Crew 261 Sol Summary Report 06-05-2023
Sol: 6
Summary Title: Long-range EVA
Author’s name: Aline Decadi, XO
Mission Status: nominal
Sol Activity Summary: Today took place 2 EVAs:
– EVA-9 with the following crew members: Audrey Derobertmasure (EVA Leader), Erin Kennedy (Crew Roboticist), Kris
Davidson (Journalist) (Not In Sim – Not Wearing Suit)
– EVA-10 with the following crew members: James Burk (Commander) (EVA Leader), Cecile Renaud (GreenHab Officer)
EVA-9 conducted 1) testing of Atmosphinder prototype mechanised wind sails and improved towing method at a walking distance from the Hab; then 2) drove the rover Spirit for Testing the Atmosphinder prototype descending hill with steeper grade.
The crew drove the rover Spirit instead of the rover that was planned in the EVA Request The reason for this is they have been confused by the first EVA request that was mentioning Spirit – while the second approved EVA request has changed to Perseverance and Curiosity (one additional rover was considered in case the journalist would have joined). It turned out that the journalist has walked and not joined the rover drive.
EVA-9 conducted Atmosphinder testing in the half-sized configuration (~1 m diameter) with sails (17" x 28.5") extending from the two hoops. The testing was divided into two sections: sail testing near the Hab and steeper grade hill testing near Phobos Peak.
Sail testing took place in front of the Hab. The sail testing observed the performance of the trim motors with the gusts of wind. In all 3 positions and on both sides, the motors performed to specification. The force of the wind on the sail frame ranged from 2N to 9 N, as measured with force spring gauges. The wind on the sails was able to tilt the electronics payload bay to 30 degrees. This test built on learnings from EVA-6.
Steeper grade hill testing took place in the vicinity of Phobos Peak, within close proximity to the road for transporting the robot. The location was scouted on foot. The candidate hill was approximately 2 meters tall, at an estimated 30 degrees grade, and clear of boulders. The robot was towed to the top of the hill while walking while keeping in mind astronaut safety.
The robot was given an initial push to roll down the hill. This was conducted to observe the dynamics of the robot structure given the terrain. With an enthusiastic ‘Bon Voyage’, the robot rolled down the hill with gusto! As the robot approached level land, known weak pieces broke under the loads, similar to EVA-2. All pieces were collected. An initial damage analysis shows that it was not as destructive as it had appeared to be in the field. The repaired pieces from EVA-4 held up well.
EVA-9 built on the lessons learned previously as well as the pertinent safety training received yesterday. The EVA-9 resulted in new information being learned that would only be possible in this unique environment. Many thanks to the entire crew — both on the EVA, at HabCom, and behind the scenes!
EVA-10 conducted the Drone Rescue to recover Acarus that was lost during the yesterday’s EVA. They drive to Cow Dung Road, then North to Galileo Road, then East/SouthEast to Compass Rock, then the location of the downed Icarus drone.
The crew drove the rovers Opportunity and Curiosity (instead of Spirit after concertation with Mission Support – Spirit has been used for the EVA-9 during this morning and its SOC went down to around 70% so it as changed for Curiosity). After retrieving the drone successfully, they went Northeast on Galileo Road and drive as far as rovers’ allow, up to Sommerville Overlook. They took a few minutes to find their road back to Galileo Road towards Sommerville as it is mostly covered by sand and sometimes difficult to see over the dunes). They Walk on foot to explore area up to Sommerville Overlook. Then went back to the Hab. They arrived at the Hab 30 minutes late because they have not been able to anticipate the time to make the round trip. Nevertheless, the 2 AA were wearing the 2 InReach devices and their location was updated on the Hab screen every 10 minutes, confirming to HabCOM that everything was operating nominally on the field.
The second EVA ended at 6:00pm. The crew ended the afternoon with the debriefing of EVA-10, the request activated on Skynet for observing Polaris from MLC-RCOS16 observatory (New Mexico), followed by the dinner and the reports of the day.
Look Ahead Plan: No Sim on Sunday.
Anomalies in work: None.
Weather: Chill in the morning. Very windy day.
Crew Physical Status: Nominal.
EVA: EVA-9 close to the Hab, EVA-10 to Sommerville Overlook.
Reports to be filed: HSO Report, EVA Report, Operations Report, Journalist Report, Pictures
of the day, GreenHab Report.
Support Requested: None.