Month: March 2022

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Journalist Report – March 11th

Sol 18 – End clap

Author: Nicolas Wattelle

That’s it, we’re preparing to definitely leave this beautiful red planet… It is a mix of many different emotions: joy, sadness, the first impulses of nostalgia even if we have not yet taken off …

The day was dedicated to tidying up. First, for the trip outside, the morning outing was meant to dismount our external devices. In order, MegaAres, PurpleAir, LOAC, weather station, and HF antenna. It was a last EVA strangely filled with emotions: we carried out rotations throughout the mission to ensure their maintenance, for us it was inked in the routine; yet this morning we removed everything and tomorrow we will no longer have this daily appointment. So, we took advantage of it, the weather was good, we took a few last photos in our suits… Our goodbyes to the Martian ground that we have been walking on for the last 3 weeks.

Then it was the time to clean the Hab, to prepare the field for the next crew who will take over on Sunday. Our personal and work affairs, the sports equipment… It is true that, at the end of these three weeks of mission, our stuff was a little scattered all over the Hab: we used to the maximum the space which was dedicated to us.

At each device dismounted, it was an opportunity for us to remember the moments we spent here. Experiments in the ScienceDome, the few remaining plantations in the GreenHab, the radio set up in the Lower Deck… Some activities went well during this journey, others did not work, sometimes we know the reasons, sometimes not… This is the game of sim. We will have the opportunity to go over all this once back on Earth, but whatever it is we are getting out of here happy with the mission as a whole, and the group is more united than ever by all these adventures: We have lived together on Mars for 3 weeks!

PS: To prove to you that the weather was good, take a look at today’s Sun’s picture taken by our astronomer Marine. The observation conditions were really nice: you can spot Sun flares on the surface!

[end]

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Astronomy Report – March 11th

Name: Marine Prunier

Crew: 263
Date: 08 Mars 2022

MDRS ROBOTIC OBSERVATORY

Robotic Telescope Requested (choose one): MLC-RCOS16

Objects to be Imaged this Evening: M51, LDN 1627

Images submitted with this report: /

Problems Encountered: /

MUSK OBSERVATORY

Solar Features Observed: 5 sunspots

Images submitted with this report: Sun 220311 sunspot 1

Sun 220311 sunspot 2

Problems Encountered: /

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Operations Report – March 11th

Crew 263 Operations Report 11-03-2022

SOL: 18

Name of person filing report: Mathéo Fouchet

Non-nominal systems: Nothing to report

Notes on non-nominal systems: Nothing to report

ROVERS

Spirit rover used: No

Hours: 157.7

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 100%

Currently charging: Yes

Opportunity rover used: Yes

Hours: 87.1

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 99%

Currently charging: Yes

Curiosity rover used: Yes

Hours: 173.2 (we forgot to switch it off after EVA but we did it when we left the Hab when breaking simulation, after EVA it was at 171.1 we apologies for this)

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 99%

Currently charging: Yes

Perseverance rover used: No

Hours: 228.6

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 100%

Currently charging: Yes

General notes and comments: Nothing to report

Summary of Hab operations:

WATER USE: 30 gallons

Water (static tank): 198 gallons

Water (loft tank): 25 gallons

Water Meter: 01564076 units

Static to Loft Pump used: Yes

Static tank pipe heater: On

Static tank heater: On

Toilet tank emptied: No

Summary of internet: Nothing to report

Summary of suits and radios: Nothing to report

Summary of GreenHab operations: Nothing to report

Summary of ScienceDome operations:

Dual split: Off

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 to report

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Sol Summary – March 11th

Crew 263 Sol Summary 11-03-2022

Sol: 18

Summary Title: Safe return on Earth

Author’s name: Cerise Cuny

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: This morning, during EVA we were able to disassemble the atmospheric experiment and the HF antenna, quite quickly. Valentine did the last session of the Human Factors Experiment. The rest of the day was dedicated to tidying and cleaning the Science Dome, the RAM and the Hab.

We were very moved to live our last moments on Mars. We broke the sim at 5:44pm. After enjoying Earth’s gravity and feeling the air on our skin, we jumped into the Crew Car to have burgers in Hanksville. We were getting less and less inspired with the dehydrated food, so we found the burgers particularly tasty. It was also kind of emotional to talk to strangers.

Look ahead plan: Tonight, we will stargaze and tomorrow morning we will go watch the sunrise. After that we will do the last of the cleaning and head back to Grand Junction.

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: Clear sky.

Crew Physical Status: Very good.

EVA: EVA 22 and EVA 23 in the morning, nominal.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, 2 EVA Report (n°22 and 23), Operations Report, Journalist Report, HSO Report, Astronomy Report, Mission Summary.

Support Requested: None.

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Sol Summary – March 9th

Crew 263 Sol Summary 09-03-2022

Sol: 16

Summary Title: Productive day

Author’s name: Cerise Cuny

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: This morning, just as yesterday, we did not have a morning sports session altogether, as four of us had to preserve our energy for the EVA. The EVA went very well, we were able to do a very good amount of LIBS analysis. We were very impressed by the Summerville formation. Meanwhile, the three other crew members did some sport and prepared an excellent meal: rice salad with tuna and vegetables.

All day long we performed the ultrasound experiment for the French Space Agency. We are improving in terms of speed and quality of the acquisitions. We had diverse activities for other experiments such as Aquapad, Plant gravitropism, Spiruline growth with urine, etc. Lea and Marine had a lot of geological post-processing to do after this morning’s EVA and an exhaustive report.

Look Ahead Plan: Tomorrow will be a lighter day in terms of activities. In the morning, a very important EVA for Search & Rescue of Astronauts is planned in the North. Two crew members will go through their last session of a particularly long and exhausting human factors experiment.

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: Few clouds, except at noon (very cloudy). Light rain in the afternoon. Very high winds in the afternoon. Temperatures between -3 and 12°C.

Crew Physical Status: Very good.

EVA: EVA 20 in the morning. A suit’s battery died during EVA.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, EVA Report (n°20), EVA Request (n°21), Operations Report, Journalist Report, HSO Report, Astronomy Report.

Support Requested: None.

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Research Report – March 9th

Name: Marine Prunier
Crew: 263
Date: 09 Mars 2022

MDRS ROBOTIC OBSERVATORY

Robotic Telescope Requested (choose one): MLC-RCOS16

Objects to be Imaged this Evening: None (New Mexico observatory closed for wind)

Images submitted with this report: /

Problems Encountered: The observations of LDN 1627 and M51 submitted yesterday on Skynet (8 Mars) were really blurry, a warning sign was displayed next to every observation file. The wind was less than a few Mph yesterday according to www.nmskies.com, I wonder what the issue was. When seeing that the first pictures were not very good, I canceled the rest of the observations (not to waste too many Skynet credits).

MUSK OBSERVATORY

Solar Features Observed: /
Images submitted with this report: /
Problems Encountered: /

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EVA Report – March 9th

Crew 263 EVA 20 Report 09-03-2022

EVA # 20

Author: Cerise Cuny

Purpose of EVA: Replacing the batteries for the atmospheric experiments, a second analysis of sulfate deposits using a handheld LIBS (Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy) analyser.

Start time: 08:09 am
End time: 12:19 pm

Narrative: We first checked the rovers’ batteries and usage duration, then drove with Opportunity (86.3h and 100%) and Curiosity (170.3h and 100%) to the atmospheric experiment site. Changing the batteries took only 5 minutes this time, everything went well. At 8:25 we left for Candor Chasma.

As planned, we stopped at the intersection of Galileo Road and Streambed connector at 8:40 (Opportunity 86% and Curiosity 88%). From there, the canyon was reached by foot. We found our path very easily thanks to the very precise instructions and pictures of yesterday’s EVA team.

Inside the canyon, we made several stops to proceed on pictures and LIBS analysis. We took a sampling of what we thought was a nodule for further analysis at the station. The drone was quite useful to evaluate which arms of the canyon were accessible by foot. We were able to reach outcrops that wouldn’t be reachable by a Martian rover.

We also tried to use it to spot interesting outcrops but at some point, the Summerville formation was everywhere around us, so it was easy to find relevant outcrops with our own eyes.

At 11:11, we u-turned and reached the rovers at 11:50, with several breaks to catch our breath. Elena’s suit went out of battery at 11:15 during our return, she struggled a bit with fog in the helmet. We entered the AirLock at 12:19 for depressurisation.

Opportunity: Usage Duration – 86.7 Battery Charge – 81%

Curiosity: Usage Duration – 170.7 Battery Charge – 81%

Destination: Zone G -final expected point of interest is located at coordinate 4251533.157 N 521043.495 E.

Participants: Cerise Cuny (EVA leader), Nicolas Wattelle, Mathéo Fouchet, Elena Lopez-Contreras Gonzalez

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Entrance Road, Cow Dung Road, Galileo Road 1104.

Mode of travel: Rover for battery change and then until the entrance of Candor Chasma, By Foot in Candor Chasma.

Vehicles you will be using (If applicable): Curiosity, Opportunity

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Operations Report – March 9th

Crew 263 Operations Report 09-03-2022

SOL: 16

Name of person filing report: Mathéo Fouchet

Non-nominal systems: Nothing to report

Notes on non-nominal systems: Nothing to report

ROVERS

Spirit rover used: No

Hours: 157.7

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 100%

Currently charging: Yes

Opportunity rover used: Yes

Hours: 86.7

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 81%

Currently charging: Yes

Curiosity rover used: Yes

Hours: 170.7

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 81%

Currently charging: Yes

Perseverance rover used: No

Hours: 228.6

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 100%

Currently charging: Yes

General notes and comments: Nothing to report

Summary of Hab operations:

WATER USE: 17 gallons

Water (static tank): 245 gallons

Water (loft tank): 38 gallons

Water Meter: 01563570 units

Static to Loft Pump used: Yes

Static tank pipe heater: On

Static tank heater: On

Toilet tank emptied: Yes, and it is not even smelling when being emptied so that is good news

Summary of internet: Nothing to report

Summary of suits and radios: I glued the ring of the suit’s helmet as suggested by Scott yesterday. Then I put it in the RAM so that Shannon can take it and see what she can do about it. Also, during today’s EVA, suit #2 shut down after 3 hours of use. We were on our way back to the station so we could not do anything about it. I suppose it is quite normal for a long EVA due to the suit’s battery.

Summary of GreenHab operations: Nothing to report

Summary of ScienceDome operations:

Dual split: Off

SOC: 89% at 6:38pm

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 to report

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