Sol Summary – May 19th

Crew 299 Sol Summary 05-19-2024
Sol: 7
Summary Title: A Visitor Arrives on Mars
Author’s Name: Prakruti "Pari" Raghunarayan
Mission Status: Active
Sol Activity Summary:

Pari:
Today, I got the group assembled to go over today’s plan and we cleaned up the place. We also got our group headshots taken. Then, when Spencer arrived I took him around the area. We started by going to the RAM and he interviewed Rishabh and got to know his project. Then I took him to the science dome and got the three science bros (Me, Noah, and Aravind) to do some demonstrations. I showed him around the greehab and then the observatory. I stayed there and then took him back for lunch. I helped Spencer do some suit adjustments for his own EVA. Then, I was interviewed. We then prepped him for his EVA after lunch and I stayed on comms. The day is now winding down.

Aravind:
I woke up today and started to make the Hab neat and tidy for the journalist, doing my normal chores but a bit extra to make it presentable. The journalist came and we helped him document the first EVA we had today. I helped prepare lunch and then had to go to the science dome to explain my research to the journalist. I want back to the Hab; had lunch; talked to the journalist about a lot of interesting information about Utah. I got suited up for the next EVA and walked up the Hab Ridge with the journalist. Then I had my interview where I explained why I was part of this mission in the first place and what my goals for the future were.

Avery:
For Sol 7, I prepared for the news to arrive by cleaning up the Hab with everyone. Then, I went on an EVA to collect more samples from Camel Ridge and Marble Ritual. Following this, I prepared the Musk Observatory for filming with Kristina. Lunch was served afterward (Mars Marinara) and one final EVA was done, where I monitored the weather for high wind. We are waiting on additional images to process from the Robotic Observatory, as well as instructions on how to troubleshoot issues at the Musk Observatory.

Noah:
Today, I participated in the journalism event coordinated by our commander and XO. I controlled comms for the first EVA, where the reporter was able to film a driving excursion. Later in the science dome, I explained the radish project to the camera and assisted the other crew scientists in demonstrating exfoliation of geologic samples. After lunch, I participated in another EVA where the journalist was suited up alongside us and we climbed the hills directly behind the hab. This evening, I checked on the radishes’ condition and watered/trimmed where necessary. They are improving, though I still see no sign of additional bulb growth

Rishabh:
Today I went on an EVA to camel ridge in order to get more drone footage and collect rock samples. I also displayed my work for the reporters alongside a tour of the lower deck and RAM.

Kristina:
Today, I woke up and cleaned the hab before the news showed up. Then, I prepped for EVA 1 and made lunch. Then I went to Musk Observatory, where the telescope was malfunctioning, and tried to fix it. After I was interviewed and showed off the astronomy research, we went to lunch. EVA two was scheduled after lunch, and we climbed the hills behind MDRS.

Astronomy Report – May 15th

[category  astronomy-report]

Name: Avery Abramson

Crew: 299

Date: 5/15/24

Robotic Observatory

Robotic Telescope Requested: MLC-RCOS16

Objects to be Imaged: BD-07 3632

Problems Encountered: None

Notes: Attached are the new raw images and their bias and dark. I previously resubmitted the observation request again, but this did not yield reliable results. Instead, we used the previous request’s data for testing. Please also see our processing progress. So far, only the bias has been applied, and we are currently trying to apply the dark. Finally, redoing the test runs cost 243 credits. We would like to politely request reimbursement of these credits. If they cannot be reimbursed, please advise on how we can receive more.

Musk Observatory

Solar Features Observed: Prominences

Problems Encountered: My laptop is not designed to handle the programs used for image processing. Breaks are needed for my laptop to cool down as it has weak fans. Masking on Photoshop is difficult as the outline generated by the Paintbrush tool makes a random rectangle appear. Consequently, we had to manually mask our practice image. Use of the observatory has been limited to suitable weather.

Notes: We practiced processing an image taken from the first sol, which is attached. This was at the end of the solar storm. We would like to politely request feedback on it for reprocessing later. Additionally, we will likely process future images all at once, so they will likely be uploaded in the same manner. Please advise if this is not preferred.

Astronomy Report – May 13th

[category  astronomy-report]

Name: Avery Abramson

Crew: 299

Date: 5/13/24

Robotic Observatory

Robotic Telescope Requested: MLC-RCOS16

Objects to be Imaged: BD-07 3632

Problems Encountered: None

Notes: Attached are the raw images and their bias and dark. I resubmitted the observation request per the instructions of Peter Detterline, the Director of Astronomy.

Musk Observatory

Solar Features Observed: TBD

Images: None

Problems Encountered: Needed additional emergency instructions from Peter for closing the dome; received his contact information from Mission Support. The Gamma setting in SharpCap was missing and the telescope could not be set to Hibernate. The only settings were Goto and Set. We attempted to troubleshoot the former to no avail, and for the latter we used Set instead of Hibernate. Please see attached.

Notes: None

Bios, Pictures, Mission Patch – May 12th

Prakruti “Pari” Raghunarayan: Crew Commander & Crew Journalist
Hi! My name is Prakruti, or you can call me Pari. I am a physics and material science major at UT and the crew’s Commander for our analog astronaut mission this rotation. I do condensed matter research with Dr. Edoardo Baldini at the University of Texas at Austin, will be at Princeton University with their Electrical Engineering Department, and will be conducting materials studies at MDRS alongside our crew members. I am very excited for this mission (especially the hikes we may get to go on!)

Avery Abramson: Executive Officer & Crew Astronomer
Hi! My name is Avery Abramson. I am a rising third-year at UT from northern Virginia, which is around thirty minutes from Washington, D.C. I enjoy acting, practicing martial arts, and singing with my piano. I am also an astronomy major who is currently pursuing research, and I will be at Seoul National University in South Korea this summer to continue my research in extragalactic cosmology!
Noah Mugan: Crew Scientist

Hi! My name is Noah Mugan, and I am a physics major at UT Austin. At MDRS, I will be studying differences in nutrient density between radishes grown in Earth soil and in analog Martian soil. Outside of MDRS, my research focuses on quantum computing!

Kristina Mannix: Health and Safety Officer & Astronomer
My name is Kristina Mannix, I am a Physics and Astronomy double major at the University of Texas at Austin. For MDRS, I am the Health and Safety Officer, I am here to patch up my fellow crew members and to ensure their safety. Additionally, I am working with Avery, the head Crew Astronomer, on the astronomy research with the Robotic Observatory and the Musk Solar Observatory. One fun fact about me is that I am doing research at UT with Dr. Scott Kravitz making a xenon time projection chamber!

Aravind Karthigeyan: Crew Chemist
Hey y’all, my name is Aravind, and I’m a physics and math double major—though, emphasis on the physics. I was selected to be the Crew Chemist for MDRS, and my job is to track radiation levels across the camp to simulate research done in an actual Martian environment. Something interesting about myself is that I lettered in varsity bowling in high school!

Rishabh Pandey: Crew Engineer
I’m Rishabh Pandey, an Electrical and Computer Engineering major and Crew Engineer at MDRS. My job is to use drones to map out the Martian surface using photogrammetry and develop deep-learning algorithms to find the fastest path from A to B in the event of a rescue mission. An interesting fact about myself is that I used to be on the Olympic development team for Water Polo.

Mission Plan – May 12th

Our Mission:
Our mission is designed to pioneer new techniques for exploring Mars and analyzing extraterrestrial materials through a simulated Martian environment. We are conducting geological research, mapping a detailed 3D mock-Martian terrain, studying the nutritional data of plants grown in mock-Martian soil, and monitoring space weather events in real time via the Musk Observatory. The overall goal is establish steps to ensure successful roundtrip travel to Mars. With MDRS and NASA, we are extending this material study to attempt to bring back rockets we launch. Essentially, a larger plan would be to use space weather patterns to optimize when we perform launches with Avery and Kristina’s work, mapping that terrain with Rishabh’s research, and finally analyzing and repurposing found materials as energy sources to essentially create rocket fuel (process called electrolysis) and figure out how we can look at vegetation and consumption on Mars, which will be a combined effort of what me, Noah, and Aravind do.

Supplemental Operations Report – May 12th

Date: 5/12/2024
Name of person filing report: Sergii Iakymov
Reason for Report: Routine
Non-Nominal Systems: Hab wall heater, solar observatory, perseverance parking brake & battery. EVA suit 9, Solar Power inverters slave 1&2, main generator offline

Power system:
Solar: Two malfunctioning batteries replaced. Inverters Slave 1&2 have internal faults, removed from the system and are being send to repairs. With one working inverter we are down to 4.4kW maximum we can use.
SOC Last 24 hours: Max 100%; Min 87%; Avg 96.1%.
VDC Last 24 hours: Max 58.49V; Min 48.69V; Avg 53.46V.
Generator run time: Is out of service. It is not turning on due to Locked rotor shutdown. Service call scheduling is in progress. Oil, oil filter, air filter, spark plugs, frequency garnet replaced on 05/05/2024

Propane Readings:
Station Tank: 75%
Director Tank: 70%
Intern Tank: 78%
Generator Tank: 73%

Water:
Hab Static Tank – 540 gallons
GreenHab – 0 gallons
Outpost tank – 400 gallons
Science Dome – 0 gallons
Septic Tanks emptied: No

Rovers:
Sojourner rover used: Yes
Hours: 200.4
Beginning Charge: 100 %
Ending Charge: 100 %
Currently Charging: No
Notes on Rovers: Perseverance is charging only up to about 90%. Charging error appears from time to time. Curiosity rear driver side tire replaced due to cruck. All rovers batteries replaced. All five rovers moved to GreenHab area for charging from the portable generator.

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: To Grand Junction, Price and Hanksville for crew and supplies.
General notes and comments: Hab car ignition has hard time to turn on from time to time.

Summary of Internet: All nominal. Starlink moved to Hab north side.
EVA suits and radios: Suits: Suit 9 has damaged visor and put aside until end of the season.
Comms: Two headsets have been replaced.
Campus wide inspection, if action taken, what and why: Solar Power down to 4.4kW. Main generator out of service. Portable generator is being used to charge rovers.
Summary of Hab Operations: Wall heater is not functioning. Diagnostic is pending. Starlink moved to the Hab north side.
Summary of GreenHab Operations: Shutted down for summer.
Summary of SciDome Operations: Two malfunctioning batteries replaced. Two Inverters with internal fault removed.
Summary of Observatories Operations: Solar observatory telescope diagonal replaced. Lower shutter is decoupled and fastened by a bungee cord. Astronomy laptop has motherboard and battery issues.
Summary of RAM Operations: All nominal
Summary of Outpost Operations: All nominal
Summary of Health and Safety Issues: All nominal

HSO Pre-Mission Checklist – May 12th

Part 1: Using the attached Safety Equipment Inventory, locate, test and confirm operation of all safety equipment. List any equipment not found and/or missing: some items in the first aid kits

Part 2: Locate and confirm the emergency escape routes in the Hab are functional and clear:

1. Stairs: good

2. Emergency window: good

3. Commander’s window: good

Part Three:

Inventory First Aid kit and note what needs to be refilled:

  • Lower HAB:

    • First Aid Kit:

      • 3/10 Antiseptic Towelettes, 4 Alcohol Wipes

      • 8/10 burn cream

      • 5/25 bandaids

      • 7/10 hand sanitizers

      • 4/10 antibiotic ointments

    • EVA outdoor First Aid Kit: good

  • Science Dome:

    • 16/17 alcohol prep pads (expired)

    • 0 bandaids

Note any safety issues: We have the items we are missing in other locations, and my personal First Aid kit is good too.

Note any health/environmental issues: none

Note any missing or recommended health and safety supplies: Need band aids in the Science Dome and should replace expired meds.

HAB Upper deck

HAB Lower deck

RAM

GreenHab

ScienceDome

Rovers

CO monitor

good

good

good

good

Escape ladder

good

Eyewash

good

Fire blanket

good

good

good

Fire extinguisher

good

good

good

good

First Aid

present

present

Intercom

good

good

good

Nightlight

good

good

Propane alarm

good

good

Radios (Channels 10 and 22)

good

good

good

good

Smoke alarm

good

good

good

good

Tow rope

there

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