Astronomy Report, Sol 1
Name: Aurélien Mure
Crew: 206
Date: 02/25/2019
MUSK OBSERVATORY
Solar Features Observed: None, tiny clouds let me show just the shape of the sun
Problems encountered : Problems with the automated sun tracker, solved.
Astronomy Report, Sol 1
Name: Aurélien Mure
Crew: 206
Date: 02/25/2019
MUSK OBSERVATORY
Solar Features Observed: None, tiny clouds let me show just the shape of the sun
Problems encountered : Problems with the automated sun tracker, solved.
Crew 206 EVA Report 25 Feb 2019
EVA #1
Author : Jeremy Auclair
Purpose of EVA : Training new crew members and finding a spot to install the LOAC and the weather station
Start time : 08:42 am
End time : 10:11 am
Narrative : After the 5 minute depressurization, we checked the water levels and the rovers’ batteries. At 08:52 am, We took Opportunity and Curiosity to go towards the Stream Bed Connector intersection. On the way, we stopped at 08:55 at the spot where we had put the LOAC last year (crew 189), to have a comparison point. We then went to Pooh’s corner at 08:58 to have a small walk (7-8 minutes). At this point my visor had started to get pretty foggy (with backpack 1), but I could still walk around safely. We the took the rovers again to head to the Stream Bed Connector, but with the snow we failed to recognize it. We went a bit to far (almost up to Galileo road). After tunrning around we arrived at 09:15 am. We walked around for about 5 minutes, once again to get used to the suits. We then headed back to the Hab to park the rovers. At 09:30 am we plugged both rovers in and we started
walking East North-East to find a good location to install our instruments. They have to be in a relatively flat place, not to close to any hills or mounts, and close to the road, to facilitate changing the batteries (the LOAC is powered with car batteries). We found this place at 09:40 am (–). After that we continued walking around and talking picture before heading back to the Hab. We arrived in the airlock at 10:04 am. One minute after pressurization, we realised we had forgot the EVA equipment bag in Curiosity, so we depressurized again, went to retreive it, and got in the airlock one final time. Pressurization started at 10:06 am. We got in the Hab at 10:11 am.
Destination :
Pooh’s corner : 518800E 4250900N
Stream Bed Connector : 519000E 425100N
Participants : Arélien Mure, Cerise Cuny, Norbert Pouzin and Jérémy
Auclair (EVA leader)
Road used : Cow Dung road
Mode of travel : Rovers and walking
Crew 206 Sol Summary February 25th 2019
Sol 1
Summary Title : Foggy morning, but sunny day
Author : Jeremy Auclair
Mission Status : All nominal
Sol Activity Summary : After our change of schedule for this morning’s EVA, we had to get out of bed at 06:30 am. A few minutes after that we started our daily physical training. We managed to start breakfast around 07:10 am. We had a hard time making pretty pancakes with the old pan we have. We managed to start preparing for the EVA at 07:40 am. This first EVA is mainly used to train the new crew members, but we also looked for a appropriate spot to install our two instruments, LOAC and the weather station. But this EVA was very annoying for me: 10 minutes after the beginning my visor was completely fogged, but we managed to finish the EVA (I didn’t drive obviously). Otherwise the EVA went very smoothly. After lunch, around 02:00 pm, everyone went their own way to prepare their experiments. Cerise worked on Aquapad, to test the microbiological quality of our drinking water, Aurélien went to the solar observatory to get used to it, Norbert worked on his plants. After that we all participated to the virtual reality (VR) experiment. Its goal is to study the efficiency of VR as a countermeasure to confinement and isolation.
Look ahead plan : Tomorrow will be a big day, a lot of our main experiments will be installed and performed for the first time, so we are preparing as much as we can today. The crew is slowly getting used to the life in the station. Water consumption monitoring is heading in the right direction, everyone follows the plan correctly.
Anomalies in work : none
Weather : a little cloudy until 2 pm, after which the sky was quite clear.
Crew physical status : small aches from physical training but fine otherwise
EVA : Pooh’s Corner and Stream Bed Connector
Reports to be filed : GreenHab, Journalist, Operation, EVA Report, EVA Request
Support Requested : a new frying pan, a new sponge for the dishes, a rag and a tissue napkin to prevent using too much paper towels
Sol 0
Author : Benjamin Auzou, Journalist
Title : "Our new Home"
The six of us woke up after a difficult night in the Science Dome,
because of the lack of comfort but above all because of our excitation
to begin our mission. The whole crew chose to begin the day with a
sport session ! That was a difficult session for some of us, but we
all needed that to wake up and prepare the three weeks of mission
ahead of us.
At 0800 the crew 205 left the Hab to return to their five countries.
Natalia, Dave, Nathan, Maria, Ghenim, Daniel, Hannah and Veronica left
us the station after a full afternoon of training yesterday. We wish
you a good continuation ! You’ve done a good job here in the MDRS,
even if the martian weather wasn’t clement with you. We will continue
to hold the station well and make great science here on Mars !
Then we spend the whole morning taking our marks in the Hab, we took
our first breakfast composed of milk and scrambled eggs. We chose our
rooms, our tiny zones of privacy in the Hab.
For the rest of the day, waiting for Atila to train us, we all worked
on our experiments or on the Hab’s organization :
Norbert, our GreenHab Officer, spend a lot of time in the GreenHab to
discover the plants in here and understand their needs. Cerise, our
crew Biologist and Health and Safety Officer tested everything in the
Campus to assure our safety : alarms, fire extinguishers, medical
supplies and radios. Gaspard, our engineer and the "hacker" of the
team tackled the internet consumption of our devices to avoid data
losses (we only used 100MB up to this time!). In the same time,
Aurélien and I organized in the kitchen the food supplies that arrived
with us. And Jérémy, Commander of our mission prepared all the
material necessary to follow our water consumption.
At 1430 pm, Atila arrived to train us with the rovers and gave us his
last advice.
We had a long discussion on our goals for the mission. And that was
the moment to close the airlock door and begin our simulation.
I am Benjamin, journalist of the crew 206, million of kilometers away
from Earth, in the Mars Desert Research Station. The weather here is
beautiful, even if the soil is still damaged by the storm that stroke
the crew 205’s mission. My crew and I will sleep well after this
tiring day. I am in a hurry to wake up tomorrow to start experiments
and Extravehicular Activities, to live the Martian Dream.
SOL: 0
Name of person filing report: Gaspard Thieulin
Non-nominal systems: Generator
Notes on non-nominal systems: Radiator hoses and alternator need
replacement on generator. A contractor has been arranged to make these
repairs within a few days.
Generator (hours run): Turned off at 1430 (24th Feb), Turned on at
1903 (24th Feb)
Solar— SOC % – Turned off Gen (24th Feb) 75%, Turned on Gen (24th Feb) 100%
Diesel Reading – ~ 75%
Propane Reading – ~ 26%
Ethanol Free Gasoline – 10 gallons
Water (Auxillary tank) – Not in use
Water (Static tank) – around 76%, ~ 419 gallons
Auxillary to Static tank transfer – No
Gallons transferred: Not Applicable
Water in GreenHab – ~ 152,9 gallons
Water (loft) – 12 marked level
Static to Loft Pump used – yes
Water Meter: 01415558 units
Toilet tank emptied: Yes
Deimos rover used: No, still not functional
Hours: N/A
Beginning charge: N/A
Ending charge: N/A
Currently charging: N/A
Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR
Hours: Not Applicable
Beginning charge: Not Applicable
Ending charge: Not Applicable
Currently charging: Not Applicable
Opportunity rover used: Used
Hours: 51.3 hours
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 74%
Currently charging: Yes
Curiosity rover used: Used
Hours: 75.5 hours
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 75.5%
Currently charging: Yes
Spirit rover used: Used
Hours: 78.3 hours
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 66%
Currently charging: Yes
Notes on rovers: Nothing to report
ATV’s Used: N/A
Reason for use: Not used
Oil Added? N/A
ATV Fuel Used: N/A
# Hours the ATVs were Used today: None
Notes on ATVs: None
HabCar used and why, where? Used to bring back crew 205 to Grand Junction
Crew Car used and why, where? Used to bring back crew 205 to Grand Junction
General notes and comments: In the Hab’s upper deck, the bulb from one
of the lamps (on the sink side) is menacing to fall, one screw is not
holding anymore. Also this lamp is holding onto the electrical cable
rather than its theoretical link to the ceiling.
Summary of internet: Nothing to report
Summary of suits and radios: New inventory of the radios this morning, five of them have minor to major issues. Going to test them again tomorrow after full charging.
Summary of Hab operations: Nothing to report
Summary of Green Hab operations: Nothing to report
Summary of Science Dome 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: Propane tank
needs to be filled rapidly, how do we proceed ?
GreenHab Officer: Norbert Pouzin
Environmental control: Heating and Cooling w/ ambient air (0 hrs)
Shade Cloth (40%)
Average temperatures:
Low: 17.0°C
High: 33.2°C
Hours of supplemental light: 5 Hours
Daily water usage for crops: 6.6 gallons
Water in Blue Tank: ~ 152.9 gallons
Crops watered at 0905 hours (3.3 gallons) and 1800 hours (3.3 gallons):
TIME NOTED TEMPERATURE(° C ) / HUMIDITY(%)
1) 09.05 AM 21.8° C / 18 %
2) 12.00 AM 33.0° C / 0 %
3) 14:30 PM 19.7° C / 0 %
4) 18:00 PM 21.9° C / 30 %
Changes to crops: None.
Narrative: The door was opened from 1200 to 1700 to cool down the
greenhab, since the temperature reached 33°C.
After our formation with Atila, and with his agreement, we decided to
move the grow tent from the science dome to the greenhab, so I could
start my plant experiment tomorrow (study of the influence of music,
to improve radish defence mechanism to radiation).
A plant stake was added for the chives.
The blue tank wasn’t fil today, it will be tomorrow.
7.0g of basil were harvested for soup.
Harvest: 7.0 g basil
Support/supplies needed: None.
Sol: 0
Summary Title: First Marks
Sol Activity Summary: After a small and difficult night of sleep in
the science dome (we let the leaving crew in the hab so they could
finish packing their bags), we got out of "bed" at 7, to say hi to
crew 205 and to do our first daily physical training. We ate breakfast
before unpacking our bags and getting settled in the hab. At 10 we
started preparing our experiments (e.g. water consumption monitoring)
and working on the food inventory.
We prepared lunch around 12h30 and ate until 2, when Atila came for our
training. The training went fine, we learned the last few details for
the mission. After that we each continued working on our experiments
and our reports, to be on time for the COMMS.
Anomalies in work: none
Weather: sunny
Crew Physical status: fine
INTERNATIONAL EMERGING SPACE LEADERS (IESL) CREW
MDRS CREW 205
Crew 205 Members:
Establishing a human presence on Mars is increasingly seen by space agencies and private organizations as the horizon frontier in human space exploration. These long-duration mission impose a high degree of technological, operational, physical and psychological challenges. Mars analog habitats, such as the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in Utah (U.S.) are established to conduct field experiments, test new hardware, new operational concepts and study the social and crew teamwork dynamics in support to these future manned missions to the Red Planet. The International Emerging Space Leaders (IESLs) Crew (or MDRS Crew 205) was composed of eight international young professionals and students, who together undertook a Mars analog mission from February 9th to 24th at the MDRS. The IESL’s Crew was an interdisciplinary team including members from Kuwait, Spain, Germany, the U.K. and the U.S. During the two-week rotation, the crew conducted multiple research projects in support of future analog and space manned missions. A key goal of the IESL crew was to identify key aspects for successful leadership in future space missions. As a case study, the crew rotated command roles during the mission, evaluating each other’s leadership performance during the mission. The team conducted multiple additional research projects relevant to space exploration in areas such as in-situ resource utilization, astronomy, geology, EVA optimization, and science outreach. This mission aimed at contributing to a better understanding of the requirements, benefits and challenges of international teams in future manned missions.
The IESLs Crew was supported by several partners around the world including the Florida Institute of Technology and the European Space Agency’s EuroMoonMars program. Moreover, outreach programs are going on using the following networks: Pi Lambda Phi fraternity (USA), Astrobiological Research and Education Society (USA), Space School UK, UKSEDS, UK National Space Center, University of Leicester (UK), Space Generation Advisory Council, The Scouting Movement, University of Munich (Germany), ILEWG and ESTEC (Netherlands).
A key goal of the MDRS IESL crew was to develop the leadership and teamwork skills of all crew members. As a case study imposed by the Mars Society, all crew members rotated roles during the mission (i.e., all crew members acted as commander and XO at least for a day). This project had a twofold objective: strengthen crew members’ leadership and teamwork skills, and identify key aspects for successful leadership and teamwork in future analog and space missions.
The project used surveys as primary research tools to evaluate leadership and teamwork performance during the mission (e.g.: communication, effective planning, decision making, effect of diversity, etc.) and key lessons learned. The surveys were built on existing open literature[1]. The study included four main phases:
The data derived from the study will be combined and analyzed after the mission. The results will be summarized in a white paper to be submitted to the Mars Society.
[1] “Leadership Competency Self-Assessment Questionnaire”, Western University (2016)
In situ resource utilization (ISRU) strategies on Mars include the use of local regolith for plant growth. Regolith samples collected on the surface of Mars will not be uniform and consequently must be benchtop tested to determine their composition and properties by astronauts on Mars before being used for large scale food production. The purpose of this study was to investigate the viability of regolith collected around MDRS to support the growth of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana.
Samples 2 and 3 emerged as the more viable substrates to support the growth of A. thaliana. Sample 2 is composed of an opaque dark material interspersed with quartz particles and becomes clay-like upon contact with water. Sample 3 is composed of similar particles with a larger mosaic of sand. Although it is not apparently clear from their geological properties, their success as a growth substrate was likely due to their wettability (quantitative ability to retain water), larger average particle size, and relatively neutral pH as compared to the more acidic samples 1, 5, and 6. Drastic variations in pH can cause nutrients provided to the plants using Hoagland’s to precipitate out of solution. To make food production on Mars feasible and sustainable, baseline tests like these are necessary in order to determine the suitability of substrates.
SAMPLE | ~PH (DI WATER) | ~PH CACL2 | AVERAGE | STD DEV | RESTARTED? | TRIALS ALIVE? |
1 | 6.5 | 5.8 | 6.15 | 0.49 | Y | 3 |
2 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 0.00 | N | 3 |
3 | 8 | 8.2 | 8.1 | 0.14 | N | 3 |
4 | 8 | 8.5 | 8.25 | 0.35 | Y | 1 |
5 | 6 | 6.5 | 6.25 | 0.35 | Y | 1 |
6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 0 | Y | 2 |
The primary goal of the astronomy project was to observe 3 different variable stars and perform photometry on them. The stars were selected from the American Association of Variable Stars Association Notices numbers 632 and 645. Their apparent magnitude was found to be suitable for the MDRS-14 observatory. The following table shows more information about the selected targets:
STAR NAME | RE | DEC | V MAG | VISIBILITY TIME |
ASASSN-V J081823.00-111138.9 | 08 18 23.00 | -11 11 38.9 | 12.5 | 21:00 – 1:30 |
NSVS J1444107-074451 | 14 44 10.68 | -07 44 49.4 | 13.1 | 2:30 – 5:00 |
SY Mon | 6 37 31.34 | -01:23:43.0 | 7.0 – 14.6 | 20:00 – 1:00 |
In addition to the above planned targets and the proposed photometry work, it was planned to capture astrophotography images using the MDRS – WF observatory. The main challenge was the weather conditions with the second week fully or partially cloudy. Three targets were requested for observation, and an image for one target was taken by the MDRS-14 observatory. The following table summarizes the reports and observations submitted:
DATE OF REQUEST | TARGET REQUESTED | IMAGE TAKEN DURING ROTATION |
10 Feb 2019 | SY MON | Yes |
12 Feb 2019 | ASASSN-V J081823.00-111138.9 | No |
18 Feb 2019 | Orion Nebula | No |
As shown in the table above, the only completed observation request was for SY MON. 4 photometry measurements were performed for SY MON as per the following table. The Magnitude Value of 14.132 was submitted for the AAVSO website.
MAG VALUE | COMP STARS LABELS | CHECK STAR LABEL | ERROR | COMMENT |
14.147 | 93 111 122 134 148 | No Check Stars were used | 0.01568 | This measurement was repeated because of no check star was used, CCD setting was wrong and there are better ways to select comp stars. |
13.918 | 140 143 132 97 | Check star used indicates bad measurement or check star itself was saturated | – | Measurement repeated |
14.118 | 140 143 132 | No check star because this is manual calculation | – | It was found that Comp 97 positioned outside the straight line of the curve, thus it was decided to exclude it. |
14.132 | 140 143 132 | 122 | 0.0185 | Data was submitted to AAVSO |
Drone for lighthouse: The drone flew stably at altitudes below 6m, while carrying neon tape weighted with washers. Unfortunately, the neon tape acted as a kite and pulled the drone off-course. An alternate source of visibility could be used for this proof of concept to be more viable. In tests performed inside MDRS, the drone lifted a sizeable glow stick. If a stronger drone with a brighter, heavier glow stick attachment system could be flown and survive higher winds stably, then the method could be implemented successfully.
Drone for pre-scouting: The drone flew successfully at altitudes below 10m on flat areas near MDRS and on top of Kissing Camel Ridge East. Photos were captured over target areas of an appreciable area better than could be visualized by a human on the ground or by satellites. These photos could be uploaded to a laptop in the field. Use of a scale marker (3 m of neon tape) allows the images to be used for accurate mapping. However, the ground often appeared too bright, meaning smaller features were hard to resolve. With an improved camera and a drone capable of flying stably to higher altitudes, this could be a viable tool for mapping landscapes around an EVA crew.
Laser Rangefinder: The laser rangefinder was used in the field and tagged distant and difficult to outline objects such as cliffs, ridges and the MDRS base. However due to the dimensions of the EVA helmet visor, it was difficult to see through the viewfinder. If the device could be mechanically incorporated into or onto the helmet visor with a more ergonomic operating procedure, then the tool could be a useful planetary exploration tool.
Analysis of the first few EVAs conducted by crew 205 during their rotation at MDRS showed that the success of an extravehicular activity (EVA) depends highly on both the EVA crew and Support crew being aware of planned objectives and intended routes. This means that both parties should conduct EVA planning together, in order to understand what should be accomplished and what hazards could impact EVA outcomes. Pre-and-post-EVA checklists and SOPs were created to allow crews going on EVA to expose deficiencies in both the planning and execution. This allows team members to improve the process of preparing for an EVA, leading to more effective and safe EVAs. The Post-EVA Debrief checklist in particular will (when utilized by successive crews of planetary analog sites) expose complacency and help leaders to conclude which issues are impeding objectives from being accomplished.
Conducting a mission at MDRS requires adequate and effective planning and execution of all steps in the mission. During their rotation in February of 2019, Crew 205 developed a series of procedures and checklists to improve crew efficacy, and generate more operational continuity from future crews. This began from the moment Crew 205 conducted handover training with Crew 204, and concluded with crew revisions after the cessation of extravehicular activities (EVAs). These procedures focused primarily on points of performance for EVAs, unique tasks for Crew Engineers, Health & Safety Officers (HSOs), and element leaders, and critical tasks for crew members who are supporting EVA operations from the Habitat campus. These comprehensive checklists and procedures carefully outline specific tasks regarding Pre-and-Post-EVA checks for leaders and support teams, an HSO Medical Quick Reference Card, an Engineering and Maintenance task sheet, and rotating module inventories.
The focus of our outreach project is to Inform, inspire and Involve. We Inform using videos explaining information about the life and MDRS and about Mars using a small puppet called “Gus”. Gus is featured as each crew member who are explaining their tasks and research that they are conducting. The videos are short and kids friendly, easy to understand and will be shared on YouTube and Facebook.
A question and answer session was organized on Facebook to involve all followers in the mission. We Inspire as we gave kids the ability to send us their pictures and we did a photo on EVAs. The crew members took several outreach pictures and daily updates were posted on social media platforms.
Furthermore, crew members will go back to their institutions to give talks about their experience in MDRS. We Involve everyone sharing all our pictures and videos to make them available for the public. We used several networks that are listed at the beginning of this mission summary.
Crew members took pictures and videos throughout the mission. The best photos were sent to our social media channels. Videos for the Youtube channel were recorded throughout the. The talks and visits to high schools and universities will be done when we return from Mars.
Crew 205 Crew Journalist Report 23-FEB-2019 Sol 12
Author: Maria Grulich
Title: “North Ridge for the Last Time and Bienvenue Crew 206”
The time flies and after watching our outreach videos yesterday altogether we realized what we achieved. Two weeks ago, we started our journey and today we are already welcoming crew 206.
One particular place was bugging us, and it was a heartfelt wish from half of the crew to go to the place we tried to reach 3 times unsuccessfully: The North Ridge. So, there we went to check this off our bucket list.
After the final clean-up, most of us went up the North Ridge and went for a walk following the track of mountain lions that we saw in the snow. It led us all the way to the top and further north to the top of the North Ridge which welcomed us with an amazing view!
On the top of North Ridge we found the floor covered in fossil shells like the ones we found the other day near Grey Moon, which was amazing for the crew members who could not join that EVA!
Everyone picked up some souvenirs for home! We followed the mountains to redo the pictures we took with the “Fellowship of Mars” and the way down we half walked or slid down the hill without many problems. Once we came back from our hike, Crew 206 had just arrived and we welcomed them with hot soup and coffee!
The afternoon will be used to train the new crew and take a couple of pictures.
It was a great time thanks to MDRS, Atila, David and Mission Control and anyone who followed us through our rotation! You guys are awesome! Stay tuned for our outreach videos soon to come, which we promise will be the greatest science videos you will see this year! We will return to our five different countries around the world!
Ad Astra!
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