Sol Summary – May 23rd

Crew 281 Sol Summary Report 23 May 2023
Sol: 9
Summary Title: Moon and Mars
Author’s name: Ritupriya Patil (XO) and Megan Kane (Commander)
Mission Status: Nominal
Sol Activity Summary:
EVA:
Today an all-female EVA crew from Team Pegasus successfully completed a long EVA to explore the Overlook region. There was a lot of planning and contingencies that the crew discussed, especially since there were rains and storms last night. The crew were well prepared and narrowed down Mission Support efforts to specific location/coordinates per time estimations for each spot. They started out at 0758 for the intersection of Cow Dung and Hwy 1572, which was previously termed as White Moon. The area was interesting due to the geological features that made a unique mix as if they were from moon and mars. The crew witnessed shades and combinations of red and white at various locations around, a beautiful sight especially with the sunlight going in and out due to overcast weather. On arrival, Ana (Crew Scientist) collected rock and soil samples and Ritu (XO, EVA Lead) deployed drone for aerial footage. For the next stop, the crew wrapped up and drove on Hwy 1572 until they arrived at the ‘Y’ fork at the Overlook region. Weather was perfect, bright and sunny, there were more samples and some great drone shots collected.
The crew then left for Pooh’s Corner on their way back and acquired vertical and oblique drone images and videos for previously done geotechnical survey. This will aid to georeferencing the region under study. The crew left for MDRS right after and arrived at 1037.
During the EVA Comms did not work once the EVA crew went past Pooh’s corner. At the Hab Rachel and KC managed to set up the SDR to pick up the EVA Crew’s transmissions.
After the EVA, the crew grabbed a snack and jumped in on report writing and completed mid-mission video. KC (Crew Engineer) made a hearty veggie soup with handmade noodles. Which gave the crew an impetus to jump in the next big activity for the day, making STEM educational videos for waves and propagation in the Science dome. Megan (Commander) and Rachel (HSO) directed and shot the movies respectively, and the rest of the crew helped with acting and set up.
Green hab got very hot up to 43 C today, Megan watered and checked on the plants. KC did the routine hab operational checks. Rachel made more contacts on the ham radio station.
Dinner was finishing up the leftovers.
Look Ahead Plan: Tomorrow we will do 2-person EVA near the hab to check the antenna and conduct a drone payload delivery test. The drone will be launched from the observatory and flown to the crew on EVA. First test will be without a payload second with a payload.
There were no operations in the RAM today.
Anomalies in work: None
Weather: Winds and thunder
Crew Physical Status: Nominal
EVA: Completed 1 today

Reports to be filed:
Greenhab Report
EVA Report
EVA Request
Ops Report
Journalist Report
PHOTOS!
Photo of the Day

Support Requested:
Mission support is requested in case of storms if the antenna needs to come down or be retrieved.

Operations Report – May 23rd

Crew 281 Operations Report 23 May 2023
SOL: 9
Name of person filing report: Megan Kane (Commander), Ritupriya Patil (Executive Officer) and KC Shasteen (Crew Engineer)
Non-nominal systems:
Electrical outlets in kitchen
Remote observatory
EVA Helmet
Notes on non-nominal systems: None
ROVERS
Spirit rover used: No
Hours: (before EVA): 222.5
Hours: (after EVA): NA
Beginning charge: (Before EVA): 100%
Ending charge: (On return from EVA, before recharging): NA
Currently charging: Yes
Opportunity rover used: Yes
Hours: (before EVA): 130.0
Hours: (after EVA): 131.2
Beginning charge: (Before EVA): 100%
Ending charge: (On return from EVA, before recharging): 65%
Currently charging: Yes
Curiosity rover used: No
Hours: (before EVA): 240.2
Hours: (after EVA): NA
Beginning charge: (Before EVA): 100%
Ending charge: (On return from EVA, before recharging): NA
Currently charging: Yes
Perseverance rover used: No
Hours: (before EVA): 264.6
Hours: (after EVA): NA
Beginning charge: (Before EVA): 100%
Ending charge: (On return from EVA, before recharging): NA
Currently charging: Yes
General notes on rovers: Oppy used on long EVA to Overlook Region and back.
Summary of Hab operations:
WATER USE: 13.9 gallons
Water (static tank): 269.0 gallons
Static tank pipe heater (on or off): off
Static tank heater (On or off): off
Toilet tank emptied: no
Summary of internet:
nominal
Summary of suits and radios: All suits and radios are fully recharged.
Summary of GreenHab operations:
WATER USE: 1.59 gallons
Heater: Off
Supplemental light: Off
Harvest: in grams : 0
Summary of Science Dome operations:
Dual split: Heat and AC, Off
EVA & Research Planning
Cacao Experiment:
Watered cacao seedlings
Summary of RAM operations: (Tools used, work done)
None
Summary of any observatory issues: NA
Summary of health and safety issues:
No new issues to report.
Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support:
Request Mission Support assistance to take down or retrieve the ham radio antenna in case of emergency or high winds.

Journalist Report – May 23rd

Crew 281 Journalist Report 23 May 2023

Journalist Report

By: Rachel Jones

Sol 9 and Things are Going Fine

Despite the early EVA, I slept in. The crew mercifully agreed I could sleep in and that KC and Megan could help Ana and Ritu prepare for their 0745 EVA. I woke up just in time to see them start to drive the rover away from the hab. Ana and Ritu were going on a long EVA to the Overlook region. This area is really special because it has gypsum (which glows when exposed to UV light). In the past, this region was nicknamed the “Moon” region because the grey and white sand features resemble the moon.

KC was Hab Comm for the EVA. Hab Comm is a member of the crew that attempts to maintain contact with the EVA while they are in the field. We were warned that the Overlook region and the paths to get there had very bad/spotty communications. Given the current band conditions, I imagine this matter was expounded. While I was never able to resolve my Software Defined Radio (SDR) sound issue, we did observe the waterfall of the crew transmission frequency (i.e. we could see when they were transmitting), even when our radios did not register the transmission. I only wonder if we would have been able to hear them if my speakers were working.

Overall, the EVA was a success and lots of aerial footage and loose samples were collected.

For lunch today, KC went overboard in the best possible way. He handmade noodles from scratch and turned our normal rehydrated and freeze-dried ingredients into an amazing soup. I again tried to get on the OMISS (Old Man International Sideband Society) net but do not think I was heard today. The bands were all over the place.

After lunch, Ana, Ritu, Megan, and I filmed an outreach video of an experiment for the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS). Then we had a rapid segment of high wind and a light dusting of rain.

Before dinner, I was very successful at making amateur radio contacts on 20 meters. Then my friend Tony (NR1Z) helped me make my first Morse Code contact. Morse Code is a method of communication that uses dots and dashes (dits and dahs) to code a message. Morse Code holds some advantages over voice communications as the transmission often requires less power and (some people.…not me yet) is faster. This makes Morse Code very efficient for emergency situations and most associate it with signaling S.O.S (… – – – …). I’m not sure yet, but I might be the first person to have made a Morse Code contact from MDRS.

I continue to imagine what communications on Mars will be like, but till then, I’m signing off: 73s.

GreenHab Report – May 23rd

Crew 281 GreenHab Report 23 May 2023
GreenHab Officer: Megan Kane
Environmental control: mixed door open/ door open with fan
Average temperatures: 91.38 °F
Hours of supplemental light: None
Daily water usage for crops 1.19 gallons
Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 0.4 gallons
Water in Blue Tank 159.53 gallons
Time(s) of watering for crops:
0945: refilled 4 water bottle (2 L) watered other plants as needed 2.5 L
Changes to crops:
None
Narrative:
In the morning the GreenHab was checked and watered. The cooling cloth’s reservoir was also refilled. The temperature was checked several times. The highest recorded temperature today was 110.5.
Harvest: (include which crop and mass in grams): None
Support/supplies needed: None

EVA Report – May 23rd

Crew 281 EVA Report 23-05-2023
EVA # 10
Authors: Ritupriya Patil (Executive Officer), Ana Pires (Crew Scientist)
Purpose of EVA:
Drone flight to record and do aerial imagery for new exploration areas
Acquire vertical images and videos for previously done geotechnical survey of Pooh’s Corner

Start time: 0750 hrs
End time: 1038 hrs
Narrative:
This was first long EVA with a crew of two. At 0745 hrs the crew entered the airlock exiting at 0750 hrs. They first checked all the rovers and collected the hours and SoC information, and it was verified that all were securely plugged in. They then unplugged Opportunity and headed out for the first destination at 0758 for the intersection of Cow Dung and Hwy 1572. The area was interesting due to the geological features that made a unique mix as if they were partly from moon and mars. The crew witnessed shades and combinations of red and white at various locations around. On arrival to the site, Ana (Crew Scientist) collected 9 rocks (270 g) and soil (55 g). It was drizzling initially but the clouds dispersed by the time the crew arrived and Ritu (XO, EVA Lead) was able to deploy the drone at 0845, capture aerial imagery and videos, and land at 0855 with a 58% battery.
For the next stop, the crew wrapped up and drove on Hwy 1572 until they arrived at the ‘Y’ fork at the Overlook region. Weather was perfect, bright and sunny. Ritu was able to record good footage of the site, with the drone deployed at 0912 and landed at 0924 with 15% battery remaining. Meanwhile, Ana collected 9 rock samples for total of 206 g.
The crew then left for Pooh’s Corner on their way back and acquired vertical and oblique drone images and videos for previously done geotechnical survey for control point 2. This will aid to georeferencing the region under study. The drone batteries were swapped, drone was deployed at 1016 (at 97% battery), the winds had picked up by this time , but the drone was successfully landed at 1025 with 57% battery. The crew left for MDRS right after and arrived at 1037.
During the EVA, the crew observed that Opportunity rover experienced faster drop in the initial 15-20% of battery SoC. By the time they got to the Overlook (almost 7 Km), the charge had dropped to 67%. However, after that the rover’s performance was good and, on the journey back, the SoC was 57%.
Water checks were done approximately every half an hour.
Overview of EVA
Drove to the intersection of Cow Dung and Hwy 1572 and then walk no more than a radius of 100m to explore the area
Drove further on Hwy 1572 to explore the Overlook region, while walking no more than a radius of 500m
On the way back stopped at Pooh’s Corner, walking no more than a radius of 500m;

Issues Experienced During EVA
Comms issues throughout. This was expected per Mission Support’s advice.
Weather was initially an issue with drizzle and winds
XO, suite buckle came undone a couple of times while retrieving the drone from travel packaging. It could have been due to inadvertent pressure on the belt buckle and it popped open.

Outcomes
Crew completed Rover checks
Explored intersection of Cow Dung and Hwy 1572 area, collected soil and rock samples, and drone footage
Explored the Overlook region9 rock samples for total of 206 g and drone footage
Collected drone footage of survey area at Pooh’s Corner collected
Collected 18 rocks, 479 g; 1 tube of soil, 55 g

Destination: MDRS Hab and surrounding 500 m radius

Coordinates :
(use UTM WSG 84): 517533E, 4254823N
(use UTM WSG 84): 516055E, 4254568N
(use UTM WSG 84): 519025 E, 4251183 N
EVA Participants 2: Ritupriya Patil (XO, EVA Lead), Ana Pires (Crew Scientist)
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map:
Drive on Cow Dung Road take left on Hwy 1572, park on the side of intersection
Drive on Hwy 1572 until the ‘Y’ fork at the Overlook region
Drive on Cow Dung Road and walk left hand side to Pooh’s Corner, scanline boulders
Mode of travel: Rover

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