Month: January 2023

EVA # 5
Author: Arly Black
Purpose of EVA: 1) Further hike into Candor Chasma to continue documenting paleoflow indicators, specifically looking for more trough cross-bedding documented during EVA 4. 2) Drone scouting of Candor Chasma.
Start time: 11:03 AM
End time: 2:22 PM
Narrative: We started off our mission on time and in high spirits. The dad jokes were flying, and comms were on fire (in the best way- both channels 1 and 2). However, after exiting the Hab, both Mason and Megan experienced comms issues – likely due to the harsh radiation of the Martian environment – and had to reenter the Hab to replace them. Twas not a good start for the M’s. The A’s, however, were sitting pretty in Curiosity, ready to get the EVA rolling. Around 11:20 AM, the EVA truly began. As we made our way towards Cow Dung Road, we had a surprise alien encounter. Two individuals of an unidentified species (Adriana believed them to be elusive Kombucha-brewers) and their spaceship were blocking one of the routes onto Cow Dung, but we did our best not to interact with the foreign species and went around them. Crisis averted. We then drove north on Cow Dung Road, past Marble Ridge, around Pooh’s Corner and arrived at Gateway to Candor. We parked our rovers and hid our keys extra carefully given the proximity of those pesky aliens.
We began our expedition through Gateway to Candor and immediately stopped to look at rocks. Adriana has given us all rock-fever (at least I think that’s what those night sweats are) and we are about it. As we made our way into Candor Chasma, Adriana noted some trough cross-bedding, i.e. preservation of paleoflow in the rock, which was a huge success for the EVA. She observed that it was dipping in the same direction as yesterday’s measurements, which was marvelous. She also found lenses of sandstone, indicative of lateral accretion, and got a lithologic description of the sandstone that contained the bedding. Megan was by her side photographing the formations, while Arly applied her PhD level note taking skills to the task of recording her findings. Meanwhile, Mason did some scouting ahead with his trusty drone to find us other interesting areas in the Chasma to explore and helped us navigate the region. We continued to all find exciting, interesting, shiny, and smooth rocks and Adriana found some metamorphic samples that she will attempt to identify, as well as determine how it was transported to Candor Chasma. We were all enthralled by the beauty of the area and kept pushing further in. The most joyful moment of the EVA, and perhaps of the entire MDRS experience, occurred when Adriana found a baby stuck in the sand on the trail – a 20 lb hunk of petrified wood baby. She decided then and there that she had to adopt it at any cost, and we all took turns hacking away (gently, of course) at it to free it from its sandy prison. We walked a little further after that but decided to head back to the rovers in order to make it back to the Hab in time for our scheduled return time (and to feed the wailing baby). Adriana walked the entire way cradling her beautiful and heavy wood/rock baby. Now to find a way to take it back with her to Indiana – carry it in a blanket on the plane?
Destination: Candor Chasma
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): N523000, E4251300 (Candor Chasma)
Participants: Adriana Brown (Crew Geologist), Megan Rush (HSO), Mason Kuhn (Crew Engineer), Arly Black (XO and Crew Scientist)
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Drove on Cow Dung Road until Gateway to Candor and parked the rovers. Walked on foot through the Gateway to Candor into Candor Chasma. Scouted with the drone to extend the range of footage further through Candor Chasma as we hiked. Hiked about a mile into Candor Chasma. Returned on foot through Gateway to Candor to the rovers. Drove back to the hab via Cow Dung Road. See route in the attached image.
Mode of travel: Driving and walking

Crew 272 EVA Report 06-01-2023

EVA # 4

Author: Arly Black

Purpose of EVA: 1) Test of the MicroFox 15 transmitters using the Yagi-Uda antenna at Candor Chasma 2) Scouting of Candor Chasma by drone 2) Depositional environments of Candor Chasma, with specific focus on finding paleoflow indicators

Start time: 11:05 AM

End time: 2:37 PM

Narrative: After being grounded yesterday, and spending the day going over objectives and procedures, our antsy adventurers were stoked to get out and explore some more Martian terrain today. The crew was ready on time, despite a small problem with Kshitij’s mic. After pulling it out and then putting it back in, it seemed to work fine. Five minutes spent in the airlock listening to poor dad jokes was the perfect way to start the EVA. Mason and Kshitij took the lead in Opportunity, with Kshitij driving and Mason navigating, while Adriana and Kenny puttered along behind in Spirit, with Adriana driving and Kenny keep track of speed and state of charge. 8 minutes in, it was clear that Oppy performs much better than Spirit. Spirit had lost 20%, and Oppy 12%, while both driving at 10 km/hr.

The crew parked their rovers at the intersection of Cow Dung Road and Gateway to Candor, and walked on foot to Boiler Ledge, where they had left the Boiler Transmission Station (BTS) two days before. Kshitij turned on the BTS transmitter and HabCom turned on the transmitter located in the Hab. Kshitij performed a test of the Yagi-Uda antenna system using the Hab transmitter to check the range of the signal reception sector. Remarkably, he found it to be 180 degrees! Mason assisted with this, while Kenny and Adriana hammered and collected rock samples. It was at this time that Kshitij noticed issues with the cooling fan in his helmet when it started turning on and off sporadically. He also started to have radio/headset issues – it was choppy but improved over time – it was likely a loose connection.

Around 12:10 PM all crew members walked back to the rover, dropped off their samples, and picked up the drone. They then walked along Gateway to Candor to the entrance to Candor Chasma. Mason conducted a drone range test and scouted areas around Candor Chasma. The drone was able to reach around 850 m (2800 ft) which was a major success, especially when compared to the measly 300 m from last EVA – wahoo! Given that it was a sunny day with no ground interference, they had the perfect conditions for flying! Adriana began an experiment to test the performance of a non-geologist in the field – i.e banana-fingered Kenneth. No, that isn’t a slur, it is a literal description. In order to operate his phone with bulky Martian gloves, Kenny literally tied a banana peel to his gloved finger. And it worked like a charm! (now we’ll have to start saying “works like a banana”). Adriana asked questions about his perception of geologic processes in the area. His gut instincts were apparently correct, but ultimately his final answers were – womp womp – NOT. They discussed water flow direction and geomorphology features. And Adriana successfully located some paleoflow indicators!! One measurement she used was a strike and dip of forsets (we all know what that means, right?).

Meanwhile, down in the valley of Gateway to Candor, Kshitij was initially not able to detect a signal from the BTS or the Hab. The antenna needs line of sight to operate, so he climbed the north slope of the canyon (still within sight of the rest of the crew members) to get to a higher elevation with line of sight to both BTS and the Hab. There he was able to locate both locations. All in all, a very successful test!

The explorers then hiked back out through the Gateway to Candor and dropped off the drone and antenna at the rovers. The one remaining task was to turn off the BTS transmitter. Rather than send everyone back, the crew decided to make a line-of-sight train with Kenny and Adriana remaining nearest the rovers, Mason further along, and Kshitij left to trudge all the way to the transmitter. That way, each person had line of sight to at least one other person, without expending unnecessary energy. One note is that it is difficult to navigate to the Boiler Ledge and a better location method is needed. It was at this time that Kshitij experienced a complete meltdown of his helmet cooling system, sending his helmet into a foggy frenzy, and Mason stepped in to verbally and physically guide Kshitij back to the rover. At some point, Adriana lost her phone but was able to locate it. Kenny turned the rovers around to save time while Mason and Kshitij made their way back from the ledge. Then all crew members returned to the Hab in the rovers. While returning, both rovers seemed to perform better, likely due to a slight downhill slope in the road. Due to the helmet and visibility issues, the crew was seven minutes late in returning to the Hab – not too shabby!

In conclusion, all the objectives of the mission were achieved, although they did not make it as far into Candor Chasma as Adriana would have liked. Everyone got to smash some rocks with Adriana’s fabulous hammer, Little Rocky, and Kshitij successfully completed his experiment.

Lessons learned: 1. There were too many objectives laid out for this EVA given the time that was allotted – need to request more time next time. 2. It is valuable to follow a checkpoint system where landmarks are noted on your map as you pass, so that the course is maintained – this is what the crew did and it was wildly successful.

Destination: Galileo Road (Boiler Transmission Station) and Candor Chasma

Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): N519600, E4251500 (Boiler Transmission Station), N523000, E4251300 (Candor Chasma)

Participants: Adriana Brown (Crew Geologist), Kenny Pritchard (Crew Journalist), Mason Kuhn (Crew Engineer), Kshitij Mall (Crew Commander)

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Drove on Cow Dung Road until Gateway to Candor and parked the rovers. Walked on foot to Boiler Transmission Station located near Galileo Road at N519600, E4251500 to switch on the transmitter. Returned on foot to the rovers and walked through the Gateway to Candor until Candor Chasma. Later, returned on foot through Gateway to Candor to the rovers, deposited samples, drone, and antenna, and returned on foot to the coordinates near Galileo Road to switch off the transmitter. Returned on foot to rovers and returned to Hab via Cow Dung Road.

Mode of travel: Driving and walking