GreenHab Report – January 30th

 

GreenHab Officer: Tyler Hines

Environmental control: heater

Average temperatures: 67.5 F

Hours of supplemental light: 4 hours

Daily water usage for crops: 11.62 gallons

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 0

Water in Blue Tank: 188.38 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 9 am

Changes to crops: N/A

Narrative: Monitored and watered GreenHab crops, including additional watering for the tomato plants due to being particularly dry. Cleaned the interior of pots and beds from dead leaves and debris. Identified and listed items to be harvested the following day.

Harvest: N/A

Support/supplies needed: N/A

Journalist Report – January 30th

 

Crew 274 Journalist Report 1-30-2023

Sol: 1

Author: Tony DiBernardo, Crew Journalist

Title: The Inner Light

After a successful arrival and ingress into MDRS yesterday, Crew 274 woke up in simulation this morning at 7:30am to the song “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” and a recorded message from Dr. Kristen Miller, inspiring the team with advice and encouragement to embrace the experience. The “Wake Up Song” tradition, dating back to the Gemini program, will live on through the crew as each day they’ll hear a song and message sent to them from a family member or supporter of the program. Then, every morning, each crew member will complete an Emotional Recognition Test and a Psychological Survey that consists of 234 questions to track changes in each crew member over the course of the mission.

The crew consists of 8 members, all with their own experiments:

Commander Sarah “Ceres” Guthrie
Experiment: Evaluating Contingency EVAs and Rescue Techniques for Planetary Surface Missions

Crew Engineer Lex “Kepler” Lojek.
Experiment: Focused breathing and its effects on physiological indicators of stress and performance.

Crew Astronomer Salina “Nova” Pena
Experiment: Generating Multi-bandpass Lightcurve Data on HADS Variable Star v0799 AUR

Crew Astronomer Noah “Phoenix” Loy
Experiment: Analyze Solar Flare, CME, and Daily Space Weather Data

Health & Safety Officer Nick “X-Man” Pender
Experiment: Supply Cache Use for Extension of Human Exploration on Mars

GreenHab Officer Tyler “Houston” Hines
Experiment: Observing Growth Rates Of Space-Exposed Seeds In Martian Simulated Regolith Samples

Hab Specialist, Secondary Engineer Bill “Titan” O’Hara
Experiment: Habitat Design Case Study

Crew Journalist Tony “Iron Man” DiBernardo
Experiment: In-Hab and Extravehicular Media & Outreach

EVA Activity

On the first day of the mission, two training EVAs are required of the crew by MDRS Mission Support to walk through all EVA practices and procedures. Prior to the first EVA, Tony “Ironman” DiBernardo had an issue with the air supply connections being cross-threaded on his EVA suit. We moved to a different suit for the EVA and afterwards, Lex “Kepler” Lojek and Bill “Titan” O’Hara were able to troubleshoot and repair the suit. Both EVA crews used the rovers to drive out to Marble Ritual, a landmark nearby the habitat. The assignment was to perform an hour-long EVA and return safely. The crew members became familiar with the rovers, explored, collected rocks and petrified wood, and acclimated to the new simulated martian landscape.

GreenHab

Tyler “Houston” Hines, Greenhab Officer, began his two experiments in the science dome. His experiments involve growing seeds in a mixture of simulated Mars regolith, organic material and water infused with potassium, nitrogen, phosphorus. The seeds being tested are standard microgreens and seeds from NASA SEEDS experiment, which flew seeds to space aboard the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF), launching in 1984 aboard Space Shuttle Challenger and returned in 1990 by Space Shuttle Columbia. Tyler was advised by HSO Nick “X-Man” Pender on the memory functionality of the Thermo-hygrometer and will continue to water and monitor growth throughout the remainder of the mission.

Astronomy

Crew astronomers Noah “Phoenix” Loy and Salina “Nova” Pena canceled all operations due to cloudy weather and non-optimal viewing conditions, but were able to take required pictures of the Musk Observatory, including the astronomy laptop boxes, the first aid kit and the solar telescope. They plan to continue heliophysics and High Amplitude Delta Scuty (HADS) observations tomorrow, weather permitting.

Hab Design

Bill “Titan” O’Hara started a draft of a habitat design case study report. This report will explore and analyze the effectiveness of the design of the MDRS habitat to inform the design of future habitats. Bill also worked with Salina to take a complete inventory on all food in the hab, identifying and planning our use of food for the remainder of the mission.

Engineering

Lex “Kepler” Lojek took measurements of the water level to find that the crew used more water than was originally allocated per day to have the water supply last for the duration of the mission. Prior to entering simulation, he made a starting measurement of 491 gallons, which gives the crew approximately 35 gallons per day for drinking, showering, dishes, bathroom use, and all other water usage excluding watering plants in the GreenHab. Before 5pm on Day 1, Lex measured a total water tank volume of 445 gallons, coming out to 46 gallons used by the crew so far. Thoughts were thrown around by the crew on water conservation efforts, such as using cooking and dishwashing water for other uses, but the crew agreed to continue for 2 more days without extreme water rationing to create a more accurate estimate of projected daily use.

Health & Safety

Health & Safety Officer, Nick “X-Man” Pender, will be conducting an experiment to implement supply caches along EVA routes to set a baseline for safe travel distances by foot. Identifying these limits will ensure that no terrestrial astronaut will be without supplies should an emergency occur while on EVA. Today, Nick tested the operability of an in-suit hydration system and confirmed that the proposed hydration hose and GU Energy gel pack can indeed fit into EVA helmet. He plotted the route for tomorrow’s EVAs which will establish a 30-minute hiking distance baseline and he prepared the GPS equipment for crew use on all future EVAs. During dinner, Nick alerted Mission Control of a broken oven knob that wouldn’t allow us to turn the stove off on one burner. Ultimately, we pulled of the knob and forced the knob to the off position with pliers.

We ended the day cooking spaghetti with dehydrated bean-bolognese pasta and parmesan while watching Star Trek TNG S5E25: The Inner Light. Tomorrow, we look forward to clear skies and safe EVAs. Ad Martes!

Sol Summary Report – January 30th

 

Crew 274 Sol Summary Report 01-31-2023

Sol: 1

Summary Title: Training Day – Extra-vehicular activities (EVA)and Martian Land Rovers

Author’s name: Sarah E. Guthrie “Ceres”, Commander

Mission Status: Possible weather impact for two requested EVAs on 1-31-2023, standing by for MCC approval.

Sol Activity Summary: Crew completed required EVA and rover training at Marble Ritual. EVA 1 departed habitat at 10:25am which was 25 minutes past the requested deployment time. Complications with EVA suits caused delays (see Anomalies in work and Operations Report). EVA 1 consisted of crew members: CDR – Guthrie (EVA 1 Lead), O’Hara, Pender (HSO) and DiBernardo on rovers Spirit and Perseverance. EVA 1 returned to habitat at 10:59am to meet the approved EVA request. EVA 2 deployed on time at 1:00pm with crew members Lojek (EVA 2 Lead), Loy, Pena and Hines on rovers Curiosity and Opportunity. EVA 2 returned to habitat at 1:55pm. The Solar Observatory was unveiled and inspected per MDRS Staff guidance and will be activated tomorrow. Crew experienced a small kitchen fire when the stovetop knob ceased to operate properly, MDRS Support guidance advised using pliers to turn the burner off. There was no damage to personnel or habitat. Additionally, Engineer Lojek evaluated the 500 gal water reservoir, it is estimated the crew has used approximately 45 gals of water in 24 hours. The crew is discussing water conservation efforts to extend the life of the reservoir to EOM.

Look Ahead Plan: Rain received this afternoon may impact EVA 3 and 4 requests due to muddy conditions. Should this occur, Crew 274 will shift mission schedule to habitat maintenance (cleaning), individual research projects, and mission planning for Sol 3 EVA requests.

Anomalies in work: EVA Suit #1 fan is inop. Engineer Lojek and Hab Specialist are investigating the issue. Oven light inop (noted in Operations Report).

Weather: Sunny, highs -0.5C, low -7C

Crew Physical Status: Optimal

EVA: EVA 1 and EVA 2 completed for training at Marble Ritual.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Operations Report, Green Hab Report, Journalist Report, and Astronomer Report.

Support Requested: Food inventory complete, separate request to follow.

Science Report – January 29th

 

 

Crew 274 – ARG-1M

Crew Commander: Sarah E. Guthrie (USA)

Crew Engineer: Alexis J. Lojek (USA)

Crew Astronomer: Salina Pena (USA)

Health and Safety Officer: Nicholas Pender (USA)

Crew Journalist: Anthony DiBernardo (USA)

Green Hab Officer: Tyler Hines (USA)

Heliophysics: Noah Loy (USA)

Habitat Structure Specialist: Bill O’Hara

MDRS Crew 274 is a pioneering academic analog research group from the American Public University System (APUS) under the designation ARG-1M. The APUS Analog Research Group (AARG) leads space study undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students in multidisciplinary scientific research investigations analogous to the space environment. This crew aims to examine extra-vehicular (EVA) activity logistics, EVA contingency protocols and methodologies via rescue devices, mindfulness and focused breathing, solar and variable star studies, and terrestrial spaceflight habitat efficiency.

Science Report – January 29th

 

 

Sarah E. Guthrie: Commander (Baltimore, MD, USA)

Sarah E. Guthrie is a Space Studies (astronomy) graduate student in the School of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math with American Military University. She is a three-time analog astronaut and the first female commander for the APUS Analog Research Group. In addition to her academic studies, she is also a 20-year active-duty veteran in the United States Air Force. Her unique deployment experience with multiple tours to Iraq and Afghanistan provided her an opportunity to bring combat rescue techniques to needed lunar surface operations. Additionally, she is a co-investigator on various projects that focus on adaptive mobility load distribution systems for extra-vehicular activities, astronaut resource impact, and behavioral health studies for long-term space flight. She is also a research advisor for Space4All on analog research projects at terrestrial habitats. Her call sign is Ceres.

Alexis “Lex” Lojek: Crew Engineer (Oahu, HI, USA)

Lex is a second-year Master’s thesis student within the School of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics at American Military University. His research is in the realm of Spaceflight Human Factors and is focused on measurement of stress using physiological factors, specifically heartrate variability, through the use of a Garmin VivoSmart 4 device, and a potential mitigation for stress – focused breathing. He graduated with a degree in Applied Science and Technology from Thomas Edison State University in 2020. He is Active Duty in the United States Navy and has been for over 17 years. During his time as a US Navy Sailor, he has deployed four times; three as an Aviation Electronics Technician for the F/A-18F Super Hornet onboard three aircraft carriers, and once to Djibouti City, Djibouti as a Cryptologic Technician. He has hopes to pursue a commission into the US Space Force as a Space Operations officer after completion of his graduate school degree in June. His crew call sign is Kepler.

Nicholas Pender: Health and Safety Officer (Brownsville, TX, USA)

Nicholas Pender is a second-year master’s thesis student in the School of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math at American Military University. He also has a Bachelors of Science in Supply Chain, Logistics, and Transportation Management at Bellevue University. His research is focused on the application of supply caches to extend extravehicular activities (EVAs) on Mars and leveraging supply cache technology as a basis for future EVA policy. Nicholas is a Logistics Planner in the U.S. Air Force and an Education with Industry Fellow at Space Exploration Technologies, Corp (SpaceX). His call sign is X-Man.

Noah Loy: Heliophysics (Denver, CO, USA)

Noah Loy is a Space Studies and Civil Engineering undergrad at the American Military University and the University of Colorado, respectively. Noah is researching heliophysics phenomena to analyze space weather and its implications for orbital assets. Noah is a space engineer and intelligence analyst for the United States Space Force, where he is also collaborating with multiple DoD Space Test Programs researching space vehicle development and orbital Starlink internet reliability. His crew call sign is Phoenix.

Tony DiBernardo: Media & Communications (Mission Viejo, CA, USA)

Tony DiBernardo is a Space Studies grad student at the American Public University. Currently, he focuses his education and outreach to educating the general public about space on platforms like Youtube, Instagram, and Podcast form. In this mission, Tony will take high fidelity footage of the Mars analog environment for use in experiment spotlights, documentary, daily vlogs, and educational resources for social media. His crew call sign is Ironman.

Salina Peña: Crew Astronomer (Pier Pont, South Dakota, USA)

Salina Peña is a master’s student at American Public University. Her interest is in the field of astronomy. She is currently working on her thesis in the area of Variable Stars. As a student, she participates in the APUS Supernovae group as a team lead and processing images. Salina holds another master’s degree focusing on education with a certification in STEM. Currently, she is a middle school science educator. After completing the Space Studies Master’s program at APUS, she will continue her education, looking for a Ph.D. program at a university in astronomy or astrophysics. Her crew call sign is Nova.

Tyler Hines: GreenHab Officer (Parkersburg, West Virginia, USA)

Tyler Hines is an undergraduate student at American Public University pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Space Studies concentrating in Aerospace Science and a minor in Business Administration. As an active extracurricular student, he currently serves both as the university’s Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS) President and Chief of Staff for the Analog Astronaut Research Group (AARG). In his spare time, he volunteers as a docent for the American Space Museum in Florida and as a member of NASA’s Solar System Ambassador Program, where he conducts outreach presentations to the general public on the story of the nation’s space program. During the mission, his research focus will be to conduct germination studies on long-duration space-exposed seeds in simulated Martian regolith samples. His
crew call sign is “Houston”.

William O’Hara: Habitat Structure Specialist (Loveland, CO, USA)

Bill worked at the Johnson Space Center in Houston Texas for 20 years. During that time he held a variety of positions including astronaut instructor, MCC flight controller for NASA’s International Space Station program, Orion Life Support System Lead, and advanced life support systems development project engineer. He relocated to Denver Colorado in 2018 to develop orbital and lunar habitats and landers for Sierra Space. Currently, Bill is the Lunar Habitat Formulation lead for Blue Origin’s Advanced Development Group. He specializes in the design and development of deep space and planetary surface habitats as well as robotic landing spacecraft. Bill is a part-time instructor for the American Public University System’s Space Sciences department and supports the APU Analog Research Group as a faculty advisor. Bill is also a part-time PhD student at the University of North Dakota where he is researching the development of a habitat architecture that could enable humans to live on Titan, Saturn’s largest moon. A veteran of NASA’s human test subject program, he flew on nine flights aboard the KC135 Vomit Comet. He has been a crewmember on three analog missions. In 2014 he was a member of the third crew to live in NASA’s Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) habitat. In 2018 he was a member of an expedition to the Haughton Mars Project Research Station (HMPRS) located on Devon Island in the high Canadian Arctic. In 2021 he served as a crewmember to the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) as well as the University of North Dakota’s Inflatable Lunar-Mars Analog Habitat (ILMAH). His crew call sign is Titan.

Sol Summary Report – January 29th

 

Crew 274 Sol Summary Report 01-29-2023

Sol: 0

Summary Title: ARG-1M successful landing at Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS)

Author’s name: Sarah E. Guthrie (“Ceres”), Commander

Mission Status: Possible weather impact for requested EVAs, standing by for MCC approval.

Sol Activity Summary: ARG-1M arrived at MDRS 11:48am and downloaded equipment. At 3:00pm, ARG-1M received habitat (including RAM, Science Dome and Greenhouse), rover, communications, extra-vehicular activity, and safety training. Training was completed at 6:40pm.

Look Ahead Plan: Current projected weather conditions may impact Sol 1 EVA training. Two EVAs are required to complete the training, however possible snow may eliminate second (mid-day) EVA requests. Should this occur, ARG-1M will shift mission schedule to habitat maintenance (cleaning), individual research projects, and mission planning for Sol 2 EVA requests.

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: Sunny, highs 6.1C, low -22.2C; partially cloudy, winds 3 mph (windy)

Crew Physical Status: Optimal

EVA: None

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Operations, HSO, Mission Plan, Crew Bios, Crew Pictures, and Crew Mission Patch.

Support Requested: None

Journalist Report – January 13th

 

 

Crew 272 Journalist Report 1-13-2023

Sol: 12

Author: Kenny Pritchard, Crew Journalist

Title: Lakshya (“Aim”)

For our final crew breakfast on Mars, despite rumors of lasagna, Adriana whipped up some biscuits and rehydrated butter. Our EVA this morning was planned for an early 9:00 a.m. departure, so we had little time to dilly dally – we ran an oxymoronically compacted stretching session, and four of us suited up for the EVA with biscuits still in our mouths.

The mission today was a real search and rescue to find and retrieve the Boiler Transmission Station (BTS) which had been deployed to a ledge near the Hab (we deemed it Boiler Ledge) on a previous EVA. After a few powerful dust and wind storms, the crew was concerned that it may have been blown far away from its last known location and lost to the sands of Mars. Mason, Arly, Megan, and I took the rovers to a good stopping point, walked up a familiar hill, and began scouting toward the expected location with the drone. This cycle of walking and scouting repeated a few times until we got close enough to where the drone camera could almost make out our target and we could walk over to Boiler Ledge. Lo and behold, the BTS sat serenely waiting our arrival, if a little waterlogged, and missing its original housing box. We collected the treasured transmitter and took some good drone videos and pictures hoisting our Purdue “Boiler Up” flag near the edge of Boiler Ledge. Having made excellent time to the Ledge and finding the objective easily, we made it back to the Hab before noon, where the rest of the crew sat working on the final tasks of our rotation: finishing up research, cleaning up, packing, and a writing a whole slew of end-of-mission reports.

With our time at MDRS coming to an end, it’s a good time to reflect on the progress we made. Although our crew had been meeting and planning for months leading up to our rotation, we had only just seen the tip of the iceberg of each other’s personalities and life stories (and flaws) (just kidding). Living together in an enclosed space on an inhospitable planet for two weeks was a quick fix! We’ve voiced our pet peeves, become adept with our equipment, endured exhausting EVAs, overcome unexpected challenges, been sim-resurrected from several sim-deaths, formed alliances and fought wars over board games, and we can proudly say that every crew member has achieved at least the minimum objectives of their research. The difference between our first steps and what we’re capable of accomplishing now is night and sol.

One common theme of each sol has been abundant references to the 2004 Bollywood movie Lakshya, shared with us by our fearless commander Kshitij. In this film, the main character asks himself “Main Aisa Kyun Hoon” – “Why am I like this?” and struggles to find his aim in life. I’d compare our first meetings and our final sols here with the beginning and end of the film, our crew taking a dynamic arc from inexperience and lack of direction to a resolute sense of purpose and efficiency, thanks largely to Kshitij’s wisdom and leadership (and humor). It’s been a good run here on Mars, but today we end our simulation to prepare for the long ride back to Earth! On behalf of the entire crew, thank you sincerely to all the loved ones who followed our journey and kept in touch along the way. Your support means… the world!

Signing off from Mars,

Adriana “Rocky” Brown, Arly “Maple” Black, Kenny “Hemingway” Pritchard, Dr. Kshitij “Chai” Mall, Madelyn “Sprout” Whitaker, Mason “Scout” Kuhn, and Megan “Xerox” Rush

Operations Report – January 13th

 

 

Crew 272 Operations Report 13-1-2023

SOL: 12

Name of person filing report: Mason Kuhn

Non-nominal systems: Oven light

Notes on non-nominal systems: No additional issues

ROVERS

Spirit rover used: Yes

Hours: 207.3

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 73%

Currently charging: Yes

Opportunity rover used: Yes

Hours: 112.0

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 78%

Currently charging: Yes

Curiosity rover used: No

Hours: 219.3

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 100%

Currently charging: Yes

Perseverance rover used: No

Hours: 253.9

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 100%

Currently charging: Yes

General notes on rovers: Spirit and Opportunity were used on the EVA. They performed nominally. The chargers were draped over the front bumper upon return to the Hab. Perseverance is still at the outpost temporarily.

Summary of Hab operations: Post-sim cleanings to be conducted in the afternoon (upper deck, RAM, Sci Dome, GreenHab), and cleanings of the lower deck will be completed this afternoon with touch-up cleanings taking place in the morning of Sol 13.

WATER USE: 11.8 gallons (by 2:30pm and before cleanings that use water)

Water (static tank): 142.8 gallons

Static tank pipe heater (on or off): On

Static tank heater (On or off): On

Toilet tank emptied: No

Summary of internet: Nominal

Summary of suits and radios: Suits 1, 5, 9, and 10 were used on the EVA. All suits performed nominally, and all are cleaned & currently charging. All radios have been charged to full, and they have been removed from the charging docks. The EVA crew had no communication issues.

Summary of GreenHab operations: Monitored and watered GreenHab crops, with a bit of extra watering due to higher temperatures. Fertilized in the afternoon. Harvested beans, chives, thyme, and dill. Planted cilantro and radishes. Cleared out dead leaves and overgrowth, distributed organic matter around GreenHab to recycle nutrients, and swept and cleaned the floor & cabinets.

WATER USE: 9 gallons

Heater: On

Supplemental light: 4 hours

Harvest: 15g beans, 3g chives, 15g thyme, 30g dill

Summary of Science Dome operations: Crew items were removed from the Science Dome, and cleanings according to the checklist to be completed shortly

Dual split: On (from approximately 8:00 pm to 8:00 am)

Summary of RAM operations: All tools from the RAM that were in the lower deck have been returned to the RAM after final measurements were made, cleanings were conducted.

Summary of any observatory issues: N/A

Summary of health and safety issues: N/A

Questions, concerns, and requests to Mission Support: N/A

GreenHab Report – January 13th

 

 

Crew 272 GreenHab Report 13-01-2023

GreenHab Officer: Madelyn Whitaker

Environmental control: heater

Average temperatures: 78 F

Hours of supplemental light: 4 hours

Daily water usage for crops: 9

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 0

Water in Blue Tank : 212 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 1000, 1400

Changes to crops: Planted cilantro and radish. Harvested chives, dill, thyme, beans.

Narrative: Monitored and watered GreenHab crops, temperatures were very warm so I watered a bit extra. Fertilized in the afternoon. Harvested beans, chives, thyme, dill. Planted cilantro and radishes. Cleared out some dead leaves and overgrowth, distributed organic matter around GreenHab to recycle nutrients. Swept and cleaned floor and cabinets.

Harvest: (include which crop and mass in grams): Harvested 15g beans, 3g chives, 15g thyme, 30g dill

Support/supplies needed: N/A

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