Author: jburk

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Commander Report – April 23rd

Commander, PHEnOM Gold Crew, MDRS #193

Mission Sol 1 (Earth Day April 23rd, 2018)

We arrived on Mars very early in the morning, well rested and brimming with excitement to explore the red planet and begin our research.
After a few hours of settling down, we started the day off with an EVA.
A task given to us by Mission Control was to scout for locations suitable for the crew to take shelter in during emergencies like dust storms, radiation storm or incapacitated crew member. Both our morning and afternoon EVAs focused on this task.

We had freshly baked banana bread and chicken noodle soup for lunch. Yes, I have been experimenting with my culinary skills on Mars and its been challenging to cook using the dehydrated items available, but for a person who loves cooking its been fun experimenting.

Our afternoon EVA got interesting when we were informed by base of a request from Mission Support to rescue the astronomer in the observatory. After rescuing him and making sure he was safe, we returned to our next EVA task of fixing and putting up the signpost for the site that had been blown away during the storms in the past couple of weeks. Kudos to our Crew Engineer, whose engineering skills and muscle power made this task seem easier after a three and a half hour!

The Crew Engineer and me plan on constructing and designing a new signpost for the MDRS site bringing his engineering and my artistic skills together.

The crew has been doing well and is looking forward to the next few days with great enthusiasm. Spirits are high and passion great for this mission. We plan to tidy up the hab, continue work on our projects and EVA’s and contribute to valuable research that will lead up to Martian colonization in the near future.

Signing off for the day!

Have a great one Mission Support!
Warm Regards
Commander, PHEnOM Gold Crew, MDRS #193
(Anima Patil-Sabale)

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Sol Summary – April 23rd

Crew no. 193 Sol Summary Report 23/04/2018

Sol: 1

Learning the Ropes

Eric Shear

Mission Status: Everything nominal

Sol Activity Summary: Carried out two EVAs, including one extended EVA and an emergency 1-person EVA. Monitored the Sun for sunspot activity

Look-Ahead Plan: We continue our exploration of Mars. Our EVA 4 will be planned around a new project “GPS Route Measurements”

Anomalies in work: We had a stranded astronomer whom we rescued. We fixed a signpost with the tools available at the end of our EVA in an extended EVA. Also, there was an emergency 1-person EVA to secure the RAM Module, with no issues.

Weather: Very clear and hot in morning/midday, cooler and cloudy in afternoon

Crew Physical Status: All in good health

EVA 1:

Went to Miracle Ritual, scouted locations for emergency evacuation, conducted an EVA health/wellness study, and a visor fogging study.

EVA 2:

Went to Miracle Ritual, scouted locations for emergency evacuation, conducted the rest of the health/wellness study, executed an emergency assist of the telescope repairman, and repaired the road sign to the hab.

Emergency EVA:

1 person exited the hab to secure the Repair and Assembly Module, which door had been left open on the previous EVA. There were no issues.

Reports to be filed:

Commander’s Report
Operations Report
Greenhouse Report
EVA Reports
Astronomy Report

Support Requested: We need aluminum foil and dish scrubbing pads (the hard ones for tough stains and grease)

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Operations Report – April 23rd

Crew 193 Operations Report 23Apr2018

SOL: 1

Name of person filing report: David Attig

Non-nominal systems: None

Notes on non-nominal systems: N/A

Generator (hours run): 14

Solar— SOC 92 % (Before generator is run at night)

Diesel – 75 %

Propane – 60 psi.

ATV Fuel (Ethanol free gasoline) – 1 gallons.

Water (trailer) – 0 gallons.

Water (storage) – 550 gallons

Water (static) – 470 gallons

Trailer to Static Pump used – no

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

Water Meter: 133949.8

Toilet tank emptied: no
Date last emptied: April 21

ATV’s (Honda, 300, 350.1, 350.2, 350.3):
Honda Used?: Yes
300 Used? No
350.1 Used? Yes
350.2 Used? Yes
350.3 Used? Yes

ATV Oil Checked?: No

ATV Oil Added?: No

ATV Fuel Used: 0 Gallons

# Hours the ATVs were Used today: 0.3

Notes on ATVs: None

Deimos rover used: No
Hours: 123.5
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 100 %
Currently charging: No

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR
Hours: Unknown
Beginning charge: N/A
Ending charge: N/A
Currently charging: N/A

Spirit rover used: No
Hours: 33.7
Beginning charge: 100 %
Ending charge: 100 %
Currently charging: No

Opportunity rover used: Out Of Service
Hours: 31
Beginning charge: N/A
Ending charge: N/A
Currently charging: N/A

Curiosity rover used: No
Hours: 23
Beginning charge: 100 %
Ending charge: 100 %
Currently charging: No

Hab Car used?: No
Where was Hab Car used?: N/A
Why was Hab Car used?: N/A

General notes and comments: This morning we had an issue with the readings on the solar SoC before we turned off the generator. Systems seem to be nominal now.

Summary of internet: Nominal. This morning the internet was very slow, while we still had 49% of our

Summary of suits and radios: All one piece suits are working (and were used today). Radios are nominal.

Summary of Hab operations: See Sol Summary report.

Summary of GreenHab operations: See GreenHab report

Summary of ScienceDome operations: 001 constructed dishwasher experiment. While checking SoC, I noticed one of the nuts had fallen from lock. It has been replaced, but is not fully tightened as that would interfere with Lock operations. We will keep an eye on it, suggest a longer bolt with two nuts jammed together in future upgrades.

Summary of RAM operations: Sign marking area of our settlement was in RAM. Old sign was repaired and moved outside. New sign material is in RAM awaiting construction. Door was left open, engineering EVA was performed to close it.

Summary of health and safety issues: None to report.

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: Nothing yet.

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Astronomy Report – April 23rd

Astronomy Report
Name: Eric Shear
Crew: 193
Date: April 23, 2018

Sky Conditions: Clear

Wind Conditions: None

Observation Start Time: 0800

Observation End Time: 1030

Summary:

Monitored the sun for sunspot activity. Only two sunspots were found, close to each other. Prominences were very small. No flares or filaments were seen.

Photos were taken with the Skyris camera and the best image processed in Autostakkert, Registax, Photoshop, and PowerPoint to colorize and bring out contrast. The results are attached.

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GreenHab Report – April 23rd

GreenHab Report
Name: Doug Campbell
Date: 23 Apr 2018

Environmental control:

Ambient with door open but only for few hours in the afternoon Shade cloth: on
Fan: on for one hour

Average temperatures: 36.2 C
Low 11.7℃
High 51.2℃

Hours of supplemental light: None

Changes to crops: None

Daily water usage for crops: 5 gal

Time(s) of watering for crops: Twice: In the morning at 900am and afternoon 445pm.

Morning research observations: None

Changes to research plants: An apple seed that sprouted in the hab was transferred to a pot in the green hab

Aquaponics: None

Narrative: No significant changes. Picked 2 tomatoes and two peppers.

Support/supplies needed: None

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Mission Plan – April 22nd

Mars Desert Research Station Mission Plan 22 April 2018

Crew 193 – PHEnOM Gold Crew

Gold Crew:

Commander: Anima Patil-Sabale

Executive Officer: Doug Campbell

Engineer: David Attig

Geologist & Astronomer: Eric Shear

Health & Safety Officer/Geologist: Shawna Pandya

The Gold Crew is composed of a team of Project PHEnOM Citizen Scientist-Astronaut Candidates from the US and Canada. Along with a great passion for space exploration, every member in the crew has a varied skillset in addition to expertise in their specific field. Our Commander is a Software plus Aerospace Engineer, and has worked for NASA while our Health and Safety Officer is a Physician and a Martial Artist in addition to many other things. Our Executive Officer is a Mechanical and Biomedical Engineer, and works in the health care sector, our Engineer is a Mechanical Engineer, a private pilot and a drone pilot, our Astronomer and Geologist is a Physicist/Engineer who’s the first deaf astronaut plus an inventor who’s designed and built a cryogenic CO2 scrubber.

Our Mission Plan:

Research for Mars colonization is in full swing. Research crews have been arriving at Mars and living in the habitat at the Mars Desert Research Station setup at Acidalia Planitia.

The Gold Crew is #193. Originally made up of 6 crew members, the crew lost their first Executive Officer Omar Samra to international bureaucracy. He wasn’t able to acquire a Martian Visa and the crew had to be deprived of his expertise in extreme environment performance. He was kind enough to share his expertise by training the crew virtually to get them ready for the mission.

After their arrival at Mars, the crew plans to get started with research on Sol 1 itself.

They will perform the Marble Ritual site EVA that is mandatory for all new crews arriving at Mars, to practice and test what they have learned in their simulations.

Laid out here are the crew’s planned research objectives while at the MDRS:

1. Emergency EVAC EVA (possibly using a drone depending on the arrival of the shipment): Scout for locations to take shelter during an emergency like a dust storm or fire while inside the habitat or out on EVA.

2. Sunspot and Solar Flare Monitoring: One of the chief threats to a human Mars mission is the sun. Solar flares are giant proton storms that can sicken or kill human astronauts with particle radiation. In this research we will use the Musk Observatory to monitor the number of sunspots on the Sun’s surface, which is thought to correlate to solar flare activity.

3. Shortwave Texting on EVA’s: To open up opportunities for astronauts who may not be able to hear, we are testing a device that allows two users to send text messages over a ham radio link, without cell service. The devices are called Beartooths, and pair with the users’ phones with Bluetooth.

4. GPS Route Measurements: A crew member on EVA will take periodic GPS readings of his location over time as he moves across the landscape. A researcher on Earth will overlap the coordinates of each location onto a terrain map to assess the metabolic efficiency of each EVA.

5. Waterless dish cleaning: Water is also not abundantly available on many locations of mars which make it a valuable resource. Bringing water resources to mars is costly because of the weight and amount needed to sustain life. Therefore, reducing the amount of water used for day to day tasks will be of utmost importance to future colonisations. Using Martian sand and UV light to clean and sterilize tableware.

6. The MAG (Maximum Absorbency Garment) utilization study: Help answer questions like to what extent does the use of MAGs for extended EVA’s help the crew? Ways to mitigate discomfort? Or does it take getting adapted to?

7. Spacesuit Helmet Fogging: After EVA experiences, compile a list of issues faced and suggest possible solutions to improve ventilation and defogging methods.

Thank You!

The Gold Crew

MDRS #193

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Operations Report – April 21st

Crew 192 Operations Report 20Apr2018

SOL 13

Name of person filing report: Richard Blakeman

Non-nominal systems: Upper deck faucet leak continues.

Generator (hours run): 12 hours

Solar ‒ SOC 100%

Diesel – 75% fuel

Propane – 60% (telemetry reported by Shannon) psi.

Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV) – 25% gas left in one can.

Water (trailer) – Empty water tank secure on Trailer.
Water (static) – 500 gallons (two external tanks)
Trailer to Static Pump used – No
Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used – Yes
Water Meter: 133860.0

Toilet tank emptied: Yes. Last emptied today, April 21.

ATV’s Used: None

Oil Added? No

ATV Fuel Used: None

# Hours the ATVs were Used today: 0

Notes on ATVs: All working and ready to use.

Deimos rover used: No (decommissioned)
Hours: 122.3
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 100%
Currently charging: Yes

Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR
Hours:
Beginning charge:
Ending charge:
Currently charging:

Spirit rover used: No
Hours: 32.8 (corrected)
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 100%
Currently charging: Yes

Opportunity rover used: No
Hours: 30.4
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 100%
Currently charging: Yes

Curiosity rover used: No
Hours: 27.4
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 100%
Currently charging: No

HabCar used and why, where? Yes, dinner with incoming crew and water runs.

General notes and comments: Last minute cleaning and tasks to prepare hab for incoming crew.

Summary of internet: 0MB at 1900.

Summary of suits and radios: All suits and radios cleaned, charged, and prepped for incoming crew.

Summary of Hab operations: Worked through departure checklist.

Summary of GreenHab operations: See GreenHab Report.

Summary of ScienceDome operations: None

Summary of RAM operations: None

Summary of health and safety issues: None

Questions, concerns, and requests to Mission Support: None

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Sol Summary – April 21st

Crew 192 Sol Summary Report 21Apr2018

Sol 13

Summary Title: Prepare for Departure

Author: Victoria Varone

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: We welcomed Crew 193 to the hab and gave them an introduction and orientation to Mars life.

Look Ahead Plan: Departure and adjusting to life back on Earth.

Anomalies in Work: None

Weather: Beautiful

Crew Physical Status: All crew are physically healthy and safe.

EVA: None

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary Report, Operations Report, GreenHab Report

Support Requested: Please remove Joe, Ashok, and Andreea from Mission Support emails. Keep Victoria and Richard on for the duration of Crew 193’s rotation.

Maintenance request: New lock for Musk Observatory and fluorescent lights for lower deck of hab.

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Greenhab Report – April 21st

GreenHab Report
Name: Andreea Radulescu
Date: 21 Apr 2018

Environmental control:

Ambient with door open
Shade cloth: on
Fan: not on.

Average temperatures: 25.1℃
Low 13.6℃
High 53.2℃

Hours of supplemental light: None

Changes to crops: None

Daily water usage for crops: 9 gal

Time(s) of watering for crops: Twice: In the morning around 7:45 am and afternoon 4:30pm.

Moringa research observations: None

Changes to research plants: No

Aquaponics: None

Narrative: No significant changes. There is a batch of tomatoes ready to be harvested by the next crew.

Support/supplies needed: None

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