Crew 272 EVA Report 12-01-2023
EVA # 9
Author: Arly Black
Purpose of EVA: 1) Geologic EVA to Cowboy Corner to investigate an inverted paleochannel identified by Clarke and Stoker (2011). 2) Test of 3D printed geologic tools.
Start time: 11:00 PM
End time: 2:15 PM
Narrative: It being Sol 11, Crew 272 is now old hat at getting ready and suited up for EVAs, and we were ready and out the door in no time. Megan and Adriana led the way in Curie, while Arly and Kenny followed in Oppy. It was a gorgeous, sunny day. The crew drove north along Cow Dung Road towards Cowboy Corner, parked the rovers, and walked west. We made our way to the inverted paleochannel — or giant mound for us non-geological folks — Adriana had identified for investigation. Our first task was to test the 3D printed rock hammers Megan created back at the Hab throughout our mission. One was a lovely pale green and made of PLA material, while the other was smaller, bright purple, and made of PETG material. Both contained 20% infill, which is a characteristic that dictates material strength, structure, and weight. Both hammers proved useful for digging and prying soft sediment, but neither were very beneficial for hammering hard rock as they lacked a certain heaviness in the hammer head. Adriana preferred the smaller hammer as it felt stronger, which aligns with the material strength specs of PETG. Adriana also enjoyed how light the hammers felt in her tool belt, relative to her bulky metal hammer.
We proceeded to walk around the large mound, exploring the many boulders and features of the area. Adriana dictated lithologic descriptions to Arly and collected hand samples that contained sedimentary structures. She documented more paleo flow indicators and compared it with findings from Kissing Camel Ridge. She noted that it looks to have a very similar depositional environment to KCR in terms of the sediment and paleo flow indicators. This makes her believe that they are a conjoined fluvial system – in other words, they are part of one system that existed at the same time. Adriana also thinks she found coal in both locations which further explains the depositional environment. “The story is slowly coming together!”, she announced excitedly, as the rest of the crew nodded, pretending to understand. And with that, Professor Brown’s Mars geology course came to an end. I think I speak for the rest of the crew when I say Adriana is going to make an incredible Professor one day.
Having accomplished all we came to do, we headed back to the Hab 15 minutes early. No alien sightings today. It’s really starting to feel like Mars out there.
Destination: Cowboy Corner
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): N518800, E4253000
Participants: Megan Rush (HSO), Adriana Brown (Crew Geologist), Arly Black (XO/Crew Scientist), Kenny Pritchard (Crew Journalist)
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Drove north along Cow Dung Road until Cowboy Corner. Parked the rovers and walked west along the inverted paleochannel (0.5 km west of Cow Dung Road).
Mode of travel: Walking and driving