Author: jburk

Posted on

Operations Report – January 5th

Supplemental Operations Report 3 5JAN2022

Name of person filing report: Shannon Rupert

Reason for Report: Routine

Non-nominal systems: Nothing to report

Action taken for non-nominal systems: n/a

Generator: Total run time 283.4 hours. We changed the oil today and reset the maintenance warning. Removed all sand from the interior. Still being manually run at night.

ScienceDome Dual Split: Off

Solar—Nominal, charge controllers off at night. We are turning the generator on before the SOC reaches 70% as much as possible.

Solar— VDC Last daylight hours:

Average 51.11

Minimum 46.60

Maximum 59.20

Notes on solar: Nothing to report

Propane Reading, station tank – 45 %

Propane Reading, director tank— 49 %

Propane Reading, intern tank— 50 %

Propane Reading, generator— not checked %

Ethanol Free Gasoline – 2 gallons

Water (Outpost tank) – 250 gallons

Perseverance rover used: yes

Hours: not checked

Beginning charge: 100

Ending charge: not checked

Currently charging: no

Sojourner rover used: yes

Hours: not checked

Beginning charge: 100

Ending charge: 100

Currently charging: yes

Notes on rovers: The dump stabilizer bar on Percy broke and I have ordered a replacement. We aren’t sure if it broke because of the accident, so it should be looked over carefully once it is back in service for any additional breakage the first few times it is used.

ATV’s Used: (Honda, 350.1, 350.2, 300): none

Reason for use: n/a

Oil Added? No

ATV Fuel Used: 0 gallons

# Hours the ATVs were Used: 0

Notes on ATVs: 300 moved into place at the Outpost

HabCar used and why, where? Yes, to town for water and packages

CrewCar used and why, where? Yes, to town for errands

Luna used and why, where? Yes, to town for errands

Business internet: Nothing to report

General notes and comments: Nothing to report.

Campus wide inspection, if action taken, what and why? Nothing to report

Summary of general operations: We cemented the two signs on Cow Dung Road into the ground so they would not blow over anymore. We attempted to replace the toilet in the Hab but had very little time to complete the work and the bolts that secure the toilet to the floor were stuck and we did not have time to unstick them before the crew asked if they could just use the broken one until the end of their rotation. We removed the old diesel overflow berm and releveled the area.
Summary of Outpost operations: Shed was cleaned and organized. Outflow on the water tank was replaced as it had been stripped. Intern Trailer was leveled. Greywater tank control appears to be failing on the intern trailer and may need to be replaced.

Summary of health and safety issues: Nothing to report

Posted on

Operations Report – January 5th

Crew 238 Operations Report 05-01-2022

SOL:3

Name of person filing report: Simon Werner

Non-nominal systems: 1 CO- Sensor, lower deck, replacement in progress
(Atila), spacesuits, radio, see below.

Notes on non-nominal systems: Spacesuit’s issues/ radio battery, see below

Spirit rover used: No

Hours: (taken SOL:2): 149.4

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 100%

Currently charging: yes

Opportunity rover used: No

Hours: 79.2

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 100%

Currently charging: yes

Curiosity rover used: No

Hours: 158.8

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 100%

Currently charging: yes

Perseverance rover used: no

Hours: unknown

Beginning charge: unknown

Ending charge: unknown

Currently charging: unknown

General notes and comments: none

Summary of Hab operations:

WATER USE:

Water (static tank): 449

Water (loft tank): 24 gallons, filled to 55 gallons

Water Meter: post pumping 01544462

Static to Loft Pump used – yes

Static tank pipe heater (on or off): on

Static tank heater (On or off) installed, on

Toilet tank emptied: no

Summary of internet: nominal

Summary of suits and radios:.

Spacesuit Nr.8:

Opened it, checked cable connections with multimeter. One cable was
broken between plug (V+ in) and switch. Removed the cable and soldered
a new one to replace it. Cable shoe was recycled. Battery was low,
5.1V, reinstalled all, currently charging, check tomorrow if charging
was successful.

Spacesuit Nr. 2:

Battery was low 5.6V, checked cables and connections to PCB with
multimeter, no obvious problems. Took the battery out and connected to
Battery charger as suggested by Scott. Check tomorrow again. Unit
currently in the RAM, Battery in HAB.

Spacesuit Nr. 4: Still low, fans slow rapidly down, not checked the
internals yet. Note: the LED of the charger is off. Tested the charger
in different power sockets, no change. Before I go for opening the
unit, shall I crosscheck with a different battery charger or open Nr.
4 first and check connections inside, suggestions?

Spacesuit Nr. 5: After charging overnight nominal again.

Spacesuit Nr 11: After charging overnight nominal again.

All other Spacesuits are nominal and connected to the chargers.

Radio issues: Switched the low radio battery to another radio as
suggested by Atila, the issue remains so the battery is broken –>
replacement by Outpost?

Summary of GreenHab operations:

WATER USE: 200 gallons (guess)

Heater: On

Supplemental light: On

Harvest: Yes, see Green Hab report/ notebook in Green Hab

Summary of Science Dome operations: Aga checked the microscope in the
middle for functionality will be used tomorrow.

Dual split: status unknown, operated by outpost

Summary of RAM operations:

Used for fixing Spacesuit Nr. 8 and 2, Soldering iron was used and
several tools. Cleaned up as possible.

Summary of any observatory issues: none

Summary of health and safety issues: none, see HSO report

Questions, concerns, and requests to Mission Support:

Question: is there any cable for repairing the spacesuits available in
general? Also, heat-shrinking insulation tubes and cable shoes could
not be found. Is there something stored in the Outpost? If so, please
provided some, thanks.

Coffee filter re-supply delivered – very important, thank you.

Simon

Posted on

Journalist Report – January 4th

Sol 02 Journalist Report

Beat: Space Oddity, David Bowie

Pedro José-Marcellino
Crew 238 Journalist/XO

ALICE IN CHAINS

It’s been the longest two days here at MDRS.

Scratch that: it’s been the longest two years waiting to be here at MDRS.

Actually: it’s been the longest two years for everyone out there on planet Earth, and we are so darn lucky.

Now that we are finally on Mars, the process is slowly sinking in, and we are gently sliding into busy Martian routines.

For an international team like the Magnificent 7 (don’t ask) it’s been touch-and-go for a while. We were selected in 2019 and originally slotted to be here a year ago. Through all that, we lost an engineer, then a commander, then gained an astronomer, only to lose her again; our XO became the commander, I became the XO, and the Mag 7 became the Mag 6, but we stuck together and kept the earlier name as a memento, much as Zsa Zsa Gabor kept the rings from her seven weddings as decorative items. In case you didn’t notice that joke was deliberately Hungarian.

Over the rest of the week, I will be picking a crew member every day to inspire me and assist in telling our story at MDRS. Thus, the Hungarian joke. See, a little-known fact about my crew member of the day today, our pretty rad GreenHab Officer Kay Sandor, is that she is herself Hungarian-American. And a Master Texas Gardener — yes, that’s a thing! — who also happens to hold a PhD in nursing and be a licensed therapist. She volunteered in tall ships, and cooks a mean paprikash, as we found out over dinner today.

Although the whole thing nearly devolved into World War Math when she asked an international crew of Americans, English, Continentals, and Canadians to weigh in on the trick question: “what is 1/6 of half of a cup?”. What were you thinking, Kay?

At age 74, today Kay became possibly the oldest analog astronaut to ever walk an EVA here on analog Mars. She was beaming and so were we, even if we did not go too far. Mission Support suggested nearby Marble Ritual, which we can see from our window, as one does Russia.

Walking with our artist-in-residence Aga Pokrywka and myself, it was certainly not lost on us that one of Kay’s objectives here on Mars is to design and have us walk a meandering meditative labyrinth, as seen on our mission patch. All very mysterious.

All very Hiroko, the green thumb character from The Mars Trilogy. We expect good things. Even Alice, the little desert mouse, seems to think so, so she’s back today to hang out

And perhaps this is where I’ll leave it today. Stay tuned.

Posted on

Journalist Report – January 4th

Sol 02 Journalist Report

Beat: Space Oddity, David Bowie

Pedro José-Marcellino

Crew 238 Journalist/XO

ALICE IN CHAINS

It’s been the longest two days here at MDRS.

Scratch that: it’s been the longest two years waiting to be here at MDRS.

Actually: it’s been the longest two years for everyone out there on planet Earth, and we are so darn lucky.

Now that we are finally in Mars, the process is slowly sinking in, and we are gently sliding into busy Martian routines.

For an international team like the Magnificent 7 (don’t ask) it’s been touch-and-go for a while. We were selected in 2019 and originally slotted to be here a year ago. Through all that, we lost an engineer, then a commander, then gained an astronomer, only to lose her again; our XO became the commander, I became the XO, and the Mag 7 became the Mag 6, but we stuck together and kept the earlier name as a memento, much as Zsa Zsa Gabor kept the rings from her seven weddings as decorative items. In case you didn’t notice that joke was deliberately Hungarian.

Over the rest of the week, I will be picking a crew member every day to inspire me and assist in telling our story at MDRS. Thus, the Hungarian joke. See, a little-known fact about my crew member of the day today, our pretty rad GreenHab Officer Kay Sandor, is that she is herself Hungarian-American. And a Master Texas Gardener — yes, that’s a thing! — who also happens to hold a PhD in nursing and be a licensed therapist. She volunteered in tall ships, and cooks a mean paprikash, as we found out over dinner today. Although the whole thing nearly devolved into World War Math when she asked an international crew of Americans, English, Continentals, and Canadians to weigh in on the trick question: “what is 1/6of half of a cup?”. What were you thinking, Kay?

At age 74, today Kay became possibly the oldest analog astronaut to ever walk an EVA here on analog Mars. She was beaming and so were we, even if we did not go too far. Mission Support suggested nearby Marble Ritual, which we can see from our window, as one does Russia. Walking with our artist-in-residence Aga Pokrywka and myself, it was certainly not lost on us that one of Kay’s objectives here on Mars is to design and have us walk a meandering meditative labyrinth, as seen on our mission patch. All very mysterious.

All very Hiroko, the green thumb character from The Mars Trilogy. We expect good things. Even Alice, the little desert mouse, seems to think so, so she’s back today to hang out

And perhaps this is where I’ll leave it today. Stay tuned.

[end]

Posted on

Crew Photos – January 4th

This is XO Marcellino. Hope you are well.

As you prepare to close comms for the day, please find enclosed the day’s photos. The photo of the day is called 238-20220104-depressurize. Please accept my apologies for the delay in submitting the Journalist Report for the day. I shall send this after the close of Comms and will be more prompt tomorrow.
Have a good evening !

Regards,

Pedro JM

[end]

Posted on

Astronomy Report – January 4th

Astronomy Report

Name: Agnieszka Pokrywka
Crew: 238
Date: 01/04/2022

MDRS ROBOTIC OBSERVATORY
Robotic Telescope Requested: Montana Learning Center
Objects Viewed: M 51, IC 434
Problems Encountered: The first successful pictures of the Horsehead Nebula and Messier 51 are taken. There is a problem with the access to the astronomy laptop though. It wasn’t found downstairs in the hab. It might be in the observatory but I don’t have an access to it. The laptop is crucial to proceed with stacking of the images and color imaging.

MUSK OBSERVATORY
Not used.

[end]

Posted on

Operations Report – January 4th

Crew 238 Operations Report 04-01-2022

SOL:2

Name of person filing report: Simon Werner

Non-nominal systems: 1 CO- Sensor, lower deck, replacement in progress
(Atila), spacesuits, radio, please see details below.

Notes on non-nominal systems: Sensor broken on 2022/01/03, spacesuits/
radio defects detected today at 6.30 pm during post EVA checks, see
below.

ROVERS

Spirit rover used: Yes

Hours: (taken after Return from Marble Ritual): 149.4

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 100%

Currently charging: yes

Opportunity rover used: yes

Hours: 79.2

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 100%

Currently charging: yes

Curiosity rover used: yes

Hours: 158.8

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 100%

Currently charging: yes

Perseverance rover used: no

Hours: unknown

Beginning charge: unknown

Ending charge: unknown

Currently charging: unknown

General notes and comments: Since today we are in SIM. A re-supply
mission from the outpost brought a new toilet. We’ve had an EVA to
Marble Ritual in the morning and afternoon, used Rovers, see EVA
report. Used rovers worked nominal, all plugged in. Rock samples have
been taken close to marble ritual, volvanic material (to be
estimated), Quartz, Flintstone and Achat (German).

Summary of Hab operations:

WATER USE:

Water (static tank): 480

Water (loft tank): 28 gallons, filled to 55 gallons

Water Meter: post pumping 01544074

Static to Loft Pump used – yes

Static tank pipe heater (on or off): installation by Outpost, unknown status

Static tank heater (On or off) unknown

Toilet tank emptied: no

Summary of internet: nominal

Summary of suits and radios: Several spacesuit issues occurred.

Spacesuits next to airlock: Spacesuit nr. 2 is non-functional although
plugged in, will be checked in detail tomorrow. Spacesuit nr. 4 is on
low airflow, plugged in, will be re-checked tomorrow, Spacesuit nr. 5
was on low airflow, plugged to a different power socket, now full air
blow capacity availlable.

Spacesuits in the lower deck: Generation 1 type Spacesuit is on low
air flow, plugged in, re-check tomorrow, System nr. is out of order,
battery voltage reads + 5.1 Volts, fuse is ok (0.1 Ohms). Removed fuse
to check with the following connections: battery ground to multimeter
common, fuse into multimeter voltage (DC) in. Test procedure: switch
on, power supply plugged in. Voltage read was very instable, changing
from 0.0V to 13.75V. Repeatedly checked with 3 different power
supplies, same result. I suspect the power in socket or the switch to
have a half-lose cable connection. Each movement on the power supply
cable led to a different or even no voltage read. Suggested procedure:
move System to the RAM tomorrow, dis-assemble the Switch/plug unit and
check soldered connections/ for broken cables.

Same may be necessary for Spacesuit Nr. 1 and 4. Tomorrow is a day in
HAB, so here is time for this. All other spacesuits are nominal, incl.
those used during EVA.

Radio issues: One Midland-type radio (the yellow ones) does not
re-load, when taken out of the supply, it turns of. Asserted, tagged
as non-functional. Maybe the batteries died, re-supply of rechargeable
batteries, test again? All other radio systems are nominal

Summary of GreenHab operations:

WATER USE: 210 gallons (guess)

Heater: On

Supplemental light: On

Harvest: none

Summary of ScienceDome operations: none

Dual split: status unknown, operated by outpost

Summary of RAM operations: Took screwdriver set back to RAM, checked
Lights and ventilators. All nominal, except fan in the airlock. Makes
some heavy noise/ sounds when turned on –> mechanical contact of fan
blades to frame? Should this be checked in detail?

Ram tools have been used to make a military style/survival kitchen
grater from a can – lid. Noticed the following instrument is not
working: dremel tool, motor can be switched on, but no rotation at the
end of the flexible arm.

Summary of any observatory issues: Still missing the astronomy box,
see Operations report Sol1, Image of Messier galaxy taken by crew
astronomer, details to astronomy operations are to be found in
astronomy report.

Summary of health and safety issues: none, see HSO report

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support:

All re-supply delivered, thank you.

Simon

[end]

Posted on

EVA Report – January 4th

EVA #2

Author: Sionade Robinson

Purpose of EVA: Rehearsal and recognisance of Marble Ritual site and environs..

Start time:14.00

End time: 14.50

Narrative: On recommendation of Mission Support, our three crew
undertook a rehearsal EVA to the destination specified, using suits,
rovers, maps, coordinates and radios. Various rock samples and
landscape features were photographed, small rock samples collected and
identified subsequently at the Hab.

Destination: Marble Ritual

Coordinates (use UTM NAD27 CONUS): 38.41N by 110.79W

Participants: HSO Turner, Engineer Werner, Commander Robinson.

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Cow Dung Road to Pooh’s Corner where
rovers were parked and then party proceeded by foot.

Mode of travel: Opportunity and Spirit Rovers, by foot.

[end]

Posted on

EVA Report – January 4th

Crew 238 EVA Report 04-01-2022

EVA # 1

Author: Pedro José-Marcellino

Purpose of EVA: Training EVA

Start time: 11:16 AM

End time: 12:26 AM

Narrative: Short training EVA to Marble Ritual, as pre-determined by Mission Support. Based on tasks organized for the day, Team 1 was led by XO Marcellino. The destination appeared to be a short distance away and was found fast. We were told to look for a man-made structure, and thus kept an eye out for a marble structure. But having identified the correct location, we quickly realized there was no such thing. Instead, seeing three sticks with bowls from afar, we discussed the possibility of some sort of ancient Martian ceremony passing glass marbles from a container to the another. Yet, upon closer inspection we realized the bowls were in fact cake pans coloured after the Mars Trilogy books – hinting at a marble cake. Good one, Mission Support.

Destination: Marble Ritual

Coordinates (use UTM NAD27 CONUS): 38.41 N by 110.79 W

Participants: XO Marcellino, GHO Sandor, ART Pokrywka

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: MDRS access to Cow Dung Road, headed N-NE toward Pooh’s Corner where we parked. Proceeded on foot 200 m due E.

Mode of travel: Rover Spirit (lead) and Rover Opportunity

[end]

Posted on

Crew 238 Sol Summary Report 04Jan2022

[Commander Report Sol Summary – January 4th]

Sol:2

Summary Title: The Beginning of Life on Mars

Author’s name: Sionade Robinson

Mission Status: Underway

Sol Activity Summary: Two EVAs to Marble Ritual and the commencement
of crew research projects in

Look Ahead Plan: Day of project work underway in the hab

Anomalies in work: None in work, but significant anomalies experienced
in units of measurement used by an international crew when calculating
dinner ingredients- resolved on this occasion.

Weather: Crisp and clear

Crew Physical Status: Nominal

EVA: Morning and afternoon EVAs to Marble Ritual

Reports to be filed: Sol, Operations, two EVA Reports, and Journalist report.

Support Requested: Coffee Filters requested? We are out!

[end]

Copyright © The Mars Society. All rights reserved. | Main Site