no emergence by Jan 20, plant something else
Lettuce, Romaine 1 starter container,
1 ft row

Seedlings, cotyledon Planted 06Jan2018 Thin to 1 inch spacing after Jan 25. Eat plants you pull. Transplant if needed.
Lettuce, Red Leaf 1 starter container,
1 ft row

Seedlings, cotyledon Planted 06Jan2018 Thin to 1 inch spacing after Jan 25. Eat plants you pull. Transplant if needed.
Lettuce, Black Seeded Simpson 2 starter containers,
1 ft row

Seedlings, cotyledon Planted 06Jan2018 Thin to 1 inch spacing after Jan 25. Eat plants you pull. Transplant if needed.
Lettuce, sprouts misc. 2 sq ft Seedlings, cotyledon Planted 06Jan2018 Harvest as microgreens after Jan 25. Save a few plants and grow to maturity.
Lettuce, Bibb 1 sq ft Seedlings, cotyledon Planted 06Jan2018 Harvest as microgreens after Jan 25. Save a few plants and grow to maturity.
Mustard 1 pot Seedlings, cotyledon Planted 06Jan2018 Harvest as microgreens after Jan 25. Save a few plants and grow to maturity.
Quinoa, Red Sprouting 2 sq ft Seeds, no emergence Threw away. These seeds did not grow and were thrown away.
Zennia
…

POSTED ONJANUARY 12, 2018
Greenhab Report – January 12th
GreenHab Report

Mark Gee

12Jan2018

Environmental control:

Cooling with vent

Heating

Shade cloth on

Working Hour: 07:40PM
Inside temp at working hour: 19 C
Outside temp during working hours: 2 C
Inside temperature high: 31 C
Inside temperature low: 16 C
Inside humidity: 33 %RH

Inside humidity high: 49 %RH
Inside humidity low: 25 %RH

Hours of supplemental light:

For the crops 05:00 to 11:59 PM

Changes to crops: Harvested radish microgreens, lettuce, green beans, dill, and cilantro.

Daily water usage for crops: 22 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 03:30PM

Research observations: Harvested microgreen experiment and for each treatment measured mass harvested, volume harvested, and size of plants.

Changes to research plants: Microgreen experiment is complete.

Aquaponics: Not in use.

Narrative: Today was harvest day! For the crops we harvested 580g of radish microgreens, a bowl of lettuce leaves, a fistfull of greenbeans, a handful of dill, and a sprinkle of cilantro. The other crops are growing well and should produce a bountiful harvest for crews to follow.

The microgreen experiment was harvested and has concluded successfully. It is too early for results, but keep an eye out for the upcoming report.

I have been making an effort to characterize the Greenhab and will be synthesizing my observations into a cohesive document. As a sneak peak, the figure tracking the temperature and humidity in the habitat throughout the day will be included in the Mission Summary as an image.

POSTED ONJANUARY 11, 2018
Greenhab Report – January 11th
GreenHab Report

Mark Gee

11Jan2018

Environmental control:

Heating

Shade cloth on)

Working Hour: 06:30PM Inside temp at working hour: 17 C Outside temp during working hours: 3 C Inside temperature high: 33 C Inside temperature low: 16 C Inside humidity: 39 %RH

Inside humidity high: 41 %RH Inside humidity low: 16 %RH

Hours of supplemental light:

For the crops 05:00 to 11:59 PM

Changes to crops: The tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, herbs, peppers, and melons keep growing. The microgreens have taken off and will be ready to harvest tomorrow. Of the seeds planted, the arugula, mustard, and various lettuce varieties have sprouted.

Daily water usage for crops: 15 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 11:00AM, 06:30PM

Research observations: The microgreens have recovered from the early damage and are sprouting magnificently. Tomorrow they will be harvested.

Changes to research plants: None.

Aquaponics: Not in use.

Narrative: Today I watered the plants as usual and inventoried the tools, fertilizer, pots, and supplies.

The grow lights turned on at 02:00 pm. The analog timer has been gaining time steadily, as do the clocks on the electronic appliances in the Hab. These clocks probably use the frequency of the alternating current power supply to keep time as is common in most appliances. The standard frequency for an electrical grid in the US is 60 Hz, and our crew engineer observed that the generator is supplying power at 60.18 Hz. This increased frequency would cause the clocks to gain time at approximately the rate we are observing. See Sol 1 summary for a further explanation.

To compensate for this gain, the light timer needs to be reset every day.

Support/supplies needed: Scale with a capacity of 2 kg. The analog scale in the Science Dome has a capacity of 610g. Needed for experiments tomorrow.

POSTED ONJANUARY 10, 2018
Greenhab Report – January 10th
GreenHab Report

Mark Gee

10Jan2018

Environmental control:

Heating

Shade cloth on

Working Hour: 06:50PM

Inside temp at working hour: 18 C

Outside temp during working hours: 0 C

Inside temperature high: 26 C

Inside temperature low: 15 C

Inside humidity: 46 %RH

Inside humidity high: 60 %RH

Inside humidity low: 34 %RH

Hours of supplemental light:

For the crops 05:00 to 11:59 PM

Changes to crops: Microgreens almost ready to harvest. Spinach is growing rapidly. Cucumbers continue to produce fruit. Beans near harvest. Tomatoes are flowering but no fruit set. Sprouts are emerging from the seeds planted a few days ago.

Daily water usage for crops: 10 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 06:30PM

Research observations: Microgreens are growing rapidly. No change to tomatoes sprayed with moringa extract.

Changes to research plants: None.

Aquaponics: Not in use.

Narrative: Growing up, we learn to fear bees because of their sting, then to like them because of their honey. But we should treasure them for their work as pollinators. Bees and other insects perform the critical task of transferring pollen from flower to flower. Without this transfer by insect, many crops would not produce fruit because their pollen will not blow in the wind. Some crops, namely the Cucurbitacea family of pumpkins, melons, squash and cucumbers, have co-evolved with their own species of bees that specialize in pollinating these crops. Almond farmers will actually pay beekeepers to bring their bees into the almond orchard while the trees are flowering to help ensure that there will be a bountiful harvest.

Unfortunately, there are no bees on Mars.

To make up for this, I put on my bee suit in the Green Hab today, plucked a male flower from a cucumber plant, and buzzed from cucumber to cucumber, sprinkling pollen in the flower as I went. It took effort and patience.

There are many natural resources that we do not appreciate until they are gone. Surviving on a new planet will be challenging and full of surprising realizations of how much we are missing back on Earth.

Support/supplies needed: I have several questions of general interest.

Is the water supply from Hanksville drawn out of a well, river, or something else?

What are the heater control settings? What temperature is it set to turn on and what temperature for off?

What is to be done with used potting soil?

Is the shade cloth a 60/40 cloth? Is there a better way to describe how much shade it gives?

POSTED ONJANUARY 9, 2018
Greenhab Report – January 9th
GreenHab Report
Mark Gee
09Jan2018

Environmental control:
Heating
Shade cloth on

Working Hour: 06:15PM
Inside temp at working hour: 18 C
Outside temp during working hours: UNK
Inside temperature high: 24 C
Inside temperature low: 16 C
Inside humidity: 40 %RH
Inside humidity high: 48 %RH
Inside humidity low: 28 %RH

Hours of supplemental light:
For the crops 05:00 to 11:59 PM

Changes to crops: Quinoa seeds did not germinate and rotted in the tray. Threw them away. The past days have been very cold and cloudy. Nothing has germinated yet.

Daily water usage for crops: 6.5 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 10:00AM, 06:15PM

Research observations: Microgreens seem to be growing much better in the shady environment. Maybe the full sunlight was scorching them.

Changes to research plants: Applied fertilizer to microgreens.

Aquaponics: Not in use.

Narrative: Watering needs to be as efficient as possible in a Martian habitat. But after I finish watering, I often look around and see a water on the floor.
Some of the water comes directly from accidental spilling becase the spout of the watering can holds water and drips when turned upright. This waste could be eliminated with a differently designed spout or by using something crazy like a giant syringe so that no water is relesed unintentionally.

Most of the leakage comes from water that is poured into the pot and flows quickly through macropores in the soil and out the pot before there is time to soak in. This is a tricky problem to solve. The macropores are a beneficial part of soil structure and should not be removed by compacting the soil. If I water less so that less water flows through the pores, the plants might not get enough water.

We are currently trying to reduce this waste by growing plants on vertical shelving so that the plants below can catch the water leaked by the plants above. But this is not a perfect system. Another option is to install trays beneath every plant so that the leakage can be captured and recycled. It is uncertain how much labor this method would require and how much of the water would evaporate before it could be reused. A third way to reduce this waste would be to use drip irrigation tape that continually releases water into the soil at a slow rate. This would increase water use efficiency and also reduce the labor requirements for the astronauts. However, an adjustable drip tape would have to be invented so the same tape could be used with different crops. And it may not be feasible to rocket yards and yards of drip tape to Mars.

For now, I will stick with my watering can.

Support/supplies needed: None

POSTED ONJANUARY 8, 2018
Greenhab Report – January 8th
GreenHab Report
Mark Gee
08Jan2018

Environmental control:
Heating

Shade cloth on

Working Hour: 05:45PM
Inside temp at working hour: 18 C
Outside temp during working hours: 0 C
Inside temperature high: 25 C
Inside temperature low: No Data
Inside humidity: 35 %RH
Inside humidity high: 61 %RH
Inside humidity low: 23 %RH

Hours of supplemental light:
For the crops 05:00 to 11:59 PM

Changes to crops: Kale plants are developing true leaves. The sky has been very cloudy and the plants used very little moisture today.

Daily water usage for crops: 4 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 09:30AM, 04:00PM

Research observations: For the moringa experiment, the plants sprayed with moringa extract seem to be taller. The microgreens are not growing well. I will fertilize them tomorrow.

Changes to research plants: None.

Aquaponics: Not in use.

Narrative: Today I served as the communications officer for the EVA and did not spend much time in the Green Hab.

Support/supplies needed: None.

POSTED ONJANUARY 7, 2018
GreenHab Report – January 7th
GreenHab Report
Mark Gee
07Jan2018

Environmental control:
Cooling with vent open

Heating

Shade cloth on

Working Hour: 05:45PM
Inside temp at working hour: 18 C
Outside temp during working hours: 2 C
Inside temperature high: 31 C
Inside temperature low: 15 C
Inside humidity: 24 %RH
Inside humidity high: 36 %RH
Inside humidity low: 16 %RH

Hours of supplemental light:
For the crops 05:00 to 11:59 PM

Changes to crops: Radish sprouts are growing quickly. Spinach survived transplanting.

Daily water usage for crops: 8 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 09:30AM, 05:00PM

Research observations: The microgreens seem to have poor emergence relative to the microgreens in the crop section of the Greenhab. This could be attributed to the better environment in the crop section or the surface sterilization treatment the research seeds received.

Changes to research plants: None

Aquaponics: Not in use

Narrative: Not much happened today. The plants are slow and take time to grow. The old Green Hab used to have a “Zen Garden” to help crew members relax, but the current crop production system seems to be serving a similar purpose. Justin, the crew journalist, stopped by to enjoy the plants, warm air, and humidity. There is something about being surrounded by green that is reassuring, and the flowers on the crops are especially beautiful because they hold the promise of treasure not yet tasted.

Support/supplies needed: None.

POSTED ONJANUARY 6, 2018
Greenhab Report – January 6th
GreenHab Report

Mark Gee

06Jan2018

Environmental control:

Heating

Shade cloth on

Working Hour: 05:40 PM
Inside temp at working hour: 20 C
Outside temp during working hours: -3 C
Inside temperature high: 22 C
Inside temperature low: 15 C
Inside humidity: 25 %RH

Inside humidity high: 32 %RH
Inside humidity low: 16 %RH

Hours of supplemental light:

For the crops 05:00 to 11:59 PM

Changes to crops: There have been two cloudy days in a row, so the crops did not require much water. Used all of the remaining tomato cages to support the larger tomato plants. Seeded several crops. Used the old seed to see what will grow. If there is no germination, newer seed packs will be used.

Below is an updated inventory of all of the crops, quantity, growth stage, actions taken, and notes.

Name

Quantity

Growth Stage

Action

Notes

Dill Weed

2ft row, ~40 plants

Seedling, 5 true leaves

Quick growing. Needs thinning.

Rosemary

2ft row, ~20 plants

Seedling, 1 true leaf

Slow growing.

Parsley

2ft row, ~50 plants

Seedling, 1 true leaf

Moderate growth. Needs thinning.

Cilantro

2ft row, ~40 plants

Seedling, 2 true leafs

Moderate growth

Oregano

2ft row, ~100 plants

Seedling, cotyledon

Spaced seedlings.

Slow growth.

Sage

2ft row, ~10 plants

Seedling, 1 true leaf

Moderate growth.

Basil

2ft row, ~40 plants

Seedling, 1 true leaf

Moderate growth. Needs thinning.

Thyme

2ft row, ~30 plants

Seedling, 2 true leafs

Slow growth.

Chives

2ft row, ~20 plants

Seedling, 1 leaf

Slow growth

Lavender

2ft row

Seeds, not emerged

Seeded plants.

Previous planting did not grow.

Spinach, Bloomsdale

3 pots, 16 plants.

Seedling, one true leaf.

Transplanted 06Jan2018

Spinach, Bloomsdale

4ft row

Seeds, not emerged

Planted

06Jan2018

Kale, Blue Curled Scotch

5 pots, ~50 plants

Seedling, one true leaf

Transplanted 06Jan2018

Cabbage, Golden Acre

1 seedling tray, ~20 plants

Seedlings, cotyledons

Need transplanting

Moringa Olifera

14 plots

Seeds, no emergence

These are trees. Should they be grown in the small Greenhab?

Paperwhites

3 pots, seven plants

Various, sprouted to flowering

Smell fragrant

Beans, Pole

27 plants

3ft vines, producing flowers and pods

Harvest at end of rotation.

Cucumber

23 plants, 7 pots

3ft vines, producing flowers and fruit

Melon

8 plants

2ft vines, no flowers

Slow growth.

Peppers

9 pots, 23 plants

8 inches, vegetative

Slow growth

Tomatoes

39 pots, 57 plants

6in-48in tall, some flowering

Transplanted 05Jan2018

Do we need this many tomato plants?

Radish

1 pot, three plants

Vegetative, 1ft tall

Radish sprouts

6 sq ft

Seedling, cotyledons

Planted 04Jan2018

Seedlings should be harvested around 17Jan2018.

Swiss Chard

1 starter container

Seeds, no emergence

Planted 06Jan2018

Scallions

5 starter containers

Seeds, no emergence

Planted 06Jan2018

Onion

8 starter containers

Seeds, no emergence

Planted 06Jan2018

Broccoli

1 starter container

Seeds, no emergence

Planted 06Jan2018

Carrot

6 starter containers,

4 pots

Seeds, no emergence

Planted 06Jan2018

Lettuce, Romaine

1 starter container,

1 ft row

Seeds, no emergence

Planted 06Jan2018

Lettuce, Red Leaf

1 starter container,

1 ft row

Seeds, no emergence

Planted 06Jan2018

Lettuce, Black Seeded Simpson

2 starter containers,

1 ft row

Seeds, no emergence

Planted 06Jan2018

Lettuce, sprouts misc.

2 sq ft

Seeds, no emergence

Planted 06Jan2018

Lettuce, Bibb

1 sq ft

Seeds, no emergence

Planted 06Jan2018

Mustard

1 pot

Seeds, no emergence

Planted 06Jan2018

Quinoa, Red Sprouting

2 sq ft

Seeds, no emergence

Planted 06Jan2018

Zennia

1 pot

Seeds, no emergence

Planted 06Jan2018

Arugula

2 starter containers,

2 ft row

Seeds, no emergence

Planted 04Jan2018

Daily water usage for crops: 5 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 05:30PM

Research observations: Sprayed moringa experiment with moringa extract as directed. Microgreen sprouts are growing well.

Changes to research plants: None.

Aquaponics: Not in use.

Narrative: The larger tomato plants were starting to lean over, so I used all of the cages available to support as many plants as possible. The rest of the tomatoes will need cages soon, as will the vining cucumbers. The cucumber plants have already started climbing the shade cloth and lighting cables in their quest to take over.

To maximize the efficiency of the Green Hab, it is important to select crops that are suited to greenhouse production and to space out plantings of crops to ensure steady yields. For future Green Hab officers, I would recommend against planting things like melons that can require up to 75 sq ft per plant and have a 10 ft long tap root that is not easily accommodated in a pot. The 50+ tomato plants seem to have been planted at the same time, which means that they will start yielding at the same time. Hopefully the crew on rotation can freeze some tomato sauce for future crews to use.

To bring more crop variety to the Green Hab, I planted carrots, onions, broccoli, scallion, three varieties of lettuce, Swiss chard, arugula, quinoa, and mustard. These were the seeds available, but many are also fast growing crops that have high yields in a greenhouse environment. I used the oldest seed packets, and will replant with newer seed if nothing grows. If future officers continue plantings every two weeks, then there should be a bountiful and regular harvest for every crew.

Support/supplies needed: 50 more tomato cages will be needed to support all of the tomatoes and cucumbers currently growing in the greenhouse. All of the cages we have are in use.

POSTED ONJANUARY 5, 2018
Greenhab Report – January 5th
GreenHab Report

Mark Gee

05Jan2018

Environmental control:

Heating

Shade Cloth On

Working Hour: 06:30 PM Inside temp at working hour: 16 C Outside temp during working hours: -4 C Inside temperature high: 29 C Inside temperature low: 14 C Inside humidity: 30 %RH

Inside humidity high: 32 %RH Inside humidity low: 16 %RH

Hours of supplemental light:

For the crops 05:00 to 11:59 PM

Changes to crops: Transplanted tomatos are growing well. Kale sprouts have grown their first leaves. Cucumbers are flowering profusely and baby cucs abound. Watered all crops with MiracleGrow at a concentration of 1tsp/gal as recommended by the supplier. Next fertilization date is 19Jan2018.

Daily water usage for crops: 8 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 06:30 PM

Research observations: Moringa experiment is growing well. Microgreens have radicles and cotyledons that are turning green.

Changes to research plants: I accidentally watered two of the tomato plants with the MiracleGrow, so I moved these plants into normal crop production.

Aquaponics: Not Functional

Narrative: Clouds obscured the sun all day and kept the Green Hab at a moderate temperature. I was on an EVA all day and did not have much time to spend inside. Tomorrow I will be seeding several vegetables for future crews to enjoy.

Support/supplies needed: None

POSTED ONJANUARY 4, 2018
GreenHab Report – January 4th
Mark Gee

04Jan2018

Environmental control:

Cooling with fan, open door and vent

Heating

Shade cloth on crops

Working Hour: 06:00 PM
Inside temp at working hour: 17 C
Outside temp during working hours: -2 C
Inside temperature high: 34 C
Inside temperature low: 13 C
Inside humidity: 30 %RH
Inside humidity high: 31 %RH
Inside humidity low: 16 %RH

Hours of supplemental light:

For the crops 05:00 to 11:59 PM

Changes to crops: Transplanted 20 tomato plants into large, individual pots. They will need cages soon. Cold air from the fan was blowing directly across the beans and causing them to shrivel. We built a baffle out of cardboard to redirect the cold air towards the ceiling, which creates better airflow and protects the plants. I have made space and plan to plant lettuce, carrots, kale, and sprouts.

Daily water usage for crops: 15 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 09:30AM, 05:30 PM

Research observations: Microgreens sprouting in all trials. Moringa experiments still growing.

Changes to research plants: None.

Aquaponics: Not in use.

Narrative: Most of my time with the plants was spent transplanting tomatos becaus I’ve inherited over 50 tomato plants, previously planted four to a pot. It seems like someone got a tad excited when planting, but we have room for now.

My fellow crew members asked for a tour of the Green Hab, so I walked them through what we have growing, what is near harvest, how the environmental controls work, and what research projects are going on. Melanie especially liked the baby cucumbers which smaller than her fingernail. I told them about the challenges with environmental control and how the cold air from the fan was damaging the beans. Max came up with a clever idea for a baffle that directs the cold air upwards which creates better airflow and protects the plants.

The first two days after seeding an experiment I’m always worried that the plants won’t grow because the surface bleach seeped in and killed them, or there was too much water, or not enough water, or the temperature was wrong, or something else. I spend the next 48 hours checking in on my plants way too often and wondering if the lifeless brown spheres will unfold into leaves, roots, and data that can be published. Fortunately, the time of waiting is over. The seeds took their time, but now every single tray of microgreens planted has an abundance of sprouts that are growing with gusto.

Support/supplies needed: None

POSTED ONJANUARY 3, 2018
Greenhab Report – January 3rd
GreenHab Report

Mark Gee

03Jan2018

Environmental control: Heating, Cooling with fan and vent, open door.

Measurement Hour: 06:20 PM

Inside temp at measurement hour: 16 C

Outside temp during measurement hour: -2 C

Inside temperature high: 32 C

Inside temperature low: 14 C

Inside humidity: 21 %RH

Inside humidity high: 30 %RH

Inside humidity low: 16 %RH

Hours of supplemental light:

For the crops 05:00 to 11:59 PM

Changes to crops: Heat stress in several plants due to temperature extremes. Extra water was given to these plants. A small moth was flying in the habitat.

Daily water usage for crops: 7 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 10:30AM, 06:30PM

Research observations: The microgreen seeds have been covered with plastic wrap and well watered to keep the moisture in. They are beginning to germinate and some have opened their cotyledons. No greening is observed. Brown stains, possibly algea, are forming on the capillary mats of the soil-free trials. Temperature extremes were recorded and may have a negative impact on plant growth.

Moringa seeds have not sprouted. The tomatoes watered with moringa extract are growing well.

Changes to research plants: None.

Aquaponics: Not set up.

Narrative: The sun was shining bright and cheerful all day long. You might think this would be a good thing for plants growing in a greenhouse, but you would be wrong. After helping send off the EVA crew in the morning, I walked to the Green Hab and found several cucumber, tomato, and bean plants wilting. The strong sunlight caused the environment to heat to 32C (90F) which is a stressful temperature for potted plants with limited water. I immediately watered the plants that needed moisture and tried to find a way to release some heat. The outside temperature was near freezing, but opening the door did not release enough heat to keep up with the greenhouse effect. I turned on the fan to the maximum setting, but the cold air blew in so quickly that the plants near the fan reacted poorly. At the lowest setting, the air circulation was not enough to cool the far end of the habitat. I spent some hours adjusting the fan, door, and vent while moving the thermometer around the greenhouse to try and find a way to keep the whole habitat at a reasonable temperature. This was even more challenging because only one half of the building is covered by a shade cloth. Covering or uncovering the entire habitat would make thermal control much easier. What seemed to work best for now was setting the fan on low, opening the vent on the far end of the greenhouse, and keeping the door closed. This kept the temperature near 25 C throughout the habitat. Adjustments will be needed as the outside temperatures change. The increased air circulation means the crops will use more water, but thirsty crops are better than no crops.

Support/supplies needed: Shade cloth for the second half of the Green Hab. Do we need to do something for insect control? What is the threshold for action?

POSTED ONJANUARY 2, 2018
GreenHab Report – January 2nd
Crew 186 Green Hab Report 02Jan2018

GreenHab Report

Mark Gee

02Jan2018

Environmental control:

Heating for entire Greenhab

Shade cloth on the crops

Working Hour: 06:00PM
Inside temp at working hour: 16 C
Outside temp during working hours: 0 C
Inside temperature high: 35 C
Inside temperature low: 15 C
Inside humidity: 26 %RH

Inside humidity high: 35 %RH
Inside humidity low: 16 %RH

Hours of supplemental light:

For the crops 07:00-08:00AM, 05:00 – 11:59PM

Changes to crops: Three flats of radish microgreens have been planted.

Daily water usage for crops: 8.5 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 09:00AM, 04:30PM

Moring research observations: The Greenhab Officer from Crew 185 left an experiment comparing the growth of tomato plants with and without a foliar application of moringa extract. Both treatments are growing well.

Changes to research plants:

Space exploration is a great challenge and the next step of the journey is to send a person to Mars. Plants will play a critical role because of their ability to generate oxygen, water, and fresh food. In the near future, generating fresh food will be the most important role for plants because abiotic means of providing oxygen and water are very effective.

Microgreens provide a quick and efficient way to produce fresh food in space because they can be harvested in 10 days and can potentially grow without soil. I am comparing how well microgreens grow in potting soil, pulverized clay, and on a cloth with no growth medium to investigate if soil-free microgreen production is feasible in simulated Mars greenhouse habitat.

As well, plants depend on the microbes present in their environment to help them grow. As far as we know, no bacteria exist on Mars, and future Mars explorations will attempt to remain as sterile as possible to avoid contaminating the planet. The one source of microbes that will be intentionally transported are the microbes stored in the guts of the astronauts.

How well will microgreens grow when removed from the context of their native microbiome? If the microgreens are colonized by microbes from the astronauts, will there be an additional effect on plant growth?

To help answer these questions about the plant microbiome I am growing radish microgreens in a sterilized, soil-free environment and comparing treatments that have been inocculated with greywater from the hab, inocculated with native soil bacteria, and innoculated with sterile water.

In total, 15 flats of radish microgreens have been planted for the experiments above.

Aquaponics: Not Functional

Narrative: Last night I was working late in the Green Hab to prepare the microgreen experiment. At about 9pm the lights shut off unexpectedly which was concerning because there have been so many problems with the generator. Fortunately, it was only the analog timer that had malfunctioned and I was able to quickly reset it to get the lights back on.

This morning, the microgreen experiment was set up with the help of our Commander Max.

The Arduino temperature/humidity logger died yesterday after 28 hours of recording data. This means I only have to swap the batteries once a day. The difference between the logged data and readouts from the gauge used by previous crews was reasonably small.

A rocket ship landed mid-afternoon and deposited several bags of potting soil and perlite outside the habitat. Thank you to the pilot.

Support/supplies needed: None

POSTED ONJANUARY 1, 2018
Greenhab Report – January 1st
GreenHab Report

Mark Gee

01Jan2018

Environmental control: Heating with shade cloth on

Working Hour: 05:50 PM
Inside temp at working hour: 17 C
Outside temp during working hours: 6 C
Inside temperature high: 28 C
Inside temperature low: 15 C
Inside humidity: 42 %RH

Inside humidity high: 48 %RH
Inside humidity low: 25 %RH

Hours of supplemental light:

17:00 to 24:00

Changes to crops: Below is a formatted inventory of all of the crops, quantity, growth stage, actions taken, and notes. The table is also attached incase it is not visible here.

Name

Quantity

Growth Stage

Action

Notes

Dill Weed

2ft row, ~40 plants

Seedling, 3 true leaves

Rosemary

2ft row, ~20 plants

Seedling, 1 true leaf

Parsley

2ft row, ~50 plants

Seedling, cotyledon

Cilantro

2ft row, ~40 plants

Seedling, 1 true leaf

Oregano

2ft row, ~100 plants

Seedling, cotyledon

Sage

2ft row, ~10 plants

Seedling, 1 true leaf

Basil

2ft row, ~40 plants

Seedling, 1 true leaf

Thyme

2ft row, ~30 plants

Seedling, 1 true leaf

Chives

2ft row, ~20 plants

Seedling, 1 leaf

Spinach, Bloomsdale

2 seedling trays, 10 plants

Seedling, cotyledons

Need transplanting

Kale, Blue Curled Scotch

1 seedling tray, 2 pots, ~50 plants

Seedling, cotyledons

Need thinning

Cabbage, Golden Acre

1 seedling tray, ~20 plants

Seedlings, cotyledons

Need thinning

Moringa Olifera

14 plots

No plants

These are trees. Should they be grown in the small Greenhab?

Paperwhites

3 pots, seven plants

Various, sprouted to flowering

Moved flowering plants to the habitat to improve morale

Beans, Pole

27 plants

3ft vines, producing flowers and pods

Harvest in 1 week

Melon

8 plants

2ft vines, no flowers

Peppers

9 pots, 23 plants

8 inches, vegetative

Tomatoes

24 pots, 54 plants

6in-48in tall, some flowering

Need transplanting

Daily water usage for crops: 8 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 05:50

Research observations: None

Changes to research plants: None.

Aquaponics: Not Functional

Narrative:

The crew entered simulation at noon. We will have to adjust to the isolation from society, cramped quarters, and space supplies. I’m hoping to make this transition easier with the produce from the Green Hab. Several of the crops are nearing harvest and I hope to cook a meal with fresh food later in the rotation to boost crew morale. For dinner, I brought some of the blooming paperwhites to the table.

I cleaned the greenhouse and packed the aquaponics equipment to make room for the microgreen experiment and have been sterilizing the soil, growing surfaces, and water.

Support/supplies needed: 3 agar plates to check seed sterilization procedures

POSTED ONDECEMBER 31, 2017
Green Hab Report – December 31st
GreenHab Report

Mark Gee

31Dec2017

Environmental control:

Heating

Shade cloth on West half of the Green Hab

Working Hour: 10:40
Inside temp at working hour: 18 C
Outside temp during working hours: -2.5 C
Inside temperature high: 19 C
Inside temperature low: 14 C
Inside humidity: 30 %RH

Inside humidity high: 30 %RH
Inside humidity low: 21 %RH

Hours of supplemental light: 17:00 to 24:00

Changes to crops: Beans nearing harvest. Cucumbers recovered from wilting. Nothing died and nothing was planted.

Daily water usage for crops: 6 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 10:40 and 18:00

Morning research observations: Moringa experiment watered and plants look normal.

Changes to research plants: None.

Aquaponics: Not Functional

Narrative: The handoff from Crew 184 went very well yesterday. Thank you to the Green Hab Officer David for walking me through the experiments.

Today I watered the crops whenever there was a break in crew training. The beans and radishes are near harvest. There are +20 tomato, +10 cucumber, and various other plants in intermediate growth stages.

I’ve built a device to log temperature and humidity continuously throughout the day using an Arduino, DHT11 sensor, and an SD card shield. The device has been running all day and will continue to record through the night to determine the maximum battery life.

Tomorrow I will create a complete inventory of the crops and current experiments. As well, I will prepare the East half of the Green Hab for my experiments with microgreens.

Support/supplies needed: Potting soil needed.

Happy New Year!

Mark Gee, Green Hab Officer, Crew 186

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/category/greenhab-report/page/21/ Source]

Crew 186 - Boilers2Mars

2019-03-24T18:36:29Z

NathanielFromMars: NathanielFromMars moved page Crew 186 to Crew 186 - Boilers2Mars

Crew 186

2019-03-24T18:36:29Z

NathanielFromMars: NathanielFromMars moved page Crew 186 to Crew 186 - Boilers2Mars

#REDIRECT [[Crew 186 - Boilers2Mars]]

Crew 187 GreenHab Reports

2019-03-24T18:35:19Z

NathanielFromMars: Created page with "Category:GreenHab Experiments JANUARY 26, 2018 Greenhab Report – January 26th GreenHab Report Hernán David Mateus Jiménez 26Jan2018 Environmental control: Heating..."

[[Category:GreenHab Experiments]]

JANUARY 26, 2018
Greenhab Report – January 26th
GreenHab Report

Hernán David Mateus Jiménez

26Jan2018

Environmental control:

Heating

Ambient with door opening

Shade cloth on

Working Hour: 19:00 Inside temp at working hour: 15° C Outside temp during working hours: 1° C Inside temperature high: 29° C Inside temperature low: 14° C Inside humidity: 49 %RH

Inside humidity high: 49 %RH Inside humidity low: 16 %RH

Hours of supplemental light:

For the crops 05:00 to 11:59 PM

Changes to crops: none

Daily water usage for crops: 8 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 18:15

Changes to research plants: The plans of quinoa over the lysimeter are withered.

Aquaponics: Atila is assembling it. He is waiting for the amount of water to fill the tank, this is necessary to do the test.

Narrative: The last day simulation, I started disassembling the Lysimeter, Atila and I replanted 4 tomato plants in bigger pots and started to clean the greenhab.

In the afternoon, I realized that the first digit of the temperature on the screen of the sensor is not showing.

POSTED ONJANUARY 25, 2018
Greenhab Report – January 25th
GreenHab Report

Hernán David Mateus Jiménez

25/01/2018

Environmental control:

Heating

Ambient with door opening

Shade cloth on

Working Hour: 18:00
Inside temp at working hour: 14° C
Outside temp during working hours: 5° C
Inside temperature high: 30° C
Inside temperature low: 14° C
Inside humidity: 88 %RH

Inside humidity high: 88 %RH
Inside humidity low: 31 %RH

Hours of supplemental light:

For the crops 05:00 to 11:59 PM

Changes to crops: none

Daily water usage for crops: 8 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 19:15

Changes to research plants: The plans of quinoa over the lysimeter are withered

Aquaponics: Atila is assembling it. He is waiting for the amount of water to fill the tank, this is necessary to do the test.

Narrative: none

POSTED ONJANUARY 24, 2018
Greenhab Report – January 24th
GreenHab Report

Hernán David Mateus Jiménez

24Jan2018

Environmental control:

Heating

Ambient with door opening

Shade cloth on

Working Hour: 18:01 Inside temp at working hour: 17° C Outside temp during working hours: 0° C Inside temperature high: 29° C Inside temperature low: 13° C Inside humidity: 94 %RH

Inside humidity high: 99 %RH Inside humidity low: 21 %RH

Hours of supplemental light:

For the crops 05:00 to 11:59 PM

Changes to crops: I have found more cucumbers, tomatoes and beans.

Daily water usage for crops: 8 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 17:20

Changes to research plants: The plans of quinoa over the lysimeter are withered.

Aquaponics: Atila is assembling it. He is waiting to find out the amount of water needed to fill the tank. This is necessary to do the test.

Narrative: Sol 12- The greenhouse makes us remember the Earth and all the commodities that we have there, but the beautiful view of the red mountains of Mars across the glass of the door, make us to feel sad because of the fact that we are going to leave very soon. The planet where we are living on is one of the most beautiful experiences of our lives.

POSTED ONJANUARY 23, 2018
Greenhab Report – January 23rd
GreenHab Report

Hernán David Mateus Jiménez

23/01/2018

Environmental control:

Heating

Ambient with door opening

Shade cloth on

Working Hour: 19:30
Inside temp at working hour: 17° C
Outside temp during working hours: -2° C
Inside temperature high: 32° C
Inside temperature low: 14° C
Inside humidity: 56 %RH

Inside humidity high: 57 %RH
Inside humidity low: 16 %RH

Hours of supplemental light:

For the crops 05:00 to 11:59 PM

Changes to crops: none

Daily water usage for crops: 8.5 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 19:15

Changes to research plants: The plans of quinoa over the lysimeter are withered

Aquaponics: Atila is assembling it. He is waiting for the amount of water to fill the tank, this is necessary to do the test.

Narrative: none

POSTED ONJANUARY 22, 2018
Greenhab Report – January 22nd
GreenHab Report

Hernán David Mateus Jiménez

22/01/2018

Environmental control:

Heating

Ambient with door opening

Shade cloth on

Working Hour: 20:01
Inside temp at working hour: 18° C
Outside temp during working hours: -4° C
Inside temperature high: 31° C
Inside temperature low: 14° C
Inside humidity: 80 %RH

Inside humidity high: 86 %RH
Inside humidity low: 16 %RH

Hours of supplemental light:

For the crops 05:00 to 11:59 PM

Changes to crops: The carrots and onions started to grow

Daily water usage for crops: 8 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 19:15

Changes to research plants: none

Aquaponics: Atila is assembling it. He is waiting for the amount of water to fill the tank, this is necessary to do the test.

Narrative: None

POSTED ONJANUARY 21, 2018
GreenHab Report – January 21st
GreenHab Report

Hernán David Mateus Jiménez

21/01/2018

Environmental control:

Shade cloth on

Working Hour: 18:20
Inside temp at working hour: 19° C
Outside temp during working hours: -1° C
Inside temperature high: 24° C
Inside temperature low: 15° C
Inside humidity: 48 %RH

Inside humidity high: 48 %RH
Inside humidity low: 16 %RH

Hours of supplemental light:

For the crops 05:00 to 11:59 PM

Changes to crops: None

Daily water usage for crops: 8 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 18:30

Changes to research plants: none

Aquaponics: Atila is assembling it. He is waiting for the amount of water to fill the tank, this is necessary to do the test.

Narrative: The lysimeter is taking data. Today 12 quinoa plants were replanted in the lysimeter over Martian soil. Atila and I have made some experiments to discovers what is a good proportion between soil and water to get the best texture, we have figured out that you need 500 mL of water for 2800 g of soil.

POSTED ONJANUARY 20, 2018
Greenhab Report – January 20th
GreenHab Report

Hernán David Mateus Jiménez

20/01/2018

Environmental control:

Shade cloth on

Working Hour: 18:20
Inside temp at working hour: 14° C
Outside temp during working hours: 14° C
Inside temperature high: 27° C
Inside temperature low: 14° C
Inside humidity: 63 %RH

Inside humidity high: 63 %RH
Inside humidity low: 23 %RH

Hours of supplemental light:

For the crops 05:00 to 11:59 PM

Changes to crops: We can see more little tomatoes and more little beans. The quinoa is growing.

Daily water usage for crops: 8 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 17:50

Changes to research plants: none

Aquaponics: Atila is assembling it. He is waiting for the amount of water to fill the tank, this is necessary to do the test.

Narrative: Today, I had to calibrate the lysimeter again, but is already working. Tomorrow It is expected to replant quinoa over the soil that it is tested.

POSTED ONJANUARY 19, 2018
Green Hab Report – January 19th
Crew 187 Green Hab Report 19JAN2018

Hernán David Mateus Jiménez

Environmental control:
Ambient with door opening

Heating:
Shade cloth on

Working Hour: 18:45
Inside temp at working hour: 16° C
Outside temp during working hours: 4° C
Inside temperature high: 26° C
Inside temperature low: 14° C
Inside humidity: 60 %RH

Inside humidity high: 61 %RH
Inside humidity low: 23 %RH

Hours of supplemental light:
For the crops 05:00 to 11:59 PM

Changes to crops: None

Daily water usage for crops: 8.5 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 18:05

Changes to research plants: none

Aquaponics: Atila is assembling it

Narrative: Today, we have put the tarp over the crops of region 8. The day was cold until the afternoon when the door was opened.

POSTED ONJANUARY 18, 2018
Greenhab Report – January 18th
GreenHab Report

Hernán David Mateus Jiménez

18/01/2018

Environmental control:

Ambient with door opening

Heating

Shade cloth on

Working Hour: 17:50
Inside temp at working hour: 17° C
Outside temp during working hours: 1° C
Inside temperature high: 26° C
Inside temperature low: 13° C
Inside humidity: 93 %RH

Inside humidity high: 94 %RH
Inside humidity low: 21 %RH

Hours of supplemental light:

For the crops 05:00 to 11:59 PM

Changes to crops: None

Daily water usage for crops: 8 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 17:50

Changes to research plants: none

Aquaponics: Atila is assembling

Narrative: Today, we have received good comments because the changes of the greenhab and the general conditions of it. Also we have received a heavy-duty tarp to be put under the celling and protect the plants that are exposed to the radiation.

The greenhab is becoming a place where the crew member search more inspiration or, at least, to see the green that makes them to remember the Earth. Now the greenhab is visited more often

The lysimeter is working and I am doing a test.

POSTED ONJANUARY 17, 2018
GreenHab Report – January 17th
GreenHab Report

Hernán David Mateus Jiménez

16/01/2018

Environmental control:

Ambient with door opening

Heating

Shade cloth on

Working Hour: 6:05
Inside temp at working hour: 16° C
Outside temp during working hours: 0° C
Inside temperature high: 25° C
Inside temperature low: 15° C
Inside humidity: 86 %RH

Inside humidity high: 86 %RH
Inside humidity low: 20 %RH

Hours of supplemental light:

For the crops 05:00 to 11:59 PM

Changes to crops: We start to see that some tomatoes start to emerge

Daily water usage for crops: 8 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 40 min

Changes to research plants: Are growing

Aquaponics: Atila has begun the assembly

Narrative: Today the Greenhab have had some changes, because it was necessary more space for aquaponics and the region 7 was exactly under the heater and in front the fan, so the leaves of the tallest plants were burned, so we decided to change the positions of some crops, the storm tanker and the desk.

The lysimeter is working and today I was working in calibration. Atila start the assembly of aquaponics and is almost finished.

POSTED ONJANUARY 16, 2018
Greenhab Report – January 16th
GreenHab Report

Hernán David Mateus Jiménez

16/01/2018

Environmental control:

Ambient with door opening

Heating:

Shade cloth on

Working Hour: 6:00
Inside temp at working hour: 19° C
Outside temp during working hours: 0° C
Inside temperature high: 28° C
Inside temperature low: 14° C
Inside humidity: 93 %RH

Inside humidity high: 99 %RH
Inside humidity low: 16 %RH

Hours of supplemental light:

For the crops 05:00 to 11:59 PM

Changes to crops: The cucumber plants are better today

Daily water usage for crops: 7 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 18:00

Research observations: The research has not started

Changes to research plants: The research has not started

Aquaponics: Not Functional

Narrative: Today I had my second EVA on Mars, where I collected the Martian soil for my project. Also I have finished to assemble the lysimeter, tomorrow I hope to transplant the quinoa that Atila started to grow.

It was amazing to share with all the crew in the greenhab, during the irrigation time, it made this activity easier.

The cucumbler plants look better today and there is not plants wilted.

POSTED ONJANUARY 15, 2018
Greenhab Report – January 15th
GreenHab Report

Hernán David Mateus Jiménez

15/01/2018

Environmental control:

Ambient with door opening

Shade cloth on

Working Hour: 6:15
Inside temp at working hour: 16° C
Outside temp during working hours: 2° C
Inside temperature high: 25° C
Inside temperature low: 15° C
Inside humidity: 73 %RH

Inside humidity high: 67 %RH
Inside humidity low: 23 %RH

Hours of supplemental light:

For the crops 05:00 to 11:59 PM

Changes to crops: The cucumber plants are a little wilted today

Daily water usage for crops: 8 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 45 min

Research observations: The research has not started

Changes to research plants: The research has not started

Aquaponics: Not Functional

Narrative: Today I have had a great day, my first EVA on Mars, where I could test the necessary tools to collect Martian soil in my next EVA, after it, I did not realize that the temperature decrease, so I forgot to close the door at the afternoon, fortunately Atila did it. Also I had to repair some pieces of my project that were broken during the trip to Mars, so today I could not finish the assembly of the lysimeter.

Because of the fact that the source of water close to the greenhab is not working, I am spending a lot of time filling the watering can in the kitchen of the hab.

I hope to finish the assembly of the lysimeter and start the quinoa crop over it with the soil that we will get tomorrow at the EVA.

POSTED ONJANUARY 14, 2018
GreenHab Report – January 14th
GreenHab Report

Hernán David Mateus Jiménez

14/01/2018

Environmental control:

Ambient with door opening

Heating

Shade cloth on

Working Hour: 6:30
Inside temp at working hour: 17° C
Outside temp during working hours: 0° C
Inside temperature high: 30° C
Inside temperature low: 15 C
Inside humidity: 75 %RH

Inside humidity high: 75 %RH
Inside humidity low: 21 %RH

Hours of supplemental light:

For the crops 05:00 to 11:59 PM

Changes to crops: No changes

Daily water usage for crops: 8 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 15 min

Research observations: The research has not started

Changes to research plants: The research has not started

Aquaponics: Not Functional

Narrative: Today I have started as the new Greenhab Officer in the station, I hope to continue maintaining it as beautiful as now. Thank you Mark.

During my first day, I have divided the crops in 8 regions in order to compare each day the changes using picture

Tomorrow I will start to assemble the lisimiter in order to start to measure evapotranspiration in the crop of quinoa that Atila plant at the Saturday. Also, I will check the inventory of the crops that Mark shared with me during the training.

Today during the irrigation, I realized that one of the sprinklers is broken.

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/category/greenhab-report/page/19/ Source]

Crew 188 GreenHab Reports

2019-03-24T18:32:54Z

NathanielFromMars: Created page with "Category:GreenHab Experiments POSTED ONFEBRUARY 9, 2018 Greenhab Report – February 9th Crew 188 Sol 12 Green Hab Report 09FEB2018 Julia DeMarines 09/02/2018 Environ..."

[[Category:GreenHab Experiments]]

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 9, 2018
Greenhab Report – February 9th
Crew 188 Sol 12 Green Hab Report 09FEB2018

Julia DeMarines

09/02/2018

Environmental control: Heating

Ambient with door opening: Shade cloth on

Working hours in Green Hab: 13:00 – 15:00, 19:00 – 20:00

Outside temp at working hour: 11ºC

Inside temp at working hour: 14ºC,

Inside temp H: 32ºC,

Inside temp L: 14ºC,

Inside humidity: 35 %

Inside humidity H: 45%

Inside humidity L: 14%

Hours of supplemental light: 06:00 – 09:59

Changes to the crops: N/A

Daily water usage for crops: 2 gallons midday; 10 gallons evening

Time(s) of watering plants: 13:00 – 15:00 (2 gallons), 19:00 – 20:00 (10 gallons)

Changes to research plants: N/A

Narrative: The plants are looking good! We have harvested a lot of dill, leafy greens, and herbs today.

Future needs and questions: We need tomato cages before repotting as to not disturb them any more than necessary.

Summary of NASA VEGGIE OASYS: Renee monitored her experiment with one seed germinating.

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 7, 2018
Greenhab Report – February 7th
Crew 188 Sol 10 Green Hab Report 07FEB2018

Julia DeMarines

07/02/2018

Environmental control: Heating

Ambient with door opening: Shade cloth on

Working hours in Green Hab: 13:00 – 15:00, 19:00 – 20:00

Outside temp at working hour: 7ºC

Inside temp at working hour: 18ºC,

Inside temp H: 31ºC,

Inside temp L: 15ºC,

Inside humidity: 47 %

Inside humidity H: 47%

Inside humidity L: 16%

Hours of supplemental light: 06:00 – 09:59

Changes to the crops: N/A

Daily water usage for crops: 2 gallons midday; 10 gallons evening

Time(s) of watering plants: 13:00 – 15:00 (2 gallons), 19:00 – 20:00 (10 gallons)

Changes to research plants: N/A

Narrative: Today was a typical day of watering. Zac and I noticed a strange smell in the southwest corner. One thought we had was that a plant had died and started to mold but it’s very speculative. We will continue to monitor. Our devastatingly handsome commander recorded hours of podcasts and outreach videos in the Green Hab, most likely invigorating the plants with his succulent voice, pun intended.

Future needs and questions: We need tomato cages before repotting as to not disturb them any more than necessary.

Summary of NASA VEGGIE OASYS: Renee monitored her experiment and took photos for the PI. Her seeds are starting to germinate.

[end]

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 6, 2018
Greenhab Report – Frebruary 6th
Crew 188 Sol 9 Green Hab Report 06FEB2018

Zac Trolley (Engineer), Guest writing for Julia De Marines (Crew Astronomer/GreenHab Officer)

06 February 2018

Environmental control: Heating

Ambient with door opening: Shade cloth on

Working hours in Green Hab: 11:00 – 11:30, 18:00 – 19:00

Outside temp at working hour: 15ºC

Inside temp at working hour: 26ºC

Inside temp H: 33ºC

Inside temp L: 14ºC

Inside humidity: 23 %

Inside humidity H: 81%

Inside humidity L: 19%

Hours of supplemental light: 05:00 – 9:59

Changes to the crops: We picked many beans, herbs, and green leaves to dine upon.

Daily water usage for crops: 48 litres

Time(s) of watering plants: 11:00 – 11:30 (16 litres), 18:00 – 19:00 (32 litres)

Changes to research plants: The VEGGIE OASYS is progressing.

Narrative: Tat, our intrepid health and safety officer bravely foraged among the forest of plants being nurtured by our crew to bring home a bounty of green beans. Sadly, Sarah Jane has been unable to bridge the plant-human communication barrier.

Future needs and questions: We are awaiting the arrival of the tomato cages so we can replant the tall plants that require support to grow to their full potential. Please advise when they will arrive.

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 5, 2018
Greenhab Report – February 5th
Crew 188 Sol 7 Green Hab Report 05FEB2018

Zac Trolley (Engineer), Guest writing for Julia De Marines (Crew Astronomer/GreenHab Officer)

05 February 2018

Environmental control: Heating

Ambient with door opening: Shade cloth on

Working hours in Green Hab: 11:00 – 11:30, 18:00 – 19:00

Outside temp at working hour: 17ºC

Inside temp at working hour: 25ºC

Inside temp H: 35ºC

Inside temp L: 14ºC

Inside humidity: 27 %

Inside humidity H: 79%

Inside humidity L: 18%

Hours of supplemental light: 05:00 – 9:59

Changes to the crops: The plants are following a predictable pattern of requiring sun and water, and producing green leaves. As the plants increase in size, we have been harvesting various parts of them to eat in our kitchen. On this 8th Sol, we dined on lettuce leaves and tasty herbs.

Daily water usage for crops: 48 litres

Time(s) of watering plants: 11:00 – 11:30 (16 litres), 18:00 – 19:00 (32 litres)

Changes to research plants: During an intensive research investigation it was discovered that one of the pillows in the VEGGIE OASYS experiment isn’t as wet as is desired. Further investigation is required in order to find the route cause of this discrepancy. The Executive Officer is working with the NASA PI in order to properly moisten the pillow.

Narrative: In order to better understand the needs and desires of the plants under our care, we have been closely monitoring their progress. We have been exploring alternative methods to increase plant yield, and have decided to ask the plants what they require to be at their maximum efficiency. To facilitate this, Zac Trolley and Sarah Jane Pell have undertaken an experimental procedure to breach the communication gap with the plants and create a dialogue with them directly. So far, our results are not promising.

Future needs and questions: We are awaiting the arrival of the tomato cages so we can replant the tall plants that require support to grow to their full potential. Please advise when they will arrive.

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 4, 2018
Greenhab Report – February 4nd
Crew 188 Sol 7 Green Hab Report 04FEB2018

Sarah Jane Pell (Artist in Residence), Guest writing for Julia De Marines (Crew Astronomer/GreenHab Officer)

04 February 2018

Environmental control: Heating

Ambient with door opening: Shade cloth on

Working hours in Green Hab: 11:00 – 11:30, 18:00 – 19:00

Outside temp at working hour: 16ºC

Inside temp at working hour: 25ºC

Inside temp H: 32ºC

Inside temp L: 14ºC

Inside humidity: 37 %

Inside humidity H: 82%

Inside humidity L: 19%

Hours of supplemental light: 06:00 – 9:59

Changes to the crops: A crop of lettuce and herbs was taken for lunch. [We made a healing elixir
and tincture in oil to heal our ravenous hunger and aching bodies.]

Daily water usage for crops: 48 litres

Time(s) of watering plants: 11:00 – 11:30 (16 litres), 18:00 – 19:00 (32 litres)

Changes to research plants: Still monitoring the quinoa for sprouting.

Narrative: Zac Trolley, Engineer dressed in his flight suit to tend to the crops, while I filmed the entire GreenHab scene in 360 6K full 3D. I am now working on audio samples from the plants, to prepare an accompanying score for the first in our suite of immersive VR experiences.

Future needs and questions: We are awaiting the arrival of the tomato cages so we can replant the tall plants that require support to grow to their full potential. Please advise when they will arrive.

Dr. Sarah Jane Pell

TED Fellow 2010, Australia Council Fellow 2016, Gifted Citizen 2016

The ‘Performing Astronautics: following the Body’s Natural Edge into the Abyss of Space’ project is assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body http://www.artistastronaut.com

Artist, Occupational Diver, Keynote Speaker, Researcher, Simulation Astronaut http://www.sarahjanepell.com

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 3, 2018
Greenhab Report – February 3rd
Prepared by: Julia DeMarines
03/02/2018

Environmental control: Heating
Ambient with door opening: Shade cloth on

Working hours in Green Hab: 13:00 – 15:00, 19:00 – 20:00
Outside temp at working hour: -1ºC
Inside temp at working hour: 15ºC,
Inside temp H: 31ºC,
Inside temp L: 15ºC,
Inside humidity: 47 %
Inside humidity H: 47%
Inside humidity L: 16%

Hours of supplemental light: 06:00 – 09:59

Changes to the crops: N/A

Daily water usage for crops: 2 gallons midday; 10 gallons evening

Time(s) of watering plants: 13:00 – 15:00 (2 gallons), 19:00 – 20:00 (10 gallons)

Changes to research plants: N/A

Narrative: Both Julia and Zac were on EVA’s today at separate times and both spent time watering the plants, staggered. Upon persistent trials and errors, we have both noticed that the wilted plants are most likely due to requiring a midday watering, being dry from having the door open, and being in the southwestern-most corner (and getting very hot).

We will keep monitoring and testing out better methods to keep the temperature not too hot and not too cold. Today was a very windy day.

Future needs and questions: We need tomato cages before repotting as to not disturb them any more than necessary.

Summary of NASA VEGGIE OASYS: Renee added water to the wicks and the reservoir and took photos of germinating seeds for the PI.

[end]

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 9, 2018
Greenhab Report – February 9th
Crew 188 Sol 12 Green Hab Report 09FEB2018

Julia DeMarines

09/02/2018

Environmental control: Heating

Ambient with door opening: Shade cloth on

Working hours in Green Hab: 13:00 – 15:00, 19:00 – 20:00

Outside temp at working hour: 11ºC

Inside temp at working hour: 14ºC,

Inside temp H: 32ºC,

Inside temp L: 14ºC,

Inside humidity: 35 %

Inside humidity H: 45%

Inside humidity L: 14%

Hours of supplemental light: 06:00 – 09:59

Changes to the crops: N/A

Daily water usage for crops: 2 gallons midday; 10 gallons evening

Time(s) of watering plants: 13:00 – 15:00 (2 gallons), 19:00 – 20:00 (10 gallons)

Changes to research plants: N/A

Narrative: The plants are looking good! We have harvested a lot of dill, leafy greens, and herbs today.

Future needs and questions: We need tomato cages before repotting as to not disturb them any more than necessary.

Summary of NASA VEGGIE OASYS: Renee monitored her experiment with one seed germinating.

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 7, 2018
Greenhab Report – February 7th
Crew 188 Sol 10 Green Hab Report 07FEB2018

Julia DeMarines

07/02/2018

Environmental control: Heating

Ambient with door opening: Shade cloth on

Working hours in Green Hab: 13:00 – 15:00, 19:00 – 20:00

Outside temp at working hour: 7ºC

Inside temp at working hour: 18ºC,

Inside temp H: 31ºC,

Inside temp L: 15ºC,

Inside humidity: 47 %

Inside humidity H: 47%

Inside humidity L: 16%

Hours of supplemental light: 06:00 – 09:59

Changes to the crops: N/A

Daily water usage for crops: 2 gallons midday; 10 gallons evening

Time(s) of watering plants: 13:00 – 15:00 (2 gallons), 19:00 – 20:00 (10 gallons)

Changes to research plants: N/A

Narrative: Today was a typical day of watering. Zac and I noticed a strange smell in the southwest corner. One thought we had was that a plant had died and started to mold but it’s very speculative. We will continue to monitor. Our devastatingly handsome commander recorded hours of podcasts and outreach videos in the Green Hab, most likely invigorating the plants with his succulent voice, pun intended.

Future needs and questions: We need tomato cages before repotting as to not disturb them any more than necessary.

Summary of NASA VEGGIE OASYS: Renee monitored her experiment and took photos for the PI. Her seeds are starting to germinate.

[end]

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 6, 2018
Greenhab Report – Frebruary 6th
Crew 188 Sol 9 Green Hab Report 06FEB2018

Zac Trolley (Engineer), Guest writing for Julia De Marines (Crew Astronomer/GreenHab Officer)

06 February 2018

Environmental control: Heating

Ambient with door opening: Shade cloth on

Working hours in Green Hab: 11:00 – 11:30, 18:00 – 19:00

Outside temp at working hour: 15ºC

Inside temp at working hour: 26ºC

Inside temp H: 33ºC

Inside temp L: 14ºC

Inside humidity: 23 %

Inside humidity H: 81%

Inside humidity L: 19%

Hours of supplemental light: 05:00 – 9:59

Changes to the crops: We picked many beans, herbs, and green leaves to dine upon.

Daily water usage for crops: 48 litres

Time(s) of watering plants: 11:00 – 11:30 (16 litres), 18:00 – 19:00 (32 litres)

Changes to research plants: The VEGGIE OASYS is progressing.

Narrative: Tat, our intrepid health and safety officer bravely foraged among the forest of plants being nurtured by our crew to bring home a bounty of green beans. Sadly, Sarah Jane has been unable to bridge the plant-human communication barrier.

Future needs and questions: We are awaiting the arrival of the tomato cages so we can replant the tall plants that require support to grow to their full potential. Please advise when they will arrive.

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 5, 2018
Greenhab Report – February 5th
Crew 188 Sol 7 Green Hab Report 05FEB2018

Zac Trolley (Engineer), Guest writing for Julia De Marines (Crew Astronomer/GreenHab Officer)

05 February 2018

Environmental control: Heating

Ambient with door opening: Shade cloth on

Working hours in Green Hab: 11:00 – 11:30, 18:00 – 19:00

Outside temp at working hour: 17ºC

Inside temp at working hour: 25ºC

Inside temp H: 35ºC

Inside temp L: 14ºC

Inside humidity: 27 %

Inside humidity H: 79%

Inside humidity L: 18%

Hours of supplemental light: 05:00 – 9:59

Changes to the crops: The plants are following a predictable pattern of requiring sun and water, and producing green leaves. As the plants increase in size, we have been harvesting various parts of them to eat in our kitchen. On this 8th Sol, we dined on lettuce leaves and tasty herbs.

Daily water usage for crops: 48 litres

Time(s) of watering plants: 11:00 – 11:30 (16 litres), 18:00 – 19:00 (32 litres)

Changes to research plants: During an intensive research investigation it was discovered that one of the pillows in the VEGGIE OASYS experiment isn’t as wet as is desired. Further investigation is required in order to find the route cause of this discrepancy. The Executive Officer is working with the NASA PI in order to properly moisten the pillow.

Narrative: In order to better understand the needs and desires of the plants under our care, we have been closely monitoring their progress. We have been exploring alternative methods to increase plant yield, and have decided to ask the plants what they require to be at their maximum efficiency. To facilitate this, Zac Trolley and Sarah Jane Pell have undertaken an experimental procedure to breach the communication gap with the plants and create a dialogue with them directly. So far, our results are not promising.

Future needs and questions: We are awaiting the arrival of the tomato cages so we can replant the tall plants that require support to grow to their full potential. Please advise when they will arrive.

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 4, 2018
Greenhab Report – February 4nd
Crew 188 Sol 7 Green Hab Report 04FEB2018

Sarah Jane Pell (Artist in Residence), Guest writing for Julia De Marines (Crew Astronomer/GreenHab Officer)

04 February 2018

Environmental control: Heating

Ambient with door opening: Shade cloth on

Working hours in Green Hab: 11:00 – 11:30, 18:00 – 19:00

Outside temp at working hour: 16ºC

Inside temp at working hour: 25ºC

Inside temp H: 32ºC

Inside temp L: 14ºC

Inside humidity: 37 %

Inside humidity H: 82%

Inside humidity L: 19%

Hours of supplemental light: 06:00 – 9:59

Changes to the crops: A crop of lettuce and herbs was taken for lunch. [We made a healing elixir
and tincture in oil to heal our ravenous hunger and aching bodies.]

Daily water usage for crops: 48 litres

Time(s) of watering plants: 11:00 – 11:30 (16 litres), 18:00 – 19:00 (32 litres)

Changes to research plants: Still monitoring the quinoa for sprouting.

Narrative: Zac Trolley, Engineer dressed in his flight suit to tend to the crops, while I filmed the entire GreenHab scene in 360 6K full 3D. I am now working on audio samples from the plants, to prepare an accompanying score for the first in our suite of immersive VR experiences.

Future needs and questions: We are awaiting the arrival of the tomato cages so we can replant the tall plants that require support to grow to their full potential. Please advise when they will arrive.

Dr. Sarah Jane Pell

TED Fellow 2010, Australia Council Fellow 2016, Gifted Citizen 2016

The ‘Performing Astronautics: following the Body’s Natural Edge into the Abyss of Space’ project is assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body http://www.artistastronaut.com

Artist, Occupational Diver, Keynote Speaker, Researcher, Simulation Astronaut http://www.sarahjanepell.com

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 3, 2018
Greenhab Report – February 3rd
Prepared by: Julia DeMarines
03/02/2018

Environmental control: Heating
Ambient with door opening: Shade cloth on

Working hours in Green Hab: 13:00 – 15:00, 19:00 – 20:00
Outside temp at working hour: -1ºC
Inside temp at working hour: 15ºC,
Inside temp H: 31ºC,
Inside temp L: 15ºC,
Inside humidity: 47 %
Inside humidity H: 47%
Inside humidity L: 16%

Hours of supplemental light: 06:00 – 09:59

Changes to the crops: N/A

Daily water usage for crops: 2 gallons midday; 10 gallons evening

Time(s) of watering plants: 13:00 – 15:00 (2 gallons), 19:00 – 20:00 (10 gallons)

Changes to research plants: N/A

Narrative: Both Julia and Zac were on EVA’s today at separate times and both spent time watering the plants, staggered. Upon persistent trials and errors, we have both noticed that the wilted plants are most likely due to requiring a midday watering, being dry from having the door open, and being in the southwestern-most corner (and getting very hot).

We will keep monitoring and testing out better methods to keep the temperature not too hot and not too cold. Today was a very windy day.

Future needs and questions: We need tomato cages before repotting as to not disturb them any more than necessary.

Summary of NASA VEGGIE OASYS: Renee added water to the wicks and the reservoir and took photos of germinating seeds for the PI.

[end]

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/category/greenhab-report/page/18/ Source]

Crew 189 GreenHab Reports

2019-03-24T18:30:58Z

NathanielFromMars: Created page with "Category:GreenHab Experiments POSTED ONMARCH 10, 2018 GreenHab Report – March 10 2018 [category greenhab-report] AUCLAIR Jérémy 10 March 2018 Environmental contro..."

[[Category:GreenHab Experiments]]

POSTED ONMARCH 10, 2018
GreenHab Report – March 10 2018
[category greenhab-report]

AUCLAIR Jérémy

10 March 2018

Environmental control:

(door closed)

Heating once the sun was down

80 % Shade cloth on

Average temperatures:

Around 34 °C at 11:00 am, door left open, for 2 hours, around 22 °C the rest of the day

Hours of supplemental light: none

Changes to crops: none

Daily water usage for crops: around 9 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 11:00 am and 7:30pm

Narrative: none

Support/supplies needed: none

POSTED ONMARCH 8, 2018
Greenhab Report – March 7th
Hi CapCom, here is today’s GreenHab report !
Have a nice evening

GreenHab Report
AUCLAIR Jérémy
7 March 2018

Environmental control:

(door closed)
Heating once the sun was down
80 % Shade cloth on

Average temperatures:
Around 22 °C at 9:30 am, around 20 °C the rest of the day

Hours of supplemental light: none

Changes to crops: none

Daily water usage for crops: around 9 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 9:30 am and 7pm

Narrative: none

Support/supplies needed: none

POSTED ONMARCH 6, 2018
Greenhab Report – March 6th
GreenHab Report
AUCLAIR Jérémy
6 March 2018

Environmental control:

(door closed)
Heating once the sun was down
80 % Shade cloth on

Average temperatures:
Around 25 °C at 9:00 am, around 26 °C the rest of the day

Hours of supplemental light: none

Changes to crops: none

Daily water usage for crops: around 9 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 9:00 am and 7pm

Narrative: none

Support/supplies needed: none

POSTED ONMARCH 5, 2018
Greenhab Report – March 5th
Hello again Capcom,

Here is today’s GreenHab report coming from Jérémy:

GreenHab Report
AUCLAIR Jérémy
5th March 2018

Environmental control:

(door closed)
Heating once the sun was down
80 % Shade cloth on

Average temperatures:
Around 30 °C at 11:30 am, around 23 °C the rest of the day

Hours of supplemental light: none

Changes to crops: 5 cherry tomatoes harvested

Daily water usage for crops: around 9 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 10:00 am and 9pm

Narrative: none

Support/supplies needed: none

Cheers,

Louis

POSTED ONMARCH 4, 2018
GreenHab Report – March 4th
AUCLAIR Jérémy

4th March 2018

Environmental control:

(door closed)

Heating once the sun was down

80 % Shade cloth on

Average temperatures:

Around 24 °C at 11:30 am, around 18 °C the rest of the day

Hours of supplemental light: from 7pm to 9pm

Changes to crops: 9 cherry tomatoes

Daily water usage for crops: around 10 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 11:30 am and 6pm

Narrative: I was a bit surprised and sad to find out that the salads I planned to harvest for dinner had been taken, the crew was looking forward to eating some greens. Perhaps next time the Martians could tell us in advance, so we can plan our meals accordingly.

Support/supplies needed: none

POSTED ONMARCH 1, 2018
Greenhab Report – March 1st
GreenHab Report
AUCLAIR Jérémy
1st March 2018

Environmental control:

(door closed)
Heating once the sun was down
80 % Shade cloth on

Average temperatures:
Around 30 °C at 10am, around 24 °C the rest of the day

Hours of supplemental light: from 7pm to 9pm

Changes to crops: One cucumber plant died

Daily water usage for crops: around 8 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 9:00 am and 7:30pm

Narrative: none

Support/supplies needed: none

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 28, 2018
Greenhab Report – February 28th
Hello again Capcom,

Here is today’s greenhab report, coming from Jérémy:

GreenHab Report
AUCLAIR Jérémy
28 Feb 2018

Environmental control:

(door closed)
Heating once the sun was down
80 % Shade cloth on

Average temperatures:
Around 37 °C at 10am, around 30 °C the rest of the day

Hours of supplemental light: from 7pm to 9pm

Changes to crops: Cute down all the overgrown tomato leaves to free some space and allow the plants to grow further

Daily water usage for crops: around 11 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 9:00 am and 7:20pm

Narrative: Today we put the 80% shade on all the GreenHab. We were four and it took us 2 hours, under the burning sun, it was a hassle. But Now it’s done, and it looks good. I worked quite a lot during the afternoon to take care of the plants. The GreenHab looks better day after day, makes me feel good.

Support/supplies needed: wooden sticks to support falling plants

Cheers,

Louis

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 27, 2018
Greenhab Report – February 27th
27 Feb 2018

Environmental control:

(door closed)

Heating once the sun was down

80 % Shade cloth on

Average temperatures:

Around 35 °C at 11am, around 31 °C the rest of the day

Hours of supplemental light: from 7pm to 9pm

Changes to crops: None

Daily water usage for crops: around 10 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 9:00 am and 6:00pm

Narrative: None

Support/supplies needed: wooden sticks to support falling plants

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 26, 2018
Greenhab Report – February 26th
Dear CapCom and Graeme,

Here is the GreenHab Report

AUCLAIR Jérémy

26 feb 2018

Environmental control:

(door open around 11am, left closed after 14h)

Heating once the sun was down

80 % Shade cloth on

Average temperatures:

Around 35 °C at 11am, around 28 °C the rest of the day

Hours of supplemental light: from 7pm to 9pm

Changes to crops: Lettuce baby plants planted in bigger pots

Daily water usage for crops: around 12 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 11:30 am and 7:30pm

Narrative: Still achieving the same type work

Support/supplies needed: wooden sticks to support falling plants

Cheers,

Victoria

Commander of Crew189

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 25, 2018
GreenHab Report – February 25th
Hi Capcom,

Here the GreenHab Report of my colleague AUCLAIR Jérémy

26 feb 2018

Environmental control:

(door open around 11am, left closed after 16h)

Heating once the sun was down

80 % Shade cloth on

Average temperatures:

Around 35 °C at 11am, around 28 °C the rest of the day

Hours of supplemental light: from 7pm to 9pm

Changes to crops: Two carrot pots were planted in a bigger pot to allow them to grow further, I tried to save the cucumber plants by putting wooden sticks to attach them and clean the mess the plants were in (all tangled up)

Daily water usage for crops: around 15 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 11am and 7pm

Narrative: Once again I had to fix the mess the plants were in, the carrot plants were too close to one another, all bunched up in small pots, I moved them to bigger pots and tried to save most of the crops. There is a lot of work to be done in the GreenHab and it will take some time, a lot of plants need to be taken care of quickly (for a good amount of the plants the crops are too many in one too small pot). I ran out of wooden sticks again; half of the tomato plants and all the cucumber plants were falling apart because they weren’t guided with wooden sticks.

Support/supplies needed: wooden sticks to support falling plants

Cheers,

Victoria

Commander of the crew 189

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 21, 2018
GreenHab Report – February 21st

GreenHab Report

Jérémy Auclair

21 February 2018

Environmental control:

Ambient with door closed

Fan during 30 minutes

Shade cloth on

Average temperatures: I put the new thermometers in the greenhab today and the temperature was about 16 degrees Celsius at 5pm, went up to 30 °C at 8pm after we worked in the GreenHab

Hours of supplemental light: from 6pm to 11pm

Changes to crops: one cucumber that was not ripes fell down while changing the shade

Daily water usage for crops: 13 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 10:30apm and 7:30pm

Aquaponics: None

Narrative: Today, the greenhab had many visitors. We installed the new shades (80% shading) and it was a hassle, it took us a lot of time and was very complicated! Almost all the crew participated in this installation. The commanders and the astronomer helped a lot and without them I would not have been able to do it! Thanks to this installation I noticed that many tomatoes plants were bending and with Benoit we used many wooden sticks. We changed the organisation of the GreenHab quite a lot. I still have many work to do to rearrange all this but, at least, the new cover is partially installed!

Support/supplies needed: Wooden sticks (again please)

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 20, 2018
Greenhab Report – February 20th
Jérémy Auclair

20 February 2018

Environmental control:

Ambient with door open

Fan during 30 minutes

Shade cloth on

Average temperatures: I received the thermometers only tonight, I will use it tomorrow. Nevertheless I estimated the temperature around 1pm , about 30 °C.

Hours of supplemental light: from 6pm to 11pm

Changes to crops: Three cherry tomatoes harvested

Daily water usage for crops: 13 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 12:30pm and 6:45pm

Aquaponics: None

Narrative: I think I will have some work of reorganization of the plants. After all my experiments set I will do that.

Support/supplies needed: Wooden sticks to support different plants

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 19, 2018
Greenhab Report – February 19th
Here is the GreenHab Report

AUCLAIR Jérémy

19 feb 2018

Environmental control:

(high winds today, door left closed, no heating)

Heating

Shade cloth on

Average temperatures:

Both thermometers are out of service

The temperature didn’t go above 25°C, the sky stayed pretty cloudy

Hours of supplemental light: from 8pm to 11pm

Changes to crops: none

Daily water usage for crops: around 15 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 10:30am and 6pm

Narrative: I started to do an excel inventory of the plants in the GreenHab, there is a lot of different crops (with a majority of tomatoes and lettuce), a few plants might give some harvest before the end of our rotation.

Support/supplies needed: one thermometer with humidity measure

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 18, 2018
GreenHab Report – February 18th
GreenHab Report

AUCLAIR Jérémy

18 feb 2018

Environmental control:

Ambient with fan (high winds today)

Heating

Shade cloth on

Average temperatures:

Both thermometers are out of service

I estimated the temperature at 35°C around mid-day

Hours of supplemental light: from 8pm to 11pm

Changes to crops: none

Daily water usage for crops: around 15 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 11am and 6pm

Narrative:

Functionality: The GreenHab heaters are working fine. Both thermometers are out of service, but around mid-day I estimated the temperature at approximately 35 °C, I turned on the fan for half an hour to keep the GreenHab cool. Because of high wind I left the door closed. Humidity was low in the morning (11am – 21 %) and rose up to 28 % during the day. I watered the existing seedlings twice (11am and 6pm) today and they are growing well.

Status: The existing seedlings in the green Hab are continuing to grow. There are a lot of tomato plants around the Hab, and some spinach, lettuce, beans, carrots and onion growing in the small pots. There are some other plants like a variety of spices and a few cucumbers. In the large rectangular pots there are a lot of salads (romaine mainly). I barely got familiar with the GreenHab today.

Planned activity: I will try to do the inventory stock of the greenhab tomorrow if I have time. I will look at the different seeds there are to choose some to plant them.

Support/supplies needed: one or two thermometers

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/category/greenhab-report/page/17/ Source]

Crew 186 EVA Reports

2019-03-24T18:28:05Z

NathanielFromMars: Created page with "Category:EVA Missions POSTED ONJANUARY 12, 2018 EVA Report – January 12th Purpose of EVA: Collect and analyze samples of shale obtained from the region below Skyline R..."

[[Category:EVA Missions]]

POSTED ONJANUARY 12, 2018
EVA Report – January 12th
Purpose of EVA: Collect and analyze samples of shale obtained from the region below Skyline Rim. Collect samples of fossilized shells that were discovered on a previous EVA near White Moon.

Destination: Skyline Rim

UDM27 Coordinates: 515300E, 4251200N

Destination: White Moon

UDM27 Coordinates: 517100E, 4254600N

Participants: Justin Mansell (Journalist), Melanie Grande (Engineer), Sam Albert (Health and Safety Officer)

Narrative: This was the final EVA of the mission and the members of the team were tasked with obtaining samples of shale from the base of Skyline Rim and analyzing them in the field with a spectrometer. Our secondary objective was to collect a handful of fossilized shells from a deposit near White Moon. This deposit was discovered on a previous EVA but no samples were taken. We departed the airlock at 11:07 am and drove north to White Moon. I led in the Deimos rover followed behind by Sam and Melanie in Spirit. We made a brief stop near Gray Moon to search for the fossil bed but were unsuccessful in locating it. We remounted the rovers after several minutes and continued to Skyline Rim by way of Copernicus Highway 1574 and Sagan Street 1103. We arrived on site at approximately 12:30 pm.

Sam was able to make contact with the habitat from atop a small hill using a ham radio while Melanie and I searched for shale near the end of Sagan Street. Once we had positively identified several samples of shale the team collected equipment from the rovers and proceeded to the base of the cliff. We also made a brief test of the navigation radio to verify the direction to the habitat.

Sam made his way up an escarpment to collect chips of shale directly from the cliff wall using a rock hammer. Melanie also climbed an escarpment to take complimentary spectra using the spectrometer. I remained at the base of the escarpments to monitor Sam and Melanie’s safety. The team then returned to the rovers and departed Skyline Rim at 1:15 pm.

We made a second stop at White Moon on the return journey and relocated the shell fossils found on a previous EVA. We filled a sample bag with a handful of shells and returned directly to the habitat. We arrived at the habitat at 2:23 pm. The total time on EVA was 3 hours and 21 minutes.

Justin Mansell, MDRS Crew 186 Journalist

POSTED ONJANUARY 11, 2018
EVA Report – January 11th
Author: Max Fagin

Purpose of EVA: The last testing of the Yagi-Uda antenna based navigation experiment for navigating back to the hab. Destination change the night before to Skyline ridge allowed photographic reconnaissance in preparation for tomorrow’s geology EVA to the same site.

Destination: Plains to the east of skyline ridge

UDM27 Coordinates: 516000 E, 4251000 N

Participants: Max Fagin (Commander), Kshitij Mall (Executive Officer)

Narrative: This EVA was the final demonstration of the radio beacon navigation system, with the goal of demonstrating its effectiveness when line of sight was obstructed for the duration of the walk. Kshitij served as the lost astronaut, and had the hood in place over his helmet that limited his field of view to 5m from his feet. Max monitored the route and tracked the progress via gps to ensure the route was safe. We left the airlock at 10:36 and walked north along a foot path to the top of the ridge that rises over the hab to our west. After cresting the ridge, we walked due west along Sagan Rd before swinging south 50m to await the first beacon transmission. When the beacon was received, we started back, Kshitij leading the way, and Max monitoring. When Kshitij would stop to check the bearing on the hab, Max tested an experimental chlorophyll detector that Chris McKay and Matteo Borri had designed for us for use on the local flora. A loss of the beacon for ~15 minutes led to a complete turnaround, but it was corrected when the beacon was picked up again. We crested the ridge 45 minutes later at the ridge’s closest point to the hab, exactly where we should have been. So close that Kshitij gave an audible gasp when Max removed the hood and saw the habitat was so close. We deactivated the beacon, and walked north to find the route back down to the hab. Airlock ingress was at 12:37 for a total EVA time of 2:01.

Note: One of the hab’s radios has been damaged beyond repair. I was carrying it in my front pocket as a backup radio, and when I lifted my leg while climbing the ridge, the antenna was pinched against my front and snapped off. Shannon: There are still more than enough radios at the hab to provide spares, so I don’t know if you will want to replace it or not, but either way, I will note this on the checkout sheet as damage incurred. My apologies for the damage.

POSTED ONJANUARY 10, 2018
EVA Report – January 10th
Author: Cesare Guariniello

Purpose of EVA: Testing the next phase of the Yagi-Uda antenna-based navigation experiment for navigating back to the hab. Testing with a stranded astronaut in a condition of low visibility

Destination: End of Mountain Goat Road

UDM27 Coordinates:

519750 E

4250500 N

Participants: Cesare, Melanie, Mark (stranded astronaut)

Narrative: This EVA put an astronaut in condition of low visibility, simulating a dust storm. This condition was obtained with a cardboard placed over the top portion of the ExoSuit helmet. The astronaut has visibility limited to about 5m ahead (for reasons of safety) and can look at the handheld radio when navigating, in order to find the direction of the habitat. The crew egressed the habitat with Mark already “under the hood”, and checked the safety of the hooding apparatus, then the three EVA crewmembers started walking Northwest to the intended destination, guided by Cesare’s GPS unit. During the outward path, Melanie and Cesare had Mark stopping multiple times, to spin around and be redirected so as to be completely disoriented. The outward path was also chosen so that the return direction would not follow it.

Once the turnaround point was reached, Mark turned on the Yagi-Uda antenna receiver and began scanning for the radio beacon from the habitat, sent initially at intervals of 5 minutes. Melanie and Cesare took care of the safety of the path chosen by Mark, but let him decide the direction to walk towards. When rock walls occurred, Mark decided the best path around them, and only once he was requested to stop to avoid excessive proximity to a shallow canyon. The EVA gave significant results to the experiment. Mark was able to locate the habitat with adequate precision even when hills and rocks obstructed the line of communication, though a power attenuator might be required in close proximity to the habitat (Mark could navigate close to saturation of the signal, at about 500m from the habitat). A major problem was the difficulty to follow a straight path. Mark always pinpointed the direction towards the habitat, but walked in wide arcs. For this reason, Cesare and Melanie requested continuous transmission of the beacon signal which helped reducing the path error.

Around 1:40 (one hour and 35 minutes into the EVA), the weather turned to rain. The crew immediately reported the occurrence to the HabCom. Upon indication by the commander the EVA was scrubbed immediately, Mark was unhooded, and the EVA team returned to the hab (which had been in sight for about 20 minutes, and was only 500m away) without delays and ingresses the airlock after collecting two soil samples from the immediate vicinity of the habitat, to be analyzed for use in the Greenhab by future crews.

Cesare Guariniello, crew geologist

Crew 186 – Boilers2Mars

Mars Desert Research Station

POSTED ONJANUARY 8, 2018
EVA Report – January 8th
Author: Max Fagin

Purpose of EVA:

1. Visit the Beige Moon and White Moon areas, which remain unsampled by our previous EVA team during EVA#3

2. Test the Yagi-Uda antenna based navigation experiment by walking back to the hab

Destination: Yellow moon, white moon, beige moon, walk back

UDM27 Coordinates: 516500 E, 4254250 N

Participants: Max Fagin (Commander), Kshitij Mall (Executive Officer), Justin Mansell (Journalist)

Narrative: We exited the hab on schedule and departed north to the Moons region. We started at the western most site, and traveled east, stopping at each site to collect a sample of clay, salt, and a panoramic photo. Despite the cold, not being burdened by sensing equipment was a welcome relief, and we got really good at quickly dismounting, sampling, photographing and documenting a new site. Thanks Cesare for the great geology training! After sampling all three sites, we drove back along Cow Dung road until the GPS indicated we were within 2 km of the hab. We dismounted, set up the radio beacon, and Justin began navigating across the terrain back to the hab, with Kshitij and I following for safety. Inspecting the route on GPS after the fact revealed it was as near to a direct route as could be expected given patches of unnavigable terrain. A great success for the navigation system! All that remains it to duplicate the results with the astronaut’s view of the horizon restricted to remove the possibility of subconsciously navigating by distant terrain features or the sun. We will attempt to do this tomorrow, weather permitting.

After returning to the hab, Justin and Kshitij took three sorties out (one on Opportunity, two on Curiosity) to recover the ATVs that had been abandoned for the navigation experiment and bring them back to the hab.

Note: Another one of our radios gave a low battery signal ~20 minutes into the EVA. Since we were carrying two spare radios as per our decision from yesterday’s EVA, communications were instantly restored. I recommend listing it in the MDRS handbook that the EVA team must always carry at least one fully charged spare radio. It is such a small additional burden, and such a large increase in EVA safety.

POSTED ONJANUARY 7, 2018
EVA Report – January 7th
Author: Max Fagin

Purpose of EVA: Photography and sampling of the previously identified stratified cut in the canyon wall east of the Maxwell Montes region.

Destination: The canyons just to the east of the Maxwell Montes region.

UDM27 Coordinates: 522500 E 4254500 N

Participants: Max Fagin (Commander), Cesare Guariniello (Geologist), Sam Albert (HSO), Melanie Grande (Crew Engineer)

Narrative: We departed the Hab at 10:45 and arrived at the end of Cactus Rd. at 11:15. The initial descent into the canyon was steep but navigable, and we descended 200 ft east down a ridge line and stream bed before we encountered a cliff in the stream bed that we could not safely descend. Instead, we turned north west to follow an offshoot of the canyon in the general direction we wanted to go, then climbed up onto a dirt embankment that lay beneath the Muddy Creek canyon’s west edge. This embankment allowed us to travel a 0.5 miles north with no obstruction, but ended at the edge of a smaller canyon on the west of the Muddy Creek, still 0.5 miles south of our target. As we now had only 45 minutes left until our turn around time, we elected to descend into this canyon (which we named Boilermaker canyon) and sample the stratified layers on its north shelf.

Returning to the rovers was more difficult as we realized that the final slope we had descended into Boilermaker Canyon from the embankment was too steep to safely climb up again without scrambling. In hindsight, this was a mistake, as it made us completely dependent on our gps for safe navigation. The original intent had been to exactly retrace the same route into and out of the canyon so we could follow our footprints back to the rovers in the event that we lost our GPS. Instead, in order to avoid scrambling back up the south slope of Boilermaker Canyon, we turned down slope to the east and walked towards the Muddy Creek to find a more shallow slope back up to the west embankment that would allow us to rejoin our path. We eventually found a route up a ridge and back onto the embankment, but without the gps, this would have been nearly impossible. Our footprints on the embankment were invisible until we were right on top of them, and had we not had the gps to tell us where our track was, we could have easily gotten turned around in the maze of stream beds and side canyons. During the walk back, we made several wrong turns when we lost our foot prints. Because we had the gps, the wrong turns were noted and corrected within seconds, but had we not had the gps, walk back would have taken much longer, producing a late return. This was not a navigation mode that I would consider sufficiently safe for EVA operations, and I do not intend to repeat it in the future. We will no longer venture into terrain where a safe exit would be impossible without digital assistance, and we intend to carry at least one gps in the future to guard against the risk of failure.

We returned to the rovers at 3:00 and made use of the reserve water supplies through a camelback to avoid doffing the suits. The water had been reserved for this purpose, as a Mars suit would be expected to allow the occupant to drink, so we did not consider this a breach of sim. We returned to the Hab at 3:25.

Notes on comms issue: One of the radios indicated a low battery on the outbound trip. We elected to continue as communications were still possible, but turned the radio off between transmissions to maximize its lifetime. We also implemented the practice of the incommunicado crew member remaining close to another crew member who could signal via hand that they were needed on comm, or relay instructions via simulated helmet contact. The radio lasted until we reached the site, but then could not be used at all. We swapped radios and kept the crew member with the dead radio in the 2nd place of a single file line, ensuring they could not become separated.

As this is now the second time as apparently fully charged radio battery has failed on EVA, we are implementing a new EVA policy where two spare radios will be carried with the EVA team at all times, and swapped in in the event of radio failure.

POSTED ONJANUARY 5, 2018
EVA Report – January 5th
Author: Max Fagin

Purpose of EVA: Geological sampling of the Greenstone Rd. area and continuing the search for hematite blueberries

Destination: South of Greenstone Rd

UDM27 Coordinates:

520000 E: 424850 N

Participants: Max Fagin (Commander), Kshitij Mall (Executive Officer), Cesare Guariniello (Geologist), Justin Mansell (Journalist), Mark Gee (GreenHab Officer).

Narrative: We reformatted the EVA after suiting up and a radio conversation with Shannon to be an exclusively geological EVA, and delay the navigation component to a later EVA (we previously misunderstood the EVA rules about crew members separating into teams after departing the hab, and how this would technically constitute two separate EVAs). We departed the Hab at 11:10 and arrived on site at 11:48. We walked a long counterclockwise loop around the area searching the ground and occasionally stopping for spectral samples with Cesar’s portable spectrometer, and for the first time, with the portable laser spectrometer that had been generously lent to us by NASA Ames. Despite spending 3 hours on site and seeing many interesting geologic features, we did not find any of the hematite blueberry deposits that are reported to be in this area. We stopped at the Kissing Camels feature on the way back to sample a layer of Dakota Sandstone from the Cretaceous period and returned to the Hab at 14:30.

I expected a 5 person EVA to only be ~20% harder than our more typical 4 person EVA, but in reality, my impression is that they are ~50% harder. In addition to requiring multiple press/depress cycles, the 5th crew member requires an extra vehicle and more room than is easily available in the suit up area. We will probably stick to the conventional 4 crew EVAs in the future. That really does seem to be the perfect number.

POSTED ONJANUARY 4, 2018
EVA Report – January 4th
Author: Cesare Guariniello

Purpose of EVA: Visit the regions of Beige Moon and Yellow Moon, collect samples of salts

Destination: Yellow Moon

UDM27 Coordinates:
515700 E
4254200 N

Participants: Cesare, Melanie, Mark, Samuel

Narrative: This EVA brought the crew for the first time Northwest of the habitat, in the region of The Moons (White Moon, Beige Moon, Gray Moon, Yellow Moon). After egressing the habitat airlock, the EVA crew members spent about fifteen minutes strapping and securing the spectrometer case and the geology toolbox to the ATVs. This simple activity was very instructive about the difficulties of performing simple tasks when donning bulky gloves and a space suit, being able to communicate only via radio, while always “thinking like a Martian” (for example, this means slow and accurate movements, paying attention to the safety of all crew members).

Due to the low temperature, the crew had to use the choker to start the ATVs. However, despite warming the 300, its engine quit multiple times. Since the EVA had multiple stops planned, the crew decided not to use the 300, and instead added a third 350 (vehicles used were the Honda, 350.1, 350.2, and 350.3). The ride North was quite slow, due to the presence of a delicate, expensive instrument.

Once again, the crew did not spot the unmarked road (in this case, Hwy 1572), and went further North to the end of the ATV road. This detour gave the crew the first spectacular sight: on the way back towards Hwy 1572, the crew drove through the Glistening Seas, and the position of the Sun showed how appropriate this name is. The whole plain was sparkly with reflections from gypsum crystals, which gave a sense of awe. In the middle of the Glistening Seas, the EVA crew spotted the location of Hwy 1572 and followed it towards Yellow Moon. Upon reaching the location and parking the ATVs, the crew geologist began his collection of samples, while other EVA crew members explored the area. The magnificent landscape, open to the East on the red Morrison formation, and shadowed to the West by the brown rims of Mancos shale, prompted a discussion within the EVA crew to discuss about the possibility of reaching the Martian Moons.

Due to the delays at the beginning of the EVA, the crew had to turn around after just 40 minutes in the field. On the way back, two more stops for collection of geological samples were added, before the crew stopped at Mount Nutella (see photos of the day) to climb the sand dune and look at the formations from the top of the mount. Melanie lost communication at this point, but this did not cause any problem: she was put in the middle of the ATVs convoy, and the EVA party was already enroute to the habitat. Upon returning, while Melanie refueled the ATVs and tested the 300 (which worked, since it had warmed up), and Cesare unstrapped the tools, the crew was welcomed by a new pet: the NorCal Mars Society’s rover Phoenix!! The EVA crew played with it for a little bit, before ingressing the airlock to end this astonishing EVA.

POSTED ONJANUARY 3, 2018
EVA Report – January 3rd
Author: Max Fagin

Purpose of EVA: Photographic survey and geological samples of the previously unexplored region to the North East of Maxwell Montes, direction radio experiment, Ham radio repeater communications testing

Destination: North East of Maxwell Montes

UDM27 Coordinates:

521750 E

4254500 N

Participants: Max Fagin, Kshitij Mall, Melanie Grande, Justin Mansell

Narrative: The region to the North East of Maxwell Montes had been indicated to us as a region that no MDRS crew had ever explored. Far be it from us to turn down a chance to go boldly where no one has gone before, we had to perform a photographic survey and bring back some samples to plan for a more detailed investigation later in our mission. And the region did not disappoint. After a 55-minute rover ride followed by a 40-minute hike, we reached the edge of a box canyon which contained a stratified cut covering 50-million years of the Jurassic, so perfectly formed it could be in a textbook (see our photo of the day). The long range of the EVA meant we could only spend 45 minutes on site collecting samples and taking photographs, but we have resolved to return to the region before our mission is over. Next time, we will come armed with two tools we didn’t have this time: 1) Our crew geologist, 2) A mapped out route for getting to the bottom of the canyon to see prehistory up close.

Throughout this EVA, we communicated both through the regular MDRS commercial radios, and through the Hanksville ham radio repeater. Both communication methods had dropouts, but the dropouts rarely overlapped, serving as an effective backup to each other as a way to maintain contact with the hab and the EVA team. This exact solution cannot be implemented on Mars, but a ham radio repeater is a fair analog for the site-to-site communications loop in place through a synchronous communications satellite. A colleague once told me that you can fix any problem with a spacecraft as long as you still have communications and power, and future Mars explorers will likely rely on multiple redundant modes of communication to keep that truism true.

Given our experience from the previous EVA, we elected to make this EVA with the 4 exo-suits, rather than the traditional MDRS suits. They met and exceeded our expectations for remaining comfortable for a long EVA, and the rest of the crew are eager to try them out. Having zero load on our shoulders is a welcome relief, and the limiting factor was really how long you could have your head in the suit without scratching your nose or taking a drink.

On the latter matter (thirst), we tested out a partial solution. It is our crew’s policy to carry a case of water with us in the rover’s trunk on EVAs to treat any case of dehydration. Drinking such water would be breaking sim as we would have to doff the suits to drink it. However, the ability for an EVA suit to provide the occupant with a drink without doffing the suit is already existing technology, we simply haven’t implemented it at MDRS yet. The neck ring design of the old MDRS suits makes the use of a camelback a bit ungainly, but the exosuits are perfectly shaped for it. By feeding the tube of my camelback through the vent in the suit and securing it with a twist tie, I was able to keep the port within easy reach of my mouth for the entire EVA. This solution can’t be permanent, as it would require MDRS participants to share camelbacks, but I have extensively photographed the solution and will be taking it back to the NorCal Mars Society as a proposal to try in future suits (perhaps if MDRS participants wanted to bring their own camelback). I certainly appreciated it.

On the way back, Kshitij and Melanie dropped us off at a point where we had identified on the way out, and proceeded back to the hab. Justin took out his direction radio beacon, and I faded into the background as he began his “lost astronaut” experiment. Using a Yagi antenna to determine his bearing on the hab, he began walking in the general direction while I shadowed him with a gps to check his route. After stopping 3-4 times to recover his bearings and making his way through a narrow canyon where the signal was interrupted, we climbed a hill and spotted the hab directly ahead of us in the distance! This was just a preliminary test, as we both had a fair idea of where the hab was, but on future EVAs, the test will become more challenging, eventually culminating with the test subject starting from a location where they don’t know their bearing on the hab.

Extra commendations to our EVA controller Cesare, for managing three radios while we were out and about, and finding time to suit up and join us for a 1 hour “get ahead” engineering EVA that we began when we found ourselves back at the hab an hour earlier than expected.

Note on our route: We misread the map legend indicating which roads were for PEVs (the rovers) and which were limited to ATVs. We took the rovers north along Cow Dung Rd, East along Galileo Rd and stopped where the foot travel only section began at the intersection of Cactus Rd. and Yellow Zebra Rd., near 522000 E 4253000N, before dismounting to walk the rest of the way to the site. After returning, we realized that Cactus Rd. was marked for ATVs only, and not for PEV travel. Apologies for the mistake, we are clear on the distinction now, and on our next visit, we will only take ATVs to the dismount point.

POSTED ONJANUARY 2, 2018
EVA Report – January 2nd
Crew 186 EVA Report 02JAN2018

Author: Cesare Guariniello

Purpose of EVA: Complete EVA #1 that was cut short: spectral sampling of clays and searching for hematite spherules in Greenstone region.

Destination: Greenstone region east of Greenstone Rd

UDM27 Coordinates:
520050E
4248300N

Participants: Kshitij, Cesare, Mark, Sam

Narrative: This EVA was the first one for the three crew members who had not participated into the EVA yesterday. Since the first EVA had been cut short, the crew geologist joined this EVA to complete the tasks planned for the previous day. The planned sites were the region East of Greenstone Rd, and on the way back the region between Zubrin’s Head and Robert’s Rock Garden, both for collecting more clays and looking for hematite “blueberries”. The crew felt unusual levels of heat, due to a clear bright Sun, which also made it challenging to drive heading South, and possibly prevented the crew from identifying the access to Greenstone Road. Feeling that they might have overshot the intended destination, the crew parked the rovers and found out that they had reached White Rock Canyon, slightly South of Greenstone Road. The incredible sight and the discovery of a stream of frozen water at the bottom of the canyon prompted the EVA crew to take a few photos to document the area, before heading back to the rovers and finally reaching the intended destination, at the beginning of Greenstone Road. While the crew had no luck with the search for hematite blueberries, Cesare analyzed and collected more clay sample, with the support of Kshitij, Mark, and Sam. In the meanwhile, Kshitij also grabbed videos of the crew activity, while Sam took breathtaking photos of the location and of the crew.

After spending one hour and fifteen minutes at the first location, the crew headed back Northwest to stop at a second location, to the West of Cow Dung Road, where one more hour was spent in field activities. Cesare found a couple of promising rounded pebbles which appear to have a spectrum that at least partially resembles hematite.

Having lost communication with the habitat after crossing the first ridge, the crew observed line-of-sight rules for safety, and -among the research work- took time to think of their expedition and their goals. We were all amazed at the extreme resemblance of the location to plains on Mars, in colors, aspect, and mineralogy. Watching the landscape from the top of a ridge while wearing a space suit is an amazing experience!

When the EVA crew members came back, they were welcomed by the rest of the crew with well deserved water, before a very useful debriefing that will help in future EVAs. The crew performed very well with the 25-50-25 rule, actually spending only thirty minutes on the drive out and back, and two hours and fifteen minutes in the field!

Cesare Guariniello, PhD

POSTED ONJANUARY 1, 2018
EVA Report – January 1st
Author: Max Fagin

Purpose of EVA: Spectral sampling of sandstone clay, mudstone clay and Hematite in Goldstone region.

Destination: Between URC South and Kissing Camel Ridge, 200-300m west of Cow Dung Rd.

UDM27 Coordinates:

518100E

424850N

Participants: Max, Melanie, Cesare, Justin

Narrative: We have heard reports of hematite blueberry formations near the Goldstone Road area, and wanted to take samples with Cesare’s handheld spectrometer. Three sample sites were planned along the way to sample sandstone clays and mudstone clays. A late start meant we had to turn back after only one sample site, and limit the EVA to 1.0 hr instead of 3.5 hrs, but we made productive use of the time. While Cesare was taking spectra of rock and clay samples, Justin broke out his directional radio beacon to experiment with locating the hab. Our sample site was in a radio shadow of the the hab, so Melanie climbed a nearby hill to relay instructions between us and the Hab. This problem won’t go away on Mars (where the radio horizon is 50% closer than Earth’s), and we’ve brought equipment to mitigate it. Our crew includes three licensed ham radio operators, and tomorrow, we will use the Hanksville radio repeater (aka, “communication satellite”).

After returning, we checked two items off our engineering EVA checklist: Moving the small generator to the RAM in preparation for powering it up tomorrow, and installing a new window in the Hab airlock.

Our goal for EVA’s on this mission is to hold to a 25-50-25 rule. I.e. No more than 25% of the time from egress to ingress be spent traveling to and from to the destination, and at least 50% of the time spent on site. Today, we only spent 25 minutes on site (plus 7 minutes at the hab working on engineering tasks), which didn’t meet our goal. But we will track our performance on each future EVA to hold ourselves to improvement. Field science means field science. Not
driving-to-the-field science.

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/category/eva-report/page/16/ Source]

Crew 187 EVA Reports

2019-03-24T18:19:18Z

NathanielFromMars: Created page with "Category:EVA Missions POSTED ONJANUARY 26, 2018 EVA Report – January 24th EVA Report for 24Jan2018 Author: Oscar Ojeda Purpose of EVA: Usage of rovers for battery di..."

[[Category:EVA Missions]]

POSTED ONJANUARY 26, 2018
EVA Report – January 24th
EVA Report for 24Jan2018

Author: Oscar Ojeda

Purpose of EVA: Usage of rovers for battery discharge, aerial mapping of terrain, testing of mid-range EVA protocols, testing of the Guache I Rover, Collection of possible halophile samples.

Destination: Intersection of Quarry Road and Cow Dung Road

Coordinates: 518400 E, 4255500 N

Participants: Atila, Danton, David and Oscar

Narrative: One successful EVA was undertaken on this day. A crew of 4 departed the habitat at 11:35, aiming for the two main goals of discharging the rover’s battery and to keep testing the different projects. After taking Cow Dung Rd for about 30 minutes, the crew arrived at Quarry Road, where several aerial shots were taken, testing the 3D mapping software, as well as a first field run of the Guache I rover. On the way back, the crew stopped on two more locations to perform the same activities, taking aerial footage, and testing the Guache I rover performance over different types of terrain. The expedition never left the main road for more than 20 meters. No halophile samples were taken, because no relevant sites were found during the expedition. The batteries of the rovers were discharged, and in particular, opportunity dropped to 55% during the traverse. The crew entered the airlock at 13:55 and finished the EVA.

No incident or anomaly was sustained during the EVA.

POSTED ONJANUARY 26, 2018
EVA Report – January 25th
EVA Report for 25Jan2018

Author: Oscar Ojeda

Start time: 10:00

End time: 15:00

Purpose of EVA: Aerial mapping of terrain, testing of long-range EVA protocols, testing of temperature regulation vest, Collection of possible halophile samples.

Destination: Candor Chasma

Coordinates: 520500 E, 4251000 N

Participants: Atila, Luis and David and Tania

Narrative: The exploration team left the Hab at 10:35. Being the last exploration for the majority of the crew, they were willing to go to the depths of Candor Chasma and conquer it. They took the 4 ATVs and advanced on the main route until arriving at Galileo Road 1104 with the intention of entering the canyon from an area near the intersection between Stream Bed Connector and Cactus Road. Not being able to visualize Stream Bed Connector, the expedition team arrived Mountain Goat Trail and returned by the same way to find Stream Bed. Apparently, no one has used this path for a long time and it was impossible to find. Because of that, the expedition team returned to Galileo Road, and had a short communication with the Hab. They decided to advance approximately half a kilometer in the direction of Cactus Road and stop. They walked almost 10 minutes and found a perfect entrance for Candor Chasma. At 12:03 they entered into the depths of such majestic beast and advanced for 50 minutes. They found traces of Martian species that resemble terrestrial antelopes, but they had no encounter with any living species. At 12:55 they decided to take the road back and were ready to return home at 1:43 pm. The way back happened without incident and they arrived at the Hab 14:20.

No incident or anomaly was sustained during the EVA.

POSTED ONJANUARY 26, 2018
EVA Report – January 26th
EVA Report for 26Jan2018

Author: Oscar Ojeda

Start time: 10:00

End time: 15:00

Purpose of EVA: Aerial mapping of terrain, testing of long-range EVA protocols, testing of temperature regulation vest, Collection of possible halophile samples, Testing of the Guache Rover.

Destination: Unnamed zone on 1101 marker, west of Cow Dung Road, near white rock canyon

Coordinates: 519000 E, 4247500 N

Participants: Danton, Oscar, Tania, and Cynthia

Narrative: Today we were going to a place that was never explored by a crew before, and we took out our official pet, the Porg, with us. The crew left the airlock at 10:35 and headed south in 4 ATVs, upon finding the pole 1101 trough Cow Dung road, after about half an hour of traverse, we proceeded to drive into a road that hasn’t been used in a long while. The Road was very harsh, and we had to go very slow, so we decided to name the road “Despacito Rd”. Upon arriving we found several areas to explore, each one as beautiful as the other. Then is was when we realized that it was our last exploration EVA, and our goodbye from Mars. We walked through a canyon, which we decided to name Porg Canyon. The area is very rich geologically, with several sedimentary deposits, as well as clast rocks. There was also evidence of herbivore animals. The crew walked for 2 hours in the canyon and returned to the ATVs, starting the road home. Midway, the crew stopped in a rocky plain to test the functionality of the Guache Rover, using a wheel that was 3D printed in metal by the company ITAMCO, and designed with Purdue University. After that the crew resumed the way home, entering the airlock at 14:45.

No incident or anomaly was sustained during the EVA.

POSTED ONJANUARY 24, 2018
EVA Report – January 23rd
EVA Report for 23Jan2018

Author: Oscar Ojeda

Purpose of EVA: Aerial mapping of terrain, testing of long-range EVA protocols, and long-range operation test of Cóndor Space Suit Simulator, Collection of possible halophile samples.

Participants: Oscar, Cynthia, Tania, and Danton

Coordinates: 518500 E, 4256500 N

Narrative: Two EVAs were undertaken today, the second one consisted on driving through Cow Dung Road to discharge the battery od each of the new rovers, to increase their battery life. The crew departed at 16:00 and was returning at the hab at 17:00. One of the crewmember’s radio was drained during the return, so he took the center position in the formation, for safety.

The first EVA took a crew of 4 to Lith canyon. The goals of the EVA were attained. The crew left the airlock at 10:35, securing the elements to the ATVs and taking the specified route, taking Cow Dung road north. The crew arrived at the entrance of the Special Region and struggled for about half an hour to find the entrance to the rest of the road, which is not easily visible. After finding the entrance the crew proceeded with the rest of the vehicle road, taking Lith Canyon Road to it’s end. At this point, the ATVs were left and the crew started walking up a hill to have a better visual of the area and plan the next exploration steps. Aerial footage was also taken from the Drone. Walking exploration of Lith canyon was undertaken, walking west from the position where the ATVs were parked. The crew walked towards the western wall of the canyon, departing after into the eastern limit, where aerial footage was gathered. The zone presented a significant amount of cactus and hervibore presence evidence. The crew started the return walk by 14:05, arriving to the ATVs by 14:45. The ATVs were boarded, and the road back resumed. On the way back, a sample of soil containing salt deposits was taken for further analysis for Halophiles. The crew arrived to the hab at 15:35, ending the EVA.

POSTED ONJANUARY 22, 2018
EVA Report – January 22nd
This is the report for today’s EVA

Purpose of EVA: Primary: Long-range EVA protocol testing, Sample collection for possible Halophile identification, identification of relevant sampling sites, heating vest testing.

Secondary: Outreach and Educational graphic material collection. Relevant sample collection.

Participants: Atila, Danton, Luis, and David.

Coordinates: 517100 E, 4256400 N

Narrative: Today was the first long range EVA undertaken by the crew, and it was an eventful one, fortunately with a very happy ending. It is important to say that the temperature was a challenging element for the crew. The EVA started at 12:00 with the egress of the crew of four of the airlock. By pairs they boarded the two rovers and departed north by Cow Dung road, however, by the rapid discharge of the opportunity rover, the crew returned to the hab to rest, eat something, and take two ATVs instead of Opportunity. The EVA was resumed at 13:30 with a new egress of the crew, this time boarding Deimos and the 1 and 2 350 ATVs. The crew departed north until the north of Copernicus Hw, where they left the vehicles and started walking at 14:50. The crew walked about 15 minutes to a valley(38° 27.448N 110° 48.031W) and stayed there for about 5 minutes, where they took the route back, taking relevant samples in the way, as well as aerial footage(38° 27.0021N 110°48.565W). There were a lot of hervibore prints as well. While on Brahe Hwy the battery meter of Deimos suddenly started dropping fast, taking about 5 minutes to go from 71% to 26% charge, as reported by the Engineering officer. The crew decided to switch positions to reduce the weight, and kept going, however the charge kept dropping. The crew decided to walk along the vehicle, and afterwards to push it. The crew followed this procedure for 50 minutes. Afterwards they took the jumping cables (for battery charging) and pulled the rover with one of the ATVs until they were in sight of the crew in the hab. Unfortunately, the cables broke, and it was impossible to pull the rover further. At that point the crew was already 45 minutes above the closing time of the EVA window, and director Shannon went out to help them. The crew broke simulation, towed and pushed the rover up to the habitat and made an ingress to the hab, out of sim.

They were greeted with hot cocoa and blankets by the rest of the crew, who were happy to see them again.

POSTED ONJANUARY 21, 2018
EVA Report – January 21st
Purpose of EVA: Primary: Mid-range testing of the Cóndor Space Suit Simulator, Mid-range EVA protocol testing, Sample collection for possible Halophile identification, further exploration of El Dorado Canyon.

Secondary: Outreach and Educational graphic material collection. Relevant sample collection.

Participants: Oscar, Luis, David, and Tania.

Narrative: Today marked the last of the mid-range EVAs programmed, leading to longer and even more interesting exploration. The weather was favorable, but windy. The crew donned the suits and exited the airlock at 12:30, the four crewmembers then boarded the Rovers Spirit and Opportunity and followed the path planned, towards El Dorado canyon. After approximately 25 minutes of traverse, and after passing Robert’s Rock Garden, the Rovers were parked on the side of the road, and the expedition started walking with Southeast course, towards the entrance of the canyon, upon finishing the rocky plains, two crewmembers had to return to the Rover, given that the aerial drone was left behind. Upon reuniting, the crew resumed the traverse until the entrance of the canyon. More herbivore and cougar prints were found in the area, but not as fresh as on the previous EVA to the canyon. The crew entered the canyon and followed the dry riverbed. Along this path, water samples were taken, aerial footage with the drone, as well as traditional photography. The crew followed the path until the eastern exit of the canyon, heading south to meet Cow Dung road again. However, the sampling sites that were found during the firs EVA to the area were not found, since they probably belong to a subsidiary structure, south of El Dorado canyon. It is suggested that further detailed mapping of this area is undertaken, to identify all the morphologies present. While returning through Cow Dung road, heading north, a crewmember’s cell phone (used as a compass and camera) was lost, so a search formation was done, and the crew headed south, being able to find the device, and resuming the walk back north. The walk lasted about 25 minutes, reuniting with the Rovers and heading back to the habitat. The EVA ended at 15:20 with the ingress of the crew from the airlock to the habitat.

The aerial footage is being processed, as well as the performance of the Cóndor Space Suit Simulator, which will be subjected to detailed inspection tomorrow.

The only incident related with the EVA was the lost and recovery of the cell phone.

POSTED ONJANUARY 19, 2018
EVA Report – January 18th
Crew 187 EVA Report 19JAN2018

Good evening Mission Support…!! Here is the EVA Report for 19JAN2018.

Purpose of EVA: Aerial mapping of MDRS campus

Participants: Danton, and Cynthia

Narrative: Today the crew had a short EVA. All the main goals were successfully attained. The EVA consisted of taking aerial and ground footage of the MDRS campus. The images were taken by the Spark drone used by the crew. The footage was taken at altitudes of 20, 25, 40 and 50 meters above ground level. Images will be provided with the daily reports. The EVA window requested was 2 hours, but the activity lasted 35 minutes. The two members of the expedition were using Exo Suits.

No incident or anomaly was sustained during the EVA.

Thank you so much…!!

Oscar Ojeda – EVA Officer

POSTED ONJANUARY 18, 2018
EVA Report – January 18th
Purpose of EVA: Aerial mapping of terrain, testing of mid-range EVA protocols, and mid-range operation test of Cóndor Space Suit Simulator.

Participants: Atila, Cynthia, Danton, and Oscar

Narrative: Today we had a successful and interesting EVA, attaining all the main goals, as well as a secondary goal. The crew left the airlock at 13:15. It was the first of an intended set of mid to long range of explorations in the area of MDRS. The crew donned the suits, consisting on 3 Exo suits and the Cóndor Space Suit Simulator. The target area was a canyon located south east from the habitat, which has not been much explored. Given the fact that this canyon has not been named, crew 187 decided to propose for it the name of El Dorado Canyon. A crew of 4 departed in two Rovers, Curiosity and Deimos, going south from the habitat through Cow Dung Road. After a traverse of approximately 15 minutes, passing Robert’s Rock Garden, the crew parked the vehicles and started walking east towards the entrance of the canyon. After traversing a rocky but flat terrain, the crew arrived at the southern edge of the zone, entering the dry riverbed by a small slope, which was found by following prints of a herbivore animal. Upon arrival, the crew started walking East, following the riverbed, quickly finding several elements of interest for future exploration, such as dry salt deposits, which could harbor extremophile microorganisms, frozen ponds, and sedimentary and clastic geological structures. These structures were present during all the traverse, being even more relevant towards the deepest segments. When the crew had made a walk of about 20 minutes from the ridge, a small pond was found, and the observation was made that it was probable to find wild animals around, which was confirmed by finding several prints of was probably a pack of herbivores, also a carnivore feline print was found, which we assume, belonged to a Mountain Lion. The print was presumably fresh, of at most hours, which made the crew to decide to stop the walking exploration, send the drone a few hundred meters ahead, and proceed to return, following the same path. A few samples of rocks with salt deposits were recovered and stored. Unfortunately, upon landing, the drone’s camera mount engine was locked, and the issue is being assessed by Danton. At the arrival to the ridge, the crew started walking West, to find the main road and the Rovers to head back to the habitat. During this walk a coral fossil was found and retrieved. The crew arrived to the Rovers and headed back to the MDRS campus. Upon arrival the Cóndor Space Suit proceeded to the airlock, due to the fact that the battery was drained, and it could represent a hazard to operations. The rest of the crew made a short excursion inside the RAM module to inspect the contents related to the HSO, as well as to store the cage for the Curiosity rover. The EVA ended at 15:55.

We also noticed that the coordinates given by the map do not match the ones provided by the GPS equipment available in the lab, we’d like to further explore this issue.

No incident or anomaly was sustained during the EVA.

Oscar Ojeda – EVA Officer

POSTED ONJANUARY 16, 2018
EVA Report – January 16th
Purpose of EVA: Collecting regolith samples for use on science projects (15kg, Atila and David)

Participants: Atila, David, Luis, and Oscar

Narrative: Today’s EVA was fortunately a short one, the most time you spend out in Mars, the most risk you have of suffering an incident, and safety comes first, despite of the always breathtaking views that you get. All the goals of the EVA were successfully attained. On a particular note, the excursion leader, Oscar, used the flexible segment of the Condor Space Suit Simulator, in combination with the Exo Suit. The requested EVA window was of two hours, with previous knowledge that it would last under an hour, planning for possible issues arising. At 9:15 the crewmembers started getting ready in the lower deck, donning the flight suits, as well as the accessories, such as radios and snoopy caps, the required elements for the activity were taken, mainly consisting of sealable bags, 3 shovels, and a bucket. Afterwards the crew proceeded to decompression protocols in the airlock, egressing the Habitat main door at 9:51. The crew proceeded to walk towards the base of Overlook Ridge, on its Northeast segment, where 10 full bags of regolith were collected, as well as a full bucket, all containing around 16kg of soil samples. The samples were then moved to the side of the hab, and after requesting permission, moved into the airlock. The crew sustained depressurization procedures, and then proceeded to doffing.

No incident or anomaly was sustained during the EVA.

Thank you,

Oscar Ojeda

POSTED ONJANUARY 15, 2018
EVA Report – January 15th
Purpose of EVA: Space Suit activity recognition and Assessment of in-suit performance

Participants:

EVA 1: Atila, Danton, Oscar, Cynthia

EVA 2: Atila, Luis, David, Tania

Narrative: The crew conducted the first EVA set of activities today, and it was a huge success, whit all the objectives completed. The main goal of the EVA was to get all the crewmembers a first approach to external operations, and to test the main tools we would be using from now on, on each of the projects. The EVA was designed to also test the performance of the crewmembers with the gear on, to plan better the next EVAs, and assignments. Both crews performed the same routine, with small variations. The routine began by the donning of the suits, proceeding to enter the airlock, 5 minute depressurization, and going out in front of the hab. From there, the group took a straight route until the south of Marble Ritual, try the quadcopter operation, and the shovels for sampling. Upon return to the hab area, the crew left some of the equipment back and mounted the vehicles, 3 ATVs and the Curiosity Rover. It is important to clear that the requested Rover was Deimos, but the designated driver in EVA 1, Danton, would not fit inside of it, requiring the use of the one without safety cage. In order to keep the same protocols, EVA 2 used the same Rover. The next route was traversed by vehicle and took the crew to Pooh’s Corner, where a second brief walk was undertaken, towards a small mound on the East of Cow Dung Road. Afterwards the crew returned to the vicinity of the hab to perform the last test, which consisted of making summit of Overlook Ridge. The crew then returned to the airlock, sustained repressurization, and upon entry to the hab, proceeded to doffing protocols.

Each crewmember was interviewed upon finalization of the doffing on qualitative, and quantitative factors, as well as general comments on the performance of themselves on the suit. Further comment on this will be posted on the final report.

Oscar Ojeda

EVA Officer – Crew 187

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/category/eva-report/page/15/ Source]

Crew 188 EVA Reports

2019-03-24T18:15:39Z

NathanielFromMars: Created page with "Category:EVA Missions POSTED ONFEBRUARY 9, 2018 EVA Report – February 9th Crew 188 EVA #14 Summary Report 09FEB2018 Author’s name: Julia DeMarines, Crew Astronomer,..."

[[Category:EVA Missions]]

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 9, 2018
EVA Report – February 9th
Crew 188 EVA #14 Summary Report 09FEB2018

Author’s name: Julia DeMarines, Crew Astronomer, Green Hab Operator

Purpose of EVA: To perform additional video filming using either the GoPRO or Insta360 PRO camera on the ridge around the Hab. While walking, we will collect rock and plant samples for in-situ chlorophyll samples for analysis.

Location of EVA: Hab Ridge UDM27 Coordinates: 12S, 5175750E, 54250500N

Number of EVA Crew: 3

 

Participants: Ryan Kobrick, Sarah Jane Pell, Julia DeMarines

EVA Commander: Julia DeMarines   

Road(s) and routes per MDRS map: 

1) Exit Hab and head to the hills directly west to the Hab

2) Walk to the Sagan Road 

3) Climb to summit Hab Ridge

4) Follow the road on Hab Ridge Road as time allows

Mode of Travel: Walking

Vehicles you will be using (if applicable): None.

Duration: 2 hours 41 minutes 

EVA Departure Time: 10:26 

EVA Return Time: 13:07

Summary:

We left the hab a little after the predicted time due to two last minute bathroom needs. The weather was sunny with some haze and no wind. The crew soon felt overheated, helmets/glasses were fogging up and had to stop frequently to let the sun burn off the fog. Once on the ridge, Julia selected two sites for chlorophyll detection samples, and Sarah Jane set up her Insta360º Pro camera for three different shots. Ryan recorded the journey on a GoPro camera to document the experience. Once our objectives were accomplished we turned around and walked back to the hab.

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 9, 2018
EVA Report – February 9th
EVA #15 EVA Report 09Feb2018

Author’s name: Tatsunari Tomiyama AHFP, Health & Safety Officer

Purpose of EVA: To collect micrometeorite soil samples at the Tooth Ridge and take photo and video for the mission documentary.

Location of EVA: Toothy Ridge

UDM27 Coordinates: 12 S, 516871 E, 4255884 N

Number of EVA Crew: 3

Participants: Zac Trolley, Tatsunari Tomiyama, Renee Garifi

EVA Commander: Renee Garifi

Rovers used: ATV

1, 2, 3

Duration: 1hours 29minutes

EVA Departure Time: 14:16

EVA Return Time: 15:45

Summary:

The objective of this EVA was to collect meteorite samples at the toothy ridge. We prepared and entered the airlock in timely manner. However, all crew members have issues breathing while walking. Therefore, we decided to return to avoid a critical incident. The details on our breathing issues for crew members will be reported in the operation report. Please reference the operation issue report as a detailed summary.

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 9, 2018
EVA Report – February 8th
EVA #13 EVA Summary Follow-up 08Feb2018

Start Time: 10:20

End Time: 13:40

Purpose of EVA: To reconnaissance of Candor Chasma for future EVA mission planning.

Destination: Candor Chasma

UDM27 Coordinates: 12 S 520217 E, 4251607 N

Participants: Ryan Kobrick, Zac Trolley, Sara Jane Pell

Road(s) and routes per MDRS map:

1. Take the entrance road (Driving)

2. Turn left Cow Dung Road (Driving)

3. Turn right Galileo Road (Driving)

4. Turn right Cactus Road (Driving)

5. Park on Cactus Road and walk to the Candor Chasma

6. Return by the same routes.

Mode of Travel: Rover and Pedestrian

Vehicles you will be using (if applicable): Sprit and Opportunity

Mode of travel: Walking and Driving Vehicles used: Curiosity and Spirit

Since EVA – 13 , several analogue astronauts (of varying height, neck/head girth, lung capacity and fitness) could only maintain a maximal breathing rate for a maximum of a couple of minutes before exhaustion would cause them to reduce their breathing rate, forcing them to suspend their activity, to mitigate CO2 build-up and low visibility condensation/fog inside the helmet. We found that several crew were experiencing the effects of low-oxygen and high-CO2 build up while performing mild walking, even driving vehicles, in warm conditions with low wind.

I t is our assumption that the ambient wind plays a big role in circulating the air within the helmet, and when there is no wind, the internal fans to not have sufficient flow to perform an air exchange at the same rate as the crew members’ breathing level. The fans in the MDRS Analogue Astronaut suits produce 200 Cubic Feet per Minute – this measurement is based on an unencumbered and unrestricted output.

This afternoon we did a full survey of the suit s and their function, and found a systemic fault in the suits. Four of the six suits were running on only one fan. The fan that was on the switch side of the suit has their blades bent and would not rotate. In some cases the fans could be dislodged, and in others the blades were permanently bent. The LEDS still light up, and (half the air) air still flow s through both tubes, so this design flaw was not found until now.

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 8, 2018
EVA Report – February 7th
EVA #12
Author’s name: Dr. Sarah Jane Pell, Artist-in-Residence, Journalist

Purpose of EVA: To create a photo and video tribute to the international Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea utilizing VR education and to connect our Artist in Residence’s Performing Astronautics work with our crew’s backup Commander Dr. Soyeon Yi, South Korean Astronaut.

Location of EVA: South of Marble Ritual (walking), Pooh’s corner (vehicle)
UDM27 Coordinates: 518800 E, 4250600 N

Number of EVA Crew: 4
Participants: Zac Trolley, Sarah Jane Pell, Julia De Marines, Renee Garifi
EVA Commander: Renee Garifi

Road(s) and routes per MDRS map:
1. Take East on Entrance Road (Driving)
2. Turn Left onto Cow Dung Road (Driving)
3. Park on Cow Dung Road at Marble Ritual
4. Walk to filming location in field

Mode of Travel: Rover and Pedestrian
Vehicles you will be using (if applicable): Curiosity, Spirit, and Deimos

Summary:
During the breakfast and EVA briefings, Dr. Pell prepared the crew with the design of the tasks including choreography, staging, camera set up, the sequence of required shots, and all equipment required on site. The Crew prepared themselves by taking photos with our national flags, and then Mars Flag, then playing an orchestral recording of the official Mars Anthem “Rise to Mars”. Mumbai, India-born opera singer Oscar Castellino, composed the uplifting score, with inspirational words co-written by Castellino and Mars Society President Dr. Robert Zubrin.

As the EVA #12 team arrived at the Marble Ritual site, Pell initiated a series of challenges to inform research into Performing Astronautics. The team activities included the Insta360º Pro (a.k.a. Magpie) recording from 6 camera lenses in 4K 360 Pano. The crew performed to the camera, as it represented multiple vantages for the potential audience: as if they commanded an amphitheatre or arena, on Mars, and in direct live-stream via VR to Earth.

The first task was to install a Martian “eternal flame”. After consultation with the public, José Cordeiro, Energy advisor to the Singularity University, suggested that we create a Solar Flame (of course). We achieved this by fashioning a silver survival blanket into the shape of a flaming plume and seated it aloft one of the Marble Ritual dishes. It glistened like a beacon of hope, emitting warmth and representing our symbol of eternal peace among nations, and planets.

The Crew then gathered for the Opening Ceremony tribute. First, we processed around the Insta360 Pro behind the official flag-bearer of the Martian National Flag [Zac Trolley, Engineer] and assembled in front of the Eternal Flame. Then nation-by-nation, we processed around the Magpie, to stand as the anthem played behind the Australian, Japan, Canadian, and United States flags. All of these scenes will be overlaid during post-production and editing so that in total, the four-person crew will serve simultaneously as the official 20 person delegation from many nations.

Let the games begin!

The first activity was a relay race around the arena. Each crew-member ran a leg of the race around the Magpie, and passed glowing batons between them without incident. The analogue astronauts made it through to the finals, and huddles over the Insta360 Pro to review their time trials discuss tactics and mentally prepare for the finals. Their preparation paid off. There was great jubilation as Renee Garifi crossed through the yellow ribbon finish line!

After earning an excellent score for her dark and expressive ribbon routine, United States’ Renee Garifi became the individual rhythmic gymnastics Mars Olympic champion with the perfect score of 10:10. Another memorable performance, Zac Trolley of Canada delivered a mesmerizing routine incorporating more dance elements than artistic floor exercise, only to botch the final ribbon toss, and fall to the ground gasping for air. He was quickly attended by officials and given oxygen on site. Later his coaches explained that he is fully recovered and was keen to defend his reigning title.

Given the altered gravity and range of climatic conditions on Mars, the Official Interplanetary Olympic Committee decided to include a long jump in both Mars Winter and Summer athletics. The men’s long jump has been included in Earth’s Olympic athletics since the first Summer Olympics in 1896. The women’s long jump was introduced over fifty years later in 1948 and was the second Olympic jumping event for women after the high jump, which was added in 1928.

On Mars, there is no gender divide. With a pressure-packed jump, Dr. Sarah Jane Pell representing Australia was the first to make the leap across the red regolith, and she made it straight to the finals. She ended up with the Silver medal on her penultimate jump with a mark of18.37 meters.

At the end of a great day at the Marble Ritual arena, all medal winners stood on the podium to a jubilant crowd, their hearts on their chests as the national anthem played in the afternoon sun.

While Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson tweeted up a storm in 2012 by asking his followers, "How about a Mars Olympics?, we celebrate the human spirit with our speculative fiction for a future Mars Olympiad, with the dual purpose of exploring the range of movement and performance expression with the MDRS life support suits in this analogue terrain.

By today’s technological and biological standards, all athletes would be suffocated by the Martian atmosphere and frozen by the extreme temperatures, however, the MDRS EVA-12 helped us fashion a sense of play and performance experimentation based on coming together to work collectively in the spirit of exploration. It also provided a springboard for connecting audiences with the VR outreach opportunity to explore how they might fare with 38% of gravity.

Perhaps we would finally crack the code to human flight. Until then, Crew 188 send our very best wishes to all the nations of planet Earth coming together in peaceful competition for Earth’s 2018 international Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 6, 2018
EVA Report – February 6th
Crew 188 EVA #10 Summary Report 06FEB2018
Author’s name: Julia DeMarines, Crew Astronomer, Green Hab Operator

Purpose of EVA: Filming of artistic Performing Astronautics and Bending Horizons projects using the Insta360 Pro Camera.

Location of EVA: RC South Site Region
UDM27 Coordinates: 12 S 518293 E 4249791 N (waypoint taken on EVA009)

Number of EVA Crew: 3
Participants: Zac Trolley, Sarah Jane Pell, Julia DeMarines
EVA Commander: Sarah Jane Pell

Road(s) and routes per MDRS map:
1. Take East on Entrance Road (Driving)
2. Turn Right onto Cow Dung Road (Driving)
3. Park on Cow Dung Road behind filming area ridge
4. Walk to filming location in field

Mode of Travel: Rover and Pedestrian
Vehicles you will be using (if applicable): Curiosity and Spirit

Summary:

EVA #10 arrived at our destination to the filming location on a very windy morning. We scouted the area out making sure this is where we wanted to film and if we could find a more wind-protected area to shield the Insta360º Pro camera. After some scouting we decided that the original location was ultimately the best location for Sarah Jane’s performance art. We discussed the choreography, set up the camera and then began recording. The first take was a success!

After completing Sarah Jane’s Performing Astronautics piece recorded using the Insta360º Pro, lovingly called Magpie, EVA 10 performed a science experiment in honor of the Falcon Heavy launch today. Julia acquired two small pop-top containers (that were once used for electrolyte tablets) and several alka-seltzer tablets. When small chunks of the alka-seltzer tablets are mixed with water in a closed container, gas builds up as does pressure. It took a few tries to get the ratio of water, air, and tablets correct, but once we did, we were able to launch our “Falcon Light” mini rockets! Our landing was not as graceful as the Falcon Heavy’s boosters returning in sync but we do believe our successful launch was 100% responsible for the success of the launch today as pop-rockets are known for their good luck and scientific opulence.

We will send photos and videos tomorrow.

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 6, 2018
EVA Report – February 6th
Crew 188 EVA #11 Summary Report 6FEB2018

Author’s name: Tatsunari Tomiyama AHFP, Health & Safety Officer Purpose of EVA: Reconnaissance of “Moon” region near Brache Hwy 1572 for future 360 filming and micrometeorite samples in vicinity nears roads travelled.
Location of EVA: Copernicus Highway 1574 waypoints and Skyline Ridge as time permits.
UDM27 Coordinates: 12 S 515404E, 4253907N

Number of EVA Crew: 3
Participants: Ryan Kobrick Tatsunari Tomiyama, Renee Garifi
EVA Commander: Ryan Kobrick

Rovers used: ATV 1, 2, 3
Duration: 2hours 23minutes
EVA Departure Time: 14:03
EVA Return Time: 16:26

Summary:
The objective of this EVA was to create EVA way-points for a future mission. We started to prepare EVA #11 before the EVA #10 group arrived back to the base to maximize EVA activity time because we expected that the destination point could be far away than our planning expectation. We used 3 ATVs for this reconnaissance mission. Brahe Highway was relatively easy to navigate using GPS but has many large bumps and pits in the road and required us to go slowly during this part of the route. However, once people have experience, this issue could be negligible. Overall, the objective was successfully completed in this EVA activity although our Garmin GPS unit battery was running low due to use on both EVA #10 and EVA #11.

Following our micrometeorite sample collections on a flat hilltop, we took Brahe Highway to the right on the Copernicus Highway and headed to east. We passed “Yellow Moon” indicated on the MDRS provided map. At that point, we returned back the Copernicus highway toward west. We could drive nearby Toothy Ridge on the Copernicus Highway and we decided to return to the base because of the time restriction.

On the way back to the base, we passed a grey unmarked electric rover parked about 4 minutes north of the Hab on Cow Dung Road. The vehicle was the same color and the same type which we use for MDRS. There was no person around the vehicle and no name was labeled on the vehicle. We took a photo in case mission support would like to see the vehicle. It may be the personal rover of Dr. Rupert but we would like to confirm.

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 5, 2018
EVA Report – February 5th
Crew 188 EVA #9 Summary Report 05FEB2018
Author’s name: Julia DeMarines, Crew Astronomer, Green Hab Operator

Purpose of EVA: Scouting of Crew 187’s recommended exploration area for chlorophyll sample collection and potential site for artistic Performing Astronautics and Bending Horizons projects using the Insta360 Pro Camera.

Location of EVA: “Despacito Rd” via 1101 off of Cow Dung Road UDM27 Coordinates: 519000 E, 4247500 N (the crew has mapped out several waypoints along potential path for confirmation)

Number of EVA Crew: 3
Participants: Ryan Kobrick (EVA CDR), Sarah Jane Pell, Julia DeMarines EVA Commander: Ryan Kobrick

Road(s) and routes per MDRS map:
1. Take East on Entrance Road (Driving)
2. Turn Right into Cow Dung Road (Driving)
3. Turn right on Crew 187’s “Despacito Rd” at 1101 marker (Driving) 4. Park at the end of the road near fence/gate
6. Resume walking towards West
7. Return by the same route

Mode of Travel: ATV and Pedestrian
Vehicles you will be using (if applicable): Blue ATVs 1, 2, 3, and Red ATV 4 Rovers used: None
Duration: 2 hours 41 minutes
EVA Departure Time: 10:26
EVA Return Time: 13:07

Summary:

We started up our ATV’s and drove staggered to our first waypoint at the intersection of Cow Dung road and “Despacito Rd” at the 1101 marker. Despacito Rd was much rockier than Cow Dung Rd and we advanced with caution around some high slope and eroded out areas. All four of us made it to our destination safely and parked the ATV’s. Next we walked around and explored the region for suitable spots for Dr. Sarah Jane Pell’s Performing Astronautics and Bending Horizons projects. Sarah Jane found a central spot to set up her Insta360º Pro camera and we recorded about 10 minutes of footage of the crew playing with bubbles at varying distances and heights around the camera. This made an excellent test run for Sarah Jane’s project, which she hopes to begin record tomorrow. Julia DeMarines collected several green samples for her Chlorophyll project.

Once the team was satisfied with their collections, footage, and exploration, we decided to head back home. This was not a difficult decision to make, as it was the hottest day on “Mars” since we arrived, and we were all feeling the heat. Not because we are all (obviously) outstandingly attractive but because the spherical helmet has a way of amplifying the Sun’s rays and we were wearing more than one layer of clothing. On the way back on Cow Dung Rd we stopped at a site of interest that we saw on the way out which looked like another excellent area for Sarah Jane’s Performing Astronautics and Bending Horizons project. We got off of our ATV’s and explored around for 10 minutes finding an even better location for filming. We marked a waypoint on Ryan’s GPS and headed back to the base. Once we had arrived we filled up the gas tanks on the ATV’s while we were waiting for Ryan’s dust project to be ready in the airlock. At 13:07 we entered the airlock, at 13:12 we entered the Hab, and at 13:31 we officially ended EVA #9 after removing our equipment, plugging them in, and cleaning our helmets. We will consider dressing lighter underneath our flight suits on future hot days as it was 20ºC by the time we returned.

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 4, 2018
EVA Report – February 4th
Crew 188 EVA #8 Summary Report 4FEB2018

Author’s name: Tatsunari Tomiyama AHFP, Health & Safety Officer

Purpose of EVA: Collecting soil samples for the micrometeorite investigation and for chlorophyll sample collection on the Hab Ridge Road and Hab View.

Location of EVA: Hab Ridge

UDM27 Coordinates: 5175750E 54250500N

Number of EVA Crew: 3

Participants: Tatsunari Tomiyama, Julia DeMarines, Renee Garifi

EVA Commander: Tatsunari Tomiyama

Rovers used: None

Duration: 2 hours 22minutes

EVA Departure Time: 10:21am

EVA Return Time: 12:43pm

Summary:

For this EVA, we followed the same foot pathway used on EVA#7. We tried to get to the same locations to collect samples for our micrometeorite investigation and for chlorophyll sampling. The EVA request originally stated we would take 4 hours. However, we planned in the briefing to shorten the length because the path was previously walked. The EVA was successfully completed and we collected samples during this EVA.

The EVA started at 10:21. The weather outside the Hab was nice and windy in this morning. There was no major issue climbing to the Hab Ridge Road. One crew member reported a minor headache at the top and rested for a while because the condition was due to the exercise. After contacting to the HabCOM around the north Hab view, we decided to stay 1 hour to collect samples for research which was a shorter time then we planned in our request. We performed the bubble experiment at both Hab view locations (south and north). On the way back to the Hab, we collected some trash nearby the Hab. Overall, we succeeded in our planned objectives.

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 3, 2018
EVA Report – February 3rd
EVA #7

Author’s name: Tatsunari Tomiyama AHFP, Health & Safety Officer

Number of EVA crew: 3

Participants: Sarah Jane Pell, Zac Trolley, and Tatsunari Tomiyama
EVA Commander: Sarah Jane Pell

Purpose of EVA: To get dirty and gather data for the dust study. (Primary Objective) To scout the rim for future EVA missions and observe the area from a high vantage point. (Secondary Objective)

Location of EVA: Hab Ridge, Skyline Rim
UDM27 Coordinates: 5175750E 54250500N

Rovers used: None
Duration: 2 hours 11minutes
EVA Departure Time: 13:30
EVA Return Time: 16:19

Summary:

There were two objectives for this EVA. Primary objective was to collect data for dust study for NASA and secondary objective was to make more waypoints for future EVA studies. Both objectives were successfully completed.

We had difficulty to find 11:03 road on the way to get Skyline Rim. However, we climbed slopes to get the road while carefully monitoring each other. While climbing, residence-in-artist, Sarah Jane Pell, filmed our activity using bubble.

I am assuming this report will be in journalist report today. After arrived on the Hab Ridge Road, we walked to the South Hab viewpoint and found some animal footprints.

After HABCOM confirmed that we arrived at the objective points and took some photos, we returned to the Hab Ridge Road. We tried to search for the original pathway which is 11:03 and we could found the road.

Then we safely returned.

On the way back to the Hab, we collected some garbage on the past river prints and saw an unknown vehicle as mentioned in the report before.

Dust data collection was performed when we returned to the Hab.

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 3, 2018
EVA Report – February 3rd
EVA #6

Author’s name: Renee Garifi, Executive Officer

Number of EVA Crew: 3
Participants: Ryan Kobrick, Renee Garifi, Julia De Marines
EVA Commander: Renee Garifi

Location: Lith Canyon and Goblins
UDM27 Coordinates: 519500E, 4256500N

Rovers used: Deimos and Curiosity
Duration: 3 hours, 11 minutes
EVA Departure Time: 10:18
EVA Return Time: 13:29

Summary:

We drove north on Cow Dung Road to Lith Canyon where we collected hilltop soil samples for the astrobiological micrometeorite investigation and hunted the lower areas for chlorophyll samples to collect. Along the way, we mapped our route using Garmin GPS waypoint drops for archive and analysis of sample collection spots. Both objectives were successfully completed. The final waypoint took the crew to the Goblins site to investigate the area for potential future sampling and video.

We left the airlock at 10:18 and departed for our driving route with Renee and Ryan riding in the Deimos rover and Julia following in Curiosity. At 10:33, we passed Cowboy’s Corner and reached the out-of-range point for the long-range radios. Once in the target area of Lith Canyon, we parked the rovers and proceeded by foot to the Goblins site.

We took photos and videos and collected some scientific samples of rock, soil and small green leaves and rocks for chlorophyll analysis. We also shot some photos and videos for our documentary and enjoyed the breathtaking view from the higher points.

We worked as a team to carefully navigate the rough terrain and slowed our pace when the team was showing signs of fatigue. We opted to skip the Marble Ceremony stop on the way back to the Hab in order to save time and departed Lith Canyon to return to the Hab.

We checked back in with HABCOM at 13:04 when we were back in radio range. We completed the EVA at 13:29.

EVA was a success.

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 2, 2018
EVA Report – February 2nd
Crew 188 EVA #5 Report 2FEB2018

Author’s name: Tatsunari Tomiyama AHFP, Health & Safety Officer

Purpose of EVA: To perform waypoint data collection of North to Galileo road and scout for future EVA sights

Location of EVA: Galileo Road, and Cactus Road

UDM27 Coordinates: 518800 E, 4250600 N and 519200 E, 4252000 N

Number of EVA Crew: 3

Participants: Julia De Marines, *Sarah Jane Pell, and Tatsunari Tomiyama

*Sarah Jane subbed in for Renee due to assessing her fatigue level in the morning and determining she needed to rest and postpone her EVA to tomorrow.

EVA Commander: Tatsunari Tomiyama

Rovers used: Spirit and Curiosity

Duration: 2 hours

EVA Departure Time: 10:50am

EVA Return Time: 12:45pm

Summary:

We were delayed in our start time for this EVA due to having to re-suit Julia in an alternate EVA suit due to suit #2 having a broken switch. The EVA objective was to collect waypoint data for future EVA sights. This EVA expected and planned to collect waypoints for Galileo Road, and several points on the Cactus Road. Overall, we successfully completed the waypoint data collection on the Cactus Road and Galileo Road.

There were 4 check points on the Cactus Road on the planning. However, we made 6 waypoints on the data collection in this EVA due to the clear visualization. We spent more time than we planned to return to the Hab due to the sample collection being performed at the waypoints.

We made 4 waypoints during this EVA. One is at Galileo Road with the Cow Dung Road as we were trained on driving ATV and rovers. Second waypoint was the intersection with Cactus Road on Galileo Road. This waypoint was relatively difficult to recognize the road visually. We went to the East on cactus Road first and made a waypoint at 11:04. Then, we turned back to the north on the Cactus Road. We stopped and made a waypoint at the entrance of Candor Chasma on Cactus road. We kept driving on Cactus Road to the north. We made a final planned waypoint to the Yellow Zebra Rd. Finally, we visited to the north end of the Cactus Road before reversing our route and returning to the Hab.

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 1, 2018
EVA Report – February 1st
Crew 188 EVA #4 Summary Report 1FEB2018

Author’s name: Ryan L. Kobrick, Ph.D., MDRS Crew 188 Commander

Purpose of EVA: To test human endurance on a pedestrian EVA to Phobos Peak and test the 360 video capture in the field.

Location of EVA: Phobos Peak Rock
UDM27 Coordinates: 519260 E, 4250260 N
Number of EVA Crew: 3
Participants: Julia DeMarines (EVA CDR), Sarah Jane Pell, and Ryan Kobrick EVA Commander: Julia DeMarines Rovers used: none

Duration: 4 hours 14 minutes
EVA Departure Time: 10:44am
EVA Return Time: 14:12pm

Summary:

The EVA had three primary objectives that were all completed today by the crew:
1 – sample potential “green” samples for Julia’s chlorophyll detection project with NASA Ames
2 – shoot Insta-360 Pro high definition footage for Sarah Jane’s Monash Immersive Visualization Platform project
3 – summit Phobos peak while collecting biometric data for Ryan’s EVA metrics study funded by Florida Space Research Program

The crew faced equipment challenges (see Sol 4 Summary Report) but was able to overcome and persevere to meet the mission goals. The investigators have high hopes for the data collected, but regardless experienced a true Martian adventure.

The crew walked to Phobos Peak with two stops to set up the 360 camera, one stop for sampling, and several stops for interesting formations. We summitted the mountain by scrambling up the West face (the side you can see form the Hab) with several safety stops to combat fogging and shoe repair issues. The international trio waved their 3 flags from the summit for a mini photoshoot from the Hab. On the walk back from the successful mission, the crew stopped for a rare opportunity to toss around a bouncy ball on Mars testing their reflexes, spacesuit glove dexterity and coordination. A radio was dropped near the end of the EVA, but using the GPS track the crew quickly recovered the valuable asset. [end]

POSTED ONJANUARY 30, 2018
EVA Report – January 30th
Crew 188 EVA #3 Summary Report 30 January 2018
EVA Date: 30 Jan 2018
Author: Tatsunari Tomiyama

Purpose of EVA: Ground truthing to establish way points for more accurate future missions, as well as to capture “B roll” of the terrain and us walking for use in video productions. A tertiary goal is to put hours on the rover batteries.

Location of EVA: Lith Canyon
UDM27 Coordinates: 518800 E, 4256500 N
Number of EVA Crew: 3
Crew Members Going on EVA: Ryan Kobrick (Commander), Zac Trolley (Crew Engineer) and Tatsunari Tomiyama (Health & Safety Officer)
EVA Commander: Tatsunari Tomiyama
Rovers used: SPIRIT and CURIOSITY
Rover usage: 2
EVA Duration: 3 hour 27 minutes
EVA Departure Time: 10:24am
EVA Return Time: 13:15pm

Time Check:
09:48 Prep Start + Simulation Start
10:16 Airlock
10:21 EVA Start
10:24 ATV Leave
12:30 Arrived Parking Lot
12:41 Additional near-hab duties, photos and videos
13:01 Airlock
13:15 EVA End

Summary: Our ground truthing reconnaissance was planned to explore the “Goblins” near Lith Canyon. However, we had some difficulty finding our GPS waypoints goals and spent a little more time than planned looking for checkpoints. The planned EVA route was to reach the “Goblins” by way of Cow Dung Road passing Pooh’s Corner and all the way to Lith Canyon Rd 1106. We reached the end of Lith Canyon Rd 1106, took photo and video documentation and began our return to the Hab. Additionally, data was collected for Dr. Kobrick’s EVA for a metrics study on human performance physiology and exploration metrics. We set up checkpoints on this EVA at the following locations: Cowboy Corner, Tank Wash, Intersection to Brahe Hwy 1572, intersection to the Quarry Rd, and the intersection to the Lith Canyon 1106.
On the return trip to the Hab, we collected samples of Gypsum between the intersection to the Brahe Hwy 1572 on the Pooh’s Corner and Tank Wash. We will consult with our crew scientist and mission support team to analyze the sample in the science lab. Once the rovers were parked, we walked around the Hab to get more photos before heading back into the airlock.

POSTED ONJANUARY 29, 2018
EVA Report – January 29th
EVA #2

EVA Date: 29 Jan 2018

Crew Executive Officer Reporting

Purpose of EVA: Spacesuit activity recognition and assessment of in-suit performance
Location of EVA: South of Marble Ritual (walking), Pooh’s corner (vehicle)
UDM27 Coordinates: 518800 E, 4250600 N

Number of EVA Crew: 3

Crew Members going on EVA:
Renee Garifi (Executive Officer), Julia De Marines (Crew Astronomer), Zac Trolley (Crew Engineer)

Rovers used:
– DEIMOS
– Opportunity
– Spirit

Rover time usage: 0.5 hours

Duration of EVA: 1.3 hours

EVA departure time: 15:10
EVA return time: 16:42

Time Checks:
Start Prep: 15:32
Airlock Start: 15:10
Roll out: 15:20
Check-In: 15:32
Comms on Overshoot: 15:40
Scrub due to helmet issue: 15:54
Renee in Airlock: 15:58
Zac and Jules return to get Rover: 15:59
Jules in Airlock: 16:15
Zac in Airlock 16:28
Equipment Cleaned and put away: 4:42

Summary: The Crew attempted to locate the Marble Ceremony landmark near the Pooh’s Corner rock area. They attempted to utilize one of the hab GPS units to identify the planned EVA coordinates. We took with us one hab GPS unit, as well as one of the small, laminated MDRS, printed maps to find our waypoints. Our objective was to perform a training EVA to familiarize our crew (in two team groups of three) with EVA operations first-hand from a participant perspective. All members brought cameras for photos and video footage to send to Mission Support. All three rovers used were fully functional and tested in the rough paths of the Martian Terrain on Cow Dung Road.

We experienced an off-nominal situation with one crewmember during this second EVA of the day. All three of the crew experienced a higher-than-normal amount of helmet fogging while walking. It was realized shortly after parking the rovers on cow dung road that we had overshot the EVA destination and were too far north. While walking back to the rovers, one crewmember experienced helmet fog to the point of having impaired visibility and was unable to drive their rover. After waiting a few minutes for the fogging to clear, the crewmember began to have sweat drip down into the eyes and collect in the glasses. They requested assistance from another crewmember to turn the rover around for them. In the process, the crewmember having the fogging issue experienced a total visual loss when their hat fell from their head and into the front of their helmet, completely blocking their view.

When this hat anomaly occurred, the crewmember made the call to be driven back to the hab to receive assistance with the helmet from the HabCom team. All three crewmembers returned on two rovers, dropping the impaired crewmember at the airlock and returning to retrieve the third rover.

The remaining two crewmembers received permission to resume the EVA and made it out to Pooh’s corner safely and completed the marble ceremony. Despite having to return one crewmember to the hab early, this EVA was highly successful for three reasons. First, it provided a non-life threatening emergency that required immediate assistance for the crew to respond to.

There is a long list of reasons why an EVA will terminate early, so we are fortunate that this instance was minor and could be resolved by removing the helmet back at the hab. Secondly, the crew of three proved they could work together in an off-nominal situation to problem solve and quickly make a decision that places the safety of the crew above the objective of the EVA. Lastly, it allowed us to demonstrate our contingency plan for returning to the hab if one of the rovers breaks down since one rover had to remain parked while all crew returned to the hab.

The crew engineer extended their EVA in order to service the ATVs and Rovers that we used during the day.

POSTED ONJANUARY 29, 2018
EVA Report – January 29th
EVA #1

EVA Date: 29Jan2018

Health & Safety Officer Report

Purpose of EVA: Development of Situational Awareness for Spacesuit Activity

Location of EVA: South of Marble Ritual (walking), Pooh’s corner (vehicle)

UDM27 Coordinates: 518800 E, 4250600 N

Number of EVA Crew: 3

Crew Members Going on EVA: Ryan Kobrick (Commander), Sarah Jane Pell (Residence-in-Artist), Tatsunari Tomiyama (Health & Safety Officer)

ATV used: 1,2,3

ATV usage: 5 minutes

EVA Duration: 1 hour 7 minutes

EVA Departure Time: 13:30

EVA Return Time: 14:32

Time Check:

13:01 Prep Start + Simulation Start
13:25 Airlock
13:30 EVA Start
13:35 ATV Leave
13:40 Parked
14:02 Arrived Ritual Marbles
14:18 Return to Hub
14:27 Arrived Parking Lot
14:32 Airlock

Summary: Crews attempted EVA to develop situational awareness for space suit performance. We used 3 ATVs to travel to the targeting location; Marble Rituals. When we arrived at the nearest place on Pooh’s corner, we parked ATV and started to walk. We found a fossil and recent animal footprint soon. Once arrived, we take photos and investigated the location. Then, we returned to the Hub. Overall, there was no significant issue to this EVA and we enjoyed the first simulation.

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/category/eva-report/page/14/ Source]

Crew 189 EVA Reports

2019-03-24T18:13:24Z

NathanielFromMars: Created page with "Category:EVA Missions POSTED ONMARCH 6, 2018 EVA Report – March 6th EVA Report: EVA #12 Crew members: Alexandre Martin (EVA leader), Gabriel Payen, Jérémy AUCLAIR,..."

[[Category:EVA Missions]]

POSTED ONMARCH 6, 2018
EVA Report – March 6th
EVA Report:

EVA #12 Crew members: Alexandre Martin (EVA leader), Gabriel Payen, Jérémy AUCLAIR, Victoria Da Poian, Axel Monnier (journalist), Bertrand Guez (journalist)

Author: Alexandre Martin

Location:

Near Pooh’s Corner: 12S-518900E-4250900N

Lith Canyon: 12S-518300E-4256500N

Time: departure at 9:30 a.m. Duration: 3h

Purposes:

Replace the LOAC
Explore Lith Canyon
Narrative:

We made some shots with the journalist in front of the Hab, and then we left the Hab to replace the LOAC at Pooh’s corner. We went to Lith Canyon to show our journalists a Martian-type environment. They took some shots with their drone, and we came back at the Hab, where they took some final shots.

9:30 am: EVA#12 left airlock

9:45 am: EVA#12 left the Hab

9:46 am: EVA#12 arrived at Pooh’s corner

10:05 am: EVA#12 left Pooh’s Corner

10:30 am: EVA#12 arrived at Lith Canyon

11:50 am: EVA#12 left Lith Canyon

12:15 pm: EVA#12 back at the Hab

12:30 pm: EVA#12 back in the Hab

POSTED ONMARCH 5, 2018
EVA Report – March 5th
Capcom,

Here is today’s EVA report also comming from Jérémy:

EVA Report:
EVA #11 Crew members: Jérémy Auclair (EVA leader), Louis Mangin, Gabriel Payen, Benoit Floquet

Location:
– Around the Hab
– Near Pooh’s Corner: 12S-518900E-4252000N
– Near Mid Ridge Planitia: 12S-517500E-4251500N

Time: departure at 09:12 a.m. Duration: 2 hour 24 minutes

Narrative:
When describing shortly today’s EVA, we could say that concerning our experiments it was a failure. After arriving at the instruments’ position near Pooh’s corner, we found out that both batteries were empty. Therefore, we plugged the new battery on MegaARES to start transferring data on Gabriel’s USB key. We took one empty battery (to start charging it) and went back to the Hab to start Benoit’s localization experiment. After more than five minutes the GPS chip still hadn’t found any signal.

We decided to continue the walk to get on the Hab ridge. We took quite a few pictures, Louis with his camera and me with mine, on which I had mounted my orange filter (for my personal pictures). After we arrived over the Hab we headed back to the Hab. We took the ATVs to go back to Pooh’s Corner to finish MegaARES’ data transfer.

Once the transfer was done we plugged the LOAC on the battery. But once again the power system was broken. This time it was the switch which was broken. We took the decision to bring the two batteries and the LOAC back to the Hab to fix the power system.

Unfortunately, on the way back to the Hab, one of the batteries fell of one of the ATV 30 meters away of the Hab because of a bump on the road. It broke and started to leak slightly. We must have attached it too weakly because we had to bring back two batteries instead of one. I quickly asked Habcom to put a garbage bag in the engineering Airlock. 3 Minutes later we put the leaking battery in the plastic bag to confine it. Once this (small) crisis was taken care of we started the final engineering check and ended the EVA.

Purposes:
– LOAC: Test of the battery level
– MegaARES: Replacement of the battery
– Localization experiment: test with increasing uncertainty on the positioning measure

Vehicles: 4 ATVs

9:12 a.m.: EVA#11 left Airlock
9:20 a.m.: EVA left the Hab using the four ATVs
9:33 a.m.: Arrival on the working place and beginning of battery tests and data transfert
9:39 a.m.: Return to the ATVs
9:42 a.m.: Turning on the ATVs to go back to the Hab
9:46 a.m.: Arrival to the Hab, Benoit starts his GPS instrument 9:50 a.m.: Beginning of Walk to find a way to climb on the ridge 9:57 a.m.: Benoit’s instrument still doesn’t work
10:22 a.m.: Louis finds a safe way to climb on the ridge
10:32 a.m.: Arrival on top of the ridge
10:42 a.m.: Beginning of way down the ridge
11:00 a.m.: Departure to the instruments on Pooh’s Corner
11:18 a.m.: Departure to the Hab with both batteries and the LOAC 11:36 a.m.: Entry in the Main Airlock

Best,

Louis

POSTED ONMARCH 1, 2018
EVA Report – March 1st
EVA Report:
EVA #8 Crew members: Alexandre Martin (EVA leader), Benoît FLOQUET, Laurent BIZIEN, Jérémy AUCLAIR

Author: Alexandre Martin

Location:
Near Pooh’s Corner: 12S-518900E-4250900N
Lith Canyon: 12S-518300E-4256500N

Time: departure at 9:00 p.m. Duration: 3h

Purposes:
• Replace the battery of the LOAC
• Explore Lith Canyon

Narrative:
We started our EVA placing Laurent’s solar panels experiment next to the GreenHab. After a small trip to Pooh’s Corner to deal with our instruments, we rode our ATV to explore Lith Canyon. We made a large 1h40 walk there, enough to visit a great part of it. We then went back to the Hab, yet we were not able to contact our Habcom. We discovered later that this was a walkie-talkie issue, maybe because of the weather (fast winds). 10 minutes later, he was finally able to hear us, and we could come back in the Hab

9:00 am: EVA#8 left airlock
9:15 am: EVA#8 left the Hab
9:16 am: EVA#8 arrived at Pooh’s corner
9:25 am: EVA#8 left Pooh’s Corner
9:45 am: EVA#8 arrived at Lith Canyon
11:25 am: EVA#8 left Lith Canyon
11:45 am: EVA#8 back at the Hab
12:00 am: EVA#8 back in the Hab

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 27, 2018
EVA Report – February 27th
EVA Report:

EVA #7 Crew members: Laurent BIZIEN (EVA leader), Benoît FLOQUET, Louis MANGIN, Gabriel PAYEN, Victoria DA-POIAN

Author: Laurent BIZIEN

Location:

Near Pooh’s Corner: 12S-518900E-4250900N

Hab surroundings

Time: departure at 2:12 p.m. Duration: 1h30 (shortened by 1h15)

Purposes:

Replace the battery of MegaARES
Train to emergency procedures
Narrative:

We started the EVA by splitting the involved members of the crew in two teams (we have learnt later by Shannon that it wasn’t something to do in EVA so I take the responsibility of such a decision error). Team red, composed of Victoria, Gabriel and Benoît took a Rover, Curiosity, and an ATV, 350.2. They went to Pooh’s Corner in order to change the battery of MegaARES and also checked the battery of LOAC instrument. At the same time, team blue, Louis and I, did the usual checks of the other Rovers (today, only Opportunity was there) and ATVs and of the water tanks. We also tried to inflate the tires of ATV 350.1. We didn’t succeed for the front left tire.

Team red quickly returned and we could start the emergency procedures. On the morning, I had made a speech to the other members of the crew about the emergency procedures some future marsonauts could encounter in EVA.

We started with a basic situation. One person simulating a health problem and another person to make a review. After a few instances, we followed up on emergency transportation. To do so, we brought Curiosity next to a person simulating a victim. The exercise’s goal was to transport the victim up to the Rover, from different ways depending of the victim’s injury. Finally, we performed realistic injury cases (bone traumatism, unconsciousness, respiratory arrest…) leading to emergency transportation and LSPs in the Rover’s trunk.

Realizing that the emergency procedures in EVA were very limited due to the lack of ability to move of the backpacks and of the helmets, we decided to return to the Hab. We carried Victoria into the main airlock and Gabriel stayed with her while Louis, Benoît and I went back to the Hab by the engineering airlock in order to simulate an emergency return.

2:12 p.m.: EVA#7 left Airlock

2:15 p.m.: Team red left the Hab

2:20 p.m.: Team red’s arrival at Pooh’s corner

2:30 p.m.: Team red’s leaving from Pooh’s corner

2:35 p.m.: Team red’s arrival at the Hab

2:40 p.m.: Beginning of the emergency procedures

3:40 p.m.: End of the emergency procedures

3:45 p.m.: EVA#7 back in the Hab

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 26, 2018
EVA Report – February 26th
Dear CapCom,

Here is the EVA Report:

26 Feb 2018

EVA #6 Crew members: Jérémy Auclair (EVA leader), Victoria Da-Poïan, Gabriel Payen, Alexandre Martin

Location:

– Near Pooh’s Corner: 12S-518900E-4252000N

– White Rock Canyon: 12S-520200E-4247500N

Time: departure at 09:09 a.m. Duration: 2 hour 13 minutes

Narrative: My first EVA as EVA leader went really well ! We changer the battery that powered the LOAC instrument (the old one was completely empty), we tested the battery powering the MegaARES instrument and confirmed it needed to be changed quickly (tomorrow). Otherwise both instruments are supporting the desert conditions perfectly. We then went to white rock canyon for exploration and photography. The walk went perfectly, the temperature was perfect, our reparations on the back packs prevented the apparition of fog on our helmets. We started to walk inside the canyon and on our way back we walk on the ridge (at a safe distance) to change the point of view. We finished the walk around 11am. Having nothing else to do we went back to the Hab to refill the ATVs and end the EVA. Everything went fine.

Purposes:

– LOAC: Maintenance – replacement of the battery

– MegaARES: Maintenance – Battery level test

– White Rock Canyon – Exploration and photography

Vehicles: 1 Rover (Curiosity), 2 ATVs (350.1, 350.2)

9:09 a.m.: EVA#6 left Airlock

9:15 a.m.: EVA left the Hab using Curiosity, ATVs 350.1 and 350.2

9:23 a.m.: Arrival on the working place

9:25 a.m.: Beginning of LOAC battery replacement and MegaARES battery test

9:35 a.m.: End of maintenance

9:40 a.m.: Beginning of the drive for White Rock Canyon

10:00 a.m.: Arrival at White Rock Canyon and beginning of walk

10:50 a.m.: End of walk and beginning of the drive back to the Hab

11:05 a.m.: Arrival at the Hab

11:15 a.m.: Entry in the Airlock

Best,

Victoria

Commander of Crew 189

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 21, 2018
EVA Report
Hello again CapCom,

Here is today’s EVA report:

EVA Report:
EVA #3 Crew members: Louis Mangin (EVA leader), Benoit Floquet, Laurent Bizien, Alexandre Martin

Author: Louis Mangin
Location: Around the Hab 12S-518100E-4250700N
Near Pooh’s Corner: 12S-518900E-4250900N
Cactus road: 12S-52200E-4252700N

Time: departure at 9:30 p.m. Duration: 2 hours

Purposes:
– Deploy the LOAC after reparation
– Check MegaARES status
– Explore around Cactus Road
– Shoot Media photos

Narrative:
We started by getting a lot of gear out of the engineering airlock: wastes, LOAC and tools. We then struggled to start the ATVs because of the coldness. When arrived on site, I had fog on my helmet because of the walk carrying the device, so that I didn’t see exactly chat happened, but while plugging the power wire, the power system overheated, and wires melted. I then disconnected the battery, but it was already too late. We evaluated then that only the power system was touched and apparently were right to guess so. Anyway, we packed everything back and went back to the hab to bring the sensor back. At the same time Benoit had checked the MegaARES and everything was fine there. After letting the broken LOAC in the engineering airlock, we headed to Cactus Road. We then climbed a hill, went to an entrance of Candor Chasma and shoot some group photos with our school’s banner. The fog intensified for the ones wearing the first version of the suits, and it was pretty cold, so that we headed back to the Hab early.

9:30 a.m.: EVA#3 left Airlock
9:40 a.m.: EVA left the Hab using two ATVs and one rover
9:45 a.m.: Arrival at place of interest
10:00 a.m.: Failure due to LOAC’s power system overheating
10:20 a.m.: Back to Hab to put back the LOAC
10:30 a.m.: Leaving the Hab to Cactus Road
10:40 a.m.: Exploration of Cactus Road surroundings
11:15 a.m.: Leaving Cactus Road
11:30 a.m.: EVA End

Louis Mangin

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 20, 2018
EVA Report – February 20th
EVA Report:

EVA #2 Crew members: Victoria Da-Poian (EVA leader), Jérémy Auclair, Gabriel Payen, Benoit Floquet

Location: – Around the Hab 12S-518100E-4250700N

Time: departure at 09:30 a.m. Duration: 2 hour 40 minutes

Narration: I was really happy to explore again the red cliffs with my new crew. Since this morning, everyone has experienced the EVAs. We managed to deploy one experiment (the MegaARES) but a small problem interrupted the LOAC deployment. We will fix it with Jérémy in order to try again tomorrow. Even if Gabriel had a very foggy helmet (fans problems), and everyone seems really happy and I have to say the photos Benoit took are really nice. During our EVA, we had a very nice teamwork. I am very proud of our common work and I am looking forward to going back to EVA with them.

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 19, 2018
EVA Report – February 19th
Hello Graeme,

Here is our first EVA’s reports. We experienced a better weather than expected so that we were able to stay longer on the outside and visit the surroundings!

EVA Report:
EVA #1 Crew members: Louis Mangin (EVA leader), Jérémy Auclair, Alexandre Martin,

Location: Around the Hab 12S-518100E-4250700N
Near Pooh’s Corner: 12S-518900E-4250900N
Under Eastern Kissing Camel Ridge: 12S-518500E-4249700N
Top of Hab Ridge: 12S-517800E-4249700N
Zubrin’s head: 12S-519500E-4248100N

Time: departure at 2:00 p.m. Duration: 1 hour 50 minutes

Purposes:
– Find a location to deploy our two atmosphere study devices – First EVA logger in situ test
– Exploration and EVA training for newcomers
– First photos and videos shots

1:58 p.m.: EVA#1 left Airlock
2:01 p.m.: EVA left the Hab using Deimos & Opportunity
2:09 p.m.: Arrival on first place of interest: Pooh’s Corner 2:40 p.m.: Leaving Pooh’s Corner
2:50 p.m.: Arrival on second place of interest
3:00 p.m.: Climbing to the top of Hab Ridge (third place of interest) 3:25 p.m.: Getting back on the rovers
3:35 p.m.: Going to Zubrin’s head to shoot photos
3:50 p.m.: Getting back in the Hab

Best,

Louis Mangin
Crew 189 Commander

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/category/eva-report/page/13/ Source]

Crew 186 Operations Reports

2019-03-24T18:09:42Z

NathanielFromMars: Created page with "Category:Operations Reports POSTED ONJANUARY 13, 2018 Operations Report – January 13th Crew 186 Operations Report 13JAN2018 SOL: 13 Name of person filing report: M...."

[[Category:Operations Reports]]

POSTED ONJANUARY 13, 2018
Operations Report – January 13th
Crew 186 Operations Report 13JAN2018

SOL: 13

Name of person filing report: M. Grande

Non-nominal systems: None

Notes on non-nominal systems: Generator system limping along with a now-nominal routine.

Generator (hours run): 15.9h

Generator turned off, charging battery at 9:30am

Generator turned on at 5:30pm

Solar— SOC

@ 9:30am : 100%

@ 5:30pm : 91%

Diesel: 50%

Propane: 25%

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV): 01 Gallons

Water (trailer): 220 Gallons

Water (static): 500 Gallons

Trailer to Static Pump used: Yes

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used: Yes

Water Meter: 129509.8 Gallons

Toilet tank emptied: Yes

ATVs Used: Honda, two of the 350s

Oil Added? No

ATV Fuel Used: 02 Gallons

# Hours the ATVs were used today: 00:30 hours

Notes on ATVs: There is an unknown clanking sound coming from one of the ATV 350s, but I believe the suspect 350 was pushed to the side today and not used, so I wasn’t able to check this out. Otherwise, the new crew, 187, was able to drive the ATVs around for about half an hour for practice! We filled up the tanks again, and now are running low on stored gasoline.

Deimos rover used: Yes

Hours: 101.5

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 98%

Currently charging: Yes

Sojourner rover used: Assigned to director only.

Hours: 5.5

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge:

Currently charging: Yes

Spirit rover used: No

Hours: 12.1

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge:

Currently charging: Yes

Opportunity rover used: No

Hours: 5.5

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge:

Currently charging: No

Curiosity rover used: No

Hours: 3.1

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge:

Currently charging: No

HabCar used and why, where? Yes, to get a water resupply for the next crew.

General notes and comments: Today we spent most of the day cleaning up the hab and teaching Crew 187 the ropes! It was exciting to meet everyone and to now be on the other side of things, wishing them well for their mission. The new Crew Engineer has a lot on his plate, but he picked up everything well and started already by turning on the generator system this evening, with my supervision. Also, we got a water resupply! There’s now 110 G in the trailer tank and an extra 110 G in the tank in the hab car, but we’re not sure yet were the extra will be stored. Finally, we are changing the air filter this evening.

Summary of internet: All nominal

Summary of suits and radios: All nominal

Summary of Hab operations: Busy process today with cleaning and hand-off, but lots of the items left by previous crews have now been cleaned out! Everything otherwise is nominal.

Summary of GreenHab operations: There is a water leak at the GreenHab water spigot. We tried digging down to identify the source this afternoon; however, this proved nearly impossible in the mud and at an unknown depth of the source. The handle of the spigot has been secured so it cannot be used until the issue is fixed. This means that the GreenHab will need to obtain water from a different source–a significant operations concern because of the large volume of water required by the plants each day.

Summary of ScienceDome operations: All nominal

Summary of RAM operations: Not Operational

Summary of health and safety issues: Crew is Healthy

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: We are running low on a few things and would please like a resupply: RV Digest-It and Deoderizer (“Oxy-Kam Holding Tank Treatment”) for the toilet, and ATV gasoline.

Also, very importantly, I need to verify that the Diesel gauge is “from 12:00 to 6:00, counterclockwise” to display from 100% to 0%. This is important because it has been on 50% for around 5 days in a row now, and I want to ensure that what I believe to be 50% is not actually 0%. I completely forgot to ask during hand-off, but I have noted it to the new Crew Engineer so he can also ask tomorrow.

My final concern is that today we discovered a water leak at the Green Hab water spigot, and this needs to be addressed as soon as possible. This will significantly affect water usage for future crews.

Regards, Melanie Grande, Crew Engineer, Crew 186

POSTED ONJANUARY 12, 2018
Operations Report – January 12th
Crew 186 Operations Report 12JAN2018

SOL: 12

Name of person filing report: M. Grande

Non-nominal systems: None

Notes on non-nominal systems: None.

Generator (hours run): 12h

Generator switched batteries, 7:30am

Generator turned off, charging battery at 10:30am

Generator turned on at 5:20pm

Solar— SOC

@ 7:30am : 40%

@ 10:30am : 100%

@ 5:20pm : 64%

Diesel: 50%

Propane: 26%

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV): 3.3 Gallons

Water (trailer): 10 Gallons

Water (static): 316 Gallons

Trailer to Static Pump used: No

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used: Yes

Water Meter: 129380.8 Gallons

Toilet tank emptied: No

ATVs Used: None

Oil Added? No

ATV Fuel Used: 00 Gallons

# Hours the ATVs were used today: 00:00 hours

Notes on ATVs: None.

Deimos rover used: Yes

Hours: 101.0

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 84%

Currently charging: Yes

Sojourner rover used: Assigned to director only.

Hours: 5.5

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge:

Currently charging: Yes

Spirit rover used: Yes

Hours: 12.1

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 47%

Currently charging: Yes

Opportunity rover used: No

Hours: 5.5

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge:

Currently charging: No

Curiosity rover used: No

Hours: 3.1

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge:

Currently charging: No, but was charging this morning during EVA

HabCar used and why, where? No

General notes and comments: Very fun EVA today because we had a nice long ride out to Skyline Rim, and I was just completely awed by the views. Sam and I each climbed up parts of the escarpment (or the more bougie term: “colluvial fan”) at the bottom of the ridge, trying to touch the layers left by Jurassic forces millions of years before us. Looking up to see the scale of one man compared to that ridge was incredible. Deimos broke 100 hours today– congratulations to our old chap! Young Spirit hung in there and is now at 12h; we’re slowly increasing their battery life.

Summary of internet: All nominal

Summary of suits and radios: All nominal

Summary of Hab operations: All nominal

Summary of GreenHab operations: All nominal

Summary of ScienceDome operations: All nominal

Summary of RAM operations: Not Operational

Summary of health and safety issues: Crew is Healthy

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support:

So part of my experiment explored how to teach the crew to do routine maintenance tasks, such as for the ATV brakes system. This is quite important, due to the safety considerations. I am aware that the ATVs all recently got a complete overhaul, which makes me grateful and confident in them, but I have one question. The brake fluid level indicators are barely readable, through a foggy window, so it’s hard to tell if there’s fluid in there at all. My question is then: were the brake systems checked, during the ATV checkout? Brake fluid is easy to replace, if needed.

Also, thank you all for supporting us throughout our mission! You’ve [CapComms and Mission Support] done a fantastic job at answering our questions and helping us with our concerns (especially reading my long explanations about that darned power system), and I’m very grateful!

Regards,

Melanie Grande, Crew Engineer, Crew 186

POSTED ONJANUARY 12, 2018
Operations Report – January 11th
Crew 186 Operations Report 11JAN2018

SOL: 11

Name of person filing report: M. Grande

Non-nominal systems: None

Notes on non-nominal systems: None

Generator (hours run): 11.7h
Generator off, battery charging at 9:00am
Generator on at 6:40pm

Solar— SOC
@ 9:00am : 100%
@ 6:40pm : 56%

Diesel: 50%

Propane: 28%

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV): 3.3 Gallons

Water (trailer): 10 Gallons

Water (static): 367 Gallons

Trailer to Static Pump used: No

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used: Yes

Water Meter: 129380.8 Gallons

Toilet tank emptied: No

ATVs Used: None
Oil Added? No
ATV Fuel Used: 00 Gallons
# Hours the ATVs were used today: 00:00 hours
Notes on ATVs: Filled up the ATVs all the way, finally. Trying to track the fuel usage as well as the water usage for our sim, but it was difficult to see inside the fuel tank with the helmets. Now the fuel is right up to the neck of the tank, since we recently had the resupply, and we’re ready to roll for our long EVA tomorrow! One of them was making clanking sounds, and this will need to be inspected during our hand-off day.

Deimos rover used: No
Hours: 99.0
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge:
Currently charging: Yes

Sojourner rover used: Assigned to director only.
Hours: Director discretional hours
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge:
Currently charging: Yes

Spirit rover used: No
Hours: 10.5
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge:
Currently charging: Yes

Opportunity rover used: No
Hours: 5.5
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge:
Currently charging: No

Curiosity rover used: No
Hours: 3.1
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge:
Currently charging: No

HabCar used and why, where? No

General notes and comments: Today most of the crew didn’t go on EVA, so I used the time for my "Implications of VR for Crew Autonomy" experiment! I tested two crew members from my Pre-Mission Training Group and the Virtual Reality Training Group on tasks including ATV maintenance checks and geology sensing using a portable spectrometer. We used individual Engineering EVAs to make this happen. Lots of notes to write up tonight!

Summary of internet: All nominal

Summary of suits and radios: All nominal

Summary of Hab operations: All nominal

Summary of GreenHab operations: All nominal

Summary of ScienceDome operations: All nominal

Summary of RAM operations: Not Operational

Summary of health and safety issues: Crew is Healthy

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: Based on the unknown clanking sounds coming from one of the 350 ATVs, we won’t use that one tomorrow on EVA. Also, to confirm what I remember from training, the Diesel gauge needle ranges from "12:00 to 6:00, counterclockwise," right? The needle has stayed just over 50% ("9:00") for the past few days, even though we ran the generator for three days straight.

Regards,
Melanie Grande, Crew Engineer, Crew 186

POSTED ONJANUARY 10, 2018
Operations Report – January 10th
Crew

186 Operations Report 10JAN2018

SOL:

10

Name

of person filing report: M. Grande

Non-nominal

systems: None

Notes

on non-nominal systems: None

Generator

(hours run): 12.7h

Generator

batteries switched at 8:45am

Generator

batteries switched at 7:30pm

Solar—

SOC

@

7:15am : 95%

@

6:00pm : 99%

Diesel:

50%

Propane:

29%

Ethanol

Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV): 5.9 Gallons

Water

(trailer): 10 Gallons

Water

(static): 413 Gallons

Trailer

to Static Pump used: No

Water

(loft) – Static to Loft Pump used: Yes

Water

Meter: 129321.3 Gallons

Toilet

tank emptied: Yes

ATVs

Used: None

Oil

Added? No

ATV

Fuel Used: 00 Gallons

#

Hours the ATVs were used today: 00:00 hours

Notes

on ATVs: None.

Deimos

rover used: No

Hours:

99.0

Beginning

charge: 100%

Ending

charge:

Currently

charging: Yes

Sojourner

rover used: Assigned to director only.

Hours:

Director discretional hours

Beginning

charge: 100%

Ending

charge:

Currently

charging: Yes

Spirit

rover used: No

Hours:

10.5

Beginning

charge: 95%

Ending

charge:

Currently

charging: Yes

Opportunity

rover used: No

Hours:

5.5

Beginning

charge: 100%

Ending

charge:

Currently

charging: No

Curiosity

rover used: No

Hours:

3.1

Beginning

charge: 100%

Ending

charge:

Currently

charging: No

HabCar

used and why, where? No

General

notes and comments: None.

Summary

of internet: All nominal

Summary

of suits and radios: All nominal

Summary

of Hab operations: All nominal

Summary

of GreenHab operations: All nominal

Summary

of ScienceDome operations: All nominal

Summary

of RAM operations: Not Operational

Summary

of health and safety issues: Crew is Healthy

Questions,

concerns and requests to Mission Support: I will wait for the handover day to review the state of the generator coolant as well as some other things, like the oil and filters. Curious when the last time the generator was completely serviced? (i.e. air and

oil and fuel filters replaced, hoses and tubing checked, etc.) I believe the man who installed or managed the settings for our power system will be coming back to town soon and will hopefully address the concerns we have with the system, and I would suggest

that a generator servicing might be scheduled around the same time, if that hasn’t been done recently.

As mentioned before: we need a propane resupply, the right tailgate latch on Opportunity is broken, and there is an unidentified leak underneath the front of the hab.

Regards,

Melanie

Grande, Crew Engineer, Crew 186

POSTED ONJANUARY 9, 2018
Operations Report – January 9th
Crew 186 Operations Report 09JAN2018

SOL: 09

Name of person filing report: M. Grande

Non-nominal systems: Generator

Notes on non-nominal systems: Generator system has run for the past 48 hours due to the cloudy weather. I tried to check the coolant this morning, and noticed it’s a yellow liquid again, instead of being basically butter when I saw it at the beginning of the rotation. (Apparently a previous crew filled it with oil instead of coolantThe coolant seemed to be pretty full, but I did check it when the generator was still hot, and not sure if that makes a real noticeable difference in the fill level. If I am to add more coolant before leaving, I’ll have to schedule some downtime for the generator so it can cool down first, probably in midday, if this cloudy weather persists.

Generator (hours run): 13h

Generator batteries switched at 7:15am

Generator batteries switched at 7:30pm

Solar— SOC

@ 7:15am : 94%

@ 5:00pm : 100%

Diesel: 50%

Propane: 30%

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV): 7.15 Gallons

Water (trailer): 10 Gallons

Water (static): 446 Gallons

Trailer to Static Pump used: No

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used: Yes

Water Meter: 129293.0 Gallons

Toilet tank emptied: No

ATVs Used: None

Oil Added? No

ATV Fuel Used: 00 Gallons

# Hours the ATVs were used today: 00:00 hours

Notes on ATVs: The 300 apparently died today, because the intern took it out and couldn’t get it to start again. Please refer to Shannon for further details.

Deimos rover used: Yes, briefly by Shannon

Hours: 98.4

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge:

Currently charging: Yes

Sojourner rover used: Assigned to director only.

Hours: Director discretional hours

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge:

Currently charging: Maybe

Spirit rover used: No

Hours: 10.5

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge:

Currently charging: Yes

Opportunity rover used: No

Hours: 5.5

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge:

Currently charging: No

Curiosity rover used: No

Hours: 3.1

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge:

Currently charging: No

HabCar used and why, where? No

General notes and comments: None, really. Sad, cloudy, snowy day. We watched “Black Mirror” (on Netflix, pre-downloaded) and diffused bombs (on a VR game, not real bombs, come on) instead of our EVA excursion.

Summary of internet: All nominal

Summary of suits and radios: All nominal

Summary of Hab operations: All nominal

Summary of GreenHab operations: All nominal

Summary of ScienceDome operations: All nominal

Summary of RAM operations: Not Operational

Summary of health and safety issues: Crew is Healthy

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: Coolant might need to be replaced, but I don’t think we have any extra here, that I could find. We do have a bottle of engine oil.

POSTED ONJANUARY 8, 2018
Operations Report – January 8th
Crew 186 Operations Report 08JAN2018

SOL: 08

Name of person filing report: M. Grande

Non-nominal systems: Generator power system

Notes on non-nominal systems: Generator system limping along with a now-nominal routine. Early morning failures still attributed to the cold.

Generator (hours run): 14h

Switched generator battery at 5:40pm

Solar— SOC

@ 7:15am : 53%

@ 5:40pm : 98%

Diesel: 50%

Propane: 30%

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV): 7.15 Gallons

Water (trailer): 10 Gallons

Water (static): 500 Gallons

Trailer to Static Pump used: No

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used: Yes

Water Meter: 129234.7 Gallons

Toilet tank emptied: Yes

ATVs Used: 300, 350.2, 350.3
Oil Added? No
ATV Fuel Used: 1.5 Gallons

# Hours the ATVs were used today: 01:30 hours
Notes on ATVs: ATVs were nominal. We got the 300 working fine.

Deimos rover used: No
Hours: 98.4
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge:
Currently charging: Yes

Sojourner rover used: Assigned to director only.
Hours: 5.2
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge:
Currently charging: Yes

Spirit rover used: Yes
Hours: 10.5
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 95%
Currently charging: No

Opportunity rover used: Yes
Hours: 5.5h
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 62%
Currently charging: No

Curiosity rover used: No
Hours: 3.1
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge:
Currently charging: No

HabCar used and why, where? No

General notes and comments: None. Just sitting around in the hab this sol, trying to figure out my VR training module with very limited internet help. It was a cloudy day, so the generator ran all day. We also received a water resupply, yay!

Summary of internet: All nominal
Summary of suits and radios: All nominal
Summary of Hab operations: All nominal
Summary of GreenHab operations: All nominal
Summary of ScienceDome operations: All nominal
Summary of RAM operations: Not Operational
Summary of health and safety issues: Crew is Healthy

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: Propane resupply is requested, please.

Regards,

Melanie Grande, Crew 186 Engineer

POSTED ONJANUARY 7, 2018
Operations Report – January 7th
Crew 186 Operations Report 07JAN2018

SOL: 07

Name of person filing report: M. Grande

Non-nominal systems: None

Notes on non-nominal systems: Generator system limping along with a now-nominal routine.

Generator (hours run): 17h

Generator turned off, charging battery at 8:45am

Generator turned on at 5:40pm

Solar— SOC

@ 8:45am : 87%

@ 5:40pm : 55%

Diesel: 52%

Propane: 31%

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV): 8.65 Gallons

Water (trailer): 10 Gallons

Water (static): 180 Gallons

Trailer to Static Pump used: No

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used: Yes

Water Meter: 129182.6 Gallons

Toilet tank emptied: No

ATVs Used: None

Oil Added? No

ATV Fuel Used: 00 Gallons

# Hours the ATVs were used today: 00:00 hours

Notes on ATVs: None

Deimos rover used: Yes

Hours: 98.4

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 87%

Currently charging: Yes

Sojourner rover used: Assigned to director only.

Hours: 5.2

Beginning charge: 98%

Ending charge:

Currently charging: No

Spirit rover used: Yes

Hours: 10.2

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 63%

Currently charging: Yes

Opportunity rover used: No

Hours: 4.9

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging: No

Curiosity rover used: No

Hours: 3.1

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge:

Currently charging: No

HabCar used and why, where? No

General notes and comments: Our Journalist and Navigation Officer, Justin, did a wonderful job taking over some of the engineering duties for me today! He switched the generator on this morning while I was preparing a hearty oatmeal breakfast for the crew, and he turned it back on again in the evening as I was essentially passing out into a nap following our strenuous EVA! Many thanks to him! The solar power system was run a tad too long and did drop below 60% (to 55%) when the generator was turned back on, which is my fault for not watching it closely enough! My apologies. Boy, does the solar battery SOC deplete rapidly in the late afternoon!

Justin also did a fantastic job as HabCom today! HabCom and the crew have been helping me each EVA by recording the beginning and ending rover hours and battery state of charge.

Something I have been a little vexed by, however, is the Potable Water Meter. I have been tracking our water usage as the crew attempts to be frugal with water, and I write down the number of gallons indicated on the side of the loft tank each time I fill it, as well as the water meter reading early each morning. According to the loft tank readings, we use around 30-35 G per day, maximum 39 G. Quite to the contrary, the potable water meter says some days that we use about 40 G (not too far off) and some days (like Sol 04 and Sol 06) that we used 50-60 G. I’m really not sure where this discrepancy is coming from, and it makes it really hard to give an accurate number for what is left in the static tank. It’s also hard to give the crew feedback about our water-saving measures.

Summary of internet: All nominal

Summary of suits and radios: All nominal

Summary of Hab operations: All nominal

Summary of GreenHab operations: All nominal

Summary of ScienceDome operations: All nominal

Summary of RAM operations: Not Operational

Summary of health and safety issues: Crew is Healthy

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: Water and propane are both in need of a refill, please! Additionally, I would love some feedback and support on the potable water meter.

POSTED ONJANUARY 5, 2018
Operations Report – January 5th
Crew 186 Operations Report 05JAN2018

SOL:05

Name of person filing report: M. Grande

Non-nominal systems: Generator power system

Notes on non-nominal systems: Generator has failed a couple times at start-up (today and yesterday) and reads “under speed” or “under voltage”. I think this might be the cold, as I continue to charge the batteries all day (or all night). The generator will run on the new 9/17 battery tonight, which was charging all day, but it took 4 attempts to start it.

Generator

(hours run): 15.8h

Battery

switched from old (10/17) to new (9/17) at 8:45am

Generator

turned off, charging battery at 12:30pm

Generator

turned on at 6:00pm

Solar—

SOC

@

8:45am : 68%

@

12:30pm : 100%

@

6:00pm : 65%

Diesel:

55%

Propane:

34%

Ethanol

Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV): 8.65 Gallons

Water

(trailer): 10 Gallons

Water

(static): 318 Gallons

Trailer

to Static Pump used: No

Water

(loft) – Static to Loft Pump used: Yes

Water

Meter: 129097.7 Gallons

Toilet

tank emptied: No

ATVs

Used: 350.2

Oil

Added? No

ATV

Fuel Used: 0.1 Gallons

#

Hours the ATVs were used today: 00:40 hours

Notes

on ATVs: ATVs were nominal.

Deimos

rover used: No

Hours:

97.4

Beginning

charge: 100%

Ending

charge:

Currently

charging: Yes

Sojourner

rover used: Assigned to director only.

Hours:

Director discretional hours

Beginning

charge:

Ending

charge:

Currently

charging: Maybe

Spirit

rover used: Yes

Hours:

9.3

Beginning

charge: 100%

Ending

charge: 87%

Currently

charging: No

Opportunity

rover used: Yes

Hours:

4.9

Beginning

charge: 100%

Ending

charge: 66%

Currently

charging: Yes

Curiosity

rover used: No

Hours:

3.1

Beginning

charge: 100%

Ending

charge:

Currently

charging: No

HabCar

used and why, where? No

General notes and comments: No EVA for me today, but I served as HabCom running the airlock depressurization/ repressurization cycles, writing down times, and sending Morse Code transmissions to our NAV, Justin, through his homemade Yagi antenna. It was my intent to hop on the stationary bike left by Crew 184 and get some exercise, but instead I spent most of the day writing up some reports and scripts for my virtual reality (VR) experiment… and enjoying some fresh, warm herb bread made in the bread maker by GEO Cesare! Yum!

Summary of internet: All nominal

Summary of suits and radios: All nominal

Summary of Hab operations: All nominal

Summary of GreenHab operations: All nominal

Summary of ScienceDome operations: All nominal

Summary of RAM operations: Not Operational

Summary of health and safety issues: Crew is Healthy

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: None

Regards,

Melanie Grande, Crew 186 Engineer

POSTED ONJANUARY 4, 2018
Operations Report – January 4th
Crew 186 Operations Report 04JAN2018

SOL: 04

Name of person filing report: M. Grande

Non-nominal systems: None

Notes on non-nominal systems: Generator system limping along again on the now-nominal routine. It was, however, displaying “Low Battery” and running at only 5.6 V this morning, running on the old 10/17 battery which had been fully charged. I will now be running the 10/17 battery every evening and charging that one during the day, just as we were doing before while keeping the new 9/17 battery in storage (fully charged).

Generator (hours run): 14.1h

Generator turned off, charging battery at 8:40am

Generator turned on at 5:10pm

Solar— SOC

@ 8:40am : 100%

@ 5:10pm : 88%

Diesel: 58%

Propane: 35%

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV): 8.75 Gallons

Water (trailer): 10 Gallons

Water (static): 351 Gallons

Trailer to Static Pump used: No

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used: Yes

Water Meter: 129033.7 Gallons

Toilet tank emptied: No

ATVs Used: Honda, 350.1, 350.2, 350.3

Oil Added? No

ATV Fuel Used: 0.25 Gallons

# Hours the ATVs were used today: 01:00 hours

Notes on ATVs: ATVs were nominal except for 300, whose engine I couldn’t keep running for the life of me. I tried various combinations and levels and durations of choking and throttling, with input from the crew. The engine just kept dying on me immediately as soon as I let off the gas. Two hours later, GreenHab Officer Mark was able to turn it on immediately to bring it slightly back to its parking space.

Deimos rover used: No

Hours: 97.4

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge:

Currently charging: No

Sojourner rover used: Assigned to director only.

Hours: 5.1

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge:

Currently charging: Yes

Spirit rover used: No

Hours: 8.7

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge:

Currently charging: No

Opportunity rover used: No

Hours: 4.3

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging: Yes

Curiosity rover used: No

Hours: 3.1

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge:

Currently charging: No

HabCar used and why, where? No

General notes and comments: So much fun riding the ATVs out all together today!! We took an ATV-only road out to the Martian moons, over twisty and bumpy roads. We hiked only a little bit around Yellow Moon and Beige Moon, and I manned the GoPro for some video footage. We’re all pretty comfortable on the ATVs now, so it was a nice ride. Today’s challenge, though, was implementing more bungee cords and also Commander Max’s webbing/straps to secure down the big Trek (portable spectrometer) case plus a tool box and emergency water. Rather difficult in bulky EVA gloves!

Other difficult things: seeing inside the gas tank with that bubble helmet. Basically impossible, so I had to search for the glisten of the gas inside. Also, those large darned rubber gloves. They’re even worse than the bulky EVA gloves, but I have to use them every day with my small hands, switching out the generator battery.

Summary of internet: All nominal

Summary of suits and radios: All nominal

Summary of Hab operations: All nominal

Summary of GreenHab operations: All nominal

Summary of ScienceDome operations: All nominal

Summary of RAM operations: Not Operational

Summary of health and safety issues: Crew is Healthy

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: The bread machine seems to be slowly dying on us, and this is very sad.

Regards,

Melanie Grande, Crew 186 Engineer

POSTED ONJANUARY 3, 2018
Operations Report – January 3rd
Crew 186 Operations Report 03JAN2018

SOL: 03

Name of person filing report: M. Grande

Non-nominal systems: Generator power system

Notes on non-nominal systems:

Bad news followed by good news, so hang in there, please. The generator failed sometime this morning, which was pretty spiteful of it. I went out through the engineering airlock to check that it was still running at 4am and at 6am, mostly out of concern for our HSO/Biologist’s experiment running out in the Science Dome. With a long continuous runtime for the stage of his experiment last night, it was absolutely critical he didn’t lose power, so I wanted to keep a sharp eye on those batteries. At 8:40am, however, after a nice morning yoga session with Kshitij and the crew, the generator read “Failure, Under speed, 8:12 am Jan 03”. And the SOC had dropped critically to 35%. We previously believed that the clock on there was not correct, but still, the generator was off for a maximum of 2:40 hrs while everyone was mostly asleep and very little power was being drawn. So I gave those Solar System batteries a stink eye, because they really quit out on us, dropping like that.

The good news is that the new 9/17 battery showed full charge based on a green light on the charger, and it ran smoothly in the generator all day. (I gave the solar system a day off, despite the sun shining here on Mars.) Additionally, this evening the generator was running almost exactly at the design point! Perfectly 12.0 V, 1800 rpm, and 60.1 Hz. I did switch to the 10/17 battery for tonight again, though, so that I prevent too great of a discharge on the new battery and give it the full night to recharge.

Generator (hours run): (10/17, estimated) 13h; (9/17) 9.7h

Generator turned off, charging battery at 8:00am

Generator turned on at 5:50pm

Solar— SOC

@ 8:40am : 35%

@ 6:25pm : 99%

Diesel: 60%

Propane: 37%

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV): 09 Gallons

Water (trailer): 10 Gallons

Water (static): 391 Gallons

Trailer to Static Pump used: No

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used: Yes

Water Meter: 128991.9 Gallons

Toilet tank emptied: Yes

ATVs Used: None

Oil Added? No

ATV Fuel Used: 00 Gallons

# Hours the ATVs were used today: 00:00 hours

Notes on ATVs: Justin and Shannon both took some time today to ride the Yamaha 300 around, as requested by CapCom/Shannon yesterday. We were looking for any sluggishness, especially in changing the gears. It took some coaxing to start it up, Justin said, and the response was delayed as he started driving it around. This effect did decrease as he continued to drive it around, which is a good sign I think. We will make a point to continue to drive it, and I will take it out tomorrow on EVA.

Deimos rover used: Yes

Hours: 97.4

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 96%

Currently charging: Yes

Sojourner rover used: Assigned to director only.

Hours: 5.1

Beginning charge: 96%

Ending charge: 100%

Currently charging: No

Spirit rover used: Yes

Hours: 8.7

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 72%

Currently charging: Yes

Opportunity rover used: No

Hours: 4.3

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge:

Currently charging: No

Curiosity rover used: No

Hours: 3.1

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge:

Currently charging: No

HabCar used and why, where? No

General notes and comments:

Today was a just beautiful EVA day! Amazing views of the lumpy red mesas, endless plains, and even a small box canyon with amazingly sharp stratified layers! I drove one of the Polaris electric rovers for the first time, which was definitely fun, and I appreciate being able to take a longer trip today. But my heart still lies with the ATVs.

In other thrilling Engineering News, I fixed the front door handle with a silicon gun I found in the tool cabinet, emptied the toilet, and added a couple more things to my ‘To Do’ list. The Science Door lock keeps falling apart, so I’ll take a closer look tomorrow morning. I tried checking out the Engineering Airlock door for some loose bolts or bending or something, but unfortunately it is the actual design of that massive door which makes it so darned difficult. So vexing.

Summary of internet: All nominal

Summary of suits and radios: All nominal

Summary of Hab operations: All nominal

Summary of GreenHab operations: All nominal

Summary of ScienceDome operations: All nominal

Summary of RAM operations: Not operational yet!

Summary of health and safety issues: Crew is healthy and well-exercised

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission

Support: Commander Max and I discovered a kink in the fuel line to the generator and also a water leak under the front hab stairs. The water leak does not have a clear source, since the hab is raised, but it does seem to have stopped and dried up a little since yesterday. I’ve attached three photos. Please let me know what you think should be done.

POSTED ONJANUARY 2, 2018
Operations Report – January 2nd
Crew 186 Operations Report 02JAN2018

SOL: 02

Name of person filing report: M. Grande

Non-nominal systems: Generator power system

Notes on non-nominal systems:

Ready for a long Engineering story? Following the generator failure early yesterday morning, I’ve been keeping an eye on the batteries and the battery charger. Yesterday, Sol 01, I removed the plastic covers from the posts to break out the “new” battery (with the sticker “9/17”), plugging that into the charger. As noted in Sol 01 Operations Report, I switched out the batteries in the evening, so the “old” battery (sticker “10/17”) that we had been using all the time was back in action. Though the batteries should supposedly last us 24 hours, the new 9/17 battery was unfortunately at a 50% SOC yesterday evening, after running the generator through our Martian daylight hours. This may be due to my lack of knowledge in the need to charge batteries before usage, and I would please request clarification on this requirement and possible effects of not charging before first use.

I mention this concern because today, Sol 02, has been a bright, sunny, and clear day… Perfect for spending the day taking trips through the tunnels to keep checking on an off-nominal battery charger! This morning, the battery charger showed 0% SOC after it was supposed to be charging the new 9/17 battery all night long! Too cold in the Science Dome maybe, even though I moved it inside? Also this morning, the generator indicated low battery and was running at only 9.3 V (lower than nominal 12 V). The rugged old 10/17 battery had charged all day, supposedly, but now apparently was at low charge after only running through the night.

Well, Max and I hooked up the multimeter he brought to check the voltages and amp draw on both batteries. At some point, the charger also began showing around 50% SOC on both the batteries. The charger was connected to the old 10/17 battery for several hours in the morning, and then was connected to the new 9/17 battery for several hours–in fact, all afternoon. Wrong SOC readings on the charger? The 50% generator battery SOC seems to be a small success, because the multimeter readings indicate the batteries should be full… On both batteries, now: 13.0 +/- 1.0 V and 5.5 +/- 0.6 A. Based on some battery knowledge and reading over a couple Schumacher Battery Chargers 10/2 A output, this indicated a fully charged battery. Small success?

The trusty old 9/17 battery has been plugged in this evening around 5pm when the Hab switched from solar power. The 10/17 battery was plugged into the generator at first, showing 100% SOC on the charger actually, but the generator failed to start. So I brought it back in and am leaving it plugged into the charger inside the Science Dome overnight.

We’ll continue to keep an eye on the generator system! The battery charger remains suspicious and on trial.

Generator (hours run): 12.8h

Generator turned off, charging 10/17 battery at 8:45am

Charging 9/17 battery at 12:30pm

Generator turned on at 5:50pm

Solar— SOC

@ 8:00am : 100%

@ 5:50pm : 60%

Diesel: 65%

Propane: 39%

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV): 00 Gallons

Water (trailer): 10 Gallons

Water (static): 430 Gallons

Trailer to Static Pump used: No

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used: Yes

Water Meter: 128950.1 Gallons

Toilet tank emptied: No

ATVs Used: None

Oil Added? No

ATV Fuel Used: 00 Gallons

# Hours the ATVs were used today: 00:00 hours

Notes on ATVs: None

Deimos rover used: No

Hours: 96.4

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge:

Currently charging: Yes

Sojourner rover used: Assigned to director only.

Hours: 5.1

Beginning charge: Unknown

Ending charge: 96%

Currently charging: No

Spirit rover used: Yes

Hours: 7.6

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 89%

Currently charging: Yes

Opportunity rover used: No

Hours: 4.3

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging: No

Curiosity rover used: Yes

Hours: 3.1

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 72%

Currently charging: No

HabCar used and why, where? No

General notes and comments:

Curiosity rover was charging from the end of the EVA until the Engineering EVA, when I switched the cord to Spirit. However, I forgot to check the final charge on Curiosity after the Engr EVA, my apologies. We need 1-2 more extension cords in order to have all rovers charging at one time.

I took my first real Engineering EVA this evening with Commander Max! We trekked over to check the propane, unloaded some things for the little NorCal rover from the RAM, and I checked on a couple of our electric rovers. Tried out the Exo-Suit for the first time, too! Felt great at first and definitely so easy to slip on, and I appreciated it not hitting the back of my head like the other EVA packs–poor short Mel. Halfway through (which ws only after about 10 mins) I did feel some pretty uncomfortable strain on my shoulders. I’ll try adjusting it better next time.

Summary of internet: All nominal

Summary of suits and radios: All nominal

Summary of Hab operations: All nominal

Summary of GreenHab operations: All nominal

Summary of ScienceDome operations: All nominal

Summary of RAM operations: Not Operational

Summary of health and safety issues: Crew is Healthy

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support:

Maybe we can find someone with more generator and battery knowledge to check out what’s been going on. I’ve tried to record everything in my notebook and summarize them for CapCom so far. Also, I replaced the air filter, and Shannon says this should become routine at the start of each rotation from now on.

Regards,
Melanie Grande, Crew 186 Engineer

POSTED ONJANUARY 1, 2018
Operations Report – January 1st
Crew 186 Operations Report 01JAN2018

SOL: 01

Name of person filing report: M. Grande

Non-nominal systems: None

Notes on non-nominal systems: Generator system limping along with a now-nominal routine.

Generator (hours run): 25h 30min

Solar— SOC

@ 9:50am : 61%

@ 5:10pm : 100%

Diesel: 70%

Propane: 40%

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV): 0 Gallons

Water (trailer): 10 Gallons

Water (static): Gallons

Trailer to Static Pump used: No

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used: Yes

Water Meter: 128894.7 Gallons

Toilet tank emptied: Yes

ATVs Used: 350.1, 350.2

Oil Added? Yes

ATV Fuel Used: 0.1 Gallons

# Hours the ATVs were used today: 01:00 hours

Notes on ATVs: ATVs were nominal. They all need an oil change, especially the Yamaha 300, because the oil during my check was quite dirty and black. All got some oil added to them except the 300.

Today I went on an Engineering round to do a quick inspection of the ATVs: checked the oil and fuel levels, attempted to check tire pressure, and did a visual tire inspection. All results were nominal and nothing unexpected; however, I considered the quick inspection my due diligence as an Engineer on their first day! It was kind of entertaining for me anyway. Oil levels were about half-way so I added some from our stores (plenty of bottles of oil in the EVA storage room). I wanted to check the tire pressures, but unfortunately the little pen gauge is inoperational and the air compressor has a gauge without enough detail for me to get an accurate reading. All the tires seem in great condition though, and I looked for possible damage to the tire walls from going over a bad bump or something out here, too. Lookin’ good!

Deimos rover used: No

Hours: 96.4

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge:

Currently charging: Yes

Sojourner rover used: Assigned to director only.

Hours: 4.9

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging: Yes

Spirit rover used: Yes

Hours: 6.8

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge:

Currently charging: Yes

Opportunity rover used: No

Hours: 4.3

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge:

Currently charging: No

Curiosity rover used: No

Hours: 4.6

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge:

Currently charging: Yes

HabCar used and why, where? No

General notes and comments:

Sol 0 and as the Crew Engineer, I went around the hab for my checks while also looking things over to create a To Do list for my couple weeks here. Toilet got emptied (such fun), ATVs got a quick
inspection, and the front window replacement and back-up generator relocation was fit into the end of our EVA. I got confirmation from Shannon that we could try hooking up power to the RAM using the little back-up generator, so two crew were very helpful in wheeling it through the sand over there. We’ll just wait on the 30A cable to be delivered in a resupply mission soon, along with tools for the RAM! Yay! Finally, I also gave a little engineering brief to the crew–what to expect while they’re here with things like doors that don’t work properly and staying away from the power system and helping me record rover runtime hours.

A notable thing did happen today in that the generator failed sometime this morning. I’m not entirely sure what time, because the clock is not correct on it. Unfortunately, this means that I lost the runtime hours, too, so I can’t be sure how long it has been on. Fortunately, the Solar SOC showed 61% at that time, which is above our limit for concern. We are guessing that the battery died and that’s all. Because yesterday was cloudy and today might have been too, I left the generator on all day today but replaced the old battery with a new one. I switched the batteries again this evening, so now the new one is charging.

Summary of internet: All nominal

Summary of suits and radios: All nominal

Summary of Hab operations: All nominal

Summary of GreenHab operations: All nominal

Summary of ScienceDome operations: All nominal

Summary of RAM operations: Not Operational

Summary of health and safety issues: Crew is Healthy

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: ATVs need an oil change soon, please. Also for my reports, I requested a switch to my gmail because I believe this email server is adding additional spaces to my reports for some reason. Sorry about that!

Happy 1st of the year!

Melanie Grande, Crew 186 Engineer

POSTED ONDECEMBER 31, 2017
Operations Report – December 31st
Crew 186 Operations Report 31DEC2017

SOL: 0

Name of person filing report: M. Grande

Non-nominal systems: None

Notes on non-nominal systems: Generator system limping along with a now-nominal routine.

Generator (hours run): 18.4h

Generator turned off, charging battery at 8:15am

Generator turned on at 10:30am

Generator turned off, charging battery at 2:30pm

Generator turned on at 5:30pm

Solar— SOC

@ 8:15am : 45%

@ 5:30pm : 61%

Diesel: 70%

Propane: 40%

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV): 0.5 Gallons

Water (trailer): 20 Gallons

Water (static): 500 Gallons

Trailer to Static Pump used: No

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used: Yes

Water Meter: 46 Gallons

Toilet tank emptied: No

ATVs Used: All of them

Oil Added? No

ATV Fuel Used: 0.25 Gallons

# Hours the ATVs were used today: 2:00 hours

Notes on ATVs: ATVs were nominal.

Deimos rover used: No

Hours: 96.4

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge:

Currently charging: No

Sojourner rover used: Assigned to director only.

Hours: Director discretional hours

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging: Maybe

Spirit rover used: No

Hours: 6.7

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge:

Currently charging: No

Opportunity rover used: No

Hours: 4.3

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging: No

Curiosity rover used: Yes

Hours: 3.75

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 100%

Currently charging: Yes

HabCar used and why, where? No

General notes and comments: Some clarification is needed about the water meter, but questions are below! It’s rather difficult to guess the gasoline used by the ATVs, though this will become easier when I have enough gasoline to fill them up and keep track from there. Also, I need to become better at checking the rover charges after use, so I apologize. Curiosity was plugged in without checking the ending charge, so when I went back out, it had already been charging for a little while. Otherwise, all is good, and we learned a lot from Shannon today in an effort to prevent dilution of knowledge during hand-off! The crew had a ton of fun toying around on the ATVs today for practice, becoming more comfortable with them. Then we were also able to drive around suited up, so this was a fun experience. Pretty surreal to walk around in the suits for the first time! What a first Mars walk today!

Summary of internet: All nominal

Summary of suits and radios: All nominal

Summary of Hab operations: All nominal

Summary of GreenHab operations: All nominal

Summary of ScienceDome operations: All nominal

Summary of RAM operations: Not Operational

Summary of health and safety issues: Crew is Healthy

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support:

* Kitchen: The right handle of the sink isn’t working.

* Water: Ops report asks for a “Water Meter” reading. Is that (A) the value I see under the black cap with the “potable” label on it, up in the loft? Or is it (B) the level of the water (Gallons) in the loft tank (which changes a lot throughout the day, especially if I refill it)?

* Heat: Water heater is disconnected and Shannon said that Curtis needs to come back and fix the system, including allowing heated water to come back up to the kitchen. Also, we really need a better, stronger heating system because the current one can barely manage to bring the water above freezing, instead of the preferred ability to actually make the water feel heated.

* Hab Car: Needs an oil change please, the Check Engine light is on again (among other issues).

* RAM: Considering using the little back-up generator to power the RAM for special operations. Since the generator routine has been working well for now, we think the back-up should be ok in this usage. Crew Engineer with help from others will look into moving it and the wiring necessary in the coming sols.

* GreenHab: Axle needed for wagon — Carrie(?) comes back on 3rd to address this.

* ATVs:

– Rearview mirrors are REALLY needed, pretty please! Absolutely impossible to see anything behind you while in spacesuits, and I consider this a safety and operational Must. I’m absolutely willing to install them, and I feel relatively cheap ones could be found quickly online (Amazon?), if Shannon could receive packages.

– We need more gasoline– very low at around 0.5 Gallons left. I will fill the ATVs up and then be able to really track our usage.

* Generator: We turned the Generator back on after a couple hours in the morning when it was clear the Solar SOC was dropping rapidly. However, in the afternoon when the Solar SOC was back up to 100%, we turned the generator back off. This was not the proper decision. In the future, during cloudy days we will leave the generator on and plugged in the entire day. This is considering that we have a second battery (not known until this evening) and also a generator master guy in town said that we can trickle charge it– i.e. charge the battery and have it connected to the generator at the same time.

Melanie Grande, Crew 186 Engineer

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/category/operations-report/page/24/ Source]

Crew 187 Operations Reports

2019-03-24T18:07:15Z

NathanielFromMars: Created page with "Category:Operations Reports POSTED ONJANUARY 26, 2018 Operations Report – January 26th Crew 187 Operations Report 26012018 SOL: 14 Name of person filing report: Luis..."

[[Category:Operations Reports]]

POSTED ONJANUARY 26, 2018
Operations Report – January 26th
Crew 187 Operations Report 26012018

SOL: 14

Name of person filing report: Luis Jose Antonio Diaz Lopez

Non-nominal systems: None.

Notes on non-nominal systems: Generator system limping along with a now-nominal routine.

Generator (hours run): 14.0h

Generator turned off, charging battery at 09h:50m

Generator turned on at 20h:20m3

Solar— SOC

@ 09:43: 54%

@ 19:43: 32%

Diesel: 94%

Propane: 88%

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV): 10 Gallons

Water (trailer): 0 Gallons

Water (static): 60 Gallons

Trailer to Static Pump used: No

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used: Yes

Water Meter: 01303618 Gallons

Toilet tank emptied: No

ATVs Used: HONDA, 350(1), 350(2), 350(3)

Oil Added? No

ATV Fuel Used: 7%

# Hours the ATVs were used today: 01h 40min

Notes on ATVs: None

Deimos rover used: Taked by the director to testing due the recently battery problems.

Hours: 102.3 (crew) + Director discretional hours

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: Maybe

Sojourner rover used: Assigned to director only.

Hours: Director discretional hours

Beginning charge:

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: Maybe

Spirit rover used: Yes

Hours: 15.1h

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: Yes

Opportunity rover used: Yes

Hours: 12.4h

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge:

Currently charging: No

Curiosity rover used: Yes

Hours: 6.6h

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: Yes

HabCar used and why, where? No

General notes and comments: None

Summary of internet: All nominal

Summary of suits and radios: All nominal

Summary of Hab operations: All nominal

Summary of EVA operations: All nominal

Summary of GreenHab operations: All nominal

Summary of Science Dome operations: All nominal.

Summary of RAM operations: Not Operational.

Summary of health and safety issues: All nominal

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: Request: More water for the next crew.

POSTED ONJANUARY 25, 2018
Operations Report – January 25th
Operations Report

Subject Line: Crew 187 Operations Report 25JAN2018

Crew 187 Operations Report 25012018

SOL: 13

Name of person filing report: Luis Jose Antonio Diaz Lopez

Non-nominal systems: None.

Notes on non-nominal systems: Generator system limping along with a now-nominal routine.

Generator (hours run): 15.8h

Generator turned off, charging battery at 10h:40m

Generator turned on at 19h:43m

Solar— SOC

@ 10:10: 68%

@ 19:43: 37%

Diesel: 96%

Propane: 89%

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV): 10 Gallons

Water (trailer): 0 Gallons

Water (static): 140 Gallons

Trailer to Static Pump used: No

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used: Yes

Water Meter: 01302996 Gallons

Toilet tank emptied: No

ATVs Used: HONDA, 350(1), 350(2), 350(3)

Oil Added? No

ATV Fuel Used: 6%

# Hours the ATVs were used today: 01h 35min

Notes on ATVs: None

Deimos rover used: Taked by the director to testing due the recently battery problems.

Hours: 102.3 h

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: Maybe

Sojourner rover used: Assigned to director only.

Hours: Director discretional hours

Beginning charge:

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: Maybe

Spirit rover used: Yes

Hours: 14.5h

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: No

Opportunity rover used: Yes

Hours: 11.7h

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge:

Currently charging: Yes

Curiosity rover used: Yes

Hours: 5.9h

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: Yes

HabCar used and why, where? No

General notes and comments: Opportunity have more hours than the other rovers because it was left turned on by error during the before EVA. We got 10 gallons of gasoline as backup for ATV’s.

Summary of internet: All nominal

Summary of suits and radios: All nominal

Summary of Hab operations: All nominal

Summary of EVA operations: All nominal

Summary of GreenHab operations: All nominal

Summary of Science Dome operations: All nominal.

Summary of RAM operations: Not Operational. Some generator supplies were delivered into the RAM.

Summary of health and safety issues: All nominal

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: None

POSTED ONJANUARY 24, 2018
Operations Report – January 24th
Crew 187 Operations Report 24Jan2018

SOL: 12

Name of person filing report: Luis Jose Antonio Diaz Lopez

Non-nominal systems: None.

Notes on non-nominal systems: Generator system limping along with a now-nominal routine.

Generator (hours run): 12.6h

Generator turned off, charging battery at 09h:20m

Generator turned on at 19h:00m

Solar— SOC

@ 09:27: 30%

@ 18:01: 57%

Diesel: 98%

Propane: 90%

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV): 0 Gallons

Water (trailer): 0 Gallons

Water (static): 200 Gallons

Trailer to Static Pump used: No

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used: Yes

Water Meter: 01302161 Gallons

Toilet tank emptied: No

ATVs Used: None

Oil Added? No

ATV Fuel Used: None.

# Hours the ATVs were used today: 00h 00min

Notes on ATVs: None

Deimos rover used: Taked by the director to testing due the recently battery problems.

Hours: 102.3 h

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: Maybe

Sojourner rover used: Assigned to director only.

Hours: Director discretional hours

Beginning charge:

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: Maybe

Spirit rover used: Yes

Hours: 13.8h

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: No

Opportunity rover used: Yes

Hours: 6.5h

Beginning charge: 99%

Ending charge:

Currently charging: Yes

Curiosity rover used: Yes

Hours: 5.2h

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: Yes

HabCar used and why, where? No

General notes and comments: None

Summary of internet: All nominal

Summary of suits and radios: All nominal

Summary of Hab operations: All nominal

Summary of EVA operations: All nominal

Summary of GreenHab operations: All nominal

Summary of Science Dome operations: All nominal.

Summary of RAM operations: Not Operational

Summary of health and safety issues: All nominal

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: None

POSTED ONJANUARY 22, 2018
Operations Report – January 22nd
Crew 187 Operations Report 22012018

SOL: 10

Name of person filing report: Luis Jose Diaz Lopez

Non-nominal systems: None.

Notes on non-nominal systems: Generator system limping along with a now-nominal routine.

Generator (hours run): 15h 00min

Generator turned off, charging battery at 10h:00m

Generator turned on at 19h:30m

Solar— SOC

@ 08:38: 53%

@ 19:35: 43%

Diesel: It can’t be measure. Explained in the Report 19JAN2018

Propane: 92%

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV): 4.75 Gallons

Water (trailer): 0 Gallons

Water (static): 100 Gallons

Trailer to Static Pump used: Yes

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used: Yes

Water Meter: 01301216 Gallons

Toilet tank emptied: No

ATVs Used: 350(1), 350(2)

Oil Added? No

ATV Fuel Used: As a result of today’s EVA incident, I wasn’t able to check the final level of the fuel. Additionally, I don’t know exactly how to do it properly, but I can make an estimation. Tomorrow, before the EVA they will be refilled.

# Hours the ATVs were used today: 2h 40 min

Notes on ATVs: ATVs were nominal.

Deimos rover used: Yes

Hours: 102.3 h

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: Yes

Sojourner rover used: Assigned to director only.

Hours: Director discretional hours

Beginning charge:

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: Maybe

Spirit rover used: Yes

Hours: 12.7h

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: No

Opportunity rover used: Yes

Hours: 5.6h

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge:

Currently charging: No

Curiosity rover used: No

Hours: 39h

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: Yes

HabCar used and why, where? No

General notes and comments: Water heater was fixed; however, you have to open the pipe handle completely in order to the water heater to work. Kinda stressful because our critical resource is water. It will be great if this issue can be fix. The lower deck heater is now operating.

Summary of internet: All nominal

Summary of suits and radios: All nominal

Summary of Hab operations: Today a water filter was installed in the water loft.

Summary of EVA operations: During the EVA of today, the battery level of Deimos rover dropped suddenly from 71% to 26% in just 5 mins. Due to this, we had to tow the rover with a ATV until the Hab.

Summary of GreenHab operations: All nominal

Summary of Science Dome operations: All nominal

Summary of RAM operations: Not Operational

Summary of health and safety issues: All nominal

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: Today the water heater was fixed but a lot of water was wasted to do that (testing and fixing), that’s the reason that today we have just 100 Gallons of water; please, we will need a refill of this. During the towing process the jumping cables were broke, We need a new pair of this.

POSTED ONJANUARY 21, 2018
Operations Report – January 21st
Operations Report

Subject Line: Crew 187 Operations Report 21JAN2018

Crew 187 Operations Report 21012018

SOL: 09

Name of person filing report: Luis Jose Diaz Lopez

Non-nominal systems: Water heater.

Notes on non-nominal systems: Generator system limping along with a now-nominal routine.

Generator (hours run): 15h 10min

Generator turned off, charging battery at 10h:58m

Generator turned on at 19h:00m

Solar— SOC

@ 08:42: 65%

@ 18:11: 69%

Diesel: It can’t be measure. Explained in the Report 19JAN2018

Propane: 95%

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV): 4.75 Gallons

Water (trailer): 0 Gallons

Water (static): 230 Gallons

Trailer to Static Pump used: Yes

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used: Yes

Water Meter: 01300547 Gallons

Toilet tank emptied: No

ATVs Used: None

Oil Added? No

ATV Fuel Used: – Gallons

# Hours the ATVs were used today: –

Notes on ATVs: ATVs were nominal.

Deimos rover used: No

Hours: 101.8 h0

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: Yes

Sojourner rover used: Assigned to director only.

Hours: Director discretional hours

Beginning charge:

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: Maybe

Spirit rover used: Yes

Hours: 12.7h

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: No

Opportunity rover used: Yes

Hours: 5.6h

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge:

Currently charging: Yes

Curiosity rover used: No

Hours: 39h

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: Yes

HabCar used and why, where? No

General notes and comments: The power generator was running for several hours because there were many clouds in the morning that did not allow the solar panels to charge the batteries. Water heater was disconnected because it’s not working.

Summary of internet: All nominal

Summary of suits and radios: All nominal

Summary of Hab operations: All nominal. Today we got a refill of 125 gallons of water from the water (trailer).

Summary of GreenHab operations: All nominal

Summary of ScienceDome operations: All nominal

Summary of RAM operations: Not Operational

Summary of health and safety issues: All nominal

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: None

POSTED ONJANUARY 20, 2018
Operations Report – January 20th
Operations Report

Subject Line: Crew 187 Operations Report 20JAN2018

Crew 187 Operations Report 20012018

SOL: 08

Name of person filing report: Luis Diaz

Non-nominal systems: None

Notes on non-nominal systems: Generator system limping along with a now-nominal routine.

Generator (hours run): 17h 50min

Generator turned off, charging battery at 13h:15m

Generator turned on at 19h:45m

Solar— SOC

@ 08:09: 64%

@ 17:49: 88%

Diesel: It can’t be measure. Explained in the Report 19JAN2018

Propane: 96%

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV): 4.75 Gallons

Water (trailer): 125 Gallons

Water (static): 130 Gallons

Trailer to Static Pump used: No

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used: Yes

Water Meter: 01299763 Gallons

Toilet tank emptied: Yes

ATVs Used: None

Oil Added? No

ATV Fuel Used: – Gallons

# Hours the ATVs were used today: –

Notes on ATVs: ATVs were nominal.

Deimos rover used: No

Hours: 101.8 h0

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: Yes

Sojourner rover used: Assigned to director only.

Hours: Director discretional hours

Beginning charge:

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: Maybe

Spirit rover used: No

Hours: 12.1h

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: No

Opportunity rover used: No

Hours: 5.5h

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge:

Currently charging: No

Curiosity rover used: No

Hours: 39h

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: Yes

HabCar used and why, where? No

General notes and comments: The electric bulb in room 3 burned down and was replaced by one found in the lower deck. The air filter was changed. The power generator was running for several hours because there were many clouds in the morning that did not allow the solar panels to charge the batteries.

Summary of internet: All nominal

Summary of suits and radios: All nominal

Summary of Hab operations: All nominal

Summary of GreenHab operations: All nominal

Summary of ScienceDome operations: All nominal

Summary of RAM operations: Not Operational

Summary of health and safety issues: All nominal

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: I’m calculating that the level of the water tank (static) will need a refill in 3 days, but if this could be done asap it would be great given that in the coming days the climatic conditions could complicate this task.

The water heater is not working. It shows a message that said: E3. I’m attaching a picture of that.

POSTED ONJANUARY 19, 2018
Operations Report – January 19th
Operations Report

Subject Line: Crew 187 Operations Report 19JAN2018

Crew 187 Operations Report 19JAN2018

SOL: 06

Name of person filing report: Luis Diaz

Non-nominal systems: None

Notes on non-nominal systems: Generator system limping along with a now-nominal routine.

Generator (hours run): 13h 53min

Generator turned off, charging battery at 8:02

Generator turned on at 19:25

Solar— SOC

@ 08:38: 30%

@ 04:41: 99%

Diesel: It can’t be measured. Explained in general notes and comments.

Propane: 97%

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV): 4.75 Gallons

Water (trailer): 125 Gallons

Water (static): 200 Gallons

Trailer to Static Pump used: No

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used: Yes

Water Meter: 01299134 Gallons

Toilet tank emptied: No

ATVs Used: None

Oil Added? No

ATV Fuel Used: – Gallons

# Hours the ATVs were used today: –

Notes on ATVs: ATVs were nominal.

Deimos rover used: No

Hours: 101.8 h0

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: Yes

Sojourner rover used: Assigned to director only.

Hours: Director discretional hours

Beginning charge:

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: Maybe

Spirit rover used: No

Hours: 12.1h

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: No

Opportunity rover used: No

Hours: 5.5h

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge:

Currently charging: No

Curiosity rover used: No

Hours: 39h

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: Yes

HabCar used and why, where? No

General notes and comments: Since the diesel level indicator does not work it can’t be measured. It looked to be almost empty, that’s the reason today we got a refill of 15 gallons. It is expected that it can be repaired in the coming days.

Summary of internet: All nominal

Summary of suits and radios: All nominal

Summary of Hab operations: All nominal

Summary of GreenHab operations: All nominal

Summary of ScienceDome operations: All nominal

Summary of RAM operations: Not Operational

Summary of health and safety issues: Given the presence of clouds during the morning and with little possibility of charging the battery of the solar panels, adding to this the small amount of diesel, the crew decided to follow protocols to save electricity for the night.

However, we received a diesel refill on time and the solar panels got the light from the sun sufficient to let the batteries be charged.

Questions, concerns, and requests to Mission Support: We are looking for a small buzzer to use as an alarm for the level sensor of the water tank. Any idea where to find it?

POSTED ONJANUARY 18, 2018
Operations Report – January 17th
Operations Report

Subject Line: Crew 187 Operations Report 17JAN2018

Crew 187 Operations Report 17012018

SOL: 05

Name of person filing report: L. Diaz

Non-nominal systems: None

Notes on non-nominal systems: Generator system limping along with a now-nominal routine.

Generator (hours run): 12h 00min

Generator turned off, charging battery at 8:30

Generator turned on at 20:40

Solar— SOC

@ 8:37: 52%

@ 19:30: 96%

Diesel: 50%

Propane: 99%

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV): 4.75 Gallons

Water (trailer): 125 Gallons

Water (static): 260 Gallons

Trailer to Static Pump used: No

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used: Yes

Water Meter: 01297674 Gallons

Toilet tank emptied: No

ATVs Used: None

Oil Added? No

ATV Fuel Used: – Gallons

# Hours the ATVs were used today: –

Notes on ATVs: ATVs were nominal.

Deimos rover used: No

Hours: –

Beginning charge: –

Ending charge:

Currently charging: No

Sojourner rover used: Assigned to director only.

Hours: Director discretional hours

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging: Maybe

Spirit rover used: No

Hours: –

Beginning charge: -%

Ending charge:

Currently charging: No

Opportunity rover used: No

Hours: –

Beginning charge: -%

Ending charge:

Currently charging: No

Curiosity rover used: No

Hours: –

Beginning charge: –

Ending charge:

Currently charging: Yes

HabCar used and why, where? No

General notes and comments: None

Summary of internet: All nominal

Summary of suits and radios: All nominal

Summary of Hab operations: All nominal

Summary of GreenHab operations: All nominal

Summary of ScienceDome operations: All nominal

Summary of RAM operations: Not Operational

Summary of health and safety issues: All nominal

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: None

POSTED ONJANUARY 18, 2018
Operations Report – January 18th
Operations Report

Subject Line: Crew 187 Operations Report 18JAN2018

Crew 187 Operations Report 18012018

SOL: 06

Name of person filing report: L. Diaz

Non-nominal systems: None

Notes on non-nominal systems: Generator system limping along with a now-nominal routine.

Generator (hours run): 11h 20min

Generator turned off, charging battery at 8:02

Generator turned on at 18:09

Solar— SOC

@ 08:36: 38%

@ 17:03: 79%

Diesel: 50%

Propane: 98%

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV): 4.75 Gallons

Water (trailer): 125 Gallons

Water (static): 230 Gallons

Trailer to Static Pump used: No

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used: Yes

Water Meter: 01298392 Gallons

Toilet tank emptied: No

ATVs Used: None

Oil Added? No

ATV Fuel Used: – Gallons

# Hours the ATVs were used today: –

Notes on ATVs: ATVs were nominal.

Deimos rover used: Yes

Hours: 101.8 h

Beginning charge: Yes

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: Yes

Sojourner rover used: Assigned to director only.

Hours: Director discretional hours

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging: Maybe

Spirit rover used: No

Hours: –

Beginning charge: -%

Ending charge:

Currently charging: No

Opportunity rover used: No

Hours: -x

Beginning charge: -%

Ending charge:

Currently charging: No

Curiosity rover used: Yes

Hours: 39h

Beginning charge: Yes

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: Yes

HabCar used and why, where? No

General notes and comments: Yesterday I made a typo in the water meter. Please change it for: 01297674 Gallons. Tomorrow I’m going to check the statistics remaining from the another vehicles to fill the Operations Report, I don’t have the actual statistics due the second day of training (SOL 2) the crew used the other vehicles that we don’t have used again until now.

Summary of internet: All nominal

Summary of suits and radios: All nominal

Summary of Hab operations: All nominal

Summary of GreenHab operations: All nominal

Summary of ScienceDome operations: All nominal

Summary of RAM operations: The cage of the Curiosity rover has been stored inside the RAM.

Summary of health and safety issues: All nominal

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: I would like to know how to perform the measurement approaches of propane, which does not have a measurement indicator, and diesel whose indicator is broken. I have been doing this by estimation.

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/category/operations-report/page/22/ Source]

Crew 188 Operations Reports

2019-03-24T18:05:16Z

NathanielFromMars: Created page with "Category:Operations Reports POSTED ONFEBRUARY 9, 2018 Operations Report – February 9th Crew 188 Operational Report 09/02/2018 Sol 12 Zac Trolley Non-Nominal Systems..."

[[Category:Operations Reports]]

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 9, 2018
Operations Report – February 9th
Crew 188 Operational Report 09/02/2018

Sol 12

Zac Trolley

Non-Nominal Systems: electrical system, electrical cords, propane, EVA Suits

Notes on non-nominal systems: See individual systems at the end of the report.

Generator (hours run): 14.5h

Solar: SOC 80%

Diesel: 72%

Propane: 55

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV): 3 Gallons

Water (trailer): 0 Gallons

Water (static): 65 Gallons

Trailer to Static Pump used: No

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used: Yes

Meter: 130949.8

Toilet tank emptied: No

ATVs Used: Yes

Oil Added: No

ATV Fuel Used: 0 Gallons

# Hours the ATVs were Used today: 0.5

Notes on ATVs: The Gasoline storage area needs to be moved. The sun is creating a large pressure differential on the jerry cans, making that area an explosion risk.

Deimos rover used: No

Hours: Hours: 108.1

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging: No

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Spirit rover used: No

Hours: 19.5h

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging: No

Opportunity rover used: No

Hours: 19.1h

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging: No

Curiosity rover used: No

Hours: 12.0h

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging: No

HabCar: No

General notes and comments:

During an EVA, a plastic handle from the passenger side roll cage on Demos came off. We have the handle, but no hardware to re-attach it.

Generator was turned off at 9:25

Generator was turned on at 18:24

I’ve found two extension cords that have been damaged and need to be replaced. If there are 3 prong plugs available, I can repair the cords. Please advise.

Summary of internet: Tests were run on the internet connectivity and passed on to Bernard.

Summary of suits and radios: I’ve passed on a report about the EVA suits

Summary of Hab operations: Propane was smelt again this afternoon around 4pm. The heater had been turned off for 24 hours, and nothing else was on. I strongly suggest a licensed contractor investigate the propane leak before another team moves into Hab. There is a significant safety risk as we have not been able to pinpoint the source of the leak.

Summary of EVA operations: Nominal

Summary of GreenHab operations: The temperature gauge display has some non-functional LCD areas, a new one has been ordered.

Summary of Science Dome operations: The science dome is awaiting a portable heater as per the MDRS Director.

Summary of RAM operations: Not Operational.

Summary of health and safety issues: Nominal

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: We could use another bag of toilet deodorizer, as we only have one puck left.

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 9, 2018
Operations Report – February 4th
Crew 188 Operational Report 04/02/2018

Sol 7

Zac Trolley

Non-Nominal Systems: electrical system, electrical cords

Notes on non-nominal systems: See individual systems at the end of the report.

Generator (hours run): 16.9h

Solar: SOC 80%

Diesel: 75%

Propane: 61 psi

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV): 8 Gallons

Water (trailer): 0 Gallons

Water (static): 170 Gallons

Trailer to Static Pump used: No

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used: Yes

Meter 130739.8

Toilet tank emptied: No

ATVs Used: None

Oil Added: None

ATV Fuel Used: None

# Hours the ATVs were Used today: 0

Notes on ATVs: none

Deimos rover used: No

Hours: Hours: 108.1

Beginning charge: N/A

Ending charge: N/A

Currently charging: Yes

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Spirit rover used: No

Hours: 18.0h

Beginning charge: N/A

Ending charge: N/A

Currently charging: No

Opportunity rover used: No

Hours: 13.5

Beginning charge: N/A

Ending charge: N/A

Currently charging: No

Curiosity rover used: No

Hours: 11.3h

Beginning charge: N/A

Ending charge: N/A

Currently charging: No

HabCar: Not used

General notes and comments: We are rotating the Rovers with the one plug in we have, and that should be sufficient if we are taking 2 rovers at a time per EVA.

It would seem that the electrical generation isn’t being regulated that well. The diesel and solar power systems will vary between 120V and 140V. No known reason why this is happening.

During an EVA, a plastic handle from the passenger side roll cage on Demos came off. We have the handle, but no hardware to re-attach it.

Generator was turned off at 10:36

Generator was turned on at 17:28

I’ve found two extension cords that have been damaged and need to be replaced. If there are 3 prong plugs available, I can repair the cords. Please advise.

Summary of internet: Internet connectivity continues to be a problem even with the data purchased. Devices are having troubles connecting and this is limiting the crew’s ability to monitor the CapCom emails

Summary of suits and radios: The clasp on Suit 1 was bent back to place, it’s as good as new.

Suit 2 was repaired, it was a cold solder joint, as well as the connection not being crimped. I expertly re-attached the connector and the suit is operational

Summary of Hab operations: Nominal

Summary of EVA operations: In the warm weather the fogging issue isn’t as pronounced. We are hoping for warm weather to maintain visual accuracy in the helmets.

Summary of GreenHab operations: The temperature gauge display has some non-functional LCD areas, a new one has been ordered.

Summary of Science Dome operations: The science dome is awaiting a portable heater as per the MDRS Director.

Summary of RAM operations: Not Operational.

Summary of health and safety issues: Nominal

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: We could use another bag of toilet deodorizer, as we only have one pack left.

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 7, 2018
Operations Report – February 7th
Crew 188 Operational Report 07/02/2018

Sol 10

Zac Trolley

Non-Nominal Systems: electrical system, electrical cords

Notes on non-nominal systems: See individual systems at the end of the report.

Generator (hours run): 15.2h

Solar: SOC 78%

Diesel: 74%

Propane: 55 – Reading taken at 2:30 PM. There are no units on the gauge.

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV): 3 Gallons

Water (trailer): 0 Gallons

Water (static): 120 Gallons

Trailer to Static Pump used: No

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used: Yes

Meter 130875.1

Toilet tank emptied: No

ATVs Used: None

Oil Added: Yes, about 600ml total.

ATV Fuel Used: 0 Gallons

# Hours the ATVs were Used today: 0

Notes on ATVs: The Gasoline storage area needs to be moved. The sun is creating a large pressure differential on the jerry cans, making that area an explosion risk.

Deimos rover used: Yes

Hours: Hours: 108.1

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 100%

Currently charging: No

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Spirit rover used: No

Hours: 18.0h

Beginning charge: N/A

Ending charge: N/A

Currently charging: No

Opportunity rover used: Yes

Hours: 19.1h

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 99%

Currently charging: Yes

Curiosity rover used: Yes

Hours: 11.6h

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 99%

Currently charging: No

HabCar: No

General notes and comments:

During an EVA, a plastic handle from the passenger side roll cage on Demos came off. We have the handle, but no hardware to re-attach it.

Generator was turned off at 9:18

Generator was turned on at 18:20

I’ve found two extension cords that have been damaged and need to be replaced. If there are 3 prong plugs available, I can repair the cords. Please advise.

The propane smell was back today. Around 5:00pm there was two people in the Hab, and the smell was detected in the same place as before. The downstairs heater was off. It has been my understanding that the downstairs heater turns off automatically when it reaches a certain temperature. The source of the gas could be a portion of propane that is not combusted when the heater automatically turns off.

If this is NOT the way the heater functions, please let me know.

We used the detector and there was a positive detection of gas. Unfortunately, we did not think to do a control check with the instrument when no gas was smelt to ensure we are not getting false positives. I did another bubble test on all the visible gas connections, and nothing was found.

Summary of internet: Tests were run on the internet connectivity and passed on to Bernard.

Summary of suits and radios: Nominal

Summary of Hab operations: We are running low of vegetables, and there is a concern that our vegetarians will not have enough food for the remainder of the mission.

Summary of EVA operations: Nominal

Summary of GreenHab operations: The temperature gauge display has some non-functional LCD areas, a new one has been ordered.

Summary of Science Dome operations: The science dome is awaiting a portable heater as per the MDRS Director.

Summary of RAM operations: Not Operational.

Summary of health and safety issues: Nominal

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: We could use another bag of toilet deodorizer, as we only have one puck left.

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 6, 2018
Operations Report – February 6th
Crew 188 Operational Report 06/02/2018

Sol 9

Zac Trolley

Non-Nominal Systems: electrical system, electrical cords

Notes on non-nominal systems: See individual systems at the end of the report.

Generator (hours run): 15.2h

Solar: SOC 74%

Diesel: 75%

Propane: 61 psi

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV): 3 Gallons

Water (trailer): 0 Gallons

Water (static): 170 Gallons

Trailer to Static Pump used: No

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used: Yes

Meter 130825.4

Toilet tank emptied: Yes

ATVs Used: The three blue ATVs were used today

Oil Added: None

ATV Fuel Used: 2 Gallons

# Hours the ATVs were Used today: 2

Notes on ATVs: It is very difficult to see the fuel level in the ATVs with the suit helmet on. Also, the gas can that had a little fuel in the bottom imploded due to temperature change. There was no leak, but the structural integrity of the can has been compromised and it should be destroyed. I suggest a new location be found to keep the cans out of the sun.

Deimos rover used: No

Hours: Hours: 108.1

Beginning charge: N/A

Ending charge: N/A

Currently charging: No

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Spirit rover used: No

Hours: 18.0h

Beginning charge: N/A

Ending charge: N/A

Currently charging: No

Opportunity rover used: Yes

Hours: 19.0h

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 97%

Currently charging: Yes

Curiosity rover used: Yes

Hours: 11.4h

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 99%

Currently charging: No

HabCar: Yes, to get a load of water.

General notes and comments:

During an EVA, a plastic handle from the passenger side roll cage on Demos came off. We have the handle, but no hardware to re-attach it.

Generator was turned off at 9:00

Generator was turned on at 18:04

I’ve found two extension cords that have been damaged and need to be replaced. If there are 3 prong plugs available, I can repair the cords. Please advise.

Summary of internet: Tests were run on the internet connectivity and passed on to Bernard.

Summary of suits and radios: Nominal

Summary of Hab operations: We are running low of vegetables, and there is a concern that our vegetarians will not have enough food for the remainder of the mission.

Summary of EVA operations: Nominal

Summary of GreenHab operations: The temperature gauge display has some non-functional LCD areas, a new one has been ordered.

Summary of Science Dome operations: The science dome is awaiting a portable heater as per the MDRS Director.

Summary of RAM operations: Not Operational.

Summary of health and safety issues: Nominal

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: We could use another bag of toilet deodorizer, as we only have one puck left.

The “tunnel” had a few sharp edges of the metal at the corners, and a jacket was torn. I’ve taped over the edges so it doesn’t happen again.

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 5, 2018
Operations Report – February 5th
Crew 188 Operational Report 05/02/2018

Sol 8

Crew reporting: Zac Trolley

Non-Nominal Systems: electrical system, electrical cords

Notes on non-nominal systems: See individual systems at the end of the report.

Generator (hours run): 16.9h

Solar: SOC 84%

Diesel: 75%

Propane: 61 psi

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV): 5 Gallons

Water (trailer): 0 Gallons

Water (static): 150 Gallons

Trailer to Static Pump used: No

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used: Yes

Meter 130788.5

Toilet tank emptied: Yes

ATVs Used: Yes, all four were used today.

Oil Added: None

ATV Fuel Used: 3 Gallons

# Hours the ATVs were Used today: 1

Notes on ATVs: It is very difficult to see the fuel level in the ATVs with the suit helmet on.

Deimos rover used: No

Hours: Hours: 108.1

Beginning charge: N/A

Ending charge: N/A

Currently charging: No

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Spirit rover used: No

Hours: 18.0h

Beginning charge: N/A

Ending charge: N/A

Currently charging: No

Opportunity rover used: No

Hours: 13.5

Beginning charge: N/A

Ending charge: N/A

Currently charging: No

Curiosity rover used: No

Hours: 11.3h

Beginning charge: N/A

Ending charge: N/A

Currently charging: No

HabCar: Not used

General notes and comments:

During an EVA, a plastic handle from the passenger side roll cage on Demos came off. We have the handle, but no hardware to re-attach it.

Generator was turned off at 10:36

Generator was turned on at 17:49

I’ve found two extension cords that have been damaged and need to be replaced. If there are 3 prong plugs available, I can repair the cords. Please advise.

Summary of internet: Sub Nominal

Summary of suits and radios: Nominal

Summary of Hab operations: Nominal

Summary of EVA operations: Nominal

Summary of GreenHab operations: The temperature gauge display has some non-functional LCD areas, a new one has been ordered.

Summary of Science Dome operations: The science dome is awaiting a portable heater as per the MDRS Director.

Summary of RAM operations: Not Operational.

Summary of health and safety issues: Nominal

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: We could use another bag of toilet deodorizer, as we only have one puck left.

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 4, 2018
Operations Report – February 4th
Crew 188 Operational Report 04/02/2018

Sol 7

Zac Trolley

Non-Nominal Systems: electrical system, electrical cords

Notes on non-nominal systems: See individual systems at the end of the report.

Generator (hours run): 16.9h

Solar: SOC 80%

Diesel: 75%

Propane: 61 psi

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV): 8 Gallons

Water (trailer): 0 Gallons

Water (static): 170 Gallons

Trailer to Static Pump used: No

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used: Yes

Meter 130739.8

Toilet tank emptied: No

ATVs Used: None

Oil Added: None

ATV Fuel Used: None

# Hours the ATVs were Used today: 0

Notes on ATVs: none

Deimos rover used: No

Hours: Hours: 108.1

Beginning charge: N/A

Ending charge: N/A

Currently charging: Yes

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Spirit rover used: No

Hours: 18.0h

Beginning charge: N/A

Ending charge: N/A

Currently charging: No

Opportunity rover used: No

Hours: 13.5

Beginning charge: N/A

Ending charge: N/A

Currently charging: No

Curiosity rover used: No

Hours: 11.3h

Beginning charge: N/A

Ending charge: N/A

Currently charging: No

HabCar: Not used

General notes and comments: We are rotating the Rovers with the one plug in we have, and that should be sufficient if we are taking 2 rovers at a time per EVA.

It would seem that the electrical generation isn’t being regulated that well. The diesel and solar power systems will vary between 120V and 140V. No known reason why this is happening.

During an EVA, a plastic handle from the passenger side roll cage on Demos came off. We have the handle, but no hardware to re-attach it.

Generator was turned off at 10:36

Generator was turned on at 17:28

I’ve found two extension cords that have been damaged and need to be replaced. If there are 3 prong plugs available, I can repair the cords. Please advise.

Summary of internet: Internet connectivity continues to be a problem even with the data purchased. Devices are having troubles connecting and this is limiting the crew’s ability to monitor the CapCom emails

Summary of suits and radios: The clasp on Suit 1 was bent back to place, it’s as good as new.

Suit 2 was repaired, it was a cold solder joint, as well as the connection not being crimped. I expertly re-attached the connector and the suit is operational

Summary of Hab operations: Nominal

Summary of EVA operations: In the warm weather the fogging issue isn’t as pronounced. We are hoping for warm weather to maintain visual accuracy in the helmets.

Summary of GreenHab operations: The temperature gauge display has some non-functional LCD areas, a new one has been ordered.

Summary of Science Dome operations: The science dome is awaiting a portable heater as per the MDRS Director.

Summary of RAM operations: Not Operational.

Summary of health and safety issues: Nominal

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: We could use another bag of toilet deodorizer, as we only have one pack left.

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 4, 2018
Operations Report – February 3rd
Sol 6

Prepared by: Zac Trolley

Non-Nominal Systems: Greenhab temperature sensor, Suit 2, electrical systems.

Notes on non-nominal systems: See individual systems at the end of the report.

Generator (hours run): 16.7h
Solar: SOC 84%
Diesel: 76%
Propane: 61 psi
Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV): 8 Gallons

Water (trailer): 0 Gallons
Water (static): 200 Gallons
Trailer to Static Pump used: No
Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used: Yes
Meter 130708.6

Toilet tank emptied: Yes

ATVs Used: None

Oil Added: None

ATV Fuel Used: None
# Hours the ATVs were Used today: 0
Notes on ATVs: none

Deimos rover used: Yes
Hours: Hours: 108.1
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 98%
Currently charging: No

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR
Hours:
Beginning charge:
Ending charge:
Currently charging:

Spirit rover used: No
Hours: 18.0h
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 91%
Currently charging: No

Opportunity rover used: no
Hours: 13.5
Beginning charge: N/A
Ending charge: N/A
Currently charging: No

Curiosity rover used: Yes
Hours: 11.3h
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 92%
Currently charging: Yes

HabCar: Not used

General notes and comments: We are rotating the Rovers with the one plugin we have, and that should be sufficient if we are taking 2 rovers at a time per EVA.

It would seem that the electrical generation isn’t being regulated that well. The diesel and solar power systems will vary between 120V and 140V. No known reason why this is happening.

During an EVA, a plastic handle from the passenger side roll cage on Demos came off. We have the handle, but no hardware to re-attach it.

Summary of internet: Internet connectivity continues to be a problem even with the data purchased. Devices are having troubles connecting and this is limiting the crew’s ability to monitor the CapCom emails

Summary of suits and radios: There is a bent clasp on suit #1 on the helmet collar. It was probably bent during the EVA, the system is still functional.

Suit 2’s air supply is no longer functioning. The diagnostics we performed suggest that the switch isn’t operating properly. We are shelving the EVA suit.

Summary of Hab operations: Nominal

Summary of EVA operations: We are still brainstorming ways to combat the helmet fog. Without proper ventilation under the helmet ring, the facemasks rapidly fog up. It is becoming a safety issue on EVA. The other suit configuration seems to have better airflow.

Summary of GreenHab operations: The temperature gauge display has some non-functional LCD areas, a new one has been ordered.

Summary of Science Dome operations: The science dome is awaiting a portable heater as per the MDRS Director.

Summary of RAM operations: Not Operational.

Summary of health and safety issues: Nominal

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: Nominal

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 2, 2018
Operations Report – February 2nd
Crew 188 Operational Report 02/02/2018

Sol 5

Zac Trolley

Non-Nominal Systems: Propane supply, Microwave, Rover Charging infrastructure, Greenhab temperature sensor, Suit 2, electrical systems.

Notes on non-nominal systems: See individual systems at the end of the report.

Generator (hours run): 13.5h

Solar: SOC 77%

Diesel: 76%

Propane: 61 psi

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV): 8 Gallons

Water (trailer): 0 Gallons

Water (static): 250 Gallons

Trailer to Static Pump used: No

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used: Yes

Meter 130661.4

Toilet tank emptied: No

ATVs Used: None

Oil Added: None

ATV Fuel Used: None

# Hours the ATVs were Used today: 0

Notes on ATVs: none

Deimos rover used: No

Hours: Hours: 106.9h (Accurate as of two days ago, rover was not on campus during EVA to check hours.)

Beginning charge: N/A

Ending charge: N/A

Currently charging: No

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Spirit rover used: Yes

Hours: 18.0h

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 91%

Currently charging: No

Opportunity rover used: no

Hours: 13.5

Beginning charge: N/A

Ending charge: N/A

Currently charging: No

Curiosity rover used: Yes

Hours: 10.5h

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 86%

Currently charging: Yes

HabCar: Not used

General notes and comments: The Hab Director mentioned that the Rovers required an extension cord that is shorter than 25 feet. We estimate the cords being used now are 50 foot cables. I was able to find a 25 foot extension cable, meaning we could charge one rover at time based on the above specifications. Can we have the appropriate extension cables sent to the Hab in order to charge the Rovers?

Also, the configuration the rovers are in means that the rovers need to back out before they are used. Backing up in an EVA suit is hazardous since you can’t see behind you in a suit. Please advise if there is another configuration that allows charging with a 25 foot extension cable as well as the ability to drive forward during EVAs.

Summary of internet: Internet connectivity continues to be a problem even with the data purchased. Devices are having troubles connecting and this is limiting the crews ability to monitor the CapCom emails

Summary of suits and radios: There is a bent clasp on suit #1 on the helmet collar. It was probably bent during the EVA, the system is still functional.

Suit 2’s air supply is no longer functioning. The diagnostics we performed suggests that the switch isn’t operating properly. We are shelving the EVA suit.

Summary of Hab operations: Nominal

Summary of EVA operations: We are still brainstorming ways to combat the helmet fog. Without proper ventilation under the helmet ring, the facemasks rapidly fog up. It is becoming a safety issue on EVA. The other suit configuration seems to have better air flow.

Summary of GreenHab operations: The temperature gauge display has some non-functional LCD areas, a new one has been ordered.

Summary of Science Dome operations: The science dome is awaiting a portable heater as per the Hab Director.

Summary of RAM operations: Not Operational.

Summary of health and safety issues: The propane leak seems to be solved, there was no reports of smell today.

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: The two electrical generation systems are operating on different voltages. The generator is outputting 120V and the solar generator is outputting 140V.

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 1, 2018
Operations Report – February 1st
Crew 188 Operational Report 01/02/2018
Sol 4
Zac Trolley
Non-Nominal Systems: Propane supply, Microwave, Rover Charging infrastructure, Greenhab temperature sensor. Notes on non-nominal systems: See individual systems at the end of the report. Generator (hours run): 18.8h
Solar: SOC 81%
Diesel: 78%
Propane: 62 psi
Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV): 8 Gallons Water (trailer): 0 Gallons
Water (static): 300 Gallons
Trailer to Static Pump used: No
Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used: Yes
Meter 130607.8
Toilet tank emptied: Yes

ATVs Used: None
Oil Added: None
ATV Fuel Used: None
# Hours the ATVs were Used today: 0
Notes on ATVs: none
Deimos rover used: No
Hours: Hours: 106.9h (Accurate as of two days ago, rover was not on campus during EVA to check hours.)

Beginning charge: N/A
Ending charge: N/A
Currently charging: No

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR
Hours:
Beginning charge:
Ending charge:
Currently charging:

Spirit rover used: no
Hours: 17.5h
Beginning charge: N/A
Ending charge: N/A
Currently charging: No

Opportunity rover used: no
Hours: 13.5
Beginning charge: N/A
Ending charge: N/A
Currently charging: No

Curiosity rover used: No
Hours: 9.3h
Beginning charge: N/A
Ending charge: N/A
Currently charging: No

HabCar: Not used
General notes and comments: The Hab Director mentioned that the Rovers required an extension cord that is shorter than 25 feet. We estimate the cords being used now are 50 foot cables. I was able to find a 25 foot extension cable, meaning we could charge one rover at time based on the above specifications. Can we have the appropriate extension cables sent to the Hab in order to charge the Rovers?
Also, the configuration the rovers are in means that the rovers need to back out before they are used. Backing up in an EVA suit is hazardous since you can’t see behind you in a suit. Please advise if there is another configuration that allows charging with a 25 foot extension cable as well as the ability to drive forward during EVAs.

Summary of internet: Internet connectivity continues to be a problem even with the data purchased. Devices are having troubles connecting and
Summary of suits and radios: There is a bent clasp on suit #1 on the helmet collar. It was probably bent during the EVA, the system is still functional.
Summary of Hab operations: The microwave isn’t working anymore. The buttons work, the time counts down, but the microwave doesn’t actually produce waves to heat anything.
Summary of EVA operations: We are still brainstorming ways to combat the helmet fog. Without proper ventilation under the helmet ring, the facemasks rapidly fog up. It is becoming a safety issue on EVA.
Summary of GreenHab operations: The temperature gauge display has some non-functional LCD areas, a new one has been ordered.
Summary of Science Dome operations: The science dome is awaiting a portable heater as per the Hab Director. Summary of RAM operations: Not Operational.
Summary of health and safety issues: The propane detector has arrived, and there is a positive detection of combustible gas in the hab.
We calibrated the sensor outside, and moving the detector in different places in the Hab clearly shows that there are areas where there is a higher concentration of combustible gas than others. The instrument is of low quality and does not show us the ppm, so we have no way to tell what the levels are, and if they are dangerous.
The leak was found using soapy water, and the fitting was tightened by the crew. We will investigate tomorrow and hopefully the leak is fixed. Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: All nominal [end]

POSTED ONJANUARY 31, 2018
Operations Report – January 31st
Operational Report
Crew 188: Zac Trolley
31/01/2018

There is a request by the Hab Director for an electrician to investigate a malfunctioning power plug at her residence.
Generator:
The generator shut it’s self off at 4am, the assumed fault was the 12 Volt Battery running low. Luckily the crew was up for the lunar eclipse, and were able to swap the batteries out. The second battery lasted less than 12 hours.
A repair crew came and replaces the alternator on the generator. The oil, fuel, and air filters were also changed. The battery is charging at 14V, so I have high confidence that the issue is solved.

Evac plan
• Generator (hours run): 6.1h
• Generator turned off: 10:33 @ SOC 100%
• Generator turned on: 14:00 @SOC 100%

Fuel Levels:
• Diesel: 79%
• Propane: 62%
• Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV): 8 Gallons

Water Levels:
• Water (trailer): 0 Gallons
• Water (static): 350 Gallons
• Trailer to Static Pump used: No
• Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used: Yes
• Meter @ 20:01 130581.4
• Water Used today: 30.5 Gal
• Toilet tank emptied: No

ATV:
• ATVs were not used today.
• ATVs Used: None
• Oil Added: None
• ATV Fuel Used: None

Rovers:
The Hab Director mentioned that the Rovers required an extension cord that is shorter than 25 feet. We estimate the cords being used now are 50 foot cables. I was able to find a 25 foot extension cable, meaning we could charge one rover at time based on the above specifications. Can we have the appropriate extension cables sent to the Hab in order to charge the Rovers?

Deimos rover used: No
• Hours: 106.9h (Unknown, Director used Rover today, do not have updated numbers)

Spirit rover used: No
• Hours: 17.5h

Opportunity rover used: No
• Hours: 13.5h

Curiosity rover used: No
• Hours: 9.3h

HabCar: Not used

Summary of internet: We purchased the 75 Gig internet token for data in order to support the mission. It is unclear to the crew how the internet tokens operate, and we will monitor the system to ensure we are using is correctly.
Summary of suits and radios: All nominal
Summary of Hab operations: All nominal
Summary of EVA operations: We are still brainstorming ways to combat the helmet fog.
Summary of GreenHab operations: The temperature gauge display has some non-functional LCD areas, a new one has been ordered.
Summary of Science Dome operations: The science dome is awaiting a portable heater as per the Hab Director.
Summary of RAM operations: Not Operational.
Summary of health and safety issues: There was a report of a brief propane smell today, still awaiting the propane detector to rule out off gassing in the Hab.
Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: All nominal

POSTED ONJANUARY 30, 2018
Operations Report – January 30th
Operational Report

Crew 188: Zac Trolley

30/01/2018

Generator:

This morning I was on an EVA, and it was cloudy. Due to the concern from CapCom about the battery bank dropping below 80% I decided to keep the generator running for the morning. Upon my return the generator was no longer running, so I do not have proper metrics for the generator. Shannon suggested that the car battery used to start the generator had died. Upon closer inspection, it the gauge for the battery charger is not working, and It’s suspect that the charger is working at all. I’ve swapped to the backup battery to run the generator tonight.

There as a new battery charger delivered, and it required maintenance to become operational (See attached picture) It is now charging the battery that was hooked up to the generator that died.

· Generator (hours run): Unknown

· Generator turned off: Unknown

· Generator turned on: 17:06 @ SOC 57%

Fuel Levels:

· Diesel: 82%

· Propane: 64%

· Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV): 8 Gallons

Water Levels:

· Water (trailer): 0 Gallons

· Water (static): 350 Gallons

· Trailer to Static Pump used: No

· Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used: Yes

· Meter @ 19:24 -130550.9

· Water Used between 7:00-19:00 37 Gal

· Toilet tank emptied: Yes

ATV:

ATVs were not used today.

· ATVs Used: None

· Oil Added: None

· ATV Fuel Used: None

Rovers:

Spirit and Curiosity were used for today’s EVA. It was noted by the Director that Curiosity was not in the “off” position and not properly charging. This was crew oversight and likely caused by lower visibility in the suit helmets and not being able to see the charging light.

The Hab Director mentioned that the Rovers required an extension cord that is shorter than 25 feet. We estimate the cords being used now are 50 foot cables. I was able to find a 25 foot extension cable, meaning we could charge one rover at time based on the above specifications. Can we have the appropriate extension cables sent to the Hab in order to charge the Rovers?

Deimos rover used: No

· Hours: 106.9h

Spirit rover used: Yes

· Hours: 17.5h

· Beginning charge: 63%

Opportunity rover used: No

· Hours: 13.5h

· Beginning charge: 100%

Curiosity rover used: Yes

· Hours: 9.3h

· Beginning charge: 56%

HabCar: Not used

Summary of internet: We will be purchasing 5 gigs of data per day in order to meet our Sim objectives and be able to increase the visibility of this mission.

Summary of suits and radios: All nominal

Summary of Hab operations: All nominal

Summary of EVA operations: The helmets fogging continue to be an issue. We are going to bring the helmets into the open area in an effort warm up the Lexan before we go on an EVA. Please advise if there are other tricks and tip we can use to lower the fogging issue. It’s becoming a safety issue as visibility is now an unknow variable.

Summary of GreenHab operations: The temperature gauge display has some non-functional LCD areas, a new one has been ordered.

Summary of Science Dome operations: The science dome is awaiting a portable heater as per the Hab Director.

Summary of RAM operations: Not Operational.

Summary of health and safety issues: There was no report of a propane smell today, still awaiting the propane detector to rule out off gassing in the Hab.

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: A crew member had previous version of the Hab hand book (2003, 2016) and those manuals mentioned higher functionality in the Hab in some areas (HALpr, weather station, CapCom and local chat room, etc) I am interested in bringing similar capability and more to the Hab; who is a good contact Earth side to discuss these improvements while I’m at the Hab and can investigate?

POSTED ONJANUARY 29, 2018
Operations Report – January 29th
Prepared by: Zac Trolley, Operations Manager

Non-nominal systems: All systems are operating in their handover condition
Notes on non-nominal systems: None.

Generator (hours run): 17.1h
Generator turned off: 10:23
Generator turned on: 17:38

Solar
SOC 7:37 93%
SOC 17:38 85%

Diesel: 83%
Propane: Information to be provided by the Director
Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV): 8 Gallons
Water (trailer): 0 Gallons
Water (static): 400 Gallons
Trailer to Static Pump used: No
Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used: Yes
Water Meter: @17:00 130497.5
Toilet tank emptied: No
ATVs Used: HONDA, 350(1), 350(2), 350(3)
All ATV’s used for a short EVA to the marbles. No fuel was added.
Oil Added: added to ATV #2
ATV Fuel Used: None
# Hours the ATVs were used today: 0.5
Notes on ATVs: None

Deimos rover used: Yes
Hours: 106.9h
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 100%
Currently charging: no

Spirit rover used: Yes
Hours: 16.4h
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 100%
Currently charging: No

Opportunity rover used: Yes
Hours: 13.5h
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 100%
Currently charging: No

Curiosity rover used: Yes
Hours: 7.9h
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 100%
Currently charging: No

HabCar used and why, where? No
General notes and comments: None
Summary of internet: All nominal
Summary of suits and radios: We had an issue where one of the Radios got stuck on transmit on channel 12, causing a comms blackout. This happened with everyone in the Hab, getting ready for an EVA. The Radio was found and the problem was solved before the EVA or anyone left the Hab.
Summary of Hab operations: All nominal
Summary of EVA operations: Had an issue with the facemasks fogging up. Several people had issues with visibility, one person needed to be driven back due to visibility. We will investigate an airflow solution to provide more anti fogging ability.
Summary of GreenHab operations: All nominal
Summary of Science Dome operations: All nominal.
Summary of RAM operations: Not Operational.
Summary of health and safety issues: All nominal

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: Quality data comes from the consistent method of collection of data. To that end, I have a few questions about the data being collected.

For the state of charge, what is that data being used for, and when should it be taken? Without the SOC being tied to the time of day and amount of sun, it doesn’t have much value. (unless I’m missing something)

The water number has a similar issue. Knowing what time of day it was taken, and taking it at the same time every day provides more useful data. I’ve been writing down the water flow several times a day to track our own use. What would you like the information to accomplish?

Last, the information on the rovers won’t be accurate, meaning if I plugged them in, the battery percentage won’t be accurate at the time of this report. Is that to keep an eye on the battery function? If so, I will only transmit information that is relevant to that investigation.

POSTED ONJANUARY 28, 2018
Operations Report – January 28th
Operational Report

Crew 188: Zac Trolley

28/01/2018

Non-nominal systems: None

Notes on non-nominal systems:

Generator (hours run): 14h

Generator turned off: 9:50

Generator turned on: 17:45

Solar— SOC

@9:50 80%

@13:00 100%

@17:45 82%

Diesel: 85%

Propane: 75%

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV): 10 Gallons

Water (trailer): 0 Gallons

Water (static): 400 Gallons

Trailer to Static Pump used: No

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used: Yes

Water Meter: @19:00 130469.3

Toilet tank emptied: No

ATVs Used: HONDA, 350(1), 350(2), 350(3)

Oil Added? No

ATV Fuel Used: Very little in learning how to fuel the ATVs

# Hours the ATVs were used today: 0.5h Training

Notes on ATVs: Took the ATVs on a training run. The hours run have not been updated from yesterday.

Deimos rover used:

Hours: 102.3 (crew) + Director discretional hours

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: Maybe

Sojourner rover used: Assigned to director only.

Hours: Director discretional hours

Beginning charge:

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: Maybe

Spirit rover used: Yes

Hours: 15.1h

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: Yes

Opportunity rover used: Yes

Hours: 12.4h

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge:

Currently charging: No

Curiosity rover used: Yes

Hours: 6.6h

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: Yes

HabCar used and why, where? Yes, Water run.

General notes and comments: There is a faint smell of propane in the Hab, we believe it may be from the heater on the lower floor when we tried to turn it on. There was also a minor smell of fuel gas during the day.

Summary of internet: All nominal

Summary of suits and radios: Not checked

Summary of Hab operations: All Nominal

Summary of EVA operations: N/A

Summary of GreenHab operations: All nominal

Summary of Science Dome operations: All nominal.

Summary of RAM operations: Not Operational.

Summary of health and safety issues: All nominal

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: N/A

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/category/operations-report/page/21/ Source]

Crew 186 Astronomy Reports

2019-03-24T17:53:48Z

NathanielFromMars: Created page with "Category:Astronomy Experiments POSTED ONJANUARY 6, 2018 Astronomy Report – January 6th (This is not a formal MDRS report, just a summary of astronomy activities for th..."

[[Category:Astronomy Experiments]]

POSTED ONJANUARY 6, 2018
Astronomy Report – January 6th
(This is not a formal MDRS report, just a summary of astronomy activities for the first week that were performed with my personal 6” Newtonian that I’ve set up next to the dome. No use of the MDRS observatories has taken place yet.)

Name: Max Fagin

Crew: 186

date: 01JAN2018-04JAN2018

Sky Conditions: Hazy for the first few evenings, but cleared up on Thursday and Friday

Wind Conditions: Calm

Observation Start Time: N/A

Observation End Time: N/A

Summary: The only scheduled observing was an attempt to photograph the entire crew on a distant mesa in front of the rising supermoon, but there were clouds to the east that prevented it. I have managed to catch a few photos of the sun and moon (attached). Also included is a photo of the crew on new years night (before entering simulation) standing on a (much nearer) mesa and looking at the full moon. The sky cleared up 2 nights ago, but has now gone back to cloudy, will do more astrophotography as the schedule and weather permits.

Objects Viewed: Sun, moon, M42 (not imaged)

Problems Encountered: None

Attached images:

Crew 186 and Supermoon 01012018.jpg

Moonrise 01042018.jpg

Sun and Supermoon.jpg

Supermoon 01012018.jpg

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/category/astronomy-report/page/8/ Source]

Crew 187 Astronomy Reports

2019-03-24T17:52:36Z

NathanielFromMars: Created page with "Category:Astronomy Experiments POSTED ON JANUARY 18, 2018 Astronomy Report – January 17th Name: Cynthia Fuertes Panizo Crew: 187 Date: 17 JAN 2018 Sky Conditions: N..."

[[Category:Astronomy Experiments]]

POSTED ON JANUARY 18, 2018
Astronomy Report – January 17th
Name: Cynthia Fuertes Panizo

Crew: 187

Date: 17 JAN 2018

Sky Conditions: N/A

Wind Conditions: N/A

Observation Start Time: N/A

Observation End Time: N/A

Summary:

· This report is to inform a little anomaly found yesterday in the Musk observatory. There is a finger on the glass of the telescope (picture 1).

· The photo of the power supply of Astronomer laptop is attached (picture 2).

Objects Viewed: N/A

Problems Encountered:N/A

POSTED ONJANUARY 15, 2018
Astronomy Report – January 15th
Science – Astronomy

Name: Cynthia Fuertes Panizo

Crew: 187

Date: 15JAN2018

Sky Conditions: N/A

Wind Conditions: N/A

Observation Start Time: N/A

Observation End Time: N/A

Summary:

Just the status of the Musk Observatory was checked.

· Inside the Manual box was a battery (picture 1).

· Inside Quick Guides box, the Quick Guide and a hand control were found with an advice that said “Spare hand control. Please do not use unless instructed by the astronomy team”. Don’t worry, there is not an intention to use it (picture 2).

· The black box “Sirius Observatories” was turn on. After cheeked the full status of the Musk Observatory, I turned it off (picture 3).

· The picture of the astronomy box is attached (picture 4).

· The astronomy laptop was found in a case on the shelf in the lower hab (picture 5).

· In general, the Musk Observatory looks in good condition. I can’t wait to see the sun from Mars.

Objects Viewed: N/A

Problems Encountered: N/A

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/category/astronomy-report/page/7/ Source]

Crew 188 Astronomy Reports

2019-03-24T17:50:42Z

NathanielFromMars: Created page with "Category:Astronomy Experiments POSTED ONFEBRUARY 7, 2018 Astronomy Report – February 7th Astronomy Report Name: Julia DeMarines Crew: 188 Date: 02/07/2018 Sky cond..."

[[Category:Astronomy Experiments]]

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 7, 2018
Astronomy Report – February 7th
Astronomy Report

Name: Julia DeMarines

Crew: 188

Date: 02/07/2018

Sky conditions: Clear

Wind conditions: low to none

Observation start time 2:10 pm

Observation end time: 4:45 pm

Summary: The last several Sols have been overcast or extremely windy. An attempt to observe yesterday, during a clear patch, was stymied by high winds. Also, I came down with a cold yesterday and have been moving at a slower pace. Today the conditions were too perfect to pass up, even if feeing a bit under the Martian weather. After we helped today’s EVA crew get out the hatch, I had to take the role of Hab-Com until our Commander, Ryan, was finished with his dust experiments which are conducted at the time of the departure and return of the EVA’s. Sometime between 1pm and 2pm I made my way out to the dome and attempted to observe the Sun. I was having difficulties seeing it through the eyepiece even when it was in the Sol Spotting scope. Yesterday I tired to align it using the arrows but still saw no movement in the spotting scope. Today, I tried again and realized it helped to have your eye in the eyepiece. After getting the Sun in the eyepiece, I was finally able to toggle the focus knobs to bring the Sun in focus. I started taking some photos and almost immediately after taking photos, I caught an airplane eclipsing the Sun!

Objects viewed: Sun

Problems encountered: Had to trouble shoot to get the sun in the eyepiece. Was not able to observe the sun through the computer program today. It took too long to set up the camera.

Further questions: I probably will have some questions about the computer program but hope that it goes smoothly tomorrow and that weather is clear and calm.

POSTED ONJANUARY 31, 2018
Astronomy Report – January 31st
Crew 188 Sol 3 Astronomy Report 31JAN2018

Julia DeMarines

31/01/2018

Astronomy Report

Name: Julia DeMarines
Crew: 188
Date: January 31, 2016 (Sol 03)

Sky Conditions: Mildly cloudy
Wind Conditions: None
Observation Start Time: 05:00
Observation End Time: 06:30
Summary: Crew 188 enjoyed watching the Super Blue Blood Moon before it slipped over the horizon.
Objects Viewed: Moon

Equipment Used: Celestron Celestar 8
Problems Encountered: Did not attempt to track the moon so just manually fixed the drift of the moon.

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/category/astronomy-report/page/7/ Source]

Crew 189 Operations Reports

2019-03-24T17:47:50Z

NathanielFromMars: Created page with "Category:Operations Reports POSTED ONMARCH 10, 2018 Operations Report – Match 10th [category operations-report] Crew 189 Operations Report 10March2018 SOL: 20 Name..."

[[Category:Operations Reports]]

POSTED ONMARCH 10, 2018
Operations Report – Match 10th
[category operations-report]

Crew 189 Operations Report 10March2018

SOL: 20

Name of person filing report: Gabriel PAYEN

Non-nominal systems: –

Notes on non-nominal systems: –

Generator (hours run): Turned off at 10:00AM and turned on at 6:30PM

Solar— SOC 71 % (Before generator is run at night)

Diesel – %

Propane – psi.

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV) – 5 gallons.

Water (trailer) – 0 gallons.

Water (static) – 450 gallons

Trailer to Static Pump used – NO

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used – YES

Water Meter: 131 903.2

Toilet tank emptied: NO

ATV’s Used: 1,2,3 & Honda

Oil Added : YES

ATV Fuel Used: Gals

Hours the ATVs were Used today: 2 hours

Notes on ATVs: –

Deimos rover used: YES

Hours: 116.6

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 85%

Currently charging: YES

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Spirit rover used: NO

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Opportunity rover used: YES

Hours: 19.5

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 57%

Currently charging: YES

Curiosity rover used: NO

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

HabCar used and why, where –

General notes and comments: –

Summary of internet: –

Summary of suits and radios: –

Summary of Hab operations:

Cleaned and tidy up

Summary of GreenHab operations:

Cleaned and tidy up

Summary of ScienceDome operations:

Backpack 7 and 10 sent back from the Hab to the ScienceDom

Cleaned and tidy up

Summary of RAMM operations:-

Summary of health and safety issues: –

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: –

POSTED ONMARCH 6, 2018
Operations Report – March 6th
Crew 189 Operations Report 6March2018

SOL: 16

Name of person filing report: Gabriel PAYEN

Non-nominal systems: –

Notes on non-nominal systems: –

Generator (hours run): Turned off at 09:AM and turned on at 6:20PM

Solar— SOC 72 % (Before generator is run at night)

Diesel – 47 %

Propane – 21 psi.

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV) – 9.5 gallons.

Water (trailer) – 0 gallons.

Water (static) – 500 (90%) gallons

Trailer to Static Pump used – NO

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used – YES

Water Meter: 131 724.2

Toilet tank emptied: NO

ATV’s Used: 350.2 & 350.3

Oil Added : NO

ATV Fuel Used: Gals

Hours the ATVs were Used today: 3

Notes on ATVs: –

Deimos rover used: YES

Hours: Start : 112.7 , End : 113.8

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 86%

Currently charging: YES

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Spirit rover used: YES

Hours: Start : 21.9 , End : 23

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 70%

Currently charging: YES

Opportunity rover used: NO

Hours:

Beginning charge: 100

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: NO

Curiosity rover used: NO

Hours: 18

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: NO

HabCar used and why, where : used to get aquaponics supplies and packages from crew 190

General notes and comments: –

Summary of internet: –

Summary of suits and radios: –

Summary of Hab operations: –

Summary of GreenHab operations:

Summary of ScienceDome operations: –

Summary of RAMM operations:-

Summary of health and safety issues: –

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: –

POSTED ONMARCH 5, 2018
Operations Report – March 5th
Hello CapCom, hello Graeme,

Here is my Operations Report for sol 15 :

Crew 189 Operations Report 5March2018

SOL: 15

Name of person filing report: Gabriel PAYEN

Non-nominal systems: –

Notes on non-nominal systems: –

Generator (hours run): Turned on at 8:20 AM and turned off at 7:00 PM

Solar— SOC 79 % (Before generator is run at night)

Diesel – 48 %

Propane – 23 psi.

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV) – 10 gallons.

Water (trailer) – 0 gallons.

Water (static) – 500 gallons (90/95%)

Trailer to Static Pump used – NO

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used – YES

Water Meter: 131 684.0

Toilet tank emptied: YES

ATV’s Used: 1,2,3 & Honda

Oil Added : NO

ATV Fuel Used: Gals

Hours the ATVs were Used today: 2h30

Notes on ATVs: –

Deimos rover used: NO

Hours: 113.2

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: NO

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Spirit rover used: NO

Hours: 22.4

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: YES

Opportunity rover used: NO

Hours: 18.0

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: YES

Curiosity rover used: NO

Hours: 15.4

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: NO

HabCar used and why, where –

General notes and comments: –

Summary of internet: –

Summary of suits and radios: –

Summary of Hab operations: –

Summary of GreenHab operations:

Summary of ScienceDome operations: –

Summary of RAMM operations:-

Summary of health and safety issues: –

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: –

POSTED ONMARCH 5, 2018
Operations Report – November 25th
Hello CapCom, hello Graeme,

Here is my Operations Report for sol 15 :

Crew 189 Operations Report 5March2018

SOL: 15

Name of person filing report: Gabriel PAYEN

Non-nominal systems: –

Notes on non-nominal systems: –

Generator (hours run): Turned on at 8:20 AM and turned off at 7:00 PM

Solar— SOC 79 % (Before generator is run at night)

Diesel – 48 %

Propane – 23 psi.

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV) – 10 gallons.

Water (trailer) – 0 gallons.

Water (static) – 500 gallons (90/95%)

Trailer to Static Pump used – NO

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used – YES

Water Meter: 131 684.0

Toilet tank emptied: YES

ATV’s Used: 1,2,3 & Honda

Oil Added : NO

ATV Fuel Used: Gals

Hours the ATVs were Used today: 2h30

Notes on ATVs: –

Deimos rover used: NO

Hours: 113.2

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: NO

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Spirit rover used: NO

Hours: 22.4

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: YES

Opportunity rover used: NO

Hours: 18.0

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: YES

Curiosity rover used: NO

Hours: 15.4

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: NO

HabCar used and why, where –

General notes and comments: –

Summary of internet: –

Summary of suits and radios: –

Summary of Hab operations: –

Summary of GreenHab operations:

Summary of ScienceDome operations: –

Summary of RAMM operations:-

Summary of health and safety issues: –

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: –

POSTED ONMARCH 4, 2018
Operations Report – March 4th
Crew 189 Operations Report 4March2018

SOL: 14

Name of person filing report: Gabriel PAYEN

Non-nominal systems: –

Notes on non-nominal systems: –

Generator (hours run): Turned off at 08:45 and turned on at 1814

Solar— SOC 88 % (Before generator is run at night)

Diesel – 49 %

Propane – 25 psi.

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV) – 3 gallons.

Water (trailer) – 0 gallons.

Water (static) – 550 gallons (100%)

Note : Dr Rupert and Atila realized that the tanks are 550 gallons one instead of 500.

Trailer to Static Pump used – NO

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used – YES

Water Meter: 131 656.6

Toilet tank emptied: NO

ATV’s Used: NO

Oil Added : YES

ATV Fuel Used: Gals

Hours the ATVs were Used today: –

Notes on ATVs: The ATVs are full and ready to go

Deimos rover used: NO

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Spirit rover used: NO

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Opportunity rover used: NO

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Curiosity rover used: NO

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

HabCar used and why, where : Used to get 120 water, for garbage and to stored parts of the aquaponics system

General notes and comments: –

Summary of internet: –

Summary of suits and radios: –

Summary of Hab operations: –

Summary of GreenHab operations:

Summary of ScienceDome operations: –

Summary of RAMM operations:-

Summary of health and safety issues: –

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: –

POSTED ONMARCH 1, 2018
Operations Report – March 1st
Crew 189 Operations Report 1 March 2018

SOL: 11

Name of person filing report: Gabriel PAYEN
Non-nominal systems: Pipe leak, radios
Notes on non-nominal systems:
– The pipe still leaks at the low deck
– During the EVA, I was the HabCom and had troubles to communicates with EVA members: the range of emission of my radios (I tried three) were very short (~10 meters around the Hab) even if their reception worked well. It led to misunderstandings between EVA members and the Hab, fortunately without consequences (except a loss of time). Nevertheless, it could have worst issues in case of emergency, then we’ll do several checks (mainly about communication range) during the EVA planned tomorrow.

Generator (hours run): Generator turned off at 4:00 AM and turned on at 6:15 AM Solar— SOC – % (Before generator is run at night)

Diesel – Not checked
Propane – 28 psi.
Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV) – 5 gallons.

Water (trailer) – 0 gallons.
Water (static) – 380 (~75%) gallons
Trailer to Static Pump used – NO
Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used – YES
Water Meter: 131 570.2
Toilet tank emptied: NO

ATV’s Used: 1,2,3 & Honda
Oil Added : NO

ATV Fuel Used: Gals

Hours the ATVs were Used today: 3 hours
Notes on ATVs:

Deimos rover used: NO but back after being repaired
Hours: 112.7
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: NA
Currently charging: ?

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR
Hours:
Beginning charge:
Ending charge:
Currently charging:

Spirit rover used: NO
Hours: 21.9
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: NA
Currently charging: YES

Opportunity rover used: NO
Hours: 18.0
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: NA
Currently charging: NO

Curiosity rover used: NO
Hours: 15.3
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: NA
Currently charging: YES

HabCar used and why, where : Used to get a load of 110 gallons and for garbage

General notes and comments:
Summary of internet:
Summary of suits and radios: –
Summary of Hab operations:
Summary of GreenHab operations:
Summary of ScienceDome operations:
Summary of RAMM operations:
Summary of health and safety issues:
Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support:

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 27, 2018
Operations Report – February 27th
Crew 189 Operations Report 27Feb2018

SOL: 9

Name of person filing report: PAYEN Gabriel

Non-nominal systems: Pipe leak, tires compressor

Notes on non-nominal systems:

-The pipe still leaks at the low deck

-During the EVA the crew tried to use the compress and blow front tires. It worked for the right rear wheel but failed for the right front wheel. A tip seems to miss on the compressor because it impossible to screw the compressor on the wheel tip firmly, so that we had to hold it with our hands.

Generator (hours run): Turned off at 9:00 AM and turned on at 7:00 PM

Solar— SOC 72 % (Before generator is run at night)

Diesel – 52%

Propane – 30 psi.

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV) – 5 (50% each) gallons.

Water (trailer) – 0 gallons.

Water (static) – 400 (~80%) gallons

Trailer to Static Pump used – NO

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used – YES

Water Meter: 131 505.9

Toilet tank emptied: NO

ATV’s Used: 1

Oil Added NO

ATV Fuel Used: Gals

Hours the ATVs were Used today: 30min

Notes on ATVs: –

Deimos rover used: NO

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Spirit rover used: NO

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging: YES

Opportunity rover used: NO

Hours: 18

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 100%

Currently charging: YES

Curiosity rover used: YES

Hours: Beginning of the EVA : 15.2 , end of the EVA : 15.3

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 99%

Currently charging: YES

HabCar used and why, where –

General notes and comments: –

Summary of internet: –

Summary of suits and radios:

Inventory of all working and non-working headsets/radios

Radios : All work

Headset : Two don’t work

Summary of Hab operations: –

Summary of GreenHab operations: –

Summary of ScienceDome operations: –

Summary of RAMM operations: –

Summary of health and safety issues: –

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: –

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 26, 2018
Operations Report – February 26th
Hello CapCom, Graeme,

Here is my Operation Report.

Crew 189 Operations Report 26Feb2018

SOL: 8

Name of person filing report: Gabriel PAYEN

Non-nominal systems: Pipe leak, radio

Notes on non-nominal systems:

-The pipe still leaks in the lower deck

-A radio became inaudible during the EVA

Generator (hours run): Turned off this morning and turned on at 6:45 PM

Solar— SOC % (Before generator is run at night) 85%

Diesel – Too dark to see

Propane – Too dark to see

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV) – 5 gallons.

Water (trailer) – 0 gallons.

Water (static) – Between 400 and 450 gallons

Trailer to Static Pump used – NO

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used – YES

Water Meter: 131 473.9

Toilet tank emptied: NO

ATV’s Used: 350.1 & 350.2

Oil Added : YES

ATV Fuel Used: Gals

Hours the ATVs were Used today: 3 hours

Notes on ATVs: –

Deimos rover used: NO

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Spirit rover used: NO

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Opportunity rover used: NO

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Curiosity rover used: NO

Hours: Beginning of the EVA : 13.3 , End of the EVA : 13.7

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 87%

Currently charging: YES

HabCar used and why, where : –

General notes and comments: –

Summary of internet: –

Summary of suits and radios:

For the first time, our helmets stayed clear during the EVA and the fog quickly disappeared after every physical effort!

Summary of Hab operations: –

Summary of GreenHab operations: –

Summary of ScienceDome operations: –

Summary of RAMM operations: –

Summary of health and safety issues: –

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: –

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 25, 2018
Operations Report – February 25th
Crew 189 Operations Report 25Feb2018

SOL: 7

Name of person filing report: Gabriel PAYEN

Non-nominal systems:

-Pipe leak at the low desk

Notes on non-nominal systems:

-It seems that the pipe leak comes from the kitchen faucet.

Generator (hours run): Turned on at 9:AM and turned off at 6:00 PM

Solar— SOC % (Before generator is run at night) : 96%

Diesel – 55 %

Propane – 32 psi.

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV) –

Water (trailer) – –

Water (static) – –

Trailer to Static Pump used – NO

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used – YES

Water Meter: 131 439.1

Toilet tank emptied: NO

ATV’s Used: None

Oil Added –

ATV Fuel Used: Gals

Hours the ATVs were Used today: –

Notes on ATVs:

Deimos rover used: NO

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Spirit rover used: NO

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Opportunity rover used: NO

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Curiosity rover used: NO

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

HabCar used and why, where –

General notes and comments: –

Summary of internet: –

Summary of suits and radios: –

Summary of Hab operations: –

Summary of GreenHab operations: –

Summary of ScienceDome operations: –

Summary of RAMM operations: –

Summary of health and safety issues: –

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: –

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 21, 2018
Operations Report – February 21st
Crew 189 Operations Report 21/02/2018
SOL: 3

Name of person filing report: Gabriel PAYEN

Non-nominal systems: Pipe leak, Fans on backpack 2 & 6, roof heater, light bulb in the bathroom, hesitation about burnable/unburnable trashes.

-Pipe :
The pipe in the low desk still leaks

-Roof Heater :
It’s still difficult to control the heater

-Backpacks :
All engineering checks were nominals, but during the EVA fans of backpack 2 and 6 turned out of service and both helmets were very foggy.
Backpacks 2 and 6 joined backpacks 3 and 4 to the list of backpacks the crew need to fix. The crew was supposed to fix them today but the we were all very busy. I hope we’ll begin tomorrow.

-Light bulb :
At 5:00 PM, a crew member was unable to light on the bulb in the bathroom. It seems that it is broken.

-Trashes :
During the EVA engineering check, the EVA members had to but five wastes bags into the outside trashes but “Burnable” and “Unburnable” weren’t indicated. Therefore, they randomly put the wastes into the trashes, which is quite pity considering we do a selective sorting for wastes.

Generator (hours run): Turned of at 12:20 and turned on at 18:08

Solar— SOC % (Before generator is run at night) –

Diesel – 70 %

Propane – 39 psi.

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV) – 7 gallons.

Water (trailer) – 0 gallons.

Water (static) – 300 gallons

Trailer to Static Pump used – NO

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used – YES

Water Meter: 131 293.2

Toilet tank emptied: YES

ATV’s Used: 350.1 350.2

Oil Added : No

ATV Fuel Used: Gals

Hours the ATVs were Used today: 3 hours

Notes on ATVs: Because of the cold night, it took a few minutes to turn them on.

Deimos rover used: NO
Hours:
Beginning charge:
Ending charge:
Currently charging:

Spirit rover used: NO
Hours:
Beginning charge:
Ending charge:
Currently charging:

Opportunity rover used: YES
Hours: 16.8
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 75%
Currently charging: YES

Curiosity rover used: NO
Hours:
Beginning charge:
Ending charge:
Currently charging:

HabCar used and why, where : NO

General notes and comments: –

Summary of internet: CapCom Bernard wanted some information about the Hab Router. I gave him it by email.

Summary of suits and radios: Backpack 2 & 6 put aside.

Summary of Hab operations: –

Summary of GreenHab operations: Jeremy (GreenHab officer) began to set the new shade with the help of other crew members.

Summary of ScienceDome operations: –

Summary of RAMM operations: –

Summary of health and safety issues: –

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support:

Bulb :
Is it possible to have a new light bulb for the bathroom ?
Brand, model and specifications of the old one : Lights of America – 2814 S – 120V 60Hz 14W 255mA

Pipe leak :
Does a map of all Hab pipes exist ? I still don’t find were the leak comes from. I thought it could be a cooling or heating water, therefore I checked both heaters (roof and wall) today, and they are OK.
The crew is out of ideas considering this leak (I also checked taps yesterday), therefore such a map can help me.

Trashes :
The crew needs indications about trashes to know exactly in which ones burnable and unburnable wastes have to be put into.

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 21, 2018
Operations Report – February 21st
Crew 189 Operations Report 21Feb2018
SOL: 2

Name of person filing report: PAYEN Gabriel

Non-nominal systems: Backpack 3

WiFi

Solar panels < 70% without generator running

Notes on non-nominal systems:

Backpack 3 :

All engineering checks were nominals, but during the EVA both fans turned out of service. Also, the necklace which holds the helmet was not stretched enough so that the helmet fell on the neck of Gabriel during half of the EVA.

Backpack 3 joined backpack 4 to the list of backpacks the crew need to fix. We’ll certainly begin to fix them tomorrow.

WiFi :

Only 15 Mo were left this morning (immediately after the very connection of the day were established). Yet, the leak is unknow. I reported the problem this morning and the crew have communicated with CapCom to find a solution.

Solar panels :

I had to go out of the SIM to turn on the generator at 6:20 PM. Solar SOC was at 53%, I hope batteries are not injured.

Generator (hours run): Turned of at 12:00 and turned on at 6:20PM.

Solar— SOC % (Before generator is run at night) /!\ 53%

Diesel – 70%

Propane – 40 psi.

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV) – 7 gallons.

Water (trailer) – 0 gallons.

Water (static) – 65% gallons

Trailer to Static Pump used – NO

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used – YES

Water Meter: 0.26m

Toilet tank emptied: NO

ATV’s Used: NO

Deimos rover used: YES

Hours: 109.1

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 100% (the EVA team doesn’t travel a lot)

Currently charging: YES

Spirit rover used: NO

Hours: 20.3

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 100%

Currently charging: NO

Opportunity rover used: YES

Hours: 16.6

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 45%

Currently charging: YES

Curiosity rover used: NO

Hours: 100%

Beginning charge: –

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: NO

General notes and comments: –

Summary of internet:

-Still seeking the leak.

Summary of suits and radios:

-Backpack 3 is put aside. Starting fixing backpack 3 and 4 tomorrow.

Summary of Hab operations:

-Two thermometers and the shape for the GreenHab received in the airlock. Jeremy (GreenHab officer) will set it up tomorrow.

-The pipe in the low desk seems not to flow anymore. All water devices in the Hab and GreenHab were tested one by one and none trigger the leak.

-Considering a Dr Rupert’s request, a mattress will be put in the airlock between 8PM and 9 PM.

Summary of GreenHab operations: –

Summary of ScienceDome operations: –

Summary of RAMM operations: –

Summary of health and safety issues: –

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: –

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 20, 2018
Operations Report – February 20th
Crew 189 Operations Report 20Feb2018
SOL: 2

Name of person filing report: PAYEN Gabriel

Non-nominal systems: Backpack 3

WiFi

Solar panels < 70% without generator running

Notes on non-nominal systems:

Backpack 3 :

All engineering checks were nominals, but during the EVA both fans turned out of service. Also, the necklace which holds the helmet was not stretched enough so that the helmet fell on the neck of Gabriel during half of the EVA.

Backpack 3 joined backpack 4 to the list of backpacks the crew need to fix. We’ll certainly begin to fix them tomorrow.

WiFi :

Only 15 Mo were left this morning (immediately after the very connection of the day were established). Yet, the leak is unknow. I reported the problem this morning and the crew have communicated with CapCom to find a solution.

Solar panels :

I had to go out of the SIM to turn on the generator at 6:20 PM. Solar SOC was at 53%, I hope batteries are not injured.

Generator (hours run): Turned of at 12:00 and turned on at 6:20PM.

Solar— SOC % (Before generator is run at night) /!\ 53%

Diesel – 70%

Propane – 40 psi.

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV) – 7 gallons.

Water (trailer) – 0 gallons.

Water (static) – 65% gallons

Trailer to Static Pump used – NO

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used – YES

Water Meter: 0.26m

Toilet tank emptied: NO

ATV’s Used: NO

Deimos rover used: YES

Hours: 109.1

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 100% (the EVA team doesn’t travel a lot)

Currently charging: YES

Spirit rover used: NO

Hours: 20.3

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 100%

Currently charging: NO

Opportunity rover used: YES

Hours: 16.6

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 45%

Currently charging: YES

Curiosity rover used: NO

Hours: 100%

Beginning charge: –

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: NO

General notes and comments: –

Summary of internet:

-Still seeking the leak.

Summary of suits and radios:

-Backpack 3 is put aside. Starting fixing backpack 3 and 4 tomorrow.

Summary of Hab operations:

-Two thermometers and the shape for the GreenHab received in the airlock. Jeremy (GreenHab officer) will set it up tomorrow.

-The pipe in the low desk seems not to flow anymore. All water devices in the Hab and GreenHab were tested one by one and none trigger the leak.

-Considering a Dr Rupert’s request, a mattress will be put in the airlock between 8PM and 9 PM.

Summary of GreenHab operations: –

Summary of ScienceDome operations: –

Summary of RAMM operations: –

Summary of health and safety issues: –

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: –

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 19, 2018
Operations Report – February 19th
Hi CapCom,

I’m Gabriel, and here is my Operation report.

Crew 189 Operations Report 19Feb2018

SOL: 1

Name of person filing report: Gabriel PAYEN

Non-nominal systems: Roof heater, pipe leak in low deck, ethernet hub, fan of backpack 4

Notes on non-nominal systems:

-Ethernet Hub :

This afternoon an experiment had trouble with an ethernet hub. We’ll try to fix it tonight or tomorrow.

-Fan :

During the engineering check all backpack seemed to be nominal but a fan on backpack 4 turned out of service during the EVA. Tomorrow the crew will be very busy, but we are planning an important backpack fixing operation during the upcoming days.

-Pipe leak :

The flow seems to be reduced, the bucket was empty this morning and at 50% tonight.

-Roof heater :

This morning it was very difficult to control the roof heater. Sometimes the flow became tepid or even cold without any reason because the furnace stops running. I’ve turned on the wall heater which runs all day.

Generator (hours run): All the day (turned on since 6:00 PM 18Feb) because of a cloudy day

Solar— SOC % (Before generator is run at night) 83% at 9 AM

Diesel – 70%

Propane – ?

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV) – 7 gallons.

Water (trailer) – 0 gallons.

Water (static) – 400 gallons (checked during the EVA).

Trailer to Static Pump used – No but Atila gave a 100 gallons load

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used – YES

Water Meter: 0.24m

Toilet tank emptied: NO

ATV’s Used: None

Deimos rover used: YES

Hours: 109.1

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 93%

Currently charging: YES

Spirit rover used: NO

Hours: 20.3

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 100%

Currently charging:

Opportunity rover used: YES

Hours: 15.7

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 85%

Currently charging: YES

Curiosity rover used: NO

Hours: 12.7

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 100%

Currently charging: NO

General notes and comments: Very busy today with my own experiments. As soon as possible (from sol 3 I hope) I’ll begin to deal with non-nominal systems (fan, pipe, hub, furnace…).

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: –

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 18, 2018
Operations Report – February 18th
Crew 189 Operations Report 18Feb2018

SOL: 0

Name of person filing report: Gabriel PAYEN

Non-nominal systems: Pipe leak in low deck, water heater, two thermometers in the Greenhab.

Notes on non-nominal systems: –

Generator (hours run): 14 hours during the night (7 PM to 9 AM)

Solar— SOC % (Before generator is run at night) : 91%

Diesel – ?

Propane – 46.2 psi.

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV) – 7 gallons (estimation based the total height and capacity of the container)

Water (trailer) – 0 gallons.

Water (static) – 400 gallons (estimation based the total height and capacity of the tank)

Trailer to Static Pump used – No

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used – Yes

Water Meter (loft) : 0.44, measurement at 7 PM

Toilet tank emptied: No

ATV’s Used: All ATVs used except the one which doesn’t work (I forgot to check its number)

Oil Added : No

ATV Fuel Used: Gals

# Hours the ATVs were Used today: 20min

Notes on ATVs: –

Deimos rover used: Yes

Hours: 108.7

Beginning charge: ? (not checked)

Ending charge: 98%

Currently charging: No

Spirit rover used: No

Hours: 20.2

Beginning charge: –

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: Yes (Atilia may have unplugged Curiosity to plug in Spirit)

Opportunity rover used: Yes

Hours: 15.3

Beginning charge: ? (not checked)

Ending charge: 93% (100% after being charged)

Currently charging: No

Curiosity rover used: No

Hours: 12.7

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 100%

Currently charging: No

HabCar used and why, where : Not used

General notes and comments: Last checks today with Shannon, some things to fix (see Non-nominal systems). Jérémy tried to run his aerosol counter device (LOAC) in the Hab but it doesn’t work. It turns on but doesn’t begin counting. The crew will try to fix it tomorrow.

Summary of internet: –

Summary of suits and radios: All air pipes had been tested and only one doesn’t work (backpack 3 – left one). All radios had been tested and work

Summary of Hab operations: –

Summary of GreenHab operations: –

Summary of ScienceDome operations: –

Summary of RAMM operations: –

Summary of health and safety issues: –

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support:

-Thermometers

The GreenHab officer would need a new thermometer.

-Pipe leaks

A bucket is beneath the pipe and receives a liquid which seems to be bad smelling water. Tape would stop the flow, but it only seems to be a temporary solution. Tomorrow I’ll try to find where the leak comes from.

-Water heater

Shannon seems to have fixed it before the very beginning of the SIM. We’ll see it when a crew member will take the first shower of the mission.

-Others:

Some checks have been forgotten (beginning charge of the rovers, numbers of ATVs used…). Sorry for that, I’ll try not to do theses mistakes anymore.

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/category/operations-report/page/19/ Source]

Crew 189 Astronomy Reports

2019-03-24T17:43:44Z

NathanielFromMars: Created page with "Category:Astronomy Experiments MARCH 5, 2018 Astronomy Report – March 5th Hello Capcom, Astronomy Report Name: Benoit Floquet Crew: 189 date: 2018/03/05 Sky Condition..."

[[Category:Astronomy Experiments]]

MARCH 5, 2018
Astronomy Report – March 5th
Hello Capcom,

Astronomy Report
Name: Benoit Floquet Crew: 189
date: 2018/03/05

Sky Conditions: The sky was clear.

Wind Conditions: No wind

Observation Start Time: 02:00 pm

Observation End Time: 05:00 pm

Summary: Just a casual afternoon of observation

Objects Viewed: Sun Filament

Problems Encountered: None

POSTED ON FEBRUARY 19, 2018
Astronomy – February 19th
Astronomy Report

Name: Benoit Floquet Crew: 189
date: 2018/02/19

Sky Conditions: The sky was clear during the window of observation. Before and after that it was cloudy

Wind Conditions: Quite a lot of wind but not that much during the window of observation.

Observation Start Time: 03:00 pm

Observation End Time: 03:30 pm

Summary: I went to the Musk Observatory to get a first experience with the telescope. I followed the instructions with success until I had to take a look at the Sun. It was not well aligned with the Sun Tracker but I couldn’t succeed to use the Hand control to make it right. Then I changed the set up ( time ) to get the Sun aligned and it was already to cloudy to take a good look…

Objects Viewed: none

Problems Encountered: I didn’t find the instructions to use the Hand control in order to move the telescope.

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/category/astronomy-report/page/7/ Source]

Crew 190

2019-03-24T17:36:06Z

NathanielFromMars:

[[Category:Mars Desert Research Station]]

Maximilien

Maximilien Richald got his degree of chemical engineering at Meurice institute in Brussels in 2015. For two years, he has been doing a Phd in chemical synthesis at the Université catholique de Louvain. Maximilien already had the opportunity to work several times in pharmaceutical companies, in research departments and also in catalysis. These professional experiences gave him tools to deal with differents fields of science and provided him strong scientific knowledge. Furthemore, he worked abroad during 7 months where he was trained to manage a team and brought a project to life. All of these experiences prepared him to lead this mission to success.
Michael
Michael Saint-Guillain assumes the role of executive officer of the team UCL to Mars 2018. He started his PhD studies in 2013 at Université catholique de Louvain (Belgium), and in 2016 at Université de Lyon (France), in Computer Sciences. Specialized in operations research (a subdomain of applied mathematics involved in planning and decision making), he is mostly active in dynamic and stochastic vehicle routing problems.
Sophie
Sophie Wuyckens will assume the role of Physicist and Astronomer of the MDRS crew. In 2013, she started physics studies at Université de Mons, Belgium. She spent her third year of Bachelor at Université Laval, Québec, Canada. In 2016, she decided to continue her cursus at Université catholique de Louvain (Belgium), where she chose the field of particle physics and cosmology field. She is now in her last year of the Masters degree and has chosen muography as her memoire topic.

Frederic

Frédéric Peyrusson will assume the role of biologist and medic of the MDRS crew. After a master degree of Health Engineering and a master degree of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Frédéric started his PhD in 2013, in Bacteriology, at Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium. His topic deals with persistence of Staphylococcus aureus, especially the ability and survival strategies of the bacteria to survive in particularly unfavorable environments.

Mario

Mario Sundic is a 21 year old bioengineering student. Currently finishing his bachelor’s degree in Belgium, he plans to study plant and microbial genetics abroad, with the aim of working in an innovative biotech company. His passions include ecology, biotechnology, photography, and languages, as he is currently fluent in four languages and learning a fifth one. In addition to this, he is an avid traveler, having visited over 25 countries by his own means, and counting. He will serve the double role of Crew Journalist and GreenHab Officer in the MDRS.
Martin
Martin Roumain recently graduated in pharmaceutical sciences at the Université catholique de Louvain. During his studies, he decided to work in a research group (Bioanalysis and Pharmacology of Bioactive Lipids research group) as a research student. His work consisted in analyzing biological samples such as cell cultures, blood, plasma or tissues, using a mass spectrometer. This formation taught him scientific rigor, communication skills and the ability to work in a team. He now works in the same group as a PhD student and teaching assistant. As a pharmacist, he has strong scientific knowledge, particularly in medical sciences, chemistry and biology. His multidisciplinary training makes him a good addition to the crew.

Bastien

Bastien Baix has been selected as crew engineer of the team UCL to Mars 2018. Currently following a Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering and Environment at the Université Catholique de Louvain, he has a strong interest in drones and their applications in the field of civil engineering. His passion for space exploration led him to initiate 2 experiments related to the drones at the MDRS. He is also involved in many extra academic activities like the junior entreprise of the UCL: LSM Conseil.
Ariane
Ariane Sablon recently graduated in Biomedical Sciences at the Université catholique de Louvain. During Bachelor and Master programs, Ariane integrated several laboratory research groups. As her Master thesis, she worked during one year on innate immunity and cytokines signaling, where she practiced the Crispr-Cas9 method on human cell lines. Then, she spent 5 months in Montreal, Canada in a lab interested in metabolism, especially in liver diseases and diabetes. Through these different internships, Ariane learned to create, reason, perform, analyze and interpret experiments. Beside the scientific aspect, it also made her acquire a team spirit and forged her mind to be critical. Today she feels comfortable with the idea of managing a project in biology and ready to schedule some experiments to reach those goals.

[[Crew 190 Astronomy Reports]]

[[Crew 190 EVA Reports]]

[[Crew 190 GreenHab Reports]]

[[Crew 190 Journalism Reports]]

[[Crew 190 Mission Summary]]

[[Crew 190 Operations Reports]]

[[Crew 190 Sol Summaries]]

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/crew-190/ source]

Crew 190 Sol Summaries

2019-03-24T17:34:37Z

NathanielFromMars: Created page with "Category:Sol Summaries POSTED ONMARCH 22, 2018 Sol Summary – March 22nd Crew 190 Sol Summary Report 22 March 2018 Sol 11 Summary Title: Happy Birthday! Michael Sain..."

[[Category:Sol Summaries]]

POSTED ONMARCH 22, 2018
Sol Summary – March 22nd
Crew 190 Sol Summary Report
22 March 2018

Sol 11

Summary Title:
Happy Birthday!

Michael Saint-Guillain (XO)

Mission Status:
Ready to continue simulation for the last day on Mars (Sol 12), 08:00

Sol Activity Summary:
8:20 Gym
8:35 Medic inspection
8:50 Breakfast
9:40 EVA: Bastien (cartography), Sophie (placement of muon detector), Mario (photos), Michael (support) 12:05 End of EVA – Crew meeting – Relaxation
13:00 Lunch
14:00 Scientific & academic work – Interviews continued (Ariane) 18:00 Report redaction
19:00 CapCom

Look Ahead Plan:
Sol 12:
Notes: Last EVA for Maximilien & Ariane (soil sampling), Fred (collection of the experiment he placed outside several days ago), Martin (support). Part of the crew will conclude their experiments in the afternoon while the others will do some clean up inside the MDRS. Sol 12 will be the last day under simulation. On Sol 13 we will welcome Crew 191.

Anomalies in work:
None.

Weather:
Very cloudy all day long… Preventing from sun telescope activities, despite the sun storm announced. Too bad. Hopefully tomorrow will still allow us to observe residual sun activities.

Crew Physical Status:
Still tired, but we observe an improvement compared to the couple of last days! However we have significantly more difficulty to recover after the morning gym.

EVA:
See EVA report.

Reports to be filed:
* Commander report
* Journalist report
* EVA#12 report
* EVA#13 request for Sol12
* Engineer report
* Pictures
* Summary report

Support Requested:
None

POSTED ONMARCH 21, 2018
Sol Summary – 21st March
Summary Title:
Embarrassingly intense Interview sessions

Michael Saint-Guillain (XO)

Mission Status:
Ready to continue simulation on Sol 11, 08:00

Sol Activity Summary:
8:15 Medic inspection
8:25 Breakfast
9:40 EVA: Martin (drug degradation), Maximilien (soil sampling), Ariane (soil sampling), Bastien (cartography)
11:05 End of EVA – Crew meeting – Relaxation
13:00 Lunch
14:00 Scientific & academic work – Interviews (Ariane)
18:00 Report redaction
19:00 CapCom

Look Ahead Plan:
Sol 11: See attached image

Notes: EVA for Mario (pictures), Sophie (must place her muon detector outside), Bastien (cartography), Michael (support). Scientific in the afternoon. Frederic has plenty of academic work to perform. Most of the projects should ideally be finished by sol 11, sol 12 (last simulation fay) being kept in backup.

Anomalies in work:

Weather:
Very cloudy in the morning, blue sky in late afternoon (allowing a one hour telescope session).

Crew Physical Status:
A bit tired.

EVA:
See EVA report.

Reports to be file:
Commander report
Journalist report
EVA#11 report
EVA#12 request for Sol11
Engineer report
Pictures

Support Requested:
None

POSTED ONMARCH 20, 2018
Sol Summary – March 20th
Crew 190 Sol Summary Report
20 March 2018

Sol 9

Summary Title:
Here comes the sun.

Michael Saint-Guillain (XO)

Mission Status:
Ready to continue simulation on Sol 10, 08:00

Sol Activity Summary:
8:00 Gym
8:15 Medic inspection
8:25 Breakfast
9:40 EVA: Sophie (muography), Martin (drug degradation), Frederic (bacteriology), Mario (pictures), Michael (support)
11:35 End of EVA – Crew meeting – Relaxation
13:00 Lunch
14:00 Scientific & academic work
18:00 Report redaction
19:00 CapCom

Look Ahead Plan:

Notes:
Morning: EVA: Maximilien (soil sampling, pictures), Martin (samples checking), Ariane (soil sampling for bacteriology), Bastien (cartography, drone). Sophie will work on the telescope (scheduled on the morning, but could be switched with her analysis on the muon detector during the afternoon, depending on the sky).

Afternoon: Scientific and academic (not mentioned in the schedule) work for everyone.

Notes: busy days to come before the end of the rotation. We keep Sol 13 (March 24th) for clean up and crew switch with crew 191.

Anomalies in work:

None

Weather:
Cloudy in the morning, blue sky in late afternoon.

Crew Physical Status:
A bit tired today.

EVA:
See EVA report.

Reports to be file:
Commander report
Journalist report
EVA#10 report
EVA#11 request for Sol10
Engineer report
Pictures

Support Requested:
None

POSTED ONMARCH 18, 2018
Sol Summary – March 18th
Crew 190 Sol Summary Report
18March2018
Sol 7

Summary Title:
Chilly day.

Michael Saint-Guillain (XO)

Mission Status:
Ready to continue simulation on Sol 8, 08:00

Sol Activity Summary:
10:00 Gym
10:30 Breakfast
10:50 Relaxing
12:30 Lunch
14:00 EVA: muography (Sophie), cartography (Bastien), soil sampling (Maximilien, Frederic), Photos (Mario)
14:00 Food inventory
15:50 Team meeting
17:00 Cleaning
18:00 Report redaction
19:00 CapCom

Look Ahead Plan:
Sol 8:

Notes: EVA (Maximilien, Martin, Ariane, Michael: see EVA request); scientific work for the others.

Sol 8 to sol 12:

Notes: The last days are quite charged, however we still have March 24th in backup.

Anomalies in work:
We spotted many tracks in the desert, had visual contacts with motorbikes.

Weather:
Very windy. Sunny in the afternoon. Cold.

Crew Physical Status:
Better thanks to a longer night ! (Sunday sleep in!)

EVA:
See EVA report.

Reports to be file:
Commander report
Journalist report
EVA#9 request for Sol8
Engineer report
Pictures

Support Requested:
None

POSTED ONMARCH 18, 2018
Sol Summary – Marth 18th
Today, it was planned to have a day off to relax, make the food inventory, clean up a bit the station and leave on EVA. After waking up, Michael and Sophie began a gym session while others were just relaxing up to midday. After that we had a Sunday lunch composed of mashed potatoes with chicken and compote. Our bellies being fully filled up, five crew members left for an EVA towards “yellow moon” to take soil samples, pictures and exploit the drone (see EVA report). Unfortunately, the weather was too windy and as a consequence it was impossible the fly with the drone. We came back to the Hab at 15h47 and we started to clean our living place. Shannon came to spoke with us about tracks found in the desert. This morning we have seen motorbikes and probably ATVs riding off road.

Tonight we will have the dinner and a board game time to strengthen the team spirit.

Concerning the food inventory, we will need some food supplies. It would be really appreciated if a space ship can bring us these food supplies.

Regarding the station, a part from the MDRS aeration felt. During the EVA, we tried to dismantle the wheel of the broken rover. Unfortunately, the tools provided do not fit.

POSTED ONMARCH 17, 2018
Sol 6 Summary – March 17th
Crew 190 Sol Summary Report
17March2018
Sol 6

Summary Title:
The Phoenix great escape!

Michael Saint-Guillain (XO)

Mission Status:
Ready to continue simulation on Sol 6, 08:00

Sol Activity Summary:
8:15 Medic inspection: memory and reflex tests
8:40 Breakfast
9:30 EVA: Mario (photos), Maximilien (soil sampling), Ariane (support), Michael (support)
9:30 Others: Scientific work
11:00 EVA ended; Crew meeting before lunch
12:30 Lunch
14:30 Scientific work: muography (Sophie), cartography of MDRS (Bastien), chemistry/biology (Ariane, Martin, Maximilien, Frederic), GreenHab (Mario), Phoenix operations & troubleshooting (Michael)
18:00 Report redaction
19:00 CapCom

Look Ahead Plan:
Sol 7:

Notes: an EVA is planned in the afternoon, involving Maximilien, Fred, Sophie, Bastien and Mario. Remaining of the day will be dedicated to scientific work.

Sol 7 to Sol 12:

Notes: previsional planning for the second week of the rotation. Very likely to be modified.

Anomalies in work:
We finally get the Phoenix fully working (except the GPS). Unfortunately, Phoenix got trapped in a tiny hole in the soil; we organised (Michael & Bastien) a rescue mission. Phoenix is now back home, a bit scared though.

Weather:
Sunny in the morning. Cloudy in the afternoon. A bit cold.

Crew Physical Status:
A bit tired, hard to wake up.

EVA:
See EVA report.

Reports to be file:
Commander report
Journalist report
EVA#8 request for Sol 7
Engineer report
Pictures

Support Requested:
None

POSTED ONMARCH 16, 2018
Sol Summary – March 16th
Crew 190 Sol Summary Report
16March2018
Sol 5

Summary Title:
Phoenix awaken! But still a bit buzzy.

Michael Saint-Guillain (XO)

Mission Status:
Ready to continue simulation on Sol 6, 08:00

Sol Activity Summary:
8:00 Gym
8:15 Medic inspection: memory and reflex tests
8:40 Breakfast
9:30 EVA: Bastien (cartography – 3D mapping), Martin (experiment check), Sophie (muography), Fred (photos)
9:30 Others: Scientific work
11:00 EVA ended; Crew meeting before lunch
12:30 Lunch
14:30 Scientific work: muography (Sophie), video extraction & compilation (Bastien), chemistry/biology (Ariane, Martin, Maximilien, Frederic), GreenHab (Mario), Phoenix troubleshooting (Michael)
18:00 Report redaction
19:00 CapCom

Look Ahead Plan:
Sol 6:

Notes: EVA (Max, Mario, Ariane, Mick) in the morning (scientific work for the others). Scientific work in the afternoon.

Anomalies in work:
Today we tried to get the Phoenix remote controlled rover working; after fixing some battery issues, we noticed that the rover was not able to connect to the (dedicated) router wifi. We had to manually change the clock of the rover it self in order to fix that problem: the rover had the correct date, but not the router, which we cannot fix (probably the internal clock battery of the router is dead). With similar date/times, router and rover are now able to talk to each other. The video transmission is working, but the commands are still bugging (can’t move the wheels, and cams movement is working randomly).

Weather:
Sunny in the morning. Cloudy in the afternoon. Nice weather.

Crew Physical Status:
Good.

EVA:
See EVA report.

Reports to be file:
Commander report
Journalist report
EVA#7 request for Sol6
Engineer report
GreenHab report
HSO report
Pictures

Support Requested:
None

POSTED ONMARCH 14, 2018
Crew 190 Sol Summary 14Mar2018
[title Sol Summary -March 14th]

Crew 190 Sol Summary Report
14March2018
Sol 3

Summary Title:
Exploration X Science X Pancakes

Michael Saint-Guillain (XO)

Mission Status:
Ready to continue simulation on Sol 4, 08:00

Sol Activity Summary:
8:00 Gym
8:20 Breakfast
9:10 EVA: Sophie, Mario, Frederic, Michael
9:15 Cleaning and social activity preparation: Maximilien, Martin, Ariane, Bastien
10:55 EVA ended; Crew meeting before lunch
13:00 Lunch
14:30 Scientific work: muongraphy (Sophie), video extraction & compilation (Bastien), chemistry/biology (Ariane, Martin, Maximilien, Frederic), GreenHab (Mario), operations research and academic work (Michael)
18:00 Redaction of the reports
19:00 CapCom

Optimized Look Ahead Plan:
08:00 – 08:20 Gym
08:20 – 09:00 Breakfast
09:30 – 12:30 EVA: Ariane, Bastien, Maximilien, Michael
09:30 – 12:30 Scientific work: Martin (pharmacology), Sophie (muography, telescope), Mario & Frederic (green hab)
12:30 – 14:00 Lunch
14:00 – 18:00 Back to scientific work: Ariane & Maximilien (chemistry), Bastien (cartography), Michael (operations research)
18:00 – 19:00 Redaction of the reports
19:00 Capcom

Forecast:
To be updated March 15 2018

Anomalies in work:
None

Weather:
Cloudy and a bit cold in the morning. Showers in the afternoon, preventing Sophie from telescope activity.

Crew Physical Status:
In increasingly good shape (thanks to the Gym!) and enthusiasm (pancakes).

EVA:
See EVA report. Mainly soil sampling and pictures.

Reports to be file:
Commander report
Journalist report
EVA#4 report
EVA#5 request (Sol4)
Engineer report
GreenHab
HSO report
Astronomy report

Support Requested:
None

POSTED ONMARCH 13, 2018
Sol Summary – March 13th
Crew 190 Sol Summary Report
13March2018
Sol 2

Summary Title:
First Rendez-vous with the Martian regolith

Michael Saint-Guillain (XO)

Mission Status:
Ready to continue simulation on Sol 3, 08:00

Sol Activity Summary:
8:00 Gym
8:20 Breakfast
9:30 EVA: Maximilien, Martin, Ariane, Bastien
9:30 Science/Experimental work: Sophie, Mario, Frederic, Michael
11:00 EVA ended; all crew members switch to SC-work.
13:30 Lunch
14:30 Scientific work: telescope (Sophie), cartography (Bastien), chemistry/biology (Ariane, Martin, Maximilien), GreenHab (Mario, Frederic), operations research (Michael)
18:00 Report redaction
19:00 CapCom

Look Ahead Plan: (automatically generated by our optimizer)
Sol 3:

Sol 3 to 7

Anomalies in work:
None

Weather:

Cloudy in the morning. Clear blue sky in the afternoon, enabling telescope activity. Warm.

Crew Physical Status:

In good shape and still enthusiastic.

EVA:
See EVA report. Mainly soil sampling.

Reports to be file:
Commander report
Journalist report
EVA request for Sol3
Engineer report
HSO report

Crew biographies

(Mission Plan)

Support Requested:
None

POSTED ONMARCH 12, 2018
Sol Summary 12th
Crew 190 Sol Sumary Report
11March2018
Sol 0

Summary Title:
First Rendez-vous with the Martian regolith

Michael Saint-Guillain (XO)

Mission Status:
Ready to continue simulation on Sol 2, 08:00
New materials arrived, enabling Sophie’s experiments on Muon’s flows

Sol Activity Summary:
First EVAs: (see EVA reports)
9am to 10am: EVA1 with Maximilien, Martin, Martin and Sophie. 11am to 12am: EVA2 with Ariane, Bastien, Mario and I (Michael). Lunch
Crew meeting: 2pm to 3pm
First experiments from 3pm to 6pm

Global Look Ahead Plan: (generated by our automated scheduler)

Sol2:
(ScreenCapture1)
Adaptations: Ariane will participate to the EVA; Mario will switch with Martin.

Sol2 to Sol6
(ScreenCapture2)
Notes: The planning as modelled here does not mention any very short daily activities, such as checking out bacteries evolution (Ariane) or controlling plant grow (Mario). Also, some experiments (e.g. Martin) involve operations in the very beginning and then long period of wait, before final manipulations.

Anomalies in work:
None

Weather:
Clean sky, a bit cloudy. Warm.

Crew Physical Status:
In good shape and still enthusiastic.

EVA:
First outing for all the crew.

Reports to be file:
Commander report
Journalist report
EVA request for Sol 2
Engineer report

Support Requested:
None

POSTED ONMARCH 11, 2018
Sol Summary – March 11th
Crew 190 Sol Sumary Report
11March2018
Sol 0

Summary Title:
Welcomed by 189 – Learn – Drive

Michael Saint-Guillain (XO)

Mission Status: Ready to start simulation on Sol 1, 07:00

Sol Activity Summary:
Refill of the secondary water tank (550gal): 7am to 11am.
Introduction by Shannon (11h30am to 2pm):
devices etc, power, water, suits, EVAs
Lunch
Discovering the surroundings by feet (3pm to 5h30pm)
EVA (see EVA)

Look Ahead Plan:
Simulation starts on Sol 1 (tomorrow) 7am with:
sport, breakfast (7-8am)
EVA: 1h30 x2, all crew involved (8h30 – 11h30)
Experimental setups (2pm – 5pm)

Anomalies in work:
None

Weather:
Clean sky almost no clouds, hot.

Crew Physical Status:
In good shape and enthusiastic.

EVA:
Discovering the surroundings with Shannon & Atila.
Visit of the "special region".

Reports to be file:
Commander report
Journalist report
EVA request for Sol 1
Engineer report

Support Requested:
None

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/category/sol-summary/page/17/ Source]

Crew 190 Journalism Reports

2019-03-24T17:26:08Z

NathanielFromMars: Created page with "Category:Journalism Reports POSTED ONMARCH 22, 2018 Journalist Report- March 22nd This morning’s EVA (Extra Vehicular Activity) was a bit of a special one. Four of our..."

[[Category:Journalism Reports]]

POSTED ONMARCH 22, 2018
Journalist Report- March 22nd
This morning’s EVA (Extra Vehicular Activity) was a bit of a special one. Four of our crew members exited the vault, armed with a camera and a drone, and entered the 4×4 electrical rovers. They drove them south and stopped a bit further than the formation known as Zubrin’s Head. There, they exited the vehicles and walked west, towards the base of a single, conical, towering red mountain. At around 100m (300ft), it stood out as the tallest rock formation of the area, and they were ready to climb it. Despite sharply inclined slopes on either side, and protruding rocks near the top, the team was keen on making it to the top. With the drone, they circled the mountain, and determined an optimal path that went around the back side. On they went. This wasn’t the worst climb any of them had seen, but with the heavy space-suits on their backs, restricted vision, lack of water and limited supply of oxygen, it sure felt like one of the bad ones. Despite the difficulties, after half an hour of huff ‘n puff they finally reached the top, from which they could see the whole valley: snowy mountains far in the south, the Skyline Rim in the west, and the Martian plains stretching all the way to the horizon in the north, well past the MDRS and the area we have had the luck to explore these past two weeks.

This was their last EVA. On Saturday, they will embark on the shuttle which will take them away from this red land, away from the dry sand, the storms and the burning sun, and take them back home, back to Earth. Seeing, from above, the area they have spent these last two weeks in was a touching moment for them, and they felt the incoming goodbyes.

Back at base though, there were still things to do before departure. For starters, today was Michael’s birthday, and the whole team celebrated with birthday cake, board games and a custom-made paper tiara for Michael. The rest of the day was devoted to finishing up our experiments, and slowly beginning to clean up the base before the incoming crew gets here on Saturday. Indeed, there is only one day left for us here. And we’re trying to enjoy it as much as we can!

POSTED ONMARCH 21, 2018
Journalist Report Sol 10 – 21st March
Slowly but surely, our stay at the MDRS is coming to an end. What seemed like a daunting two weeks at the beginning has passed right by us, and we are now only two days away from the moment our shuttle will take off from Mars and head back to Earth. Our experiments are slowly coming to an end, and we can all feel the end approaching.

Our commander, Maximilien, has been the cornerstone of our project since the beginning, a year ago, when we first began searching for funds and planning this very unique voyage. He has managed the team’s efforts with great precision, while at the same time giving more of himself than anyone else for the success of this project!

He is an industrial engineering graduate currently pursuing a PhD in organic synthesis (more specifically cyclopentane and 1,4-diene formation), and his experiment at the MDRS was centred on the characterization of physico-chemical properties of soil. His plan was to measure different characteristics of soils sampled at various locations on the Martian landscape, testing them for the factors which are most important for plant growth. These included pH, conductivity, B, total N, P, ions and macroscopic texture. Some of these factors are easy to measure with the basic instruments available locally, others with the spectrophotometer that we brought with us, and some needed more complex methods, requiring rare chemicals and solvents. These supplies were on the same shipment as Ariane’s culture media, which had an accident on its way to Mars and had to reverse directions and head back to Earth. This prevented Max from performing some of his planned experiments, but nonetheless, he has managed to isolate significant results with what was available locally. Still, this has freed up a bit of time for him, and so he has been able to share his extensive knowledge of chemistry to help others with their experiments – Mario to test the conductivity and pH of his hydroponic solutions, pH testing for Fred’s and Ariane’s bacteria, and calibration curves for Martin. As so, his time has been well used despite the unexpected outcome of his experiment!

Tomorrow, we will celebrate Michael’s birthday with an EVA in the morning, and some cake and board games or a movie in the evening! He sure would have liked some good beer on the side, but unfortunately there is a very strict policy on alcohol on Mars – it is completely forbidden! He will have to wait until we get back to Earth to enjoy a cold one..

POSTED ONMARCH 20, 2018
Journalist Report
Life in our small Martian community is passing quicker than most of us probably thought it would. When you realize you’re about to spend two entire weeks locked in a cylinder of 8 meters of diameter (with a common room of just 25 square meters), it is hard not to feel a bit of anxiety. In the MDRS, the space is located so that all the rooms give directly on the common room, with very little privacy. The ground floor is entirely dedicated to engineering. The outside parts are either reserved to scientific work or are too dangerous to stay in due to cosmic radiation. It is therefore almost impossible to ever be alone. For most people, this is a recipe for disaster. Our crew, however, has been quite lucky. We knew we worked well together as a group, and enjoyed each other’s presence during our brief meetings over the past year. Nothing, however, guaranteed that these feelings would pass the test of time (and in our case, the test of proximity) – but they did! Over the past ten days, we have functioned quite well as a group – there have been no fights, few tensions and many moments of laughter, and so, the time has passed us much quicker than we had thought possible.

One could say that our days at the MDRS all closely resembled each other, and this isn’t necessarily untrue. A typical day like today started with breakfast, another EVA for half the team, and a combination of scientific and academic work. Lunch, delicious as always, was once again cooked by Ariane from the dehydrated ingredients we are now well used to. It is always surprising to see how this unappetizing looking powder magically changes into the food we know so well from back on Earth. We always end up eating just like at home thanks to our dedicated cooks!

Time has indeed passed quick, but we still have work to do. Experiments are not finished and we still have three entire days to go! Thankfully we have received a brand new food shipment from earth, as well as a fresh harvest of tomatoes and greens from the GreenHab, so we are ready to go!

POSTED ONMARCH 18, 2018
Journalist Report – March 18th
The Mars Desert Research Station is an ever-expanding project. Initially composed of only the main Hab and a GreenHab, new modules have since been added. A solar observatory (the Musk Observatory), an automatic night telescope, solar panels, the Repair and Assembly Module, as well as the Science Dome which has allowed the laboratory to be moved from the restricted lower deck of the Hab to a brand-new area with lots of space to work. Among our researchers working in the Science Dome are Ariane and Fred, both experts in microbiology.

Ariane is a molecular biology graduate, currently beginning her doctorate in the field of genetics. Her experiment, despite being centred on microbiology, is of great importance to the whole crew: she is making Martian bread! Indeed, we may imagine a situation in which we would run out of yeast on Mars, leaving us unable to make one of our favourite staple foods. To keep the bread production sustainable, we would need to get the yeast, lactobacillus, from elsewhere, and that is exactly what Ariane is doing: she is isolating it from human saliva! This is no easy task. First, she sampled saliva and cultivated the many microorganisms it contains in Petri dishes. These Petri dishes were supposed to be filled with what we call a selective medium – a substance which only allows for the growth of a specific microorganism, in this case, lactobacillus. Unfortunately, the shipment from Earth which carried this medium has had an accident, and hasn’t been able to reach us in time. Ariane therefore had to rely on her knowledge of microbiology to manually isolate and cultivate only the required yeast, and no other micro-organism – no easy task, given their very close resemblance! She is currently very close to achieving her goal, and the rest of the crew very close to eating our first true Martian bread (made, in part, from spit)!

Fred, on the other hand, is a biotech and pharma graduate, currently pursuing a doctorate in bacteriology. His fist experiment, concerning plant culture in Martian regolith, has been covered below. In addition to this, he is also working on a microbiology experiment, aiming to evaluate the survival capacity of bacteria in the harsh conditions that exist on Mars. He is using the bacterium bacillus subtilis, a very common microorganism, and placing it in small quartz vials (a material which allows UV rays to pass unhindered), in different conditions around the station to see how many of them will survive. At the end of the experiment, these bacteria will be counted and their numbers compared to a standard sample which will have been staying in the safety of the Science Dome. This experiment is especially interesting because it sets out to answer many questions about the ability of earth-born bacteria, which are therefore adapted to earth-like conditions, to survive in an environment that is literally alien and extremely aggressive. If conclusive, a positive result could mean that the Martian environment is suitable to harbour Earth’s microbes, which could mean many things for agriculture, human life, development, terraforming, and generally our future on the Red Planet.

POSTED ONMARCH 17, 2018
Journalist Report – March 17th
Apart from each crew member’s experiment, there are many things to do at the MDRS. Cooking, cleaning and the usual chores are of course part of the job, like in any shared living space. But the MDRS being quite a special place to live, as it is, after all, located on Mars, there are additional and essential tasks that need to be completed every day. Taking care of the GreenHab and its plants is an essential one – indeed, they are our life support, producing both our food and our oxygen, and they therefore require exceptional care. However, the MDRS is a complex system, with many variables. If one of them fails, the whole station’s well-being is compromised. The role of the crew engineer, Bastien, is therefore also essential : every day, he checks all the systems, machines, reservoirs, electrical devices, batteries and engines, inside and outside the station, that allow its optimal functioning. His is truly a full-time job. And despite this, Bastien has been involved in quite a serious and time-consuming project of aerial 3D cartography. With his drone, and a computer program designed for this purpose, he has been criss-crossing rectangular areas of terrain, taking dozens of pictures from all angles, which are then automatically recombined in a tedious hours-long process, giving a 3D map of the area, which can then be assembled with surrounding maps to create maps of whole regions.

Michael, our XO and an operations research specialist, has also been working quite hard : his main project concerns something called robust planning under uncertainty, which means that he has been working on a dynamic, adaptable, and predictive schedule for the whole crew. This planning program, coded on his computer, has been designed by Michael from scratch and is still getting improved day by day. Indeed, the point of such a program is to adapt the schedule to unpredicted (and unpredictable) events that slow down or accelerate a particular crew member’s experiment. Since all experiments are related in some way (by equipment, place and/or time), a change in one experiment will often impact many other experiments – this makes for quite a complex system, which needs to be updated daily. Michael has therefore been taking daily notes of our progress, and integrating them into his program to generate the next days’ improved schedule.

As you may think, Michael is quite the computer enthusiast. You can imagine his delight when he realised that the small remote-controlled linux-powered rover called Phoenix, made by members of the NorCal Mars Society, didn’t work and needed troubleshooting. Yesterday evening, he got down to understanding where the problem was, and started working in a trance-like state, measuring voltages, connecting cables and reading and writing code that seems like gibberish to the untrained eye. In the end, he understood that the problem was two-fold : on the one hand, the rover’s internal clock was unsynchronized with the clock of the computer which controlled it, a simple but hard to detect error. On the other hand, there were some battery issues which needed to be resolved, and after 24 hours, the rover was finally set free in front of the base this afternoon, where it performed some test loops.

We are now fully equipped, with Bastien’s drone and NorCal’s rover, to inspect the station from the outside without having to go through the tedious process of getting fully suited up and going through a decompression period in the exit vault. Another step forward for our Martian colony!

POSTED ONMARCH 16, 2018
Journalist Report – March 16th
The MDRS’ GreenHab is an extremely lush, green place. Filled with large amounts of tomato plants, as well as many other plants in smaller amounts, it is an oasis of life in the middle of the Martian desert. The tomatoes have been yielding generously – currently over a hundred cherry tomatoes are on the path of ripening, soon to be ready to be enjoyed by the crew, and other vegetables and leafy greens are growing well. However, all the plants are growing in soil, a medium that has had to be brought over from earth at large expenses. Our two botanists, Frederic and Mario, are both working on improving the disadvantages that come from soil as a medium for growth. On the one hand, Frederic is focusing on growing plants in Martian regolith (the dusty, iron-rich sands that make up most of Mars’ surface and give it its red colour). His research focuses on the advantages of different types of regolith, mixed in various amounts, with or without HydroGel. HydroGel is a man-made substance, an acrylate polymer, which has the incredible propriety of being able to absorb over 100 times its own weight in water, and release it slowly. This is extremely useful in dry climates back on Earth, as well as on Mars, where water is extremely precious.

On the other hand, Mario is working on a project that is somewhat the opposite : a hydroponics system. In such a system, plants are growing without soil, or any nutritive medium. Instead, their roots are hanging in a recirculated flow of nutrient-rich water, feeding them without wasting any water. In such a system, the nutrient composition of the water, as well as its pH and other factors, can be controlled with great precision to suit the plants. In addition to this, no water is wasted since it is recirculated, and the vertical format of the towers allows for minimal waste of space, also a precious resource in an extra-terrestrial station.

Both experiments are well underway! Fred has finished planting all his seeds and is waiting for them to sprout to start taking measures, whereas Mario has finished building the last of his three towers today.

All other experiments are also well underway ! Time is passing fast, and we are soon approaching the middle of our stay in the MDRS, even though we feel like we just got here. On Sunday, as a middle mark of our stay, we are planning a break day in our experiments, and a small celebration (with more cake!). In the meanwhile, we’ll keep on working hard, as there is no shortage of things to do here on Mars.

POSTED ONMARCH 14, 2018
Journalist Report Sol 3 – March 14th
After a long day working on our experiments yesterday, we slept like babies. Our nights at the MDRS have generally been quite good, despite the thin mattresses and the out of control heating cycles, which have been pumping hot air into some rooms while others have been left to freeze. Well rested, we woke up in music again (Kanye West’s Mercy this time) and headed downstairs for a work out, this time lead by our biologist Mario who made sure no one missed a single push-up.

Immediately after, four members of our crew embarked on a EVA which took them to the northernmost part of the territory. In this zone, called The Moon, a wide variety of landscapes succeed each other rapidly, going from red striped hills to riverbeds and from sweeping white dunes to areas of sprawling Martian vegetation in just hundreds of meters, which makes for an extremely beautiful (and photogenic) ride. We therefore used this EVA to take more pictures, as well as to collect some samples of these varied soils for Max’s soil testing experiments.

At noon, we had one of the very earth-like, and therefore very delicious meals that Ariane has gotten us accustomed to. This time it was ‘hachis parmentier’, a specialty made with tomatoes, beef, potato mash and grated cheese, cooked in the oven until golden. All of this, of course, was made from freeze-dried foods, but Ariane’s magic touch made it feel right like home.

The rest of the afternoon was dedicated, as usual, to working on our experiments. Mario, with the much welcome help of Max, finished his first hydroponics tower in the greenhab, and planted mint and coriander in it. Sophie managed to find the source of parasites in her muon detector, while Martin dosed the API (active pharmaceutical ingredient) in a drug. On his side, Bastien made a 3D model of the Musk Observatory before embarking on the task of modelising the whole station.

By now, the crew has grown quite accustomed to the daily routine of the MDRS, and things are starting to work smoothly. Despite our confined environment, the mood is still great, and we are organising small events in the evenings, like a karaoke night, game nights, as well as round tables to talk about our experiments and our vision for the project.

See you tomorrow !

Mario

POSTED ONMARCH 13, 2018
Journalist Report – March 13th
Journalist Report :

This morning, the whole crew managed to wake up at the same time, at a reasonable 8am. This process was helpfully catalysed by Sophie’s uplifting music played on the loudspeaker, and before we knew it, we were downstairs, jumping, squatting and crunching on the first of many morning cereal (which is already starting to run out..), half the crew got ready for an EVA, travelling far to the north workouts to come. After the usual morning, where Max took some soil samples and Bastien made his first (an successful) attempt at drone mapping a patch of land. Meanwhile, the other four members got a head start on their day, beginning work on their experiments. Fred weighed, mixed and potted his Martian soil samples, added HydroGel in half his samples and then planted basil, mint and radishes in them. Michael worked on perfecting his scheduling program, and Max started taking pH measures on soil. On the other hand, Mario made big advancements on his hydroponics project, nearing completion of the first tower, whereas Ariane isolated her first bacteria, worked on her sourdough, and made some more bread prototypes. All in all, our SOL 2 has been the most productive yet, and this has been felt in the crew : the mood is becoming more productive and more exciting as we realise that our projects are finally taking place in the way we wanted them to.

POSTED ONMARCH 12, 2018
Journalist Report – March 12th
Hi,

Here is today’s journalist report :

As the Martian sun rose on the Mars Desert Research Station, gently illuminating the station with its distant, white light, we woke up in our cramped dark rooms for our first real day on Mars. Like on any extra-terrestrial station, space is precious, and every area needs to be optimised to use as little of it as possible. Our rooms, while individual, are therefore barely a meter wide, and have beds that stack over or under the bed in the next room. In front of the doors of the rooms, the common room is where we spend most of our time, cooking, eating, relaxing and working on the central table and on the couches behind it.

While the common spaces are located on the first floor, all our utilities, including toilets and showers, as well as an engineering area and our exit vaults, are on the ground floor. In the back, a vault gives way to an over-ground tunnel which leads to the GreenHab, the Science Dome, and the Observatory. Apart from this, the station is completely isolated in a wide, hilly landscape coloured in red, brown and grey, and stretching as far as the eye can see.

It is in this epic landscape that we adventured on our first EVA (Extra Vehicular Activity), riding our electric rover and two ATVs north of the base, on an already well-travelled dirt road, up to the entrance of a small canyon on our right hand side. With a photographer and a drone operator, we adventured into the mouth of the canyon, the hot morning sun hitting us through our helmets. As we walked through the dry sands and rocks, we realised how difficult it is to explore our surroundings in full space gear, while carrying additional equipment and under a hot sun.

The remainder of the day was dedicated to the start of our
experiments. For the first time, we unwrapped our equipment, entered the science lab and the greenhouse, and began working on our respective experiments. Despite some delays in our supply of equipment, we have all been able to begin working on our projects. Our SOL1 (first day on Mars) has therefore been a success, and we can’t wait to continue it tomorrow.

Good evening,

POSTED ONMARCH 11, 2018
Journalist Report – March 11th
As a warm midday sun baked the Martian regolith, the first four members of the crew 190 landed on a small patch of dirt, between a small hill and a trail in the red soil. As we exited our vehicle, we felt the soft martian soil beneath our boots and, walking around the hill, we laid our eyes on the station for the first time. Glowing in the strong martian sun, amplified by the complete silence surrounding us, the station appeared taller and wider than we had imagined it.

While we approached the door, a fleet of ATVs arrived in a cloud of dust behind us, carrying members of the previous crew. Our greetings were made simpler by our shared language – back on Earth, our two teams come from France and Belgium, two neighbouring countries that both speak French. Inside the station’s airlock, the cold dark air welcomed us to our new home, where we will spend the entire duration of our stay.

Inside, the rest of the French team welcomed us warmly. Soon enough, the other four members of our crew arrived, and we all ate together in the now cramped top floor of the station. We knew we would be alone again the next day, which made us enjoy the social mood even more, laughing and talking about our experiences on Mars.

In the morning, we were alone already – the French had taken off before the first light of day. With blueberry pancakes (made entirely from freeze-dried materials, of course) and powdered juice, our day of training began. After a tour of the station, a course in water supply management, a training in space suits, ATVs, mapping and teamwork, we were deemed ready to tackle the challenges of the next couple of weeks.

As the thick metal door closed on the outside world just before sunset, and we found ourselves locked in the station alone, we finally realised that this is it – this is what we’ve been waiting for – for over a year of preparation, training, and intense work, we had all imagined the moment when we would get here and live out our adventure.. and, now, as we sit inside the hab, I believe we only began to realise that our work had finally paid off, and that we truly are here now.

Mario Sundic

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/category/journalist-report/page/14/ Source]

Crew 190 GreenHab Reports

2019-03-24T17:21:30Z

NathanielFromMars: Created page with "Category:GreenHab Experiments POSTED ONMARCH 22, 2018 Greenhab Report – March 22nd GreenHab report for Sol11 Crewmember’s name: Frédéric Peyrusson (Biologist) Dat..."

[[Category:GreenHab Experiments]]

POSTED ONMARCH 22, 2018
Greenhab Report – March 22nd
GreenHab report for Sol11

Crewmember’s name: Frédéric Peyrusson (Biologist)
Date 22/03/2018 (Mick’s birthday)

Environmental control:

Ambient with door open.
Shade cloth on.
Fan on, without cooling.

Average temperatures: 26°C
Low: 8°C
High: 32°C

Hours of supplemental light: 0 hours

Changes to crops: No change

Daily water usage for crops: 10 gal

Time(s) of watering for crops: 4

Moringa research observations: N/A

Changes to research plants: N/A

Mario finished his 3 hydroponic towers and transplanted lettuce and arugula. All other plants have been watered.

Support/supplies needed: N/A

POSTED ONMARCH 21, 2018
GreenHab Report Sol 10 – 21st March
Crewmember’s name: Frédéric Peyrusson (Biologist)

Date 21/03/2018

Environmental control:

Ambient with door open.

Shade cloth on.

Fan on, without cooling.

Average temperatures: 30°C
Low: 8°C
High: 34°C

Hours of supplemental light: 0 hours

Changes to crops: No change

Daily water usage for crops: 6 gal

Time(s) of watering for crops: 3

Moringa research observations: N/A

Changes to research plants: N/A

Measurements and pictures of hydrogel supplemented plants and crops. Interestingly, hydrogels seem to confer protection to hydric stress. All other plants have been watered.

Support/supplies needed: N/A

POSTED ONMARCH 20, 2018
Greenhab Report – March 20th
Crewmember’s name: Frédéric Peyrusson (Biologist)

Date 20/03/2018

Environmental control:

Ambient with door open.

Shade cloth on.

Fan on, without cooling.

Average temperatures: 30°C
Low: 1°C
High: 34°C

Hours of supplemental light: 0 hours

Changes to crops: No change

Daily water usage for crops: 5 gal

Time(s) of watering for crops: 3

Moringa research observations: ?

Changes to research plants: N/A

Measurements of hydrogel supplemented plants and crops. No heating this night, GreenHab was quite cold, but no damage for plants, indeed we cropped a lot of lettuce and tomatoes (see picture)! All plants have been watered.

Support/supplies needed: N/A

POSTED ONMARCH 18, 2018
GreenHab Report – March 18th
GreenHab report for Sol7 :

Crewmember’s name: Frédéric Peyrusson (Biologist)

Date 18/03/2018

Environmental control:

Ambient with door open.

Shade cloth on.

Fan on, without cooling.

Average temperatures: 23°C

Low: 6,2°C

High: 31,7°C

Hours of supplemental light: 0 hours

Changes to crops: No change

Daily water usage for crops: 4 gal

Time(s) of watering for crops: 3

Moringa research observations: ?

Changes to research plants: N/A

I made measurements of mint plants. Mario will transfer his crops on the 2 hydroponic towers soon.
All other plants have been watered.

Support/supplies needed: N/A

POSTED ONMARCH 17, 2018
GreenHab Report – March 17th
GreenHab report for Sol6 :

Crewmember’s name: Frédéric Peyrusson (Biologist)

Date 17/03/2018

Environmental control:

Ambient with door open.

Shade cloth on.

Fan on, without cooling.

Average temperatures: 23°C

Low: 8,4°C

High: 32,8°C

Hours of supplemental light: 0 hours

Changes to crops: No change

Daily water usage for crops: 5 gal

Time(s) of watering for crops: 3

Moringa research observations: ?

Changes to research plants: N/A

Everything went fine, seeds of radish and coriander are now emerging. Mint plants supplemented with hydrogels seem to better tolerate transplantation in various soils than control plants.
All other plants have been watered.

Support/supplies needed: N/A

POSTED ONMARCH 16, 2018
Greenhab Report – March 16th
POSTED ONMARCH 14, 2018
GreenHab Report – March 14th
Crewmember’s name : Mario Sundic (GreenHab officer & journalist)
Date 14/03/2018

Environmental control:

Ambient with door open.
Shade cloth on.
Fan on, without cooling.

Average temperatures: 25°C
Low : 9,5°C
High : 37°C

Hours of supplemental light: 0 hours

Changes to crops: tomatoes are growing and plants are fine and watered

Daily water usage for crops: 10 gal and 10 gal for hydroponics systems

Time(s) of watering for crops: 3

Moringa research observations: ?

Changes to research plants: N/A

I worked on hydroponics systems, completed the first tower, optimized water flow and plants (mint and coriander) are now transplanted on the first tower.

Support/supplies needed: N/A

POSTED ONMARCH 13, 2018
Greenhab Report – March 13th
Crewmember’s name : Mario Sundic (GreenHab officer & journalist)

Date 13/03/2018

Environmental control:

Ambient with door open.

Shade cloth on.

Fan on, without cooling.

Average temperatures: 30°C

Low : 18°C

High : 37°C

Hours of supplemental light: 0 hours

Changes to crops: No change

Daily water usage for crops: 13 gal

Time(s) of watering for crops: 3

Moringa research observations: ?

Changes to research plants: N/A

Aquaponics: All fish are dead. No seedlings have sprouted. As they were permanently submerged in cold water, preventing them from sprouting, I have put the pump on a 15on/45off timer and added hydroponics solution in the now empty tank. Hopefully this will allow the seeds to sprout and to grow normally in hydroponic conditions, before new fish are brought and the system is perfected.

Support/supplies needed: potting soil

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/category/greenhab-report/page/15/ Source]

Crew 190 EVA Reports

2019-03-24T17:18:49Z

NathanielFromMars: Created page with "Category:EVA Missions POSTED ONMARCH 22, 2018 EVA Report – March 22nd EVA Report EVA #12 – 22th March 2018 – Sol 11 Crew members: Bastien Baix (EVA leader), Mi..."

[[Category:EVA Missions]]

POSTED ONMARCH 22, 2018
EVA Report – March 22nd
EVA Report

EVA #12 – 22th March 2018 – Sol 11

Crew members: Bastien Baix (EVA leader), Michael Saint-Guillain, Mario Sundic, Sophie Wuyckens

Objectives:
– Drone mapping and drone filming by Bastien
– Photos by Mario
– Sophie will put her detector outside of the RAM

Operations:
9:43 – Entering the airlock
9:47 – Leaving the MDRS with 2 rovers
9:55 – Arriving at Zubrin’s Head
10:20 – We start climbing a high hill
10:42 – Top of the mountain
10:50 – Bastien map the mountain
11:05 – We go down of the mountain
11:40 – We leave Zubrin’s Head
11:50 – Arrival at the MDRS, Mario and Bastien go inside, Michael and Sophie install the muon detector 12:05 – Michael and Sophie enter the airlock

Narrative:
One of our last EVA took place on soil 12 at 9:40. I am Bastien Baix and I was EVA leader today. We decided to climb a high hill today. To do so, we went to Zubrin’s Head. Near this location, we located our objective and we start our climbing. It was particularly difficult as the slope was nearly vertical! As Sophie is relatively clumsy, we made her a safety line…

This climbing allowed us to take amazing pics and vids with the drone. Once we made it to the top, the view was amazing. We’ve seen miles around.

When we decided to go back and reach our rovers, we couldn’t find them anymore! We pass half an hour to finally find our way back to them and ride to the MDRS. It was an awesome but sweaty EVA!

Vehicles:
Curiosity and Opportunity rovers

POSTED ONMARCH 21, 2018
EVA#11 Report – 21st March
EVA Report:

EVA #11 Crew members: Martin ROUMAIN (EVA Leader), Bastien BAIX, Ariane SABLON, Maximilien RICHALD.

Location:

Along Cactus Road 1104: 521500E, 4252500N

Time:

Departure at 09:33 a.m.

End at 11:03 a.m. (instead of 12:00 p.m. as planned)

Duration:

1 hour 30 minutes

Narrative:

We left the few Martian animals (they really just look like black cows) who were blocking the main road. After a few minutes, they decided to let us go. At 0956 we arrived on Cactus Road (which was not really easy to find). We decided to go and explore a canyon by foot. Max and Ariane took samples for their respective experiments. At 1028, we were back to our vehicles. At 1040, we saw rain in the distance. As it was very cloudy, we decided to cancel the rest of the EVA and to immediately go back to the station. We arrived near the Station at 1055. We replaced the MDRS panel which fell because of the wind. We then headed back to the Hab.

Purposes:

Soil sampling for Maximilien

Sampling for Ariane’s bacteriology experiment

3D Mapping with Bastien’s drone

Check for Frédéric’s and Martin’s samples

Vehicles: 2 Rovers (Spirit and Opportunity)

9:33 a.m.: All crew members in the main airlock, ready for depressurization.

9:36 a.m.: Beginning of the EVA, took the rovers towards Cactus Road.

9:42 a.m.: Saw a few Martian animals on the main road who looked like black cows.

9:56 a.m.: Stopped on Cactus Road to explore a canyon by foot and harvest samples for Ariane’s and Maximilien’s experiments.

10:28 a.m.: Back on the road, took the rovers to go further down the road.

10:40 a.m.: Saw rain in the distance, we then decided to abort the EVA and go back to the the station.

10:55 a.m.: Back at the station, replaced the MDRS panel that fell because of the wind.

11:00 a.m.: All crew members in the main airlock.

11:03 a.m.: Back in the Hab, end of the EVA.

POSTED ONMARCH 20, 2018
EVA Report – March 20th
Crew members: Sophie Wuyckens (EVA leader), Frédéric Peyrusson, Mario Sundic, Michael Saint-Guillain and Martin Roumain

Purposes:
– Samples checking by Fred
– Samples collection + positioning of new samples by Martin

– If weather is ok, positioning of Sophie’s detector outside for data acquisition
– Michael in support

– Pictures by Mario

Operations:

9:30 – Crew get dressed

9:35 – Paparazzi session by Ariane and Maximilien

9:39 – Entering the airlock

9:42 – Outing

9:43 – Burning of our rubbish by Mario and Sophie + Fuel filling of the ATV1 by Mick + Samples checking by Fred

9:50 – Discovery : rovers haven’t charged the whole night + test of a new extension cord.

10:00 – Leaving the MDRS by foot along Main Road

10:20 – Mick found a pillow and an UPS parcel (just a piece of cardboard)

10:30 – Martin positions his new samples along Main road

10:55 – Bastien sent his drone from the hab to record a video of us.

11:06 – On the way back to MDRS

11:21 – Arrival at the Hab

11:25 – Entering the airlock

11:28 – Mission finished.

Narrative:

Our EVA#10 took place on SOL#9 at 9:30. I am Sophie Wuyckens and I wanted to be part of this EVA in order to position my detector near a hill in our way. Unfortunately, we realized that the rovers didn’t charge the whole night. We understood that the fuses blew when we plug 2 sockets in the airlock. We have already discussed with Shannon to find a solution.

We decided together to follow our initial plan and follow the main road direction to the north. The weather was quite sunny. Our hiking was announced to be difficult. Fred, Mick and Martin climbed a hill quite high. Mario and I kept an eye on them and took pictures of them. Bastien from the Hab sent his drone to record a video of us. It was quite funny. On our way along the main road, we picked up some rubbish : a piece of cardboard, a pillow, a wooden post. We took the whole thing in our way back and put the rubbish in the burning bin outside (except the pillow). Given that we hadn’t got the rovers, I couldn’t position my detector (it is a quite heavy device). We didn’t make it to Tank Wash but it was still a good mission.We finished at 11:28.

Vehicles

No vehicles
POSTED ONMARCH 18, 2018
EVA Report – March 18th
EVA #8 Report– 18th March 2018 – Sol 7

Crew members: Frédéric Peyrusson (EVA leader), Maximilien Rirchald, Sophie Wuyckens, Bastien Baix, Mario Sundic

Objectives:

Soil samples for Maximilien’s experiment.
3D mapping for Bastien Baix.
Pictures
Sample positioning for Frédéric’s experiments.

Operations:
14:15 – Entering the airlock
14:21 – Samples positioning of Frédéric’s samples close to the station
14:29 – Leaving the MDRS with the 3 Rovers
14:41 – Arrival at Yellow Moon for pictures, sampling and 3D mapping with the drone. The weather was windy and the drone wasn’t stable enough for mapping
15:09 – Leaving of Yellow Moon
15:18 – Second stop in the road towards Green Valley. Some pictures in front of the beautiful Skyline Rim
15:23 – On the way back to MDRS
15:47 – Arrival at the Hab. We tried to fix the Deimos’ wheel and helped Sophie install her detector.
15:53 – Entering the airlock
15:56 – Mission finished

Narrative:
Our EVA#8 took place on SOL 7 at 14:15. I am Frédéric Peyrusson and I wanted to be part of this EVA in order to place samples of Bacillus subtilis in closed chamber outside. Samples were prepared during the morning.
The weather was quite windy and cold today. Fortunately it was less cloudy than in the morning. We arrived at Yellow Moon at 14:41 after a tough trip. Bastien tried to use his drone for 3D mapping but it wasn’t stable enough. We took soil samples for Maximilien’s experiments. We also saw a lot of motorbikes tracks in the hills.
We then moved towards Green Valley, made some great pictures for our website in front of Skyline Rim, and went back to MDRS. We tried to fix the Deimos rover, but the tools didn’t fit. The EVA finished at 15:56.

Vehicles

Opportunity, Curiosity and Spirit rovers
POSTED ONMARCH 17, 2018
EVA #7 Report – March 17th
EVA #7 , Sol6
Crew members: Mario Sundic (EVA leader), Ariane Sablon, Maximilien Richald, Michael Saint-Guillain

Location:
Near the Hab: 518200E-4250750N
Near Zubrin’s head: 518500E-4248500N

Objectives:
Mario: Pictures for Journalist’s Report and photo a a mountain for Sophie’s muography (potential experimental site).
Maximilien: Soil sampling
Ariane: Checking of Martin Roumain’s drug samples previously disposed around the MDRS
Michael: support

Operations:
09:28 entering the sas
09:31 end of depressurization
09:34 departure rovers
09:44 arrival at Zubrin’s head
10:06 arrival at the base of the targeted mountain
10:15 departure form mountain site
10:31 soil sampling
10:37 departure with rovers
10:47 arrival MDRS
10:50 pictures MDRS
10:53 check of Martin’s samples
10:57 entering the sas and pressurization

Narrative:
I am Michael Saint-Guillain, and I am writing this report on behalf of the EVA leader Mario Sundic. We entered the sas in time to start the EVA at 9:30. This was our first EVA in the South of MDRS. It is quite surprising to see how the landscape can be slightly different down there compared to the North sites. I personally totally LOVED the landscapes near Zubrin’s head. Totally Martian, as far as I know. After driving the rovers towards the targeted site, we walked for a rough hour, between the hills, mountains and cliffs… Amazing. I would have spend the entire day there. Unfortunately, the schedule (as well as the objectives) had to be respected, and we proceeded to the various soil samplings and photo shootings (required by Sophie for her project of muon detector). Back at the MDRS, we finally checked Martin’s drug sampling (which he disposed outside the MDRS a couple of days ago) as required and entered the sas, our head filled with Martian landscapes.

Vehicles
Curiosity & Spirit rovers

POSTED ONMARCH 16, 2018
EVA Report – March 17th
Hi CapCom,

Here is the EVA Report #6 for SOL5,

Thank you very much.

EVA Report:

EVA #6 Crew members: Martin ROUMAIN (EVA Leader), Bastien BAIX, Sophie WUYCKENS, Frédéric PEYRUSSON.

Location:

– Near the Hab: 518200E-4250750N

– Near Pooh’s Corner: 518900E-4251000N

Time:

Departure at 09:31 a.m.

Back at 11:01 a.m.

Duration:

1 hour 30 minutes

Narrative:

Everything went just fine during this sixth EVA. We went out of the airlock at 9:31 a.m. It was a sunny morning.

We started the EVA by digging a small hole for Sophie’s muons detector near the RAM (hole is not deeper than 20 cm and 30 cm wide).

We then checked Martin’s samples near the solar panel: they looked just fine. We were on our way to Pooh’s Corner when we saw the Mars Desert Research Station panel on the ground. Gusts must have made it fall. We took the opportunity to stop and replace it.

After a few minutes walking on the main road, we saw a hill and thought that the view from the top would be perfect for pictures. We took some pictures of the station in the sun.

We went back on the road and arrived to Pooh’s Corner, where we climbed (with some difficulties I must admit) another, higher, hill. We shot some videos and then went back home where we had a few tasks left.

When near the Hab, Bastien started to fly his drone for the 3D-mapping of the area, while Sophie got busy installing her detector right next to the RAM. Frédéric and Martin went behind the station to pick up the non-burnable trash, following Dr. Rupert’s demand. They found a lot of cans, metal waste and even a halogen lamp, probably from another crew. They put all the trash in a bag and put it in the main airlock. They then helped Sophie finish her installation, while Bastien was still on his mapping.

When Sophie and Bastien finished their work, all crew members went in the airlock for pressurization. That was a nice and productive EVA.

Purposes:

Check Martin’s samples near the Hab

3D-Mapping with Bastien’s drone

Find a location for Sophie’s muons detector

Additional purpose:

Take care of the non-burnable trash behind the station, following Dr. Rupert’s demand

Vehicles: None

9:28 a.m.: All crew members in the main airlock, ready for depressurization.

9:31 a.m.: Beginning of the EVA, started to dig a little hole for Sophie’s muons detector near the RAM.

9:48 a.m.: On the road to Pooh’s Corner, checked Martin’s samples near the solar panels, replaced the MDRS panel which fell because of the wind.

9:56 a.m.: Climbed to the top of a hill near the Hab to take pictures and shoot videos with Bastien’s drone.

10:12 a.m.: Climbed another hill near Pooh’s Corner, took pictures and shot videos.

10:22 a.m.: On the road back to the Hab.

10:32 a.m.: Took care of the non-burnable trash behind the Hab, helped Sophie install her muons detector while Bastien started 3D-mapping the area around the Hab.

10:34 a.m.: Put the non-burnable trash in the airlock.

10:52 a.m.: Sophie finished installing her detector near the RAM.

10:58 a.m.: Bastien finished 3D-mapping the area around the Hab, all crew members back in the main airlock with the non-burnable trash.

11:01 a.m.: All crew members safely back in the Hab.

POSTED ONMARCH 14, 2018
EVA#4 Report – March 14th
EVA #4 – 14th March 2018 – Sol 3

Crew members: Sophie Wuyckens (EVA leader), Michael Saint-Guillain, Frédéric Peyrusson, Mario Sundic

Objectives:

– Soil samples harvest by Fred for Maximilien’s experiment.

– Hill localization for Sophie’s experiment.

– Pictures

Operations:

9:01 – Entering the airlock

9:08 – Leaving the MDRS with 2 ATVs and 1 Rover (Opportunity)

9:26 – Arrival at Beige Moon for pictures time

9:43 – Second stop just before splitted roads again for picture time

10:02 – Third stop for soil samples harvest by Fred for Maximilien’s experiment near Widow’s Peak

10:19 – Fourth stop for pictures time with flags

10:25 – Back to the station

10:50 – Arrival at the Hab

10:55– Entering the airlock

10:58– Mission finished

Narrative:

Our fourth EVA took place on soil 3 at 9:00. I am Sophie Wuyckens and I wanted to be part of this EVA in order to find a convenient hill where I could operate my detector.

The EVA has not started very well. Indeed, we were a bit tired and forgot everything ; the belgian flag, our university flag, Mario’s gloves, a notepad (to write operation hours). This is why we stayed a bit longer in the airlock compared to the last times. But finally we made it to outside and started to put firstly our sponsors posters on the rover and ATVs in order to get great pictures for our sponsors. Then we follow the main road and then White Moon direction and stop at Beige Moon. There Mario took pictures of us. I kept an eye on hills that we passed in front of with our vehicles. Unfortunately, we lost a sponsor poster. We continued our way and just before the connecting roads, we made a second stop because the landscape was amazing. Near Widow’s Peak, we stopped a third time because Fred wanted to harvest some soil samples for Maximilien’s experiment. We continued our way along Snake River. Finally, we made a last stop near Toothy Ridge to take last pictures with the flags. After that, we decided to return to the station. The return was very calm. We have never found our poster whereas we have looked for it for a while. Hoping next mission will find it. With regards to my experiment, I found some interesting places near Gray Moon. I look forward to operate the detector over there.

The EVA finished just on time. We hadn’t walk much but it was a good and efficient EVA.

Vehicles

– Opportunity rover

– ATVs 2&3

POSTED ONMARCH 13, 2018
EVA Report – March 13th
EVA Report

EVA #3 – 13th March 2018 – Soil 2
Crew members:
Bastien Baix (EVA leader), Ariane Sablon, Maximilien Richald, Martin Roumain

Objectives:
– First drone operations for the cartography project by Bastien.
– Drug samples check by Martin
– Soil samples harvest by Maximilien

Operations:
9:29 – Entering the airlock
9:33 – Leaving the MDRS with 2 ATVs and 1 Rover (Curiosity)
9:45 – Meeting with some local Martian life
9:52 – Arrival at White Moon, samples harvesting, drone cartography and pictures
10:05 – We ride our vehicles further to Beige Moon
10:19 – Leaving Beige Moon
10:27 – Meeting some Martian life again
10:30 – Stop at URC North Site to harvest some red soil samples.
10:35 – Arrival at the Hab
10:36 – Drug samples check, and generator switched off
10: 41 – Entering the airlock
11:05 Leaving the MDRS,

Narrative:

Our third EVA took place on soil 2 at 9:30. I’m Bastien Baix and I was EVA leader today. After our 3 minutes depressurization in the airlock, we were ready to leave the Hab with 3 vehicles. Our destination: White Moon. On our way to this site, we had the surprise to meet some special Martian life that stood on our road (it looked really like a black cow).
Arrived at White Moon, I had the opportunity to finally test my cartography project using the drone. Meanwhile, Maximilien helped by Martin and Ariane were harvesting some soil samples.

After 10 minutes, we decided to go further into Beige Moon and take some pictures and videos with the drone. Indeed, Maximilien had his camera but not his batteries… On our way back, the strange Martian life was still there and we had to get around the specimen. After a last stop at URC North Site for soil samples, we finally arrived at the Hab. Martin checked his drug samples that are located near the solar panels and we also switched off the generator.

This was a long trip but a short EVA in the end.

Vehicles

– Curiosity rover
– ATVs 2 & 3

POSTED ONMARCH 12, 2018
EVA Report – March 12th
EVA Report

EVA #2
Crew members: Michael Saint-Guillain (EVA leader), Ariane Sablon, Bastien Baix, Mario Sundic

Objectives:
Bastien: Drone testing.
Mario: Pictures for Journalist’s Report.
All: First drive of ATVs and Rover with spacesuits.

Operations:
11:00 Entering the sas
11:05 Leaving the MDRS, disposal of some samples near to the solar panels, for Martin Roumain’s experiment on medecine degradation 11:14 Arrived at junction of the road from Pooh’s Corner and URC Nth and “Stream Bed Connector” (SBC in what follows) trail
11:15 Walk in SBC trail
11:30 Turn around after ±0.25 Miles in SBC trail
11:45 Use of the drone as support for finding the rover/ATVs 11:58 Arrived at MDRS

Narrative:
I’m Michael Saint-Guillain. At 10h30 we were all four ready yet for our very first EVA! Ariane an I went around the solar panels in order to dispose a pack containing a set of medecines, for Martin Roumain’s experiment on medecine degradation. That was the easy part, and we were already suffocating. We then took the ATVs/rover and drove the road from Pooh’s Corner and URC Nth, until we reached the junction with “Stream Bed Connector” (abbreviated SBC in what follows) trail. Driving in suits is actually quite refresching. We left the vehicles and continued by feet, so that Bastien would take views with the drone. Mario on its own took plenty of pictures, some beautiful. After a while, we noticied that we had no contact from the MDRS anymore… They were out of reach of our talkies. Mario and I decided to climb on top of some hill in order to try with a better range. Upon our rock, we were indeed able to see the MDRS. We heard a few words from them, but the signal was too bad to have any conversation. We went back down and continued to walk with Ariane and Bastien in SBC trail, until we were around a quartier mile away from the vehicles. We turn around and started our trip back to the vehicles… Except that I failed at remembering the path we took with enough details, and finding the vehicles revealed to be harder than expected! Lukily, we had a drone and after five minutes of flight it found for us what we were looking for. Happy to survive to this adventure, we drove back and reached MDRS just in time. Wonderful trip.

Vehicles
Opportunity rover
ATVs 1,2

POSTED ONMARCH 12, 2018
EVA Report – March 12th
EVA #1 Report:

EVA Crew members: Maximilien RICHALD (EVA Leader), Martin ROUMAIN, Sophie WUYCKENS, Frédéric PEYRUSSON

Location:

– Around the Hab

– Near Robert’s Rock Garden: 518300E-4249300N

Time: departure at 09:05 a.m. Duration: 50 minutes

Purposes:

– Clay, sand and rock sampling for Maximilien’s and Frédéric’s experiments.

– Test of localization for Martin’s experiment.

– First drive of ATVs and Rover with spacesuits.

Vehicles: 1 Rover (Spirit), 2 ATVs

9:05 a.m.: Team left Airlock

9:10 a.m.: Crew start the vehicles and left the hab

9:11 a.m.: Crew found a place for martin’s experiment

9:20 a.m.: Arrival on the working place and exploring the place

9:39 a.m.: Return to the ATVs

9:42 a.m.: Turning on the ATVs to go back to the Hab

9:50 a.m.: Arrival to the Hab

(Maximilien RICHALD) – We left the hab after the depressurization of the air lock and we directly took some soil sample around the station for Frédéric’s and Max’s experiments. After that, started the vehicles and we began to look for a place for martin’s experiment. The ideal area was found just next to the solar cell installation of the hab. After riding, about 10 minutes we arrived to the place of exploration called Robert’s rock garden were we had walk in our spacesuits. Everything went well and after taking some pictures we came back to the ATV and finally to the hab.

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/category/eva-report/page/11/ Source]

Crew 190 Operations Reports

2019-03-24T17:15:26Z

NathanielFromMars: Created page with "Category:Operations Reports POSTED ON MARCH 22, 2018 Operations Report – March 22nd SOL: 11 Name of person filing report: Bastien BAIX Non-nominal systems: noisy pump..."

[[Category:Operations Reports]]

POSTED ON MARCH 22, 2018
Operations Report – March 22nd
SOL: 11

Name of person filing report: Bastien BAIX
Non-nominal systems: noisy pump, see end of report below
Notes on non-nominal systems: –

Generator (hours run): Turned off at 12.40 pm and turned on at 6.30 pm Solar – SOC 80% (Before generator is run at night)
Diesel – ~25%
Propane – 80%
Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV) – 1 ½ full jerrycans.

Water (trailer) – 0 gallons.
Water (static) – ~500 gallons
Water (third tank) – 0 gallons
Trailer to Static Pump used – NO
Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used – YES
Water Meter: 132 585.7
Toilet tank emptied: NO

ATV’s Used: –
Oil Added: NO
ATV Fuel Used: NO
Hours the ATVs were used today: _
Notes on ATVs: –

Deimos rover used: NO
Hours: 116.7
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: –
Currently charging: YES

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR
Hours:
Beginning charge:
Ending charge:
Currently charging:

Spirit rover used: NO
Hours: 26.9
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: –
Currently charging: NO

Opportunity rover used: YES
Hours: 26
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 93%
Currently charging: NO

Curiosity rover used: YES
Hours: 20.8
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 91%
Currently charging: YES

HabCar used and why, where: –
General notes and comments: –
Summary of internet: ~ 120 Mb remaining
Summary of suits and radios: –
Summary of Hab operations: –
Summary of GreenHab operations: –
Summary of ScienceDome operations: –
Summary of RAMM operations: –
Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support:

Update on the pump: I made pictures of the pump (and the old pump too). – Model: Pentair Shurflo
– 115 VAC
– 60Hz
– 3,3 GPM /12,5 LPM of max flow
– 104 Watts
– Pressure: 45 PSI / 3,1 bar

POSTED ONMARCH 21, 2018
Operations Report – 21st March
Crew 190 Operations Report 21th March 2018

SOL: 10

Name of person filing report: Bastien BAIX

Non-nominal systems: Two water pumps: tank-to-tank pump, interior Hab pump

Notes on non-nominal systems: tank-to-tank pump is taking significantly longer than normal (pump is used to transfer water from the exterior water tank to the interior tank). Interior pump, used to inject water into the Hab water system is making strange noises. Cause is unknown. Should we worry about it ?

Generator (hours run): Turned off at 10.40 am and turned on at … pm (not yet turned on).

Solar – SOC …% (Before generator is run at night)

Diesel – ~35%

Propane – 80%

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV) – 1 ½ full jerrycans.

Water (trailer) – 0 gallons.

Water (static) – ~525 gallons

Water (third tank) – 0 gallons

Trailer to Static Pump used – NO

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used – YES

Water Meter: 132 529.4

Toilet tank emptied: YES

ATV’s Used: –

Oil Added: NO

ATV Fuel Used: NO

Hours the ATVs were used today: _

Notes on ATVs: –

Deimos rover used: NO

Hours: 116.7

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: YES

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Spirit rover used: YES

Hours: 26.9

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 95%

Currently charging: YES

Opportunity rover used: YES

Hours: 25,7

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 90%

Currently charging: YES

Curiosity rover used: NO

Hours: 20.4

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: NO

HabCar used and why, where: –

General notes and comments: –

Summary of internet: ~ 180 Mb remaining

Summary of suits and radios: –

Summary of Hab operations: Bastien and Martin working on their experiments

Summary of GreenHab operations: Mario and Fred working on their experiments

Summary of ScienceDome operations: Ariane, Michael, Maximilien and Fred working on their experiments

Summary of RAMM operations: Sophie working on her muon detector

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: –

POSTED ONMARCH 20, 2018
Operations Report – March 20th
Crew 190 Operations Report 20th March 2018

SOL: 9

Name of person filing report: Bastien BAIX

Non-nominal systems: –

Notes on non-nominal systems: –

Generator (hours run): Turned off at 9.37 am and turned on at 6.45 pm.

Solar – SOC 77% (Before generator is run at night)

Diesel – ~45%

Propane – 81%

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV) – 1 ½ full jerrycans.

Water (trailer) – 0 gallons.

Water (static) – 550 gallons

Water (third tank) – 0 gallons

Trailer to Static Pump used – YES

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used – YES

Water Meter: 132 470.8

Toilet tank emptied: YES

ATV’s Used: –

Oil Added: NO

ATV Fuel Used: YES

Hours the ATVs were used today: _

Notes on ATVs: –

Deimos rover used: NO

Hours: 116.6

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: NO

Notes on Deimos rover: the wheel is under reparation

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Spirit rover used: NO

Hours: 26.2

Beginning charge: 71%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: NO

Opportunity rover used: NO

Hours: 25

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: NO

Curiosity rover used: NO

Hours: 20.7

Beginning charge: 82%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: YES

HabCar used and why, where: –

General notes and comments: The water level of the aquapony system is lowering due to evaporation, should we refill it ?

Summary of internet: ~ 0 Mb remaining

Summary of suits and radios: –

Summary of Hab operations: Power charging to rovers resolved. Fuses were being blown when two outlets were being used. With one cord the issue is resolved.

Summary of GreenHab operations: –

Summary of ScienceDome operations: –

Summary of RAMM operations: –

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: –

POSTED ONMARCH 18, 2018
Operations Report – March 18th
Crew 190 Operations Report 18th March 2018

SOL: 7

Name of person filing report: Bastien BAIX

Non-nominal systems: Ventilation cover fell.

Notes on non-nominal systems:

Due to the extremely hard winds of the last days, the cover of a ventilation opening above the kitchen fell. We found it on the ground near the GreenHab. As you can see on our self-made 3D model enclosed to this mail, it is high. We don’t have a ladder long enough to fix it.

Generator (hours run): Turned off at 9.45 am (and turned on at 7:10pm).

Solar – SOC 85 % (Before generator is run at night)

Diesel – ~45%

Propane – 81%

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV) – 2 empty jerrycans.

Water (trailer) – 0 gallons.

Water (static) – ~ 250 gallons

Water (third tank) – 500 gallons

Trailer to Static Pump used – NO

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used – YES

Water Meter: 132 355.8

Toilet tank emptied: YES

ATV’s Used: –

Oil Added: NO

ATV Fuel Used: NO

Hours the ATVs were used today: _

Notes on ATVs: –

Deimos rover used: NO

Hours: 116.6

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: NO

Notes on Deimos rover: flat tire, not yet repaired

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Spirit rover used: YES

Hours: 26.1

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 43%

Currently charging: NO

Opportunity rover used: YES

Hours: 25

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 30%

Currently charging: YES

Curiosity rover used: YES

Hours: 20.7

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 55%

Currently charging: YES

HabCar used and why, where: –

General notes and comments: –

Summary of internet: ~ 270 Mb remaining

Summary of suits and radios: –

Summary of Hab operations: day off

Summary of GreenHab operations: –

Summary of ScienceDome operations: Fred working on their experiments.

Summary of RAMM operations: the muon detector of Sophie is remotely controlled from the Hab

Summary of health and safety issues: –

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: –

POSTED ONMARCH 17, 2018
Operations Report – March 17th
Crew 190 Operations Report 17th March 2018

SOL: 6

Name of person filing report: Bastien BAIX

Non-nominal systems: –

Notes on non-nominal systems: –

Generator (hours run): Turned off at 9.36 am and turned on at 6.10 pm.

Solar – SOC 99% (Before generator is run at night)

Diesel – ~45%

Propane – 81%

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV) – 2 empty jerrycans.

Water (trailer) – 0 gallons.

Water (static) – ~ 250 gallons

Water (third tank) – 500 gallons

Trailer to Static Pump used – NO

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used – YES

Water Meter: 132 303.3

Toilet tank emptied: NO

ATV’s Used: –

Oil Added: NO

ATV Fuel Used: NO

Hours the ATVs were used today: _

Notes on ATVs: –

Deimos rover used: NO

Hours: 116.6

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: NO

Notes on Deimos rover: flat tire, not yet repaired

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Spirit rover used: YES

Hours: 25.1

Beginning charge: 89%

Ending charge: 100%

Currently charging: YES

Opportunity rover used: NO

Hours: 24.1

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: NO

Curiosity rover used: YES

Hours: 19.3

Beginning charge: 86%

Ending charge: 100%

Currently charging: YES

HabCar used and why, where: –

General notes and comments: –

Summary of internet: ~ 250 Mb remaining

Summary of suits and radios: –

Summary of Hab operations: Ariane, Sophie & Bastien working on their experiments

Summary of GreenHab operations: –

Summary of ScienceDome operations: Martin, Maximilien & Fred working on their experiments.

Summary of RAMM operations: the muon detector of Sophie is remotely controlled from the Hab

Summary of health and safety issues: –

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: –

POSTED ONMARCH 16, 2018
Operations Report – March 16th
Hello CapCom,

Here is my sixth engineering report, feel free to give me feedback:

Crew 190 Operations Report 16th March 2018

SOL: 5

Name of person filing report: Bastien BAIX

Non-nominal systems: –

Notes on non-nominal systems: –

Generator (hours run): Turned off at 8.30 am and turned on at 6.45 pm.

Solar – SOC 95% (Before generator is run at night)

Diesel – ~45%

Propane – 81%

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV) – 2 empty jerrycans.

Water (trailer) – 0 gallons.

Water (static) – ~ 250 gallons

Water (third tank) – 500 gallons

Trailer to Static Pump used – NO

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used – YES

Water Meter: 132 251.9

Toilet tank emptied: YES

ATV’s Used: –

Oil Added: NO

ATV Fuel Used: NO

Hours the ATVs were used today: _

Notes on ATVs: –

Deimos rover used: NO

Hours: 116.6

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: NO

Notes on Deimos rover: flat tire, not yet repaired

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Spirit rover used: NO

Hours: 24.8

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: NO

Opportunity rover used: NO

Hours: 24.1

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: YES

Curiosity rover used: NO

Hours: 18.1

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: YES

HabCar used and why, where: –

General notes and comments: –

Summary of internet: ~ 200 Mb remaining

Summary of suits and radios: –

Summary of Hab operations: Ariane, Mario & Bastien working on their experiments

Summary of GreenHab operations: –

Summary of ScienceDome operations: Martin, Maximilien & Fred working on their experiments.

Summary of RAMM operations: Sophie adjusting her muon detector

Summary of health and safety issues: –

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: –

Enjoy your evening,

Cheers,

Bastien Baix

Crew 190 Engineer – UCL to Mars 2018

POSTED ONMARCH 14, 2018
Operations Report – March 14th
Crew 190 Operations Report 14th March 2018

SOL: 3

Name of person filing report: Bastien BAIX

Non-nominal systems: –

Notes on non-nominal systems: –

Generator (hours run): Turned off at 10:31 am and turned on at 6.47 pm.

Solar – SOC 69 % (Before generator is run at night)

Diesel – ~45%

Propane – 81%

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV) – 2 empty jerrycans.

Water (trailer) – 0 gallons.

Water (static) – ~350 gallons

Water (third tank) – 500 gallons

Trailer to Static Pump used – NO

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used – YES

Water Meter: 132 142.7

Toilet tank emptied: YES

ATV’s Used: 2 & 3

Oil Added: NO

ATV Fuel Used: NO

Hours the ATVs were Used today: 2 hours

Notes on ATVs: –

Deimos rover used: NO

Hours: 116.6

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: NO

Notes on Deimos rover: flat tire, not yet repared

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Spirit rover used: NO

Hours: 24.8

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: NO

Opportunity rover used: YES

Hours: 21.5

Beginning charge: 37%

Ending charge: 100%

Currently charging: YES

Curiosity rover used: NO

Hours: 17,2

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: –

Currently charging: YES

HabCar used and why, where: –

General notes and comments: –

Summary of internet: ~ 300 Mb remaining

Summary of suits and radios: –

Summary of Hab operations: Ariane & Bastien working on their experiments

Summary of GreenHab operations: Mario (+Maximilien) & Fred working on their experiments

Summary of ScienceDome operations: Martin, Sophie & Michael working on their experiments.

Summary of RAMM operations: –

Summary of health and safety issues: a crewmember had a headache and another one cut himself/herself

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: –

POSTED ONMARCH 13, 2018
Operations Report – March 13th
Crew 190 Operations Report 13th March 2018
SOL: 2
Name of person filing report: Bastien BAIX
Non-nominal systems: –
Notes on non-nominal systems: –

Generator (hours run): Turned off at 10:36 am and turned on at 7:30 pm.
Solar – SOC 84% (Before generator is run at night)
Diesel – ~45%
Propane – 82%
Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV) – 2 empty jerrycans.

Water (trailer) – 0 gallons.
Water (static) – ~450 gallons
Water (third tank) – 500 gallons.
Trailer to Static Pump used – NO
Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used – YES
Water Meter: 132 074.2
Toilet tank emptied: NO

ATV’s Used: 2 & 3
Oil Added: NO
ATV Fuel Used: NO
Hours the ATVs were Used today: 1 hour
Notes on ATVs: –

Deimos rover used: NO
Hours: 116.6
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: –
Currently charging: NO
Notes on Deimos rover: flat tyre

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR
Hours:
Beginning charge:
Ending charge:
Currently charging:

Spirit rover used: NO
Hours: 24.8
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: –
Currently charging: NO

Opportunity rover used: NO
Hours: 20.6
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: –
Currently charging: YES

Curiosity rover used: YES
Hours: 17,2
Beginning charge: 76%
Ending charge: 100%
Currently charging: YES

HabCar used and why, where: –
General notes and comments: –
Summary of internet: ~ 200 Mb remaining
Summary of suits and radios: –
Summary of Hab operations: Ariane & Bastien working on their experiments
Summary of GreenHab operations: Mario & Fred working on their experiments. Aquaponic fish seedlings did not sprout. Suspected due to cold water. Pump turned on and hydroponic solution added to rectify.
Summary of ScienceDome operations: Martin, Sophie, Maximilien &
Michael working on their experiments.
Summary of RAMM operations: –
Summary of health and safety issues: HSO first report submitted

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: –

POSTED ONMARCH 12, 2018
Operations Report – March 12th
Hello CapCom,

Here is my second engineering report, feel free to give me feedback: Crew 190 Operations Report 12th March 2018
SOL: 1
Name of person filing report: Bastien BAIX
Non-nominal systems: –
Notes on non-nominal systems: –

Generator (hours run): Turned off at 10 am and turned on at 7.08 pm. Solar – SOC 82 % (Before generator is run at night)
Diesel – ~45%
Propane – 82%
Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV) – 2 empty jerrycans.

Water (trailer) – 0 gallons.
Water (static) – ~450 gallons
Water (third tank) – 500 gallons.
Trailer to Static Pump used – NO
Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used – YES
Water Meter: 132 014.3
Toilet tank emptied: NO

ATV’s Used: 2 & 3
Oil Added: NO
ATV Fuel Used: NO
Hours the ATVs were Used today: 2 hours
Notes on ATVs: –

Deimos rover used: NO
Hours: 116.6
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: –
Currently charging: NO
Notes on Deimos rover: flat tyre

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR
Hours:
Beginning charge:
Ending charge:
Currently charging:

Spirit rover used: YES
Hours: 24.8
Beginning charge: 99%
Ending charge: 100%
Currently charging: YES

Opportunity rover used: YES
Hours: 20.6
Beginning charge: 98%
Ending charge: 100%
Currently charging: YES

Curiosity rover used: NO
Hours: 16.5
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: –
Currently charging: NO

HabCar used and why, where: –
General notes and comments: –
Summary of internet: ~300 Mb remaining
Summary of suits and radios: –
Summary of Hab operations: Ariane & Bastien working on their experiments Summary of GreenHab operations: Mario’s project (= hydroponic culture) Summary of ScienceDome operations: Martin, Fred & Michael working on their experiments.
Summary of RAMM operations: –
Summary of health and safety issues: –

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: –

POSTED ONMARCH 11, 2018
Operations Report – March 11th
Crew 190 Operations Report 11th March 2018
SOL: 0
Name of person filing report: Bastien BAIX
Non-nominal systems: –
Notes on non-nominal systems: –

Generator (hours run): Turned off at ? and turned on at 7.35 pm.
Solar— SOC 79 % (Before generator is run at night)
Diesel – ~45%
Propane – psi.
Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV) – 2 empty jerrycans.

Water (trailer) – 0 gallons.
Water (static) – ~450 gallons
Water (third tank) – 500 gallons.
Trailer to Static Pump used – NO
Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used – YES
Water Meter: 131 952.2
Toilet tank emptied: YES

ATV’s Used: 1,2,3 & Honda
Oil Added: NO
ATV Fuel Used: 2 x 5 Gals
Hours the ATVs were Used today: 2 hours
Notes on ATVs: –

Deimos rover used: NO
Hours: 116.6
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: –
Currently charging: NO

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR
Hours:
Beginning charge:
Ending charge:
Currently charging:

Spirit rover used: YES
Hours:24.4
Beginning charge: 70%
Ending charge: –
Currently charging: YES

Opportunity rover used: YES
Hours: 20.4
Beginning charge: 71%
Ending charge: –
Currently charging: YES

Curiosity rover used: YES
Hours: 16.5
Beginning charge: 69%
Ending charge: –
Currently charging: NO

HabCar used and why, where: HabCar was used to get water in Hanksville
and fill the third water tank. 5 trips and return.
General notes and comments: we cleaned up the third water tank and
filled it completely.
Summary of internet: ~400 Mb remaining
Summary of suits and radios: –
Summary of Hab operations: settle in
Summary of GreenHab operations: –
Summary of ScienceDome operations: –
Summary of RAMM operations: –
Summary of health and safety issues: –

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: –

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/category/operations-report/page/18/ Source]

Crew 190 Astronomy Reports

2019-03-24T17:12:02Z

NathanielFromMars: Created page with "Category:Astronomy Experiments POSTED ONMARCH 21, 2018 Astronomy Report – 21st March Astronomy Report Name: Sophie Wuyckens Crew: 190 date: 3/21/2018 Sky Conditi..."

[[Category:Astronomy Experiments]]

POSTED ONMARCH 21, 2018
Astronomy Report – 21st March
Astronomy Report
Name: Sophie Wuyckens Crew: 190
date: 3/21/2018

Sky Conditions: Cloudy all the day long but clear sky from 4:00 PM.

Wind Conditions: no wind

Observation Start Time: 16:30

Observation End Time: 17:30

Summary: Today Mick wanted to learn how to manipulate the telescope. Therefore we have benefited from a thinning to go the Musk observatory during one hour. It was a short observation but efficient. We took one beautiful shot.
Objects Viewed: dark spot on the Sun + small prominences

Problems Encountered: iCap had some difficulties to open at first. But we have finally managed to work with it.

Cheers,

Sophie Wuyckens

POSTED ONMARCH 20, 2018
Astronomy Report – March 20th
Astronomy Report
Name: Sophie Wuyckens Crew: 190
date: 3/20/2018

Sky Conditions: Cloudy all the day long but very clear sky from 5:00 PM.

Wind Conditions: no wind

Observation Start Time: 17:00

Observation End Time: 18:30

Summary: I haven’t gone to the observatory for the last few days because of the bad weather. Therefore when I saw a clear blue sky at 17:00, I jumped on the occasion. I took 3 pictures of the Sun. They were taken in the excitation and in a short time so they are not amazing. I hope to enjoy the telescope with nice ends of afternoon like that for the last days of my stay at MDRS.
Objects Viewed: some little solar eruptions and surface of the Sun

Problems Encountered: I had a small problem with ICap : When I want to take capture each 35s, a message pops up " Error writing bmp files" and it stops the captures. I didn’t have the problem for my last pictures.

POSTED ONMARCH 17, 2018
Astronomy Report – March 17th
Name: Sophie Wuyckens Crew: 190
date: 3/17/2018

Sky Conditions: Clear but sometines some clouds

Wind Conditions: High wind all the day long

Observation Start Time: No observation

Observation End Time: –

Summary: I didn’t dare to use the the observatory today because the wind was very violent.

POSTED ONMARCH 16, 2018
Astronomy Report – March 16th

POSTED ONMARCH 14, 2018
Astronomy Report – March 14th
Astronomy Report 3
Name: Sophie Wuyckens Crew: 190
date: 3/14/2018

Sky Conditions: Very cloudy sky and rain all the afternoon

Wind Conditions: Strong wind

Summary: No observation because of bad weather.

POSTED ONMARCH 13, 2018
Astronomy Report – March 13th
Astronomy Report

Name: Sophie Wuyckens Crew: 190
date: 3/13/2018

Sky Conditions: Very clear sky

Wind Conditions: No wind

Observation Start Time: 12:00

Observation End Time: 15:00

Summary: I continued my training with the telescope. I got 2 pictures (see jpeg attached) of the Sun, they are not very fancy but unfortunately the Sun has no real relevant activity. I am trying to create gif and videos of the mini solar eruptions.
Objects Viewed: some little solar eruptions and surface of the Sun

Problems Encountered: No problems

POSTED ONMARCH 12, 2018
Astronomy Report – March 12th
Astronomy Report
Name: Sophie Wuyckens Crew: 190
date: 3/12/2018

Sky Conditions: Very clear sky in the morning and some clouds in the afternoon

Wind Conditions: No wind

Observation Start Time: 11:30 – 13:00 & 15:30-17:30

Observation End Time: See above

Summary: First day of observations. I became acquainted with the telescope all the day long. I got 3 pictures (see jpeg attached) of the Sun.
Objects Viewed: Sun, a little solar eruption and surface of the Sun

Problems Encountered: I had some trouble in order to find the Sun in the afternoon but it was just due to the fact that I had to pass to PM mode given that I passed from the morning to the afternoon. A Beginner Error, I guess. Peter is the one who told me how to fix my bug. It was good after.

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/category/astronomy-report/page/6/ Source]

Crew 190 Mission Summary

2019-03-24T17:08:09Z

NathanielFromMars: Created page with "Category:Mission Summaries POSTED ONMARCH 25, 2018 Mission Summary – Crew 190 It’s been twelve SOLs that Crew 190 landed on Mars. They rapidly settled down in..."

[[Category:Mission Summaries]]

POSTED ONMARCH 25, 2018
Mission Summary – Crew 190

It’s been twelve SOLs that Crew 190 landed on Mars. They rapidly settled down in the Hab and got to work. Quickly they learned to live with each other. A bit formally, we distinguish in this report five main activities that had been shared and managed during the time living in the station (see Figure 1): scientific work, team management, housework, EVAs and social activities.

SCIENTIFIC WORK

Scientific challenge was the main motivation of our stay at the MDRS. On a typical daily schedule, it usually primes on the rest of the activities. In this section, we provide a summary of the objectives and outcomes amongst the several experiments that were initially planned by the crew. Here we briefly present our different experiments.

Psychological and emotional aspects are paramount in this kind of mission. Martin Roumain, the Health and Safety Officer and biomedical researcher, evaluated the impact of confinement by monitoring short-term memory and reflexes throughout the mission. He also studied the accelerated degradation of drugs by the Martian environment using a spectrophotometer (Figure 2). This device has also been used by Maximilien Richald, chemist and Crew Commander of this mission. Maximilien focused on the chemical profile of Martian soil in view of an eventual use in agriculture. Food self-sufficiency being essential for long duration space missions, Mario Sundic, botanist and GreenHab Officer, has designed a vertical hydroponic system, reducing the water needs thanks to this closed circuit. Frédéric Peyrusson, Crew Biologist, tested the benefits of hydrogels on plants growth. Moreover, he studied the ability of known bacteria to resist to a harsh environment and figured out the biocompatibility of terrestrial life on Mars. Our second Biologist, Ariane Sablon (Figure 2), isolated fermentating bacteria from human saliva in view of making possible the preparation of sourdough bread in situ. Bastien Baix, the Crew Engineer, created a self-made 3D-map of the station and its surroundings using an aerial drone. Our physicist and Crew Astronomer Sophie Wuyckens, also contributed to terrain analysis by setting up a method based on cosmic radiations measurements (Figure 3). She was also in charge of the Musk Observatory. All these experiments needed to be perfectly coordinated. That was the role of Michael Saint-Guillain, the computer scientist and Executive Officer, who designed an algorithm that helped the scheduling of the various experiments conducted by the crew members.

Figure 3: Sophie Wuyckens working on her muon detector, inside the RAM module.

Besides the experiments, extravehicular activities (EVAs) required a significant amount of time. Of critical importance for some experiments, the EVAs also revealed a positive impact on the mental of the entire team and unique opportunities to contemplate the scenic martian landscape.

TEAM MANAGEMENT
Even though we stayed only a couple of weeks, such a mission requires sound organisation and systematical rescheduling. At the center of our eight people crew, the commandant Maximilien Richald had the hard responsibility of managing the entire team in a holistic way, dealing with all dimensions of the mission : experiments, housework, social behavior… Which had to be discussed during daily team meeting (Figure 4).

Coordination of the scientific operations (including EVAs, manipulations in the ScienceDome, solar observations, homework) had been closely monitored by Michael Saint-Guillain. At the end of each day, just before the CapCom, the scientific outcomes were used as input to the scheduling algorithm which was then used to recompute a schedule for the rest of the mission.

HOUSEWORKING

As part of a large team enclosed in a quite small living space, we all recognized the critical importance of well-balanced houseworking. The time required for meal preparation should not be underestimated, as we are cooking with unusual freeze-dried ingredients, which, by the way, did not prevent us from cooking some masterpieces (Figure 5) !

SOCIAL ACTIVITIES
Last but not least, it is worth to mention that social activities definititly contributed to the success of the mission. Even with the best team composition, maintaining a good mood is not trivial and has a significant impact on the global outcomes of the mission. Fortunately, the Mars Society staffed the MDRS with a few interesting games, as the one we played on Figure 6 (left). On the right in Figure 6, we even observe a singular birthday event, quite uncommon on Mars !

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/category/mission-summary/page/2/ Source]

Crew 191 - Operations Reports

2019-03-24T17:07:04Z

NathanielFromMars:

[[Category: Operations Reports]]

POSTED ONAPRIL 7, 2018
Operations Report – April 07th
Crew 191 Operations Report 07/04/2018

SOL: 14

Name of person filing report: Wataru Okamoto

Non-nominal systems: Water Tank

Notes on non-nominal systems: We cleaned up all tank. Loft water filter is already ordered by Dr. Shannon. Now water line is not filter line,another line bypassed.

Generator (hours run): 12hours

Solar SOC 83% (Before generator is run at night)

Diesel 80%

Propane 70psi.

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV) ? gallons.

Water (trailer) 0%

Water (static) 60%

Trailer to Static Pump used ? Yes

Water (loft) Static to Loft Pump used Yes

Water Meter: 133208.1
Toilet tank emptied: No

ATV’s Used: (Honda, 300, 350.1, 350.2, 350.3) –

Oil Added –

ATV Fuel Used:
Hours the ATVs were Used today:

Notes on ATVs:

Deimos rover used: Yes
Hours: 118.6
Beginning charge: %
Ending charge: %
Currently charging: plugged

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR
Hours:
Beginning charge:
Ending charge:
Currently charging:

Spirit rover used: Yes
Hours: 30.2h
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 100%
Currently charging:

Opportunity rover used: –
Hours: 28.8h
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 100%
Currently charging:

Curiosity rover used: Yes

Hours: 25.1h
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 100%
Currently charging: plugged

HabCar used and why, where? We went to Hanksville 3 times. Because water supply.

General notes and comments: We explain to CREW192 about engineering.

Summary of internet: No problem

Summary of suits and radios: 5 charger of the backpack out of order.

Summary of Hab operations: We supply the black tank 20%.

Summary of GreenHab operations: No problem

Summary of ScienceDome operations: CREW192 member will sleep inside the dome tonight.

Summary of RAMM operations: N/A

Summary of health and safety issues: No Problem

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: Thank you for your support. We completed the mission.

POSTED ONAPRIL 6, 2018
Operations Report – April 06th
Crew 191 Operations Report 04/06/2018

SOL: 13

Name of person filing report: Wataru Okamoto

Non-nominal systems: Solar system, Water Tank

Notes on non-nominal systems: Solar system seems normal operating. We attach SOL13 parameter. We take care of water system.

Generator (hours run): 15.5hours

Solar SOC 67% (Before generator is run at night)

Diesel 90%

Propane 70psi.

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV) ? – gallons.

Water (trailer) – %

Water (static) 20%

Trailer to Static Pump used ? Yes

Water (loft) Static to Loft Pump used Yes

Water Meter: 133158.2
Toilet tank emptied: No

ATV’s Used: (Honda, 300, 350.1, 350.2, 350.3) –

Oil Added –

ATV Fuel Used:
Hours the ATVs were Used today: –

Notes on ATVs:

Deimos rover used: Yes
Hours: 118.6h
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 99%
Currently charging: plugged

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR
Hours:
Beginning charge:
Ending charge:
Currently charging:

Spirit rover used: Yes
Hours: 30.4h
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 98%
Currently charging:

Opportunity rover used: –
Hours: 28.8h
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: %
Currently charging:

Curiosity rover used: Yes
Hours: 25.0h
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 97%
Currently charging: plugged

HabCar used and why, where? We went to Hanksville. Because water supply.

General notes and comments: Solar system seems normal operating. We attach SOL13 parameter.

Summary of internet: No problem

Summary of suits and radios: 5 charger of the backpack out of order.

Summary of Hab operations: We supply the black tank 20%. The fluorescent light on the first floor near the stairs blinking.

Summary of GreenHab operations: No problem

Summary of ScienceDome operations: Only use checking the solar system.

Summary of RAMM operations: No problem

Summary of health and safety issues: No problem

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: We need two fluorescent light.

Water.xlsx

SOL-Trouble_SOL13.xlsx

POSTED ONAPRIL 5, 2018
Operations Report – April 05th
Crew 191 Operations Report 05/04/2018

SOL: 12

Name of person filing report: Wataru Okamoto

Non-nominal systems: Solar system, Water Tank

Notes on non-nominal systems: Solar system seems extremely unusual. Now it is normal operation. We are keeping a detailed monitoring. We attach SOL12 parameter.
We cleaned the Black tank and the water pump.

Generator (hours run): 12hours

Solar SOC 7% (Before generator is run at night)

Diesel 80%

Propane 70psi.

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV) ? – gallons.

Water (trailer) 0%

Water (static) 20%

Trailer to Static Pump used ? –

Water (loft) Static to Loft Pump used Yes

Water Meter: 133080.4
Toilet tank emptied: –

ATV’s Used: (Honda, 300, 350.1, 350.2, 350.3) –

Oil Added –

ATV Fuel Used: –
Hours the ATVs were Used today: –

Notes on ATVs: Dr. Shannon ask us don’t to use all ATV , because of fuel trouble.

Deimos rover used: –
Hours: 117.9h
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: %
Currently charging: plugged

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR
Hours:
Beginning charge:
Ending charge:
Currently charging:

Spirit rover used: –
Hours: 29.4h
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: %
Currently charging: –

Opportunity rover used:
Hours: 28.8h
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: %
Currently charging: –

Curiosity rover used:
Hours: 24.3h
Beginning charge: 100 %
Ending charge: %
Currently charging: –

HabCar used and why, where? –

General notes and comments: Solar system seems extremely unusual. Now it is normal operation. We are keeping a detailed monitoring. We attach SOL12 parameter.
We cleaned the Black tank and the water pump.

Summary of internet: No problem

Summary of suits and radios: 5 charger of the backpack out of order.

Summary of Hab operations: We cleaned the black tank.

Summary of GreenHab operations: No problem

Summary of ScienceDome operations: Only use checking the solar system.

Summary of RAMM operations: No problem

Summary of health and safety issues: No problem

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: We need water filter, a lot of paper towels for clean up the Loft tank . We already mailed to Dr. Shannon.

POSTED ONAPRIL 4, 2018
Operations Report – April 4th
Hi CapCom,

this is the Engineer Report on sol 11.
*attached 1 file.

Best,
Miho XO crew191

—
Crew 191 Operations Report 04/04/2018

SOL: 11

Name of person filing report: Wataru Okamoto

Non-nominal systems: Solar system, Water Tank

Notes on non-nominal systems: Solar system seems still a bit unusual. But it becomes better and better. We are keeping a detailed monitoring. We attach SOL11 parameter.
We cleaned the white tank and the tank on the HabCar.

Generator (hours run): 12hours

Solar SOC 84% (Before generator is run at night)

Diesel 7/8

Propane 70psi.

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV) ? – gallons.

Water (trailer) –

Water (static) 80%

Trailer to Static Pump used ? –

Water (loft) Static to Loft Pump used Yes

Water Meter: 133080.4
Toilet tank emptied: No

ATV’s Used: (Honda, 300, 350.1, 350.2, 350.3) –

Oil Added –

ATV Fuel Used: –
Hours the ATVs were Used today: –

Notes on ATVs: –

Deimos rover used: Yes
Hours: 117.9h
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 100%
Currently charging: plugged

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR
Hours:
Beginning charge:
Ending charge:
Currently charging:

Spirit rover used: –
Hours: 29.3h
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: –
Currently charging: –

Opportunity rover used: Yes
Hours: 28.8h
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 99%
Currently charging: plugged

Curiosity rover used: Yes
Hours: 24.3h
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 100%
Currently charging: –

HabCar used and why, where? –

General notes and comments: Solar system seems still a bit unusual. But it becomes better and better. We are keeping a detailed monitoring.
We cleaned the white tank and the tank on the HabCar.

Summary of internet: No problem

Summary of suits and radios: 5 charger of the backpack out of order.

Summary of Hab operations: We cleaned the tanks. Dr. Shannon supplied us the drinking water.

Summary of GreenHab operations: No problem

Summary of ScienceDome operations: Only use checking the solar system.

Summary of RAMM operations: We have cleaned the tank inside RAMM.

Summary of health and safety issues: No problem

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: 5 charger of the backpack out of order. Please supply us.
We already ask Dr. Shannon that we need paper towl and hand sanitizer for cleaning the black tank.

POSTED ONAPRIL 3, 2018
Operations Report – April 03rd
Crew 191 Operations Report 03/04/2018

SOL: 10

Name of person filing report: Wataru Okamoto

Non-nominal systems: Solar system, Water Tank
Notes on non-nominal systems: Solar system seems still a bit unusual. But it becomes better and better. We are keeping a detailed monitoring. We attach SOL10 parameter. We cleaned the white tank and the water pump today.

Generator (hours run): 11.5 hours

Solar SOC 68% (Before generator is run at night)

Diesel 90%

Propane 70psi.

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV) ? 6gallons.

Water (trailer) –

Water (static) 80 %

Trailer to Static Pump used ? –

Water (loft) Static to Loft Pump used Yes

Water Meter: 133052.2
Toilet tank emptied: No

ATV’s Used: (Honda, 300, 350.1, 350.2, 350.3) –

Oil Added –

ATV Fuel Used:
Hours the ATVs were Used today: –

Notes on ATVs: –

Deimos rover used: Yes
Hours:117.4h
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 100%
Currently charging: Yes

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR
Hours:
Beginning charge:
Ending charge:
Currently charging:

Spirit rover used:
Hours: 29.2h
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: %
Currently charging: –

Opportunity rover used: –
Hours: 28.4h
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: %
Currently charging: –

Curiosity rover used: –
Hours: 23.8h
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: %
Currently charging: –

HabCar used and why, where? –

General notes and comments: Solar system seems still a bit unusual. I checked all battery chargers of the backpack in the HAB.

Summary of internet: Under control

Summary of suits and radios: 5 charging cable of backpack can’t work.

Summary of Hab operations: Dr. Shannon supplied us the drinking water.

Summary of GreenHab operations: No problem

Summary of ScienceDome operations: Only use checking the solar system.

Summary of RAMM operations: The white water tank has been set from yesterday. We had started cleaning it from today.

Summary of health and safety issues: No problem

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support:
Charger of backpack#5 out of order. It is number of using and spare. The model is ’TENERGY’. I attach photos.
We want 7 gallon drinking water tomorrow.

POSTED ONAPRIL 2, 2018
Operations Report – April 2nd
Crew 191 Operations Report 02/04/2018

SOL: 9

Name of person filing report: Wataru Okamoto

Non-nominal systems: Solar system, Water Tank
Notes on non-nominal systems: Solar system seems still unusual from Sol5. But Solar system condition better than yesterday.Please reference under General notes. We collected sub tank contamination.

Generator (hours run): 12hours

Solar SOC 91% (Before generator is run at night)

Diesel Almost FULL

Propane 72psi.

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV) ? 6gallons.

Water (sub) –

Water (static) 90%

Trailer to Static Pump used ? –

Water (loft) Static to Loft Pump used Yes

Water Meter: 132936.4
Toilet tank emptied: Yes

ATV’s Used: (Honda, 300, 350.1, 350.2, 350.3) –

Oil Added –

ATV Fuel Used: –
Hours the ATVs were Used today: –

Notes on ATVs: –

Deimos rover used: –
Hours: 117.0h
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 100%
Currently charging: Yes

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR
Hours:
Beginning charge:
Ending charge:
Currently charging:

Spirit rover used: –
Hours: 29.2h
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 100%
Currently charging: –

Opportunity rover used: –
Hours: 28.4h
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 100%
Currently charging: –

Curiosity rover used: –
Hours: 23.8h
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 100%
Currently charging: –

HabCar used and why, where? –

General notes and comments: Solar Battery became 100% at 9:13.We are still process of cleaning water contamination.

Summary of internet: Under control

Summary of suits and radios:

– We are checking radios sensitivity.
– We repaired No.2 Backpack Hose
– No.4 Backpack charging socket lock notch was broken.

Summary of Hab operations: No problem

Summary of GreenHab operations: No problem

Summary of ScienceDome operations:

Summary of RAMM operations: The sub water tank was carried to RAMM.

Summary of health and safety issues: No problem

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support:
No.4 Backpack charging socket lock notch was broken.
Please supply us the charging socket plate indicate attached photo. Thank you for Dr. Shannon support. We need another 5 gallons drinking water tomorrow.

POSTED ONAPRIL 1, 2018
Operations Report – April 1st
Crew 191 Operations Report 01/04/2018

SOL: 8

Name of person filing report: Wataru Okamoto

Non-nominal systems: Solar system
Notes on non-nominal systems: Solar system seems still unusual from Sol5. Please reference under General notes.

Generator (hours run): 12.5hours

Solar SOC 100% (Before generator is run at night)

Diesel Almost FULL

Propane 71psi.

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV) ? 6gallons.

Water (trailer) 20 %

Water (static) 90 %

Trailer to Static Pump used ? –

Water (loft) Static to Loft Pump used Yes

Water Meter: 132912.6
Toilet tank emptied: No

ATV’s Used: (Honda, 300, 350.1, 350.2, 350.3) –

Oil Added –

ATV Fuel Used: –
Hours the ATVs were Used today: –

Notes on ATVs: –

Deimos rover used: –
Hours: 117.0h
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 100%
Currently charging: Yes

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR
Hours:
Beginning charge:
Ending charge:
Currently charging:

Spirit rover used: Morisawa
Hours: 29.2h
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 100%
Currently charging: Yes

Opportunity rover used: –
Hours: 28.4h
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 100%
Currently charging: plugged

Curiosity rover used: Okamoto
Hours: 23.8h
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 100%
Currently charging: Yes

HabCar used and why, where? –

General notes and comments: Solar system seems still unusual from Sol5. SOC battery capacity was 67% in this morning. But it became 100% after 5 minutes since we turned off the diesel generator. We are keeping a detailed monitoring. We attach SOL8 parameter.

Summary of internet: Under control

Summary of suits and radios: We are checking radios sensitivity.

Summary of Hab operations: No problem

Summary of GreenHab operations: No problem

Summary of ScienceDome operations: Only use checking the solar system.

Summary of RAMM operations: N/A

Summary of health and safety issues: No problem

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: We want to charge the battery exchanged No.5 backpack. External Voltage converter in the tool box seem to have been not work. We search another one.
We supplied a PLEXUS spray and a GTX radio. Thank you.

POSTED ONMARCH 31, 2018
Operations Report – March 31st
Crew 191 Operations Report 31/03/2018

SOL:7

Name of person filing report: Wataru Okamoto

Non-nominal systems: Solar System, Trailer water

Notes on non-nominal systems:

– Solar system seems still unusual from Sol5. We are keeping a detailed monitoring. The system shows us P05 means the charger itself works well, but the number of SOC gave us wrong parameter. We will keep monitoring tomorrow.
– There are white Chemical substances on the water in trailer tank. I attach the photo.
Generator (hours run): 13hours

Solar SOC 89% (Before generator is run at night)

Diesel Almost FULL

Propane 72psi.

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV) ? 6gallons.

Water (trailer) 20%

Water (static) 100%

Trailer to Static Pump used ? no

Water (loft) Static to Loft Pump used yes

Water Meter: 132889.1
Toilet tank emptied: no

ATV’s Used: (Honda, 300, 350.1, 350.2, 350.3) –

Oil Added –

ATV Fuel Used: N/A
Hours the ATVs were Used today: N/A

Notes on ATVs: N/A

Deimos rover used: –
Hours:116.9
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 100%
Currently charging: yes

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR
Hours:
Beginning charge:
Ending charge:
Currently charging:

Spirit rover used: –
Hours:27.9h
Beginning charge:100%
Ending charge: 100%
Currently charging: yes

Opportunity rover used: –
Hours: 28.4h
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 100%
Currently charging: yes

Curiosity rover used: –
Hours:23.7h
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 100%
Currently charging: yes

HabCar used and why, where? –

General notes and comments: Solar system seems unusual from before yesterday. The findings of the monitoring are that solar charger system looks fine, but the number of monitor telling us wrong result for some while. We will keep monitoring. We attach the file of SOL7 solar battery parameter.

Summary of internet: Under control

Summary of suits and radios: Suits are all fine. We will make the list of radios.

Summary of Hab operations: No problem

Summary of GreenHab operations: No problem

Summary of ScienceDome operations: Only use checking the solar system.

Summary of RAMM operations: N/A

Summary of health and safety issues: No problem

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: N/A

POSTED ONMARCH 30, 2018
Operations Report – March 30th
Crew 191 Operations Report30/03/2018

SOL:6

Name of person filing report: Wataru Okamoto

Non-nominal systems: Solar System

Notes on non-nominal systems: Solar system seems unusual from yesterday. P05 error code are there.

Generator (hours run):hours

Solar SOC 99% (Before generator is run at night)

Diesel 100%

Propane 70psi.

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV) ? 6gallons.

Water (trailer) 60%

Water (static) 70%

Trailer to Static Pump used ? no

Water (loft) Static to Loft Pump used yes

Water Meter: 132861.4

Toilet tank emptied: yes

ATV’s Used: (Honda, 300, 350.1, 350.2, 350.3) –

Oil Added –

ATV Fuel Used: N/A

Hours the ATVs were Used today: N/A

Notes on ATVs: N/A

Deimos rover used: –

Hours:116.9

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 100%

Currently charging: 100%

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Spirit rover used: –

Hours:27.9h

Beginning charge:100%

Ending charge: 100%

Currently charging: 100%

Opportunity rover used: Murakami, Okamoto

While driving became overheat twice.

Hours: 28.4h

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 86%

Currently charging: yes

Curiosity rover used: Venza, Kawamura

Hours:23.7h

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 98%

Currently charging: yes

HabCar used and why, where? –

General notes and comments: Solar system seems unusual from yesterday. We had precise monitoring and also discussion about this problem with Dr. Shannon this morning. The findings of the monitoring are that solar charger system looks fine, but the number of monitor telling us wrong result for some a while. For example, 11:11 SOC has changes from 63% to 100% suddenly. We will keep monitoring. Attached is the solar battery parameter.

Summary of internet: Under control

Summary of suits and radios: No problem

Summary of Hab operations: Shower heater doesn’t work.

Summary of GreenHab operations: No problem

Summary of ScienceDome operations: Only use checking the solar system.

Summary of RAMM operations: N/A

Summary of health and safety issues: No problem

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support:

Opportunity rover became overheat twice while driving. At that same time curiousity was fine. Is there any advice?

POSTED ONMARCH 30, 2018
Operations Report – March 30th
Hi CapCom,

this is the Engineer Report on sol 6.

Best,
Miho XO crew191

—

Crew 191 Operations Report 30/03/2018

SOL:6

Name of person filing report: Wataru Okamoto
Non-nominal systems: Solar System
Notes on non-nominal systems: Solar system seems unusual from yesterday. P05 error code are there.

Generator (hours run):hours
Solar SOC 99% (Before generator is run at night)
Diesel under 25%
Propane 70psi.
Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV) ? 6gallons.
Water (trailer) 60% Water (static) 70%
Trailer to Static Pump used ? no
Water (loft) Static to Loft Pump used yes
Water Meter: 132861.4
Toilet tank emptied: yes
ATV’s Used: (Honda, 300, 350.1, 350.2, 350.3) –
Oil Added –
ATV Fuel Used: N/A
Hours the ATVs were Used today: N/A
Notes on ATVs: N/A
Deimos rover used: –
Hours:116.9
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 100%
Currently charging: 100%
Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR
Hours:
Beginning charge:
Ending charge:
Currently charging:
Spirit rover used: –
Hours: 27.9h
Beginning charge:100%
Ending charge: 100%

Currently charging: 100%
Opportunity rover used: Murakami, Okamoto
While driving became overheat twice.
Hours: 28.4h
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 86%
Currently charging: yes
Curiosity rover used: Venza, Kawamura
Hours:23.7h
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 98%
Currently charging: yes
HabCar used and why, where? –
General notes and comments: Solar system seems unusual from yesterday. We had precise monitoring and also discussion about this problem with Dr. Shannon this morning. The findings of the monitoring are that solar charger system looks fine, but the number of monitor telling us wrong result for some a while. For example, 11:11 SOC has changes from 63% to 100% suddenly. We will keep monitoring.
Summary of internet: Under control
Summary of suits and radios: No problem
Summary of Hab operations: Shower heater doesn’t work.
Summary of GreenHab operations: No problem
Summary of ScienceDome operations: Only use checking the solar system.
Summary of RAMM operations: N/A
Summary of health and safety issues: No problem
Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support:
Opportunity rover became overheat twice while driving. At that same time curiousity was fine. Is there any advice?

POSTED ONMARCH 29, 2018
Operations Report March 29th
Crew 191 Operations Report 29/03/2018

SOL:5

Name of person filing report: Wataru Okamoto

Non-nominal systems: Solar System

Notes on non-nominal systems: Solar system seems unusual in this morning. Now it looks stable.

Generator (hours run):13hours

Solar SOC 93% (Before generator is run at night)

Diesel under 25%

Propane 72psi.

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV) ? 7gallons.

Water (trailer) 60%

Water (static) 70%

Trailer to Static Pump used ? no

Water (loft) Static to Loft Pump used yes

Water Meter: 16:00 132835.5　

Toilet tank emptied: no

ATV’s Used: (Honda, 300, 350.1, 350.2, 350.3) –

Oil Added –

ATV Fuel Used: N/A

Hours the ATVs were Used today: N/A

Notes on ATVs: N/A

Deimos rover used: –

Hours:116.9

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 100%

Currently charging: 100%

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Spirit rover used: –

Hours:27.9h

Beginning charge:100%

Ending charge: 100%

Currently charging: 100%

Opportunity rover used: Morisawa, Takeda

Hours: 27.4h

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 99%

Currently charging: 99%

Curiosity rover used: Tsukishiro

Hours:22.7h

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 97%

Currently charging: 97%

HabCar used and why, where? –

General notes and comments: Solar system seems unusual in this morning. We have discussion about this problem with Dr. Shannon and now it seems stable. We will keep monitoring.

Summary of internet: Under control

Summary of suits and radios: The surface of helmet polished by Plexus & microfiber clothes.

Summary of Hab operations: Shower heater doesn’t work.

Summary of GreenHab operations: No problem

Summary of ScienceDome operations: Only use checking the solar system.

Summary of RAMM operations: N/A

Summary of health and safety issues: No problem

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support:

The PLEXUS splay is almost empty. We need another supply.

We will put some garbage bags into the engineering airlock tonight. Please take them out.

POSTED ONMARCH 28, 2018
Operations Report – March 28th
Crew 191 Operations Report 28/03/2018

SOL:4

Name of person filing report: Wataru Okamoto

Non-nominal systems: N/A

Notes on non-nominal systems: N/A

Generator (hours run):12.6hours

Solar SOC % (Before generator is run at night)

Diesel under 25%

Propane 72psi.

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV) ? 7gallons.

Water (trailer) 50%

Water (static) FULL

Trailer to Static Pump used ? no

Water (loft) Static to Loft Pump used yes

Water Meter: 7:30 132802.5　

Toilet tank emptied: no

ATV’s Used: (Honda, 300, 350.1, 350.2, 350.3) –

Oil Added –

ATV Fuel Used: N/A

Hours the ATVs were Used today: N/A

Notes on ATVs: N/A

Deimos rover used: –

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Spirit rover used: –

Hours:27.9h

Beginning charge:100%

Ending charge: 100%

Currently charging: 100%

Opportunity rover used: Tsukishiro, Takeda

Hours: 26.9h

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 100%

Currently charging: 100%

Curiosity rover used: Morisawa

Hours:22.2h

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 100%

Currently charging: 100%

HabCar used and why, where? –

General notes and comments: –

Summary of internet: Under control

Summary of suits and radios: One of radios’s (Midland GXT X-TRA TALK) internal microphone doesn’t work. But if connect an external microphone it can still be use.

Summary of Hab operations: Shower heater doesn’t work.

Summary of GreenHab operations: No problem

Summary of ScienceDome operations: Only use checking the solar system.

Summary of RAMM operations: N/A

Summary of health and safety issues: No problem

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support:

– Please charge the Diesel gas.

– Please give us information how to repair the shower heater.

– We repair No.5 Backpack yesterday. Now We can use normaly.

– Please give us information of radio how to fix.

POSTED ONMARCH 27, 2018
Operations Report – March 27th
Crew 191 Operations Report 27/03/2018

SOL:3

Name of person filing report: Wataru Okamoto

Non-nominal systems: N/A

Notes on non-nominal systems: N/A

Generator (hours run):13hours

Solar SOC 96% (Before generator is run at night)

Diesel 25%

Propane 70psi.

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV) ? 7gallons.

Water (trailer) 60%

Water (static) 80%

Trailer to Static Pump used ? no

Water (loft) Static to Loft Pump used yes

Water Meter: 7:50　6 132778.1->pump 14 16:00 10 132790.2

Toilet tank emptied: yes

ATV’s Used: (Honda, 300, 350.1, 350.2, 350.3) –

Oil Added –

ATV Fuel Used: – 350.2 45%->75%

Hours the ATVs were Used today: –

Notes on ATVs:-

Deimos rover used: –
Hours:
Beginning charge:
Ending charge:
Currently charging:

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR
Hours:
Beginning charge:
Ending charge:
Currently charging:

Spirit rover used: –
Hours:27.9h
Beginning charge:100%
Ending charge: 100%
Currently charging: 100%

Opportunity rover used: –
Hours: 26.9h
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 100%
Currently charging: 100%

Curiosity rover used: –
Hours:22.1h
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 100%
Currently charging: 100%

HabCar used and why, where? –

General notes and comments: -I didn’t turn off the Diesel generator in this morning. I turned off the Diesel generator after 50 minuites. It’s my mistake.I’ll turn off when amount of battery is over 80%.

Summary of internet: Under control

Summary of suits and radios:No.5 Backpack Battery was 6.8V after charging. cSo another 13V battery was installed.2 Backpack belt have repaired

Summary of Hab operations:No problem

Summary of GreenHab operations: No problem

Summary of ScienceDome operations: Only use checking the solar system.

Summary of RAMM operations: N/A

Summary of health and safety issues: No problem

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support:Please charge the Diesel gas.

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/category/operations-report/page/16/ Source]

CREW 191 – ASIA TEAM

2019-03-24T17:03:29Z

NathanielFromMars:

[[Category:Mars Desert Research Station]]

*Yusuke Murakami, Makoto Kawamura, Kai Takeda, Fumiei Morisawa, Miho Tsukishiro, Venzha Christ, and Wataru Okamoto – “THE GOOD DEVILS” from the DUST !

(a poem about…)
Robot From MARS
I am a robot from Mars
made for suitcase transportation
i live in a tiny garage
and I sleep in a robot locker
One night I had a beautiful dream
that my processor got so hot
and I had to reboot
I could feel it glisten and tingle,
and sparkle, and flicker
all the way down
in the system…
(Jens, Oslo, 2015)
Long time ago, in our history, Chinese astronomers call MARS the “fire star” while ancient Egyptian priests called it “Her Desher” meaning “the red one”…
Yes, that is MARS… the one that we observ right now, and since the beginning the large amount of science fiction written during the twentieth century was a direct outgrowth of the belief that MARS possessed life. From little green men to death rays, Martians were the focus of many television and radio programs, comic books, movies, and novels. NOW, WE ARE VERY CLOSE…with that imagination…
Although the discovery of Martian life in the eighteenth century eventually proved to be false, Mars is nonetheless the planet most hospitable for life other than the Earth. As such, recent planetary missions have tried to determine if even the most basic of life exists on the planet’s surface.
Today, we are trying to re-construct, develop our perspective of view, and give a “special taste” on our MARS mission.
YUSUKE MURAKAMI, the commander, want to give a bit of “spicy sauce”, like what ever happened in 1971, by Mariner 9 mission, that famous with “Surface Surprise”, means that the image of MARS was changed, fact that, the entire planet was engulfed in a dust storm. And also another phenomenon that something appeared to be poking above the plumes. When the debris settled to the surface, scientists discovered those features were the top of dormant volcanoes. He wants to create a right attitude and the way how to analize IF WE really do for MARS mission. MAKOTO KAWAMURA really want to learn from Mariners 6 and 7 in 1969 mission, which reached MARS and sent back a few dozen photos. Coincidentally, all of these spacecraft flew over areas of Mars that were cratered. This gave a false first impression that MARS looked like the moon. And today, he does as a double agent, and give super big energy to create an amazing photos and video documentation. KAI TAKEDA want to continue The Viking mission, fact that in the 1970s, Crew from Viking mission conducted experiments on the Martian soil in hopes of detecting microorganisms. While it was initially believed that the formation of compounds during the experiments were a result of biological agents, it has since been determined that these compounds can be created without biological mechanisms. We will look at him while he busy with the soil and various seeds in MDRS GreenHub… MIHO TSUKISHIRO have a dream to develop the way how to communicate with a new perspective, she didn’t want to go further without any deep research before, like the mission to MARS by Mars Global Surveyor / MGS that left Earth on 1996. Its mission was extended several times until NASA lost contact with it in 2006. One of the mission is to revealing many ancient signs of water, such as gullies and hematite (a mineral that forms in water). Its data helped NASA decide where to land rovers in 2004. MGS also took pictures of public interest, including re-imaging the famous “Face on Mars”. VENZHA CHRIST realize that he got influence by a mission from CRaTER. The story was he knew : an activity that using measurements from the Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation (CRaTER) instrument on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft along with data products from the Earth-Moon-Mars Radiation Environment Module (EMMREM). Using the computed modulation potential, we calculate galactic cosmic ray (GCR) dose and dose equivalent rates in the Earth and MARS atmospheres for various altitudes over the course of the LRO mission. By then, he create a special tools and machine to reach a radiation effect from the sky and want to testing in MDRS area. WATARU OKAMOTO want to be “friend” with the imagination mission, when MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN), launched in 2013, achieved orbit on 2014, and is looking at changes in the atmosphere of MARS to better understand why it thinned over billions of years. As a engineer he want to develop a special device and stick on DIY (Do It Yourself) method to give high contribution for this mission. FUMIEI MORISAWA have a very similar spirit with the mission of Mars Odyssey, one that resulting big discovery : Odyssey found evidence of water ice lying beneath Mars’ surface, a finding that was confirmed by Phoenix when it arrived on Mars. With regard to habitability, Mars Odyssey has also finished a radiation safety study with an eye to helping future astronauts walking on the Red Planet. So as an expert with extreme survival field and satellite technology he want to engage with real environment together with all crew mission.

YUSUKE MURAKAMI (b.1978)
Yokohama, Japan
Commander Crew191 – ASIA TEAM (Japan-Indonesia)
ABOUT
Yusuke might has had more experience of extreme environments here on Earth than all of crew on the MDRS put together. He was a Executive Officer of the MARS 160 in high Arctic, a member of the 50th Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition, a Base Camp Engineer of Mt.Everest Expedition and so on. And has spent time in by far the coldest, highest and windiest continent and the harshest environment on our planet. Here on Earth, Yusuke believes extremity is an expression relative to experience. Humans define limits over time and our limits change as we adapt.
Usually architects who want to design space stations are always thinking about form. Nobody cares about how people can work in space conditions. Human-centered design never comes from the inspiration of just one designer but from the knowledge and experience of every one involved. A field architect — Yusuke must be the person to design the Martian habitat.
BACKGROUND
Education : Architecture Design, Meiji University, Kanagawa, Japan
Master of Environmental Design, Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University, Kanagawa, Japan
Field : Architecture and Human life style in the harsh environment
Interest : A drowse
Occupation /
Profession : Field Architect & Explore

MIHO TSUKISHIRO (b.1982)
Tokyo, Japan
Executive Officer Crew191 – ASIA TEAM (Japan-Indonesia)
ABOUT
She is a Graphic Designer and Art Director, especially web design is her field. After she graduated the department of visual communication design from Musashino Art University (Tokyo, Japan), she went to Germany and finish Diploma in Design. Her interest has been always the way of communication among people through various media. The patch of crew 191 has been designed by her.
BACKGROUND
Education : Köln International School of Design, Cologne, Germany
Musashino Art University, Tokyo, Japan
Field : Design
Interest : Space, Trekking, Travel
Occupation /
Profession : Graphic Designer

MAKOTO KAWAMURA (b.1978)
Tokyo, Japan
Journalist Crew191 – ASIA TEAM (Japan-Indonesia)
ABOUT
He entered NHK as a video journalist, especially specializing in taking photo about underwater. He shoot in the ocean all over the world and he is good at shooting severe conditions such as under drift ice. In addition, as a video journalist, he has also put emphasis on making programs. So far, he has produced a number of programs introducing the underwater world and documentaries introducing human patterns. He participated in CREW 191 to tell people the life on Mars which can be said to be the ultimate local area.
BACKGROUND
Education : University of the Hitotsubashi, Tokyo, Japan
Field : Sociology
Interest : Space Science and Under Water World
Occupation / :
Profession : Video Journalist of NHK – Japan Broadcasting Service
MISSION FOR CREW191
He would like to demonstrate what kind of communication can be done when a journalist went to Mars with this mission. When the day of coming migration to Mars came, the camera always reflects the image of the migration of mankind. He would like to grasp the hints on what kind of message to tell at that time, what kind of journalists can do, and hints for the answer in this mission. Record the movements of human emotions that are exposed in the closed space and dynamically describe the tasks awaiting humanity.

WATARU OKAMOTO (b.1963)
Nagoya, Japan
Engineer Crew191 – ASIA TEAM (Japan-Indonesia)
ABOUT
Since in high school I interested into field of geography study. There are famous amateur astronomers and Mars agricultural researchers in my school. After study in university, such as long time I was working at the synchrotron light facility. I’m measuring air pollution these days.

BACKGROUND
Education : Tsukuba University physics subject
Field : Atmosphere measuring, Synchrotron Radiation
Interest : Space, Travel, Motorcycle touring, Martial arts
Occupation /
Profession : Engineer
MISSION FOR CREW191
PM 2.5 measurement
Air pollution caused by PM 2.5 has become a major problem recently in India, China, and others. However, the contamination by this fine particle is not well understood as to the mechanism of its occurrence and behavior. The compact sensor we developed has good cost performance. And measurement precision is not inferior to expensive equipment.
Drawing terrain survey
4K movie shooting is available for drone. Combine this with software for 3D measurement, and produce a topography model around MDRS.

VENZHA CHRIST (b.1975)
Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Journalist Crew191 – ASIA TEAM (Japan-Indonesia)
ABOUT
Start in 1999, he build HONF Foundation, an open space and laboratory for art-science-technology platform, a free technology information sharing for the society. This center brings together a broad spectrum of society-including artist, creative practitioners, scientist, hackers, activists, and the general public-in the exploratory and responsive dialogue that is determined to fuse education, art and technology with local communities without cultural limitations.
BACKGROUND
Education : Indonesian Institute of the Arts (ISI), Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Field : Art, Science, and Technology
Interest : Space Science and Space Exploration
Occupation /
Profession : Director of ISSS – Indonesia Space Science Society
MISSION FOR CREW191
Space Weather Impacts On Climate
Geomagnetic storms are caused by disturbances that propagate away from the Sun, travel through interplanetary space and interact with Earths magnetosphere. The Sun is an active star that produces large-scale energetic events, such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). These phenomena are observable across the electromagnetic spectrum, from gamma rays at hundreds of MeV to radio waves with wavelengths of tens of meters. Solar flares and CMEs can excite plasma oscillations which can emit radiation at metric and decametric wavelengths. These bursts are classified in five main types. We will record any type of the frequencies randomly, as a phenomena’s from the analog machine that catch those frequencies.

FUMIEI MORISAWA (b.1971)
Ichikawa , Japan
HSO Crew191 – ASIA TEAM (Japan-Indonesia)
ABOUT
Take part in the 50th Japanese Antarctica Research Expedition in 2008 – 2010 as a networking and satellite telecom engineer. Supporting activities of research in polar regions with technology and experiences.
BACKGROUND
Education : Waseda Univercity, Tokyo, Japan
Field : Telecommunication and information technology.
Interest : Exploration in frontier: Space, farthest land.
Occupation /
Profession : Engineer of KDDI – Japanese Telecom Career
MISSION FOR CREW191
Health and Safety Officer
One of the most important thing in the extreme circumstances is taking balance between risk and curiosity. Life in Antarctica for over a year brings not only stipulate precept but also a way of thinking and how to evaluation. Make use of them for team Asia that pass a regular 2weeks in years of Mars exploration.

KAI TAKEDA (b.1998)
Hiroshima, Japan
Biologist Crew191 – ASIA TEAM (Japan-Indonesia)
ABOUT
I live and study in the island, so i got lots of experience with beach and sea area, that’s bring me into a mission to study more about dry environment. I also have a healthy life, by ride a bike to my school everyday across the bridge in the island.
BACKGROUND
Education : National Institute of Technology, Yuge College
Field : electronic mechanical engineering.
Interest : machine and plants.
Occupation /
Profession : student
MISSION FOR CREW191
Hydroponic Experience
I’m Crew Biologist and also GreenHab Officer. I plan to have observation activities about hydroponic cultures during simulation in MDRS. First, I do setting up a Japanese automatic hydroponic machine called “foop” in GreenHab. Then also setting up my own hydroponic system. My system uses LED lights. The purpose of my experience is comparing glowing progress changing condition of LED lights. “Hydroponic cultures” are often conducted with maintained temperature in factories. And I want to analyze about hydroponic cultures that fit or not for the environment dynamic (extreme) temperature such as in the Mars.

[[Crew 191 - Operations Reports]]

[[Crew 191 EVA Reports]]

[[Crew 191 GreenHab Reports]]

[[Crew 191 Journalism Reports]]

[[Crew 191 Sol Summaries]]

[[Crew 191 Mission Summary]]

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/crew-191/ source]

Crew 191 Mission Summary

2019-03-24T16:58:29Z

NathanielFromMars: Created page with "Category:Mission Summaries POSTED ONAPRIL 8, 2018 Final Mission Summary – Crew 191 HABCOM… HABCOM… This is Wataru Okamoto speaking, Can you hear me… OVER! (A c..."

[[Category:Mission Summaries]]

POSTED ONAPRIL 8, 2018
Final Mission Summary – Crew 191
HABCOM… HABCOM… This is Wataru Okamoto speaking,

Can you hear me… OVER!

(A copy from the daily Mars Desert Research Station Crew 191 Team Asia Radio Conversation)

WHEN ALL THOSE RADIATION ATTACK US !

(A copy from Mars publication data about Radio Frequency and Radiation)

CAN YOU…

Can you imagine when we are living in the place where we can not run from the radiation? Or did you ever feel that your body influenced by some radio frequency radiation?

Can we also imagine how big all the radiation when an astronaut doing a space travel or bring a mission to space?

There are some studies showing that Radio Frequency Radiation (RFR) can induce adaptive responses in human cells and animals during which they become more resistant against challenging doses of mutagenic agents such as high levels of radiation.

In my perspective of view, practicing with Radio Frequency Radiation could be help for the Astronauts. But how to explain?

Here is the fact:

In space, the radiation damaged the tiny branches on neurons that help transmit electric signals to the nerve cell body. This led to a loss in learning and memory. The exposed animals performed poorly on behavioral tests that measure intelligence, and they showed higher, constant anxiety levels.

Other example also said that astronauts returning from extended space missions carry chromosomal aberrations in their blood cells. Most of the chromosomal aberrations and other DNA damages are due to oxidation stress from the free radicals produced by cosmic radiations.

A BIT (AGAIN) ABOUT MARS

However, it is now impossible to ignore the fact that a trip to Mars carries a radiation exposure risk higher than current guidelines recommend. So, do we abandon the current guidelines and let astronauts take their chances?

But well, after all, the links between tobacco and cancer are well known yet people still choose to smoke :-), right?

One thing is certain: there can be no more romantic idealism. No amount of wishful thinking, or crowd-sourcing, or press releasing can circumvent this problem. Space radiation is dangerous, potentially deadly. Manned missions to Mars with current technology will carry significant exposure risks. So let say that RADIATION = DANGER POINT

A high level of radiation is a limiting factor for manned Mars exploration. As an example the Curiosity rover contained a particle and neutron detector for measuring radiation on the surface of Mars in order to devise more efficient radiation shielding inside and outside future spacecraft, and to develop more effective countermeasures to protect astronauts’ health. The radiation data from Curiosity also added knowledge to the debate about the habitability of Mars. A mission to the Red Planet will be the most expensive project in this planet and the most prestigious thing in this century of human technology.

“The space radiation environment will be a critical consideration for everything in the astronauts’ daily lives, both on the journeys between Earth and Mars and on the surface,” said Ruthan Lewis, an architect and engineer with the human spaceflight program at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “You’re constantly being bombarded by some amount of radiation.”

And in MDRS simulation we were learn a lot about Radiation, about levels of how we consume and contaminated something, and about the limit how we need to think twice when some trouble happened during the mission. Some “cases” bring and make us focus on the real destination of the Team Asia mission. Because we all have a dream.

DREAM AND HOPE from the METAPHOR of MARS

As a small human colony on MDRS right now, we are CREW 191 Team Asia, and feel like we are living in the “orbit”. If Earth and Mars had perfectly circular orbits, their minimum distance would always be the same. However, they have elliptical paths, so we are here have a strong connection one and other become a “dream crew” and build an imaginary twin orbit like Mars and Earth. The orbits of both planets are also slightly tilted with respect to each other. All of these factors mean that not all close encounters are equal.

It’s a fact that we “felt like” living on Mars, because we are! Because we had a same plan before arriving in many purpose and directions, it’s like on Mars itself, we could learn a lot of things on Mars (reality) as a (future) second Earth.

Makoto Kawamura thinking like: “pieces of Mars have been found on Earth”, it’s a kind of metaphor, means that as a human we are already connected each other, as a social human being, always thinking as a colony, as a team, in a wider concept of human civilization. Like between Mars and Earth connection, it is believed that trace amounts of the Martian atmosphere were within meteorites that the planet ejected. These meteorites then orbited the solar system for millions of years among the other objects and solar debris before eventually entering the Earth’s atmosphere and crashing to the ground.

From that fact, he believe that the “hidden potential” was grow and appeared during the MDRS SIM crashing to the new idea and working for “new” potential. He supports a more empowered way of working and removing constraints which may prevent someone from doing their job properly.

“Mars experiences huge dust storms – the largest in our solar system”. This is because of the elliptical shape of Mars’ orbital path around the Sun. The orbital path is more elongated than many of the other planets, and this oval shaped orbit results in fierce dust storms that cover the entire planet and can last for many months. Perhaps this idea was brought to Wataru Okamoto to create his project, as written in his Crew 191 bio. He wants to make sure all of the information on weather collected during the MDRS sim is more thoroughly analyzed.

Miho Tsukishiro may want to see something in a different angle and perspective. She believes that all the experiences at MDRS were close to “properly managed” and helped to start an effort to create a synergistic way of working, where the sum is greater than the parts. On Mars, this condition will happen if Mars is closest to the Sun in its orbit, and the southern hemisphere points toward the Sun, causing a very short but fiercely hot summer. In the north it experiences a brief but cold winter. When the planet is farthest from the Sun, the Red Planet experiences a long and mild summer because the northern hemisphere points toward the Sun.

As crew commander, Yusuke Murakami is always trying to do the best as he can for the mission, to go up to the highest zone we can reach, the highest level of how to follow the sim. He also encourages multi-disciplinary work where teams cut across organizational divides… just remembering of “the tallest mountain known in our solar system is on Mars” named Olympus Mons. It is the tallest mountain in the entire solar system rising to the height of 22 km (14 miles), and it is also the largest and youngest of the non-active volcanoes on Mars. While no team ever gets everything it wants, leaders can head off a lot of problems by taking the time to get the essential pieces in place from the start.

Fumiei Morisawa said, as a team, we foster flexibility and responsiveness, especially the ability to respond to change. As a team we need to respect each other, not being selfish or individualistic, and in this Team Asia he believe that we all met here for some reason, like the reason why Mars have a polar ice cap that these caps are made of carbon dioxide ice as well as water ice. During the southern hemisphere’s summer, much of the ice cap sublimates, a process in which the ice turns straight back into gas, leaving behind what is known as the residual polar ice cap. So “Mars is the only other planet besides Earth that has polar ice caps”. The northern cap is called the Planum Boreum, with Planum Australe in the south. Water ice has also been found under the Martian ice caps.

Kai Takeda is the youngest member in Team Asia crew, and he likes to say that “With the exception of Earth, Mars is the most hospitable to life”. The connection between a GreenHAB at MDRS and also all those activities during the mission positively make him proud of his project. Like on Mars, we need to build a real connection between “Human” and “Plant”… and for the future Martian colony, I think it’s impossible not to move in this direction.

Venzha Christ agrees about “Mars was once believed to be home to intelligent life” because came from the discovery of lines or grooves in the surface called canali by Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli. He believed that these were not naturally occurring and were proof of intelligent life. However, these were later shown to be an optical illusion.

HABCOM…HABCOM… Can you hear me…

(…still whispering on our daily night after “oyasumi” sleeping time…)

When Mars and Earth are close to each other, Mars appears very bright in our sky. It also makes it easier to see with telescopes or the naked eye. The Red Planet comes close enough for exceptional viewing only once or twice every 15 or 17 years. So we are Crew 191 Team Asia as a solid team always help each other for daily protocol rules and activities during our stay at MDRS. But we need to be focused, disciplined and follow the path of all protocols on a Mars mission.

Outer Space

(Tori Hart, 2014)

Bodies soar through Outerspace
Kissing their stars though a little too far to Taste
The Milky Way fell like Silk water falling down our Shoulders
Delicate, Light, and Slick
We are in our own Solar System
Flying circles around our Radiating Sun
As we whisper Buonanotte to that Eternal Night
We shout Buongiorno to the Beautiful new Day.

SPACE IS A DANGER PLACE

We knew the biological effects of space radiations on astronauts are the main concern in deep space missions. Many investigations have been made to find the best way to overcome those problems in extended space travels. The radiation environment in deep space is several hundred times what it is on Earth, and that’s even inside a shielded spacecraft.

How about this later on?

A new report shows just how dangerous it could be to human brains. Radiation exposure from a Mars missions could cook brain cells, causing chronic dementia and memory loss, and leaving astronauts with debilitating anxiety levels, the study has found. This could throw off their thinking and judgment, impairing decision-making and multi-tasking.

But…

From the latest research on this field, a scientist said that Radio Frequency Radiation can induce Adaptive Response (AR), meaning that during AR human cells become more resistant to challenging doses’ radiation. Then we can say ; RFR can help astronauts during their space missions.

Exposure to Radio Frequency Radiation before or during space missions while choosing the optimized dosimetric parameters such as determined power density and frequency and duration of exposure can help astronauts in their travels.

In 2012, Hamid Abdollahi, Maryam Teymouri, and Sara Khademi carried out deep research about this, including a statement that astronaut protection against radiation in space is one of the most challenging and complex problems for deep space missions.

Conclusion from their research: “We hypothesize that RFR can be used as a non-genotoxic agent for radiation protection in space. Exposure to RFR along with selecting the best situation to induce the highest AR may help astronauts in space missions. However, more studies are warranted to apply this therapy for space travel. Nevertheless, it will be a good choice for thinking about astronaut’s protection in space missions”.

NOTE – AWARE

Radiation is “a risk we need to learn more about over the next decade so we can do the proper mitigation and do the best we can for the astronauts who are going to be putting their lives at risk for a number of different threats,” Ron Turner, a senior science adviser at NASA’s Institute for Advanced Concepts in Atlanta. But the optimum solution might be the one that, for now, seems most difficult—going faster and avoiding as much radiation as possible. He says, “The best bang for the buck is advanced propulsion, not shielding.”

For example, very large solar flares – intense bursts of radiation and particles thrown out by the sun – could cause more damage as these have the power to wipe out electrical equipment and can deliver doses high enough to kill.

Cosmic radiation, which comes from outside our solar system, is harder to protect against and can also constantly pepper the bodies of astronauts, but this can be monitored for and tends occur at a low level.

Even once on the surface of Mars, radiation will still be a problem as the planet’s atmosphere does not offer the same kind of protection as on Earth. Like solar activity, cosmic rays have the potential to cause cancer. These high-energy, high-velocity particles originate from outside the solar system and can severely damage human cells. Unlike radiation from the sun, however, cosmic rays could also spark long-term degenerative effects while still in space, including heart disease, reduced immune system effectiveness and neurological symptoms resembling Alzheimer’s.

“There’s a lot of good science to be done on the Red Planet, but a trip to interplanetary space carries more radiation risk than working in low-Earth orbit,” said Jonathan Pellish, a space radiation engineer at Goddard. “Ultimately, the solution to radiation will have to be a combination of things.”

Some of the solutions are technology-related that we have already, like hydrogen-rich materials, but some of it will necessarily be cutting-edge concepts that we haven’t even thought of yet.

So be aware…

MDRS CREW 191 TEAM ASIA NEAR FUTURE PLAN

After MDRS, we have several real plans to continue this mission, and also many activities to prepare for all continuing projects. Countries like Japan and Indonesia, as well as other places in Asia, will announce soon. From those activities such as SIM, workshops, presentations and collaboration on interdisciplinary field and background, we will bring our knowledge in space science and space exploration to the wider society. Some like what we (as human on Earth) will do for interplanetary space travel projects. Most is about: “How ready are we as humans on Earth to have a new colony outside our planet”. We also realize that only 16 of the 39 missions to the Red Planet have ever been successful.

Team Asia realizes that some have difficulties point of view, for example, ensuring a supportive context is often challenging for teams that are geographically distributed and digitally dependent, because the resources available to members may vary a lot.

So… “HABCOM, Can You Hear Me?…” 🙂

MDRS Crew 191 Team Asia (2018)

JAPAN – INDONESIA

Yusuke Murakami (commander), Miho Tsukishiro, Makoto Kawamura, Fumiei Morisawa, Venzha Christ & Wataru Oka

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/category/mission-summary/page/2/ Source]

Crew 191 Sol Summaries

2019-03-24T16:52:17Z

NathanielFromMars: Created page with "Category:Sol Summaries POSTED ONAPRIL 7, 2018 Sol Summary – April 07th Crew 191 Sol Summary Report 07 Apr 2018 Sol 14 Summary Title: Cleaning and taking the HAB ov..."

[[Category:Sol Summaries]]

POSTED ONAPRIL 7, 2018
Sol Summary – April 07th
Crew 191 Sol Summary Report
07 Apr 2018

Sol 14

Summary Title:
Cleaning and taking the HAB over to following crew
Miho Tsukishiro (XO)

Mission Status:
finish

Sol Activity Summary:
7:20 Breakfast
7:45 Briefing
9:00 EVA #17 The additional EVA (just for TV broadcasting)
13:00 Welcoming crew192
13:30 Lunch
14:00 Cleaning & Transportation of Water from Hollow Mountain
18:00 Gathering reports
19:00 CapCom

Look Ahead Plan:
leaving MDRS

Anomalies in work:
N/A

Weather:
Cloudy. Mild winds.

Crew Physical Status:
Good.

EVA:
N/A

Reports to be file:
– SOL Summary Report
– Engineer Report
– GreenHab Report
– Photo Report with Description

Support Requested:
N/A

POSTED ONAPRIL 6, 2018
Sol Summary – April 06th
Crew 191 Sol Summary Report
06 Apr 2018

Sol 13

Summary Title:
The last EVA and Breaking SIM!
Miho Tsukishiro (XO)

Mission Status:
finish simulation

Sol Activity Summary:
7:00 Breakfast
7:30 Briefing
10:00 EVA #16 The last EVA (leader: Yusuke Murakami, Miho Tsukishiro, Fumiei Morisawa) Habcom: Kai Takeda
13:00 Breaking SIM
15:00 Transportation of Water from Hollow Mountain
18:00 Gathering reports
19:00 CapCom

Look Ahead Plan:
additional EVA for TV broadcasting in Japan

Anomalies in work:
N/A

Weather:
Cloudy. Mild winds.

Crew Physical Status:
Good.

EVA:
See EVA Report.

Reports to be file:
– SOL Summary Report
– Engineer Report
– GreenHab Report
– Photo Report with Description
– EVA Report
– EVA Request
– Final Report
– Food Inventory

Support Requested:
N/A

POSTED ONAPRIL 5, 2018
Sol Summary – April 05th
Crew 191 Sol Summary Report
05 Apr 2018

Sol 12

Summary Title:
Drone-shooting and the “Plants Day”
Miho Tsukishiro (XO)

Mission Status:
in progress

Sol Activity Summary:
7:00 Breakfast
7:30 Briefing
9:30 EVA #14 3D Survey of the HAB by a Drone Camera (leader: Wataru Okamoto, Yusuke Murakami) Habcom: Fumiei Morisawa
11:45 Lunch in GreenHab
13:30 EVA #15 Observing Plants and Lichens (leader: Kai Takeda, Venzha Christ, Makoto Kawamura) Habcom: Fumiei Morisawa
14:00 Cleaning Water Tank
18:00 Gathering reports
19:00 CapCom

Look Ahead Plan:
See EVA Request.

Anomalies in work:
N/A

Weather:
Cloudy. Mild winds.

Crew Physical Status:
Good.

EVA:
See EVA Report.

Reports to be file:
– SOL Summary Report
– Engineer Report
– GreenHab Report
– Photo Report with Description
– EVA Report x2
– EVA Request
– Journalist Report

Support Requested:
N/A

POSTED ONAPRIL 4, 2018
Sol Summary – April 4th
Hi CapCom,

this is today’s Sol Summary Report.

Best,
Miho XO crew191

—

Crew 191 Sol Summary Report
04 Apr 2018

Sol 11

Summary Title:

Miho Tsukishiro (XO)

Mission Status:
in progress

Sol Activity Summary:
7:00 Breakfast
7:30 Briefing
9:00 EVA #12 CEMs (leader: Venzha Christ, Fumiei Morisawa, Wataru Okamoto) Habcom: Miho Tsukishiro
13:00 Lunch
14:00 EVA #13 Cleaning Water Tank (leader: Yusuke Murakami, Fumiei Morisawa, Makoto Kawamura) Habcom: Miho Tsukishiro
18:00 Gathering reports
19:00 CapCom

Look Ahead Plan:
See EVA Request.

Anomalies in work:
N/A

Weather:
Cloudy. Mild winds.

Crew Physical Status:
Good.

EVA:
See EVA Report.

Reports to be file:
– SOL Summary Report
– Engineer Report
– GreenHab Report
– Photo Report with Description
– EVA Report x2
– EVA Request
– Journalist Report

Support Requested:
N/A

POSTED ONAPRIL 3, 2018
Sol Summary – April 03rd
Crew 191 Sol Summary Report
03 Apr 2018

Sol 10

Summary Title:
First activity in RAM
Miho Tsukishiro (XO)

Mission Status:
in progress

Sol Activity Summary:
7:00 Breakfast
7:30 Briefing
9:00 EVA #9 CEM’s (leader: Venzha Christ, Miho Tsukishiro, Kai Takeda) & EVA #11 cleaning the white tank in RAM (Yusuke Murakami, Makoto Kawamura) Habcom: Fumiei Morisawa
12:30 Lunch
13:30 personal work
18:00 Gathering reports
19:00 CapCom

Look Ahead Plan:
EVA #12: CMEs EVA (Venzha’s Project)

Anomalies in work:
N/A

Weather:
Sunny. Mild winds.

Crew Physical Status:
Good.

EVA:
See EVA Report.

Reports to be file:
– SOL Summary Report
– Engineer Report
– GreenHab Report
– Photo Report with Description
– EVA Report x2
– EVA Request
– GreenHab Report

Support Requested:
N/A

POSTED ONAPRIL 2, 2018
Sol Summary – April 2nd
Crew 191 Sol Summary Report
02 Apr 2018

Sol 09

Summary Title:
Water trouble
Miho Tsukishiro (XO)

Mission Status:
in progress

Sol Activity Summary:
8:00 Briefing
10:30 EVA #10 for operational check and water trouble management (leader: Yusuke Murakami, Fumiei Morisawa, Makoto Kawamura) Habcom: Miho Tsukishiro
13:00 Supply of Water
13:30 Lunch
18:00 Gathering reports
19:00 CapCom

Look Ahead Plan:
RVA #9: CEM’s EVA (Venzha’s Project)

Anomalies in work:
N/A

Weather:
Partly cloudy. Strong winds.

Crew Physical Status:
Good.

EVA:
See EVA Report.

Reports to be file:
– SOL Summary Report
– Engineer Report
– GreenHab Report
– Photo Report with Description
– EVA Report
– EVA Request
– HSO Report

Support Requested:
N/A

POSTED ONAPRIL 1, 2018
Sol Summary – April 1st
Crew 191 Sol Summary Report
01 Apr 2018

Sol 08

Summary Title:
A Day Off and the Outreach Project
Miho Tsukishiro (XO)

Mission Status:
in progress

Sol Activity Summary:
9:30 Briefing
12:00 Lunch
13:30 EVA #8 (leader: Miho Tsukishiro, Fumiei Morisawa, Makoto Kawamura, Wataru Okamoto) Habcom: Yusuke Murakami
18:00 Gathering reports
19:00 CapCom

Look Ahead Plan:
RVA #9: Outreach EVA (Venzha’s Project)

Anomalies in work:
N/A

Weather:
Sunny. Mild winds.

Crew Physical Status:
Good.

EVA:
See EVA Report.

Reports to be file:
– SOL Summary Report
– Engineer Report
– GreenHab Report
– Photo Report with Description
– EVA Report
– EVA Request
– Commander Report

Support Requested:
N/A

POSTED ONMARCH 31, 2018
Sol Summary – March 31
Crew 191 Sol Summary Report
31 Mar 2018

Sol 07

Summary Title:
A Day Off
Miho Tsukishiro (XO)

Mission Status:
in progress

Sol Activity Summary:
12:00 Lunch
14:00 EVA #7 (leader: Fumiei Morisawa, Kai Takeda) Habcom: Miho Tsukishiro
18:00 Gathering reports
19:00 CapCom

Look Ahead Plan:
RVA #8: Outreach EVA (Yusuke’s Project)

Anomalies in work:
N/A

Weather:
Partly cloudy. Almost no winds.

Crew Physical Status:
Good.

EVA:
See EVA Report.

Reports to be file:
– SOL Summary Report
– SOL Essay
– Engineer Report
– GreenHab Report
– Photo Report
– EVA Report
– EVA Request

Support Requested:
N/A

POSTED ONMARCH 30, 2018
Sol Summary – March 30th
Hi CapCom,

this is our Sol Summary Report on sol6.

Best,

Miho XO crew191

—

Crew 191 Sol Summary Report

30 Mar 2018

Sol 06

Summary Title:

Cleaning & EVA #6: -CMEs (Venzha’s project)

Miho Tsukishiro (XO)

Mission Status:

in progress

Sol Activity Summary:

7:30 Breakfast

8:00 Briefing

8:30 Cleaning

9:30 Solar System Monitoring / personal work

12:00 Lunch

13:30 EVA #6 (leader: Venzha Christ, Yusuke Murakami, Wataru Okamoto, Makoto Kawamura) Habcom: Yusuke Murakami

18:00 Gathering reports

19:00 CapCom

Look Ahead Plan:

A day off

Anomalies in work:

N/A

Weather:

Sunny. mild winds.

Crew Physical Status:

Good.

EVA:

See EVA Report.

Reports to be file:

– SOL Summary Report

– SOL Essay

– Engineer Report

– GreenHab Report

– Photo Report

– EVA Report

– EVA Request

– Journalist Report

Support Requested:

N/A

POSTED ONMARCH 29, 2018
Sol Summary 29th March
Crew 191 Sol Summary Report
29 Mar 2018

Sol 05

Summary Title:

EVA #5: Scouting + GPS Navigation training, Filming

Miho Tsukishiro (XO)

Mission Status:

After warm-up, in the process of our mission.

Sol Activity Summary:

7:30 Breakfast

8:00 Briefing

9:30 EVA #5 (leader: Makoto Kawamura, Fumiei Morisawa, Miho Tsukishiro, Kai Takeda) Habcom: Yusuke Murakami

12:00 Lunch

13:00 Personal work

18:00 Gathering reports

19:00 CapCom

Look Ahead Plan:

EVA #6: CMEs (Venzha’s project)

Anomalies in work:

N/A

Weather:

Sunny. mild winds in the morning, got strong afternoon.

Crew Physical Status:

Good.

EVA:

See EVA Report.

Reports to be file:

– SOL Summary Report

– SOL Essay

– Engineer Report

– GreenHab Report

– Photo Report

– EVA Report

– EVA Request

– Journalist Report

Support Requested:

N/A

POSTED ONMARCH 28, 2018
Sol 4 Summary – March 28th
Crew 191 Sol Summary Report

28 Mar 2018

Sol 04

Summary Title:

EVA #4: Research, GPS training and trying SPACE FOOD

Miho Tsukishiro (XO)

Mission Status:

Beginning of EVA for our project.

Sol Activity Summary:

7:30 Breakfast

8:00 Briefing

8:30 – 11:30 a half day off

12:00 Lunch

13:00 EVA #4 (leader: Fumiei Morisawa, Miho Tsukishiro, Kai Takeda) Habcom: Yusuke Murakami

16:00 Personal work

18:00 Gathering reports

19:00 CapCom

Look Ahead Plan:

EVA #5: Scouting locations for the project of our journalist.

Anomalies in work:

N/A

Weather:

Sunny. Strong winds.

Crew Physical Status:

See HSO Report.

EVA:

See EVA Report.

Reports to be file:

– SOL Summary Report

– SOL Essay

– Engineer Report

– GreenHab Report

– HSO Report

– Photo Report

– EVA Report

– EVA Request

Support Requested:

N/A

POSTED ONMARCH 28, 2018
Sol 3 Summary – March 27th
Crew 191 Sol Summary Report
27 Mar 2018

Sol 03

Summary Title:
EVA #3: Research, GPS training & scouting
Miho Tsukishiro (XO)

Mission Status:
Beginning of EVA for our project.

Sol Activity Summary:
6:30 Breakfast
7:00 Briefing
9:00 EVA #3 (leader: Fumiei Morisawa, Venzha Christ, Makoto Kawamura) Habcom: Yusuke Murakami
12:00 Lunch
13:00 Radio lecture
13:30 personal work
14:00 Repair Spacesuit backpack #5
18:00 Gathering reports
19:00 CapCom

Look Ahead Plan:
EVA #4: Collection of rubbish in another place as a GPS training.

Anomalies in work:
N/A

Weather:
Sunny, partly cloudy. There is almost no wind.

Crew Physical Status:
Good

EVA:
See EVA Report.

Reports to be file:
– Commander Report (in Japanese)
– SOL Summary Report
– SOL Essay
– Engineer Report
– GreenHab Report
– Photo Report
– EVA Report
– EVA Request
– Biography

Support Requested:
N/A

POSTED ONMARCH 28, 2018
Sol 3 Summary – March 27th
Crew 191 Sol Summary Report
27 Mar 2018

Sol 03

Summary Title:
EVA #3: Research, GPS training & scouting
Miho Tsukishiro (XO)

Mission Status:
Beginning of EVA for our project.

Sol Activity Summary:
6:30 Breakfast
7:00 Briefing
9:00 EVA #3 (leader: Fumiei Morisawa, Venzha Christ, Makoto Kawamura) Habcom: Yusuke Murakami
12:00 Lunch
13:00 Radio lecture
13:30 personal work
14:00 Repair Spacesuit backpack #5
18:00 Gathering reports
19:00 CapCom

Look Ahead Plan:
EVA #4: Collection of rubbish in another place as a GPS training.

Anomalies in work:
N/A

Weather:
Sunny, partly cloudy. There is almost no wind.

Crew Physical Status:
Good

EVA:
See EVA Report.

Reports to be file:
– Commander Report (in Japanese)
– SOL Summary Report
– SOL Essay
– Engineer Report
– GreenHab Report
– Photo Report
– EVA Report
– EVA Request
– Biography

Support Requested:
N/A

POSTED ONMARCH 25, 2018
Sol Summary – March 25th
Hi CapCom,
here follows our 1st Sol Summary Report:

Crew 191 Sol Summary Report
25 Mar 2018

Sol 01

Summary Title:
Preparing for Simulation and live broadcasting in Japan
Miho Tsukishiro (XO)

Mission Status:
Preparing our simulation from sol 02

Sol Activity Summary:
8:00 Breakfast
8:40 Briefing
9:30 Spacesuits & how to go outside during EVA lecture by commander
10:40 preparing for simulation / each
12:10 Lunch – crew meeting
12:40 preparing for simulation / each
16:30 live broadcasting by Japanese TV
17:00 lecture about environment of MDRS with ATV (commander & engineer)
18:00 gathering Reports
19:00 Capcom

Look Ahead Plan:
Our simulation starts by 12:00AM 26 March 2018
The first EVA plan: our commander gives us lecture about ATVs

Anomalies in work:
N/A

Weather:
Cloudy; Very strong winds day and night.

Crew Physical Status:
Good

EVA:
N/A

Reports to be file:
– Commander and Journalist Greetings
– SOL Summary Report
– SOL Essay
– Engineer Report
– GreenHab Report
– 8 Pictures
– EVA Request

Support Requested:
N/A

Best,
Miho

[http://mdrs.marssociety.org/category/sol-summary/page/15/ Source]

Crew 191 Journalism Reports

2019-03-24T16:48:36Z

NathanielFromMars:

[[Category: Journalism Reports]]

APRIL 6, 2018
Journalist Report – April 06th
チームAsiaの可能性に触れた日々

6th, April 2018 MDRS time

河村信(クルージャーナリスト) Makoto Kawamura – crew journalist

本日Sol 13の昼下がり、その時はやってきました。
ヘルメットを外すと視界に飛び込んできた、曇りのない視界。
その瞬間・「終わった」というよりも「戻って来た」と感じたこの２週間。
ここまでの解放感に包まれたのは、何とも不思議なものです。
重力が３分の１だった訳ではありません。
全ての食事が宇宙食だった訳でもありません。
それでも「火星」という空間が砂漠の真ん中に突如として出現したのは、
Crew191が、どこまでも真剣に「火星」に取り組んでいたからではないでしょうか。
生身の体で外に出てしまえば、水や食料や電気を普段のように使えば、
火星の「魔法」はたちどころに解けてしまいます。でもそれが２週間・解けなかった。
恐らく誰一人として、「でもここ地球だよね」と思う暇もなく、時間は過ぎていきました。
思い返せば、密度の濃い２週間だったと思います。
誤解を恐れずに言えば、MDRSでの時間は、火星という空間を目指す「練習」です。
しかし、スポーツに例えれば、「練習」に真剣に取り組み、結果を出せないチームが
「試合」で結果を出すことはあり得ません。
今回Crew191・チームアジアは、「試合」すなわち本当の火星でも結果を出すポテンシャルを秘めたチームだったのではないかと思うのです。
Sol8の夜、それは起こりました。
エンジニアチェックで発覚した、タンクの水の「汚れ」。
この問題を解決しなければ前に進めない状況に、私たちは陥りました。
汚れを承知でSIMを続けるか、安全を優先して一旦SIMを打ち切るか。
ここを火星だとするならば、地球の支援を長くは受けられないのだから、水質にこだわらずにSIMを続けようというクルーもいました。安全を最優先して、SIMを打ち切ろうというクルーもいました。どちらの意見も、正解だったと思います。そして、最終的には、SIMを続けながら水を綺麗にするという、もうひとつの正解をCrew全員で思案し、捻り出しました。これは、タンクの水の入れ替え時に気付いた僅かな変化を見逃さなかったことが、解決につながりました。
アジア人は、細かな部分に気付き、こだわり、突き詰め、そして解決します。
その一方で、相手への相互理解などでは、寛容さも持ち合わせます。
「みんな違ってみんないい」という言葉に代表されるように、
仲間への気遣いや手助けにおいては多様性を認め合いながらチームを作ることが出来ます。気が付けば、Crew191は自然にそれぞれの役割を持ったチームになっていました。
そしてシミュレーションに本気だったからこそ、真剣に話し合い、解決を導き出すというプロセスを踏むことが出来たのだと思います。今回示した、シミュレーションに妥協なく取り組める姿勢は、「本番」であっても力を発揮できるということだと思います。
このCrewの一員で良かった。
今回・Crew191が織りなすSIMを描くために沢山のカメラを用意しました。
２週間という期間中、その現場と格闘し、気が付くと写真や映像は膨大なものになっていました。地球に、日本に帰り、その記録ひとつひとつに向き合いながら、ジャーナリストが火星で果たす役割を探していきたいと思います。

POSTED ON APRIL 5, 2018
Journalist Report – Mar 29th
29th March 2018
Journalist Report

Makoto Kawamura

Three days since door has been closed.
This means that it has been three days since I could see the outside world directly. In the habitat base, it is through the window and the view is from the helmet if I wear the EVA (extra-vehicular activity) suit.
Mars is not an environment which allows the human body to feel its atmosphere directly. When I go to EVA, I am unable to do everything I could do. First of all, I cannot touch my face. I cannot blow my nose while in EVA as well. Even if I have seen this graceful view of the scene, I do not have the full-option to explain about my feeling. I cannot see the display on the camera and I feel it is difficult to manipulate my camera. Before coming here, I tried to carefully select my instruments. However, the freedom of the real world is far away from what I thought.
Important life material such as electricity, water, garbage, communication, even some daily material can turn our life to be deadly such as passing to the tunnel to the dark world step by step. This time that I cannot see the outside of the world is enough to feel that I am living in the different world right now.
This is, at the same time, that our team, Crew191, is trying to simulate being on Mars right now. From waking up in the morning to going to bed, we are attempting to spend a day on Mars honestly. That is why we have actively discussed the mission with each other and sometimes we have impoliteness while in the discussion. Even myself, I am surprised that I am changed by only closing door and this environment in the center of a desert. When humans reach Mars, the situation faced by us is going to be happening and I am sure that there is a someone who would like to report life on Mars in the next several years or decades, could be several centuries later.
When a journalist gets to Mars, what is going to be asked? And what should record? Although it is about a week to be a crew 191 member as well as life at the MDRS, I think that I should get back to regular life which is not inside of a box as much as I can.
Winds with sand are hitting our white dome when I see the outside through the window.
I think that the view of red desert and rocks through the window is the space that reminded me the opinion as well.

POSTED ONAPRIL 5, 2018
Journalist Report – April 05th
WATER = AIR = MIZU

WATER AND (HUMAN) BODY
Mayday…
Mayday…
Water contaminated…
Water contaminated…
(Copy from MDRS Radio Conversation on SOL#08)

Water is essential for cells to function properly, means it enters into the composition of the cells. Water as a main constituent of blood contributes to the transport of nutrients to the cells. In deed the nutrients are transported by the blood. Water also is just as important to our bodies as it is to life on earth.
In our SIM at MDRS right now, we only can take shower once per 3 or 4 days. Not like on Earth (in reality) where we can actively – do a properly – wash our body as much as we want.
Anyway, talking about “water”, since we were born to this planet, water accounted for nearly 80 percent of our body weight and accounts for as much as 70 percent as our adult body. Similarly, nearly three-fourths of the earth’s surface is covered by water. Unlike the earth, our “human body” can easily lose large percentages of its water content whereas all the water that existed on the earth millions of years ago is still present today.

NEW BUSSINESS ON MARS ; Can i have IceCream please…
Memory, Water, and Brain…
Which one you will choose if the only have one option to taking care the most… Hmm, NONE i guess ; and yup! those three option stay in one line direction in our body system. For example, our brain uses 20 percent of the total oxygen in your body. If your brain loses blood for 8 to 10 seconds, you will lose consciousness. And when we were born, our brain was almost the same size as an adult brain and contained most of the brain cells for your whole life. What do you think?
Related with the memory, every time we recall a memory or have a new thought, we are creating a new connection in your brain. And you know exactly “water” is the most we need on this body system.
And how about if we can put “our tent” on MARS and enjoy our entire life over there? And where i can buy ice-cream? 🙂 …Lately we heard that some scientist found clean water ice just below MARS surface, so then the next question is : Can we do mining there…or can we use water as much as we want to support our life in Red Planet?

Problem is, properties of that ice, how pure it is, how deep it goes, what shape it takes and also how big is that, are still a mystery. We didn,t know exactly until nowdays, but we are sure that there is “ice” under. But they also said, some trouble how to explore is, dirt, rocks, and other surface-level contaminants make it hard to study the stuff. MARS landers can dig or drill into some meters from the surface. Its possible to do in the coming years.
“On Mars, when you see something bright, it usually means ice,” says Richard Zurek, chief scientist for the MARS Program Office at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, who was unaffiliated with the study.
Frozen water also lies beneath the surface. Scientists discovered a slab of ice as large as California and Texas combined in the region between the equator and north pole of the Red Planet. And the European Space Agency’s MARS Express spacecraft captured images of sheets of ice in the cooler, shadowed bottoms of craters, which suggests that liquid water can pool under appropriate conditions.
INTERESTED TO HAVE A NEW ICE CREAM BUSSINESS IN THE FUTURE HUMAN COLONY UP THERE?

Seriously, its possible to make your DIY ice-cream on MARS mission. 🙂
(…like we did once during our SIM right now in MDRS…)

POSTED ONAPRIL 4, 2018
Journalist Report – April 4th
Hi CapCom,

this is the Journalist Report on sol 11.

Best,
Miho XO crew191

—

OUR (BODY) MISSION TO MARS (O.B.M.T.M)

Diplomacy or Expansion of Humanity?
There is no doubt that MARS will be challenging.
Highly level of the research about MARS said that ; recent workshops and studies have also shown that missions to MARS are both achievable and affordable.
Its true, no one say that those statement are wrong, but why we need to jump into Red Planet where had not enough support life for human?
Sending a manned mission to MARS is a fantastic adventure…, many scientists said, BUT is that true?
Look at on the data, when we start to go for space travel, means that we are agree that : Living for any period of time in low gravity causes the human body to fall apart. The usual processes that keep bones strong and healthy do not function without gravity and the ability to apply a load. In deep space there is no gravity and so it becomes hard to load bones in the right way. Muscles can also waste away while cardiovascular fitness has also been seen to deteriorate. And to stay and to create a colony in MARS, we also have to think about there has also been some evidence that gravity can affect the way the brain works. Then from all of this could make the astronaut’s mission once they arrive on MARS automatically become much harder.

If we thought that this mission will be the huge expansion of humanity, then we need to start to think about our (realistic) imagination : to be sure, when we dream of the far future, we can easily envision beings that combine today’s human bodies with advanced technology to produce a human-machine hybrid far more capable of long journeys and survival in strange situations than individuals are today.
A bit opposite with the fact that when human go faraway for space travel also means no way to escape ; and potentially highly stressful situations to deal with, the crew (for example crew in MDRS) would need to also need to be exceptionally good at working as a team. Like now we took a SIM here in MDRS, do we feel we are isolated? What we are now?
Human (as a machine) and Machine (it self); which one stronger?
WE are a human !
Anyone who read this are human ! We have a (body) human.
Yes, human body is very complicated, very difficult machine or we can say that it is a biological autonomous system which depend to million numbers of parameters (we even never know how big all those data from our each body human). Our body is fully controlled machine which consist of many sub systems like input system (senses) , output system, processor (brain), memory, energy production system (digestion system + respiratory system), hardware system (musculoskeletal system), signal transmission system (central nerves system ) , and also of course a system for reproduction.
And the scary one is fact that, human become a machine rather than machine become a human, right?
The extent to which human beings are willing to be duped by computers is already very large. One doesn’t have to write a very sophisticated program to get people to treat it as if it were a living thing. You don’t have to build a very sophisticated robot to get people to treat it as if it were an animal. If it’s fluffy and it’s smiles or it woofs, or something like that, people are very ready and willing to smudge over the difference in their own minds between a computer and a human being.
So, what the near future for human civilization right now? MARS mission, or become a machine? OR the human as a machine mission to MARS? OR to generate a human machine in MARS?
One of the critical question was People think that MARS mission is a part of entertainment, and human as an ACTOR to keep going on producing an image about the Red Planet. Maybe this is a paradox for our life right now and in the same time could be a very good question for the next generation on Earth.
So, which one stronger then?
However, the body is not a machine. Machines are products of design, bodies are products of natural selection, and that makes them different in fundamental ways. The organic complexity of bodily mechanisms is qualitatively different from the mechanical complexities of machines.
And we are the human or the machine?
Human
(Natalie Neo 2014)
As we grow, we learn that
it’s critical to be logical, and
it’s only logical to be critical.

As we learn, we strive to
Detach from what we were attached to, only being more
Attached to what we were trying to detach from.

As we strive, we realize that
Many things aren’t real
and real things aren’t many.

As we realize, we understand why
Humans hope, love and dream, as
hope, love and dreams make us –

Human.

POSTED ONMARCH 30, 2018
Journalist Report – March 30th
Hi CapCom,

this is our Journalist Report on sol 6.

Best,

Miho XO crew191

—

MARS is a harsh, (and) cold world.

MDRS is a harsh, (but) cool time tunnel 🙂

Journalist Report

The First Shower and The First Coolness

MARS atmosphere is about more than 100 times thinner than Earth’s. And without a “thermal layer”, MARS can not retain any heat energy. On average, the temperature on MARS is about minus 80 degree Fahrenheit (equal : minus 60 degrees Celsius). And the next question is, why we “able” to feel cold?

Two thing that make me interested to find the answer of this question, first we feel cold because of Iron Level in our body, means that Iron is a critical part of the blood. It helps red blood cells to carry oxygen around the body, ensuring each cell can function properly. Equally, iron deficiency can impact this process, and it is believed that this can lead to feeling cold all the time. A scientific study aimed to identify the relationship between iron levels and body temperature. Other reason is Heat Transfer. , and remember that there are three ways that heat can transfer: conduction, convection and radiation.

And…

How we can know that we have a feeling about things HOT or COLD then?

“Hot” and “cold” are relative terms that we can use to compare how things feel when they have more or less of a certain kind of energy we call heat.

Our Commander, Yusuke Murakami : took the first shower in the 2nd day of the mission, with “out of service heater” 🙂 Cold as hell he said,

Like a… “Mars ain’t no kind of place to raise your kids; in fact it’s cold as hell” sang the legend Elton John : “Rocket Man”!, and although the song was released in 1972 — four years before our robotic machine from earth was the first successful landing on MARS Planet. Once Again, MARS was our long period of the imagination on science fiction history before crazy scientist create a rocket. And MARS Isn’t as Earthlike as it might look.

MDRS is on Desert,

And Fact that ; In that way MARS is like an Earthly desert; even after a blisteringly hot day the temperatures can plummet at night, leaving an ill-prepared camper shivering beneath the cold glow of starlight. Except on MARS, where the Sun is only 50% as bright as on Earth and the atmosphere only 1% as dense, the nighttime lows dip to Arctic depths. Our experience here on MDRS took us into one journey of other side of imagination about MARS look like, and perhaps one project from Wataru Okamoto ; DIY machine called PM2.5 – a measurement instrument as for : Environmental Monitoring System will make complete. And in this mission, he can tell us about Calculation of Mass Concentration in the air and develop from Stand Alone instrument into wider range type of measurement tools that we can explore more to be aware about our environment.

“Deserts on Earth have very extreme temperature ranges,” says Mars Science Laboratory Deputy Project Scientist, Ashwin Vasavada. “So if you take a desert on Earth and put it in a very thin atmosphere 50% farther from the Sun, you’d have something like what we’re seeing at Gale Crater.”

Then we are here ! 🙂

So, how cold is space? That’s a nonsense question. It’s only when you put a thing in space, like a Space Ship, rock, MDRS space suit, or an astronaut, that you can measure temperature.

To the next our curiosity ; Are we ready for the COLD WORLD up there? MDRS is one of the option to test and to learn how to stay and focus on the rules and practicing MARS space protocol. Lots of impression and keep us warmer with those chaotic and activities. Like we sucked up into an alternate Time Tunnel 🙂

POSTED ONMARCH 29, 2018
Journalist Report (Japanese) March 29th
ガラス越しの風景がくれたもの

29th, March 2018 MDRS time

河村信(クルージャーナリスト)

扉が閉まってから3日が経ちました。

それは、外の景色を自分の目でダイレクトに見ることが出来なくなって３日経ったということです。基地の中では窓ガラス越し、宇宙服を着れば、ヘルメット越しの景色です。

火星は、人間の生身の体が大気に触れることを許してくれない空間です。

EVA（船外活動）に出てみれば、いつも当たり前に出来ることが何ひとつとして出来ません。まず、顔を触れない。鼻水が出ても、かむことさえ出来ません。雄大なMDRSの景色に心打たれても、その表現手段は限られてしまいます。カメラのファインダーが全く見えませんし、操作もままなりません。ここに来る前に、様々な状況を自分なりにシミュレーションして機材を選んできたつもりでしたが、現実は私の想像を凌ぐ不自由さです。

電気・水・ゴミ・通信・或いは日常の細かい所作ひとつひとつが、命に係わるという状況（を作り出すこと）が、私たちが当たり前に感じている日常が日常でなくなっていくトンネルをくぐりぬけているような気持ちにします。自分の目で外を見れない3日という時間は、いま私たちは別世界に来ていると感じるに充分な時間でした。

それは同時に、私たちCrew191が、いまどこまでも無骨に、ここは火星だというシミュレーションに挑んでいることに他ならないと思います。誰ひとりとしてここを地球だと思っていません。朝起きてから夜寝るまで、皆が「本気」で「火星」の日常に挑んでいます。

だからこそ、お互いにミッションに対して活発な議論が生まれ、時には強い口調で意見を言い合います。扉が閉まっただけでこんな空間が砂漠の真ん中に出来上がるなんて、その空間の変化に自分でも驚いてしまいます。

何年後・十何年後・何十年後・人類が火星を目指し、その土地に降り立った時、いま私たちが直面している状況は必ず起こるであろうし、その現場を撮影する人は必ずいる筈です。

ジャーナリストが火星に行くとき、何が求められるのか、何を撮るのか。Crew191のメンバーとのＭＤＲＳでの生活はあと１週間余りですが、その問いに全力で向き合って、何かの答えを見つけてから、ガラス越しではない世界に戻りたいと思うようになりました。

今も窓の外を見れば、砂嵐が白いドームに吹き付けています。

少し曇ったガラスの先に見える赤い砂漠と岩山とは、私にそんな気付きを与えてくれる空間でもあったのだと思います。

[https://www.facebook.com/themdrs/posts/10156170645858718 source]

Crew 191 Journalism Reports

2019-03-24T16:39:47Z

NathanielFromMars: NathanielFromMars moved page Crew 191 - Asia Team Journalism Reports to Crew 191 Journalism Reports

[[Category: Journalism Reports]]

Journalist Report
MDRS Crew 191
Venzha Christ
03.26.18
Many of us knew about "Dust Devils" on MARS Planet, right? - were first photographed by the Viking orbiters in the 1970s, then in 1997, the MARS Pathfinders lander detected a dust devil passing over it. Mission continue, the Spirit Rover on MARS reported on March 12, 2005, that a lucky encounter with a dust devil had cleaned the solar panels of that robot.
From the definition ; "Dust" are fine particles of matter. It generally consists of particles in the atmosphere that come from various sources such as soil, dust lifted by weather, volcanic eruptions, and pollution. We knew that, so we need to aware about the effect of the dust for our life and activities. Especially when we connected into many tools and equipment’s.
On MARS as on Earth, Dust Devils are whirlwinds that result from sunshine warming the ground, prompting convective rising of air that has gained heat from the ground. Observations of Martian dust devils provide information about wind directions and interaction between the surface and the atmosphere.
MARS is a very windy place, perhaps so windy then in fact, that bright, oxidized Martian soil is being scoured away by martian winds and dust devils to reveal darker, sub-surface soil with the end result of making the whole planet warmer.
The winds in the strongest Martian storms top out at about 60 miles per hour, less than half the speed of some hurricane-force winds on Earth.
Again - from the last data, (last year), on recent summer afternoons on MARS, navigation cameras aboard NASA’s Curiosity MARS rover observed several whirlwinds carrying Martian dust across Gale Crater.
Entering the MDRS, its like go into a tent with full of specific attitude and "Dust", so we need to (once again) aware. "Cleaning" the tent was the one most important thing we should do immediately on the first day.
The Asia Team : Makoto Kawamura, Kai Takeda, Fumiei Morisawa, Yusuke Murakami, Miho Tsukishiro, Venzha Christ and Wataru Okamoto are the Devils, haha... : a super team who always hungry about connecting new experience, doing innovative thing, and cooking up tons of technical information.
Our mission, its not to reach for the maximum result, but more focus on reflection of sharing between others, to feel respect to our mother earth, to be sure that we stay in the right place, or "move" to create a new colony, and also to build more understanding about the connection between "human" and "universe".
And we are : "THE GOOD DEVILS" from the DUST !
As our commander said that "We Can Not Control MARS" even the devils want to :-).
So, in this mission we saw lots of dust, and we understand more that the dust NOT only bring a disaster for the colony, as Mark Lemmon at Texas A&M University in College Station said :
“Dust on Mars kind of fills the role of water on Earth: it’s the most important driver of weather,” “Trying to understand how the dust gets into the atmosphere is key: you’re not going to get weather right if you don’t have that right.”

[https://www.facebook.com/themdrs/posts/10156170645858718 source]