Author: jburk

Crew 297 – Janus 1 Journalist – David Laude

"Mars has been flown by, orbited, smacked into, radar examined, and rocketed onto, as well as bounced upon, rolled over, shoveled, drilled into, baked and even blasted." – Ray Bradbury

This Sol 9 has delivered mixed results as the NPS recovery team failed to recover it from an uncertain landing site, while progress with Case was made.

Dave and Matt S. went clockwise around the search area searching for the NPS, while Matt L. moved counter-clockwise. Some of this terrain was very hilly and made movement quite slow. Late into the search we had still not located the NPS and asked for a hint from HABCOM, however due to the high amount of interference it was challenging to make out the exact hint. To expedite the return and maximize search time, we used the extended range of Opportunity to do a short shuttle mission. The NPS was not found, but we have now been given its exact coordinates and an EVA to recover it is planned tomorrow.

Case the robot was driven by crew members Sarah and Sean as Pawel watched on for the final set of trial runs needed to get Case’s confidence up. Sarah explored the area and took gamma-ray spectrometer measurements. She noted that the uranium content here was more than areas further south from the Hab (around Robert’s rocks), but in line with what is expected. Case was also able to maneuver around an obstacle course to gather imagery of a point of interest, but needed some manual input.

This journalist had planned to use AI to help write a report and now is the time and so here it is.

In ChatGPT own words [journalist's edits in brackets]:

"In the vast expanse of the desert, three figures clad in space suits embarked on a seemingly futile mission to locate an air-dropped [NPS]. With each step, their visors fogged with frustration as the relentless sun beat down upon them. The arid landscape stretched endlessly, offering no clues to the elusive container’s whereabouts. Each passing moment heightened their sense of urgency, yet the [NPS] remained tantalizingly out of reach. As the [clock ticked relentlessly onward,] the trio reluctantly conceded defeat, their mission ending in disappointment amidst the vastness of the unforgiving desert."

This journalist (not a professional, nor a good word smith) admits to Chat’s greater than his own ability to compose a compelling story, and with only one sentence of information provided (Create a short paragraph regarding the failed attempt to find an air dropped can in the desert with 3 people in space suits.). It’s as if it were a professional journalist and with the EVA team!

There is no doubt AI will be of use in a multitude of ways for any manned Mars mission. In 1968 this journalist saw the HAL-9000 AGI system in the sci-fi movie "2001:A Space Odyssey", then a marvel for the future. The year 2001 came and passed with no HAL like AI. That future is nearly here though, hopefully without AGI having its own mysterious ways with us.

Crew 297 – Janus 1 Journalist – David Laude

As the Martian sun slowly cast its crimson glow over the horizon, the crew of the Janus 1 awoke to the start of another extraordinary day amidst the barren yet captivating landscape of the Red Planet. With near ideal weather conditions, the EVA team departed the Hab at 9:08 AM and mounted their all electric rovers, Opportunity and Curiosity. The EVA participants were Pawel Sawicki (Commander), Sarah Lamm (Geologist), Matthew Lynch (Engineer), Matthew Storch (Executive Officer and EVA Team Leader)

Team leader Matt S. remarked in detail: "We first did another seek for the NPS Project, by traveling to the coordinates specified by Mission Support, and searching a 300 m radius for the NPS. We then evaluated the robot, excavated a site for placement of the NPS, and explored the surrounding region for geological purposes."

"Crew obtained the NPS search coordinates and proceeded to the search area, which was near the Candor Chasma. We stopped just off Cow Dung road and proceeded on foot along the Gateway to Candor, to conduct the search. The crew split into 2 teams that straddled a ravine. Matt Lynch quickly spotted the NPS and we retrieved it and returned to the rovers. We then proceeded north along Cow Dung Road to Galileo Road and headed east on Galileo until we reached the turnaround limit on battery power. The turnaround point was not deemed suitable for the other mission objectives, so we started to return along Galileo road, stopping twice to evaluate possible sites to cover the remaining mission objectives. Once a suitable location was found, Pawel and Matt S set up the robot, while Matt L scouted for suitable nearby excavation sites and Sarah conducted geological studies of the area. The robot had problems connecting to its network and there was not much we could do in the field to address the problem, so we had to abandon that objective for today. All four EVA crew members then joined the excavation effort, using a variety of tools and working in shifts. In the end we were able to excavate deep enough to properly bury the NPS, but finished just in time to return from the EVA with a suitable time margin. Excavation was much more difficult than in the first location, with the regolith removal rate being about one half of what it was in the first excavation, despite having 4 crew members to work this excavation vs. 2 for the previous one."

Meanwhile, at the Hab, Dave was preparing his first scone with blueberries mix for the oven. Despite the use of freeze dried foods for most of the ingredients, the scones came out of the oven in fine shape and satisfying taste. The fine shape was like a flower pedal.

Today’s featured crew member is Pawel. In his biography he notes that he "is currently a New Shepard Crew Capsule Test Engineer at Blue Origin, where he is responsible for the successful and safe execution and on-time completion of several major launch vehicle tests and pre-flight checks. At Blue Origin, he is also a volunteer Emergency Response Team member. Pawel earned a Ph.D. from the University of Colorado at Boulder, where his doctoral research involved computationally investigating amelioration techniques for plasma-induced radio wave blackout, which has historically plagued hypersonic vehicles. Pawel had also obtained an M.S. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder, an M.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan, and M.S. and B.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from New York University. Pawel’s career has also included stints of varying capacities at NASA Ames Research Center, NASA Langley Research Center, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, and Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center."