EVA Report for 23Jan2018
Author: Oscar Ojeda
Purpose of EVA: Aerial mapping of terrain, testing of long-range EVA protocols, and long-range operation test of Cóndor Space Suit Simulator, Collection of possible halophile samples.
Participants: Oscar, Cynthia, Tania, and Danton
Coordinates: 518500 E, 4256500 N
Narrative: Two EVAs were undertaken today, the second one consisted on driving through Cow Dung Road to discharge the battery od each of the new rovers, to increase their battery life. The crew departed at 16:00 and was returning at the hab at 17:00. One of the crewmember’s radio was drained during the return, so he took the center position in the formation, for safety.
The first EVA took a crew of 4 to Lith canyon. The goals of the EVA were attained. The crew left the airlock at 10:35, securing the elements to the ATVs and taking the specified route, taking Cow Dung road north. The crew arrived at the entrance of the Special Region and struggled for about half an hour to find the entrance to the rest of the road, which is not easily visible. After finding the entrance the crew proceeded with the rest of the vehicle road, taking Lith Canyon Road to it’s end. At this point, the ATVs were left and the crew started walking up a hill to have a better visual of the area and plan the next exploration steps. Aerial footage was also taken from the Drone. Walking exploration of Lith canyon was undertaken, walking west from the position where the ATVs were parked. The crew walked towards the western wall of the canyon, departing after into the eastern limit, where aerial footage was gathered. The zone presented a significant amount of cactus and hervibore presence evidence. The crew started the return walk by 14:05, arriving to the ATVs by 14:45. The ATVs were boarded, and the road back resumed. On the way back, a sample of soil containing salt deposits was taken for further analysis for Halophiles. The crew arrived to the hab at 15:35, ending the EVA.