Crew 1a - Crew Reports

February 7, 2002

Commander's Inaugural Dispatch (Robert Zubrin)

Log Book for February 7, 2002

Dispatch from Mars Base Utah

Robert Zubrin Reporting

After months of delays, the Mars Desert Research Station finally went operational today. A lot of things are still balky, the satellite communication system is behaving erratically, much of the internal network doesn't work, and there is a problem with one of the water pumps. But we have a completed and fully provisioned station, a fairly well equipped lab, a good power system, five functioning spacesuit simulators, three good ATV's, sufficient satellite and local UHF com capabilities to function, and a highly qualified crew that is willing to do what it takes to push through. So today we began.

The MDRS is the second Mars analog research station built and operated by the Mars Society in remote areas. The first was the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station, which started work on Canada's Devon Island last summer. This one is located in the desert west of Hanksville, Utah, amid several hundred square miles of unvegetated, uninhabited land. The landscape is composed largely of red Jurassic sedimentary rocks, that look as much like Mars as one could desire, and whose varied geology provides an excellent target for Mars exploration operations research.

For the next 3 months our station will operate here with varied crews in a series of 2-week rotations. What we will attempt to do is conduct a sustained program of field research into the geology, paleontology, microbiology, etc, of the area while working in the same style and under many of the same constraints as humans will have to do when they explore Mars. For example, crew members will wear elaborate spacesuit simulators whenever they go outside. These suits limit their mobility, dexterity, agility, endurance, and ability to see and hear in much the same way that an actual spacesuit would. Our communication with the outside world is through a (currently rather balky) satellite link to Mars Society Mission Support in Denver. Together with the virtual back-room of science experts that Mission Support can muster, the crew must do the analysis of the samples collected in the station's lab, repair and maintain their equipment, and handle the reportage and chores of daily life.

This is not the optimal way to do field science, so we don't expect to make many original discoveries about the Utah desert. But, while we are trying to do quality natural science, natural science per-se is not our objective. Instead, we are using the search for knowledge about the surrounding desert in much the same way as a marksman uses a paper practice target; his goal is not to put holes in the target - that could be easily accomplished by stabbing the target paper with a screwdriver. Rather, he is using the target as an aid in learning how to shoot. It is the same with us. By attempting to produce the maximum science return we can while operating under Mars mission type constraints, we hope to start learning how to effectively explore on Mars.

This first season will last three months. Before it is over we plan to conduct underground searches for water with electromagnetic sounding equipment, ground penetrating radar, and possibly seismic devices. These are essential tasks that humans will need to do on Mars. We will operate a closed-loop ecological life support system to recycle the water of the station, and we will see not only whether or not such a system works, but whether it is a morale booster or a fatal drain on crew time. We will do both intensive pedestrian exploration near the hab and motorized exploration at long distances from the base. We may, as we did last summer in the Arctic, be able to implement combined human-robot exploration operations to test which tactics work and which do not. What kind of robots or other tools do we really want to have on Mars to assist human explorers? This is a key question. The most important step in any engineering design process is to define the requirements. It does no good to design and build a superbly engineered system if it is the wrong system to do the job that needs to be done. That's why operations research of the type we will do here is so important.

We made a start doing this kind of work with our Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station. But Mars simulation operations on Devon Island are extremely expensive, and realistically, are only possible during the summer months. With the opening the Mars Desert Research Station, however, research operations will now be possible nearly year-round. This will allow a much larger quantity and variety of investigations to go forward.

The first crew coming from various locations, met each other for the first time in Hanksville this morning. We then drove out to the hab together. Our team includes Steve McDaniel and Troy Wegman, both biologists. Steve is a PhD turned attorney, who works with the Texas Technology Litigators firm. Troy does microscopy for the Mayo Clinic. There are also two women: Jennifer Heldmann a planetary geology PhD student from the University of Colorado, and Heather Chluda, and aerospace engineer who works on the Space Shuttle program at Boeing-Rocketdyne. Finally the crew is rounded out by Frank Schubert, the Project Manager, who works as an architect, and me, an astronautical engineer. I'm in command, but only for a week. After that I will be rotated out and replaced by Tony Muscatello, a chemist who leads Mars Society Mission Support. Frank will also leave after a week to be replaced by Professor de Wet, a geologist from Franklin and Marshall University. Everyone else will stay for the full two weeks, after which another 2-week long volunteer crew will take their places.

We got to the station around mid morning and worked together as a team hauling in the lab equipment and the provisions for the season, and following that, cleaning the place up. Then, while Steve and Troy set up the biology lab, Frank fixed various things, Heather and Jennifer programmed our mobile weather station, and I labored, with only partial success, to get the Starband satellite dish to work. I can see why these things aren't very popular. Believe me, if you have a DSL line, a cable modem, or a copper telephone line for that matter, don't get a satellite dish. These gadgets are finicky. Sometimes they work fast, sometimes very slow, sometimes they lose link in the middle of a transmission and you have to start all over again.

But then again, the communication links from Mars won't always be so great. We'll fix it if we can, live with it if we have to.

We start field operations tomorrow.

February 8, 2002

Commander's Journal (Robert Zubrin)

Log Book for February 8, 2002

Commander's Journal

Robert Zubrin Reporting

We initiated EVA exploration operations today. The team was all first timers – Heather Jennifer, and Troy. They did a great job, and filed an excellent report. With their permission, it is reproduced below. It conveys an excellent idea of the things we do on our EVA excursions.

Back at the hab, however, the day was hardly uneventful. We had a wind storm. While our weather station was unfortunately not yet operational, a conservative estimate was that it was blowing at least 60 knots. Part of the dome of the hab almost broke free and the greenhouse tried to take off for Kansas, and Frank, Steve, and I had to break sim to deal with it. The aim of the roof-mounted satellite dish was also disrupted, causing us to lose internet communication capability until evening. The most violent part of the storm was fairly brief, so that after the chaos subsided we resumed contact with the EVA team using our local repeaters. Frequently, however, the background noise caused by the wind blowing around their helmets made them difficult to understand and made it hard for them to hear us. When we would get their reports, we would repeat the essence of it, twice, and then ask “Is that correct. Please respond affirmative, affirmative, affirmative or negative, negative, negative.” That’s what it took to distinguish between yes and no.

There are sometimes very high winds on Mars. Because the atmosphere is only 1% as dense as that of the Earth, however, a 100 miles an hour gale on Mars only packs as much force as a 10 mile per hour breeze on Earth. So astronauts won’t have to deal with flying greenhouses. But the storm will still make plenty of noise. So today was an interesting test.

Anyway here’s the EVA team’s report. My favorite part is the delightfully understated two-line section that reads; “Weather conditions today were generally favorable. High winds were encountered which made operations more challenging.”

It must have been a blast.

Biology Report (Steve McDaniel)

Log Book for February 8, 2002

Biology Report

Steve McDaniel Reporting

The biology lab was completely brought online by this evening. All components including equiment and supplies arrived from NASA-JSC and Texas A&M; University and were deployed. The equipment in place includes a UV-fluorescent scope and supporting supplies, a gross specimen examination scope, microfuges, vortex mixer, micropipettors, hot plate, and magnetic stirrer. The Hab weather station will be operational on 09FEB02 and will add several additional data points to the sample data.

With all components in place and the Hab laboratory relatively cleaned, we are poised to implement all three phases of the biology mission. Primary biology mission is to create a photosynthetic survey of lithic microorganisms in the Hab vicinity. Samples are taken and as many data points as possible are taken at the sample site. These include GPS coordinates, elevation, relative light meter readings, angle of incidence of sun to sample, etc. Secondary biology mission includes return of the samples to the Hab, and further analysis. The further analysis includes gross specimen microscopic evaluation for rock type and gross biological characterization, subdivision of the sample into a portion to be preserved in 2% glutaraldehyde under refrigeration, a portion to be subjected to fluorescent microscope evaluation, and a portion to subject to the tertiary biology mission. In the tertiary mission, we will test each lithic organism sample for its ability to hydrolyze organophosphorous test compounds in order to detect cold-tolerant versions of the hydrolytic enzyme, organophosphorus acid hydrolase.

EVA Report (Crew 1)

Log Book for February 8, 2002

EVA Report

Jennifer Heldmann, Troy Wegman, & Heather Chluda Reporting

At our morning meeting, Commander Zubrin briefed the team on our EVA activities and objectives. An initial pedestrian EVA was aimed at exploring the surrounding terrain and obtaining samples and various environmental and geographic measurements of geologically and biologically interesting sites. An ATV EVA was to be performed later in the afternoon for exploration of a more distant region. Four crew members were initially assigned to the initial pedestrian EVA but during our suit up procedure we discovered that only three of the EVA backpacks were properly charged. Given this situation the second EVA was eliminated from the agenda and only three people were able to conduct the pedestrian EVA. Troy Wegman, Jen Heldmann and Heather Chluda began preparations to leave the Habitat on this mission.

Jen, Troy, and Heather suited up in the EVA suits with the assistance of Robert, Steve, and Frank. This process went fairly smoothly and took approximately 1 hour 20 minutes. This procedure was photo documented by our crew as well as a visitor from the Philadelphia Inquirer. Once the EVA team was ready, they entered the air lock for depressurization for 5 minutes. Upon completion of this procedure, the team egressed for the EVA.

The EVA team (and photographer) started their trek heading out at 80 degrees NEE. The goal of this mission was to provide ground reconnaissance of a region eastward of the Habitat in the nearby hills that are of Jurassic and Cretaceous age. During the initial hike out to the primary region of interest, notable sites for potential sample collection were noted and marked as waypoints on the GPS tracking system.

Once we reached our main destination after approximately 45 minutes, we began sampling from the base of the smooth ‘mountain’. The primary surface coating of the ‘mountain’ was removed to reveal multicolored layers of soil. Troy collected samples of this soil in sample containers. Heather recorded the GPS coordinates and elevation of the site while Jen took incident light intensity measurements and digitally imaged the sample area. The GPS coordinates of this waypoint (6) were as follows: 38( 23.98’ N, 110( 46.84’ W. Also, the crew aligned a measuring tape in a North-South direction (casing of the measuring tape marks South) and imaged the measuring tape. At subsequent sites we imaged the length of the shadow cast by a rock hammer for scale and sun orientation calculations, respectively (length of the rock hammer is ~11 inches). We also collected biological samples at these locations. All of these measurements were also performed at all the other sample sites.

Samples were collected at a variety of biologically interesting sites. All the samples were sampled from the exterior top surface of the rock formations. When splitting open rocks, looking underneath them, or looking in rock crevices, no apparent biological growth was visible by our team. Future efforts will focus on visualizing these specific rock areas. The samples we collected appear to be lichens or algae. Their colors were orange, blue/gray, or black. The following four sites were observed at length, and 6 total samples were obtained:Pictures at these waypoints are in the process of being downloaded, named, and filed.

The GPS tracking system was used as a navigation tool for the entire EVA. It tracked our route away from and back to the Hab. We traversed through wash areas, around rocky fields, and bouldered our way up and over the smooth ‘mountain’. Our minimum-recorded elevation was 4417 ft and the maximum elevation was 4592 ft. GPS coordinates and elevation measurements were also recorded at each sampling site along with additional recorded waypoints (not mentioned above). Our total mileage recorded was 3.1 miles. This measurement was line-of sight distance no travel over the surface mileage that would have taken into account the elevation changes. This traverse for EVA I was recorded on the GPS system and will be mapped on a 3D topogragraphic software: 3-D TopoQuads.

Wearing spacesuits during EVA activities helps to simulate the working conditions that will be faced by future Mars explorers. The suits are rather bulky and thus limit movement and increase fatigue. Manual dexterity is also compromised by the bulky gloves, and so creative ways of working with equipment and gathering samples must be developed. For example, the end of a rock hammer was used to push buttons on the GPS, and the aid of another crew member was extremely useful for changing the radio channel on one’s radio control. Despite the added challenges imposed by the EVA suit, the fieldwork was extremely successful, and the crew was able to meet its objectives without too many difficulties.

The most trying operational parameter during the EVA was the use of the communications system. Troy’s headset was operational only about one-third of the time; therefore, he could not hear or talk to his fellow EVA crew members or Capcom. We developed other useful means of communication including gestures (head nods and thumbs up/down worked very well), and we also yelled through our helmets so the other EVA crew members could hear and respond. There were also some problems communicating with the Hab via the repeater when we were located behind a large obstacle such as a ridge or large hill. This problem was typically alleviated when we moved within a better range of the repeater.

Weather conditions today were generally favorable. High winds were encountered which made operations more challenging. The wind disrupted some of the communication and so at times we were forced to find a small alcove out of the wind such that we could converse and determine our next course of action. The wind was also a factor during sample collection as the wind-blown dust tended to accumulate in our instruments and also slightly impeded collection efforts because it was more difficult to loosen samples and successfully transport them to the sample collection bags. High wind conditions were intermittent, however, and did not stop any of our planned activities.

Continuing EVAs will continue to survey the surrounding terrain. In particular, ATV surveys will be further ranging. Weather monitoring equipment will be deployed to allow further environmental monitoring. Exploration will increase familiarity of the area and lead to many more interesting discoveries of the spectacular terrain.

February 9, 2002

Commander's Journal (Robert Zubrin)

Robert Zubrin Reporting

At our morning meeting I laid out our plan for the next several days: a series of long-range motorized reconnaissance EVAs to give us a broad familiarity with the area and identify key sites for further in-depth study. One of the crew members asked if it might not be more methodical to start at the hab and slowly spiral out, studying one site after another in turn. My response was no: When you explore a house you don’t walk in the front door and then stop and spend several hours examining the contents of the foyer with a microscope. No, you give the place the once-over first. It is the same with field exploration. Before you invest a lot of time in focussed study of particular sites, you conduct a general survey. This gives you the overview you need to assign your priorities.

The EVA team was composed of Steve McDaniel, Jennifer Heldmann, Heather Chluda, and yours truly. With four people going EVA it took a while to get everyone suited up, so we were not out the lock until a little before noon. We took about 20 minutes to set up a weather station, and then headed north on our All Terrain Vehicles (ATV’s).

ATV’s are like four-wheel drive motorcycles. Your ride them in equestrian fashion, with a single rider astride each one. They allow you to travel fast over very rough terrain, and are light enough that if one gets stuck, you can probably liberate it using human labor power alone. The air/fuel combustion-engine powered ATV’s that we drive on Earth won’t work on Mars, but equivalent vehicles driven by fuel cells could be created and should be. Because while minivan-sized pressurized rovers will also play a role in Mars exploration, it will primarily be as mobile bases – they simply won’t have the agility needed to deal with most types of unimproved ground, and in any case, the idea of going through all the work of suiting up for a pedestrian EVA whenever a pressurized rover reaches an interesting site is unappealing. No, Mars explorers will need the kind of informal mobility that an ATV can provide, moving them directly where they want to go while keeping them in intimate contact with the environment.

The weather was perfect. We set out heading north, and after traveling about 2.5 kilometers came across a rather impressive outcrop of sedimentary rocks. We decided to check it out. Jennifer, our geologist, and Steve, our biologist collected all types of samples of rocks and possible cyanobacteria. I searched the place for fossils, but didn’t find much. This was a disappointment. The banded Mesozoic sediments included both terrestrial and marine materials, and wave ripples in the sandstone were clearly visible. By rights, the formation should have been full of fossils. It wasn’t.

We continued north another 2.5 kilometers and came to a hill too steep for the ATVs. I decided to climb it, though, to get the view of the region to the west. We hiked up, and were rewarded not merely with an impressive view, but with the sight of a fair-sized canyon and a passable ATV route to get there.

So to the canyon we went. This was a wonderful place, with a steep little gorge that exposed millions of years of banded sediments to easy view. I climbed around the rim and had a Eureka moment when I found some bits of petrified wood. These however were made irrelevant within minutes by Heather who found a small mountain made of the stuff. – in several varieties no less. But then I found something which really made my day – a bone of stone. It’s the size of a coffee-mug, and the indentation for the joint is clearly visible. The material I found it in was Jurassic, so my guess is that it’s a dinosaur.

We won’t find dinosaur fossils on Mars, or even petrified wood, but we might find stromatolites or other types of primitive fossils, and the issues involved are similar. Fossils finds are anomalous phenomenon. For one to occur several unlikely things need to happen. First, an organism which, as a living thing, must live its whole life in contact with the biosphere, must be isolated from the environment at the moment of death. This is necessary or the environment will destroy its remains. It must then remain isolated from the environment for millions or (in the most probable case for Mars) billions of years, only to be exposed the environment again right before you show up. If it is not re-exposed you won’t find it, and if it is re-exposed too soon it will be destroyed before you see it. If all this seems rather improbable, it is. That is why we are not all constantly tripping over Triceratops bones. And that is why fossils will be at least as rare on Mars as they are on Earth.

There is a lesson in all of this for those who think that robots represent a superior way of exploring Mars. With a human crew on this site, impaired by all the impedimentia of spacesuit simulators with the cloudy visors, backpacks, thick gloves and clumsy boots, our crew found petrified wood and a fossil bone fragment within two days. But to do it we had to travel substantial distances, and climb up and down steep hills from which we could take views and map out new plans. We had to search the sites we visited, processing the equivalent of millions of high-resolution photographs with our eyes for subtle clues. We had to dig. We had to break open rocks and take samples back to the station for detailed analysis. In short, we had to do a ton of things that are vastly beyond the capabilities of robotic rovers.

Sojourner landed on Mars and explored 12 rocks in 2 months. Today we explored thousands. If a robot had been landed at the position of our hab, it would have spent months examining a few uninteresting rocks in the immediate vicinity of the station. It would never have found the fossils.

After the canyon, we continued further north, eventually coming to a huge cliff, with a 500 ft sheer drop past several epochs of exposed geologic history. The view was spectacular. Heather suggested we rappel down. That’s the sort of thing she goes in for. Fortunately, however, no rope was available, and we all returned to the hab alive, having covered 19 kilometers in a day…