SOL: #1 (from 6:00 pm)
Name of person filing report: Rajvi Patel
Non-nominal systems: None
Notes on non-nominal systems: None
ROVERS
Spirit Rover used: Not used
Opportunity rover used: Not used
Curiosity rover used: Not used
Perseverance rover used: Not used
General notes on rovers: Training day today
Summary of Hab operations:
WATER USE: # gallons (Reference depth not available for yesterday)
Water (static tank): 462.56 gallons (Depth = 6.69 inches)
Static tank pipe heater (on or off): on
Static tank heater (On or off): on
Toilet tank emptied: yes
Summary of internet: Nominal during comms window
Summary of suits and radios: Nothing to report for today.
Summary of GreenHab operations:
WATER USE: 8 gallons
Heater: On
Supplemental light: 2200- 0200
Harvest: None
Summary of Science Dome operations: None
Dual split: Heat On
Summary of RAM operations: (Tools used, work done)
Used a measuring tape and cleaned it, to measure the water depth
Summary of any observatory issues: The crew astronomer could not open the solar observatory due to the lock on it. (Check out Crew Astronomer’s report)
Summary of health and safety issues: Check out the HSO report for details
Questions, concerns, and requests to Mission Support: None
Hab Car exit Mileage: 220571 miles
Journalist Report – February 5th
Sol 1: Welcome to Mars!
Well, Crew 292 Mangalyatri have officially landed on Mars! Many of the Crew had a challenging journey here, while I waited for them after Crew 291’s departure back to Earth, but everyone got here safe and sound in the end. We had a big dinner to celebrate our landing and an even bigger sleep to feel refreshed before our training began this morning.
Sol 1 began with coffee, tea, and delicious banana pancakes – the perfect breakfast to fuel a big sol of training and our sim beginning.
We started our training at 0900 and kept training until about 1500 (though we did stop for a much-needed tea break and lunch break). We’ve all learned a lot of valuable skills about how to do our jobs around the Hab and how to drive, use EVA suits, and use radios. We were all feeling prepared to start sim but couldn’t resist taking lots of photos and videos and going for a big walk before we could no longer take walks without EVA suits and a strong scientific justification. Crew 292 greatly enjoyed going up to Hab Ridge and looking for fossilised oyster shells, before heading back to the Hab about 40 minutes before our sim began.
We finished off some last-minute chores like watering plants and checking our supplies before it ticked over to 1800 and we were officially living on Mars.
All that’s left to complete our first sol on Mars is a delicious and nutritious dinner, getting used to our schedule of report writing, communications, cooking, and working, and having a big sleep before beginning our EVAs tomorrow. All our Mangalyatris are feeling welcome and settled and are super excited to begin our rotation on Mars!
Until next sol,
Clare Fletcher (292 Mangalyatri journalist)
Sol Summary – February 7th
Sol: Sol #3
Summary Title: A windy but productive day for Mangalyatri Crew 292.
Author’s name: Annalea Beattie
Mission Status: Nominal
Sol Activity Summary: The weather was extreme today. Even though the desert looked still, we could hear the wind howling around the hab when we woke. We correctly anticipated a delay in our fieldwork. Most of us spent the morning organizing field materials and doing research. Mid-morning Bharti and I assisted our engineer Rajvi to check the covers for the tunnels, directly addressing any issues. We made sure all our doors are well-secured and that we are keeping good radio contact in the different working zones of the hab. Mehnaz did her Green Hab chores early and then cooked aloo sandwiches (spicy potato) with Bharti. We made some yoghurt in the breadmaker, which is fantastic, and we cooked chick-peas in the slow cooker for tonight’s dinner. Late morning, yoga and we all had a late lunch. Straight after lunch, in a quick group meeting, Bharti demonstrated her idea for saving water while washing our dishes and we all agreed to change dish washing practices. Because of the high winds, as predicted, our EVA this afternoon was postponed. However, we made the best of our time inside. This afternoon everyone worked on their own projects. Aditya set up an observation in the robotic telescope and then did his analysis. Clare and I spent time in the science dome and set up a working table for drawing and painting samples, in this case, gypsum. Daniel extracted 0.3 grams of salt from a gypsum crystal to put into different media for his samples. Mehanz had a useful discussion with Rajvi and Aditya about her research and returned to the Green Hab to harvest radish, coriander and basil and check the moisture levels of the plants. Bharti read papers sent by Dr. Jon Clarke on slope analysis and basic planetary geology. Dinner tonight is chana masala cooked by me (chickpeas with tomatoes and onions) and paratha, (flat bread) freshly made by Clare. (BTW the Indian food cooked by everyone on this crew is excellent). Maybe another game of cards after Comms and fingers crossed again for good weather tomorrow. We are ready for fieldwork.
Look Ahead Plan: Today’s postponed EVA to Cowboy Corner requested for tomorrow.
Anomalies in work: None
Weather: Very windy with SSW gusts of 25mph. The forecast today was cool with high cloud cover, maximum temperature 50F, now dropping.
Crew Physical Status: Nominal
EVA: none
Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Journalist Report, Greenhab Report, Operations Report, EVA report, Astronomy Report, EVA request.
Support Requested: None
Operations Report – February 7th
SOL: #3
Name of person filing report: Rajvi Patel
Non-nominal systems: None
Notes on non-nominal systems: None
ROVERS
Spirit Rover used: Not used
Opportunity rover used: EVA #3 was postponed due to the windy conditions.
Curiosity rover used: EVA #3 was postponed due to the windy conditions.
Perseverance rover used: Not used
General notes on rovers:
Summary of Hab operations: put notes here
WATER USE: 23.2 gallons
Water (static tank): 416.21 gallons
Static tank pipe heater (on or off): On
Static tank heater (On or off): On
Toilet tank emptied: Yes
Summary of Internet: Nominal
Summary of suits and radios: Not used
Summary of GreenHab operations: put notes here
WATER USE: 7 gallons
Heater: ON
Supplemental light: 22:00 – 02:00
Harvest: 117g of radish, 23g of Coriander + Basil
Summary of ScienceDome operations: Crew Biologist transferred brought equipment and consumables to the ScienceDome for their project. 140ml of 95% Ethyl Alcohol was used with 60ml of DI water to make 200ml of 70% ethanol for surface sterilization. The fume cabinet was cleaned to make two 5.5ml 1:10 dilutions of brought Flour, SP, and LB media. One of these was kept as a negative control while the other was inoculated with 0.1 grams of gypsum extracted from a larger gypsum crystal from the corner of Brahe Highway and Cow Dung Road from a crew 291 EVA. These were then kept in Oven 1, not turned on, to keep the samples at the internal temperature of 28º C.
Equipment used: Ethanol spray bottle, tweezers, weighing scale (new batteries put in), fume cabinet, cleaning tissues, Oven 1 (not turned on), 100-1000ul pipette, and own pipette tips.
Crew Artist and Journalist used the Science Dome for drawing and painting rock samples for their projects.
Dual split: Heat ON
Summary of RAM operations: The crew Engineer used it to get the tools wire cutter and heavy-duty zip locks to secure locations on the tarp using zip ties. Tools used were wire cutter and heavy-duty zip ties. Used measuring tape to measure the water level. Borrowed another measuring tape for the Crew Biologist’s project in Science Dome.
Now secured
Summary of any observatory issues: None
Summary of health and safety issues: None
Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: put notes here
-Most of the locations were secured using heavy-duty zip ties. However, there are some locations (with torn holes for zip ties to go through) that are required to be secured. (Picture 1 and 2). Advice?
-The photo about securing the bottom of the overlapping tarp section mentioned in the last report is also attached below (highlighted in yellow), along with the type of secured arrangement I would like to propose (highlighted in blue). Advice?
Journalist Report – February 7th
Sol 3: Food, glorious food! Wind, horrible wind!
The crew had a slow morning today, thinking about our research and doing a few maintenance jobs around the Hab, various domes, and tunnels. We were all feeling a little anxious about the weather and what that would mean for the EVA we had planned for this afternoon. It wasn’t long before we decided that being in the tunnels during the high winds was both unpleasant and dangerous in the thin Martian atmosphere.
To take our mind off the possibility of the afternoon’s EVA getting postponed due to high winds, we cooked aloo sandwiches. And lots of them! It was a real team effort, with everyone taking part in the preparation, tasting, and actual cooking (and of course eating!) of these warm and comforting spiced mashed potato sandwiches. As we all ate, we discussed reality TV, what “going on a spiritual journey” means, and more serious topics of politics and religion.
By 1330 we decided to radio back to Mission Support and say that we would postpone our EVA until tomorrow, and Mission Support had recommended that we do this if the wind didn’t die down. It was just too windy to be out and about on rovers and in space suits. We’d all gotten sick of hearing the wind howling around the Hab, but not being able to see any sign of said wind when we looked outside.
So, we all settled in for an afternoon of reading and researching. Three Mangalyatris went to the Science Dome – one preparing for his forthcoming biological experiments, and the other two to look at, draw, and paint gypsum and chert as part of Annalea’s research. Our GreenHab Officer enjoyed the warmer temperatures in the GreenHab while taking care of our plants and coming to grips with her research about how different conditions affect plant germination and growth. She also harvested some radish, basil, and coriander – what a treat for dinner tonight!
Once all the day’s tasks were over, our evening became one of cooking, report writing, and continued research. All our cooking is keeping spirits up while hoping for the weather to calm down. Plus, it fuels all our important research! We’re writing and researching as our yoghurt sets, our chickpeas soak, and our paratha dough rests. After a full day of inside work, the Mangalyatri crew is looking forward to getting out on an EVA. But perhaps we are even more looking forward to a post-comms window board game or cards.
Hoping for better weather and the same quality of food,
Clare Fletcher (292 Mangalyatri Journalist)
GreenHab Report – February 7th
GreenHab Officer: Mehnaz Jabeen
Environmental control: heater on , fan off , door close
Average temperature
8:25: 70 F, 30%
12:25: 71.2 F, 30%
12:45: 75.6 F, 27%
4:29: 73.2 F, 25%
Hours of supplemental light: 22:00 – 02:00
Daily water usage for crops: 7 gallons
Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: None
Water in Blue Tank (200 gallon capacity): 168 gallons
Time(s) of watering for crops: 8:31, 4:40
Changes to crops: More ripe tomatoes, radishes
Narrative: Today I entered the hab almost around the same time as yesterday and noted the moisture readings. The moisture readings are as follows:
1. Tomatoes, Cress, Pea : 60-70%
2. Cucumbers, Oregano, sage, Dalli, Cilantro, Chives: 80 %
3. Basil : 40-80%, Parsley: 90%, Red Cabbage 70-80%
4. Radish 50-70%, Corn Salad, Dutch Lettuce: 70%
5. Onion, Broccoli, Arugula, Carrots, Kale : 50- 60%
Followed by the moisture readings I watered the plants a little less than yesterday both morning (5 gallons) and evening (3 gallons). In the afternoon the moisture level increased by 10- 17% and remained almost similar till evening. The weather was windy and cold so the heater went on and off several times all the times (morning, afternoon, evening) I was present in the GreenHab. In the afternoon a few radishes were harvested and in the evening some Coriander and Basil was harvested for dinner and soaked some radish seeds in water to plant them tomorrow for my research.
Harvest: Raddish : 117 g, Coriander and Basil : 23 g
Support/supplies needed: Mist Spray
EVA Report – February 7th
EVA #003
Author: BHARTI SHARMA
Purpose of EVA: To collect samples for biology experiments and conduct field research for geology.
Start time: 14:00
End time: 16:30
Narrative: Desert weather dances to its whims, where unpredictability is woven into the shifting sands of the sky. We were all set for the EVA but unfortunately, the strong winds of the desert made it postponed as communicating via radio would have been difficult in this weather. But we haven’t lost any hope, we are looking forward to conducting the EVA tomorrow.
Destination: Cowboy Corner – 518547, 4253056
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 518547, 4253056
Participants: Bharti, Daniel, Aditya and Rajvi
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: NA – EVA postponed
Mode of travel: NA – EVA was postponed
Astronomy Report – February 7th
[category
astronomy-report]
Name: Aditya Krishna Karigiri Madhusudan
Crew: 292
Date: 07/02/2024
MDRS ROBOTIC OBSERVATORY
Robotic Telescope Requested: MDRS-WF
Objects to be Imaged this Evening: NGC 5904 Globular Cluster. Observation submitted in Skynet on 07/02/2024 at 4:37 pm
Images submitted with this report: None
Problems Encountered: None
Additional Notes:
Please find the photometry details of AG DRA in V filter with exposure durations of 60, 90, 120, and 150 seconds.
I’ve attached the chart from AAVSO, seeing profile graphs and photometry images below for you to look over. Exposures with 120 and 150 seconds seem to oversaturate the target comparison and check stars. I believe the one with 90 seconds performs well and can set the exposures in B and R filters based on this!
Crew Photos – February 6th
Sol Summary – February 6th
Sol: Sol #2
Summary Title: Training and raining – the rain, the rain, (and we have only just begun our work).
Author’s name: Annalea Beattie
Mission Status: Nominal
Sol Activity Summary: Today we ate breakfast together and were ready for our training EVA’S well ahead of time. We were all there to help each other with the necessary preparation tasks of the EVA – to dress efficiently and comfortably in the space suits, to be completely at ease with the communication equipment as well as to be able to drive the electric rovers to our destination and move about in the field whilst wearing the space suits. We split into two groups and two separate EVAS to Marble Ritual. Both excursions were very successful and well time-managed despite a costume malfunction (mine) and drizzling rain which has now become intense. The rain is cramping our EVA ambitions. After the second training EVA, today we met at four to discuss and share our research goals and to determine the science directions for the next few days. We discussed everyone’s research and talked about what each of us needs next, and what we can do to assist. We talked about the future, about Ladakh and plans to build an analogue research station, an observatory and a green hab there. We talked about our initial impressions of MDRS. Our microbiologist Daniel Loy and geologist Bharti Sharma contacted Science Director and MSA president geologist Dr. Jon Clarke for more advice about where to go for gypsum sites within the range of the rovers. My feeling is that overall the crew is working well together. Our health is good. We are fit and sleeping and eating well. Fingers crossed that the rain will cease and we can go out in the field.
Look Ahead Plan: An EVA tomorrow for four crew to do slope analysis and find gypsum samples. A day at home in the hab for the rest of the crew with work here to do.
Anomalies in work: Nothing to report.
Weather: Cool start to the morning with 30 degrees F at seven am and humidity at 81%. High cloud cover all day and a slight wind with the temperature rising to 49F. Rain began at about 2.30 pm with drizzle then pouring, temperatures dropping quickly and high winds expected.
Crew Physical Status: Nominal
EVA: Training EVA #1 today to Marble Ritual at 10.30am with Mehanz, Rajvi, Clare and Aditya. Training EVA # 2 to Marble Ritual at 1.45 with Bharti, Daniel and me, Annalea.
Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Journalist Report, Greenhab Report, Operations Report, EVA report, Astronomy Report
EVA Request(s): EVA with Bharti, Daniel, Aditya and Rajvi. Leaving at 2pm to Cowboy Corner in search of gypsum samples as well as slope analysis.
Support Requested: None
You must be logged in to post a comment.