Difference between revisions of "Crew 5 - Crew Reports"

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We had two main objectives for our EVA on Friday, April 12, 2002. The first objective was to retrieve two sample containers designed to collect wind-blown grit. The containers had been placed by an EVA team a day earlier, on Thursday, April 11. The EVA team also collected two dry samples from the same site. The second objective was to discover and document a path that would enable future explorers to visit the oyster fields that are indicative of the Cretaceous era south of the Hab.
 
We had two main objectives for our EVA on Friday, April 12, 2002. The first objective was to retrieve two sample containers designed to collect wind-blown grit. The containers had been placed by an EVA team a day earlier, on Thursday, April 11. The EVA team also collected two dry samples from the same site. The second objective was to discover and document a path that would enable future explorers to visit the oyster fields that are indicative of the Cretaceous era south of the Hab.
 
'''DATE: 04-12-02EVA Highlights (EVA CDR)'''
 
'''DATE: 04-12-02EVA Highlights (EVA CDR)'''
−
* We successfully retrieved Nancy's samples.
+
 
−
* We turned off the road in pursuit of the oyster bed at new Waypoint 109, N 4248712, E 518896
+
*We successfully retrieved Nancy's samples.
−
* We found faux dinosaur bones at new Waypoint 110, N 4248618. E 517873, then discovered this layer is prevalent throughout the immediate region.
+
*We turned off the road in pursuit of the oyster bed at new Waypoint 109, N 4248712, E 518896
−
* We found an oyster bed at new Waypoint 111, N 4248629, 517882
+
*We found faux dinosaur bones at new Waypoint 110, N 4248618. E 517873, then discovered this layer is prevalent throughout the immediate region.
 +
*We found an oyster bed at new Waypoint 111, N 4248629, 517882
 +
 
 
'''PRE EVA OPERATIONS'''Both the CDR and MDRS2 took the time to familiarize themselves with the GPS equipment, one supplied by the Hab and one a personal item.
 
'''PRE EVA OPERATIONS'''Both the CDR and MDRS2 took the time to familiarize themselves with the GPS equipment, one supplied by the Hab and one a personal item.
 
Nancy Wood, the biologist in charge of the experiment to collect wind-blown grit for further analysis, fashioned a kit to expedite the timeline for the EVA team. The kit included two labeled lids for the plastic sample containers at the site, and a marked label that also served to seal the samples from contamination. A marked paper-backed label was partly peeled from its sticky backing and a pipe cleaner attached to it in order to make it easier for the EVA crew to detach the label and apply it correctly to one of the containers that had two holes pierced into its walls. Two other sample containers were also labeled so they could be identified later. Nancy prepared the instructions for the collection in advance, since she was not a part of the recovery EVA team. This may become standard for field scientists who can direct others to collect samples while they remain in the Hab to do more pressing and productive work.
 
Nancy Wood, the biologist in charge of the experiment to collect wind-blown grit for further analysis, fashioned a kit to expedite the timeline for the EVA team. The kit included two labeled lids for the plastic sample containers at the site, and a marked label that also served to seal the samples from contamination. A marked paper-backed label was partly peeled from its sticky backing and a pipe cleaner attached to it in order to make it easier for the EVA crew to detach the label and apply it correctly to one of the containers that had two holes pierced into its walls. Two other sample containers were also labeled so they could be identified later. Nancy prepared the instructions for the collection in advance, since she was not a part of the recovery EVA team. This may become standard for field scientists who can direct others to collect samples while they remain in the Hab to do more pressing and productive work.
Line 1,004: Line 1,006:
 
This confirmed our doubts about the accuracy of our measurements, not to mention those of previous crews. However, because we had previous waypoints loaded into our GPS units, we were able to maneuver. Combined with the help of a compass to guide us between waypoints, we were able to ascertain that we were in the general vicinity of a particular waypoint. However, this issue should be resolved before other rotations are dispatched to MDRS. Either measurements should be restricted to the Hab GPS units, or more expensive and accurate GPS units should be purchased.
 
This confirmed our doubts about the accuracy of our measurements, not to mention those of previous crews. However, because we had previous waypoints loaded into our GPS units, we were able to maneuver. Combined with the help of a compass to guide us between waypoints, we were able to ascertain that we were in the general vicinity of a particular waypoint. However, this issue should be resolved before other rotations are dispatched to MDRS. Either measurements should be restricted to the Hab GPS units, or more expensive and accurate GPS units should be purchased.
 
I also must add that our visit to waypoint 15 was well worth the time. The view from the Dead End part of the trail looked out over a canyon with a flowing river and a panoramic view of stark mountains. Extremely beautiful and a great future picnic spot.
 
I also must add that our visit to waypoint 15 was well worth the time. The view from the Dead End part of the trail looked out over a canyon with a flowing river and a panoramic view of stark mountains. Extremely beautiful and a great future picnic spot.
 +
 
We also found a field of oysters at waypoint 31 that was an amazing site. It further underscores the diversity of the geology of the site.</blockquote>
 
We also found a field of oysters at waypoint 31 that was an amazing site. It further underscores the diversity of the geology of the site.</blockquote>
  
 
==April 14, 2002==
 
==April 14, 2002==
 
===Commander's Logbook===
 
===Commander's Logbook===
 +
Today is Sunday, time for a change of pace. We had decided the night before that everyone could sleep in, there would be no formal meeting. And we will have a special EVA in the afternoon.
 +
 +
'''0640''' Having turned out the light about 2340, I am already awakening with the first light of day, but turn over and fall fast asleep...
 +
 +
'''0835''' I wake, dress, and handle the usual routines, including recording the temperatures of the past 24 hours:
 +
 +
Maximum outside 24.5 C (76.1 F); Maximum inside 24.5C (76.6 F)
 +
 +
Minimum outside 7C (44.6 F); Minimum inside 16.4C (61.2 F)
 +
 +
I decide to make a big breakfast of cheese eggs, ham, and toast. Nancy is awake and makes the coffee as usual. It tastes great as I read the Mono Lake Newsletter. We don't have a newspaper of course, so I find nature magazines and the like to be good reading at breakfast, a habit I picked up during the Haughton-Mars Expedition in1999.
 +
 +
'''1000-1215''' I read parts of Charles Perrow's book, "Normal Accidents," to get ideas for a simulation exercise we are designing for the afternoon. We've enlisted mission support's participation to follow us during an EVA. Perhaps there will be multiple, interacting failures...
 +
 +
'''1215-1320''' Lunch segues into a meeting to review the EVA plan. Nancy, accompanied by Andrea and Jan, will go to two spots close to the hab to deploy some instruments and take samples. David and Vladimir will work in the greenhouse. I'll copy all audio reports for about 90 minutes to mission support, at about 5 minute intervals, with 5 minutes time delay. Can mission support keep track of what is happening? Can they provide help if we encounter problems?
 +
 +
'''1320-1437''' Over an hour passes "getting ready." It's one of those mysterious time sinks we keep falling into.
 +
 +
'''1437-165'''5 The EVA proceeds according to plan, except for a combination of human error (J&A; separate from N), mechanical failure (the greenhouse zipper jams, trapping D&V;), unfriendly environment (it is hot and windy; we find many cougar tracks), system design limits (radios are finicky; the generator requires fuel), and disruptive procedures (I must leave the hab to refuel, because everyone else is away). Although I've hatched this plot (a sim within the sim) and refined the script with the crew, I become caught myself in its clutches. I have little time to read the emails coming in from mission support, as I try myself to remain in contact with the crew. Mission support provides some good advice about the zipper (wait for Nancy to get back) and the cougar (they send a web page). They are not overly concerned that two crew members were lost and two were trapped in the greenhouse. Did my own apparent lack of concern prompt this cool reaction? Or perhaps the remoteness and time delay made them feel like passive observers.
 +
 +
'''1655-1710''' We find ourselves sitting around the table together as if it is a meeting. We have a meeting instinct, I think. Or an eating instinct, for it is snack time.
 +
 +
'''1710-1830''' I write up the sim more formally and discover my trackball mouse doesn't work. Another 15 minutes of lost time. I clean the inside, no dice. I try holding it in different ways: intermittent failure. I works in my hand, but not on the table. Must be the flat surface. Maybe the three little rubberized disks on the bottom flattened; maybe the middle needs to be able to move. Duct tape to the rescue. But alas, it doesn't work. Again, I explore. Works in the air. Works when pressed forward. Doesn't work where it needs to be on the desk. Maybe the wire is broken? I look inside, nothing obvious where a break could be. No way to stabilize it. I look again at the desk. A huge knot hole in the pine surface. Nothing obvious. Then I notice the light on the surface. Very bright sunlight enters the portal over my left shoulder. It is the light: When it shines on the left (thumb) button, the vertical motion doesn't work. When it shines on the right (palm) button, the horizontal motion doesn't work. Move it forward into the shade and it works fine. Twenty minutes later the sun's angle has changed and it works fine no matter where I place it. Tilt it on sideways so light shines into the green buttons, and the problem occurs again. There must be an optical sensor inside. How odd, it's a trackball mouse, not an optical mouse.
 +
 +
Where does the time go?
 +
 +
The day will end with Vladimir and Andrea playing chess, personal work at computers, and dinner, followed by a movie. The wind is blowing for the first time in several days; the weather vane is creaking loudly, like an old boat mast. We take down the Martian flag.
 +
 +
Bill Clancey
 +
 +
MDRS Rotation 5 Commander
 +
 
===Health & Safety Officer Reports===
 
===Health & Safety Officer Reports===
 +
Jan Osburg Reporting
 +
 +
'''Safety:'''
 +
 +
We successfully ran an EVA emergency simulation to test communications and CapCom/Mission Support procedures (see also Commander's Log).
 +
 +
Due to the cougar tracks discovered during this EVA, a "MDRS Mountain Lion Safety" sheet was compiled from information forwarded by Mission Support, and posted on the back airlock.
 +
 
===Engineering Report===
 
===Engineering Report===
 +
Jan Osburg Reporting
 +
 +
'''Water Systems:''' Still no pump, which means we still try to save water as we have to bucket-brigade every drop up to the third level of the hab. Sponge baths and dishwashing is allowed again, though.
 +
 +
'''Power and Fuel:''' The generator refused to start last night until we set the choke to half. With that, it started flawlessly.
 +
 +
'''EVA Equipment (including ATVs and PEV):''' According to Mission Support's suggestion, I installed a 2.5 A fuse in backpack # 5. It now is operational again.
 +
 +
After the experience with handheld GPS receivers during the past several EVAs, it would be nice to have one professional-quality, survey-type GPS unit available that we could e.g. mount to an ATV cargo rack to help us with navigating and accurately determining new waypoints (or finding old ones). Installing padded utility trays on the front ATV cargo racks for storage of handheld GPS units during transit might also be helpful, as the handheld models take several minutes to lock onto the GPS satellite signals during every stop, and reception during transit is insufficient due to the receivers being stored close to the body of the respective EVA crewmember, which effectively blocks out half of the satellite signals.
 +
 +
'''Safety:''' (see "'''Health and Safety Report'''")
 +
 +
'''Computers and Communications:''' The UPS ended up totally drained, so I had to remove it. All computer stuff is now hooked up to a regular surge-protector outlet. Possible reason for this failure: the constant cycling from battery to normal mode during hab voltage fluctuations (see previous engineering report), and the three-times-per-day power outages (every time the generator is refueled) that draw down the battery (according to the manual, it needs 16 hours to charge). So any UPS to be used in MDRS must have:
 +
 +
* a trigger voltage below let's say 90 V,
 +
* a battery large enough to cover three ten-minutes outages per day,
 +
* and a chargin system that recharges it within five hours.
 +
 +
Alternatively, we might install a generator that provides more maximum power (and thus more stable voltage), has a bigger tank, and can be refueled without switching it off.
 +
 +
'''General Maintenance & Waste Management:''' The weather station is not working; maybe its electronics were messed up by the same surge that fried my electric razor's recharging circuitry this morning...
 +
 +
Due to high winds, the Mars flag was brought in.
 +
 +
'''GreenHab:''' (see "Biology" report)
 +
 
===EVA 69 Report===
 
===EVA 69 Report===
 +
Nancy, Andrea, and Jan
 +
 +
Technical Log:
 +
 +
'''Objectives:'''
 +
 +
# Placement of biodetectors
 +
# Participate in communication simulation
 +
 +
'''Personnel:'''
 +
 +
* Commander: Nancy Wood Suit 6
 +
* Jan Osburg
 +
* Andrea Fori
 +
* HabCom: Bill Clancey
 +
 +
'''Airlock timeline:'''
 +
 +
'''Departure ingress:''' 14:30
 +
 +
'''Departure egress:''' 14:35
 +
 +
'''Return ingress:''' 17:25
 +
 +
'''Return egress:''' 17:30
 +
 +
'''New waypoints:''' None
 +
 +
'''Route:''' wps 102, 105, 102, Hab
 +
 +
'''Communication checks:'''
 +
 +
Communication logs already provided in detail as part ot the simulation scenario.
 +
 +
'''Special circumstances:'''
 +
 +
As noted, the biology activities were carried out under partial sim; however, I used gloves and wore a helmet for all detector placement, so that the slide manipulation, etc. was realistic.
 +
 +
'''Conclusions/lessons learned:'''
 +
 +
Efficient field work under windy conditions requires careful preparation.
 +
 +
'''Summary:''' While the overall goal of this pedestrian "partial sim" (helmets and gloves) EVA was a simulated "normal accident" scenario conducted with mission support, we also put in place two biological detection devices. We encountered fairly high wind speeds and high temperatures. Our route went from the Hab to waypoint 102, to install a windblown dustcatcher, to waypoint 105 to place microscope slides in the lichen-rich areas. After the biology placements, the team returned to waypoint 102, and then to the Hab, in accordance with the scenario script.
 +
 +
'''Commander's Narrative (Nancy Wood):'''
 +
 +
The previous placement of dust catchers at wp 102 was unsatisfactory, perhaps due to lack of wind and/or design problems. The dust catcher deployed this time was a slightly different design, and it was certainly windy. In fact, it was so windy during the day of April 15 that it will be fortunate indeed if it is still in place. Waypoint 105 is an area of resistant sandstone containing numerous potholes covered in luxurious lichen growth. This area is clearly subjected to periodic heavy water flow. Since it was previously shown that the organisms present attach to glass slides under wet conditions, I decided to place slides in several dry areas at this location to assess whether attachment is possible. Slide placement under windy conditions is difficult, but four were installed with attached fluorescent pink telltales. Further details will be included in the next biology report. On route back to wp102, as per the scenario, I observed deer tracks in the sandy outwash downstream from the potholes.
 +
 
===Chairs===
 
===Chairs===
−
===Additional Data Files Received===
+
[[File:JanOsburgStairs.jpg|thumb|Jan Osburg climbs the stairs carrying a chair to the second floor workstation at the Mars Desert Research Station near Hanksville, Utah. Photo Credit: David Real / Belo Interactive]]
 +
By David Real/Belo Interactive
 +
 
 +
'''Aboard The Mars Desert Research Station, Utah''' - It's amazing how quickly the mundane things of life can suddenly take center stage, just by being scarce.
 +
 
 +
Take chairs, for instance.
 +
 
 +
Six chairs for six people doesn't seem so bad. Plus one extra. (A second chair collapsed the other day, so it's now in the trash.)
 +
 
 +
So we have six chairs arranged around our second-floor kitchen table for meals, plus one spare.
 +
 
 +
We have more chairs than we need, really.
 +
 
 +
Except that Dr. Nancy B. Wood, our biologist, needs one for her laboratory downstairs, so we don't really have a spare chair anymore.
 +
 
 +
Except that three of us now want a chair to help us when we don our spacesuits next to the air lock downstairs, so we really lack three chairs.
 +
[[File:JanOsburgComputer.jpg|thumb|Jan Osburg's computer is ready to work but Jan is not – someone has stolen his chair from his workstation at the Mars Desert Research Station near Hanksville, Utah. Photo Credit: William J. Clancey / NASA Ames]]
 +
Except that we need another chair for the person working at the main computer terminal. And another three for people who like to use their personal computers in their rooms while they work on their reports.
 +
 
 +
Really, we need another seven chairs.
 +
 
 +
Plus maybe an eighth for whenever you want to look outside the main porthole to the outside world, whichever one that is - Mars or Earth, depending on your mindset. The round window stands about 5 feet above the floor, while directly underneath stands a 3-foot-wide table for computers and supplies that keeps anyone from getting too close to the window.
 +
 
 +
So a person's view starts about a football field away from the Habitat. It would be nice to stand on a chair and look almost straight down. That's where the red-green-blue stripes of the Mars Society flag flies, and where the ATVs are parked, and where people begin their cross-country missions. It's a particularly fine photo-op spot for a Kodak moment, even from the Hab window.
 +
 
 +
So, definitely eight more chairs are needed.
 +
[[File:100things4people.jpg|thumb|A hundred things and four people.]]
 +
Plus, there are lots of shelves that are too high to reach without chairs. At 5-foot-3, Andrea Fori needs a chair to reach the water glasses, which are stored on the top shelf of the 6 ½-foot-tall cupboard. Then she needs a reach of another two or three feet, so she can stretch over the drainboard that juts out from the wall and prevents her from reaching the glasses in the cabinet.
 +
 
 +
So, it is obvious that nine chairs are essential for the proper operation of the Hab.
 +
 
 +
Then there's all the storage space downstairs on the main floor. Those shelves must be almost 7 ½ feet tall, just below the ceiling. So another chair would be optimal.
 +
 
 +
That's 10 chairs that we have on our most-wanted list. Let's throw in two more as replacements for those that might break.
 +
 
 +
So we're all agreed that another dozen chairs is the minimum amount to operate this Hab safely and efficiently.
 +
 
 +
But wait. How ridiculous to pine away for a dozen chairs that will never appear anyway, since we are supposedly in the cold, remote reaches of space.
 +
 
 +
We will just move chairs around to fit our needs.
 +
 
 +
How simple and elegant a solution. We ourselves control our fate, not the stars.
 +
 
 +
But it's time for lunch, and there are no chairs around the kitchen table. This is a problem that surely cannot stand - or else we will be forced to. Come out, chairs, wherever you are!
 +
 
 +
There are only a handful of chairs upstairs. Where are the others? Ah, on the first floor.
 +
 
 +
Race downstairs - well, not really race. The stairway is of minimalist design, even by forgiving stair standards.
 +
 
 +
There are 10 steps, plus another step down to the main Hab floor. It's not even a proper stairway - more like a wooden ladder bolted between two floors at a dizzyingly steep angle.
 +
 
 +
There is enough room on each step to put your heel down and not much else. It's possible to feel much safer by sliding the back of the ankle and calf down the higher step to the lower one, thereby gaining a surer footing, but at the expense of shaving off a layer or two of skin from the back of your leg. That's a fair trade - these stairs look imposing enough to break two necks in one tumble, if one had that many necks.
 +
 
 +
Downstairs, there are two chairs easily spotted, which are painstakingly transported upstairs, step by step, hanging daintily off the right shoulder while the left hand is hanging onto the railing for dear life.
 +
 
 +
Grab a chair from the main computer terminal, and two more from the desk underneath the porthole. So we now have five chairs for a crew of six. Five? Where is the missing chair? Probably downstairs near the air lock.
 +
 
 +
Should we go back down to have a look? Having survived the trip once, it's probably best not to push one's luck.
 +
 
 +
It's got to be upstairs somewhere. In the commander's room? No. In Vladimir Pletser's room? No, again. Someone has leaned a ladder against the door of my room to reach the water tank on the ceiling of the staterooms. It's easy to move the ladder and strap it down out of the way.
 +
 
 +
Now I should check my room, but someone asks me where the sixth chair is.
 +
 
 +
Maybe it's in your room, I respond. Check. Check now.
 +
 
 +
No? Hmm. Where could it be. No need to check my room, anyway. There's no way it could be there. I would remember if it were.
 +
 
 +
Now all the others are looking for the missing chair. It's holding up lunch, and everyone is hungry. People shout at others to look in their rooms. Nothing. I deny that the chair is in my room. We are at an impasse. And no one wants to seem to go back downstairs for another look.
 +
 
 +
Finally, enough accusing stares prompt me to look in my room.
 +
 
 +
Ah, well. There it is.
 +
 
 +
See, I didn't sleep well last night. Got up too early. Been working longer hours than one should.
 +
 
 +
And, as previously mentioned, at least another dozen chairs are needed for the safe and efficient operation of the Hab.
 +
 
 +
Minimum.
  
 
==April 15, 2002==
 
==April 15, 2002==
 
===Commander's Logbook===
 
===Commander's Logbook===
 +
Dr. Bill Clancey Reporting
 +
 +
Some of us were to bed a little earlier last night. We all enjoyed the first part of the movie, "Dune" (year 2000 TV version). My light is out by 2300. But just before retiring I make a note about today's work: I will do "snaplists" and photograph the hab more thoroughly.
 +
 +
'''0706''' It is stuffy and warm. I turn over again.
 +
 +
'''0730''' I dress in shorts, my Northern California Mars Society t-shirt, and sandals. The clothes are all clean, but I feel grungy. Hmm, is that smell the rest of my clothes or me?
 +
 +
The usual routine: Bathroom, glass of water and a vitamin, start the time lapse video, and record the temperatures:
 +
 +
Maximum outside 19.5 C (67.1 F); Maximum inside 22.8C (73 F)
 +
 +
Minimum outside 15.1C (59.2 F); Minimum inside 18.1C (64.6 F)
 +
 +
It is warm for so early in the morning (67F). The sky is mostly cloudy. I go to Weather.com for the report. Wind is back in the forecast. Over the past five days, I recorded the following forecasts for today:
 +
 +
Forecast for today: Windy 78 Yesterday today was forecast to be: Windy 79 Two days ago the forecast for today was : Ptly Cldy 82/38 Three days ago: Ptly Cldy 80/25 Four days ago: T-Storms 81 Five days ago (last Wednesday): T-Storms 75
 +
 +
The forecast a day in advance is reliable, but everything else (at least in the past week) keeps changing. Don't like the weather forecast? Just wait a while.
 +
 +
'''0915-1030''' Morning Planning Meeting. We review the status of report writing (good), I give guidelines for the rest of the week. Then we go around, asking what each person for plans for the day. Ideas about EVAs are noted but held aside. Yes, there are more reports to write or finish, data to retrieve from the greenhouse, waypoint and EVA charts to update, soil sampling equipment to prepare, and so on.
 +
 +
Then we discuss EVAs for the remainder of the week, factoring in objectives (exploration, sampling, photography), personnel (trying to give each person at least two opportunities), where people have been and want to go, and chore assignments. I record in the EVA spreadsheet cell for today: "Hab pedestrian sample (NV + B photo) + (JA suit hr later) to river wp 14 then continue; retrieve 102 wind catcher (JVA)." Later I write this on the schedule board. (But the second half will never happen.)
 +
 +
Next we discuss and plan water and fuel. Jan will send a note to mission support about a desired fuel delivery today or tomorrow and then again Friday. Finally, we agree to watch Dune Part II this evening.
 +
 +
It was a classic planning session, and I'm glad I have most of it on videotape.
 +
 +
'''1015-1115''' I fiddle with email and photographs, and make a template for snaplists. A snapshot captures a moment visually; a snaplist captures it in a list: Every 15 minutes I list in a table where everyone is and what they are doing.
 +
 +
With my Mac on the PC network, I send my template to the hab computer and print it. (Later I search on the net, but find no Macintosh driver for this printer.)
 +
 +
'''1115-1215''' Individual work. The wind is picking up. David prepares lunch.
 +
 +
'''1215-1300''' Lunch: Spicy pepper cheese broccoli soup, tuna "fajitas", chips, cheese, and apples. Very satisfying.
 +
 +
A pattern emerges: Some of us are reactive, jumping up to do something different when the thought strikes us: During lunch Jan sends a note to mission support about the wind. David goes down to the freezer to take out something for dinner. I'm very reactive. Before lunch (when Jan was in the loft measuring the wind speed through the hatch), I selected the barometer on my watch, then I thought to photograph Jan and the dust blowing outside. I see Vladimir working around the plants, so I take a photo. I then notice the south portal is flopping open and dust is on the computer, so I elicit Jan's help to close it. He goes to get some screws. My stateroom window is creaking; I notice dust all over, and get duct tape to hold it closed. I take more pictures of the dust storm. Jan announces it is now 56 mph.
 +
 +
Yet in all this, Andrea, David, and Nancy stay in one place: Andrea is at her computer in the workstation area; Vladimir is at the hab computer downloading data from the Ecologger; Nancy is working in the lab on the lower deck; David is working in the galley.
 +
 +
I had noticed this same pattern when I did time lapse recordings of the Haughton-Mars work tent in 1999--some people stayed seated for an hour or more, others moved every few minutes.
 +
 +
Are there two different states of mind or modes of concentrating: Reactive and fixated? Are these personality differences or changing during the day or in different circumstances? How do these modes affect productivity? These are both forms of concentration: One changes easily, the other stays focused on one activity.
 +
 +
'''1300-1330''' Individual work. Interestingly, what people were doing at 1300 they were all still doing at 1315. Evidently, we are now all concentrating on a single activity.
 +
 +
'''1330-1600''' Nancy, Vladimir, and I begin a subgroup activity that continues for 2.5 hours. Nancy has prepared sample 'devices' to be used to gather soil around the hab. Vladimir will assist and I will document. Nancy has nicely (once again) laid out labeled ziplock bags with collection devices. She explains the procedure to me and Vladimir. This is a pleasant change, for no scientist ever did this with me at Haughton. Nancy likes to show and tell what she is doing in advance. It makes learning a lot easier.
 +
 +
The dust storm outside makes the EVA especially exciting. What a gift for a photographer! Dust bands are blowing horizontally, with long visible curving lines twisting around painted hummocks, and just a gray-white gauze in the distance. Above the sky is blue-gray, but mostly cloudy. Is the wind more important than water in shaping this landscape?
 +
 +
All goes well until an equipment bag is dropped. The animate wind plays a game with us. The bag is just out of reach, once, twice--just jump and you can stop it. But in that hesitation of getting ready to jump, the bag soars up into the air, far far away. So far you must laugh. It is hopeless. Regrouping, Vladimir suggests that we abort the EVA and reconfigure the equipment.
 +
 +
Meanwhile, back inside, a fixated crew: Andrea and Jan at their workstations, David in the galley.
 +
 +
Nancy and Vladimir return to the EVA with all their equipment tethered by ribbons and redistributed: What Vladimir must reach is in Nancy's pockets, and vice versa. I videotape this session. It is a stunning example of collaboration, use of tools designed for gloves, and struggling with the wind. Zubrin was right about grit and determination. But I think Mars will supply the sand.
 +
 +
'''1600-1653''' Mostly individual work. Nancy and Vladimir, now back from their EVA, are wandering or perhaps getting resettled. They move (independently) from the mess table to the CD player to the floor (eating a snack) to staterooms. Everyone else stays put.
 +
 +
'''1653-1713''' The bucket brigade: We refill the water tank in the loft. Five of us make short work of this, but after 20 minutes of lifting 2-5 gallon containers, you are glad it is over.
 +
 +
As we work, I am wondering how to simulate this in the "work practice" modeling tool we are developing at NASA/Ames Research Center. The trick is modeling the container being handed over. Each person must release, but only after the next person in line has gotten hold. I notice that we say things like, "Okay" or "Got it." Of course, as the person releasing the container, you can feel the change in weight. Here's another case where modeling the physical world (with gravity or not) is necessary for modeling human behavior.
 +
 +
'''1713-1930''' Individual work again. The wind is really picking up. Unfortunately, the hab's weather station has been off line for over a day. We are unable to restart it and have asked mission support for help (there's a phone number, but it's not much use here on Mars).
 +
 +
A few people take the opportunity for showers. Most are working in one place again, distributed almost evenly from the hab computer, workstation area, staterooms, and in the laboratory. Stopping what I am doing every 15 minutes to record our activities is not difficult--I find that everyone tends to work in one preferred place or to move between two places (David moves today between the galley and his stateroom; Andrea moves between the hab computer and her laptop). This individual stability helps maintain privacy, as well as predictability in sharing the space.
 +
 +
At this time, I send an email to my colleagues at Ames. I want them to begin thinking about designing software that will make the GPS unit fully invisible to an explorer. I don't want to wait for a satellite fix; I don't want to transcribe readings. I don't want to ever know the coordinates at all, let alone have to manually enter or compare them or number waypoints. I want a program to answer questions while I'm on EVA: "Has anyone taken samples near here before?" I also want the program to tell me things like: "Warning, you are within 10 minutes of the reserve fuel supply required for safe return to the hab." Being here at MDRS this past week has given me very clear ideas about the navigation assistance and other monitoring required during remote exploration on ATVs. Until now, back at Ames and JSC, we weren't sure what to build; we had the methods, but not the requirements. That's why I call what we are doing here "empirical requirements analysis"--finding out what you need to build by doing simulations in the field.
 +
 +
At 1815 the generator is refilled, and we hear the familiar ring as the power (and lights) go out. A light rain begins around 1845 and by 1930 the sun is backlighting clouds in the northwest, where it has been solid gray-white all day. The front is passing through. A new minimum for the day occurs (65F). The forecast maximum of 78 didn't come close (only 72F). But it was windy! If the sound weren't enough, including the wind vane creaking and cracking, we can sometimes feel the hab shaking slightly.
 +
 +
'''1945-2045''' We hear crackling of sparks in the loft and my computer cursor freezes. There is a flash of lightning. We shut down the network and close our computers. Just in time for dinner. Tonight it's pork fajitas (without the quotes). Andrea asks, how could we be so hungry again?
 +
 +
At dinner I ask, "Do you feel isolated here?" Nobody does. Why not? We realize isolation or remoteness has several dimensions. Are you physically alone? No, we have more company than we usually do at home. We spend more time in group activities than we do at work or home. Are we isolated from the outdoors? No, we go on EVA often enough (and for safety we do not wear suits when refueling the generator). Are we isolated from civilization? No, Hanksville (as small as a town can be), is twenty minutes by four-wheel drive, and we could walk there without much trouble. We are really isolated in only one way: We have essentially no interaction with other people (aside from our fuel and water supplier). I remind the group that were we to be transported back to Salt Lake Airport, we would dumbstruck by the crowds.
 +
 +
So how does the isolation we experience at MDRS compare to Mars or FMARS in the Arctic? FMARS is more like Mars in being more completely isolated from civilization. Both MDRS and FMARS are unlike Mars in our contact with the outdoors (we can feel and breath the air, even in suits). But MDRS, during my rotation at least, is isolated from other people, so it is more like Mars than FMARS (where the press visits almost daily or even lives with us, and base camp with dozens of people and daily roar of planes or helicopters is much closer than Hanksville).
 +
 +
At MDRS we are surrounded by many square miles of open land, our private backyard--somewhat like camping in a carefully chosen mountain valley. We feel secure and not isolated. We are caught up in our activities with each other. We are busy all the time. It seems unlikely that the first crew on Mars will ever feel lonely. Yet, what do we know? We have been here just over a week. How would we feel after a month? A year? That's why simulated missions are necessary.
 +
 +
2000 The wind is getting ferocious. Over 60 mph was forecast, and it's surely more than the 55 mph we recorded earlier, for now the hab vibrates more often and the wind mast is continuously banking, twisting, squeaking--like an old wooden boat grinding against its moorings.
 +
 +
By 2115 it is over, the wind that has dominated our thoughts all day and forced an EVA to be postponed, leaves us alone among the sand, rocks, and hummocks. Alone together.
 +
 +
Bill Clancey
 +
 +
MDRS Rotation 5 Commander
 +
 
===Health & Safety Officer Reports===
 
===Health & Safety Officer Reports===
 +
Jan Osburg Reporting
 +
 +
'''Safety:'''
 +
 +
The wall-side ladder handrail had some rough spots that were covered with duct tape to prevent people catching splinters.
 +
 +
Recommendation: the projecting platform underneath the roof hatch should be fitted with railings to keep people from accidentally stepping over the edge.
 +
 +
Another recommendation: every crewmember should bring a pair of sun/wind/dust goggles (military surplus, or e.g. ski masks), in case some non-suited outdoor activity is required during a sandstorm.
 +
 +
'''Health:'''
 +
 +
No medical incidents were reported.
 +
 
===Engineering Report===
 
===Engineering Report===
 +
Jan Osburg Reporting
 +
 +
'''Water Systems:''' Another bucket-brigade refill of the 230 l (60 gal) inside water tank was accomplished in just under 30 minutes. This is less time than it took us using the electric water pump!
 +
 +
'''Power and Fuel:''' Even though the UPS is no longer being used on a regular basis due to the issues with fluctuating voltage in the hab and frequent power outages (see previous engineering report), it now serves an important function: It is kept fully charged underneath the hab computer station, ready to supply ten crucial minutes of power to the hab computer and the Starband satellite link. This now assures that we can send off a "Mission Support, we have a problem" e-mail in case the generator fails to restart or we run out of fuel.
 +
 +
'''EVA Equipment (including ATVs and PEV):''' Nothing to report.
 +
 +
'''Safety:''' (see "'''Health and Safety Report'''")
 +
 +
'''Computers and Communications:''' The LAN broke down today for unknown reasons. It took the better part of three hours to fix it.
 +
 +
'''General Maintenance & Waste Management:''' The roof covers were put under quite a bit of strain during todays sandstorm, with peak wind speeds of 90 km/h (56 mph) creating a strong lift force due to the dome-shaped roof.
 +
 +
For the same reason, the roof hatch was secured by tying the emergency escape rope to one of its handles.
 +
 +
The sandstorm also threatened to blow out the south window on the first floor, so an additional screw was put into the frame to hold it in place.
 +
 +
'''GreenHab:''' (see "Biology" report)
 +
 
===Geology Report===
 
===Geology Report===
 +
Andrea Fori Reporting
 +
 +
EVA cancelled due to a ferocious wind/sand storm. Spent the day working on reports and reading about local geology.
 +
 
===EVA 70 Report===
 
===EVA 70 Report===
−
===Additional Data Files Received===
+
'''EVA SCENERIO OVERVIEW'''
 +
 
 +
We had two objectives for our EVA on Monday, April 15, 2002. The first objective was to deploy a new windblown dust collector near t
 +
[[File:Crew5 ValdimirPlant.jpg|thumb|Valdimir measures plant growth.]]
 +
he Hab. The second objective was to collect samples of soils in the immediate vicinity of the Hab to assess the bacterial contamination that human activities introd
 +
[[File:Crew5 EVAParts.jpg|thumb|Mostly materials to be taken on EVA.]]
 +
uce in the environment. Six samples were to be collected in two radial directions at distances of 1 m, 5 m and 20 m
 +
 
 +
'''DATE: 04-15-02'''
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
!EVA Scenario
 +
!Dust collector deployment;
 +
Bio samples collection
 +
!
 +
!
 +
!
 +
|-
 +
|EVA HAB COMM (S)
 +
|Andrea Fori,
 +
Jan Osburg
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
|
 +
|CDR
 +
|MDRS1
 +
|MDRS2
 +
|MDRS3
 +
|-
 +
|EVA CREW
 +
(Name/#)
 +
|Pletser/1
 +
|Wood/6
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
|EVA START
 +
TIME (MDT):
 +
 
 +
1st attempt
 +
|14:18
 +
|EVA STOP TIME
 +
Scheduled/Actual:
 +
|15:00/14:35
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
|EVA START
 +
TIME (MDT):
 +
 
 +
2nd attempt
 +
|14:59
 +
|EVA STOP TIME
 +
Scheduled/Actual:
 +
|15:00/16:00
 +
|
 +
|}
 +
[[File:Crew5 ValdimirDustStorm.jpg|thumb|Valdimir takes a bearing by the MDRS in the dust storm.]]
 +
'''EVA Highlights (EVA CDR)'''
 +
 
 +
The weather has dominated our EVA today. A severe sandstorm was blowing nearly all day with winds from the South with an average speed of 60 km/h and gusts in excess of 80 km/h. As these conditions are likely to be encountered by Martian astronauts during sandstorms on Mars, it was decided to carry on only the pedestrian EVA close to the Hab to fix a dust collector and to collect soil samples from six locations. The entire EVA activities was to be documented by photography by the Mission Commander.
 +
 
 +
In a first attempt and despite the difficulty of standing stable due to the strong wind, we succeeded in fixing the dust collector near the flag pole and in collecting one sample close to the Hab. Unfortunately, the bag with the sample vials was blown away by the strong wind. The EVA was aborted and we returned to the Hab to take new vials and to reconfigure our equipment. All equipment, bags, tools were tethered and the content of our pockets were exchanged, i.e. the content of the EVA CDR pockets was place in the pockets of the EVA MDRS1 suit and vice-versa, in order to allow an easier
 +
[[File:Crew5 JanRoute.jpg|thumb|Jan examines a route.]]
 +
handling in and out the other crew member suit pockets.
 +
 
 +
The second attempt was more successful as we managed to secure the dust collector apparatus and to collect the remaining five samples and to take compass bearings of the sample location with respect to the Hab.
 +
 
 +
'''PRE EVA OPERATIONS'''
 +
 
 +
The crew biologist, Nancy Wood, briefed us (V. Pletser and B. Clancey) on the two EVA goals and the methods intended to be used. Samples of 0.5 ml of surface soil were to be collected at two locations ("undisturbed" and "contaminated") at three distances from the Hab. The collection vials were small (1.5 ml) snap-cap vials color-coded and placed in ziploc bags, and soil was collected with the large end of a 5-ml pipettor tip. Both vials and tips were alcohol-sterilized before placing in bags.
 +
[[File:Crew5 Counters.jpg|thumb|We sometimes have as much stuff on the counters as in the cabinets.]]
 +
The weather situation was closely monitored by the Mission Commander from the Satellite channel. In view of the strong wind conditions, it was decided to cancel the second exploratory EVA that was supposed to take place later in the afternoon and to conduct only the first pedestrian EVA, because it was important to obtain the samples and the EVA team could return to the Hab quickly if the situation deteriorated. Methods of measuring distances and angular bearings were rehearsed and agreed.
 +
 
 +
After the first EVA abort, and upon return to the Hab, a new strategy was adopted where all equipment was tethered and the procedure was modified to better take into account the strong wind conditions. The second collection attempt proceeded smoothly and all samples were collected successfully. This sample collection method is very straightforward and would be routine in calm conditions.
 +
 
 +
'''AIRLOCK INGRESS/DEPRESS'''
 +
 
 +
Normal ingress and depress for both EVA attempts. Radio checks were completed for both EVA attempts. Strong wind
 +
[[File:Crew5 OpenDoor.jpg|thumb|An open door policy.]]
 +
gusts made opening the outer hatch door difficult.
 +
 
 +
'''HAB EVA MONITORING'''
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
!NOMINAL EVA COMM/SAFETY CHECK
 +
(Hourly Operation)
 +
!Comm ck
 +
1
 +
!Comm ck
 +
2
 +
!Comm ck
 +
3
 +
!Comm ck
 +
4
 +
|-
 +
|'''TIME'''
 +
|14:18
 +
|14:30
 +
|14:59
 +
|14:50
 +
|-
 +
|'''EVA #'''
 +
'''(If Simultaneous EVAs)'''
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
|'''ATV Odometer'''
 +
'''OUT/IN'''
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
|'''REPORTED MAP LOCATION'''
 +
|Hab Airlock
 +
|Around Hab
 +
|Hab Airlock
 +
|Around Hab
 +
|-
 +
|'''REPORTED STATUS'''
 +
|OK
 +
|Abort EVA
 +
|OK
 +
|EVA Completed
 +
|-
 +
|'''Auxiliary Information'''
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|}
 +
'''EVA MONITORING'''
 +
[[File:Crew5 DustStorm.jpg|thumb|A dust storm at MDRS, lasting about eight hours.]]
 +
Communications were conducted between EVA crew members and with Capcom on channel 200 without difficulties.
 +
 
 +
'''POST EVA INGRESS AND CLEANUP'''
 +
 
 +
Normal ingress and cleanup was done after both attempts.
 +
 
 +
'''EVA CREW: COMMENTS/OBSERVATIONS/LESSONS-LEARNED'''
 +
 
 +
'''EVA CDR:''' It was a difficult EVA despite the relative simplicity of operational objectives due to the strong wind and the sand storm. It was nevertheless an excellent exercise that demonstrated:
 +
 
 +
* The feasibility of EVAs in sand storm conditions similar to what can be expect on Mars;
 +
* The importance of carefully planning every steps and details of operations, particularly in these difficult weather conditions;
 +
* The importance of properly prepare and secure all equipment.[[File:Crew5 Multipurpose.jpg|thumb|The crew uses different spaces for multiple purposes (Nancy, Vladimir, Andrea, and Jan).]]
 +
 
 +
Despite the adverse conditions, all the goals of the EVA were achieved and all samples were collected and brought back to the Hab lab.
 +
 
 +
Two bearings were taken for the locations of the sample collection:
 +
 
 +
# 197 deg, from geographical North (210 deg. from magnetic North);
 +
# 111 deg, from geographical North (124 deg. from magnetic North).
 +
 
 +
Distances were measured with rolling tape measure. One of them eventually got blocked, most likely because of the sand.
 +
 
 +
In such conditions, both EVA crew members felt the intensity of the sand storm and dust and sand were found inside the EVA suit and the helmet.
 +
 
 +
'''EVA MDRS1:''' It would have been easier if it was not that windy!
  
 
==April 16, 2002==
 
==April 16, 2002==
 
===Commander's Logbook===
 
===Commander's Logbook===
 +
Today was a thin day. Like a single-reed instrument playing one note. Three of us were preoccupied by chores. I am DGO, Director of Galley Operations. By 1800 I had spent nearly four hours in the galley, cleaning and cooking. It'll be another hour of dinner preparation and then cleanup. So the better half of the day is devoted to chores, not my real work. For David and Nancy, it was somewhat similar--the oil funnel blew away last night, requiring some jury-rigging. Then they noticed all the detached guy wires flailing around the greenhouse. Then they had to move the fuel into all the smaller containers, so our supplier could take away the barrel. And then they had to refuel the ATVs. Altogether about two hours. Between the three of us, one crew member day was devoted to chores. Not bad, but we have other things to do.
 +
 +
'''0540''' I'm awakened by the back hab hatch tapping. I find the ropes holding it inside aren't tight. Pulling the hatch closed, I try to remember how to tie a proper hitch. Hours later I will awaken with the visualization clear in my mind.
 +
 +
'''0730''' A different day--the sky is clear blue again, the land bright orange sandy desert. And coffee is brewing. I have a shower and record the temperatures:
 +
 +
Maximum outside 22.2 C (72 F); Maximum inside 25.3 C (77.5 F)
 +
 +
Minimum outside .1 C (32.2 F); Minimum inside 16.6 C (61.9 F)
 +
 +
Our fancy weather station is still inoperable, probably fried by the lightning the other night. The news from the manufacturer is to send it in for repair--a long trip from Mars. I wonder what the manufacturers will say then?
 +
 +
Eating breakfast, I spread myself around almost the whole table. I realize for the first time that I had been feeling cramped at lunch and dinner. I deliberately place my juice, toast, coffee, magazine, camera, and notebook as if I own the table myself.
 +
 +
'''0915-0945''' One crew member is still asleep, but the planning meeting proceeds--in record time. The EVA will carry over from yesterday (postponed by the dust storm). I go around, reading what each person said they would do yesterday, asking whether it was completed, and what is planned for today--MBO, Management By Objectives, on a daily basis. We are almost done, when the sleepy sixth crew member arrives. His plans are noted, and we finish with a short discussion of what we learned in the Arctic station that we're applying here. First I acknowledge the parts I've borrowed: The general shape of the day, the reporting, equal sharing of cooking and cleaning up, and movies. I then rattle off a list of what I've done differently:
 +
 +
* No press or other visitors (this is a simulation, not an exhibit)
 +
* Explicit list and assignment of chores, so nothing is done by default
 +
* Written daily and weekly plan
 +
* Discussion before the rotation about my intentions as commander and solicitation of individual interests and expectations
 +
* Distributed submission of reports to Capcom at Mission Support (monitored through the written plan)
 +
* At least one major science summary report per discipline per week, rather than a daily report. The daily CDR Logbook, Engineering, EVA, and Health/Safety reports tell the minutia of the day.
 +
* All mission support goes through Capcom, but once a conversation is established (e.g., with Gary Fisher regarding Greenhab), we only copy Capcom.
 +
 +
My personal style as leader is to manage traffic, not to be the bottleneck. When told of a plan to bring the generator down for a second time in the morning (which I thought was unnecessary), I didn't express my opinion, but rather brought the issue to the Engineering Officer to handle. My job is not to decide or control everything, but to act as the switch, the delegator, the interpreter of roles and responsibilities. So the work is distributed as much as possible, and I am freed to worry about the big picture and new concepts, such as designing our emergency EVA the other day--and today, cooking.
 +
 +
'''0945 -1230''' Individual work. We are all busy writing, transferring files, and forwarding reports to mission support. As DGO, I lead the group into a new world of traditional white bread. I start making a loaf about 1130. Bread won't be delivered on Mars, we'll make our own using these nifty bread machines. This one has a glass window and we all enjoy peeking at its progress as it whirs and stirs and beeps for the next three hours.
 +
 +
Nancy is just nearby, and says she's never had an office with bread machine. And that's the point: In MDRS WE live and work in one place. The distinction between "work life" and "home life" doesn't make sense. Of course, this is not new, it's true on sailing ships and submarines, too, as well as research stations in the Antarctic or other scientific expeditions.
 +
 +
1230-1315 I announce "Commander's lunch special." Which means that because lunch materials are getting sparser, all I can dream up is a collection based on the color orange: Cheese, oranges, salmon, Chicken Ramen (packages are orange), and of course Tang. I move all the other stuff, with different colors, to the other end of the table. It is conceptual art, and edible.
 +
 +
As lunch finishes, I pronounce in a flourish that everyone should just leave their plates and glasses on the table--a pregnant pause as all respectfully acknowledge the DGO's task--but then I add, "Because you're going to use everything again at dinner!" As if I could get away with not cleaning up.
 +
 +
1315-1900 The entire afternoon is devoted to an EVA for Andrea, Vladimir, and Jan (see the report for EVA 71). This gives Nancy, David, and me a new experience, first, a new combination of people left alone in the hab, and second, the space available to us has just doubled. When the bread maker beeps I joke that we should eat the loaf ourselves and start another.
 +
 +
During this time, David has been revising the hab's computer manual and written instructions on handling the radio station adjacent to "hab com." Nancy was writing reports and following up on her microbiology testing. I cataloged the photos for the past three days, selecting some for our web site, and others that Andrea might include in her geology primer (at least I'd like to know what I photographed).
 +
 +
For dinner I've prepared meatballs and sauce, combining a can of tomatoes, two bottles of prepared sauce (leaving behind the R*** for another rotation), with spices, onions, celery, and carrots. I start the water for the pasta an hour early so it will be hot when I need it.
 +
 +
About 1800 Larry Ekker arrived with a pile of Federal Express packages, including David's lost red bag. Finally he has his camera. He shows me a charger that he believes will work with Vladimir's camera, which has been operative since last week. I immediately recognize it: The very same charger used by my mini-DV camera, and point to it on the shelf. With a shared fatalistic humor, we realize this charger will work.
 +
 +
Moving around the hab today, I realize how familiar our life here has become. I am reminded of that moment April 8th when I asked Andrew Hoppin how it felt to be leaving, and he said how much they wanted to stay. I wondered when I would feel that way. It happened today. We are leaving. The time is drawing to a close. Soon it will be over.
 +
 +
1935 I hear Andrea on the radio, "Vladimir, where are you going?" And then, "Back to the hab." I smile just to hear their voices. David laughs, "Did I say dinner at 815?" Moments later, we're at the east portal, watching them drive up. Three people in space suits driving ATVs. A familiar sight.
 +
 +
Bill Clancey
 +
 +
MDRS Rotation 5 Commander
 +
 
===Crew 5 Profile===
 
===Crew 5 Profile===
 +
By David Real/Belo Interactive
 +
 +
'''Aboard The Mars Desert Research Station, Utah''' - If anyone looks like he has the right stuff for space, Dr. Vladimir Pletser does.
 +
 +
Powerful body, military-style crewcut, easy grin, team player. And then he's got that inner something -a certain confidence and poise brought by years of experience.
 +
 +
Others must have seen it, too.
 +
 +
Which is one of the reasons he is an astronaut candidate for Belgium's space program and, since 1985, a staff member of the European Space Agency. He is also one of the crew members spending two weeks at the Mars Desert Research Station, a project sponsored by the Mars Society, which promotes exploration of the Red Planet.
 +
 +
Would he go live on Mars if the trip were offered?
 +
 +
"I'll be signing immediately, signing with both hands, both feet,<nowiki>''</nowiki> said Dr. Pletser, 46. "Yes, I'll be gone, sure. Even if we do not return. A one-way ticket would be fine for me.<nowiki>''</nowiki>
 +
 +
Although Dr. Pletser has not yet been to space, his experiments have - he has degrees in mechanical engineering and physics, with a doctorate in astrophysics.
 +
 +
One of his experiments flew on a Space Shuttle mission in 1998 with John Glenn Jr., the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth.
 +
 +
Another experiment is set for the International Space Station in a few years.
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|Dr. Pletser floats upside down in an Airbus cabin during the weightless portion of a parabolic flight in October 2001. Dr. Pletser is a member of the crew at the Mars Desert Research Station near Hanksville, Utah. Photo Credit: European Space Agency
 +
|}
 +
To reach outer space himself, however, Dr. Pletser is taking a different approach - he is getting there 20 seconds at a time.
 +
 +
As manager of the European Space Agency's aircraft parabolic flight program, he flies on specially equipped airplanes that duplicate zero gravity when they go into free fall during a roller-coaster type of maneuver.
 +
 +
The pilot puts the aircraft into a steep climb, creating twice the force of gravity on its occupants, and then cuts the engine. As the aircraft falls to Earth, a weightless condition is created for about 20 seconds, which is used for astronaut training and scientific experiments in microgravity. Then the pilot pulls the aircraft out of its steep, 45-degree dive, again making passengers feel as if they weighed twice as much as they really do.
 +
 +
Dr. Pletser has done this 3,250 times, accumulating more than 18 hours of weightless experience.
 +
 +
Newcomers are advised to take it easy on their first flight because of the severe stress on the body. Dr. Pletser advises them to lie on their backs while experiencing twice Earth's gravity for the first time. If all goes well, they can try sitting up the next time.
 +
 +
During the weightless condition, first-timers tend to react instinctively - which is the wrong thing to do.
 +
 +
"With zero G, you notice the newcomer because they start to swim," Dr. Pletser said. "The reaction is that you want to propel yourself, and your reflexes react like in water.
 +
 +
"Of course, it's totally different because of kinetics and the viscosity of air. So you can flap your arms and kick your legs - it would not help at all, except maybe to hit someone."
 +
 +
Nausea is also common for about half of those who experience zero gravity because of motion sickness, Dr. Pletser said. Fortunately, he is immune.
 +
 +
But no one escapes the physical demands of the maneuvers, which put a severe strain on the heart, muscles and skeleton. During a standard 2 ½ hour flight, there are 30 parabolas producing a total of 10 minutes of weightlessness. Usually there are three such flights during a one-week campaign, normally Tuesday through Thursday.
 +
 +
"After a certain number of parabolas, you're exhausted," Dr. Pletser said. "You want to crash out in the afternoon or evening. On Thursday, you're totally liquefied."
 +
 +
The flights are necessary, however, to train astronauts and test equipment before being sent into space, even for a short period.
 +
 +
"There's no need to go to space for some experiments,<nowiki>''</nowiki> Dr. Pletser said. "If you're well-prepared and your experiment is well-designed and well-conceived, 20 seconds is all the time in the world that you need."
 +
 +
He has flown these missions with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Russian space program and the 15-nation European Space Agency.
 +
 +
His current experiment, which would fly into space in 2004 or 2005, is what he calls a Protein Crystallization Diagnostic Facility. The experiment exploits the fact that, during weightless conditions, it is possible to build protein molecules with very large crystalline structures that is not possible otherwise. That makes it easier to analyze them on Earth with an X-ray diffraction machine, and determine the three-dimensional structure of the molecule. Then it's possible to predict how they would interact with other molecules.
 +
 +
"Basically, this is the idea of developing new medication, new molecules for pharmaceutical purposes, to fight infections and viruses," Dr. Pletser said. "It's basic research that we do as a first step toward applied research later on, that will benefit mankind on Earth."
 +
 +
Although NASA may dominate space headlines in the United States, the Russians have held the world record for the number of satellites in space since Sputnik was launched in 1957, he said.
 +
 +
And the European Space Agency has played a vital role, too, helping build part of the Hubble space telescope. In 1983, one of agency's astronauts, Ulf Merbold of Germany, was the first non-American to fly on a Space Shuttle mission. Another astronaut, Jean-Pierre Haignere of France, spent more than six months on the Russian space station MIR, the longest flight ever performed by a non-Russian astronaut.
 +
 +
And the agency's Automated Transfer Vehicle, boosted into space by the Ariane 5 heavy-lift launcher, is expected to help keep the football-field-sized International Space Station from falling from orbit during its lifetime. All of these missions by the European Space Agency would launch from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana.
 +
 +
So far, Dr. Pletser has been nominated but not yet accepted as an astronaut. Still, he remains optimistic.
 +
 +
"For the moment, I am still waiting, expecting to one day fly to the Space Station,<nowiki>'' he said. "I still have hope. When I see, for example, people like John Glenn flew at 77, there'</nowiki>s no age limit.
 +
 +
"Shuttle commanders typically are in their late 50s, between 50 and 60. So you have a lot of experience, but still you<nowiki>'re fit and you pass the medical.''</nowiki>
 +
 +
For the Mars Society, Dr. Pletser has conducted experiments at Devon Island in the Arctic to determine whether it would be possible to detect underground water on Mars using seismic shock waves, much like oil exploration on Earth.
 +
 +
His current mission at the Mars Desert Research Station will help determine if it is feasible to grow food in a greenhouse on Mars.
 +
 +
And then someday, for Dr. Pletser, it's on to Mars.
 +
 
===Geology Report===
 
===Geology Report===
 +
Traveled to the north edge of the USGS Skyline quad (to Muddy Creek) and previously visited waypoints 15, 32, 33, 34, 35, and 36 (see EVA #71 report). The region is characterized by fine mudstone layers intermixed with volcanic ash. As one progresses north and up in elevation up "Lowell highway" (the main dirt road that passes the hab) the red layers near the hab give way to lighter colored ash. On the dirt road to waypoint 33 the ash is a distinct dirty gray. We then passed through a narrow and scenic canyon of characteristically red Morrison formation to the Muddy Creek. The area immediately surrounding the creek is a sticky clay (of course we became stuck in the clay).
 +
 +
Continued to work on assessment of previous activity and geology primer.
 +
 
===EVA 71 Report===
 
===EVA 71 Report===
 +
'''EVA Scenario Overview'''
 +
 +
The main objectives were:
 +
 +
* to find the best way from the Hab to Muddy Creek;
 +
* to take muddy soil samples near and under the river;
 +
* to retrieve other bio sample collectors at various locations;
 +
* to document by photography some interesting geological features.
 +
 +
'''DATE: 04-16-02'''
 +
 +
'''Personnel:'''
 +
 +
'''Commander:''' Vladimir Pletser (EVA-6)
 +
 +
Andrea Fori (EVA-1)
 +
 +
Jan Osburg (EVA-2)
 +
 +
HabCom: David Real
 +
 +
'''Airlock timeline:'''
 +
 +
'''Departure ingress:''' 14:47
 +
 +
'''Departure egress:''' 14:52
 +
 +
'''Return ingress:''' 19:40
 +
 +
'''Return egress:''' 19:45
 +
 +
'''New waypoints:'''
 +
 +
'''Format: WP#, WP name, datum used, Easting, Northing, Altitude [m], Date, Time:'''
 +
 +
120, Andrea's Quarry, NAD27, 518931, 4256548, 1369, 16.04.2002, 16:05h
 +
 +
121, Robbi's Bed, NAD27, 519265, 4256818, 1391, 16.04.2002, 16:18h
 +
 +
114-2, Ravine Y, NAD27, 517412, 4256334, 1407, 16.04.2002, 17:32h
 +
 +
122, The Pillar, NAD27, 518173, 4257061, 1365, 16.04.2002, 17:46h
 +
 +
123, River Crossing, NAD27, 518380, 4257530, 1343, 16.04.2002, 17:50h
 +
 +
124, Rope Rescue, NAD27, 518293, 4257917, 1343, 16.04.2002, 18:44h
 +
 +
'''Route:'''
 +
 +
(by waypoints, in this sequence, including new waypoints) 1, 115, 116, 117, 120, 121, 117, 15, 117, 116, 115, 32, 33, 34, 114, 122, 123, 122, 114, 34, 33, 32, 115, 1
 +
 +
'''Communication checks:'''
 +
 +
Check time: 14:52
 +
 +
EVA team location: Hab airlock
 +
 +
Status: OK
 +
 +
Additional notes:
 +
 +
Check time: 15:00
 +
 +
EVA team location: in front of Hab
 +
 +
Status: Deploy flag; retrieve dust catcher
 +
 +
Additional notes:
 +
 +
Check time: 19:35
 +
 +
EVA team location: on way back
 +
 +
Status: report on return and proceeding to collect last dust catchers
 +
 +
Additional notes:
 +
 +
Check time: 19:40
 +
 +
EVA team location: Hab airlock
 +
 +
Status: OK
 +
 +
Additional notes:
 +
 +
'''Special circumstances:'''
 +
 +
'''Two situations were ATVs got stuck:'''
 +
 +
# one ATV while crossing the river for the second time. Was towed out by another ATV
 +
# the three ATVs got stuck in turn at 'Y ravine junction' in canyon road. Needed three crew members to pull/push it out of sand (2 crew members to push, one to activate the accelerator handle and pull).
 +
 +
'''Conclusions/lessons learned:'''
 +
 +
The main objectives were:
 +
 +
* to find the best way from the Hab to Muddy Creek;
 +
* to take muddy soil samples near and under the river;
 +
* to retrieve other bio sample collectors at various locations;
 +
* to document by photography some interesting geological features.
 +
 +
The EVA crew managed to get to the river after hours of exploring possible routes, and even crossed it successfully. The way back was challenging, with ATVs getting stuck in the muddy riverbed and in the loose sand of the approach trail. But the EVA crew made it back, and had a great time!
 +
 +
'''EVA CDR:''' The EVA crew left the Hab at 15:00 and after retrieving the first dust collector near the Hab and re-erecting the Martian flag, left on ATVs in a Northerly direction on the Lowell Highway. Several points en route were measured again using our very handy GPS, but we still managed to have somehow different readings. Our geologist Andrea took several photos of interesting features, mainly rocks and various geological layers. We passed 'Dimitri's corner' and the 'Brussels sprout' marks, to go further to the 'Route 66' mark. From there we turned to a westerly direction to try a new route to the river. The main dirt road quickly ended in several paths among the rocks that we explored one by one, and taking GPS coordinates each time we could not go any further because of a dead end or a cliff. We decided to backtrack to 'Brussels sprout' to try a different road from there, but to no avail. We backtracked again and went back to 'Dimitri's corner' to take the other dirt road leading to the geodetic point further up west. From the geodetic point, we turned North and followed the main canyon, first following a path on top of the canyon, then gradually coming down by different ways and eventually arriving in the canyon itself. We followed the canyon road and passed the point where we could not proceed any further previously. We called that point the Y Ravine junction, as two ravines come together making it nearly impossible to pass.
 +
 +
We managed to find a way to pass eventually to continue among further dramatic landscape. We found the access to the river at the end of that canyon and we ended up on a sort of beach. Two mud samples were collected and we decided to cross the river and to explore its other side. We drove upstream to soon arrive in front of rock formations that we could not climb with the ATVs. We had to cross again the river. Leading this expedition, I tried to pass first and, although the first few meters went fine, I soon realize that my ATV rear wheels got sucked in the mud and started to sink deeper and deeper. I could no longer go forward or backward and the engine stopped. We quickly devised a rescue plan by radio with Jan and Andrea for them to go back where we crossed initially, to cross back and to meet on the other side. Luckily, we took a long rope that Jan had on his ATV. Attaching the rope to our both ATVs allowed Jan to tow me out that mud trap. Once safely on a sort of little island in the middle of the river, I could restart the engine and finish the crossing. This rescue having eaten most of our remaining time, we decided to drive back to the Hab by the shortest way. On the way back, the three of us got stuck in turn at the Y ravine junction. It took the three of us to pull and push together each ATV out of the soft sand ravine. We made it eventually back to the Hab, after having retrieved on our way two other dust collectors. A great ride! A five hours expedition in the desert and in these beautiful Martian like landscapes! Some lessons learned with relevance to Mars exploration, e.g. a stranded crew that manage itself to rescue one of his members.
 +
 +
'''EVA MDRS1:''' I felt this was a great team building exercise. This MDRS rotation provided my first experience on an ATV and on this EVA, I really was able to push the limits and explore the area much farther than I would be able to do on foot. Being able to explore such a wide area provided a comprehensive understanding of the local geology. I took many photos, most of which I will use to build a geology primer of the area.
 +
 +
I also had the opportunity to test falling over in an EVA suit. I jumped across a ravine to assist in pushing Jan's ATV up a hill and misjudged the balance required to land with the 30 lb suit on. After clearing the ravine I toppled over onto the ground face first. My crash landing was lacking so much grace that I started laughing. The suit was so heavy that it prevented me from being able to right myself - feeling like a turtle stuck on its back made the situation even funnier. I was able to move only one arm (my other arm was stuck underneath my body) and one leg that I was trying desperately to use as a lever. Of course my radio was also wedged underneath my body so I couldn't communicate the status of my situation. Vladimir stabilized the ATV on the side of the hill and Jan ran over to me to provide assistance. The good news is that although they're awkward the suits provide much protection.
 +
 +
'''EVA MDRS2:''' Interesting, long (5 hours) exploratory EVA. We made good use of the GPS and the map. The river crossing at WP 123 (and WP 124) was a challenge, successfully mastered thanks to good preparation (we had a rope with us!) and ATV maneuvering (and lifting) skills by all EVA crew. A great team experience.
  
 
==April 17, 2002==
 
==April 17, 2002==

Revision as of 00:19, 10 March 2020

Contents

April 7, 2002

Commander's Logbook

Today was off-sim as we moved in the hab and became familiar with the systems. All times are MDT. We have a great crew:

0200 Arrival in Hanksville from Salt Lake City. We drove in two minivans, full to the top with gear, newly purchased supplies, and the crew of six.

0645 The alarm goes off, time to have one last very long hot shower and prepare for the short trip to MDRS. Few of us have slept soundly, for we are stilled keyed up from the evening before and full of excitement for the day's activities. The day is brilliant with achingly long clear horizons and a fresh northerly breeze.

0810 Arrival at MDRS. The crew that greets us is clean, cheerful, and eager to relay the tricks. Judith Lapierre has organized a nicely printed list of handover topics, with assigned crew members. I review it and quickly rattle off the corresponding people in my crew who will pair off for the coming hour of learning and sharing.

0930-0945 Rotation 5 departs in two vehicles, we begin to feel the peacefulness of the place.

The rest of the day is a blur of unpacking supplies, organizing computers and setting up lab and recording gear. Frank Schubert, Dewey Anderson, and Brian Enke arrive to swap in a new generator, reorganize flows and sensors in the greenhouse, and attach a greenhouse door. We have brought a 5' square projection screen and attach it just above the staterooms; we intend to use it to project our daily and evolving plan.

01500-1700 Our first meeting: We discuss Safety (a briefing and forms to fill); Mission Support communications protocol (all incoming messages about the mission must go through them first; we forward everything we receive for them to handle); our daily schedule (tentatively start the primary EVA at 1600 with dinner at 2000 merged with the debrief); chores (assignments with rotations were worked in detail); reporting (follow the previous crew's pattern, but the summary will be written by our resident journalist, David Real).

1730-1900 ATV training and more organization, refilling the generator, etc.

Our sim begins tomorrow with an extensive planning meeting. One objective of this rotation will be to plan two weeks in advance in full detail. We want to determine to what extent we can project our intentions, and to understand how and why they change from day to day. If we are on a late EVA schedule, then reports will be written the next day. So Mission Support will always be a day behind. Can we compensate by projecting more than two days in advance what we plan to do?

Bill Clancey

MDRS Rotation 5 Commander

April 8, 2002

Commander's Logbook

The previous evening we enjoyed a peaceful dinner and mostly spend the evening setting up and organizing the hab. We are too tired to watch a movie. Our bedtimes vary between 2245 and 0030.

0800-0900 The crew has rested well and smiles in conversation over breakfast.

0900-1130 Planning meeting: We extensively review our objectives, methods, and constraints, and individual plans. Planning will be a key part of this rotation. We will plan forward as much as possible, including a schedule for the day. We will forward this to mission support. We will then review and replan the next day. A single document will be edited as we proceed, allowing easy comparison of our expectations and time estimates.

One question is whether we can reach a steady state by which we are able to notify mission support reliably of our plans two or three days in advance, so they may assist us. Our reports will tend to be a day delayed because of late afternoon EVAs running until dinner. To begin the process, we ask mission support for waypoints of areas known to be always wet, occasionally wet, always dry, and windy.

The crew also begins personal logs of when they sleep, do chores, or prepare reports. This is on top of group logging of water and soap usage.

1200-1400 Lunch: getting remaining laptops on line; understanding problem with UPS generator, processing mail.

1400-1630 Greenhouse EVA in full-suit by Nancy and Vladimir to plan seedlings. Proceeded by an extensive training session for the crew. Operation completed entirely on schedule.

1630-1700 Half-hour moment to catch our breaths and debrief. This was unscheduled but necessary before launching into the next EVA.

1700-1730 The EVA crew prepares, others work on learning to transfer files, using the full panoply of methods we have brought along: Compactflash (PC) card, CD-R, USB drives, and floppies. This was not scheduled, but is necessary for reporting tonight.

1730-1930 Second EVA for the new crew (Vladimir and I had a great deal of experience on suited EVAs at FMARS). Andrea, David, and Jan go on a pedestrian EVA to measure wind in various sites for a future experiment.

1930-2000 Catching up on mission support's responses to us, and logging our 2000 dinner

Bill Clancey

MDRS Rotation 5 Commander

Day 1 Report

Life on Mars Can Be Brutal

By David Real / Belo Interactive

Lost supplies of critical medicine. Computer failures. Even unannounced alien visitors. All on four hours of sleep. And, officially, it's not even Day One yet on the Red Planet.

Five scientists and a reporter locked themselves away Monday for a two-week stay in an isolated area of Utah for a research project sponsored by NASA and the Mars Society, an organization advocating exploration of the fourth planet as soon as possible.

The goal: simulate the conditions of a restrictive encampment on the Mars surface, add some top-flight scientists from around the world, and see what happens. Perhaps problems discovered during an exercise on Earth could play a critical role in preventing a crisis in space.

"This rotation is especially interested in planning," said Dr. William J. Clancey, a NASA scientist who is commanding the mission at the Mars Desert Research Station. "Can we plan our work for several days in advance, at least, so Mission Support will have enough details to help us."

Dr. Clancey, 49, is chief scientist for Human-Centered Computing at NASA's Ames Research Center in Sunnyvale California.

During the next two weeks, his crew will bunk in an unusual two-story structure that looks like a cross between a white grain silo and a stubby Apollo space capsule. The stark, reddish terrain appears eerily similar to the Martian landscape.

The crew can emerge only in tightly controlled circumstances, wearing fabricated spacesuits and communicating via handheld radios with their fellow crew members inside their temporary home away from Earth. Talking with Mission Control during an actual mission to Mars would be pointless, when a reply from such a distance would take 10-40 minutes.

The other members of the crew on this mission are:

  • Dr. Vladimir Pletser, 46, is a native of Brussels, Belgium. He is an astronaut candidate for Belgium working at the European Space Agency and is also project manager for an instrument being developed for the International Space Station.
  • Dr. Nancy B. Wood, 60, an experimental scientist with a doctorate in microbiology from Rutgers University. She is interested in how microorganisms adapt to harsh environments, such as could be found on Mars.
  • Jan Osburg, 30, an aerospace engineer at the Space Systems Institute in Stuttgart, Germany. His specialty is human spaceflight and design of inhabited space systems.
  • David Real, 49, a journalist for Belo Interactive and a former reporter and assistant Metro editor for The Dallas Morning News. He and Dr. Clancey were roommates at Rice University in the early 1970s.
  • Andrea Fori, 32, a planetary geologist and systems engineer with Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. in Sunnyvale, Calif. She helped choose a landing site for the first NASA mission designed to bring back rocks from Mars.

The team assembled in Salt Lake City late Saturday, spent several hours and hundreds of dollars buying food and other provisions, and finally embarked on a five-hour drive to Hanksville, arriving about 2 a.m. Sunday.

After four hours of sleep, the crew boarded two vans jammed with equipment and provisions and headed toward the Hab to relieve the current crew, the fourth to make a two-week stay. Less than two hours later, Dr. Judith Lapierre, a space scientist at the University of Quebec in Hull, handed command of the Habitat to Dr. Clancey, and a new chapter had begun. It didn't begin auspiciously. A crew member discovered that one of his bags containing vital prescription medicine had been lost. Fortunately, another bag carried his backup medication.

Attempts to hook up the crew's computers to the base station were unsuccessful. By choice, there is no telephone service available, in order that the project may more closely mimic the isolation that crews will face on Mars. So the Habitat's satellite dish provides the only authorized connection to the outside world via the Internet, and computer networking is vital.

After several hours of unpacking, the crew met to learn the rules of everyday life on the station and to assign mundane chores, such as cleaning toilets and cooking dinner.

Our organizational meeting was interrupted several times by visitors who lived nearby and had learned of the Mars mission. They would be our last for the next two weeks.

The day ended shortly after midnight with an exhausted crew, and no solution to our computer problems.

The next day, however, would officially kick off the simulation. On Monday morning, the hatch would close on planet Earth and the crew would open the doors on its new mission: exploring a future on Mars.

Health & Safety Officer Reports

Jan Osburg Reporting

Safety:

Fire safety information and emergency procedures were compiled and posted on the second level. Locations of fire extinguishers and emergency egress routes were clearly marked. To prepare crewmembers for a possible evacuation using the roof hatch escape route, Nancy taught everyone how to use the "roof rope" to rappel down a vertical wall.

Health:

Procedures for medical emergencies were compiled from the HSO manual and posted near the HabComm station. No injuries or illnesses were reported.

Engineering Report

Jan Osburg Reporting

Water Systems: Water consumption in the last 24 hours: 150 l (40 gallons), which seems high considering that nobody took a shower. Potential culprits: leaks, not fully established water discipline, or (most likely) the planting/seeding of the GreenHab trays which took place today (see science and EVA reports).

Power and Fuel: The new generator, which was installed yesterday by Frank Schubert and his team, works flawlessly. The only blackout occurred when too many kitchen appliances were running (but it was worth it, our DGO - Director of Galley Operations - of the day, Vladimir, produced excellent meals!) We are currently refueling the generator in the morning before 09:00h, then in the afternoon around 16:00h, and finally before going to bed, around midnight. We have not run out of fuel yet, so this schedule seems to work.

EVA Equipment (including ATVs and PEV): Yesterday, we also received three brand new ATVs, on loan from sponsor Kawasaki. They run great, and we are looking forward to many exciting motorized EVAs. Lamont took the three old ATVs back. Today's EVAs went fine, but some recommendations were already issued:

  • The Platypus water bags and associated hoses should be replaced every month or so to mitigate potential hygiene problems. Spares should be stored at the hab.
  • The mouthpieces should be disinfected before a new crew uses them (by immersion in Ethanol?).
  • Each crewmember should have a "personal" helmet assigned to him/her during a rotation, to assure maintenance and reduce hygiene concerns.
  • Small topo maps of the area with superimposed lat/lon or UTM coordinate grid, laminated and mounted on a board, would help with navigation and documentation of EVA traverses.

Safety: No Data Received

Computers and Communications: A UPS was installed to assure HabComm power supply during generator failures/refueling. Testing revealed some problems which will have to be fixed before the UPS can be considered operational. Most crewmembers' computers were successfully connected to the MDRS LAN. The Net2Phone link to the Flight Surgeon was successfully tested.

General Maintenance & Waste Management: Biolet seems to be working properly, however it is clearly operating on the edge of its capacity. Recommendation for subsequent hab designs: provide two Biolets to a) provide a backup in case one breaks down, and b) reduce continuous load by half, which should result in significantly less olfactory impact.

GreenHab: No Data Received

Geology Report

Andrea Fori Reporting

The Rotation #5 geology study plan was discussed with the team in the morning meeting. During this rotation, we intend to accomplish two goals.

Goal 1: As the last formal crew of the first MDRS season we will broadly assess the geological achievements and process used by the last four crews. This information, synthesized into a series of reports over the course of our two weeks here, will describe the information from two perspectives a) From the perspective of the Earthbound scientist. Assuming that an Earthbound scientist would have only access to the information posted on the web, I'm going to look at ways posted info can be better communicated so that scientists can use the info being sent back from the red planet. b) From the perspective of the in-person view. As a traveler who arrives at Mars after others have begun research, I need to determine if I can decipher notes and gain an understanding of the local geology, reproduce EVA's, figure out where samples are from, etc. The team will be conducting EVAs during this portion of the study to verify our findings. Weaving in what I believe Earth-bound scientist would want to know, from the perspective of planetary geologists, astrogeologists and geo-engineers I'll make suggested improvements for how and what information is recorded and relayed.

Goal 2: Create an overall geological primer of the area so that a non-geologist staff crew member can gain a basic understanding of the local geology.

EVA 61 Report

18:20-19:18 - Duration: 3:18-4:36

Objective: To plant seeds in both rock wool cubes and potting soil to set up GreenHab experiment.

Personnel: Vladimir Pletser, Nancy Wood in full suit; Bill Clancey in helmet only to photograph.

Methods:

Experimental test to compare four rapidly sprouting seed types (alfalfa, arugula, radish, and tatsoi) planted in both rockwool and potting soil. Both will be kept damp with the same circulated Greenhab water preparation. Seeds in potting soil will be kept moist manually. Germination times will be observed and compared, as well as relative growth rates. Observations will be carried out by all crew members; those on EVA will do it in full suit, while maintenance and measurements will be done by VP and NW and others simulating the proposed "virtual tunnel".

Lessons Learned:

We prepared for this by setting up a procedure for planting single seeds (which varied in size), since this is very difficult to do with the suit gloves on. It was still difficult and time-consuming, and sometimes more than one seed was deposited. It would be helpful to have a small workspace in the GreenHab.

EVA 62 Report

18:20-19:18

Objective(s) The intent of this EVA was to search for a windy and dusty location for Nancy's "Transportation of bio materials via wind" study to be set up during a future EVA. This EVA was also an introductory, brief pedestrian, familiarization exercise for the three participants.

Accomplishments

We identified three locations for Nancy to install her sample collection stations. The locations are local, open, high spots where it appears likely that relatively high amount of dirt would become airborne. We recorded GPS coordinates and maximum wind speed that occurred during a 10-second period (see map).

Lessons Learned/Misc. Notes

Some adjustments need to be made to the suits for more a more proper fit. Dave's headset became disconnected and he was not able to participate in Capcom communications. Communications originating from Capcom were often relatively loud and muddled - suggestion was made to speak in a normal tone and 30-60 cm away from the wall-mounted unit.

April 9, 2002

Commander's Logbook

Dr. Bill Clancey Reporting

The previous evening we worked on reports after dinner until about 2230, then we reviewed my DVD compilation, "Best of Devon 2001," consisting of artistic and humorous videos from my stay in FMARS and the Haughton-Mars base camp last July.

0910-1010 Planning meeting. We are picking up speed, as our plans evolve from initial thoughts to a series of steps and follow-ups. We are still not looking ahead beyond the present day, but focusing on immediate, pressing needs.

1010-1300 Individual work: Reporting, reviewing previous crew's reports, handling visitor requests (not allowed, this is a simulation of a crew on Mars), and a variety of personal tasks, such as medications review and reading a geology primer of the region.

1300-1415 An unexpectedly formal, long, and delightful lunch prepared by today's Director of Galley Operations, David Real. We sit and talk about a recent astrobiology press release and what could be learned about publishing information about scientific work before it is has been peer-reviewed.

1430-1500 Andrea Fori, our resident geologist/engineer, presented an introduction to geology and regional formations. The crew finds this fascinating and useful.

1600-1730 A lengthy EVA preparation, including equipment cleaning, testing, and suiting up.

1730-1915 A mobile (ATV) EVA to seek wet areas for soil sampling. This will be reported in detail separately.

1915-2030 Cleanup and email. Reading my email and reporting is taking at least a fourth of my time.

2030 dinner is announced-- Mexican-Martian Treat with Martian "Eggs" over Pineapple (it's a Martian yoke, get it?)

Bill Clancey

MDRS Rotation 5 Commander

Health & Safety Officer Reports

Jan Osburg Reporting

Safety:

Some fuel spilled during generator tank refueling. Lesson learned: always watch the tank level during refueling!

Also, trash bags stored in rear airlock were found to block easy egress (escape route).

A fire drill was held after dinner. The HSO activated a fire alarm on the first level and announced that the Biolet was on fire. Crew response was well coordinated, following the fire procedures posted yesterday. The commander and a crewmember "fought" the simulated fire using handheld extinguishers while the rest of the crew was ordered to evacuate. After the "fire" was extinguished, a debriefing resulted in various updates of the fire procedures. Recommendation: six disposable emergency smoke hoods (e.g. Evac-U8 brand) should be kept on the upper floor to permit crewmembers to escape down the main ladder in spite of smoke, thus giving them a better chance of controlling fires on the first level and avoiding use of alternate evacuation routes (window/ladder, roof hatch). HSO will also investigate possible use of potable water tank/pump and additional hoses for firefighting.

Health:

Inventoried and reorganized the MDRS first aid kit. Most items were present in sufficient quantities; some were added by HSO.

The first aid supplies were arranged into seven components:

  • A general-purpose first aid case
  • A small first aid kit to be taken on EVAs (stored in main airlock)
  • A case with first aid material for eye injuries
  • A box with non-prescription medications
  • A lockbox with prescription medications (to be released by order of Flight Surgeon only)
  • A box with miscellaneous bulky first aid equipment (cervical collars, books, …)
  • A box with additional consumables, mainly extra bandaging material, for refilling the other first aid kits

Medical incidents:

  • Two band-aids and Neosporin were issued for treatment of a minor skin abrasion
  • The DGO (Director of Galley Operations, i.e. cook) touched a hot onion and suffered a first-degree burn on a knuckle (first aid measure: application of cool water for 5 minutes).

Engineering Report

Jan Osburg Reporting

Water Systems: Water consumption in the last 24 hours: 130 l (34 gallons). Recommendation: it would be nice to have a water meter in the potable water line, to get more accurate water use figures. Currently, water use is measured by reading the water level of the tank using a handwritten, external scale on the tank.

Power and Fuel: Generator fuel is running low, available supplies will last until tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon. Mission Control was contacted to arrange for resupply through local support.

Recommendation for future generators: get one with a large built-in tank so only one refill per day (or even less) is required.

EVA Equipment (including ATVs and PEV): GPS units for EVA use were set to the required coordinate system (UTM, NAD 27 datum) so waypoints can be directly plotted onto the USGS topo map in the hab, and recorded on the EVA database spreadsheet on Habcom.

EVA communications broke down during todays EVA due to problems with the radios. Recommendation: acquire ruggedized, easy-to-operate handheld radios that can be operated with EVA gloves on (and by relatively inexperienced personnel). These are available for FRS frequencies, so the repeater and the Habcomm base station can still be used. Also regarding the radios, a portable/wireless headset for the Habcomm operator would be nice so he/she could walk around the hab while still being "on-call" for EVA requests. And, finally, the PTT button for the radios should be replaced by a VOX circuit (that activates the emitter whenever the microphone picks up sound above a certain - adjustable - level).

Safety: (see "Health and Safety Report")

Computers and Communications: Nothing to report.

General Maintenance & Waste Management: The "composting material" bucket for the Biolet is slowly being emptied; resupply is required soon.

GreenHab: (see "Biology" report)

Geology Report

Andrea Fori Reporting

We tried to reach a previously recorded waypoint today (see EVA #63 report). The intent of this exercise was to become comfortable with the Because the terrain is so varied, it was impossible to find the waypoint without destroying a fair amount of vegetation. It's obvious that the route that was taken to reach a waypoint should be recorded as well as the waypoint for future reference. Work continues on generally assessing achievements and processes.

EVA 63 Report

18:20-19:18 - Bill Clancey, Andrea Fori & Nancy Wood

Objective(s) To obtain sample for setup of ecosystem columns; attempt to revisit Waypoint 86, known to be usually wet.

Accomplishments

We departed on ATVs in the direction of Waypoint 86. Since the attempted route was impractical and a thunderstorm was visible nearby, we returned by the same route. Three vials of red-brown soil were collected at the confluence of two obvious dry rivulets to provide a sample of "intermittently wet" material. This site is now designated Waypoint 108, coordinates 5 18 180E, 42 50 504N

After returning the ATVs to the Hab, we proceeded a short distance to rock outcroppings obviously subjected to storm drainage and which were covered with ochre-colored microbial material. A small pebble covered with this growth was collected for biology experimentation. Waypoint information on this site will follow.

Lessons Learned/Misc. Notes

Samples required for biology projects were collected successfully. Route finding to previously established waypoints is nontrivial and requires advance planning.

April 10, 2002

Commander's Logbook

Dr. Bill Clancey Reporting

David Real finds a quiet corner (the EVA Prep Room) to interview Andrea Fori.

We were all tired again last night, so we skipped the movie session. But as usual some of the crew were writing reports past midnight and even until 0200.

0345 Traversing to the toilet, I discover I've left the time lapse video running. It's a serendipitous, for now we have a record of when everyone went to bed. The time lapse for the 20 hours or so I have captured (one 320x240 pixel frame every 3 seconds) is about 750 MB. I turn it off before returning to my stateroom.

0715 I awaken at almost the same time each day. Whatever bug I might have picked up over the weekend appears to have passed; I feel almost rested. However, everyone else is sleeping later today. I turn on the hot water heater and wait 45 minutes, using the time to bring back our internet connection. It proves difficult, so finally I decide to take a shower. A previous crew had reported it's not warm; I say it's not cold. There's always a temptation for me to tell the crew, "If you were at FMARS on Devon Island, you'd see..." For starters, the upper deck is always at least 20C in the morning, a rare temperature during July in FMARS.

I record the temperatures for the past 24 hours:

Nancy Wood is happy and productive in the hab's lab.

Maximum outside 27.8 C (82 F); Maximum inside 25.6 C (78.1 F)

Minimum outside 10.8 C (51.4 F); Minimum inside 18.4 C (65.1 F)

0815 The crew is stirring; I turn to my email so I can review mission support's responses during our morning meeting.

0910 Morning Planning Meeting: Most of the crew are still eating, but we launch into the meeting. I want to reinforce this regular schedule and begin by promising we will hold to an hour, as we do. I save and rename the previous day's plan, review the important new items (our communications protocol, a new task for the Engineer--to charge and test the suit radios and backpacks, and our need for fuel before nightfall). We review the action items from yesterday, reminding people of open tasks. We then formally go through each person's plan for the day. Afterwards, I forward this plan to Mission Support so they can track our activities and intentions.

Vladimir Pletser learns about the Ecologger system for the Greenhouse, using a tutorial prepared by R.D."Gus" Frederick (Mars Society - Oregon Chapter)

A key activity today will be to prepare an EVA plan for the remainder of the mission, including at least one EVA/day. We decide to base this on Nancy Wood's soil sampling and my interest in creating an illustrated geology primer. It develops that our key problem is separating the prevous rotation's records ("waypoints") into those useful for finding routes and those that mark places of interest. Yesterday, we found that it is difficult to go back to waypoints because most do not have routes indicated. We ask mission support for help. They have sent an updated list of candidate waypoints for us to examine, but it is empty (probably just a shortcut). Reporting this problem becomes another task on my to do list.

We record the basic schedule for the day on a simple pad, so we can compare our plans to what happens.

1010-1300 Individual work. Vladimir and Nancy are learning about the Ecologger for the greenhouse. They follow Gus Frederick's tutorial and set up the program. Andrea is still struggling with a PC that has locked her out, but she uses the hab computer to review previous records. Jan gets busy with the radios. David interviews Andrea. I am busy with email and chores, finding only 10 minutes to talk to Andrea about our EVA plan--nearly 1.5 hours late and a sliver of needs to be done.

Jan has splinted the dish drainer with duct tape, a pen, and a pencil

1300-1350 We enjoy an informal lunch together. This is a key moment to take a breath and sit back. We have been buzzing around the hab all morning, and this will continue for at least another six hours into the evening. This time to regroup keeps us going.

1350-1420 Individuals scramble in ways that are difficult to track--for I use these few moments to take a nap. (The time lapse video will later help me reconstruct what everyone else was doing.)

1420-1445 Jan gives a very clear, basic introduction to the GPS system, how to use these devices, and how they relate to the maps left behind in the hab. We must be careful especially to recognize when a position lock has occurred (difficult to see with the helmet), so we can record new waypoints.

1445-1625 I'm back with email for the third time today, handling press requests. We explain that a closed simulation is like Mars--no visitors. We will be the first MDRS rotation to be truly isolated, save for periodic fuel and water resupply visits from Lamont Ekker, our vital link to Hanskville, Earth.

Jan Osburg outdoes himself yet again, improvising fly paper made from duct tape and molasses.

1625-1810 I prepare dinner: A rich vegetarian tomato sauce, spaghettini, and bean salad. I also wash the day's dishes. We've learned that astronauts are using wet towels for some clean up on the International Space Station. Will MDRS provide lessons that ISS cannot, given that we have gravity here and can wash dishes normally in a sink?

1810-1910 I rearrange the stereo speakers for our movie tonight (we need an RCA jack extension), take photos of Nancy working in the lab, and coordinate with David the publishing of photos on the web. Packaging 10 photos has taken me over an hour today, including downloading from the camera, backup, cataloging, selecting the best from 240 photos, and writing captions. The first two attempts to send these photos fails from the network problems.

1910-1948 I write this report. Including this time, I've spent at least 5 hours at my laptop processing email or writing today. This is surely a big activity for all of us--and those not actively using a laptop are often trying to get it to work (e.g., David spent about an hour adjusting his PC to recognize a USB flash drive).

1950-2000 Out on the rocky plains, among the rounded hills of our Morrison Formation setting, the EVA crew of Andrea and Vladimir has reported back some interesting route-finding, which they will report separately. (Our EVA and science reports, as well as photos, will be posted when we have time to prepare the materials, usually within two days.) We ask them to return as it is getting dark and dinner is ready.

Bill Clancey

MDRS Rotation 5 Commander

Health & Safety Officer Reports

Jan Osburg Reporting

Safety:

An additional fire extinguisher was discovered in the EVA prep room next to the main airlock. It was checked and its position marked.

A smoke detector previously mounted on the side of the main stairs was removed, as there is already a smoke detector in the stairwell. It was remounted on the third level, near the roof hatch, as this is where all smoke from the hab will rise to.

In the evening, as a thunderstorm was passing over the hab, lightning occurred in the vicinity. The question arose whether the hab had sufficient lightning protection; the answer is being awaited from Mission Support.

The metal weather station pole on top of the hab was definitely not grounded, and static buildup was heard and felt that increased in intensity until we observed almost continuous sparking where the pole passed through the hab roof close to a metal roof beam. As this presented a fire hazard, the crew prepared for a rapid response to an eventual fire. After the thunderstorm passed and the static electricity generation subsided, the weather pole was grounded by connecting it to the metal roof structure using the ATV starter cables and a clamp. This is only a temporary fix, and a permanent solution has to be found.

Health:

A big ol' fly was observed escaping from the Biolet after the lid was opened. It was subsequently hunted down and brought to justice. We will have to keep an eye on the situation.

Two small insects and some minor dirt particles were discovered upon inspection of the outside potable water tank. We will have to clean it before the next refill.

No medical incidents were reported.

Engineering Report

Jan Osburg Reporting

Water Systems: Water consumption in the last 24 hours: 195 l (51 gallons), due to 5 crewmembers taking a shower in the morning.

Power and Fuel: The remaining 19 l (5 gal) fuel can was emptied into the generator tank around 10:30h this morning. Lamont came by around 19:00h and extracted more fuel from the barrel by tilting it. He will bring two full barrels tomorrow.

Generator fuel consumption: approximately one five-gallon can (19 l) every 10 hours, equaling 45 l (12 gal) per day. One barrel (55 gal) will therefore last for 4.5 days if used only for the generator. Of course, if fuel is used for ATVs, this number will be lower.

It was discovered that oil was leaking from the air filter of the generator. Investigation revealed more oil inside the air filter casing. This might be due to a recent topping-off of the generator oil, however we will observe this in case the leak continues. (Follow-up: oil does not leak while the generator is running, it only seems to leak when the generator is stopped. Strange.)

EVA Equipment (including ATVs and PEV): Radios were checked and two sets of batteries were replaced. Headsets were checked and two broken attachment clips were replaced. Headsets are now stored in individual Ziploc bags to avoid tangled wires.

Some radio settings were changed to improve performance:

  • Set TX power to HIGH
  • Activated key beep (every time a key is pressed, a beep sounds; this replaces the missing tactile feedback when wearing EVA gloves)
  • Activated "Over" beep (this sounds every time the PTT button is released and thus saves the operator from having to say "Over" at the end of every transmission)

The present radios also have a VOX setting, but sensitivity seems not high enough for use with helmet-mounted microphones. This leaves detachable PTT keys as the best option for fatigue-free operation of PTT keys, which would also permit to keep radios protected in EVA suit pockets.

The new high power setting of the radio also allows Habcom operator to use a spare handheld radio so he/she does not have to stay close to the wall-mounted Habcom station any more.

An introductory lesson covering GPS navigation basics and operation of GPS receivers was given. A two-page GPS quick reference was created for use by EVA crew during EVAs.

Safety: (see "Health and Safety Report")

Computers and Communications: Computers: nothing to report.

Communications: see "EVA Equipment", above

General Maintenance & Waste Management: The "composting material" bucket for the Biolet was refilled from one of two big bags of composting material found near the back airlock.

Due to windspeeds of 75 km/h during gusts, the EVA team took down the MDRS flag on their way out. It was stored in the lab area on the lower floor.

GreenHab: (see "Biology" report)

Geology Report

Andrea Fori Reporting

We set out today to capture GPS coordinates where they were missing from the former EVA waypoints (see EVA #64 report) and to make another attempt at reaching waypoint #86. We were unsuccessful in reaching the waypoint thus reinforcing the necessity to record the route. We conducted a wonderful broad survey of the area and obtained more photos for the geology primer.

EVA 64 Report

18:20-19:18 - Andrea Fori & Vladimir

Objective(s) The intent of this EVA was to collect GPS coordinates with elevation for the Greenhab and the points where Nancy collected samples yesterday during EVA 63 (2 locations). This EVA was also a re-attempt to reach waypoint #86.

Accomplishments

We collected coordinates for the green hab and the first of Nancy's bio collection sites. We spent 2 hours trying to reach waypoint 86 with no success. However, we passed Candor Chasma, took photos for the geology study, got stuck on a sand dune and on the way home had a spectacular view of the hab from a nearby ridge. Just before entering the hab, we collected coordinates for Nancy's second sample collection site.

Lessons Learned/Misc. Notes

Finding a previously recorded waypoint can potentially be challenging to impossible if the route taken was not recorded. The local terrain is extremely variable and one wrong turn can result in one not being able to reach the destination.

Another lesson learned - Sand dunes approximately 3 feet high and wide are to be avoided.

April 11, 2002

Vladimir Pletser and Jan Osburg arranged a radio so it could actually be seen while being used.

Commander's Logbook

Dr. Bill Clancey Reporting

Last night during dinner, we were treated to a bizarre lightning experience. Sparks were arching from the metal weather mast (an interesting concept in itself) to the frame of the hab above the upper deck. These sparks became more insistent and louder, then finally the landscape flashed with light as a bolt struck nearby. The sparking stopped. We continued eating, and then it all started again. The storm passed before long, and we heard rain. Now we know what it is like to live inside a Faraday cage.

After I washed the dinner dishes (we are an egalitarian bunch), and after we finally forced the LCD projector to accept my laptop's video, we watched "Red Planet." Although bearing little resemblance to our situation (or what anyone might reasonably expect), we enjoy the overtones of travel to Mars and the sight of the planet (filmed in Jordan and Australia). Most of us are asleep before 0100.

0720 The hab is noticeably colder, the sky clear, and my crewmates sound asleep. It's another slow start and struggle to get my computer back on the internet, involving three of us experimenting with different cables in different places. Simply rebooting everything works, until we must turn off the power to refill the generator. And then we re-reboot.

Meanwhile, I have restarted the time lapse video, had a glass of orange juice, and recorded the temperatures:

Maximum outside 26 C (78.8 F); Maximum inside 25.6 C (78.1 F)

Minimum outside 5.6 C (42.1 F); Minimum inside 18.6 C (65.5 F)

0830 I'm finally on line and reading last night's mail from mission support. They are doing a superb job. Everything is answered and with a final summary of open items.

0905-1020 Morning Planning Meeting: We appear to be hitting our stride. The crew is volunteering multiple activities per person, and we are carrying over things from the previous day. Having recorded yesterday's plan, I can see what people said they would do, which I would have otherwise forgotten. This helps me monitor our productivity, which is becoming a topic to consider.

We are all feeling productive, but why? I ask myself, what have I done in the past day that makes me feel productive: Writing about new ideas; cataloging and selecting photographs; writing regular reports; taking good photos; everyone else being happy and productive; having the time lapse working (full day); and (somewhat oddly) having watched a movie.

What makes me feel unproductive? How about having spent two hours trying to email 10 photographs? (I repackage them to send one at a time, then I use a graphics program to cut the compressed size in half to about 200k. Still after nearly 30 hours, I have one more to force through again.)

We are all monitoring our progress. And on our fourth day it appears right to be taking stock. I resolve to ask the crew about this at dinner. Are you feeling productive? Why or why not?

1020-1300 Individual work. While trying to send those photos, I read a NASA report from June 1975, "An Optimum Organizational Structure for a Large Earth-Orbiting Multidisciplinary Space Base," by James M. Ragusa, then of JFK Space Center. Twenty-two analog social systems are compared along different work, interpersonal, and organizational parameters. The missions include Skylab, Bomber Crews, Antarctic Stations, Mental Hospital Wards, a research submarine, R&D; Laboratories, and so on. Oddly, "Exploration parties and Expeditions" doesn't make the top-10 cut, because the imagined "Space Base" would not involve traveling over a physical environment and would have a more tightly coupled interaction with a support organization. Though the conclusions would have to be reworked for a "Mars Base," the approach is broad and useful. Only two items seem especially dated, 1) the reference to values that "accept the American way of life" and 2) the mockup of a space station module, which vaguely resembles an old mainframe computer room!

1300-1430 Lunch, including a tutorial by David Real on how to help media understand what we are doing here. David has prepared a full-page handout that fascinates us. We realize two things: 1) the oversimplifications that make us cringe (e.g., the CBS Evening News title, "Mars Madness") may be helpful in getting the attention of a large audience, and 2) it is our responsibility to construct succinct, specific, and imaginative talking points. Just as one would prepare for a public talk, we need to prepare to talk to the press. We decide to work on this and have another meeting before our open house at the end of the rotation. Inspired by the discussion, I already have a new slogan, "If you liked Tang, you'll love Mars."

1430-1530 More individual work. I notice people are gravitating to favorite places. You can usually find me in my stateroom, and David also works on his laptop in his stateroom. Vladimir would prefer to do that too, but his ethernet cable is not connected. So he sits along the workstation area just next to Jan. Jan may also be working at the wardroom table, where he likes to lay out medications and medical gadgets. Or he might be anywhere, as he silently fixes and improves things all over the hab. Andrea is always seated at the hab computer, working on a comprehensive EVA plan for the next eight days. (She would apparently prefer to be using her own laptop at the workstation area. She's still locked out by a security system meant to prevent improper use of her computer, and meanwhile is unable to get the password because the powers that be are trying to page her!) Meanwhile, Nancy is happily growing things in the biology lab. She and Vladimir also work in the greenhouse. The first seeds have sprouted; Vladimir asks: seeing this, what does it mean to you?

1530-1930 We begin an interleaved double EVA, following a schedule I've posted on the wall:

EVA 65: Nancy and David, walk to windy spots to deploy a "wind catcher" (you'll have to read her report) -- 1545 suitup; 1630 egress; 1700 return.

EVA 66: David, Bill, and Vladimir to take ATVs to furthest areas to survey our domain, so we can better understand the map and past EVA reports -- 1615 suitup; 1700 egress; 1930 return.

The schedule is kept, except our egress is 30 minutes delayed by an experiment in wiring Vladimir's radio up his sleeve, so he can see it (what an idea). This works well, though next time he'll move it further from his wrist.

In considering our recent EVA experience, I realize that navigation is a fundamental problem in exploration. Historical explorers knew this very well, but few of us have first-hand experience in exploring huge tracts of new land. I need a voice in my helmet that tells me where I am relative to my (GPS-defined) destination and what direction to go. Handling paper maps or even a GPS is tedious and unnecessary. Beyond this, we need some way for routes to be found from Earth and communicated to us on Mars. This time we've stayed on the main roads and well-defined ATV trails, though I will need to study the map to know exactly where I have been.

Sighting the hab on our return at dusk, I imagine the warm and comfortable rooms inside; it sits elegantly white and sturdy, nestled in a small elbow of line of rounded orange hills, feeling like a refuge--our habitat. You know that, seeing the Mars hab on Mars itself, our future explorers will surely feel this same gratitude and pleasure.

2040 Dinner is delayed, but I'm glad to have extra time to write my report. Vladimir entertains the crew with the telescope, pointing out the sights. Nancy says, "What could possibly be better than viewing an absolutely magical sky, while somebody else is cooking dinner?" Everyone laughs.

Bill Clancey

MDRS Rotation 5 Commander

Health & Safety Officer Reports

Jan Osburg Reporting

Safety:

Using the potable water pump for firefighting was evaluated. Firefighting with this pump seems advisable in case the hab fire extinguishers have been used up and the fire is still not under control. Proposed procedure (will be tested during another fire drill tomorrow):

  1. During evacuation, one of the generator refill team takes the water pump from its storage place in the tools area near the rear airlock. He also takes the orange extension cord from the tool bench closet. He moves both to the outside potable water tank and immerses the suction hose of the pump into the tank.
  2. He proceeds to the generator and disconnects the green power cable from the generator plug panel.
  3. He then goes back to near the water tank and unplugs the yellow extension cord leading to the hab from the orange generator cable (plug is located approx. 3 m NW of the potable water tank). He connects the orange extension cord to the orange generator cable. Now the hab should be without electrical power, thus eliminating the risk of electric shock during subsequent firefighting.
  4. In the meantime, the other generator team member removes the sprinkler hose and attaches one end to the water pump outlet. She then takes the other end and gets ready to fight the fire.
  5. After making sure that the hab has no electrical power, the first generator team member connects the water pump cable to the other end of the orange extension cord to start the water pump. He then assists the other generator team member with firefighting. The airlocks were identified as possible "safe havens" where crew could retreat to in case of rapid decompression of hab. This requires that the airlocks are build large enough to can accommodate all crewmembers as well as their EVA suits, and still have enough remaining space to allow crewmembers to don the suits.

Health:

Another big ol' fly was observed (and killed) in the Biolet room. As an immediate measure, two pieces of duct tape were coated with a mix of molasses and honey, thus converting them into makeshift fly paper, and suspended from the ceiling in the affected area. Looks like fly season just opened...

No medical incidents were reported.

Engineering Report

Jan Osburg Reporting

Water Systems: Water consumption in the last 24 hours: 176 l (46 gallons), with one shower taken.

The water refill hose developed a bent spot where it enters the hab close to the roof due to the bending radius there being to small. This should be fixed to avoid excessive load on the water pump. Recommendation: provide a second water pump to assure hab water supply in case the main one breaks down (it seems to be operating at the limit of its specs). The water tank will be refilled by Lamont tomorrow.

Power and Fuel: Lamont brought the fuel just in time for the next refill. The hab now has more than a week's supply of generator and ATV fuel.

The generator oil leak seems small enough not to require any major repairs; we just have to keep an eye on the oil level and top it off every day.

Recommendation: TYVEK suits should be provided to generator refill team members to protect them from eventual gasoline spills, and to keep the gasoline smell/vapors away from their clothing.

Generator fuel consumption: approximately one five-gallon can (19 l) every 10 hours, equaling 45 l (12 gal) per day. One barrel (55 gal) will therefore last for 4.5 days if used only for the generator. Of course, if fuel is used for ATVs, this number will be lower.

It was discovered that oil was leaking from the air filter of the generator. Investigation revealed more oil inside the air filter casing. This might be due to a recent topping-off of the generator oil, however we will observe this in case the leak continues. (Follow-up: oil does not leak while the generator is running, it only seems to leak when the generator is stopped. Strange.)

EVA Equipment (including ATVs and PEV): Vladimir tested a new way of mounting the EVA radios to improve ergonomics: duct-taped to the lower left sleeve, with the headset wire running inside the sleeve. This is compatible with the EVA suit mirror wristband and an attached watch, making the left arm the "utiliy" arm and leaving the right free.

Recommendation: as the radios seem to require lots of batteries, rechargeable battery packs and associated chargers should be acquired, as the radios are designed to accommodate them easily.

EVA backpack 5 is down with a battery problem (switch, fuse and fans work, but the battery is dead and refuses to accept charging current). Recommendation: provide a battery charge status indicator on the EVA backpacks.

Another issue that came up during debriefing was the fact that about 30 minutes of oxygen prebreathing time would probably be required on a Mars base. To simulate this, a supply of general-purpose filter masks should be provided so EVA crew experiences realistic constraints before commencing EVA.

From today, every EVA crew will take along 20 m of strong rope for towing of ATVs and for belaying of crew during pedestrian descents, duct tape, a compass as a backup navigation aid, and a small first aid kit.

Safety: (see "Health and Safety Report")

Computers and Communications: David updated and revised the MDRS IT Manual, incorporating our lessons learned.

To connect portable computers to the hab stereo system, a long (10 m) audio cable with 3.5mm jacks is needed, along with an adapter from 3.5 mm to audio cinch (standard amplifier input). This equipment is available in all electronics stores.

Communications: see "EVA Equipment", above

General Maintenance & Waste Management: The two small general-purpose multimeters in the tools area do not work. A high-quality multimeter should be acquired (the existing Fluke 32 mentioned in one of the earlier reports is designed only for high-voltage, high-amp applications). A stock of long nails, wire, and rope in various diameters should be provided.

GreenHab: (see "Biology" report)

Geology Report

Andrea Fori reporting.

More photos for geology primer obtained. Explored area.

EVA 65 Report

Duration: 16:22-17:10 - David Real & Nancy Wood

Objective(s) Pedestrian EVA to install windblown dust collection devices at waypoint 102, which was previously established to be windy. A preliminary hole was dug before inserting the bamboo stakes on which the collection vials were mounted. The open end of the vials were facing the prevailing very light breeze.

Accomplishments

This was an easy EVA, and GPS navigation to the waypoint was straightforward.

EVA 66 Report

18:20-19:18 - Duration: 17:20-19:30

(coincidentally these are within ten minutes of EVA 63)

Personnel:

Bill Clancey (reporting), Vladimir Pletser, and David Real

Objective(s) To become oriented to major geological features around the hab; to find previously documented waypoints; and to investigate two routes Clancey had been shown during the March reconnaissance.

Accomplishments

We departed on ATVs north, in the direction of Waypoint 18, to find outcroppings noted by a previous crew. We visually identified these, but not definitively. The GPS reading was inconsistent with the previous record. We proceeded down the road towards Waypoint 15, but encountered a herd of Martian cattle on the road (named by their uncanny resemblance to Earth cattle). With the cattlemen nearby, we chose to avoid disturbing the herd and reversed course. On return, we chose an ATV trail towards the West and verified that it would bring us to the Mid-Ridge Planitia. Along the way, we noted often wet ravines and a grassy filled-in pond that might be of interest to Nancy Wood.

Passing the hab, we continued south, looking for a previously used route to the Mid-Ridge Planitia. After becoming familiar with the area, but not finding any obvious west-trending roads, we returned to the hab. A GPS reading for the turnoff would have been useful.

On return, we found that the waypoints we recorded for intersections do not correspond to the map; the cause is yet to be determined.

Lessons Learned/Misc. Notes

We confirmed the lesson of EVA 63 that route finding to previously established waypoints is nontrivial and requires advance planning. We determined that every crew member going on an EVA must be able to use a GPS. We require maps that we can mark in the field. An ideal system would provide audio directions through the helmet and enable voice commanding for waypoint setting, while driving, rather than the current tedious GPS device manipulations.

April 12, 2002

Commander's Logbook

Dr. Bill Clancey Reporting

Dinner was delayed until well past 2100, but most of us did not mind, for we had so much to do. We were treated to Jan Osburg's spicy Candor Chasma Chicken and potatoes. Afterwards, I showed my "Devon Video Shorts," ranging from the humorous (ATV stuck in a creek) to the thought-provoking (Jim Rice talking about Mars) and the sublime (a helicopter ride to Thomas Lee Inlet, with music prepared for the Grand Canyon). My stateroom light was out at 1140, which seemed too late.

0700 I sneak out of my stateroom in a towel and flip on the hot water heater.

0715 Feeling rested, I dress and egress, and this time find Nancy preparing coffee. I record the temperatures:

Maximum outside 23.4 C (74.1 F); Maximum inside 25C (77 F)

Minimum outside 11C (51.8 F); Minimum inside 17.5C (63.5 F)

I allow Nancy the first shower, and sit down to begin reading email--still an hour before I will have breakfast. Quickly enough, I get my chance to wash, and feel invigorated. This is the way to start a day, for sure, but our rationing does not allow it often. (Indeed, we are running short of water and expect to be reprovisioned today. But our supplier never shows up.)

After a quick breakfast of juice and cereal, I check the Hanksville weather--a dramatic change from the previous day: Temperatures rising to the upper 80s are forecast this weekend, with possible snow showers Tuesday and a low of 25F! I enter all of this in my mission planning table; on a whim I'm checking how forecasts change from day-to-day. Is the crew's daily planning any better or worse?

0905-1040 Morning Planning Meeting. We seem to have more to discuss than before, and feel too pressed for time to give the topics justice. Indeed, one topic is productivity. I mention to the crew that in four full days there has only been one report (Real's story) on top of the EVA reports and required reports that Jan and I write. We have agreed that daily reporting of science is not necessary, but we had also agreed that two reports would have been completed the previous day. Where is the time going?

Andrea says she needs at least 15 minutes of uninterrupted time to do anything. I point out that we have daily "individual work" time before lunch of at least two hours and often three! Vladimir explains that it's the little things that take time --email with family and colleagues (should that be more stringently controlled on Mars?), and all of the myriad details of work itself. He illustrates with the example of fetching the datalogger from the greenhouse, downloading data, determining that values are not as expected, debugging the problem, fixing the problem, and returning the datalogger to the greenhouse. One can easily spend an hour doing that, when all that was intended was to verify that a task done yesterday had succeeded. Later in the morning we observe another example: Vladimir and Andrea must refill the generator, which causes a hab power failure, which requires the internet to be rebooted, which holds up anything we were in the middle of doing online.

Despite this, when we make the rounds, everyone speaks convincingly of having felt very productive on multiple occasions in the past few days. Andrea has produced an EVA plan for the remainder of our rotation. Nancy has set up the lab to her liking and started experiments. David has written two lengthy stories. Jan has reorganized the med kits ("into logical elements"), and Vladimir has begun a variety of plant growing experiments.

We briefly consider how things might be different if mission support imposed deadlines or we were trying to communicate with colleagues who were assisting us back home. Would priorities change?

We also determine that we are spending five hours a day in group meetings and meals. We clearly like to be together. But several people are quick to volunteer that they could be content to grab something and go back to work, eating alone, as they do at home. Instead, we've made lunch into an elaborate social event, and added a tutorial session afterwards, that extends the time to two hours. We resolve to cut this back and save the next tutorial for the inclement weather. Now, if this had been a Mars mission, we would have just had six months living together on the outbound journey. We'd be looking more outwards into the land around us, than inwards into the minds of these interesting new friends we just met not even a week ago.

Further showing the need for automation, we decide we should create an audio recording to send to mission support. This adds 15 minutes to the meeting, first to explain what we are doing, and then pass the recorder around. I then ask, who will download this data and send it to mission support? We look around silently. (As I write at 2051, nobody has found time to do this.)

1040-1315 Individual work. I download, backup, catalog, and sort my photos from yesterday so I can show Andrea the geological features. As we meet (an EVA-planning subcommittee) I opine again that I would be content to have mission support give us a list of places to go, with routes, and full instructions. I can't believe I'm thinking this, when the opposite conclusion seemed so obvious to me on Devon Island in 1998: Surely the crew would want to plan their excursions themselves. At least in rotation 5's "wholistic simulation" experience, we are busy enough handling equipment and reporting, and would be happy to offload some of the planning.

Andrea and I review her plans and reorganize the EVAs, considering the weather, specific objectives for the rotation, and individual schedules (don't send the Director of Galley Operations out on a late-afternoon EVA). At the end of this exercise, I believe the planning work has really only just begun. When will we find time to do this? Would mission support on Earth tolerate our preference to plan one day at a time, each morning?

1315-1340 We have a less formal, quicker lunch. Vladimir asks if it's okay to leave the table to get back to work, the chorus says yes!

1347 Andrea announces that after nearly 5 days of waiting, she's received the information she needs to unlock her computer. She says she's felt withdrawal, not being able to see her familiar screen. She must wait a bit longer, for now she is the computer's administrator and must figure out how to restore her personal settings.

Meanwhile, David and I review our GPS units and set waypoints, so are ready for the planned EVA.

1415-1430 Nancy shows me a nicely prepared tool kit of materials, with written instructions, for retrieving her experiment apparatus on a nearby hill.

1440-1815 David, Andrea, and I go on a mobile EVA (#67) to carry out Nancy's plan. We have learned that each EVA should have a major objective, which is pursued first. The samples in the bag, we move on the secondary objective, to find a route I was shown in March, for hiking up above the Dakota formation to oyster beds of the Cretaceous period. We lack waypoint information for the turnoff, so I follow a four-wheel drive road on the map. It is too far south. Retracing our steps we eyeball the ridge, which I recognize and wind up exploring a side wash. This is very interesting and I feel good to be inspecting hidden gullies just as we do on Devon Island. Even the many rocks remind me of Devon. An ironic thought: in the very act of exploring, the memory of another place makes the new setting enjoyable.

Returning to the main road, we proceed back north, and now I spot the track and the path itself, visible not that far away. From the main road, it seems steeper than I expected, so I had ignored it on the first pass. (What really do we know about the perception of navigation?) The rest of the EVA is uneventful, as we achieve our objective. All along the way, I ask Andrea how I should interpret various colors, layers, and shapes. Driving back, I start to understand that a lay person expects every single layer to have a name, but it seems that they are only categorized broadly by type (color, content, and so on) and named by characteristic examples (e.g., The Salt Wash Member of the Morrison Formation). I have learned the basics: The layers are grouped by Member, Formation, and Period. Now what of my idea of having characteristic photos of each member? Does that make sense? Our books show drawings, but not photographs of typical rocks and features. Why not?

1815-2030 I feel overwhelmed with tasks: Write up EVA 66 from yesterday, prepare more photos for the web, write my log, review the science report. All this before dinner.

2037 David warns to save your work. The power fails and Andrea and Vladimir, the team on duty, refill the generator. In the dark upper deck of the Mars Desert Research Station, we are all hauntingly lit by our laptop screens. Jan, always at the ready, is holding a flashlight for Nancy in the galley.

Tonight is Yuri's Night, so we will celebrate with a special meal, music, and a movie.

Bill Clancey

MDRS Rotation 5 Commander

Health & Safety Officer Reports

Jan Osburg Reporting

Safety:

Nothing to report.

Health:

Biolet: see engineering report.

No medical incidents were reported.

Crew morale received a boost by celebrating Yuri's Night.

Engineering Report

Jan Osburg Reporting

Water Systems: Nothing to report, except that the outside water tank needs refilling. Water consumption in the past 24 hours: 160 l (43 gal), with two people taking showers.

Power and Fuel: Lamont brought 4 liters of oil for the generator and the ATVs.

EVA Equipment (including ATVs and PEV): Suit backpack 5 was checked and a blown fuse diagnosed. Mission Support was contacted to inquire about replacing fuse (2 A) with 2.5 A fuse.

Safety: (see "Health and Safety Report")

Computers and Communications: The battery of the existing Fluke 32 multimeter was exchanged (a 9V cell; we are out of these and need more); afterwards, it worked fine (but still for AC only). It was used to check out the new UPS, which was subsequently declared operational. The Hab computer, its monitor, and the Starband satellite terminal are now connected to its buffered output plugs, giving us 10 minutes of assured communications in case of generator failure or maintenance, and relieves us of the task of having to shutdown the computer every time the generator is refilled.

One problem with running any UPS in the hab is that anytime the generator reaches its performance limit, i.e. power demand is high, the voltage goes down to around 100 V. This seems to be the threshold for the UPS to switch from regular to battery mode. So, with the voltage oscillating around 100 V during high-load activities such as cooking, the UPS constantly changes modes, each change accompanied by a beep. This poses no short-term problem (apart from the annoying beep), but will surely ruin the UPS battery within a few weeks. Maybe this is what happened to the previous UPS.

After long e-mail conversations with her IT support, Andrea's computer was brought back to life and is now cooperating with the local MDRS network. Her productivity has already gone way up

;-)

General Maintenance & Waste Management: The Biolet was checked, as it seemed to get full. Both fluid check hoses were empty, which is nominal. The biomass in the receptacle was manually stirred (using a long stick…) to smoothen it and improve composting effectiveness. Disposable gloves were worn throughout the maintenance activity. The TYVEK suits requested yesterday would have come in handy for this task, too.

GreenHab: (see "Biology" report)

Geology Report

Andrea Fori Reporting

Another geology EVA achieved today (see EVA #67 Report). We visited the boundary between the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods and digitally recorded the transition. Just above the boundary was an expansive field of fossilized oyster shells. Had a briefly exciting encounter with some erosional features that closely resembled dinosaur vertebrae.

EVA 67 Report

EVA Scenario Overview

We had two main objectives for our EVA on Friday, April 12, 2002. The first objective was to retrieve two sample containers designed to collect wind-blown grit. The containers had been placed by an EVA team a day earlier, on Thursday, April 11. The EVA team also collected two dry samples from the same site. The second objective was to discover and document a path that would enable future explorers to visit the oyster fields that are indicative of the Cretaceous era south of the Hab. DATE: 04-12-02EVA Highlights (EVA CDR)

  • We successfully retrieved Nancy's samples.
  • We turned off the road in pursuit of the oyster bed at new Waypoint 109, N 4248712, E 518896
  • We found faux dinosaur bones at new Waypoint 110, N 4248618. E 517873, then discovered this layer is prevalent throughout the immediate region.
  • We found an oyster bed at new Waypoint 111, N 4248629, 517882

PRE EVA OPERATIONSBoth the CDR and MDRS2 took the time to familiarize themselves with the GPS equipment, one supplied by the Hab and one a personal item. Nancy Wood, the biologist in charge of the experiment to collect wind-blown grit for further analysis, fashioned a kit to expedite the timeline for the EVA team. The kit included two labeled lids for the plastic sample containers at the site, and a marked label that also served to seal the samples from contamination. A marked paper-backed label was partly peeled from its sticky backing and a pipe cleaner attached to it in order to make it easier for the EVA crew to detach the label and apply it correctly to one of the containers that had two holes pierced into its walls. Two other sample containers were also labeled so they could be identified later. Nancy prepared the instructions for the collection in advance, since she was not a part of the recovery EVA team. This may become standard for field scientists who can direct others to collect samples while they remain in the Hab to do more pressing and productive work. All three EVA members also wore mirrors on their forearms to monitor the progress of the others as a safety measure. AIRLOCK INGRESS/DEPRESS Normal ingress and depress. Radio checks completed. The EVA crew was greeted immediately be the other three crew members in celebration of Yuri's Night. HAB EVA MONITORING

NOMINAL EVA COMM/SAFETY CHECK

(Hourly Operation)

Comm ck

1

Comm ck

2

Comm ck

3

Comm ck

4

Comm ck

5

Comm ck

6

TIME 1545
EVA #

(If Simultaneous EVAs)

ATV Odometer

OUT/IN

REPORTED MAP LOCATION WP 102
REPORTED STATUS OK
Auxiliary Information Position Check

EVA MONITORINGTerrain prevented communication between the Hab and the EVA team near the Jurassic/Cretaceous boundary. The Hab reported that voices were heard but words could not be deciphered. The EVA team also could hear some of the words from the Hab, but it was difficult to carry on communication.

POST EVA INGRESS AND CLEANUP Normal ingress and cleanup was done. EVA CREW: COMMENTS/OBSERVATIONS/LESSONS-LEARNED EVA CDR: Nothing beats being with specialists in their home turf. You have the opportunity to ask about what you see. But you learn by just watching where the specialist goes and what she looks at. Just seeing Andrea kneeling over the faux bones showed that she found these rocks interesting, too. Then she looked around for something similar, showing us by example how to interpret most any odd feature we might ever see. EVA MDRS1: It was fascinating to be able to put my finger on the boundary between two significant periods in geological history: splitting Jurassic from Cretaceous . The oyster fields seemed like such a happening place to be. There were these huge mounds of oysters, hanging out and having a great time. EVA MDRS2: I was struck by how prepared Nancy Wood was when she asked us to retrieve her dust samples from Way Point 102. She had thought of almost every contingency. The only unforeseen problem was unzipping the zip-lock bag. When Nancy learned of our troubles, though, she had a solution: Just grab the sides of the bags and pull. That would force the zippered bag open without fumbling for the top edge of the bag with bulky gloves. I was also struck by the open expanse of the oyster field, which seemed to just open up under our feet once we reached the top of the plateau. A truly incredible experience. Nearby were also interesting examples of ruby-colored quartz and some translucent ones, too.

Crew 5 Profile - Andrea Fori

By David Real / Belo Interactive

Aboard The Mars Desert Research Station, Utah - Talking about life on Mars can sometimes seem as much philosophy as science - just like life on Earth.

"We don't know what we don't know," said Andrea Fori, 32, a planetary geologist specializing in Martian geology. "That's good information."

Considering the grand scope of the physical universe -or even the internal universe that each individual carries inside - we know very little, Ms. Fori said. But it's a start, whether it's Mars or Earth.

"When you are aware that you're lacking information, you're much more informed than when you don't know what information you're missing," she said.

She is working hard to reduce that information gap by donating two weeks of her vacation to a project in the Utah desert. The Mars Desert Research Station is a project of the Mars Society, a group advocating exploration of the Red Planet as soon as possible.

A half-dozen explorers are living in an isolated station that mimics some of the living conditions and problems that astronauts could face.

Ms. Fori already has experience helping to resolve more earthly problems.

Every time a thunderstorm boils up and pictures of clouds dash across a television screen, it's a good bet that the images came from a satellite she helped to build.

As a systems engineer at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. in Sunnyvale, Calif., she helped to integrate the world's first weather satellite - TIROS, or Television Infrared Observation Satellite. She planned how the prorgam was handled and ensured that the requirements of the project were met throughout its design and production.

Geologists will be among the first to visit Mars, she said. That's why the experience of simulating a Martian research habitat and participating in field trips - extra-vehicular activities, or EVAs - is so important.

"We will definitely need to do geological studies in person," she said. "This exercise of living in the Hab, planning, and then putting on a suit and conducting geological studies is really practical.

"When you put on a 30-pound spacesuit and you bend over and try to pick up a rock, it's difficult. Without going through the motions of doing it, you wouldn't necessarily know that.''

She said a problem that made her computer inoperable was the biggest obstacle she faced during the simulation.

"To not have that working smoothly is extremely disruptive," she said. "It's changing my whole mind frame; I'm not able to plan; three days have gone by and I haven't gotten anything done in terms of practical EVAs; and it's just really posing a big problem in many aspects of everyday life."

However, she said she was pleasantly surprised by the camaraderie that has developed among the six crew members, despite the cramped conditions of the 4 ½-by-10-foot state rooms.

"The food and the living conditions and living on top of everybody has actually gone better than I thought it would,'' she said. "I expected it to be more difficult psychologically.

"The lack of privacy, being dirty, not having good food to eat - I thought all those things would make your mind frame skewed to thinking about those issues instead of accomplishing something on EVAs. But the domestic issues have been less of a problem."

Ms. Fori, who grew up in Coxsackie, N.Y., near Albany, said she never thought that she would study geology.

"No pet rocks," she said.

But she changed her mind during her undergraduate years at Hartwick College in Oneonta, N.Y.

"I just thought it would be really neat to learn about the Earth," she said.

Her career took another turn in 1994 when she turned to planetary geology and decided to study Mars for three years to earn her masters degree at the Mackay School of Mines at the University of Nevada at Reno.

"I was never a space buff as a kid," she said. "It came through education. I was exposed to this world of really, really exciting research that was going on."

During graduate school, she received funding from NASA to investigate the mechanics of geologic faulting on Mars, such earthquakes.

In the summer of 1997, she was one of about a dozen people selected from a nationwide search for the 10-week Astrobiology Academy at the NASA Ames Research Center in Sunnyvale, Calif.

She worked with Dr. Jack Farmer, a leading biologist/geologist, to select a landing site for the 2005 Mars mission that would pick up rocks and return them to Earth. The mission to Parana Valles, potentially rich with fossils, was postponed after the loss of two NASA Mars probes a few years ago.

In the summer of 1999, she was among 80 students worldwide chosen for a 10-week-program at the International Space University in Thailand. The students were able to talk to the heads of many space agencies around the world to come up with a strategy for exploring the solar system.

"The intent is not necessarily to come up with something spectacular," she said "The intent is to learn to work together, think through ideas, and ideas for international space agencies to consider."

She said the cultural hurdles were difficult to overcome because students from some nationalities deferred to Americans and Canadians in group discussions without offering their ideas.

Now that she is in the Utah desert, she said she welcomed the opportunity to break from her routine at Lockheed Martin and focus once more on her love for Mars and geology.

"You can get in a rut building a spacecraft, and you need to step back sometimes and say, 'All right, what's the big picture here? What, as a human race, are we working toward?' So it's kind of a reality check for big goals as a human race.

"I've had a great experience. It has been a lot of fun and it has renewed my enthusiasm for Martian exploration."

April 13, 2002

Commander's Logbook

Dr. Bill Clancey Reporting

Dinner again was after 2100, which allowed me to write yesterday's report. Our Yuri's Night repast, prepared by Nancy, was a feast: Pasta salad, beef stew, and warm fruit medley. She explained how, fitting the seven continents theme of the Night, all the ingredients had come from around the world: Sun-dried tomato from South America, bell peppers from North America, honey from Africa, olives from Europe, rice from Asia, and (perhaps) the Shiraz wine grapes originating in Australia. Jan provided an equally eclectic musical mix on his laptop, illustrated by Winamp's psychedelic and hypnotic graphics. Afterwards we settled down to watch the movie 2010, which we had carefully chosen from the hab's library. Alas! The container was empty, so we settled for "Outland," which had the virtue of being short (David asked, "When do the special effects begin?"). We toughed it out and retired for bed, exhausted. My light was out at 0115, though Vladimir and Andrea still had to refill the generator.

0700 I awake, not thoroughly rested, but it feels time. Almost... 0740 I realize I'm not going to sleep any more. An azure sky fills my portal, enticing me to start the day.

During a trip to the toilet during the night, I had seen Jan's note on the sink on the lower deck: We have only 2 gallons of water in the tank, and are to use water only for drinking and teeth brushing. I learn as others awake that the pump had broken, so the remaining 30 gallons or so in the outside tank are not accessible. (Writing reports like this, I repeatedly discover that I do not always retain incidental details: Does the tank hold 300 gallons? Is it 1.5 meters high? What kind of plastic is it? I do not have this kind of mind.)

So the day has begun off balance, with a feeling of slipping sideways, not following the course. My breakfast is delayed by new decisions (should I take the remaining milk for cereal? will we have coffee?). In the meantime, I record the temperatures:

Maximum outside 19.4C (66.9 F); Maximum inside 23.4C (74.1 F)

Minimum outside 4.2C (39.6 F); Minimum inside 16.1C (61 F)

This coldest night was welcome. The storms of yesterday have given way to a brilliantly clear day, heating up fast.

0905-1030 After breakfast, it's evident that we won't start with a meeting--we need water, so we all head outside in our civies. We've decided we should siphon the water into 2.5 gallon jugs. We try Vladimir's first idea of putting the tank on sawhorses (actually, his first idea was "seahorses"), but it is too heavy by far. So we jockey around, tossing out ideas: Roll it up the hillside? Prop it up on a ladders? Getting the tank on its side proves easy enough, and we prop it up with the ladders and rocks. What, no duct tape? (We actually look around, checking for a use for it.)

Jan has sterilized some clear tubing from the lab, and wearing his pink rubber gloves, and towering a bit over even me, in crew cut and glasses, he is quite the German engineer. We follow along.

Then a new problem: The tubing is floating to the surface and won't fill. Jan directs Andrea to get a large spoon from the galley. She returns and we attach it to the tubing end with duct tape. Voila! It works.

Meanwhile, Vladimir has shown me the pump. I see a plastic-rubber gadget, mostly in pieces. It appears to have something to do with moving water. What happened? Probably while pumping near the bottom, the hose came out and the pump ran dry. It appears irreparable.

Andrea and David proceed to bring down the power to refuel the tank. Oh well. I had started this rotation with the primary question, how do chores affect science productivity? I make a note to remind the crew to be recording all this time spent away from our supposed "work."

1030-1230 Individual work time. We send out urgent reminders to mission support. We not only need water, we now need a pump or at least some clean buckets. We are glad to find a reply from Mark Klosowski, Capcom of Northern California's mission support team. Lamont will be coming with water this afternoon. We weren't in danger of course, but we are glad not to have to break sim to get water from town. (Unless you are a backpacker, you cannot understand the jarring feeling we experience when we inadvertently see the van parked behind the hill. WHAT IS THAT? You mean people tie themselves into those seats, and are raced across the landscape?)

I'm trying to understand where the time is going. Here's an example. I'm poking around the hab computer, learning more about the GPS software, following welcome pointers from Andrew Hoppin (Crew 4) and Frank Crossman (mission support). David is by my shoulder, evidently interested in the Excel waypoint database, so he can set coordinates in his GPS for the upcoming EVA. I open the file and he asks if I will copy it to his floppy. But the copy operation aborts because the file is too large (how could the operating system not know that a floppy is smaller than 2.8 MB?). I try using "Save as," but no change. Maybe it is the format, save as Excel97. Nothing happens. Windows has crashed? We talk for awhile and walk away. Minutes later, ready to reboot, I notice the operation completed. Hmm. Oh. Now the file is 28 MB. (Laugh or cry? Laugh or cry? That's computers today.) David decides to create a new copy of the file so he can read the numbers (the photographs are making the rows so large, you can't easily read the coordinates). This takes yet more time because the copy and paste operation doesn't work. Now does anyone remember, before the computer became the center of our attention, what were we trying to do? (I think I lost it somewhere around 1987, when I stayed up half the night reading MacWorld.)

1230-1330 Lunch. We decide to keep our plates for dinner. Now I have a plate, fork, cup, and glass in my stateroom.

1335-1500 I have settled down to read and think. The group seems more content with the reporting process today. Maybe it takes a week to get into it. Maybe I had to make a point of it.

Now I work on the photographs. I'm the only one uploading them, what's the problem? David's camera was in a bag inadvertently taken away by Crew 4 (and then FedEx put it on the wrong truck). Vladimir can't charge his batteries. Nobody else has a digital camera. (I later find Andrea does, but can't download from the microdrive. I loan her a flash card. Still later I find a Type II adapter in the detritus around the hab computer.) I ask Nancy to learn to use the digital camera in the hab.

I recognize that several times today a problem has come up or maybe I've been asked to do something. My reflex is to take it on myself. But my thought is to delegate. And so I do. Jan catches whatever I toss his way: the water, the maps, the digital camera. I start saying to others, "Ask Jan to help you." It's now obvious, he's the Executive Officer, my second in command.

I overhear Nancy saying she is tired, getting less sleep than she needs. Andrea agrees and offers to have dinner ready earlier. But Vladimir says he sleeps better in the morning and likes the later meal. Nancy says the first light wakes her up (it peeks in through an electrical outlet).

Vladimir is calling me. Time to help him, David, and Jan into their suits. (Notice the problem? Three people going out, and four or five are fully occupied in the exercise.) After the suiting up, which took 40 minutes, we send the crew on their way on ATVs.

I return to my stateroom to read. Then Lamont arrives with the water. Never a dull moment. How to wrestle tons of water off a trailer? Use the minivan as a counterweight or the hab? Choices, choices. I'm told they pulled a strut off the hab the last time they tried this. And what would it do to our rented van? I opt for the hab. It looks sturdy. Lamont repositions his truck, fastens a chain to a web belt and tightens it up around the tank. I ask how should we signal a problem. Lamont says he'll stop if he hears anything. Andrea and I agree a simple scream will do. But the tank slides out smoothly and soon rests onto the sand near the hab. I say, that was easy--and if this were a cartoon, the hab would now fall over the other way.

It's 1.5 hours since lunch and I have barely had 10 minutes to read the geology books I've carried into my stateroom. Nancy makes some coffee, I opt for a nap.

1520-1800 Finally some uninterrupted time to read. I breeze through four books, skimming the sections on the Morisson formation. I learn that it's perhaps the most-studied geological layer because it's so rich in dinosaurs...and uranium, an unexpected combination. Andrea suggests that it's also because the layer is so visible. We don't know the geology of the area around Cambridge so well, she says.

As I read the books, I don't find the color photographs I would prefer. But there are some pictures and they help. In my two trips to MDRS, I have learned more about geology from climbing one hill, than in my entire life, as we hiked from the Morrison Formation of the Jurassic into the Dakota Sandstone and landed on the "mid-ridge planitia," the lower Cretaceous below Skyline Ridge. After that steep climb through mostly purple clay, you arrive on a huge, unexpectedly flat grassland--with hills of oyster shells! Millions of them. I've made a note of the species, "Gryphaea Newberryl," starting in the Albian layer of the early Cretaceous. I could get into this, this chant, this scientific incantation that rolls off the tongue. But it's the hike that stays with you, not the names. A breathlessly steep hill, and then an arrival in a more recent age. An understanding of the layering, the lake, creek, and sea alluvial plains. Deposited layers, washing upon themselves, eroding into the past and depositing more. Hundreds of feet thick. Millions of tons layered and washed away again. The stuff inside, the fossils, the minerals, the sand and stones. And what, Gastroliths? Stones from dinosaur stomachs? Could we find those? I am hooked.

What is the geological story of Mars? Did its weather change? Did deposits come and go? Are there layered formations? The clues are just arriving: Layers, yes. Water deposits? Maybe. Windblown dust or sand? More likely. A large part of exploring Mars is about geology. And so I have come to MDRS partly to learn about geology. Astronauts training for Mars will do the same. In fact, why not here?

1800-1855 Still quiet with three of the crew on EVA. I walk around and think about my observations. What am I forgetting? Review my notes, my plans. We need an experiment with mission support: Can they follow an EVA if we send back time-delayed audio recordings of radio reports? Andrea and Nancy are excited by the idea, and email confirms interest back home. So a Sunday afternoon exercise takes shape.

1855 The EVA crew returns (after faking that they are out of fuel within sight of the hab). After the usual wait, we open the hatch. The sight is jarring. Even now, even after being in Flashline Arctic Station and even a week here, I cannot grasp it: Three spacemen in full gear are standing before me! (And probably the Apollo astronauts scrambling back on board the Lunar Module smelled, too.)

1915-1925 Vladimir calls me outside to watch him dig up the sump pump. Can we use this for moving water from the outer tank into the internal tank in the loft above the staterooms? It appears new. But would it contaminate the drinking water? We need to ask Frank. Which means we need to ask mission support. But we want to use the pump now. I write down the make, model, and company. Perhaps we can find information on the net.

1925-2040 I try to begin writing my report, but it is time to eat. The EVA group reports on their journey. Surveying the full extent of our ATV range was a great idea, they agree. They report having followed all the trails to the end--to cliffs, to a river, to dead-end canyons, to remote plains. Surely, having established an ability to move around safely, we'd do the same on Mars: Drive around, check the views, examine your setting from all angles. Establish some roads, mark the waypoints. Draw a map. The crew reports good places for Nancy to sample.

I describe the plan for tomorrow. We need a rest. Sleep as long as you like, no meeting in the morning. Read or catch up on your reports if you wish, your choice. A joint, time-delayed exercise with mission support begins sometime after 1400.

2040-2240 I retire once more to my room to write. FMARS was not a good test of the staterooms. They were cold, dark, and poorly lit. Here I have a window, a bed instead of a ledge, a corner desk, carpeting, sufficient plugs. The upper bunk is like sleeping in a tree house. The lower is a nook, a comfortable niche.

Outside my stateroom around 2100 there was a great commotion as the group filled the water tank in the loft by a water brigade. I exited briefly to turn on the video recorder. This is one of my tricks: Letting cameras observe where I cannot be. Based on all the noise and laughter, this will be fun to watch and study.

Thinking about the day, I realize we are very friendly with each other, but a week is too soon to be close. That's a distinction we don't often have the chance to experience.

Bill Clancey

MDRS Rotation 5 Commander

Health & Safety Officer Reports

Jan Osburg Reporting

Safety:

During generator refill, the team waterproofed all live outside extension cord connectors, to avoid short-circuit and shock hazards in case of rain.

Health:

We had to siphon water from the outside potable water tank into water containers due to the breakdown of the water pump last night. Receptacles and siphoning tubes were disinfected with Hydrogen Peroxide before using them. The water, which contained some particulate contaminants (dust, several deceased insects) was run through a coffee filter before consumption.

Before refilling, the indoor tank was disconnected from the main water pipe, completely emptied and thoroughly cleaned, including a final disinfection with hydrogen peroxide.

Recommendation: the indoor water tank should be emptied and cleaned at regular intervals, as there was a fair amount of particulate residue inside, and the walls were partly covered with a brownish substance.

No medical incidents were reported.

Engineering Report

Jan Osburg Reporting

Water Systems: The electric water pump was damaged beyond repair last night during refilling of the inside water tank. This was probably due to the suction hose not being fully immersed into the water, as the outside water tank level was very low. The dry running caused the plastic impeller blades to overheat and melt, thus also contaminating part of the water hose.

This morning, strict water rationing was instituted: water for drinking and tooth brushing only, everything else, from hand washing to sponge baths to dishes cleaning, to be done using wet wipes - heck, what's good enough for ISS crew is good enough for us :-). The remaining water from the potable water tank was siphoned into disinfected empty water containers (see also today's HSO report). To achieve this, the potable water tank was turned on its side so the opening was near the ground, and then rolled onto two ladders that were stacked on the ground on top of each other, to provide the elevation necessary for siphoning. The tank was secured using sawhorses and boulders, and siphoning resulted in about ten gallons of water.

This amount lasted throughout the day, and in the afternoon, much to our relief, Lamont refilled the water tank. As the pump is still out of service, the crew refilled the cleaned inside water tank (see HSO report) using the bucket brigade approach and two buckets that Lamont had also brought at the request of Mission Support. The 230 l (60 gal) tank was filled in about thirty minutes.

Total water consumption today: approximately 60 l (15 gal) due to water rationing.

Recommendations: provide backup water pump (see also engineering report dated 10-APR-2002), and do not squash empty water containers, as they might have to be used for water transportation. Also, keeping some clean, transparent tubing at hand will help with siphoning.

Power and Fuel: Nothing to report.

EVA Equipment (including ATVs and PEV): Nothing to report.

Safety: (see "Health and Safety Report")

Computers and Communications: Another try at connecting the new UPS to the hab computer/starband was made. Results: no problems up to now. We hope for the best...

General Maintenance & Waste Management: Nothing to report.

GreenHab: (see "Biology" report)

EVA 68 Report

EVA Scenario OverviewWe had four major objectives for our EVA on Saturday, April 13, 2002. The first objective was to determine a path to waypoints 32 and 33, with the constraint that we would have to follow unmarked terrain directly north of the Hab. The second objective was to find a wet point for Nancy so she could set up an experiment for ecosystem columns during a subsequent EVA. The third objective was to find a lake near waypoint 18 and determine if that could be another wet point for our biology experiments. A fourth objective was to travel these routes to determine the accuracy of previous waypoint coordinates.

DATE: 04-13-02

EVA Scenario Exploration,

experiment setup,

waypoint verification

EVA HAB COMM (S) Andrea Fori,

Nancy Wood

CDR MDRS1 MDRS2 MDRS3
EVA CREW

(Name/#)

Pletser/6 Osburg/1 Real/3
EVA START

TIME (MDT):

14:20 EVA STOP TIME

Scheduled/Actual:

19:00/18:55

EVA Highlights (EVA CDR)Special attention was given in the pre-EVA briefing to carefully prepare the navigation. All intended GPS Waypoints visited by previous crew were entered in the several GPS's taken on this EVA expedition.

Several spots of interest were visited and unmarked routes were explored. As reported further, it became soon evident that navigating by GPS alone in unmarked territory is not an easy task. Revisiting waypoints of previous crew with only GPS coordinates but without a description of the location is not obvious. This feeling was further augmented by the divergence of readings from the three GPS units. Furthermore, some dirt roads indicated on the 1987 edition of the US Geological Survey map have disappeared with time and replaced by other tracks. Despite this background, we managed to achieve all goals of this EVA, and more, as we explored as well the passage beyond Waypoint 34. Some features, roads and junctions were named and new waypoints were logged. The EVA team did a good job on this four and half hour expedition. PRE EVA OPERATIONSWe spent about 30 minutes poring over the waypoints map on the Hab wall next to the Hab Comm. This allowed the EVA members to set their objectives for the EVA in accordance with the intentions of Hab CDR William Clancey. As we determined a specific route, our concern about the validity of previous waypoints and our confidence in waypoint coordinates mounted. We agreed to input the coordinates into three brands of GPS units and test them under real-world conditions. This preparation lasted 1 ¼ hours. We then asked Nancy Wood to brief us on her experiment to construct a biology experiment using ecosystem columns. She told us that she had already found soil for the dry and occasionally wet part of the experiment, but needed another site with soil that was constantly wet or moist. We were also asked to take out the trash from the back airlock. AIRLOCK INGRESS/DEPRESSNormal ingress and depress. Radio checks were completed. Two civilians were seen wandering around outside the Hab, but were gone by the time we emerged. As soon as we emerged, however, Lamont arrived with a filled tank of water. We offered to help, but CDR Clancey said we should continue our EVA. If we were needed, we would be asked to return. However, that turned out not to be necessary. HAB EVA MONITORING

NOMINAL EVA COMM/SAFETY CHECK

(Hourly Operation)

Comm ck

1

Comm ck

2

Comm ck

3

TIME 1426 1556 1845
EVA #

(If Simultaneous EVAs)

ATV Odometer

OUT/IN

REPORTED MAP LOCATION Hab airlock waypoint 32 Outside Hab
REPORTED STATUS OK OK OK
Auxiliary Information

EVA MONITORINGNumerous attempts were made to contact Hab Comm throughout the EVA, with only one success at waypoint 32. Other attempts, on both frequencies 200 and 201 failed.

POST EVA INGRESS AND CLEANUP Normal ingress and cleanup was done. EVA CREW: COMMENTS/OBSERVATIONS/LESSONS-LEARNED EVA CDR: Leaving the Hab to the North, we soon turned West in search of a dirt road indicated on the map to turn North again in search of the first WP 22. We could not locate it precisely due to imprecision in the location of the dirt road (confused with other ATV traces), but the following WPs were identified with a certain level of confidence. WPs 29, 30, 31(oyster field), 32 (onion tea), 33 (geodetic point), 34 were found and revisited. The turn at WP 34 was missed and we continued on our way to follow the canyon road, until a Y ravine, where we backtracked. We found the correct turn at WP34, en route to WP 32 and Lowell Highway. From the junction (Dimitri's corner), we took to the North to WP 15 (dead end, on top of a canyon in front of a river). Upon return, we visited the WPs 18 and 26 and locate the water feature indicated on the map, a reservoir created by the US Dept of Interior Affair. Further down the road, a soil sample was collected four our Biologist from a intermittently wet area (abundant grass growing at this spot). The return to the Hab was eventless except for the beautiful dramatic scenery. As a lesson learned for future expedition, WPs should be noted with their GPS coordinates AND with an obvious feature description to guarantee a positive redundant recognition method, to allow future revisiting crews to compensate the obvious lack of precision of actual GPS systems. EVA MDRS1: Thorough preparation - poring over the waypoints map, programming our GPS units with the waypoints we would visit during our EVA and the routes connecting them, preparing sketched strip maps of our route - paid off, as we succeeded in visiting all the waypoints. This was my first motorized EVA, and I enjoyed the great scenery that unfolded around us as we traveled along our chosen route. Weather was perfect, and ATVs as well as suits performed flawlessly. EVA MDRS2: As soon as we started our EVA, we determined that there was a margin of error in our readings from our three different GPS units. At our first measurement, David's Magellan Lazer 12 read E 517840, N 4251355; Jan's Magellan 3000 read E 517854 N 4251043 - and then started changing over time to read E 517703, N4251282 - and Vladimir's GPS read E 517776, N 4251557. This confirmed our doubts about the accuracy of our measurements, not to mention those of previous crews. However, because we had previous waypoints loaded into our GPS units, we were able to maneuver. Combined with the help of a compass to guide us between waypoints, we were able to ascertain that we were in the general vicinity of a particular waypoint. However, this issue should be resolved before other rotations are dispatched to MDRS. Either measurements should be restricted to the Hab GPS units, or more expensive and accurate GPS units should be purchased. I also must add that our visit to waypoint 15 was well worth the time. The view from the Dead End part of the trail looked out over a canyon with a flowing river and a panoramic view of stark mountains. Extremely beautiful and a great future picnic spot.

We also found a field of oysters at waypoint 31 that was an amazing site. It further underscores the diversity of the geology of the site.

April 14, 2002

Commander's Logbook

Today is Sunday, time for a change of pace. We had decided the night before that everyone could sleep in, there would be no formal meeting. And we will have a special EVA in the afternoon.

0640 Having turned out the light about 2340, I am already awakening with the first light of day, but turn over and fall fast asleep...

0835 I wake, dress, and handle the usual routines, including recording the temperatures of the past 24 hours:

Maximum outside 24.5 C (76.1 F); Maximum inside 24.5C (76.6 F)

Minimum outside 7C (44.6 F); Minimum inside 16.4C (61.2 F)

I decide to make a big breakfast of cheese eggs, ham, and toast. Nancy is awake and makes the coffee as usual. It tastes great as I read the Mono Lake Newsletter. We don't have a newspaper of course, so I find nature magazines and the like to be good reading at breakfast, a habit I picked up during the Haughton-Mars Expedition in1999.

1000-1215 I read parts of Charles Perrow's book, "Normal Accidents," to get ideas for a simulation exercise we are designing for the afternoon. We've enlisted mission support's participation to follow us during an EVA. Perhaps there will be multiple, interacting failures...

1215-1320 Lunch segues into a meeting to review the EVA plan. Nancy, accompanied by Andrea and Jan, will go to two spots close to the hab to deploy some instruments and take samples. David and Vladimir will work in the greenhouse. I'll copy all audio reports for about 90 minutes to mission support, at about 5 minute intervals, with 5 minutes time delay. Can mission support keep track of what is happening? Can they provide help if we encounter problems?

1320-1437 Over an hour passes "getting ready." It's one of those mysterious time sinks we keep falling into.

1437-1655 The EVA proceeds according to plan, except for a combination of human error (J&A; separate from N), mechanical failure (the greenhouse zipper jams, trapping D&V;), unfriendly environment (it is hot and windy; we find many cougar tracks), system design limits (radios are finicky; the generator requires fuel), and disruptive procedures (I must leave the hab to refuel, because everyone else is away). Although I've hatched this plot (a sim within the sim) and refined the script with the crew, I become caught myself in its clutches. I have little time to read the emails coming in from mission support, as I try myself to remain in contact with the crew. Mission support provides some good advice about the zipper (wait for Nancy to get back) and the cougar (they send a web page). They are not overly concerned that two crew members were lost and two were trapped in the greenhouse. Did my own apparent lack of concern prompt this cool reaction? Or perhaps the remoteness and time delay made them feel like passive observers.

1655-1710 We find ourselves sitting around the table together as if it is a meeting. We have a meeting instinct, I think. Or an eating instinct, for it is snack time.

1710-1830 I write up the sim more formally and discover my trackball mouse doesn't work. Another 15 minutes of lost time. I clean the inside, no dice. I try holding it in different ways: intermittent failure. I works in my hand, but not on the table. Must be the flat surface. Maybe the three little rubberized disks on the bottom flattened; maybe the middle needs to be able to move. Duct tape to the rescue. But alas, it doesn't work. Again, I explore. Works in the air. Works when pressed forward. Doesn't work where it needs to be on the desk. Maybe the wire is broken? I look inside, nothing obvious where a break could be. No way to stabilize it. I look again at the desk. A huge knot hole in the pine surface. Nothing obvious. Then I notice the light on the surface. Very bright sunlight enters the portal over my left shoulder. It is the light: When it shines on the left (thumb) button, the vertical motion doesn't work. When it shines on the right (palm) button, the horizontal motion doesn't work. Move it forward into the shade and it works fine. Twenty minutes later the sun's angle has changed and it works fine no matter where I place it. Tilt it on sideways so light shines into the green buttons, and the problem occurs again. There must be an optical sensor inside. How odd, it's a trackball mouse, not an optical mouse.

Where does the time go?

The day will end with Vladimir and Andrea playing chess, personal work at computers, and dinner, followed by a movie. The wind is blowing for the first time in several days; the weather vane is creaking loudly, like an old boat mast. We take down the Martian flag.

Bill Clancey

MDRS Rotation 5 Commander

Health & Safety Officer Reports

Jan Osburg Reporting

Safety:

We successfully ran an EVA emergency simulation to test communications and CapCom/Mission Support procedures (see also Commander's Log).

Due to the cougar tracks discovered during this EVA, a "MDRS Mountain Lion Safety" sheet was compiled from information forwarded by Mission Support, and posted on the back airlock.

Engineering Report

Jan Osburg Reporting

Water Systems: Still no pump, which means we still try to save water as we have to bucket-brigade every drop up to the third level of the hab. Sponge baths and dishwashing is allowed again, though.

Power and Fuel: The generator refused to start last night until we set the choke to half. With that, it started flawlessly.

EVA Equipment (including ATVs and PEV): According to Mission Support's suggestion, I installed a 2.5 A fuse in backpack # 5. It now is operational again.

After the experience with handheld GPS receivers during the past several EVAs, it would be nice to have one professional-quality, survey-type GPS unit available that we could e.g. mount to an ATV cargo rack to help us with navigating and accurately determining new waypoints (or finding old ones). Installing padded utility trays on the front ATV cargo racks for storage of handheld GPS units during transit might also be helpful, as the handheld models take several minutes to lock onto the GPS satellite signals during every stop, and reception during transit is insufficient due to the receivers being stored close to the body of the respective EVA crewmember, which effectively blocks out half of the satellite signals.

Safety: (see "Health and Safety Report")

Computers and Communications: The UPS ended up totally drained, so I had to remove it. All computer stuff is now hooked up to a regular surge-protector outlet. Possible reason for this failure: the constant cycling from battery to normal mode during hab voltage fluctuations (see previous engineering report), and the three-times-per-day power outages (every time the generator is refueled) that draw down the battery (according to the manual, it needs 16 hours to charge). So any UPS to be used in MDRS must have:

  • a trigger voltage below let's say 90 V,
  • a battery large enough to cover three ten-minutes outages per day,
  • and a chargin system that recharges it within five hours.

Alternatively, we might install a generator that provides more maximum power (and thus more stable voltage), has a bigger tank, and can be refueled without switching it off.

General Maintenance & Waste Management: The weather station is not working; maybe its electronics were messed up by the same surge that fried my electric razor's recharging circuitry this morning...

Due to high winds, the Mars flag was brought in.

GreenHab: (see "Biology" report)

EVA 69 Report

Nancy, Andrea, and Jan

Technical Log:

Objectives:

  1. Placement of biodetectors
  2. Participate in communication simulation

Personnel:

  • Commander: Nancy Wood Suit 6
  • Jan Osburg
  • Andrea Fori
  • HabCom: Bill Clancey

Airlock timeline:

Departure ingress: 14:30

Departure egress: 14:35

Return ingress: 17:25

Return egress: 17:30

New waypoints: None

Route: wps 102, 105, 102, Hab

Communication checks:

Communication logs already provided in detail as part ot the simulation scenario.

Special circumstances:

As noted, the biology activities were carried out under partial sim; however, I used gloves and wore a helmet for all detector placement, so that the slide manipulation, etc. was realistic.

Conclusions/lessons learned:

Efficient field work under windy conditions requires careful preparation.

Summary: While the overall goal of this pedestrian "partial sim" (helmets and gloves) EVA was a simulated "normal accident" scenario conducted with mission support, we also put in place two biological detection devices. We encountered fairly high wind speeds and high temperatures. Our route went from the Hab to waypoint 102, to install a windblown dustcatcher, to waypoint 105 to place microscope slides in the lichen-rich areas. After the biology placements, the team returned to waypoint 102, and then to the Hab, in accordance with the scenario script.

Commander's Narrative (Nancy Wood):

The previous placement of dust catchers at wp 102 was unsatisfactory, perhaps due to lack of wind and/or design problems. The dust catcher deployed this time was a slightly different design, and it was certainly windy. In fact, it was so windy during the day of April 15 that it will be fortunate indeed if it is still in place. Waypoint 105 is an area of resistant sandstone containing numerous potholes covered in luxurious lichen growth. This area is clearly subjected to periodic heavy water flow. Since it was previously shown that the organisms present attach to glass slides under wet conditions, I decided to place slides in several dry areas at this location to assess whether attachment is possible. Slide placement under windy conditions is difficult, but four were installed with attached fluorescent pink telltales. Further details will be included in the next biology report. On route back to wp102, as per the scenario, I observed deer tracks in the sandy outwash downstream from the potholes.

Chairs

Jan Osburg climbs the stairs carrying a chair to the second floor workstation at the Mars Desert Research Station near Hanksville, Utah. Photo Credit: David Real / Belo Interactive

By David Real/Belo Interactive

Aboard The Mars Desert Research Station, Utah - It's amazing how quickly the mundane things of life can suddenly take center stage, just by being scarce.

Take chairs, for instance.

Six chairs for six people doesn't seem so bad. Plus one extra. (A second chair collapsed the other day, so it's now in the trash.)

So we have six chairs arranged around our second-floor kitchen table for meals, plus one spare.

We have more chairs than we need, really.

Except that Dr. Nancy B. Wood, our biologist, needs one for her laboratory downstairs, so we don't really have a spare chair anymore.

Except that three of us now want a chair to help us when we don our spacesuits next to the air lock downstairs, so we really lack three chairs.

Jan Osburg's computer is ready to work but Jan is not – someone has stolen his chair from his workstation at the Mars Desert Research Station near Hanksville, Utah. Photo Credit: William J. Clancey / NASA Ames

Except that we need another chair for the person working at the main computer terminal. And another three for people who like to use their personal computers in their rooms while they work on their reports.

Really, we need another seven chairs.

Plus maybe an eighth for whenever you want to look outside the main porthole to the outside world, whichever one that is - Mars or Earth, depending on your mindset. The round window stands about 5 feet above the floor, while directly underneath stands a 3-foot-wide table for computers and supplies that keeps anyone from getting too close to the window.

So a person's view starts about a football field away from the Habitat. It would be nice to stand on a chair and look almost straight down. That's where the red-green-blue stripes of the Mars Society flag flies, and where the ATVs are parked, and where people begin their cross-country missions. It's a particularly fine photo-op spot for a Kodak moment, even from the Hab window.

So, definitely eight more chairs are needed.

A hundred things and four people.

Plus, there are lots of shelves that are too high to reach without chairs. At 5-foot-3, Andrea Fori needs a chair to reach the water glasses, which are stored on the top shelf of the 6 ½-foot-tall cupboard. Then she needs a reach of another two or three feet, so she can stretch over the drainboard that juts out from the wall and prevents her from reaching the glasses in the cabinet.

So, it is obvious that nine chairs are essential for the proper operation of the Hab.

Then there's all the storage space downstairs on the main floor. Those shelves must be almost 7 ½ feet tall, just below the ceiling. So another chair would be optimal.

That's 10 chairs that we have on our most-wanted list. Let's throw in two more as replacements for those that might break.

So we're all agreed that another dozen chairs is the minimum amount to operate this Hab safely and efficiently.

But wait. How ridiculous to pine away for a dozen chairs that will never appear anyway, since we are supposedly in the cold, remote reaches of space.

We will just move chairs around to fit our needs.

How simple and elegant a solution. We ourselves control our fate, not the stars.

But it's time for lunch, and there are no chairs around the kitchen table. This is a problem that surely cannot stand - or else we will be forced to. Come out, chairs, wherever you are!

There are only a handful of chairs upstairs. Where are the others? Ah, on the first floor.

Race downstairs - well, not really race. The stairway is of minimalist design, even by forgiving stair standards.

There are 10 steps, plus another step down to the main Hab floor. It's not even a proper stairway - more like a wooden ladder bolted between two floors at a dizzyingly steep angle.

There is enough room on each step to put your heel down and not much else. It's possible to feel much safer by sliding the back of the ankle and calf down the higher step to the lower one, thereby gaining a surer footing, but at the expense of shaving off a layer or two of skin from the back of your leg. That's a fair trade - these stairs look imposing enough to break two necks in one tumble, if one had that many necks.

Downstairs, there are two chairs easily spotted, which are painstakingly transported upstairs, step by step, hanging daintily off the right shoulder while the left hand is hanging onto the railing for dear life.

Grab a chair from the main computer terminal, and two more from the desk underneath the porthole. So we now have five chairs for a crew of six. Five? Where is the missing chair? Probably downstairs near the air lock.

Should we go back down to have a look? Having survived the trip once, it's probably best not to push one's luck.

It's got to be upstairs somewhere. In the commander's room? No. In Vladimir Pletser's room? No, again. Someone has leaned a ladder against the door of my room to reach the water tank on the ceiling of the staterooms. It's easy to move the ladder and strap it down out of the way.

Now I should check my room, but someone asks me where the sixth chair is.

Maybe it's in your room, I respond. Check. Check now.

No? Hmm. Where could it be. No need to check my room, anyway. There's no way it could be there. I would remember if it were.

Now all the others are looking for the missing chair. It's holding up lunch, and everyone is hungry. People shout at others to look in their rooms. Nothing. I deny that the chair is in my room. We are at an impasse. And no one wants to seem to go back downstairs for another look.

Finally, enough accusing stares prompt me to look in my room.

Ah, well. There it is.

See, I didn't sleep well last night. Got up too early. Been working longer hours than one should.

And, as previously mentioned, at least another dozen chairs are needed for the safe and efficient operation of the Hab.

Minimum.

April 15, 2002

Commander's Logbook

Dr. Bill Clancey Reporting

Some of us were to bed a little earlier last night. We all enjoyed the first part of the movie, "Dune" (year 2000 TV version). My light is out by 2300. But just before retiring I make a note about today's work: I will do "snaplists" and photograph the hab more thoroughly.

0706 It is stuffy and warm. I turn over again.

0730 I dress in shorts, my Northern California Mars Society t-shirt, and sandals. The clothes are all clean, but I feel grungy. Hmm, is that smell the rest of my clothes or me?

The usual routine: Bathroom, glass of water and a vitamin, start the time lapse video, and record the temperatures:

Maximum outside 19.5 C (67.1 F); Maximum inside 22.8C (73 F)

Minimum outside 15.1C (59.2 F); Minimum inside 18.1C (64.6 F)

It is warm for so early in the morning (67F). The sky is mostly cloudy. I go to Weather.com for the report. Wind is back in the forecast. Over the past five days, I recorded the following forecasts for today:

Forecast for today: Windy 78 Yesterday today was forecast to be: Windy 79 Two days ago the forecast for today was : Ptly Cldy 82/38 Three days ago: Ptly Cldy 80/25 Four days ago: T-Storms 81 Five days ago (last Wednesday): T-Storms 75

The forecast a day in advance is reliable, but everything else (at least in the past week) keeps changing. Don't like the weather forecast? Just wait a while.

0915-1030 Morning Planning Meeting. We review the status of report writing (good), I give guidelines for the rest of the week. Then we go around, asking what each person for plans for the day. Ideas about EVAs are noted but held aside. Yes, there are more reports to write or finish, data to retrieve from the greenhouse, waypoint and EVA charts to update, soil sampling equipment to prepare, and so on.

Then we discuss EVAs for the remainder of the week, factoring in objectives (exploration, sampling, photography), personnel (trying to give each person at least two opportunities), where people have been and want to go, and chore assignments. I record in the EVA spreadsheet cell for today: "Hab pedestrian sample (NV + B photo) + (JA suit hr later) to river wp 14 then continue; retrieve 102 wind catcher (JVA)." Later I write this on the schedule board. (But the second half will never happen.)

Next we discuss and plan water and fuel. Jan will send a note to mission support about a desired fuel delivery today or tomorrow and then again Friday. Finally, we agree to watch Dune Part II this evening.

It was a classic planning session, and I'm glad I have most of it on videotape.

1015-1115 I fiddle with email and photographs, and make a template for snaplists. A snapshot captures a moment visually; a snaplist captures it in a list: Every 15 minutes I list in a table where everyone is and what they are doing.

With my Mac on the PC network, I send my template to the hab computer and print it. (Later I search on the net, but find no Macintosh driver for this printer.)

1115-1215 Individual work. The wind is picking up. David prepares lunch.

1215-1300 Lunch: Spicy pepper cheese broccoli soup, tuna "fajitas", chips, cheese, and apples. Very satisfying.

A pattern emerges: Some of us are reactive, jumping up to do something different when the thought strikes us: During lunch Jan sends a note to mission support about the wind. David goes down to the freezer to take out something for dinner. I'm very reactive. Before lunch (when Jan was in the loft measuring the wind speed through the hatch), I selected the barometer on my watch, then I thought to photograph Jan and the dust blowing outside. I see Vladimir working around the plants, so I take a photo. I then notice the south portal is flopping open and dust is on the computer, so I elicit Jan's help to close it. He goes to get some screws. My stateroom window is creaking; I notice dust all over, and get duct tape to hold it closed. I take more pictures of the dust storm. Jan announces it is now 56 mph.

Yet in all this, Andrea, David, and Nancy stay in one place: Andrea is at her computer in the workstation area; Vladimir is at the hab computer downloading data from the Ecologger; Nancy is working in the lab on the lower deck; David is working in the galley.

I had noticed this same pattern when I did time lapse recordings of the Haughton-Mars work tent in 1999--some people stayed seated for an hour or more, others moved every few minutes.

Are there two different states of mind or modes of concentrating: Reactive and fixated? Are these personality differences or changing during the day or in different circumstances? How do these modes affect productivity? These are both forms of concentration: One changes easily, the other stays focused on one activity.

1300-1330 Individual work. Interestingly, what people were doing at 1300 they were all still doing at 1315. Evidently, we are now all concentrating on a single activity.

1330-1600 Nancy, Vladimir, and I begin a subgroup activity that continues for 2.5 hours. Nancy has prepared sample 'devices' to be used to gather soil around the hab. Vladimir will assist and I will document. Nancy has nicely (once again) laid out labeled ziplock bags with collection devices. She explains the procedure to me and Vladimir. This is a pleasant change, for no scientist ever did this with me at Haughton. Nancy likes to show and tell what she is doing in advance. It makes learning a lot easier.

The dust storm outside makes the EVA especially exciting. What a gift for a photographer! Dust bands are blowing horizontally, with long visible curving lines twisting around painted hummocks, and just a gray-white gauze in the distance. Above the sky is blue-gray, but mostly cloudy. Is the wind more important than water in shaping this landscape?

All goes well until an equipment bag is dropped. The animate wind plays a game with us. The bag is just out of reach, once, twice--just jump and you can stop it. But in that hesitation of getting ready to jump, the bag soars up into the air, far far away. So far you must laugh. It is hopeless. Regrouping, Vladimir suggests that we abort the EVA and reconfigure the equipment.

Meanwhile, back inside, a fixated crew: Andrea and Jan at their workstations, David in the galley.

Nancy and Vladimir return to the EVA with all their equipment tethered by ribbons and redistributed: What Vladimir must reach is in Nancy's pockets, and vice versa. I videotape this session. It is a stunning example of collaboration, use of tools designed for gloves, and struggling with the wind. Zubrin was right about grit and determination. But I think Mars will supply the sand.

1600-1653 Mostly individual work. Nancy and Vladimir, now back from their EVA, are wandering or perhaps getting resettled. They move (independently) from the mess table to the CD player to the floor (eating a snack) to staterooms. Everyone else stays put.

1653-1713 The bucket brigade: We refill the water tank in the loft. Five of us make short work of this, but after 20 minutes of lifting 2-5 gallon containers, you are glad it is over.

As we work, I am wondering how to simulate this in the "work practice" modeling tool we are developing at NASA/Ames Research Center. The trick is modeling the container being handed over. Each person must release, but only after the next person in line has gotten hold. I notice that we say things like, "Okay" or "Got it." Of course, as the person releasing the container, you can feel the change in weight. Here's another case where modeling the physical world (with gravity or not) is necessary for modeling human behavior.

1713-1930 Individual work again. The wind is really picking up. Unfortunately, the hab's weather station has been off line for over a day. We are unable to restart it and have asked mission support for help (there's a phone number, but it's not much use here on Mars).

A few people take the opportunity for showers. Most are working in one place again, distributed almost evenly from the hab computer, workstation area, staterooms, and in the laboratory. Stopping what I am doing every 15 minutes to record our activities is not difficult--I find that everyone tends to work in one preferred place or to move between two places (David moves today between the galley and his stateroom; Andrea moves between the hab computer and her laptop). This individual stability helps maintain privacy, as well as predictability in sharing the space.

At this time, I send an email to my colleagues at Ames. I want them to begin thinking about designing software that will make the GPS unit fully invisible to an explorer. I don't want to wait for a satellite fix; I don't want to transcribe readings. I don't want to ever know the coordinates at all, let alone have to manually enter or compare them or number waypoints. I want a program to answer questions while I'm on EVA: "Has anyone taken samples near here before?" I also want the program to tell me things like: "Warning, you are within 10 minutes of the reserve fuel supply required for safe return to the hab." Being here at MDRS this past week has given me very clear ideas about the navigation assistance and other monitoring required during remote exploration on ATVs. Until now, back at Ames and JSC, we weren't sure what to build; we had the methods, but not the requirements. That's why I call what we are doing here "empirical requirements analysis"--finding out what you need to build by doing simulations in the field.

At 1815 the generator is refilled, and we hear the familiar ring as the power (and lights) go out. A light rain begins around 1845 and by 1930 the sun is backlighting clouds in the northwest, where it has been solid gray-white all day. The front is passing through. A new minimum for the day occurs (65F). The forecast maximum of 78 didn't come close (only 72F). But it was windy! If the sound weren't enough, including the wind vane creaking and cracking, we can sometimes feel the hab shaking slightly.

1945-2045 We hear crackling of sparks in the loft and my computer cursor freezes. There is a flash of lightning. We shut down the network and close our computers. Just in time for dinner. Tonight it's pork fajitas (without the quotes). Andrea asks, how could we be so hungry again?

At dinner I ask, "Do you feel isolated here?" Nobody does. Why not? We realize isolation or remoteness has several dimensions. Are you physically alone? No, we have more company than we usually do at home. We spend more time in group activities than we do at work or home. Are we isolated from the outdoors? No, we go on EVA often enough (and for safety we do not wear suits when refueling the generator). Are we isolated from civilization? No, Hanksville (as small as a town can be), is twenty minutes by four-wheel drive, and we could walk there without much trouble. We are really isolated in only one way: We have essentially no interaction with other people (aside from our fuel and water supplier). I remind the group that were we to be transported back to Salt Lake Airport, we would dumbstruck by the crowds.

So how does the isolation we experience at MDRS compare to Mars or FMARS in the Arctic? FMARS is more like Mars in being more completely isolated from civilization. Both MDRS and FMARS are unlike Mars in our contact with the outdoors (we can feel and breath the air, even in suits). But MDRS, during my rotation at least, is isolated from other people, so it is more like Mars than FMARS (where the press visits almost daily or even lives with us, and base camp with dozens of people and daily roar of planes or helicopters is much closer than Hanksville).

At MDRS we are surrounded by many square miles of open land, our private backyard--somewhat like camping in a carefully chosen mountain valley. We feel secure and not isolated. We are caught up in our activities with each other. We are busy all the time. It seems unlikely that the first crew on Mars will ever feel lonely. Yet, what do we know? We have been here just over a week. How would we feel after a month? A year? That's why simulated missions are necessary.

2000 The wind is getting ferocious. Over 60 mph was forecast, and it's surely more than the 55 mph we recorded earlier, for now the hab vibrates more often and the wind mast is continuously banking, twisting, squeaking--like an old wooden boat grinding against its moorings.

By 2115 it is over, the wind that has dominated our thoughts all day and forced an EVA to be postponed, leaves us alone among the sand, rocks, and hummocks. Alone together.

Bill Clancey

MDRS Rotation 5 Commander

Health & Safety Officer Reports

Jan Osburg Reporting

Safety:

The wall-side ladder handrail had some rough spots that were covered with duct tape to prevent people catching splinters.

Recommendation: the projecting platform underneath the roof hatch should be fitted with railings to keep people from accidentally stepping over the edge.

Another recommendation: every crewmember should bring a pair of sun/wind/dust goggles (military surplus, or e.g. ski masks), in case some non-suited outdoor activity is required during a sandstorm.

Health:

No medical incidents were reported.

Engineering Report

Jan Osburg Reporting

Water Systems: Another bucket-brigade refill of the 230 l (60 gal) inside water tank was accomplished in just under 30 minutes. This is less time than it took us using the electric water pump!

Power and Fuel: Even though the UPS is no longer being used on a regular basis due to the issues with fluctuating voltage in the hab and frequent power outages (see previous engineering report), it now serves an important function: It is kept fully charged underneath the hab computer station, ready to supply ten crucial minutes of power to the hab computer and the Starband satellite link. This now assures that we can send off a "Mission Support, we have a problem" e-mail in case the generator fails to restart or we run out of fuel.

EVA Equipment (including ATVs and PEV): Nothing to report.

Safety: (see "Health and Safety Report")

Computers and Communications: The LAN broke down today for unknown reasons. It took the better part of three hours to fix it.

General Maintenance & Waste Management: The roof covers were put under quite a bit of strain during todays sandstorm, with peak wind speeds of 90 km/h (56 mph) creating a strong lift force due to the dome-shaped roof.

For the same reason, the roof hatch was secured by tying the emergency escape rope to one of its handles.

The sandstorm also threatened to blow out the south window on the first floor, so an additional screw was put into the frame to hold it in place.

GreenHab: (see "Biology" report)

Geology Report

Andrea Fori Reporting

EVA cancelled due to a ferocious wind/sand storm. Spent the day working on reports and reading about local geology.

EVA 70 Report

EVA SCENERIO OVERVIEW

We had two objectives for our EVA on Monday, April 15, 2002. The first objective was to deploy a new windblown dust collector near t

Valdimir measures plant growth.

he Hab. The second objective was to collect samples of soils in the immediate vicinity of the Hab to assess the bacterial contamination that human activities introd

Mostly materials to be taken on EVA.

uce in the environment. Six samples were to be collected in two radial directions at distances of 1 m, 5 m and 20 m

DATE: 04-15-02

EVA Scenario Dust collector deployment;

Bio samples collection

EVA HAB COMM (S) Andrea Fori,

Jan Osburg

CDR MDRS1 MDRS2 MDRS3
EVA CREW

(Name/#)

Pletser/1 Wood/6
EVA START

TIME (MDT):

1st attempt

14:18 EVA STOP TIME

Scheduled/Actual:

15:00/14:35
EVA START

TIME (MDT):

2nd attempt

14:59 EVA STOP TIME

Scheduled/Actual:

15:00/16:00
Valdimir takes a bearing by the MDRS in the dust storm.

EVA Highlights (EVA CDR)

The weather has dominated our EVA today. A severe sandstorm was blowing nearly all day with winds from the South with an average speed of 60 km/h and gusts in excess of 80 km/h. As these conditions are likely to be encountered by Martian astronauts during sandstorms on Mars, it was decided to carry on only the pedestrian EVA close to the Hab to fix a dust collector and to collect soil samples from six locations. The entire EVA activities was to be documented by photography by the Mission Commander.

In a first attempt and despite the difficulty of standing stable due to the strong wind, we succeeded in fixing the dust collector near the flag pole and in collecting one sample close to the Hab. Unfortunately, the bag with the sample vials was blown away by the strong wind. The EVA was aborted and we returned to the Hab to take new vials and to reconfigure our equipment. All equipment, bags, tools were tethered and the content of our pockets were exchanged, i.e. the content of the EVA CDR pockets was place in the pockets of the EVA MDRS1 suit and vice-versa, in order to allow an easier

Jan examines a route.

handling in and out the other crew member suit pockets.

The second attempt was more successful as we managed to secure the dust collector apparatus and to collect the remaining five samples and to take compass bearings of the sample location with respect to the Hab.

PRE EVA OPERATIONS

The crew biologist, Nancy Wood, briefed us (V. Pletser and B. Clancey) on the two EVA goals and the methods intended to be used. Samples of 0.5 ml of surface soil were to be collected at two locations ("undisturbed" and "contaminated") at three distances from the Hab. The collection vials were small (1.5 ml) snap-cap vials color-coded and placed in ziploc bags, and soil was collected with the large end of a 5-ml pipettor tip. Both vials and tips were alcohol-sterilized before placing in bags.

We sometimes have as much stuff on the counters as in the cabinets.

The weather situation was closely monitored by the Mission Commander from the Satellite channel. In view of the strong wind conditions, it was decided to cancel the second exploratory EVA that was supposed to take place later in the afternoon and to conduct only the first pedestrian EVA, because it was important to obtain the samples and the EVA team could return to the Hab quickly if the situation deteriorated. Methods of measuring distances and angular bearings were rehearsed and agreed.

After the first EVA abort, and upon return to the Hab, a new strategy was adopted where all equipment was tethered and the procedure was modified to better take into account the strong wind conditions. The second collection attempt proceeded smoothly and all samples were collected successfully. This sample collection method is very straightforward and would be routine in calm conditions.

AIRLOCK INGRESS/DEPRESS

Normal ingress and depress for both EVA attempts. Radio checks were completed for both EVA attempts. Strong wind

An open door policy.

gusts made opening the outer hatch door difficult.

HAB EVA MONITORING

NOMINAL EVA COMM/SAFETY CHECK

(Hourly Operation)

Comm ck

1

Comm ck

2

Comm ck

3

Comm ck

4

TIME 14:18 14:30 14:59 14:50
EVA #

(If Simultaneous EVAs)

ATV Odometer

OUT/IN

REPORTED MAP LOCATION Hab Airlock Around Hab Hab Airlock Around Hab
REPORTED STATUS OK Abort EVA OK EVA Completed
Auxiliary Information

EVA MONITORING

A dust storm at MDRS, lasting about eight hours.

Communications were conducted between EVA crew members and with Capcom on channel 200 without difficulties.

POST EVA INGRESS AND CLEANUP

Normal ingress and cleanup was done after both attempts.

EVA CREW: COMMENTS/OBSERVATIONS/LESSONS-LEARNED

EVA CDR: It was a difficult EVA despite the relative simplicity of operational objectives due to the strong wind and the sand storm. It was nevertheless an excellent exercise that demonstrated:

  • The feasibility of EVAs in sand storm conditions similar to what can be expect on Mars;
  • The importance of carefully planning every steps and details of operations, particularly in these difficult weather conditions;
  • The importance of properly prepare and secure all equipment.
    The crew uses different spaces for multiple purposes (Nancy, Vladimir, Andrea, and Jan).

Despite the adverse conditions, all the goals of the EVA were achieved and all samples were collected and brought back to the Hab lab.

Two bearings were taken for the locations of the sample collection:

  1. 197 deg, from geographical North (210 deg. from magnetic North);
  2. 111 deg, from geographical North (124 deg. from magnetic North).

Distances were measured with rolling tape measure. One of them eventually got blocked, most likely because of the sand.

In such conditions, both EVA crew members felt the intensity of the sand storm and dust and sand were found inside the EVA suit and the helmet.

EVA MDRS1: It would have been easier if it was not that windy!

April 16, 2002

Commander's Logbook

Today was a thin day. Like a single-reed instrument playing one note. Three of us were preoccupied by chores. I am DGO, Director of Galley Operations. By 1800 I had spent nearly four hours in the galley, cleaning and cooking. It'll be another hour of dinner preparation and then cleanup. So the better half of the day is devoted to chores, not my real work. For David and Nancy, it was somewhat similar--the oil funnel blew away last night, requiring some jury-rigging. Then they noticed all the detached guy wires flailing around the greenhouse. Then they had to move the fuel into all the smaller containers, so our supplier could take away the barrel. And then they had to refuel the ATVs. Altogether about two hours. Between the three of us, one crew member day was devoted to chores. Not bad, but we have other things to do.

0540 I'm awakened by the back hab hatch tapping. I find the ropes holding it inside aren't tight. Pulling the hatch closed, I try to remember how to tie a proper hitch. Hours later I will awaken with the visualization clear in my mind.

0730 A different day--the sky is clear blue again, the land bright orange sandy desert. And coffee is brewing. I have a shower and record the temperatures:

Maximum outside 22.2 C (72 F); Maximum inside 25.3 C (77.5 F)

Minimum outside .1 C (32.2 F); Minimum inside 16.6 C (61.9 F)

Our fancy weather station is still inoperable, probably fried by the lightning the other night. The news from the manufacturer is to send it in for repair--a long trip from Mars. I wonder what the manufacturers will say then?

Eating breakfast, I spread myself around almost the whole table. I realize for the first time that I had been feeling cramped at lunch and dinner. I deliberately place my juice, toast, coffee, magazine, camera, and notebook as if I own the table myself.

0915-0945 One crew member is still asleep, but the planning meeting proceeds--in record time. The EVA will carry over from yesterday (postponed by the dust storm). I go around, reading what each person said they would do yesterday, asking whether it was completed, and what is planned for today--MBO, Management By Objectives, on a daily basis. We are almost done, when the sleepy sixth crew member arrives. His plans are noted, and we finish with a short discussion of what we learned in the Arctic station that we're applying here. First I acknowledge the parts I've borrowed: The general shape of the day, the reporting, equal sharing of cooking and cleaning up, and movies. I then rattle off a list of what I've done differently:

  • No press or other visitors (this is a simulation, not an exhibit)
  • Explicit list and assignment of chores, so nothing is done by default
  • Written daily and weekly plan
  • Discussion before the rotation about my intentions as commander and solicitation of individual interests and expectations
  • Distributed submission of reports to Capcom at Mission Support (monitored through the written plan)
  • At least one major science summary report per discipline per week, rather than a daily report. The daily CDR Logbook, Engineering, EVA, and Health/Safety reports tell the minutia of the day.
  • All mission support goes through Capcom, but once a conversation is established (e.g., with Gary Fisher regarding Greenhab), we only copy Capcom.

My personal style as leader is to manage traffic, not to be the bottleneck. When told of a plan to bring the generator down for a second time in the morning (which I thought was unnecessary), I didn't express my opinion, but rather brought the issue to the Engineering Officer to handle. My job is not to decide or control everything, but to act as the switch, the delegator, the interpreter of roles and responsibilities. So the work is distributed as much as possible, and I am freed to worry about the big picture and new concepts, such as designing our emergency EVA the other day--and today, cooking.

0945 -1230 Individual work. We are all busy writing, transferring files, and forwarding reports to mission support. As DGO, I lead the group into a new world of traditional white bread. I start making a loaf about 1130. Bread won't be delivered on Mars, we'll make our own using these nifty bread machines. This one has a glass window and we all enjoy peeking at its progress as it whirs and stirs and beeps for the next three hours.

Nancy is just nearby, and says she's never had an office with bread machine. And that's the point: In MDRS WE live and work in one place. The distinction between "work life" and "home life" doesn't make sense. Of course, this is not new, it's true on sailing ships and submarines, too, as well as research stations in the Antarctic or other scientific expeditions.

1230-1315 I announce "Commander's lunch special." Which means that because lunch materials are getting sparser, all I can dream up is a collection based on the color orange: Cheese, oranges, salmon, Chicken Ramen (packages are orange), and of course Tang. I move all the other stuff, with different colors, to the other end of the table. It is conceptual art, and edible.

As lunch finishes, I pronounce in a flourish that everyone should just leave their plates and glasses on the table--a pregnant pause as all respectfully acknowledge the DGO's task--but then I add, "Because you're going to use everything again at dinner!" As if I could get away with not cleaning up.

1315-1900 The entire afternoon is devoted to an EVA for Andrea, Vladimir, and Jan (see the report for EVA 71). This gives Nancy, David, and me a new experience, first, a new combination of people left alone in the hab, and second, the space available to us has just doubled. When the bread maker beeps I joke that we should eat the loaf ourselves and start another.

During this time, David has been revising the hab's computer manual and written instructions on handling the radio station adjacent to "hab com." Nancy was writing reports and following up on her microbiology testing. I cataloged the photos for the past three days, selecting some for our web site, and others that Andrea might include in her geology primer (at least I'd like to know what I photographed).

For dinner I've prepared meatballs and sauce, combining a can of tomatoes, two bottles of prepared sauce (leaving behind the R*** for another rotation), with spices, onions, celery, and carrots. I start the water for the pasta an hour early so it will be hot when I need it.

About 1800 Larry Ekker arrived with a pile of Federal Express packages, including David's lost red bag. Finally he has his camera. He shows me a charger that he believes will work with Vladimir's camera, which has been operative since last week. I immediately recognize it: The very same charger used by my mini-DV camera, and point to it on the shelf. With a shared fatalistic humor, we realize this charger will work.

Moving around the hab today, I realize how familiar our life here has become. I am reminded of that moment April 8th when I asked Andrew Hoppin how it felt to be leaving, and he said how much they wanted to stay. I wondered when I would feel that way. It happened today. We are leaving. The time is drawing to a close. Soon it will be over.

1935 I hear Andrea on the radio, "Vladimir, where are you going?" And then, "Back to the hab." I smile just to hear their voices. David laughs, "Did I say dinner at 815?" Moments later, we're at the east portal, watching them drive up. Three people in space suits driving ATVs. A familiar sight.

Bill Clancey

MDRS Rotation 5 Commander

Crew 5 Profile

By David Real/Belo Interactive

Aboard The Mars Desert Research Station, Utah - If anyone looks like he has the right stuff for space, Dr. Vladimir Pletser does.

Powerful body, military-style crewcut, easy grin, team player. And then he's got that inner something -a certain confidence and poise brought by years of experience.

Others must have seen it, too.

Which is one of the reasons he is an astronaut candidate for Belgium's space program and, since 1985, a staff member of the European Space Agency. He is also one of the crew members spending two weeks at the Mars Desert Research Station, a project sponsored by the Mars Society, which promotes exploration of the Red Planet.

Would he go live on Mars if the trip were offered?

"I'll be signing immediately, signing with both hands, both feet,'' said Dr. Pletser, 46. "Yes, I'll be gone, sure. Even if we do not return. A one-way ticket would be fine for me.''

Although Dr. Pletser has not yet been to space, his experiments have - he has degrees in mechanical engineering and physics, with a doctorate in astrophysics.

One of his experiments flew on a Space Shuttle mission in 1998 with John Glenn Jr., the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth.

Another experiment is set for the International Space Station in a few years.

Dr. Pletser floats upside down in an Airbus cabin during the weightless portion of a parabolic flight in October 2001. Dr. Pletser is a member of the crew at the Mars Desert Research Station near Hanksville, Utah. Photo Credit: European Space Agency

To reach outer space himself, however, Dr. Pletser is taking a different approach - he is getting there 20 seconds at a time.

As manager of the European Space Agency's aircraft parabolic flight program, he flies on specially equipped airplanes that duplicate zero gravity when they go into free fall during a roller-coaster type of maneuver.

The pilot puts the aircraft into a steep climb, creating twice the force of gravity on its occupants, and then cuts the engine. As the aircraft falls to Earth, a weightless condition is created for about 20 seconds, which is used for astronaut training and scientific experiments in microgravity. Then the pilot pulls the aircraft out of its steep, 45-degree dive, again making passengers feel as if they weighed twice as much as they really do.

Dr. Pletser has done this 3,250 times, accumulating more than 18 hours of weightless experience.

Newcomers are advised to take it easy on their first flight because of the severe stress on the body. Dr. Pletser advises them to lie on their backs while experiencing twice Earth's gravity for the first time. If all goes well, they can try sitting up the next time.

During the weightless condition, first-timers tend to react instinctively - which is the wrong thing to do.

"With zero G, you notice the newcomer because they start to swim," Dr. Pletser said. "The reaction is that you want to propel yourself, and your reflexes react like in water.

"Of course, it's totally different because of kinetics and the viscosity of air. So you can flap your arms and kick your legs - it would not help at all, except maybe to hit someone."

Nausea is also common for about half of those who experience zero gravity because of motion sickness, Dr. Pletser said. Fortunately, he is immune.

But no one escapes the physical demands of the maneuvers, which put a severe strain on the heart, muscles and skeleton. During a standard 2 ½ hour flight, there are 30 parabolas producing a total of 10 minutes of weightlessness. Usually there are three such flights during a one-week campaign, normally Tuesday through Thursday.

"After a certain number of parabolas, you're exhausted," Dr. Pletser said. "You want to crash out in the afternoon or evening. On Thursday, you're totally liquefied."

The flights are necessary, however, to train astronauts and test equipment before being sent into space, even for a short period.

"There's no need to go to space for some experiments,'' Dr. Pletser said. "If you're well-prepared and your experiment is well-designed and well-conceived, 20 seconds is all the time in the world that you need."

He has flown these missions with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Russian space program and the 15-nation European Space Agency.

His current experiment, which would fly into space in 2004 or 2005, is what he calls a Protein Crystallization Diagnostic Facility. The experiment exploits the fact that, during weightless conditions, it is possible to build protein molecules with very large crystalline structures that is not possible otherwise. That makes it easier to analyze them on Earth with an X-ray diffraction machine, and determine the three-dimensional structure of the molecule. Then it's possible to predict how they would interact with other molecules.

"Basically, this is the idea of developing new medication, new molecules for pharmaceutical purposes, to fight infections and viruses," Dr. Pletser said. "It's basic research that we do as a first step toward applied research later on, that will benefit mankind on Earth."

Although NASA may dominate space headlines in the United States, the Russians have held the world record for the number of satellites in space since Sputnik was launched in 1957, he said.

And the European Space Agency has played a vital role, too, helping build part of the Hubble space telescope. In 1983, one of agency's astronauts, Ulf Merbold of Germany, was the first non-American to fly on a Space Shuttle mission. Another astronaut, Jean-Pierre Haignere of France, spent more than six months on the Russian space station MIR, the longest flight ever performed by a non-Russian astronaut.

And the agency's Automated Transfer Vehicle, boosted into space by the Ariane 5 heavy-lift launcher, is expected to help keep the football-field-sized International Space Station from falling from orbit during its lifetime. All of these missions by the European Space Agency would launch from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana.

So far, Dr. Pletser has been nominated but not yet accepted as an astronaut. Still, he remains optimistic.

"For the moment, I am still waiting, expecting to one day fly to the Space Station,'' he said. "I still have hope. When I see, for example, people like John Glenn flew at 77, there's no age limit.

"Shuttle commanders typically are in their late 50s, between 50 and 60. So you have a lot of experience, but still you're fit and you pass the medical.''

For the Mars Society, Dr. Pletser has conducted experiments at Devon Island in the Arctic to determine whether it would be possible to detect underground water on Mars using seismic shock waves, much like oil exploration on Earth.

His current mission at the Mars Desert Research Station will help determine if it is feasible to grow food in a greenhouse on Mars.

And then someday, for Dr. Pletser, it's on to Mars.

Geology Report

Traveled to the north edge of the USGS Skyline quad (to Muddy Creek) and previously visited waypoints 15, 32, 33, 34, 35, and 36 (see EVA #71 report). The region is characterized by fine mudstone layers intermixed with volcanic ash. As one progresses north and up in elevation up "Lowell highway" (the main dirt road that passes the hab) the red layers near the hab give way to lighter colored ash. On the dirt road to waypoint 33 the ash is a distinct dirty gray. We then passed through a narrow and scenic canyon of characteristically red Morrison formation to the Muddy Creek. The area immediately surrounding the creek is a sticky clay (of course we became stuck in the clay).

Continued to work on assessment of previous activity and geology primer.

EVA 71 Report

EVA Scenario Overview

The main objectives were:

  • to find the best way from the Hab to Muddy Creek;
  • to take muddy soil samples near and under the river;
  • to retrieve other bio sample collectors at various locations;
  • to document by photography some interesting geological features.

DATE: 04-16-02

Personnel:

Commander: Vladimir Pletser (EVA-6)

Andrea Fori (EVA-1)

Jan Osburg (EVA-2)

HabCom: David Real

Airlock timeline:

Departure ingress: 14:47

Departure egress: 14:52

Return ingress: 19:40

Return egress: 19:45

New waypoints:

Format: WP#, WP name, datum used, Easting, Northing, Altitude [m], Date, Time:

120, Andrea's Quarry, NAD27, 518931, 4256548, 1369, 16.04.2002, 16:05h

121, Robbi's Bed, NAD27, 519265, 4256818, 1391, 16.04.2002, 16:18h

114-2, Ravine Y, NAD27, 517412, 4256334, 1407, 16.04.2002, 17:32h

122, The Pillar, NAD27, 518173, 4257061, 1365, 16.04.2002, 17:46h

123, River Crossing, NAD27, 518380, 4257530, 1343, 16.04.2002, 17:50h

124, Rope Rescue, NAD27, 518293, 4257917, 1343, 16.04.2002, 18:44h

Route:

(by waypoints, in this sequence, including new waypoints) 1, 115, 116, 117, 120, 121, 117, 15, 117, 116, 115, 32, 33, 34, 114, 122, 123, 122, 114, 34, 33, 32, 115, 1

Communication checks:

Check time: 14:52

EVA team location: Hab airlock

Status: OK

Additional notes:

Check time: 15:00

EVA team location: in front of Hab

Status: Deploy flag; retrieve dust catcher

Additional notes:

Check time: 19:35

EVA team location: on way back

Status: report on return and proceeding to collect last dust catchers

Additional notes:

Check time: 19:40

EVA team location: Hab airlock

Status: OK

Additional notes:

Special circumstances:

Two situations were ATVs got stuck:

  1. one ATV while crossing the river for the second time. Was towed out by another ATV
  2. the three ATVs got stuck in turn at 'Y ravine junction' in canyon road. Needed three crew members to pull/push it out of sand (2 crew members to push, one to activate the accelerator handle and pull).

Conclusions/lessons learned:

The main objectives were:

  • to find the best way from the Hab to Muddy Creek;
  • to take muddy soil samples near and under the river;
  • to retrieve other bio sample collectors at various locations;
  • to document by photography some interesting geological features.

The EVA crew managed to get to the river after hours of exploring possible routes, and even crossed it successfully. The way back was challenging, with ATVs getting stuck in the muddy riverbed and in the loose sand of the approach trail. But the EVA crew made it back, and had a great time!

EVA CDR: The EVA crew left the Hab at 15:00 and after retrieving the first dust collector near the Hab and re-erecting the Martian flag, left on ATVs in a Northerly direction on the Lowell Highway. Several points en route were measured again using our very handy GPS, but we still managed to have somehow different readings. Our geologist Andrea took several photos of interesting features, mainly rocks and various geological layers. We passed 'Dimitri's corner' and the 'Brussels sprout' marks, to go further to the 'Route 66' mark. From there we turned to a westerly direction to try a new route to the river. The main dirt road quickly ended in several paths among the rocks that we explored one by one, and taking GPS coordinates each time we could not go any further because of a dead end or a cliff. We decided to backtrack to 'Brussels sprout' to try a different road from there, but to no avail. We backtracked again and went back to 'Dimitri's corner' to take the other dirt road leading to the geodetic point further up west. From the geodetic point, we turned North and followed the main canyon, first following a path on top of the canyon, then gradually coming down by different ways and eventually arriving in the canyon itself. We followed the canyon road and passed the point where we could not proceed any further previously. We called that point the Y Ravine junction, as two ravines come together making it nearly impossible to pass.

We managed to find a way to pass eventually to continue among further dramatic landscape. We found the access to the river at the end of that canyon and we ended up on a sort of beach. Two mud samples were collected and we decided to cross the river and to explore its other side. We drove upstream to soon arrive in front of rock formations that we could not climb with the ATVs. We had to cross again the river. Leading this expedition, I tried to pass first and, although the first few meters went fine, I soon realize that my ATV rear wheels got sucked in the mud and started to sink deeper and deeper. I could no longer go forward or backward and the engine stopped. We quickly devised a rescue plan by radio with Jan and Andrea for them to go back where we crossed initially, to cross back and to meet on the other side. Luckily, we took a long rope that Jan had on his ATV. Attaching the rope to our both ATVs allowed Jan to tow me out that mud trap. Once safely on a sort of little island in the middle of the river, I could restart the engine and finish the crossing. This rescue having eaten most of our remaining time, we decided to drive back to the Hab by the shortest way. On the way back, the three of us got stuck in turn at the Y ravine junction. It took the three of us to pull and push together each ATV out of the soft sand ravine. We made it eventually back to the Hab, after having retrieved on our way two other dust collectors. A great ride! A five hours expedition in the desert and in these beautiful Martian like landscapes! Some lessons learned with relevance to Mars exploration, e.g. a stranded crew that manage itself to rescue one of his members.

EVA MDRS1: I felt this was a great team building exercise. This MDRS rotation provided my first experience on an ATV and on this EVA, I really was able to push the limits and explore the area much farther than I would be able to do on foot. Being able to explore such a wide area provided a comprehensive understanding of the local geology. I took many photos, most of which I will use to build a geology primer of the area.

I also had the opportunity to test falling over in an EVA suit. I jumped across a ravine to assist in pushing Jan's ATV up a hill and misjudged the balance required to land with the 30 lb suit on. After clearing the ravine I toppled over onto the ground face first. My crash landing was lacking so much grace that I started laughing. The suit was so heavy that it prevented me from being able to right myself - feeling like a turtle stuck on its back made the situation even funnier. I was able to move only one arm (my other arm was stuck underneath my body) and one leg that I was trying desperately to use as a lever. Of course my radio was also wedged underneath my body so I couldn't communicate the status of my situation. Vladimir stabilized the ATV on the side of the hill and Jan ran over to me to provide assistance. The good news is that although they're awkward the suits provide much protection.

EVA MDRS2: Interesting, long (5 hours) exploratory EVA. We made good use of the GPS and the map. The river crossing at WP 123 (and WP 124) was a challenge, successfully mastered thanks to good preparation (we had a rope with us!) and ATV maneuvering (and lifting) skills by all EVA crew. A great team experience.

April 17, 2002

Commander's Logbook

GreenHab Report

Health & Safety Officer Reports

Engineering Report

Geology Report

EVA 72 Report

April 18, 2002

Commander's Logbook

Crew 5 Profile

Journalist's Report - Space Food

Diary

Geology Report

Health & Safety Officer Reports

Engineering Report

EVA 73 Report

April 19, 2002

Commander's Logbook

Geology Summary

Health & Safety Officer Reports

Engineering Report

Geology Primer

MDRS Science Summary Report 2

April 20, 2002

Commander's Logbook

Geology Summary

Health & Safety Officer Reports

Engineering Report

Crew 5 Profile

Crew 5 Open House

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