Crew Photos – January 11th
Journalist Report – January 11th
Crew 272 Journalist Report 1-11-2023
Sol: 10
Author: Kenny Pritchard, Crew Journalist
Title: Kissing Hab Ridge
We set off Arly’s CO2/air quality monitor early this morning thanks to breathing exercises led by Kshitij — Anulom, Vilom, and Pranayama, which had the entire crew huffing and puffing (and blowing our noses in between exercises). After the breathing exercises, we engaged in some yoga asans including Shav-asan (corpse-pose), which felt fitting considering the unfortunate quantity of sim-deaths to this point. For breakfast, Madelyn revisited the crew-approved egg casserole recipe from a previous sol. Due to an intense Martian dust storm and some unfavorable ground conditions, one of our two planned EVAs was cancelled today, but four lucky Martians still got to feel fresh air (or at least EVA-suit air) when a new plan was set.
With veteran experience in gearing up for EVA, Adriana, Madelyn, Megan, and Kshitij were out of the Hab in no time, and they followed a road northwest to reach an overlook called Hab Ridge. From this Ridge, they were able to overlook the Hab. Compared to Kissing Camel, this is nomenclature I can get behind! The trip was an exploratory EVA which the crew completed entirely on foot, employing their best map-reading skills to tirelessly traverse the tricky terrain (or masterfully maneuver the merciless ‘marrain?’). Along the way, they happened upon some Gryphaea fossils or ‘devil’s toenails’ – extinct oysters from several hundred million years ago. I reckon they collected enough for a hearty seafood dinner, but nobody seemed to have the appetite for it. From the top of Hab Ridge, the EVA crew had a great view of the Hab (as I mentioned) and the surrounding topography. They got some great pictures from the vantage point and a better navigational understanding of the area, and Adriana will use this practice to plan out the final EVAs for her research.
Once again among the Hab-rats, I took some video documentation of our crew and the Hab to be compiled later. Mason toiled away at fixing the air circulation system in EVA suit #7, to great success! On-site repairs are highly preferable to service shipments back to the manufacturer, which can take years to return. Arly packed out to the Science Dome to clean off petrified wood and other samples she’d gathered, then set to preparing a popular baked-feta pasta recipe from TikTok. With only two full sols remaining before we depart from MDRS, home is on everyone’s minds! Until then, we will make the most of the time we have here.
GreenHab Report – November 25th
Crew 272 GreenHab Report 11-01-2023
GreenHab Officer: Madelyn Whitaker
Environmental control: heater, door propped open
Average temperatures: 74 F
Hours of supplemental light: 4 hours
Daily water usage for crops: 6 gallons
Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 1 gallon
Water in Blue Tank: 229 gallons
Time(s) of watering for crops: 1000
Changes to crops: Harvested beans. No new plantings.
Narrative: Monitored all experimental and GreenHab crops. Harvested beans for a snack. Door propped open most of the day due to warmer temperatures.
Harvest: (include which crop and mass in grams): Harvested 5g beans
Support/supplies needed: N/A
Sol Summary Report – January 11th
Hello Mission Support,
Following is the Sol Summary Report.
Crew 272 Sol Summary Report 11-01-2023
Sol: 10
Summary Title: Hab Ridge: The New Frontier
Author’s name: Kshitij Mall
Mission Status: All nominal
Sol Activity Summary: After successfully completing watching the movie Lakshya (Objective), the crew got pumped up to achieve their Lakshya, which is to retrieve BTS possibly displaced by the heavy wind past night. We also planned to traverse the Hab Ridge and identify places of interest for geological experiments for Crew Geologist Adriana. To calm the team down from the sim-death experience last sol with the outer Hab door opening up by a wind blast, I shared Yog comprising some breathing exercises like Pranayama, Anulom, Vilom, some warmup exercises and some asans (poses) with the crew. As per the crew, it did benefit them after being on a streak of EVAs and living in their new isolated Hab Sweet Hab for quite some time. The breakfast for the sol included egg casserole, which was prepared by our Greenhab Officer Madelyn and supported by HSO Megan. A mistake on my part to not plug the chargers back into two of the rovers thinking that overcast conditions will drain the limited solar power we had followed by bad weather in the night made conditions not congenial for carrying out any EVA. But Mission Support recommended us for an exploratory mission to the Hab Ridge, which we were originally planning to be just a geological EVA instead of retrieving my electrical-Martian-baby, BTS. He will have to wait another day for the rescue, but I’m confident he is strong enough to handle more Martian winds for a few sols. The advice from the Mission Support indeed was handy as the sol unfolded. For exploratory missions we didn’t require extensive Earth Mission Support.
After getting an approval from the Mission Support, an exploratory EVA to the Hab Ridge was then conducted at 2 PM by Adriana and me as the primaries for the geology and exploration part, respectively, with Madelyn and Megan as the supporting EVA crew. Good map reading skills were the need of the hour for this EVA. Our EVA crew had great success in reaching the newly established Repeater Station by Crew 271. We also took some great pictures of the EVA crew at the Hab Ridge with Hab Sweet Hab and our rovers in the backdrop. The remaining boilermaker engineers and scientists were busy doing their rock souvenir shopping on Mars while I was taking pictures and videos that could be used by future EVA crews, who plan to visit the Hab Ridge. I too collected some Gryphaea or the Devil’s toenails as Martian omiyage (souvenirs) for my Earth-based families including my 10-month-old son, Hiro.
After coming back from the EVA at 4:15 PM, Adriana and I debriefed the EVA to Arly. In the meantime, Crew Engineer Mason attempted fixing suit #7 that had connection issues and had a great success in fixing suit #7. We also completed the daily human-factors based cognitive performance tests and personal surveys for Arly and Andres. Dinner duties for the sol are handled by Arly and Mason, who are preparing TikTok Pasta. We might play Monikers card game tonight, which we have been procrastinating for several sols. Tomorrow, we plan to conduct a geological EVA to the Cowboy corner to study the paleo flow indictors and do some tool test of 3D printed hammers. Madelyn would be helped tomorrow during her Great Harvest at the Greenhab by the rest of the crew based on their availabilities during the sol.
Look Ahead Plan: Conduct a geological EVA at the Cowboy corner and complete the Great Harvest at the Greenhab
Anomalies in work: None
Weather: Very Sunny, Calm Winds
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
Thanks
Kshitij
Operations Report – January 10th
Crew 272 Operations Report 10-1-2023
SOL: 9
Name of person filing report: Mason Kuhn
Non-nominal systems: Wiring in EVA Suit 7
Notes on non-nominal systems: Due to the RAM being closed to the crew this morning, EVA, Hab operations, and time-sensitive personal items, I did not have time to repair Suit 7. This will be completed during sol 10.
ROVERS
Spirit rover used: Yes
Hours: 207.1
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 69%
Currently charging: Yes
Opportunity rover used: No
Hours: 111.5
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 100%
Currently charging: Yes
Curiosity rover used: No
Hours: 219.0
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 100%
Currently charging: Yes
Perseverance rover used: Yes
Hours: 253.9
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 58%
Currently charging: Yes
General notes on rovers: Spirit and Perseverance were used on the EVA. After returning to the Hab, per mission support request, all 4 rover positions were slightly adjusted back to their correct parking spots. A crewmate noticed that the rear-left taillight on Perseverance was non-nominal.
Summary of Hab operations: Around 8:00 pm, despite already being roped shut, the outer front airlock door flew open. The crew was prepared and scrambled to get ready with EVA Suits, boots, and other essential items. The problem was very promptly addressed, and all crew members are safe.
WATER USE: 19.6 gallons
Water (static tank): 206.9 gallons
Static tank pipe heater (on or off): On
Static tank heater (On or off): On
Toilet tank emptied: No
Summary of internet: Nominal (with the exception of a ~15-minute anomaly last night around 8:40 pm)
Summary of suits and radios: Suits 1, 8, 9, and 10 were used during the SAR EVA to Kissing Camel Ridge. All suits performed nominally with airflow and minimal fogging. All suits have been cleaned and are currently charging. There were no issues with radios or headsets on the EVA. All radios that were used have been charged and removed from the charging dock.
Summary of GreenHab operations: Monitored and watered GreenHab crops and experimental crops. Placed new shovels and broom in the GreenHab.
WATER USE: 7 gallons
Heater: On
Supplemental light: 4 hours
Harvest: 10g beans, 80g carrots
Summary of Science Dome operations: No crew activity, there was Mission Support activity.
Dual split: On (from approximately 8:00 pm to 8:00 am)
Summary of RAM operations: The items that were dropped off on Mars were retrieved from the RAM and put into their proper location (GreenHab, Kitchen, EVA Suit Cabinet). The items that were not retrieved and are still in the RAM are the goggles for the Sci Dome and the Observatory Items. After the supply trip was made, the Hab had an emergency situation of a blown open airlock door. This was promptly taken care of and all crew members are safe, but the storm prohibited a crew member from going to back to retrieve the remaining items. They will be taken care of when the weather permits.
Summary of any observatory issues: N/A
Summary of health and safety issues: N/A
Questions, concerns, and requests to Mission Support:
- Where is the proper location for Observatory items?
Best Regards,
Mason Kuhn
Crew Engineer
Crew Photos – January 10th
Journalist Report – January 10th
Crew 272 Journalist Report 1-10-2023
Sol: 9
Author: Kenny Pritchard, Crew Journalist
Title: Saving Private Chewy
Our morning stretches this sol were followed by a freshly baked bread-and-toppings breakfast thanks to Megan, who woke up early to start the process. Many of us elected to adorn our bread chunks with Nutella, which is somewhat of a coveted resource out here. There’s air, water, Nutella, and shelter. It’s Martian gold!
The EVA of the sol brought Kshitij, Mason, Madelyn, and Arly back to Kissing Camel Ridge for the competitive showdown of a lifetime. Mason’s research includes a search-and-rescue scenario, where the high-speed, high-tech, high-flying drone was to be pitted against two valiant, scrappy, underdog humans to see who could first locate a lost and incapacitated (hidden) astronaut (box containing colorful t-shirts and an uninflated, inflatable Grogu/Baby Yoda). Who will win? Get your tickets while you can! Pay for the whole seat, but you only need the edge! Back at the Hab, we eagerly awaited the scores, serving as a point-of-contact for the EVA crew as usual. Kshitij hid the boxy astronaut (henceforth referred to as Private Chewy), and the athletes were off to the races. Private Chewy was first hidden on the East side of the region, in a flatter area, where humans and the drone should have a fair fight. He was next hidden on the West side of the region, where the obstructive hills should provide an advantage to the drone. For the first attempt, Madelyn and Arly planned to attack the perimeter of the area from both sides (within line of sight of each other). For the second, they moved together through the hills in their joint mission. Mason flew the drone out with a grid-pattern search. Ultimately, the humans were victorious in both trials! But some complications place an asterisk on their claim to the trophy. In a post-game interview, Mason cited strong winds and connectivity difficulties. Several times, the AI-driven drone lost connection and flew back to its launch site. The drone even did pass over the target first, but Private Chewy was invisible in the resolution available for live video feed. Also, Kshitij, not known for his tight lips when it comes to secrets he’s excited about, may have accidentally tipped off the humans in round two. No boxes were harmed in the making of this production.
Those of us stuck indoors (the Hab-rats, per Adriana), engaged in the traditional pastime of cleaning and sorting geologic samples. Upon her return, Madelyn collected a fresh harvest of carrots and beans in the GreenHab. Next, on tonight’s episode of the Great Martian Baking Show, Adriana and Kshitij are making another cake to celebrate the birthday of backup crew GreenHab Officer Ian Rimer. Happy birthday Ian, from Mars to Earth! Madelyn will be collaborating with Ian on research when we return to Purdue, but tonight, she is collaborating with the stove top to make some quesadillas. Mm mm mmm!
EVA Report – January 10th
Crew 272 EVA Report 10-01-2023
EVA # 7
Author: Arly Black
Purpose of EVA: Simple simulation of search and rescue of a lost/injured astronaut at Kissing Camel Ridge. Drone versus human performance is evaluated in the context of efficiency of finding the astronaut.
Start time: 10:00 AM
End time: 1:00 PM
Narrative: The EVA began extra on-time today as Arly and Madelyn were over-eager to go kick some drone butt. The crew hustled into the airlock and about 3 minutes in realized they had no maps… After grabbing the maps and starting the airlock countdown again they emerged into the sunlight. Madelyn and Arly hopped into Spirit with Madelyn driving, while Mason and Kshitij rode in Perseverance with Kshitij driving and leading. They drove to Kissing Camel Ridge where, once again, no camels were observed, kissing or otherwise. Kshitij went to hide the lost astronaut (i.e. a cardboard box) on the east side of the ridge, while the other three turned their backs and played with colourful rocks like preschoolers in a sandbox. Kshitij maintained line of sight with the rest of the EVA crew the entire time. The east side of the ridge is flat with several large boulders and one hilly mound, so it is ideal for maintaining LOS while providing numerous hiding places. Kshitij said “go” and the competitors were off! The drone sped on ahead, while Arly and Madelyn split up to cover more ground. The human strategy turned out to be a roaring success as Madelyn let out an “AAAHHHH” and the lost astronaut was discovered behind a large boulder on the north side. Mason complained of drone connectivity issues, but we don’t tolerate excuses when it comes to saving cardboard lives.
The next test saw Kshitij hiding the lost astronaut on the west ridge. This time, Madelyn and Arly stuck together in their search given the hilliness of the landscape. The drone again experienced connectivity issues, prompting it to consistently return to its owner. At one point the drone was hovering almost directly above the hill upon which the astronaut was hiding, but the poor connection left Mason unable to see the poor soul he was there to rescue. Given Kshitij’s slight bias towards the drone, he announced prematurely that the drone had won, but the wily female searchers seized the moment and ran to retrieve the astronaut from its lonely mountain peak. Once again, human resilience and ingenuity wins the day. Although, if we’re being honest, the drone would have won if not for the connectivity mishaps (hope you’re okay with a pity win, Mason). After two successful rescue attempts (from the lost astronaut’s point of view, if not the drone’s), the EVA crew packed up and journeyed home with pockets full of petrified wood. What a beautiful day for a rescue!
Destination: Kissing Camel Ridge
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): N518400, E4249500
Participants: Kshitij Mall (Crew Commander), Mason Kuhn (Crew Engineer), Madelyn Whitaker (GreenHab Officer), Arly Black (XO/Crew Scientist)
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Drove south on Cow Dung Road until Kissing Camel Ridge. Walked on foot along ridge to the east and west relative to Cow Dung Road. Returned to rovers on foot and drove back to the Hab via Cow Dung Road.
Mode of travel: Driving and walking
GreenHab Report – January 10th
Crew 272 GreenHab Report 10-01-2023
GreenHab Officer: Madelyn Whitaker
Environmental control: heater
Average temperatures: 67 F
Hours of supplemental light: 4 hours
Daily water usage for crops: 6 gallons
Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 1 gallon
Water in Blue Tank : 236 gallons
Time(s) of watering for crops: 1600
Changes to crops: Harvested beans and carrots, no new plantings.
Narrative: Monitored and watered GreenHab crops, monitored and watered experimental crops. Harvested beans and carrots for a snack.
Harvest: (include which crop and mass in grams): 10g beans, 80g carrots
Support/supplies needed: N/A
Sol Summary Report -January 10th
Crew 272 Sol Summary Report 10-01-2023
Sol: 9
Summary Title: Operation Rescue Grogu and his buddy Chewy
Author’s name: Kshitij Mall
Mission Status: All nominal
Sol Activity Summary: After completing another third of the Bollywood movie Lakshya (means Objective) past night, the crew got ready for their objectives for the sol and woke up by 7:30 am. The crew completed some morning stretches led by me. The breakfast (bread, Nutella, and peanut butter), was made by Megan and supported by Madelyn. The EVA crew then got suited up for the rescue operation. Following the buddy system, we thought not to leave the lost astronaut, whom we named Chewy, out alone. So, we also had Grogu’s (whitish) box as a moral support for Chewy. Chewy comprised a cardboard box with a white t-shirt and blue flag taped using a masking tape. After a briefing, the EVA team got ready to launch the rescue operation by 10 am. The rescue operation today was more so a competition between the drone Garud flown by Crew Engineer Mason versus the human team comprising XO Arly and Greenhab Officer Madelyn. I served as the referee for this Martian competition. We reached the Kissing Camel Ridge and conducted the Search and Rescue mission twice. The first time Madelyn and Arly found and rescued Grogu and Chewy (the boxes), while the second time Mason was hovering over the box before the humans, but the video was slightly grainy. While everyone was in line of sight, the drone had some connectivity issues, which were intermittent. The final score was Humans 1.5 – Drones 0.5.
While the EVA crew was out, Adriana organized the rocks in the Science Dome. After getting back to the hab from a relatively simple EVA, we were back to completing the daily personal surveys and cognitive performance tests. Madelyn watered and monitored the growth of Martian plants in the Greenhab. She also got us some green beans and carrots in the hab, which was quickly devoured by me and Arly. Mason is going to investigate the connectivity issues with Garud the drone. The video saved by the drone clearly shows where Grogu and Chewy boxes were identifiable, just not in the live feed. A specialized drone primarily meant for Search and Rescue operations would perform much better on Mars. We had a debriefing session to go over the EVA and the plan for tomorrow.
Madelyn prepared delicious quesadillas for dinner and was assisted by Kenneth. We also celebrated the birth-day of our backup Greenhab Officer, Ian Rimer, with a cake and a green balloon representative of the greens in the Greenhab. Irrespective of who won today: humans or drones, Grogu and Chewy were very happy to be rescued and back to Hab Sweet Hab. The night plan is to complete the final third part of the movie Lakshya and then sleep by the quiet hours. We’ll also complete Andres daily questionnaire. Tomorrow will be another rescue operation, but of the BTS. And that won’t be a competition, but a collaboration between the humans and the machines (drones). Part of the crew also plans to walk to Hab Ridge and support Adriana’s geological experiment upon approval of our EVA request.
Look Ahead Plan: Retrieving BTS and then exploring the Hab Ridge area
Anomalies in work: None
Weather: Overcast, Strong Winds
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
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