April 26, 2022 – Mars Desert Research Station

April 26, 2022May 2, 2022

Sol Summary – April 26th

Crew 265 Sol Summary Report 04/26/22
Sol: 2
Summary Title: First full Sol on Mars
Author’s Name: Marc Levesque, Crew Commander

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary:

Crew 265 began its first full day on Mars with a full course of project activities during two EVAs. During the morning, the crew set up a radio repeater on North Ridge to begin testing its capabilities for the communications project. The climb up North Ridge was steep in sections, but the team was able to reach the site despite carrying several pieces of heavy equipment.

The entire EVA took only two hours to accomplish the task, well under the amount of time planned. The repeater was then operational for the afternoon EVA that tested radio communications with the Hab to the east in Candor Chasma. Prior to that, the EVA team also ascended The Peanut to conduct a mapping project objective to determine mapping datum accuracy. Despite some issues with the project radios, results so far from using the repeater are encouraging.

Look Ahead Plan: One EVA is planned for tomorrow to test the radio repeater at Kissing Camel Ridge and Zubrin’s Head. The Smart Home energy project will also commence at the Hab, while the Social Media project will continue there as well.

Anomalies in work: None

Crew Physical Status: Good.

EVA: None

Reports to be filed:

Sol Summary
Operations Report
HSO Report
Crew Journalist
EVA Request
EVA Reports
Pictures and Picture of the Day

Support Requested: None

April 26, 2022May 2, 2022

Crew Photos – April 26th

photo-of-the-day: DB2B9CF3…jpeg

April 26, 2022May 2, 2022

Journalist Report – April 26th

Crew 265 Journalist Report, April 26, 2022

Sol: 02

Summary Title: A Walk to Remember.

Author: Sarah Treadwell, Crew Journalist

After another restless night’s sleep for this crew journalist, I awoke to the comforting smell of coffee brewing and the bustling of my fellow crew members preparing their breakfasts.

The day was off to a strong start, as our Commander Marc, Engineer Sergii, and Mapping Technicians Benny and Isai were scheduled for the very first EVA. This one was an important one, as they planned to hike to a nearby ridge to set up a new radio transmitter. This is a crucial first stage in our overall mission, which is to improve the communications systems for the station.

The energy was high as they left, with myself and Executive Officer Dave staying behind to act as CapCom (or as we call it, HabCom). However, upon return, the look of pure exhaustion was evident on their faces. Shortly after removing his helmet, Commander Marc exclaimed, “That was one of the hardest EVAs I’ve ever been on.”

The climb, while also carrying equipment, was strenuous and pushed all involved to their limits. The question soon became, was this first EVA worth the effort? Will the new transmitter access radio dead zones that the previous system has not? This question was soon to be answered with EVA number 2, consisting of myself, Executive Office Dave, and a, fairly exhausted, but still willing to go Engineer Sergii.

After we traveled around to different distant points, it seems clear that there is much promise for this new system, but some hiccups to work out. I personally enjoyed seeing the various rock formations and obvious evidence of water erosion in the canyon we walked around in. Further fine-tuning and testing of the radios will continue through the duration of the mission.

As we returned to the station and gathered back together for dinner, subtle reminders of home permeated our conversation. Some of us are still working on degrees and have studies to attend to and we talked about recent exams. We pondered how our choices have led us down paths we never expected while wondering how different our lives could have been having we picked a different route.

It’s a funny thing, wondering how much of our fates really are in our control. I have found that opportunities sometimes come when you least expect them and that other thing slips past us for the best. Our time here together at MDRS will certainly be a moment stamped in time. Hopefully, that will be a memorable part in the stories of our lives that we write.

“We as humans evolved as creatures who could learn to adapt to any situation, no matter how harsh. We will meet many setbacks on the way to Mars. However, we can persevere.” – Alex Mather, winner of the Name the Robot Essay contest to name the Mars 2020 Rover (Perseverance).

April 26, 2022May 2, 2022

Operations Report – April 26th

Crew 265 Operations Report Sol 2 26-04-2022

SOL:2

Name of person filing report: Dave Laude/Sergii Iakymov

Non-nominal systems: Furnace, suit #8

Notes on non-nominal systems: Furnace is functional and we remain cautious over its limiting to early morning only. The suit has blown a fuse during our mission while on the table.

ROVERS

Spirit rover used: Yes

Hours: 173.6

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 86%

Currently charging: Yes

Opportunity rover used: No

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging: Yes

Curiosity rover used: No

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging: Yes

Perseverance rover used: Yes

Hours: 235.7

Beginning charge: 100

Ending charge: 68

Currently charging: Yes

General notes and comments:
Summary of Hab operations:
WATER USE:

Water (static tank): Not full. ~445 gallons.

Water (loft tank): 25 gallons

Water Meter: 158080.8units
Static to Loft Pump used – No

Static tank pipe heater (on or off): Off

Static tank heater (On or off): Off

Toilet tank emptied: No
Summary of internet: Nominal

Summary of suits and radios: Batteries charging.

Suite #8 has a blown fuse and loose wires. One of the suit chargers has a loose wire as well. Both will be repaired, but the source of the blown fuse is a mystery at the moment. We have a bag of spares.

Two suit batteries labeled as bad were tested and had low capacity at 2.5-3.5 A-hr. Two unlabeled and non-boxed batteries were tested at 2.9-4.7 A-hr. There are more unlabeled that I assume are deficient and not planning to test, but can test them if needed. I am now testing a boxed and apparently new battery.

April 26, 2022May 2, 2022

EVA Report – April 26th

Crew 265 EVA Report 04/26/22

EVA # 1

Author: Levesque

Purpose of EVA: To set up a radio repeater on North Ridge.

Start time: 0830
End time: 1030

Narrative: The team proceeded on foot to the base of the North Ridge, where it began a steep climb to attain the ridge. Despite the steepness in a couple of sections and the heavy equipment, the team made good time. At the deployment site, the crew then set up the mast, antenna, and repeater before checking and securing all components. A final check was made to ensure the repeater was working before returning to the Hab.

Destination: North Ridge
Coordinates: UTM NAD27 CONUS 0518428 4251615
Participants: Levesque, Iakymov, Blanco, and Licea
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: North from the Hab
Mode of travel: On foot

April 26, 2022May 2, 2022

EVA Report – April 26th

Crew 265 EVA Report 26-04-2022

EVA # 2

Author: Laude

Purpose of EVA: To capture comparison coordinates, check road conditions, and test repeater operation.

Start time: 13:30

End time: 17:05

Narrative: We had a timely start and made some comm checks along the way to The Peanut. The Peanut is actually a ridge about 8M in height, 20M in-depth, and 100M in width and somewhat resembling a peanut on its side. Coordinates were recorded in 3 systems of coordinates for later comparison. We then returned to the rovers and drove to where Lowell Rd 1104 should intercept Galileo Rd 1104 and stopped. Galileo road conditions were mostly smooth with a few rougher spots requiring a crawl.

Laude walked the area to find the best access to Lowell Rd as there has been little traffic to make a noticeable trail at that point. Finding a probable route, we drove to what was obviously Lowell Rd and went some 2KM all the while logging GPS coordinates. Lowell road conditions were similar to Galileo’s except narrower.

A semi-skilled or better rover driver would be able to drive these roads. At that point, Percy (one passenger) was down to 74% SOC while Spirit (two) was 94% and so we doubled back to find easy access into Candor Chasm on foot. We entered the Chasm and traveled ~1.5KM testing radio comms and logging data as we went. There were blocks of conglomerate rock composed of pebbles and coarse sand particles indicating water flow in the distant past. Also, the stratigraphy of the walls indicated water flow. No other signs of liquid water were apparent. After completion, we traveled back to the hab. The EVA was completely successful and rewarding.

Destination: The Peanut and Candor Chasm

Coordinates (use UTM NAD27 CONUS): UTM NAD27 CONUS 0519598 4252491 (The Peanut); 0520347 4251078 (Candor Chasm entrance)

Participants: EVA Commander Laude, Iakymov, Treadwell

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Cow Dung Road to Galileo Road to Lowell Road if accessible and return

Mode of travel: Spirit and Perseverance and on foot

April 26, 2022May 2, 2022

Journalist Report – April 26th

Crew 265 Journalist Report, April 26, 2022

Sol: 02

Summary Title: A Walk to Remember.

Author: Sarah Treadwell, Crew Journalist

After another restless night’s sleep for this crew journalist, I awoke to the comforting smell of coffee brewing and the bustling of my fellow crew members preparing their breakfasts.

The climb, while also carrying equipment, was strenuous and pushed all involved to their limits. The question soon became, was this first EVA worth the effort? Will the new transmitter access radio dead zones that the previous system has? This question was soon to be answered with EVA number 2, consisting of myself, Executive Office Dave, and a, fairly exhausted, but still willing to go Engineer Sergii.

It’s a funny thing, wondering how much of our fates really are in our control. I have found that opportunities sometimes come when you least expect it and that other things slip past us for the best. Our time here together at MDRS will certainly be a moment stamped in time. Hopefully, that will be a memorable part of the stories of our lives that we write.