Category: EVA Report

Crew 306 EVA Report 02-01-2025
EVA # 12
Author: Elizabeth Howard
Purpose of EVA: The first purpose of this EVA was to collect data for Crew Journalist Rodrigo Schmitt’s DRONE project. Flight tests were planned and carried out for the Drone/Li-DAR system during this EVA. Additionally, this EVA allowed Crew Geologist Elizabeth Howard to continue taking EMF meter readings during the time the crew was out.
Start time: 10:02 AM
End time: 13:18 PM
Narrative: After driving over to the EVA location, the EVA crew headed to the White Rock Canyon area, where Crew Journalist Rodrigo Schmitt and Crew Engineer Keegan Chavez made four DRONE flight tests to take data. After this, the crew began walking in the direction of Barrainca Butte. Along the way, Crew Geologist Elizabeth Howard set up the EMF meter, took a soil sample for reference, and left the instrument to log data for the duration of the EVA. The EVA crew stopped partway to Barrainca Butte, where five more flight tests were conducted with the Drone/Li-DAR system. Finally, the crew made their way to the base of Barrainca Butte, where they set up for DRONE flight tests; however, after beginning the first flight at this location, the DRONE experienced a hardware failure that terminated flights at this location. Following this, the EVA crew headed back to MDRS, picking up the EMF meter along the way. Crew Health and Safety Officer Ryan Villarreal acted as CAPCOM.
Destination: White Rock Canyon, Barrainca Butte
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): White Rock Canyon (4247500, 520500) and Barrainca Butte (4247500, 519000)
Participants: Rodrigo Schmitt, Keegan Chavez, Elizabeth Howard
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: The team drove south along Cow Dung Road and parked the rovers near (4247500, 520000), between Barrainca Butte and White Rock Canyon. The team first went east to White Rock Canyon, attempted to take Li-DAR scans, then traveled west on foot to the base of Barrainca Butte to perform more scans.
Mode of travel: Driving and walking

Crew 306 EVA Report 27-12-2024
EVA # 06
Author: Elizabeth Howard
Purpose of EVA: The first purpose of this EVA was to collect samples for Crew Commander Jesus Meza’s in-situ resource utilization project and take magnetic readings for Crew Geologist Elizabeth Howard’s project. The other goal was so Crew Journalist Rodrigo Schmitt could perform flight tests of the Drone/Li-DAR system.
Start time: 9:40 AM
End time: 13:00 PM
Narrative: The EVA crew headed out towards Skyline Ridge, trying to make good time in order to flight test before the wind picked up too much to fly. About a third of the way down Sagan Street, Crew Journalist Rodrigo Schmitt and Crew Health and Safety Officer (HSO) Ryan Villarreal began setting up the Drone/Li-DAR system for flight testing just off the side of the Sagan street. Crew Geologist Elizabeth Howard walked to a spot slightly further down Sagan Street to set up the EMF meter, leaving it to log data. At the first location, the DRONE performed three flight tests before the EVA crew packed up and headed down to the base of Skyline Ridge. At Skyline Ridge, Crew Geologist Elizabeth Howard collected and labeled samples for Crew Commander Jesus Meza’s research project. Meanwhile, Crew Journalist Rodrigo Schmitt and Crew HSO Ryan Villarreal began setting up and flight testing the DRONE. After performing two flight tests at the base of the Ridge, the crew had exactly enough time to get back the MDRS by the designated EVA end time.
Destination: Skyline Ridge
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 4251500E, 515000N
Participants: Ryan Villarreal, Rodrigo Schmitt, Elizabeth Howard
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: EVA team left the HAB and traveled on foot towards North Ridge, then took the collapsed road upwards to Hab Ridge (4251500, 517750). Instead of following the trail all the way to Hab Ridge, the crew traveled west along Sagan Street towards Skyline Ridge (4251500, 515000) to place the EMF meter for datalogging and collect soil samples along the planes at the base of the cliff. The Drone/Li-DAR system was flight tested about a third of the way down Sagan Street and at the base of Skyline Ridge.
Mode of travel: Walking

Crew 306 EVA Report 28-12-2024

EVA # 07

Author: Ryan Villarreal

Purpose of EVA: Search for iron in the Eos Chasma for Crew Commander Jesus Meza’s project, as well as scout potential drone launch sites for EVA #08 on 29/12/2024.

Start time: 10:00

End time: 13:46

Narrative: The EVA Crew stepped into the airlock at exactly 10:00 and proceeded to drive Perseverance and Opportunity North along Cow Dung Road until reaching the starting location just north of Cowboy Corner. The crew dismounted the rovers and began traversing through the long and winding ravine for approximately 2.5 miles. During this trek, the crew continuously scanned for potential iron-containing rocks along the waterway and marked coordinates of feasible drone launch locations to be used in EVA #08. The crew managed to hike 3/4 of the way to the destination before turning around due to time constraints. The crew returned to the parked rovers and drove back to MDRS, arriving prior to the requested time. From this EVA, multiple drone sites were marked for EVA #08. Further, 10 hematite-type samples were collected for evaluation back at the science dome to determine the feasibility of extracting iron from the iron oxide within them, and soil samples from the rich riverbed were collected to extract raw iron.

Destination: Eos Chasma at (521750E, 4256000N), however, turned around at (520712E, 4255411N) due to time.

Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): Rovers were parked at (518250E, 4253750N), and the crew hiked to (520712E, 4255411N) before turning around due to time constraints.

Participants: Crew Commander Jesus Meza, Crew Engineer Keegan Chavez, and Health and Safety Officer Ryan Villarreal

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Cow Dung Road taken North past Cowboy Corner. Rovers were parked on the road at (518250E, 4253750N) and the crew proceeded on foot Northeast through a riverbed to the chasma at (519500, 4254000).

Mode of travel: Rovers along Cow Dung Road from the MDRS campus until disembarking at (518250E, 4253750N) and proceeding on foot.

Crew 306 EVA Report 29-12-2024
EVA # 08
Author: Elizabeth Howard
Purpose of EVA: The first purpose of this EVA was to perform flight tests on DRONE for Crew Journalist Rodrigo Schmitt’s research. Additionally, Crew Geologist Elizabeth Howard took EMF meter readings from Eos Chasma, and a sample was taken from the base of the chasma to bring back to Crew Commander Jesus Meza.
Start time: 10:00 AM
End time: 14:32 PM
Narrative: After heading towards the chasma following the same route that yesterday’s EVA team took, the EVA crew eventually stopped at a flat enough area for flight testing the DRONE system. Here, the Drone/Li-DAR was flight tested twice by Crew Journalist Rodrigo Schmitt and Crew Engineer Keegan Chavez. During this time, Crew Geologist Elizabeth Howard found a location to leave the EMF meter, allowing it to log data for several hours while the crew carried on with the EVA. Along the way to the base of the chasma, the EVA crew stopped at two more locations to flight test the DRONE, flying it for one and two tests respectively. The chasma base proved difficult to reach due to the depth of the (currently dried up) riverbed, which cuts back and forth across the terrain, adding switchbacks to the distance that had to be traveled the closer the crew got to the base. However, the EVA crew was able to get to the base of Eos Chasma to collect a sample for Crew Commander Jesus Meza before heading back. Crew Health and Safety Officer Ryan Villarreal acted as CAPCOM.
Destination: Eos Chasma
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 521750E, 4256000N
Participants: Rodrigo Schmitt, Keegan Chavez, Elizabeth Howard
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: From MDRS, the crew drove north up Cow Dung Road to coordinates (518250, 4253750). The rovers were parked there along the side of the road. EVA crew then walked east along the creek bed that feeds into the entrance of Eos Chasma at (519500, 4254000). They walked along the inside of the canyon, reaching the base of the chasma (521750, 4256000) and taking a sample before heading back along the same route
Mode of travel: Driving and walking

Crew 306 EVA Report 30-12-2024
EVA # 09
Author: Elizabeth Howard
Purpose of EVA: The first purpose of this EVA was to make it back to the base of Eos Chasma to allow Crew Commander Jesus to assess the base for soils and rocks that may be especially relevant to his project, and to log more data on Crew Commander Elizabeth Howard’s EMF meter from a location deeper into the chasma compared to yesterday’s EVA. Additionally, the EVA team performed a “search and rescue” mission for Crew Commander Elizabeth Howard’s phone, which was lost during yesterday’s EVA.
Start time: 10:00 AM
End time: 14:13 PM
Narrative: After arriving at the entrance to the chasma, the EVA crew kept a steady pace as they headed towards the base of the chasma, since it had taken the full four and a half hours to make the same trip yesterday. Although the crew kept an eye out and collected a few rocks during the walk to the base of the chasm, no additional soil samples were taken for Crew Commander Jesus Meza’s project. Additionally, although the crew did not stop along the way, there was not enough time for the EVA crew to both take EMF data at the chasma base and still make it back on time. After making it to the base of Eos Chasma to check for any possible soils to collect and finding the lost phone, the EVA crew headed back along the same route.
Destination: Eos Chasma
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 521750E, 4256000N
Participants: Jesus Meza, Adriana Sanchez, Elizabeth Howard
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: From MDRS, the crew drove north up Cow Dung Road to coordinates (518250, 4253750). The rovers were parked there along the side of the road. EVA crew then walked east along the creek bed that feeds into the entrance of Eos Chasma at (519500, 4254000). They walked along the inside of the canyon, reaching the base of the chasma (521750, 4256000) before heading back along the same route.
Mode of travel: Driving and walking

Crew 306 EVA Report 01-01-2025

EVA # 11

Author: Ryan Villarreal

Purpose of EVA: The first objective of this EVA was to test Crew Journalist Rodrigo Schmitt’s DRONE project for GPS and Li-DAR data collection capability. The second objective was to collect EMF meter readings from the region for Crew Geologist Elizabeth Howard’s research.

Start time: 10:02

End time: 12:55

Narrative: The EVA Crew stepped out of the airlock at 10:02 and proceeded to drive Perseverance and Opportunity South along Cow Dung Road until reaching the intersection of Trail 1101 and White Rock Canyon. The crew dismounted the rovers and took a short walk to the bottom of White Rock Canyon to begin testing the DRONE system. The DRONE was unable to collect data due to an issue connecting wirelessly via SSH to the data collection system. The crew spent 30 minutes troubleshooting before determining it would need to be investigated back at the HAB where the onboard computer could be directly accessed. The crew then continued the mission of EMF readings by walking out of the canyon and North along Cow Dung Road, placing the EMF reader at the start of trail 1101. The crew activated the reader and buried it, marking the location for later retrieval. As the EMF reader needs to be active over a period of time, the crew continued to hike West on trail 1101 to scan for potential iron-containing rocks along the trail for Crew Commander Jesus Meza’s research. The crew stopped at the base of Barrainca Butte before turning around and taking the same trail back to the EMF reader. The crew recovered the EMF reader and returned to the parked rovers and drove back to MDRS, arriving at 12:55. From this EVA, potential drone locations were marked for EVA #12, and approximately 1.5 hours of EMF readings were recorded. The crew also gathered 4 samples of potentially iron-containing rocks for analysis by Crew Commander Jesus Meza. The communication issues for the DRONE system were investigated after the EVA and were successfully resolved for EVA #12.

Destination: White Rock Canyon at (520250E, 4247500N), and Barrainca Butte at (519000E, 4247400N)

Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): Rovers were parked at (520216E, 4247499N), and the crew hiked to White Rock Canyon (520297E, 4247567N), before then hiking to Barrainca Butte (519050E, 4247313N).

Participants: Crew Engineer Keegan Chavez, Crew Journalist Rodrigo Schmitt, and Health and Safety Officer Ryan Villarreal

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Cow Dung Road taken South to White Rock Canyon. Rovers were parked on the road at (520216E, 4247499N) and the crew proceeded on foot Northeast into the White Rock Canyon. The crew then proceeded Northwest to Trail 1101, which was taken to Barrainca Butte.

Mode of travel: Rovers along Cow Dung Road from the MDRS campus until disembarking at (520216E, 4247499N) and proceeding on foot.

EVA # 01
Author: Elizabeth Howard
Purpose of EVA: The purpose of this EVA was to test equipment and team operations for half of the crew. Crew members familiarized themselves with the process of driving to and from EVA sites, team communications, and equipment use.
Start time: 10:00 AM
End time: 11:30 AM
Narrative: Prior to going on EVA, crew members completed pre-EVA surveys; these are administered by the crew HSO and are intended to gauge how crew members are feeling about the mission. Spirit and Perseverance were driven to the site. During the EVA, Jesus showed Adriana and Keegan around the Marble Ritual and introduced them to the tradition of having each crew member find a marble to put in one of the baskets. EVA members observed the geography and variety of rocks in the area and got accustomed to how their suits fit. Crew Geologist, Elizabeth Howard, acted as CAPCOM. After EVA, the crew completed post-EVA surveys from the HSO and debriefed with the second EVA group.
Destination: Marble Ritual
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 518800E, 4251000N
Participants: Jesus Meza, Adriana Sanchez, Keegan Chavez
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: EVA began at MDRS and travel Northeast on Cow Dung Road 0110. The EVA took place at Marble Ritual, with the crew intending to walk approximately 1000 ft East of Marble ritual. The crew followed the same route back to the habitat.
Mode of travel: Driving and walking

Crew 306 EVA Report 23-12-2024
EVA # 02
Author: Elizabeth Howard
Purpose of EVA: The purpose of this EVA was to test equipment and team operations for half of the crew. Crew members familiarized themselves with the process of driving to and from EVA sites, team communications, and equipment use.
Start time: 12:00 PM
End time: 13:30 PM
Narrative: Because the first and second EVAs of the day were back-to-back, the post-EVA survey from EVA 01 doubled as the pre-EVA survey for EVA 02. Spirit and Opportunity were driven to the site. During the EVA, crew members observed geography south of Marble Ritual, deviating slightly from the planned route eastward. This deviation was observed by mission support and corrected for with directions from crew CAPCOM. Crew Engineer, Keegan Chavez acted as CAPCOM. While the first crew of the day had stayed on Channel 1, which is shared between the EVA and Hab crew members, the second crew attempted to switch between this and Channel 2. Channel 2 only transmits between crew on EVA; switching channels while in EVA gear proved to be tricky and is something the crew anticipates getting smoother at. After EVA, the crew completed post-EVA surveys from the HSO. So far, all members of Crew 306 have opted to go on EVA using the two-piece suits.
Destination: Marble Ritual
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 518800E, 4251000N
Participants: Elizabeth Howard, Ryan Villarreal, Rodrigo Schmitt
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: EVA began at MDRS and travel Northeast on Cow Dung Road 0110. The EVA took place at Marble Ritual, with the crew intending to walk approximately 1000 ft East of Marble ritual. The crew followed the same route back to the habitat.
Mode of travel: Driving and walking

Crew 306 EVA Report 24-12-2024
EVA # 03
Author: Elizabeth Howard
Purpose of EVA: The purpose of this EVA was to begin collecting data for the three projects that require EVAs. Crew Geologist would collect EMF meter readings and take a sample of the soil used by the instrument, Commander would collect samples of soil from the Kissing Camel Ridge area, and Crew Journalist would test the DRONE battery capabilities and make preliminary flights.
Start time: 10:00 AM
End time: 13:00 PM
Narrative: After arriving at Kissing Camel Ridge on Perseverance and Opportunity, the group scouted for a flat location where DRONE could test fly. After checking a couple of possible locations, Crew Geologist Elizabeth Howard selected a spot for the EMF meter to take readings from and placed the instrument after digging approximately two inches down. Crew Journalist Rodrigo Schmitt was able to test fly the Li-DAR/Drone system for four flights to record data. About an hour and a half into the EVA, the drone battery was getting low, making the fourth test flight the last one for the day; for future EVA planning it is good that the Li-DAR/Drone system was able to stay powered for a reasonable duration of the EVA. Crew Commander Jesus Meza used a magnet to scout for locations with metals present in the soil, and samples were taken from a few locations around the Kissing Camel Ridge site. Several different soil compositions were sampled. The EVA crew walked around the site to check for locations with possible hematite, although none were found at Kissing Camel Ridge. Before leaving, Crew Geologist Elizabeth Howard picked up the EMF meter and sampled the soil where the instrument had been placed, then the group traveled back to MDRS.
Destination: Kissing Camel Ridge
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 518500E, 4249500N
Participants: Jesus Meza, Rodrigo Schmitt, Elizabeth Howard
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: EVA began from MDRS; EVA crew drove southwards on Cow Dung Road, and parked slightly North of Kissing Camel Ridges East and West. The crew took data within the bounds of (518000E, 4249500N) and (518500E, 4249500N) before returning to MDRS along the same route.
Mode of travel: Driving and walking

Crew 306 EVA Report 25-12-2024
EVA # 04
Author: Elizabeth Howard
Purpose of EVA: The primary purpose of this EVA was to take Li-DAR scan data using the drone. Because the Li-DAR/Drone system was troubleshot following EVA #03, the crew used this EVA to check that the issues were repaired.
Start time: 14:11 PM
End time: 15:20 PM
Narrative: After heading to a less rocky area around the Habitat, the EVA crew set up the helipad and Drone, then began testing for connection. Using the external keyboard, they were able to trigger the data collection process, solving the issue observed during EVA 03. Crew Journalist Rodrigo Schmitt piloted the Drone. Initially, a southward wind was blowing on the Drone during flight but not to the point that it interfered with the system’s flight capabilities. However, the Drone made an automated landing due to the on-board sensors detecting electromagnetic interference (EMI). Upon this happening, the EVA crew also discovered that the custom 3D printed Li-DAR scanner brace had a fracture in it. In order to continue flight testing, the crew used duct tape and electrical tape to secure the brace and then recalibrated the Drone. During the next flight, the southward winds were too strong, and the Drone was landed again. Because the conditions were not conducive to good controller signal, the crew finished the EVA for the day by inspecting areas of the Habitat that had been fixed up by Crew Engineer Keegan Chavez yesterday.
Destination: MDRS Habitat
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 518250E, 4250900N
Participants: Rodrigo Schmitt, Ryan Villarreal, Keegan Chavez
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: After exiting the Habitat, the EVA crew walked to a distance within 500 ft in the eastward direction to a location with smoother terrain for testing.
Mode of travel: Walking