Crew Photos – April 14th
Science Report – April 14th
Sol 2 – Science Summary
Crew 210 sampled vascular plants and lichens from three sites across the MDRS operational area today; the Valley of the Stars, Salt Creek, and the vicinity of the Burpee Dinosaur Quarry. We collected between 15-20 samples, many of which were species not recorded during previous floristic work at the station in 2014. We will press the samples later this evening to preserve them for later identification. Tomorrow, if time permits, we will continue our sampling in the area just around the hab.
Sol Summary – April 14th
Sol 2 – Anywhere is walking distance if you’ve got the time
Before departing MDRS for a day of botanical sampling, crew 210 spent the morning working on social media outreach and (importantly), fueling up on coffee. While team members emptied the hab car water tank (filled last night in Hanksville), other crew members continued to repair the hab tunnels. The full team (five humans and two space dogs) left the station at 11:30.
After refueling the hab car in Hanksville, we drove to the Factory Butte access road and sampled plants and lichens at the Valley of the Stars and at Salt Creek. We returned to Cow Dung Road and went to continue our plant sampling outside of the Burpee Dinosaur Quarry
When we went to return to MDRS the hab car did not initially start, so Mike Irvine and myself hiked back to the hab from the quarry to retrieve the crew car. However, just as we returned to the hab we heard from the rest of the team over the radio that they were able to restart the car and they made their way back to MDRS.
Tomorrow the team will travel to Loa in the morning to retrieve parts for the ATVs, and plan on sampling around the hab (time-permitting) in the afternoon.
Greenhab Report – April 14th
GreenHab Officer: David Murray
Environmental control: Ambient with door open from 10:40 to 19:19
Shade Cloth: 80%
Average Temperature:
Low Temperature: 14 C
High Temperature: 43 C
Relative humidity: 25%
Hours of Supplemental Light: 0
Daily Water Usage for Crops: 13 L
Water in Blue Tank: N/A
Time(s) of Watering: 10:40 and 19:19
Changes to Crops: None.
Narrative: Our crew spent the day at Salt Creek, a few miles away from the station. Before we left, we watered the crops and left the GreenHab door open but the interior temperature still reached 43 C while we were gone. Since outdoor temperatures are likely to increase until the fall, we’ll probably have to run the fan in addition to propping the door open from here on out. I’ll program the fan to operate during the hottest parts of the day and report the schedule tomorrow. There are discrepancies among the thermometers in the GreenHab and a couple of them have problems with their digital displays. They should be replaced.
Harvest: None
Crew Photos – April 13th
Photo of the day: Crew 210.jpg
Sol Summary – April 13th
Sol 1 – Entry, Descent, and Landing
Crew 210 arrived at the Mars Desert Research Station mid-afternoon today. Consisting of biologists and outreach specialists from across North America, crew 210 will spend the next week conducting a biodiversity survey and ecological inventory of the MDRS area outside of sim. Our team includes:
· Dr. Shannon Rupert, director of the Mars Desert Research station, and desert ecologist.
· David Murray, crew 210 co-lead, MDRS GreenHab director, and desert ecologist.
· Paul Sokoloff, crew 2010 co-lead and botanist at the Canadian Museum of Nature.
· Samantha McBeth, polar biologist, expedition guide, and outreach coordinator.
· Mike Irvine, co-founder of Live It and outreach coordinator.
We spent this afternoon addressing logistical needs around the station, including some repairs of the hab tunnels, two water runs into Hanksville, and repairs to ATVs. We will likely need to run additional errands on Monday, so tomorrow we will begin our sampling program by surveying the vegetation and sampling around Salt Creek, on the Factory Butte road.
This spring has been very lush around MDRS and the “Martian” hills are green with peppergrass and evening primrose, so we are eager to begin our science program in the hopes of finding new plant records for MDRS, and to contribute to long-term ecological monitoring at the station.
You can follow our "Martian" adventures on Twitter (@LiveItearth, @Lady_McBeth_, @paul_sokoloff, @pillowdavid17), and by following #MDRS210 and #MarsBio
Until tomorrow,
Paul S, on behalf of crew 210
Greenhab Report – April 13th
GreenHab Officer: David Murray
Environmental control: Ambient
Shade Cloth: 80%
Average Temperature: N/A
Low Temperature: N/A
High Temperature: N/A
Inside humidity: N/A
Hours of Supplemental Light: 0
Daily Water Usage for Crops: N/A
Water in Blue Tank: N/A
Time(s) of Watering: N/A
Changes to Crops: None.
Narrative: Crew 210 arrived on site this afternoon. The crops look alright for the most part, save for some wilting and stunted growth. The tomato seeds were sprouted in large pots with loose soil, which may explain their inability to continue growth past sprouting cotyledons. Energy stores within the seed will support initial growth, but with large-particle-sized substrate and large pots, the short roots have trouble reaching anything of value, even when the substrate still looks properly watered.
The herb beds and crops that are further along in their growth cycles look healthy. Temperatures are very comfortable here but that means it’ll likely be too hot in the GreenHab during the day. I’ll make sure to leave the door propped open and water the crops before our crew heads out to Salt Creek.
Harvest: None
Operations Report – April 13th
Operations Report 13-APR-2019
SOL: n/a
Name of person filing report: Shannon Rupert
Non-nominal systems: None
Notes on non-nominal systems:
Generator (hours run): Off at 7:30 am, on again at 9:30 pm (11.5 hours last night)
Solar— SOC 96 %.
Diesel Reading – 42 %
Propane Reading – did not read %
Ethanol Free Gasoline – 10 gallons.
Water (auxiliary tank) – 0 gallons
Water (static tank) – 125 gallons (Note: I thought there were about 75 gallons remaining in the tank but there wasn’t even that much. We will get more tomorrow.)
Auxiliary to Static tank transfer– no
Gallons transferred: None
Water in GreenHab – unknown gallons.
Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used – no
Water Meter: not read
Toilet tank emptied: no
Deimos rover used: Still non-operational
Hours:
Beginning charge:
Ending charge:
Currently charging:
Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR, no
Hours: 50.7
Beginning charge: 100
Ending charge: 100
Currently charging: yes
Spirit rover used: No
Hours: 86.5
Beginning charge: 100
Ending charge: 100
Currently charging: yes
Opportunity rover used: yes (just moved to hold down a tarp in the wind)
Hours: 56.4
Beginning charge: 100
Ending charge: 100
Currently charging: no
Curiosity rover used: No
Hours: 88.8
Beginning charge: 100
Ending charge: 100
Currently charging: yes
Notes on rovers: Nothing to report
ATV’s Used: (Honda, 300, 350.1, 350.2, 350.3) Used all but the 300
Reason for use: Preparing to use them later this week
Oil Added? No
ATV Fuel Used: 1 Gal.
# Hours the ATVs were Used today: 1
Notes on ATVs: We spent a lot of time working on the ATVs today with some success. One of the 350s was already working. David picked up a new battery today and we put it in another of the 350s and it is working. We jumped the battery in the other 350, but it seems it could not hold a charge. The Honda’s spark plug is very dirty and we could not get it to turn over. The 300’s battery is charging overnight and hopefully, we will get it running by morning.
The plan is to assess them all again tomorrow and then go to town on Monday for any parts or batteries we may need. The Honda is somewhat clear of mud, the 350 is still really filthy and the mud is like a brick. I purchased a new set of jumper cables to replace the damaged ones I found. I am going to try to repair the damaged ones.
HabCar used and why, where? Yes, to town for supplies and water and trash disposal
CrewCar used and why, where? Yes, used to get the crew here, still on site all week.
General notes and comments: About ¾ of the damaged tunnel is repaired. We will finish this up in the next day or so.
Summary of internet: Password to wifi in Hab was changed, but no one told me! All okay now.
Summary of suits and radios: Nothing to report
Summary of Hab operations: Wheel was removed from the front airlock door so we could get it to close again. The hinged side of the door was severely bent and damaged so we hammered it back as best we could. The door is now closed and secured for the night. We will need to work more on it tomorrow and replace the railing on the porch (which has already had many repairs).
Kitchen shelf was cleared of non-kitchen supplies.
Summary of GreenHab operations: David, our GreenHab Manager, is part of this crew and will be finishing up the repairs and cleaning in the next week.
Summary of ScienceDome operations: Nothing to report
Summary of RAM operations: Nothing to report
Summary of any observatory issues: Nothing to report
Summary of health and safety issues: Nothing to report
Questions, concerns, and requests to Mission Support: Nothing at this time.
Operations Report – Apr 11th
Operations Report 11-APR-2019
SOL: n/a
Name of person filing report: Shannon Rupert
Non-nominal systems: Tunnels
Notes on non-nominal systems: Lost more of the tunnel tarps last night. Repairs will be extensive.
Generator (hours run): Off at 7 am, on again at 7:30 pm
Solar— SOC 98 %.
Diesel Reading – 46 %
Propane Reading – 48 %
Ethanol Free Gasoline – 0 gallons.
Water (auxillary tank) – 0 gallons
Water (static tank) – 75 gallons
Auxillary to Static tank transfer– no
Gallons transferred: No
Water in GreenHab – unknown gallons.
Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used – no
Water Meter: not read
Toilet tank emptied: no
Deimos rover used: Still non-operational
Hours:
Beginning charge:
Ending charge:
Currently charging:
Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR, no
Hours: 50.7
Beginning charge: 100
Ending charge: 100
Currently charging: yes
Spirit rover used: No
Hours: 86.5
Beginning charge: 100
Ending charge: 100
Currently charging: yes
Opportunity rover used: No
Hours: 56.4
Beginning charge: 100
Ending charge: 100
Currently charging: yes
Curiosity rover used: No
Hours: 88.8
Beginning charge: 100
Ending charge: 100
Currently charging: yes
Notes on rovers: Nothing to report
ATV’s Used: (Honda, 300, 350.1, 350.2, 350.3)
Reason for use: None were used.
Oil Added? No
ATV Fuel Used: 0 Gals.
# Hours the ATVs were Used today:0
Notes on ATVs: nothing to report
HabCar used and why, where? Yes, to town for supplies
CrewCar used and why, where? Off-site
General notes and comments: Wind was better today but still not safe to work on tunnels and front airlock door.
In MOST AMAZING NEWS EVER, the county graded the road today! It is still far from perfect, but much better.
Summary of internet: Nothing to report
Summary of suits and radios: Nothing to report
Summary of Hab operations: Did not attempt to repair front airlock again.
Summary of GreenHab operations: And I am still not done with the clean up.
Summary of ScienceDome operations: Nothing to report
Summary of RAM operations: Nothing to report
Summary of any observatory issues: Nothing to report
Summary of health and safety issues: Crew 206 confirmed they left both the biohazard containers and the radish plants. Neither is a health hazard, however, the biohazard containers are a bit of a regulation problem.
Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support:
Crew 206 also left the two car batteries in the EVA room. Again, proper disposal of them is an issue.
Operations Report – April 10th
Operations Report 10-APR-2019
SOL: n/a
Name of person filing report: Shannon Rupert
Non-nominal systems: Tunnels
Notes on non-nominal systems: About 50 % of the tunnel system has been damaged in the winds. No structural damage but most of the tarps are gone or damaged. More high winds today made repairs impossible.
Generator (hours run): Off at 8 am, on again at 7 pm
Solar— SOC 98 %. For some reason, even though it was cloudy all day, the power system worked beautifully.
Diesel Reading – 46 %
Propane Reading – 48 %
Ethanol Free Gasoline – 0 gallons.
Water (auxillary tank) – 0 gallons
Water (static tank) – 75 gallons
Auxillary to Static tank transfer– no
Gallons transferred: No
Water in GreenHab – unknown gallons.
Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used – no
Water Meter: not read
Toilet tank emptied: no
Deimos rover used: Still non-operational
Hours:
Beginning charge:
Ending charge:
Currently charging:
Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR, no
Hours: 50.7
Beginning charge: 100
Ending charge: 100
Currently charging: yes
Spirit rover used: No
Hours: 86.5
Beginning charge: 100
Ending charge: 100
Currently charging: yes
Opportunity rover used: No
Hours: 56.4
Beginning charge: 100
Ending charge: 100
Currently charging: yes
Curiosity rover used: No
Hours: 88.8
Beginning charge: 100
Ending charge: 100
Currently charging: yes
Notes on rovers: Nothing to report
ATV’s Used: (Honda, 300, 350.1, 350.2, 350.3)
Reason for use: None were used.
Oil Added? No
ATV Fuel Used: 0 Gals.
# Hours the ATVs were Used today:0
Notes on ATVs: nothing to report
HabCar used and why, where? No
CrewCar used and why, where? Off-site
General notes and comments: Extreme winds again today. No MOOP was picked up.
Summary of internet: Nothing to report
Summary of suits and radios: Nothing to report
Summary of Hab operations: Front airlock still not fixed due to high winds
Summary of GreenHab operations: Still not done with the cleanup.
Summary of ScienceDome operations: Still need to know who left the biohazard containers and what is in them. (see Health and Safety)
Summary of RAM operations: Nothing to report
Summary of any observatory issues: Nothing to report
Summary of health and safety issues: Does anyone know who left the regulated medical waste at MDRS? There are two small yellow biohazard containers out by the generator that should have been removed by the crew who generated them. As this is a regulated waste, I need to know what is in it and how to dispose of it. Who left it? Please follow up with this, everyone. Thank you.
I would also like reassurances from the crew who had the experiment in the GreenHab with radishes that had people names as the labels that there was no urine or fecal matter or any other human waste (or other animal waste) in the soil. Those pots were very rotten and smelled horrible. Please follow up on this everyone and let me know. Thank you.
Questions, concerns, and requests to Mission Support:
Are the two pumps on the ground working or not working?
Why are there two batteries in the EVA room and what are they for?
See Health and Safety Summary.
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