Journalist Report – April 20th

[ Solvitur ambulando ] Journalist Report
Crew 245 Journalist report 20 April 2022
Sol: 10
Name of person filing the report: Dr. Benjamin Pothier

Our stay on the red planet is getting closer to its end and it made me wonder if this experience already changed me. All members of the crew are undoubtedly overachievers and multitaskers, a type of profile that fits perfectly with our mission.

Even though we all have our repetitive tasks that in a way summarize our main specialties, from the crew engineer to the commander, from the crew journalist to the executive officer, or from the health and safety officer to the crew scientist, there is at least one task that is always new for us: to conduct EVA, to go and explore the close and far surroundings of our habitat, a human oasis in the middle of this desert land.

The Bard would probably once again enjoy this quote from Heraclitus: "No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man."

So yes in a way though we are all highly adaptive yet constant human beings in this crew, each and every extra-vehicular activity changes us. We are field researchers, and we solve problems by walking: "Solvitur ambulando". Another step on the Martian soil, then another, then another…

EVA Report 2 – April 20th

Crew 245 EVA Report 20-04-2022
SOL: 10
EVA #: 15
Author: Vittorio Netti

Purpose of EVA: Fourth EVA of the spit cortisol test.

Start time: 10:45
End time: 13:00

Narrative: This EVA was part of 4 EVAs to evaluate the cortisol levels in 2 crew members before and after an EVA, with or without the help of a detailed map of the area obtained previously with a drone. In this EVA, Vittorio navigated between 2 waypoints with a map generated by a drone (the other crew member will have a GPS in case). The EVA team walked in the beautiful landscape, trying to find their way to the arrival waypoint. Once reached, they went back to the rover and got back to the Hab.

Destination: Tank wash
Coordinates (UTM NAD27 CONUS): 4252697 N; 519588 E

Participants: Vittorio Netti (EVA Commander), Nadia Maarouf (HSO), Simone Paternostro

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: North on Cow Dung Road 0110
Mode of travel: Rover and Walking

EVA Report – April 20th

Crew 245 EVA Report 20-04-2022
SOL: 10
EVA #: 14
Author: Paolo Guardabasso

Purpose of EVA: Third EVA of the spit cortisol test.

Start time: 07:50
End time: 10:00

Narrative: This EVA was part of 4 EVAs to evaluate the cortisol levels in 2 crew members before and after an EVA, with or without the help of a detailed map of the area obtained previously with a drone. In this EVA, Paolo navigated between 2 waypoints with the map provided by MDRS (the other crew member in EVA had a GPS in case). The EVA team walked in the beautiful landscape, trying to find their way to the arrival waypoint. Once reached, they explored the area a little more and then went back to the rover and got back to the Hab.

Destination: North Ridge
Coordinates (UTM NAD27 CONUS): 4251500 N; 518500 E

Participants: Paolo Guardabasso (EVA Commander), Luca Rossettini (HSO), Benjamin Pothier
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: North on Cow Dung Road 0110

Mode of travel: Rover and Walking

Operations Report – April 20th

Crew 245 Operations Report 20-04-2022
SOL: 10
Name of the person filing report: Luca Rossettini

Non-nominal systems: Heating system.
Notes on non-nominal systems: –

ROVERS

Spirit rover used: Yes
Hours: 172.4
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 80%
Currently charging: Yes

Opportunity rover used: Yes
Hours: 95.6
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 95%
Currently charging: Yes

Curiosity rover used: Yes
Hours: 184.9
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 78%
Currently charging: Yes

Perseverance rover used: No
Hours: 235.6
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: -%
Currently charging: –

General notes and comments: None

Summary of Hab operations:

WATER USE
Water (static tank): 342 gallons
Water (loft tank): 12 gallons
Water Meter: 157861.9
Static to Loft Pump used: Yes
Static tank pipe heater: Off
Static tank heater: Off
Toilet tank emptied: No

Summary of internet: nothing to report

Summary of suits and radios: All suits nominal. We found a charger plug not properly connected and fixed the problem. Because of that, the batteries that we thought to be exhausted at the beginning of the simulation, in fact, were not. We put them in charge and they are working properly. The LEDs on the chargers stay on even if the plug is not properly connected to the wall and the suit battery is connected to the charger. This behavior could be misleading.

Summary of GreenHab operations:

WATER USE: 0 gallons
Heater: Off
Supplemental light: Off
Harvest:

Summary of ScienceDome operations: Nothing to report

Dual split (Heat/AC): Off

Summary of RAM operations: nothing to report

Summary of any observatory issues: Not used, nothing to report

Summary of health and safety issues: nothing to report

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: The LEDs on the chargers stay on even if the plug is not properly connected to the wall and the suit battery is connected to the charger. This behavior could be misleading.

Sol Summary – April 20th

Crew 245 Sol Summary Report 20-04-2022
SOL: 10
Summary Title: A good sol
Author’s name: Paolo Guardabasso

Mission status: Operations proceed nominally, with some more focus on the journalist’s work filming the station.

Sol Activity Summary: This morning the cortisol stress level test experiment EVA was completed, and in the afternoon we dedicated time to experiments and return logistics.

Look Ahead Plan: Tomorrow will be our last day of sim. We plan to spend the day doing inventory for shipment, work on the final research report and perhaps perform our two last EVAs, depending on the weather.

Anomalies in work: None, the suit problem apparently had a very trivial solution, linked to a misplacement of the chargers’ multiple plugs (see operations report for details).

Weather: Very beautiful day, that allowed swift EVAs and comfortable temperature in the afternoon. Temperature 6 (low) and 25 (high) C, Wind speed 19 (avg) and 24 (max) kph

Crew Physical Status: All nominal.

EVA: Two consecutive EVAs have been performed. They represent the second part of two parts of the stress level experiment, where 2 crew members will have to explore and navigate an area with and without a digital map previously generated with a drone.

Reports to be filled:
– HSO report
– Operation report
– Journalist report
– Some pictures + picture of the day
– EVA request (2)
– EVA report (2)

Support Requested: None at the moment.

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