Crew 272 Sol Summary Report 04-01-2023
Sol: 3
Summary Title: Elusive Gypsum but finally BTS on Mars
Author’s name: Kshitij Mall
Mission Status: All nominal
Sol Activity Summary: After having a good sleep of 8 hours to digest the delicious Pizza prepared by Hemingway/Kenneth (recipe courtesy MDRS veteran Dr. Cesare Guariniello), the crew indulged in the daily routine of short warm up exercises lead by HSO Xerox (Megan). The crew then savored bagels of two flavors along with rehydrated eggs prepared by Hemingway and Xerox. Crew Engineer Scout (Mason) kept tabs on the water usage since the crew consumed more than nominal yesterday. After a briefing session at 0930, the EVA crew started preparing for the EVA. Due to minor anomalies in the GPS device and a minor hiccup with the radio comms, the EVA crew’s departure got slightly delayed. But since safety is of topmost priority, the EVA crew ensured it was completely ready to embark instead of hurrying up. On the side, I used the 3D printed toll made by Xerox to make a hole in the box to place the transmitter.
Thinking like a Martian was need of the hour and the EVA crew implemented it whenever a tough situation was presented. The EVA crew slightly got lost on the way after spotting (and possibly getting intimidated by) an alien ship comprising two aliens. After recovering the way, the EVA crew went ahead but the Perseverance rover reached 60% state of charge and the EVA crew chose to walk on foot to carry on the mission, The EVA crew the climbed on the top of a ledge that they described as the Boiler Ledge. At this ledge they placed a temporary transmission system comprising Microfox 15 transmitter antenna system of 147 MHz frequency. They named it the Boiler Transmission Station (BTS). I used a Yagi-Uda antenna to test the BTS as well a Microfox 15 transmitter placed in the Hab operating with 146 MHz frequency. While the BTS was being established, Scout started what his call sign exactly suggest: Scouting. For this he used a drone named Garud. The performance test of the drone was below nominal, so we counted it as a partial success. The EVA crew then embarked on Mission Gypsum on the approved EVA route but on foot to get some gypsum for the Greenhab Officer, Sprout (Madelyn). Crew Geologist Rocky (Adriana) served as the tour guide for Mars explaining about several Martian rock and river formations. Although gypsum eluded us throughout, other resources were collected to be used at the Greenhab. Rocky kept collecting rocks all along the way and the sampling bag was filled with plethora of rocks. Although the EVA crew had partial success in all the objectives, they felt nice that it was not a complete failure.
The EVA crew embarked on the journey back to the hab and this time tested the discharge rate of the battery on the rovers. We found that driving very slow without many acceleration changes indeed saved the charge on the rovers although more time was needed to cover the required distances. So, it will be a tradeoff. The EVA crew still made it back around 45 minutes before the requested arrival time. After coming back the whole crew filled in the cognitive performance test and the personal survey requested by the XO and Crew Scientist, Maple (Arly). By this time, it was also identified that there was no water leakage of any sorts in the hab, but it was indeed the crew using more water than nominal. The crew has taken a note of it and has taken all necessary actions to bring the water usage down to nominal. Scout and Rocky crashed to bed after an eventful EVA. But I had to forcibly wake up Scout to complete another mission: empty the toilet, which he successfully completed. Scout also completed vacuum cleaning the lower deck, while I am going to vacuum clean the upper deck. Hemingway and I practiced our Russian language skills for a small time, while venturing on some Spanish words on the side. Maple and Scout are on the dinner duty tonight and preparing sweet potato and cauliflower along with rice.
Look Ahead Plan: Continue the range test and scouting operations of Garud (our drone) and to see the BTS in action on Mars
Anomalies in work: None
Weather: Sunny, Clear, Winds Calm
Crew Physical Status: Good
EVA: One
Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Operations Report, Journalist Report, EVA Report, EVA Request, Greenhab Report.
Support Requested: None