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April 15, 2019April 19, 2019

Sol Summary – April 15th

Crew 210 Sol Summary Report 15-APR-2019

Sol: 3

Summary Title: Squashing plants and supply runs

Author’s name: Paul Sokoloff

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: This morning, after the requisite coffee, Crew 210 pressed the plants collected during yesterdays excursion to Salt Creek and the Burpee Quarry. By squishing the plant specimens between cardboard and drying them out, the team is left with a flat plant that, of stored correctly, will last for hundreds of years. These specimens, accompanied by a label indicating the location and date of collection, will serve as the proof that these plants were found growing at a specific place and time, and will make up the backbone of our first planned publication from this program.

Our team devoted the rest of this sol to gathering supplies essential to hab and rover systems. Shannon made a water run to Hanksville, while the rest of 210 went to Bicknel for ATV batteries and supplies to build a quadrat for our ecological work. On our return to MDRS our team was able to repair one more ATV, three of these are now operational.

While completing both our scientific and technical work for the day we were also able to continue our social outreach efforts, including posting video of our plant pressing adventures to Twitter and Facebook, preparing for an “Ask a Martian Anything” on Reddit tomorrow night, and telling our “Martian” tales on social media.

All in all, another beautiful day in that special place that straddles the line between our unique planet and the one we’d next like to visit.

Look Ahead Plan: Now equipped with a square-meter quadrat for ecological sampling, we will plan on spending tomorrow (sol 4), doing transects and quadrats within the MDRS operational area. At these sites we will document the number of species, percent cover, and functional groups of the plant and lichen communities, and record abiotic variables such as soil moisture content, pH, and coarseness. New plant and lichen species found on EVA will also be collected.

A Bureau of Land Management representative is scheduled to visit MDRS tomorrow morning, so we will meet with them before starting our sampling EVA.

Anomalies in work: No.

Weather: Cloudy in the am, clearing by mid-day.

Crew Physical Status: Good.

EVA: no EVAs at MDRS, but Shannon made a water and supply run to Hanksville, and the remainder of the crew made a supply run to Bicknell.

Reports to be filed:

Sol Summary

Operations Report

GreenHab Report

Photo Report

Support Requested: n/a

April 14, 2019April 19, 2019

Operations Report – April 14th

Crew 210 Operations Report 14-APR-2019

SOL: 2

Name of person filing report: Shannon Rupert

Non-nominal systems: nothing to report

Notes on non-nominal systems: nothing to report

Generator (hours run): 11.5 hours last night

Solar— SOC unknown %. Will not be reported during COMMS as I plan to
turn it on as late as possible. I find recording these data on this
report awkward. Is there a better way to report when the generator is
turned off and on and the hours it is on each day?

Diesel Reading – 46 %

Propane Reading – 46 %

Ethanol Free Gasoline – 10 gallons.

Water (auxillary tank) – 0 gallons

Water (static tank) – 200 gallons

Auxillary to Static tank transfer– no

Gallons transferred: No

Water in GreenHab – unknown gallons.

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used – yes

Water Meter: not read

Toilet tank emptied: no

Deimos rover used: Still non-operational

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR, no

Hours: 50.7

Beginning charge: 100

Ending charge: 100

Currently charging: yes

Spirit rover used: No

Hours: 86.5

Beginning charge: 100

Ending charge: 100

Currently charging: yes

Opportunity rover used: yes

Hours: 56.4

Beginning charge: 100

Ending charge: 97

Currently charging: yes

Curiosity rover used: No

Hours: 88.8

Beginning charge: 100

Ending charge: 100

Currently charging: yes

Notes on rovers: Nothing to report

ATV’s Used: (Honda, 300, 350.1, 350.2, 350.3) None

Reason for use: None were used.

Oil Added? No

ATV Fuel Used: 0 Gals.

# Hours the ATVs were Used today: 0

Notes on ATVs: We are planning a morning trip to Loa tomorrow for two
more batteries and a spark plug for the Honda. Also some battery
screws and bolts. Two of the 350’s are operational: the one that
originally started and the one with the new battery, The Honda just
won’t turn over, even with canned starter. The battery in the 300 was
damaged somehow and needs to be replaced. The remaining 350’s battery
will not hold a charge and also needs to be replaced.

HabCar used and why, where? Yes, to Salt Creek for research. We had
a problem with it not starting once we returned to MDRS and went to
the Quarry. It seems the problem is in the shift column, not the
starter or the battery. We finally got it started and returned to the
Hab only minutes after the two crewmembers who walked back to the Hab
had arrived.

CrewCar used and why, where? No

General notes and comments: Tunnel repairs were almost completed this
morning. The remaining work will be done tomorrow morning.

Summary of internet: Nothing to report

Summary of suits and radios: Nothing to report

Summary of Hab operations: Nothing to report

Summary of GreenHab operations: Still not completely cleaned up.
David will be sending a GreenHab report tonight and from now on.

Summary of ScienceDome operations: Nothing to report

Summary of RAM operations: Nothing to report

Summary of any observatory issues: Nothing to report

Summary of health and safety issues: Nothing to report

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: Nothing tonight,
thank you.

April 14, 2019April 19, 2019

Crew Photos – April 14th

April 14, 2019April 19, 2019

Science Report – April 14th

Sol 2 – Science Summary

Crew 210 sampled vascular plants and lichens from three sites across the MDRS operational area today; the Valley of the Stars, Salt Creek, and the vicinity of the Burpee Dinosaur Quarry. We collected between 15-20 samples, many of which were species not recorded during previous floristic work at the station in 2014. We will press the samples later this evening to preserve them for later identification. Tomorrow, if time permits, we will continue our sampling in the area just around the hab.

April 14, 2019April 19, 2019

Sol Summary – April 14th

Sol 2 – Anywhere is walking distance if you’ve got the time

Before departing MDRS for a day of botanical sampling, crew 210 spent the morning working on social media outreach and (importantly), fueling up on coffee. While team members emptied the hab car water tank (filled last night in Hanksville), other crew members continued to repair the hab tunnels. The full team (five humans and two space dogs) left the station at 11:30.

After refueling the hab car in Hanksville, we drove to the Factory Butte access road and sampled plants and lichens at the Valley of the Stars and at Salt Creek. We returned to Cow Dung Road and went to continue our plant sampling outside of the Burpee Dinosaur Quarry

When we went to return to MDRS the hab car did not initially start, so Mike Irvine and myself hiked back to the hab from the quarry to retrieve the crew car. However, just as we returned to the hab we heard from the rest of the team over the radio that they were able to restart the car and they made their way back to MDRS.

Tomorrow the team will travel to Loa in the morning to retrieve parts for the ATVs, and plan on sampling around the hab (time-permitting) in the afternoon.

April 14, 2019April 19, 2019

Greenhab Report – April 14th

GreenHab Officer: David Murray

Environmental control: Ambient with door open from 10:40 to 19:19

Shade Cloth: 80%

Average Temperature:

Low Temperature: 14 C

High Temperature: 43 C

Relative humidity: 25%

Hours of Supplemental Light: 0

Daily Water Usage for Crops: 13 L

Water in Blue Tank: N/A

Time(s) of Watering: 10:40 and 19:19

Changes to Crops: None.

Narrative: Our crew spent the day at Salt Creek, a few miles away from the station. Before we left, we watered the crops and left the GreenHab door open but the interior temperature still reached 43 C while we were gone. Since outdoor temperatures are likely to increase until the fall, we’ll probably have to run the fan in addition to propping the door open from here on out. I’ll program the fan to operate during the hottest parts of the day and report the schedule tomorrow. There are discrepancies among the thermometers in the GreenHab and a couple of them have problems with their digital displays. They should be replaced.

Harvest: None

April 13, 2019April 19, 2019

Crew Photos – April 13th

Photo of the day: Crew 210.jpg

April 13, 2019April 19, 2019

Sol Summary – April 13th

Sol 1 – Entry, Descent, and Landing

Crew 210 arrived at the Mars Desert Research Station mid-afternoon today. Consisting of biologists and outreach specialists from across North America, crew 210 will spend the next week conducting a biodiversity survey and ecological inventory of the MDRS area outside of sim. Our team includes:

· Dr. Shannon Rupert, director of the Mars Desert Research station, and desert ecologist.

· David Murray, crew 210 co-lead, MDRS GreenHab director, and desert ecologist.

· Paul Sokoloff, crew 2010 co-lead and botanist at the Canadian Museum of Nature.

· Samantha McBeth, polar biologist, expedition guide, and outreach coordinator.

· Mike Irvine, co-founder of Live It and outreach coordinator.

We spent this afternoon addressing logistical needs around the station, including some repairs of the hab tunnels, two water runs into Hanksville, and repairs to ATVs. We will likely need to run additional errands on Monday, so tomorrow we will begin our sampling program by surveying the vegetation and sampling around Salt Creek, on the Factory Butte road.

This spring has been very lush around MDRS and the “Martian” hills are green with peppergrass and evening primrose, so we are eager to begin our science program in the hopes of finding new plant records for MDRS, and to contribute to long-term ecological monitoring at the station.

You can follow our "Martian" adventures on Twitter (@LiveItearth, @Lady_McBeth_, @paul_sokoloff, @pillowdavid17), and by following #MDRS210 and #MarsBio

Until tomorrow,

Paul S, on behalf of crew 210

April 13, 2019April 19, 2019

Greenhab Report – April 13th

GreenHab Officer: David Murray

Environmental control: Ambient

Shade Cloth: 80%

Average Temperature: N/A

Low Temperature: N/A

High Temperature: N/A

Inside humidity: N/A

Hours of Supplemental Light: 0

Daily Water Usage for Crops: N/A

Water in Blue Tank: N/A

Time(s) of Watering: N/A

Changes to Crops: None.

Narrative: Crew 210 arrived on site this afternoon. The crops look alright for the most part, save for some wilting and stunted growth. The tomato seeds were sprouted in large pots with loose soil, which may explain their inability to continue growth past sprouting cotyledons. Energy stores within the seed will support initial growth, but with large-particle-sized substrate and large pots, the short roots have trouble reaching anything of value, even when the substrate still looks properly watered.

The herb beds and crops that are further along in their growth cycles look healthy. Temperatures are very comfortable here but that means it’ll likely be too hot in the GreenHab during the day. I’ll make sure to leave the door propped open and water the crops before our crew heads out to Salt Creek.

Harvest: None

April 13, 2019April 19, 2019

Operations Report – April 13th

Operations Report 13-APR-2019

SOL: n/a

Name of person filing report: Shannon Rupert

Non-nominal systems: None

Notes on non-nominal systems:

Generator (hours run): Off at 7:30 am, on again at 9:30 pm (11.5 hours last night)

Solar— SOC 96 %.

Diesel Reading – 42 %

Propane Reading – did not read %

Ethanol Free Gasoline – 10 gallons.

Water (auxiliary tank) – 0 gallons

Water (static tank) – 125 gallons (Note: I thought there were about 75 gallons remaining in the tank but there wasn’t even that much. We will get more tomorrow.)

Auxiliary to Static tank transfer– no

Gallons transferred: None

Water in GreenHab – unknown gallons.

Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used – no

Water Meter: not read

Toilet tank emptied: no

Deimos rover used: Still non-operational

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR, no

Hours: 50.7

Beginning charge: 100

Ending charge: 100

Currently charging: yes

Spirit rover used: No

Hours: 86.5

Beginning charge: 100

Ending charge: 100

Currently charging: yes

Opportunity rover used: yes (just moved to hold down a tarp in the wind)

Hours: 56.4

Beginning charge: 100

Ending charge: 100

Currently charging: no

Curiosity rover used: No

Hours: 88.8

Beginning charge: 100

Ending charge: 100

Currently charging: yes

Notes on rovers: Nothing to report

ATV’s Used: (Honda, 300, 350.1, 350.2, 350.3) Used all but the 300

Reason for use: Preparing to use them later this week

Oil Added? No
ATV Fuel Used: 1 Gal.

# Hours the ATVs were Used today: 1

Notes on ATVs: We spent a lot of time working on the ATVs today with some success. One of the 350s was already working. David picked up a new battery today and we put it in another of the 350s and it is working. We jumped the battery in the other 350, but it seems it could not hold a charge. The Honda’s spark plug is very dirty and we could not get it to turn over. The 300’s battery is charging overnight and hopefully, we will get it running by morning.

The plan is to assess them all again tomorrow and then go to town on Monday for any parts or batteries we may need. The Honda is somewhat clear of mud, the 350 is still really filthy and the mud is like a brick. I purchased a new set of jumper cables to replace the damaged ones I found. I am going to try to repair the damaged ones.

HabCar used and why, where? Yes, to town for supplies and water and trash disposal

CrewCar used and why, where? Yes, used to get the crew here, still on site all week.

General notes and comments: About ¾ of the damaged tunnel is repaired. We will finish this up in the next day or so.

Summary of internet: Password to wifi in Hab was changed, but no one told me! All okay now.

Summary of suits and radios: Nothing to report

Summary of Hab operations: Wheel was removed from the front airlock door so we could get it to close again. The hinged side of the door was severely bent and damaged so we hammered it back as best we could. The door is now closed and secured for the night. We will need to work more on it tomorrow and replace the railing on the porch (which has already had many repairs).

Kitchen shelf was cleared of non-kitchen supplies.

Summary of GreenHab operations: David, our GreenHab Manager, is part of this crew and will be finishing up the repairs and cleaning in the next week.