Crew 167 Science Reports
Contents
April 3, 2016
Mission Support,
Date: 04/03/2016 at 6:22 p.m.
Crew Biologist: Jesse Stanford
At 10:30 a.m. Dakota Clayton and I began preparing agar plates with Mannitol's Salt Agar and MacConkey's Agar for the mediums.
We began by boiling the MacConkey's Agar until a rolling boil was reached.
At 11:00 a.m. the MacConkey's Agar was poured into nine petri dishes and allowed to set for twenty minutes. At 11:20 p.m. the petri dishes were placed in the incubator at 27 degrees Celsius.
During this time, I washed out the Erlenmyer flask used and began boiling the Mannitol's Salt Agar. The Mannitol's Salt Agar took twenty minutes to boil. Once the agar was ready, it was also poured into nine petri dishes. These dishes were added to the incubator at 12:20 p.m.
Tomorrow swabs will be used at different locations within the Hab. We will then strike the petri dishes with the swabs to test for enteric and staph bacteria.
Crew Biologist,
Jesse Stanford
April 4, 2016
Date: 04/04/2016 at 7:16 p.m.
Crew Biologist: Jesse Stanford
Mission Report,
This morning I prepared agar plates that had been incubation to be struck by swabs. After instructing April and Clark in how to collect samples with the swab and strike the plates they each chose locations to take samples from.
After they took samples, the agar plates were struck with a z-shaped pattern. Once the plates were struck, they were placed back in the incubator at 27 degrees Celsius.
Dakota Clayton then followed the same process in the afternoon with the remaining crew members.
Altogether swab samples were taken from the stair handrail, a Hab mattress, the A/C filter, the interior of a helmet, the kitchen table, the door to the airlock leading to the greenhab, the rover controller, and the breadmaker.
Crew Biologist,
Jesse Stanford
April 5, 2016
MDRS 167A
Science Report 05 Apr 2016
Sol 03
Clark Overman’s research is focused on measuring the physiological cost of crew activities in a Mars analog environment. Besides serving as the crew executive officer, he also serves as the crew chef.
Data acquisition is continuous and ongoing. Data so far shows that calorie expenditure is greatest during EVAs as might be expected. Crews going on EVA should ideally consume the appropriate number of calories required for their mission requirements. However, all members of the crew have been consuming the same amount of calories regardless of mission requirement. Crew rations appear to be primarily packaged in servings of six and time constraints with regards to food preparation have all crew members eating the same rations regardless of mission requirements.
Initial impressions were that quality sleep would be difficult to achieve. However, the data collected thus far would seem to indicate that this has not been an issue given the mission conditions thus far.
Jonathan Beechner’s research involves creating a MDRS virtual reality simulation. Today, he used a laser measurement tool to measure dimensions of the Hab focusing specifically on the state rooms. These measurements will be used to recreate the Hab. Attached is a render of what he has completed so far. He plans to finish the state rooms and begin working on the loft tomorrow.
Jesse Stanford’s research is focused on searching for signs of cyanobacteria on Mars. He left the Hab today as part of EVA #5 and was able to collect five soil samples at the locations indicated in Crew 167A EVA #5 Report 05Apr2016. Surface soil samples were obtained near gypsum rock to potentially collect colonies of cyanobacteria. These samples will be processed after returning to Waco to look for the presence of the genus Chroococcidiopsis.
Clark Overman
Executive Officer/Chef
Jonathan Beechner
Crew Engineer
Jesse Stanford
Crew Biologist
April 6, 2016
MDRS 167A
Science Report 06 Apr 2016
Sol 04
Clark Overman’s data acquisition is continuous and ongoing. While yesterday’s report seemed to indicate that quality sleep was being achieved, the duration of this sleep is limited. Sleep after 0000 local time is 2.5 times more disturbed than initial sleep. One factor that could certainly be a factor is that when the Hab water pump comes on, it is like standing in front of a marching band drum line. The volume and vibration from the pump is significant, particularly during early morning hours. It would be very helpful if there were some way to isolate this from the crew stateroom area.
Jonathan Beechner continued to take laser measurements of the Hab. His VR modeling continues as planned.
Jesse Stanford observed some bacterial growth on the Agar plates. While it was exciting that the experiment is progressing, it was less exciting that the first plate that began showing growth was from the swab sample that was taken from the inside of a bubble helmet. He anticipates seeing increased growth on the other plates as well over the next twenty-four hours.
Clark Overman
Executive Officer/Chef
Jonathan Beechner
Crew Engineer
Jesse Stanford
Crew Biologist
April 7, 2016
MDRS 167A
Science Report 06 Apr 2016
Sol 05
Clark Overman’s data acquisition is continuous and ongoing. Yesterday’s napping sleep was found to be of higher quality than the previous night’s sleep.
Jonathan Beechner continued to take laser measurements of the Hab. His VR modeling continues as planned. He has completed the both the second floor and loft and has been working on the bottom floor.
Jesse Stanford completed the microbiology experiments. Noticeable staph colonies were found on the agar plates cultured from swabs taken on a Hab mattress, the stair rail, kitchen table, and helmet. Enteric bacteria was also had found on the agar plate cultured from the stair rail sample. A fungal colony was also clearly observable on the plate with the swab samples taken from the bread-maker.
Clark Overman
Executive Officer/Chef
Jonathan Beechner
Crew Engineer
Jesse Stanford Crew Biologist
April 8, 2016
Mission Report for:
Crew Astronomer
Dakota Clayton?
My individual research project "Applied Mycological Study at MDRS, Hanksville, Utah" began this week. During the week, I went on science EVA's to collect soil samples from approved sites around the Mars analog environment. These soil samples will have DNA extraction and isolation performed on them to procure any fungal DNA present in the regolith samples. The DNA fragments will be amplified by Polymerase Chain Reaction, then verified by gel electrophoresis. The results will be sent for sequencing and run through software and online databases to check for known matches. It is possible that if there is a strong enough presence, the organism could be cultured and grown for follow-up experimentation and additional analysis. I am performing this study in the hopes that possible desert dwelling fungal decomposers, which could be beneficial to efforts of terraforming on future Mars colonies, are identified. I collected a total of 15 soil samples.
Mission Report for:
Crew Biologist
Jesse Stanford
Over the course of this trip I was able to collect soil samples from a several different areas of the surrounding terrain. While I looked for soil that had signs of moisture, the physical characteristics of the soil varied.
Upon our return to Earth, specifically Waco, I will use a DNA isolation kit in conjunction with PCR to amplify any presence of cyanobacterial DNA.
Thanks so much for this opportunity to collect these samples. I look forward to processing them and receiving results.
Mission Report for:
Crew Executive Officer
Clark Overman
Clark Overman's data acquisition is continuous and ongoing. While sleep quality appears to have been improving, last night's data showed a slight decline in quality. He will be looking to see if there is a correlation between the day's activities and the degree of restful sleep obtained.
Mission Report for:
Engineer
Jonathan Beechner
I have devoted this week to recreating a digital scale model of the hab in 3D. I have made considerable progress but still have much to do. So far, the top floor, state rooms, and loft are complete. I am currently working on the bottom floor and expect to finish it within the next two days. Next, I will import my model into Unity 3D and make it interactive (you will be able to put on suits, perform engineering duties, enter the airlock, etc. in the virtual world). I really look forward to the next week and getting to know the new crew.
April 10, 2016
MDRS 167B
Science Report 10 Apr 2016
Sol 02
Jonathan Beechner and Jaxom Hartman are doing joint research that involves creating a MDRS virtual reality simulation. Jaxom is modeling the terrain surrounding the hab and programming interactive EVAs in Unity3D. Jonathan is working on making scale models of the hab, greenhab, and observatory. They will be merging their projects together into one incredible virtual reality Mars experience!
Victoria LaBarre is testing the effect human drivers have on the success of a mission involving a rescue and retrieval robot. The second phase of this robot will test autonomous retrieval success rates and compare them to the human and robot results. The third phase will use the more successful retrieval method in greater depth by focusing on the development of humanoid robotic arms with the ability to perform surgical procedures in transit while returning an injured astronaut back to the Hab. Today was mostly spent re-assembling the robot after decomposition for travel.
Jonathan Beechner
Crew Geologist/Greenhab
Victoria LaBarre
Crew Chemist/Chef
Jaxom Hartman
Crew Biologist/Engineer
April 11, 2016
MDRS 167B
Science Report 11 Apr 2016
Sol 03
Jonathan Beechner and Jaxom Hartman worked on their virtual reality project today. Jonathan finished modeling the air locks in 3D and has nearly completed the downstairs area. All that is left for him is to create the front/back stairs and the diagonal supports outside of the hab. Jaxom continued work creating and improving interactions in his portion of the simulation.
Work on Victoria LaBarre’s rescue and retrieval robot is ongoing. She currently is working on the battery-charging systems and the arm that extend to grab Barbie. She hopes to do her first test mid-week.
Jonathan Beechner
Crew Geologist/Greenhab
Victoria LaBarre
Crew Chemist/Chef
Jaxom Hartman
Crew Biologist/Engineer
April 13, 2016
MDRS 167B
Science Report 13 Apr 2016
Sol 05
In hopes to gather more useful data for his project, Jonathan Beechner went on an EVA to gather measurements of the hab's exteriour. He and Victoria LaBarre measured the front stairs and the metal supports holding up the hab. Jonathan spent the rest of the day modeling the stairs and the airlock doors. Jaxom finally succeeded in implementing a functional, interactive car (ATV) in his part of the VR project. Out of excitement, everyone on the crew took turns taking the vehicle for a spin.
Victoria LaBarre, pending approval, is planning an EVA to test the EMSR tomorrow, Thursday, April 14. Batteries for the rover are currently charging and she completed the wiring and attached the retrieval arm today.
Jonathan Beechner
Crew Geologist/Greenhab
Victoria LaBarre
Crew Chemist/Chef
Jaxom Hartman
Crew Biologist/Engineer
April 15, 2016
MDRS 167B
Science Report 15 Apr 2016
Sol 07
Jonathan Beechner added details to his hab model (windows, the back porch, misc. colors and textures, etc.). He still needs to add furniture and import the model into Unity. Jaxom Hartman made progress debugging code and renovating interactions. The remainder of his terrain modeling will be completed after returning home.
Victoria LaBarre completed a second EVA after making modifications to the rover, switching wheels and adding bars across the wheels to prevent the axels from sliding out of the motor sockets. Today’s test was performed locally outside the Hab to see how well the EMSR could travel through muddy terrain. Results from today’s EVA indicate the EMSR travels with more success over mud or hard terrain, rather than soft silt.
Jonathan Beechner
Crew Geologist/Greenhab
Victoria LaBarre
Crew Chemist/Chef
Jaxom Hartman
Crew Biologist/Engineer
