Month: January 2019

MDRS Crew 202, Journalist Report

Alexandra Dukes, Crew Journalist

Sol 11 – 01/09/2018

Name the space movie (or show) given the following quote. Answer at the end of the Report:

I’m just a simple man trying to make my way in the universe.

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Aromas of basil, tomatoes, and pesto are filling the habitat tonight as our Italian born Commander crafts homemade pizza for a crew movie night. With 3 days to go before our departure, we are making the most of the dehydrated ingredients that are left in the pantry. Freshly made pizza dough and a choice of tomato or pesto base with previously dehydrated mozzarella cheese, sausage, chicken, and fresh basil from the Green House come together to make a special treat that future Martians would be able to craft and enjoy. A well-deserved meal after the long duration Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) our Commander, Geologist, Engineer, and Executive Officer made to Lith Canyon today.

Lith Canyon is an incredible expanse of deep red canyons and high piled beige rock formations. Our Executive Officer was especially excited after returning from this EVA! He found an area with a high amount of radioactivity. A spot he has been looking for since his first EVA on Sol 3! On each EVA, our Executive Officer carries a black briefcase from which he pulls out a funny looking tan box with 80’s styled stickers and a coiled wire hooked to what appears to be a karaoke microphone. This device measures the radioactivity of an area, an important measurement for future crews on Mars. Astronauts are exposed to high levels of radiation in space travel to the point where NASA sets a threshold for the amount of radiation an astronaut can absorb in their career before having to retire.

While on Mars, the Martian atmosphere is thin and the astronauts will be exposed to cosmic radiation while on the surface. Cosmic radiation cannot be avoided, but we can attempt to decrease the amount of radiation the astronauts are exposed to by identifying areas on the Martian surface where there is a higher amount of radiation. The work performed by our Executive Officer investigates the feasibility of taking radioactive measurements during an EVA, while wearing a big bulky suit, trying to press tiny buttons and write down numbers in large, padded gloves.

Microgreens, geology, and radiation are all important scientific aspects of learning how to survive on the Red Planet, but what about the psychological aspects? During this incredibly risky endeavor, how can we ensure the crew is psychologically prepared? A second research project being pursued by our Executive Officer is investigating if stress affects the amount of risk astronauts are willing to accept when making decisions during an EVA. On average, people who make decisions under stress tend to make riskier decisions. EVAs will be a high-risk activity while on the Martian surface. Every movement will need to be practiced, calculated, and precise to ensure the safety of the crew. The increased risk of decision making by the crew due to stress could be the difference between a successful day and a tragedy.

Stress is a biological response to unknown situations. Short duration stress is what we’re most familiar with. The adrenaline rush of fight or flight. The stress our Executive Office is most interested in, though, is the long duration stress. If our brain stays in fight or flight for more than a half hour, it starts preparing the body to experience stress for an extended period of time by releasing a hormone called cortisol. Cortisol remains in your body for almost an hour after the stressful event and can be measured in our spit. Using a combination of games whose software measures our aversions to risk and a machine that measures the cortisol levels of our spit, our Executive Officer hopes to answer the question of whether stress causes the crew to make riskier decisions. These tests are given to the crew after an EVA and considered a “natural” stressor. A simulated “lab” test is also performed in the habitat, requiring the subject to stick their hand in 2 degrees Celsius water for 2.5 minutes. If you have never jumped in a river in Antarctica, your hand after 30 second begins to feel pain. The next minute is spent going from pain to numb, and after staring at the clock for the last minute, you feel much more awake and alert as the adrenaline rushes through your veins. Luckily, your hand warms up in time to play the stress games and not fumble through the buttons. Our Executive Officer’s wonderful research on radiation and stress will work to improve crew survivability in future Mars missions. Great job Executive Officer! We can’t wait to see the results of your work!

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Movie (or Show) Answer: Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones

Sol 10 – 01/08/2018

Name the space movie (or show) given the following quote. Answer at the end of the Report:

Science fiction. You’re right, it’s crazy. In fact, it’s even worse than that, it’s nuts. You wanna hear something really nutty? I heard of a couple guys who wanna build something called an airplane, you know you get people to go in, and fly around like birds, it’s ridiculous, right? And what about breaking the sound barrier, or rockets to the moon? Atomic energy, or a mission to Mars? Science fiction, right? Look, all I’m asking is for you to just have the tiniest bit of vision. You know, to just sit back for one minute and look at the big picture. To take a chance on something that just might end up being the most profoundly impactful moment for humanity, for the history… of history.

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Have you ever tried celery in eggs? Next time you make scrambled eggs, add in some fried up sausage and celery. It adds a lovely crunch I never would have thought to try before becoming a Martian! This breakfast was especially important since the Commander, Geologist, and I were heading out to our most ambitious Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) to date, an area called “Skyline Rim” which is nearly 7 miles driving from the habitat. Unfortunately, our wonderful rovers cannot go that distance so we geared up and headed out on the ATVs (arguably way more fun to drive). With most, if not all, EVAs, we have been sent off on a quest to find geological samples, but why are these samples so important? What is so great about collecting a bunch of rocks?

I sat down with Ellen Czaplinski, our Crew Geologist and a PhD student in Space and Planetary Science at the University of Arkansas, to get the scoop on why we should all have a greater appreciation for the boulders that make up our home planet and planets beyond. As Crew Geologist, Ellen came into the mission with the research objective of collecting geological samples of sand or rocks near existing or previous areas with flowing water. The samples are valuable because the clays near MDRS are similar to those found on Mars. They will be grouped based on their location in the field and analyzed through infrared spectral analysis. Infrared spectral analysis involves taking a science fiction looking, construction yellow, light gun about the size of the average human forearm and shining its light onto the rock samples. The light projected from the gun bounces off the rock and back towards the gun which measures the light that has been bounced back and tells the user what minerals the rock is made from. After measuring and collecting the samples in the field, they are sent to a lab for further analysis. This work will be important for future Mars missions, and future planetary missions as a whole, since it allows us to practice sample collection in the field in a relatively easier environment than Mars. Additionally, it provides a platform to identify differences in analyzing samples in the field versus studying them in the lab. These differences will help us better analyze sample returns from missions such as the Mars2020 rover, OSIRIS-REx, and Hayabusa2 who all plan to send geological samples back to Earth from Mars, Asteroid Bennu, and Asteroid Ryugu, respectively.

On top of the valuable lessons we will learn from Ellen’s research, we’ve also made surprising finds outside of the expected samples! We’ve found banded iron formations, salt formations such as gypsum, and evaporites. The banded iron formations are some of Earth’s oldest known rock formations. They were abundant in the time of “The Great Oxygenation”, an event nearly 2.4 million years ago when the first organisms began photosynthesizing and creating the world we know today. The rock is approximately the size of a closed fist and is a deep black color with red, iron stripes running through its center. Salt formations and evaporites are the minerals left when water evaporates. For example, if you collected sea water and waited for the water to evaporate, the salty residue that is left would be considered an evaporite. The gypsum in the field appears on the ground like ice shards shattered in the clay. These samples not only add to the diversity of the study but are simply very neat finds while walking across the Martian plains.

Rocks are not just a story of their current environment, but a history book of evolving environments that could date back to the beginning of our home planet. Rocks could start as one mineral, millions of years ago, and evolve through heat and temperature to be redeposited, continuing to record the environment’s history until our Crew Geologist discovers it and translates its pages. Additionally, not all rocks are created equal, and together, they tell the evolution of our planet. Great work Ellen! You’re a ROCKstar!

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Movie (or Show) Answer: Contact