Operations Report – April 21st

Crew 297 Operations Report 21-04-2024

SOL: 7

Name of person filing report: Matt Lynch (Engineer)

Non-nominal systems: Suit 2 (stuck valve), Suit 9 (broken visor),

Notes on non-nominal systems: The issues with Suit 2 and 9 were already noted before our mission. Suit 11’s battery has now been replaced

ROVERS

Opportunity rover used:

Hours: 182.7

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 43%

Currently charging: No

General notes on rovers: All rovers key locks were tighten today on EVA #10

Summary of Hab operations:

WATER USE: 25.4 gallons

Water (static tank): 258.8 gallons

Static tank pipe heater (on or off): off

Static tank heater (On or off): off

Toilet tank emptied: yes

Summary of internet: Looking up recipes, downloading entertainment, report formatting methods, catching up on Earthly news

Summary of suits and radios:

Radios 2,3,4,5, and 6 were used.

EVA Suits 1,4,6 and 7 were used.

Summary of GreenHab operations:

WATER USE: 4 gallons

Heater: Yes

Supplemental light: N/A

Harvest: 106 g of cherry tomatoes

Summary of ScienceDome operations: NA

Summary of RAM operations: (Tools used, work done): Tools from the RAM were used in suit repair today. EVA #10 used the RAM to perform their robotic studies in the area right in front of the Hab.

Summary of any observatory issues: NA

Journalist Report – April 21st

Crew 297 – Janus 1 Journalist – David Laude

One week in, Sol 7, and the Janus 1 Crew has full confidence in completing nearly all research projects before departing Mars, problems or not. Today’s EVAs took one team (Matt and Matt) to the far NW where the "Overlook" (previously the "Moon Overlook" where this journalist once performed an EVA on Phobos). A few km north they reached the "Sea of Shells" where hill side after hill side is covered dense with ancient sea shells. The other EVA team (Pawel and Dave) stayed at home base and spent time with the mobile robot Case in front of the Hab. Dave set it on its automated course and at times manually controlled it from within the RAM while Pawel accompanied it. Case had a mind of its own at times stopping and turning about before proceeding on and then finally losing its azimuth by fixating on 71 degrees east. The final drive of the day up the ramp into the RAM to Dave was a perfect end to an otherwise somewhat troubled afternoon. Our goal was to evaluate for ease of use and note any problems and so one should consider the event a success. In the Hab whole wheat raisin bread was baked and for dinner jambalaya with Red Lobster brand muffins.

EVA Report – April 21st

Crew 297 EVA Report 21-04-2024

EVA #9

Author: Matthew Lynch (Engineer)

Purpose of EVA: Perform the third ‘hiding’ EVA for the nuclear power project. Two members of Team A will go into the field and place the NPS for Team B to find on a future EVA. Potential NPS burial sites and geological sites of interest will also be observed.

Start time: 9:57 am

End time: 12:39 pm

Narrative: Starting on time and exiting the airlock, we placed the NPS in the back of Opportunity and headed North. As expected, the battery was at 55% when we were halfway down Brahe Highway. We parked the rover and saw what appeared to be a road heading North, we mistook this for route 1575 and attempted to follow this to reach the sea of shells, eventually realizing our error we circled back and followed the real road until we reached the moon overlook and eventually the sea of shells at 11:45 AM. We analyzed the area for potential digging sites and the ground looked excellent. However there were minimal ideal spots for placing the NPS. We began the walk back to the rovers and determined our best course of action was to not place the NPS, as the day was getting very hot, our EVA suit batteries were draining, and critically there were minimal good spots in the terrain to place the NPS. We returned back to the Hab at 12:40 PM. It should be noted there are some discrepancies between the MDRS map, the routes on the ground, and the Bureau of Land Management road markers, this was the primary cause for the challenges in reaching the Sea of Shells.

Destination: Sea of Shells area

Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 425500 N 516500 E

Participants: Matthew Lynch (Engineer), Matthew Storch (XO)

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Cow Dung Road 0110 & Brahe Highway

Mode of travel: Rover Opportunity and walking.

GreenHab Report – April 21st

Crew 297 GreenHab Report 21-04-2024

GreenHab Officer: Sean Marquez

Environmental control:

Heater on (set to 55F)
Fan on (set to 92F)
Average temperatures: 78F

Hours of supplemental light: N/A

Daily water usage for crops: 4 gal

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

Water in Blue Tank: 179 gal

Time(s) of watering for crops: 12:28

Changes to crops: Crops looking much healthier; minimal to no wilting compared to previous day.

Narrative: Fan power did not go out today, as the network on which the fan system controller running on HomeAssistant has been switched to the generator. Based on the recorded logs, the GreenHab atmospheric temperatures appear to not have exceeded 98F. Some brown leaves/stems from the cherry tomato plants were composted. Cucumber vines were found strangling its neighboring cherry tomato plants, which have since been separated and placed on an adjacent trellis.

Harvest:

106g of cherry tomato
Support/supplies needed: N/A

EVA Report – April 21st

Crew 297 EVA 10 Report 21-4-2024
      
EVA # 10

Author: Pawel Sawicki

Purpose of EVA: The purpose of this EVA is to test Case’s abilities within the confinement of a local EVA. While one member monitors (and when needed, controls) Case from inside the RAM, another follows Case around to locally monitor and help troubleshoot any problems.

Start Time: 1:40 PM

End Time: 3:11 PM

Narrative: The crew of two opened up the back RAM airlock in their pressurized suits at 1:40 PM and quickly got started on getting Case’s equipment setup. A ground station was set up in the RAM with ancillary equipment (router and GPS station) just outside. In about 10 minutes of entering the Martian atmosphere, the robot was up and running around the area in front of the Hab. While Case’s paths to destinations were certainly mysterious at times, it was always able to reach the designated POI and avoid obstacles. Dave also took over manually to avoid obstacles, test Case’s range of operation, and perform the precise maneuver of bringing Case up the RAM’s ramps.

Destination: At the MDRS RAM and within close proximity.

Coordinates: 12S 518154E 4250918N

Participants: Pawel Sawicki (Commander) and David Laude (Crew Journalist)

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: none

Mode of travel: walking

Supplemental Operations Report – April 21st

Date: 4/21/2024
Name of person filing report: Ben Stanley
Reason for Report: Routine
Non-Nominal Systems: Hab wall heater, solar observatory, perseverance parking brake & battery. EVA suit 2 & 9, Solar Power Battery system.

Power system:
Solar: Offline. Two malfunctioning batteries removed and we’re on generator power indefinitely until it can be fixed.
SOC Last 24 hours: N/A
VDC Last 24 hours: N/A
Generator run time: 5724.0 hours. Oil changed and air filter replaced on 4/19/2024.

Propane Readings:
Station Tank: 67%
Director Tank: 57%
Intern Tank: 80%
Generator Tank: 39%

Water:
Hab Static Tank – 304.2 gallons
GreenHab – 183 gallons
Outpost tank – 420 gallons
Science Dome – 0 gallons
Septic Tanks emptied: No

Rovers:
Sojourner rover used: Yes
Hours: 200.2
Beginning Charge: 100 %
Ending Charge: 100 %
Currently Charging: yes
Notes on Rovers: Perseverance is charging only up to about 90%. Charging error appears from time to time.

ATV: ATV’s Used: None. Nothing to report.

Cars:
Hab Car used and why, where: To Hanksville for supplies.
Crew Car used and why, where: No.
General notes and comments: Hab car needs its gas cap replaced.

Summary of Internet: All nominal.

EVA suits and radios:
Suits: Suit 2 has twisted airway coupling, spare parts are in order. Suit 9 has damaged visor and put aside until end of the season.
Comms: Crew reports one headset is malfunction. They were asked to set it aside at the end of their rotation.

Campus wide inspection, if action taken, what and why: Solar Power & Battery system down
Summary of Hab Operations: Wall heater is not functioning. Diagnostic is pending. Toilet level indicator won’t go below 1/3.

Summary of GreenHab Operations: Some issues with fan automation. It appears to be related to power outages associated with battery issues prior to taking system offline.

Summary of SciDome Operations: 2 malfunctioning batteries removed and batteries disconnected. Inverter off and solar panel breakers off. Switched to generator power all the time for now.

Summary of Observatories Operations: Solar observatory telescope diagonal is awaiting new part for replacement. Lower shutter is decoupled and fastened by bungee cord.

Summary of RAM Operations: All nominal
Summary of Outpost Operations: All nominal.
Summary of Health and Safety Issues: All nominal.

Research Report – April 20th

[category science-report]

Mid-Mission Research Report – Crew 297

Progress of Crew Research Projects:

Title: Simulated Deployment of a Nuclear Power System: Logistics and Operational Challenges
Principal Investigator: Matthew Lynch
Current Progress: After some initial challenges with coordinating our "hide and seek" strategy of the NPS due to technical errors in converting between GPS datums, the remaining work for this project has had repeated success. Both Teams A & B have each had a successful "seek" EVA twice, using numerous search strategies. So far the most successful strategy has been the "High-point" method, in which seekers ascend local high elevation points and observe their immediate vicinity, repeating until the NPS is found. The second most successful strategy has been the "sweep method" in which EVA members stand a good distance apart (100-200 feet) and sweep through the search area together. Hiding the NPS has also been successful as it has given ample opportunity to study the Martian environment for interesting geological sites, as well as possible excavation sites for the NPS. There also has been two success instances of burying the NPS. Both attempts used the same tools and general method, but had significantly different terrain. Our initial results have shown that the actual excavation rate varies from 30 cubic feet an hour in challenging terrain, to 53 cubic feet an hour in near-ideal terrain. Digging crew’s have utilized a 1-on/X-off work strategy, where 1 crew member works at a time at a rigorous pace, while the remaining crew members rest, frequently switching positions. This has been done with 2 and 4 person crews, a normalization study may be done later to help account for digging rates between crews of different sizes.

Title: Advancing Planetary Mineralogical Analysis: Evaluating the Usability of Portable Gamma Ray Spectroscopy during Martian Operations
Principal Investigator: Sarah Lamm
Current Progress: This research is testing the practicality and feasibility of a portable Gamma-Ray Spectrometer in the field. For this study we are using a RS-125 Gamma-Ray Spectrometer, which is 25.9x 8.1x 9.1cm at 2 kg, with a rubberized grip, and dust protected, one button operation, and sound loud enough to be heard in a helmet over a fan. The assay was set at the standard 120 seconds, reading wt% of radioactive potassium (K), and ppm of uranium (U) and thorium (Th).
Stop 1: At 12S 518065 4250003 we ran initial Gamma-Ray Spectrometer readings of the tan and red regolith. The mounds of this region are unconsolidated fine grain clay minerals with desiccation cracks. The potassium amount in the red regolith was about double of the potassium in the tan region. Based on the Th/U ratio, it shows that the red regolith was oxidized, which makes sense based on the other observations and the red coloring is likely from iron oxides-stained clay minerals. The Th/K ratio indicates that the clay minerals inside both regolith are likely smectite.
Stop 2: At Robert’s Rock Garden (12S 518278 4249467), further south than Stop 1, we observed conglomerates that were from a higher layer, that had fallen due to lower layers being eroded away. The conglomerates are poorly sorted from gravel to sand size, clast supported, and likely a silica matrix (Figure 1). The K, U, and Th amounts were significantly below the average amount in the previous region.
Stop 3: Further south from Robert’s Rock Garden at 12S 518819 4248714, we found an area that’s regolith looked redder from orbit than the surrounding region. Here we found red and white regolith. The red regolith (Figure 2- left side) had larger desiccation cracks than the white regolith (Figure 2- right side). The K in the red regolith was more than double the white, indicating that the K was likely leached out. The red regolith in this region did have a slightly higher Th/U ratio than the red regolith at Stop #1 indicating that this area likely had higher Redox change.
Gamma-Ray spectrometers seem to be practical as they can be small and durable enough to be used in the field with gloves and a space suit. Furthermore, they can give rapid assays of radioactive material in the field which can be used for determining lithology and past aqueous events but also things like risk of Radon gas for astronauts.

Title: A Toolset for Shared and Long-term Document Management and IT Operations
Principal Investigators: Sean Marquez & Matthew Storch
Current Progress: The WIDGIT project got off to a fast start, as Matt S & Sean were able to accomplish all of the following during our first day at MDRS:
Set up a local WiFi network 100% independent of the Internet
Get the WIDGIT server configured on that independent network, and accessible via NoMachine (as the monitor and keyboard we have available are only useful for rudimentary work)
Finish the configuration of 3 workspace sessions for crewmembers that did not have adequate hardware to run the workspace locally on their own laptops
Clone the notes repo for each of the server-based workspaces
At that point WIDGIT was in a usable state. However, as the mission got into full swing, the crew focused on EVAs and various other required tasks, and were also dealing with several power outages per day. Therefore we could not find enough time to conduct the crew’s WIDGIT training until Sol 4. Even then, only two crew members fully participated in the training while a third participated partially.
As of Sol 5, the two PIs and two other crew members are using the system. In particular, the GreenHab Officer has been pushing GreenHab reports into Dendron. The MDRS Handbook has also been incorporated into Dendron except for the Appendix. An additional use case is to use WIDGIT to write this Mid-mission Summary Report, thereby demonstrating that collaborative workflows can be accomplished on a purely local network.
Use cases for the remainder of the mission include crew members using WIDGIT for research notes and writing the final report. The PIs had originally envisioned additional use cases, such as running the FPrime data collection system for monitoring environmental conditions in the GreenHab on the same fully local network.
However, the reality is that WIDGIT has more overhead in terms of both learning and operations than conventional internet-based tools, and the crew already has an ambitious schedule for EVAs and other research projects. In addition, many other activities (cooking, cleaning, etc. while dealing with power outages) are taking more time than anticipated.

Title: MDRS IOT-Assisted Data Collection Using OSHW & OSS
Principal Investigator: Sean Marquez
Current Progress: Setting up the initial localized IT infrastructure (codename, WIDGIT) was successful as of Sol 1. However, due to the EVA schedule, cooking duties, GreenHab duties, and recurring power outages, there’s been little to no time to set up and configure the environmental sensors needed to collect environmental data from the GreenHab using FPrime. The plan is to continue to attempt to configure the sensors as the mission continues, if time permits.

Title: Use of Sonar for Measuring Water Tank Depth
Principal Investigator: David Laude
Current Progress: This research project would replace acquiring the distance of the static tank opening to the water surface with a ruler, for determining the remaining volume of water, to acquiring via an electronic sonar range finder device, specifically an LV-MaxSonar. The volume can subsequently be determined by the sensor’s output signal measured with a digital voltmeter (DVM) and then entered into a spreadsheet formula that calculates daily water usage and water remaining.
Initial testing on a nearly full tank did expose a problem. Inside the tank, near the top opening, there is a wide hose that spans across much of the top area. This hose interferes with measurement as one would expect. However, the hose lays mostly in the tank half closest to the Hab and placement of the device near the opposite side is all that’s needed for an accurate reading. As the tank lowers, more measurements will be needed to determine if accurate to near empty. Initially I had thought to further develop it, for a subsequent crew assignment, to indicate gallons remaining in a three digit display. However, now seeing the water usage spreadsheet with its input in units of inches, and output in gallons and average use, I believe it best for the final device to output in inches. This would also make it possibly usable with other different sized tanks, assuming different formula parameters.

Title: Robot Competency Self-Assessment at MDRS
Principal Investigator: Nicholas Conlon (at CU Boulder, on Earth – Pawel Sawicki supervising project at MDRS)
Current Progress: Despite suffering a couple of setbacks, the Robot Competency Self-Assessment study, involving Case, is still on track for a successful completion. The primary goal of this study is to understand how future astronauts involved with robotic applications rely on telemetry, map data, and intuition in order to infer how competent a robot will be within a given environment. Thus, fundamentally the goal here is to understand how the crew will utilize the rover, whether or not it is as fully functional as initially intended. One such nonconformance occurred prior to mission start, when the first-person view camera (not used to meet any of this research’s objectives) was not working due to a ssh public key authentication error on the connected Raspberry Pi. This issue persisted through the first set of EVAs. There have been two EVAs involved with Case so far: EVA #5 and EVA #8. EVA #5, occurring on Sol 4, involved fairly nominal operation of the rover. Although the rover would occasionally not reach Points of Interest (POI), this was easily overcome with manual override driving. Using synchronized manual and automated driving sequence, an adequate portion of the EVA area was captured on Case’s GoPro which will be post-processed post-mission to develop "Street view"-like imagery. EVA #8 on the other-hand did not have the same amount of luck, as Case was not able to connect to the local network. Troubleshooting efforts were futile.
Both anomalies of Case are being investigated and have a path forward to resolution. Since Case requires transporting a noteworthy amount of ground support equipment (GSE), local tests around the Hab will be first utilized until trust can be established in the reliability of Case. These local EVAs will allow for more efficient troubleshooting and off-set the missed time of EVA #8. Further, the crew has incorporated the available space on Case’s chassis, attaching a Geiger-Muller Counter which will be used to simulate an approach of the [inert] NPS, and ascertain the radioactivity around the Hab.

GreenHab Report – April 20th

Crew 297 GreenHab Report 20-04-2024

GreenHab Officer: Sean Marquez

Environmental control:
– Heater on (set to 55F)
– Fan on (set to 92F; not accounting for power outages)

Average temperatures: 84F

Hours of supplemental light: N/A

Daily water usage for crops: 4 gal

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

Water in Blue Tank: 183 gal

Time(s) of watering for crops: 14:05

Changes to crops: N/A

Narrative: Fan power went out again some time in the afternoon. Based on tests from the prior night, the fan power outages seem to be linked to the HomeAssistant network, which becomes unavailable during power outages. Between HabCom duties, lunch, and dinner preparations, I was unavailable to open the GreenHab door until around 14:04 (at which point the GreenHab atmospheric temperature had reached ~110F), then closed at around 19:25 when the GreenHab atmosphere temperature had dropped to ~80F. Brown/wilting leaves from the radishes were composted.

Harvest:
– 13g of cherry tomato
– 66g of red cabbage
– 147g of radishes
– 177g of kale
– 23g of green onion

Support/supplies needed: Would it be possible to run HomeAssistant on our other local network that is currently configured and powered via the UPS, so as to circumvent vulnerability to power outages? This change is minor and temporary and will be undone before the end of our mission.

Operations Report – April 20th

Crew 297 Operations Report 20-04-2024

SOL: 6

Name of person filing report: Matt Lynch (Engineer)

Non-nominal systems: Suit 2 (stuck valve), Suit 9 (broken visor), Suit 11 (poor battery life)

Notes on non-nominal systems: The issues with Suit 2 and 9 were already noted before our mission. Suit 2 & 11 repairs are ongoing. The issue with Radio two has been fixed with a new headset.

ROVERS

Opportunity rover used:

Hours: 181.8

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 48%

Currently charging: No

Curiosity rover used:

Hours: 278.7

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 39%

Currently charging: No

General notes on rovers: Both rovers seats have been partly repaired with reflective silver metallic tape.

Summary of Hab operations:

WATER USE: 25.4 gallons

Water (static tank): 284.2 gallons

Static tank pipe heater (on or off): off

Static tank heater (On or off): off

Toilet tank emptied: no

Summary of internet: Looking up recipes, downloading entertainment, report formatting methods, catching up on Earthly news

Summary of suits and radios: The battery on suit 6 seemed to drain faster than the others today. While still currently within acceptable performance this should be monitored.

Radios 2,3,4,5, and 6 were used.

EVA Suits 1,4,5,and 6 were used.

Summary of GreenHab operations:

WATER USE: 4 gallons

Heater: Yes

Supplemental light: N/A

Harvest: 13g of cherry tomato, 66g of red cabbage, 147g of radishes, and 177g of kale, 23g of green onion

Summary of ScienceDome operations: NA

Summary of RAM operations: (Tools used, work done): Tools from the RAM have been continually used in suit repair.

Summary of any observatory issues: NA

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