Category: EVA Report

Crew 261 EVA Report 03-05-2023

EVA # 3

Author: James Burk, Commander

Purpose of EVA: Collection of soil for GreenHab experiments and operational testing of EVALink and VR-Comms procedures using Garmin devices.

Start time: 9:00 AM

End time: 10:15 AM

Narrative: EVA-3 conducted a collection of soil for GreenHab experiments and operational testing of EVALink and VR-Comms procedures using Garmin devices. The soil collection is meant to support our Biostimulation experiments. Commander James Burk and GreenHab Officer Cecile Renaud took the Opportunity rover on a traverse south to the north side of Kissing Camel Ridge (East), which is also just at the entrance of Robert’s Rock Garden. They parked the rover and walked east approximately 100 meters, stopping at three distinct sampling locations to collect different types of soil that will be used for the Biostimulation experiments. They also took Garmin waypoints and photos of the collection sites.

At the end of the EVA, James found a small rock that appears volcanic in origin. Cecile quickly named it “The Mountain”, and they brought it back to the Hab as a souvenir. Coincidentally, the name is very similar to James’ high school nickname. His high school sports teammate Karl Foston dubbed him “Mt. Burk” due to his height and his expertise with blocking basketball shots.

Destination: North side of Kissing Camel Ridge, just off Cow Dung Road.

Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 518300 E, 4249500 N

Participants: James Burk (Commander) (EVA Leader), Cecile Renaud (GreenHab Officer).

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Drive towards Cow Dung Road, take it south to the entry to Robert’s Rock Garden, and walk east to the collection site.

Mode of travel: Rover (Opportunity)

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Crew 261 EVA Report 03–05–2023

EVA # 4

Author: James Burk, Commander (with inputs from Aline Decadi, XO)

Purpose of EVA: Initial testing of Atmosphinder prototype

Start time: 11:00 AM

End time: 12:00 PM

Narrative: EVA-4 conducted Atmosphinder testing using the half-sized robot (~1 m diameter) in front of the Hab. The objectives of the test focused on structural aspects of the robot and de-risking operational elements. The EVA crew members worked together to increase the operational understanding of extracting the robot out of the RAM, loading the robot into the rover (ATV), securing the robot to the rover (ATV), and driving slowly with sudden decelerations. The lessons learned from this exercise will de-risk these elements on future EVAs when transporting the robot to regions of interest. Quantitative testing of the robot was completed using force meters to measure the longitudinal and latitudinal forces required to lift the robot. Qualitative testing observed that the robot can roll down a small incline unassisted. Structural elements on the robot that failed were known previously and can be repaired. The electronics payload was tested separately, with the new addition of the wind sensor compared to EVA-2. The EVA-4 worked smoothly, and valuable new information was learned. The success of this EVA-4 was in large part thanks to the EVA crew lead and the crew facilitating behind the scenes.

Destination: Flat ground just outside the hab.  Originally the EVA was planned to go farther Northwest from Hab but once the team was out, they assessed that terrain from afar and felt that the terrain immediately in front of the Hab was lower risk for the experiment.

 

 

Crew 261 EVA Report 02-05-2023

EVA # 2

Author: James Burk, Commander and EVA Lead

Purpose of EVA: EVA and Rover Qualification for crewmembers

Start time: 9:00AM

End time: 10:20 AM

Narrative: We drove the Rovers (Spirit and Perseverance) to the Marble Ritual, then walked around no farther than 200 meters for communication check. We exercised walking around with the spacesuits, regular health status, made photographs, and performed communication checks & extensive use of the radio. The communication was confirmed to be good on the field. Each crew member has used the radio extensively, experienced the spacesuits, the walking, the driving, the team cohesion, and the overall safety health checks were nominal. The EVA-2 crew members qualified on EVA procedures today, some for the second time.

This was James Burk’s first EVA as Commander of a crew at the MDRS, and he dedicated the EVA to Max Boyce, a member of the NorCal chapter who tragically died last year. Max was part of Crew 197 with James in October 2018. Max was a very dedicated Mars Society member and was part of the chapter that works on our EVA suits every year. Max showed James and his 2018 crew how to do EVAs, as well as other duties at MDRS. It was a deeply emotional moment for James.

Destination: Marble Ritual

Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 518687 E, 4250789 N

Participants: James Burk (Commander and EVA Lead) (EVA Leader), Erin "RobotZwrrl" Kennedy (Crew Roboticist), Audrey Derobertmasure (HSO), Kris Davidson (Journalist)

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Drive on Cow Dung Road and walk east until Marble Ritual.

Mode of travel: Rovers (Spirit & Perseverance)

Crew 261 EVA Report 01-05-2023

EVA # 1

Author: James Burk, Commander and EVA Comms Lead

Purpose of EVA: EVA and Rover Qualification for crewmembers

Start time: 9:25 AM with start of rover traverse at 9:37AM. (Prep began at 8:30am)

End time: 10:15 AM

Narrative: We drove the Rovers (Curiosity, Perseverance, and Opportunity) to the Marble Ritual, then walked around no farther than 200 meters for communication check. We exercised walking around with the spacesuits, regular health status, made photographs, and performed communication checks & extensive use of the radio. The communication was confirmed to be good on the field. Each crew member has used the radio extensively, experienced the spacesuits, the walking, the driving, the team cohesion, and the overall safety health checks were nominal. The EVA-1 crew members qualified on EVA procedures today. Nevertheless, it took more time than expected to go outside the hab, drive with the 3 rovers, and qualify for the EVA procedures.

Destination: Marble Ritual

Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 518687 E, 4250789 N

Participants: Aline Decate (Executive Officer) (EVA Leader), Audrey Derobertmasure (HSO), Julien Villa-Massone (Engineer), Cecile Renaud (Greenhab officer), Kris Davidson (Journalist)

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Drive on Cow Dung Road and walk east until Marble Ritual.

Mode of travel: Rovers (Curiosity, Perseverance, and Opportunity)

Crew 280 EVA Report 27-04-2023

EVA #11

Author: Ariadna Farres (HSO & Scientist)

The EVA had one goal:

Navigation exercise (aka. “Rescue Googly Mission”). Ariadna Farrés (Crew Scientist & HSO) and Cesca Cufi (Engineer) designed a treasure hunt competition for the Hypatia I crew. The crew was divided into two groups with the goal of finding 4 beacons and a final treasure in the shortest amount of time.

The first group was formed by Neus Sabate (Mission Specialist) and Laia Ribas (Green Hab Officer & Biologist) who performed the navigation exercise while Arianda Farres (HSO & Scientist) was supervising.

Start time: 9:35 AM

End time: 11:05 PM

Narrative:

This morning the first group was given the instructions for this navigation exercise, which consisted of two maps (one of the Hill at 518800E 4249100N, and the other of the entrance to Roberts Garden at 518400E 4249200N) and a pdf file with the instructions for the navigation challenge (see pdf attachment).

After performing 5 minutes of depressurization in the front airlock, the EVA team took Opportunity and Spirit rovers and headed towards Robert’s Rock Garden. Once they arrived there and parked in the designated area the time started to count. The team had to perform 3 different tasks:
Establish communications with the base from a designated area.
Head to 518800E 4249100N (which we called Hippo Hill) and find 4 beacons around the Hill
Get back to the parking area and rescue Googly (our cactus friend) that was hidden inside a small cave.

The group formed by Neus Sabate and Laia Ribas completed the three tasks in 38 min. After taking a couple of pictures to immortalize the moment the EVA crew headed back to the base. At 11:05 AM the team returned to the MDRS, before entering the Hab, they followed the 5-minutes pressurization protocol.

Destination: Roberts Rock Garden

Coordinates (use UTM WSG 84): 518000 E, 4249000 N

EVA participants: 3: Neus Sabate (Mission Specialist) (EVA Leader), Laia Ribas (Green Hab Officer & Biologist) and Ariadna Farres (HSO & Scientist).

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Drive on Cow Dung Road 0110.

Mode of travel: Drive on Cow Dung Road 0110 to Robert’s Rock Garden then walking around no farther than 1000 meters for sampling.

EVA #12

Author: Ariadna Farres (HSO & Scientist)

The EVA had one goal:

Navigation exercise (aka. “Rescue Googly Mission”). Ariadna Farrés (Crew Scientist & HSO) and Cesca Cufi (Engineer) designed a treasure hunt competition for the Hypatia I crew. The crew was divided into two groups with the goal of finding 4 beacons and a final treasure in the shortest amount of time.

The second group was formed by Mariona Badenas (Commander & Astronomer), Carla Conejo (Executive Officer & Biologist), Núria Jar (Crew Journalist) who performed the navigation exercise while Cesca Cufi (Crew Engineer) was supervising.

Start time: 3:05 AM

End time: 4:05 PM

Narrative:

This morning the first group was given the instructions for this navigation exercise, which consisted of two maps (one of the Hill at 518800E 4249100N, and the other of the entrance to Roberts Garden at 518400E 4249200N) and a pdf file with the instructions for the navigation challenge (see pdf attachment on EVA#11 Report).

After performing 5 minutes of depressurization in the front airlock, the EVA team took Perseverance and Spirit rovers and headed towards Robert’s Rock Garden. Once they arrived there and parked in the designated area the time started to count. The team had to perform 3 different tasks:
Establish communications with the base from a designated area.
Head to 518800E 4249100N (which we called Hippo Hill) and find 4 beacons around the Hill
Get back to the parking area and rescue Googly (our cactus friend) that was hidden inside a small cave.

The group formed by Mariona Badenas, Carla Conejo and Núria Jar completed the three tasks in 31 min. After taking a couple of pictures to immortalize the moment the EVA crew headed back to the base. At 4:05 PM the team returned to the MDRS, before entering the Hab, they followed the 5-minutes pressurization protocol.

Destination: Roberts Rock Garden

Coordinates (use UTM WSG 84): 518000 E, 4249000 N

EVA participants: 4: Mariona Badenas (Commander & Astronomer) (EVA Leader), Carla Conejo (Executive Officer & Biologist), Núria Jar (Crew Journalist) and Cesca Cufi (Crew Engineer).

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Drive on Cow Dung Road 0110.

Mode of travel: Drive on Cow Dung Road 0110 to Robert’s Rock Garden then walking around no farther than 1000 meters for sampling.

Crew 280 EVA Report 26-04-2023

EVA #10

Author: Carla Conejo (Executive Officer & Biologist)

The EVA had the following goals:
Documenting the EVA for outreach purposes, by Núria Jar (Journalist).
Drone flight recording, by Carla Conejo (Executive Officer & Biologist) and the support of Mariona Badenas (Commander & Astronomer).
Collecting sand samples for the CatMart project, by Laia Ribas (GreenHab Officer).

Start time: 10:10 AM

End time: 12:50 PM

Narrative:

After performing 5 minutes of depressurization in the front airlock, the EVA team took Curiosity and Spirit rovers and headed north towards the cross with Brahe Highway 1572. The crew performing the EVA had the goals of: i) collecting sand samples searching for Martian biosignatures for Laia Ribas’ (GreenHab Officer) project; ii) documenting the latter process with a GoPro camera; and iii) recording some Martian landscape images with a DJI Mini 3 Pro drone.

The communications with the base were established with normality during the whole EVA with checks-ins every 30’ minutes. Just before arriving at Brahe Highway 1572, we parked the rovers and the EVA team climbed a hill nearby next to the road. From there, communications were established with the base to inform of our position. After that, to facilitate the communications between the EVA crew and the EVA leader, the EVA leader decided to switch between channel one and two on the radios. After taking a 5-minutes rest, the EVA team split themselves into two groups. The first group, Mariona Badenas (Commander & Astronomer) and Carla Conejo (Executive Officer & Biologist) stayed in the hill to fly the drone and take some zenith pictures of Mars; whereas the second group, Laia Ribas (GreenHab Officer) and Núria Jar (Journalist) descended the hill to access a dry water drain to search for Martian biosignatures. The two groups maintained constant visual and radio communications.

Around 12:10PM the team decided to return to the MDRS, which they reached at 12:50PM. Before entering the Hab, we followed the 5-minutes pressurization protocol.

Destination: Cow Dung Road 0110 cross with Brahe Highway 1572. Our initial plan was to reach Overlook, but we finally explored the Brahe Highway 1572 area by foot.

Coordinates (use UTM WSG 84): 516000 E, 4255000 N

EVA participants: 4: Mariona Badenas (Commander & Astronomer) (EVA Leader), Carla Conejo (Executive Officer & Biologist), Laia Ribas (GreenHab Officer) and Núria Jar (Journalist).

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Drive east on Cow Dung Road 0110 and park before arriving at Brahe Highway 1572.

Mode of travel: Drive east on Cow Dung Road 0110 and to Brahe Highway 1572, to walk around the area no farther than 1000m from the rovers.

Crew 280 EVA Report 25-04-2023

EVA #9

Author: Ariadna Farres (HSO & Scientist)

The EVA had the following goal:

Collect some iron-containing rock samples to evaluate its use for Martian batteries by Neus Sabate.

Start time: 2:35 PM

End time: 5:10 PM

Narrative: Before starting the EVA, we received a call from mission support advising us of the possibility of rain in the next few hours. During the whole EVA the astronauts checked the weather, which ended up being windy but with no signs of rain and the mission could be completed.

After performing 5 minutes of depressurization in the front airlock, the EVA team took Spirit rovers and headed White Rock Canyon and Barrainca Butte area to collect iron-containing rocks as suggested by Mission Support Dr. Shannon Rupert.

The EVA team drove very slowly along Cow Dung Road to decrease the discharging rate of the battery rovers. Once they reached the selected area they observed a larger amount of rocks around Barainca Butte. They spent about an hour exploring the area and collecting rocks. At 4:30PM the crew decided to head back to the base, which they reached at 5:10PM. Before entering the Hab, they followed the 5-minutes pressurization protocol.

Destination: Barainca Butte

Coordinates (use UTM WSG 84): 520000 E, 4248000 N

EVA participants: 2: Ariadna Farrés (HSO and EVA Leader) and Neus Sabate (Mission Specialist).

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Drive south on Cow Dung Road 0110 and stop after the junction with Watney Road.

Mode of travel: Drive south on Cow Dung Road 0110 and stop after the junction with Watney Road. Walked around Barainca Butte. Then walk around no farther than 1500m from the rovers.

Crew 280 EVA Report 23-04-2023

EVA #8

Author: Ariadna Farres (HSO & Scientist)

The EVA had two goals:

Evaluate the feasibility of navigation strategies and finalize the navigation exercise for the crew.
Drone flight training around an area with obstacles.

Start time: 10:05 AM

End time: 12:10 PM

Narrative: This morning, the Hypatia I team evaluated the weather and the condition of the road before some crew members started their EVA. For this purpose, they inspected the terrain around the base, which was dry despite the rain of yesterday night. Having identified no muddy areas, they concluded that the road conditions around the base were good and decided to proceed with the EVA. The crew also discussed the possibility of returning to the base in case of finding wet terrain along the road closer to the destination, which was not the case.

After performing 5 minutes of depressurization in the front airlock, the EVA team took Perseverance and Spirit rovers and headed towards Robert’s Rock Garden to perform two different tasks: 1) find landmarks in the area and prepare the navigation exercise for the crew; 2) maneuver the crew’s small drone in an area with obstacles.

During the pass along Kissing Camel Ridge the EVA crew lost communication with the base, once the rovers were parked around Robert’s Rock Garden we managed to re-establish communication with the base by moving around and pointing the EVA leader’s antenna north. Once communication with the base was established, the EVA team split themselves into two groups. The first group, Mariona Badenas (Commander & Astronomer) and Carla Conejo (Executive Officer & Biologist) walked to an elevated area in one of the hills in Kissing Camel Ridge to perform the drone flights. The second group Ariadna Farrés (Scientist & HSO) and Cesca Cufí (Engineer) walked around the area identifying landmarks, mapping the area and planning the navigation exercise to perform next Thursday with the whole crew. The two groups maintained constant visual and radio communications.

To facilitate the communications between the EVA crew and the EVA leader, the EVA leader decided to switch between channel one and two on the radios. Channel one was switched on every 30 min to re-establish communications with the base.

Around 11:50 AM the team decided to return to the MDRS, which they reached at 12:10PM. Before entering the Hab, we followed the 5-minutes pressurization protocol.

Destination: Roberts Rock Garden

Coordinates (use UTM WSG 84): 518000 E, 4249000 N

EVA participants: 4: Ariadna Farres (HSO & Scientist) (EVA Leader), Mariona Badenas (Commander & Astronomer), Cesca Cufi (Engineer), Carla Conejo (Executive Officer & Biologist).

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Drive on Cow Dung Road 0110.

Mode of travel: Drive on Cow Dung Road 0110 to Robert’s Rock Garden then walking around no farther than 1000 meters for sampling.

Crew 280 EVA Report 23-04-2023

EVA #7

Author: Neus Sabaté (Mission Specialist)

The EVA had four goals:

Check communications between the Midland radios that we brought for a larger distance between the EVA crew and the base
Collecting some iron-containing rock samples to evaluate its use for Martian batteries
Collecting some sand samples to search for microorganisms

Documenting the rock sampling for outreach purposes

Start time: 10:00 AM

End time: 12:10 PM

Narrative: After performing 5 minutes of depressurization in the front airlock, the EVA team took Curiosity and Opportunity rovers and headed towards Compass Rock. Following Mission Support’s advice, the team decided to drive at a very slow pace, which significantly decreased the discharging rate of the battery rovers. During the journey, communication with the Hub was checked every five minutes. Soon after taking Galileo Road, the transmission with the Hub became weak and on the first turn communication with the base was lost. At that point, communication with Midland radios was tested, with negative results.The team reached the final destination 10 minutes later. At Compass Rock, the team explored the area within a radius of no more than 1000 meters from the rovers. Cesca Cufí and Neus Sabaté climbed to a hill and established contact with the base. Then, they collected different samples, mainly sandstone rocks of sizes between 5-15 cm of diameter. In the meantime, Laia Ribas collected red sandstone at three different locations while Nuria Jar documented the collecting process by taking images of the locations. At 11:40AM the team decided to return to the MDRS, which they reached at 12:10PM. Before entering the Hab, we followed the 5-minutes pressurization protocol.

Destination: Compass Rock

Coordinates (use UTM WSG 84): 520000 E, 4252000 N

EVA participants: 4: Neus Sabate (Mission Specialist and EVA leader), Núria Jar (Crew Journalist), Cesca Cufi (Crew Engineer) and Laia Ribas (Green Hab Officer).

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Drive north on Cow Dung Road 0110, turn east on Galileo Road 1104.

Mode of travel: Driving on Cow Dung Road 0110 to Galileo Road 1104. Drive 0.8 miles until Compass Rock. Then walking around no farther than 1000 meters for sampling.

Crew 280 EVA Report 22-04-2023

EVA #6

Author: Ariadna Farrés (HSO)

The EVA had two goals:
Drone flight around the base, with the purpose of continuing training drone maneuvers and to take some nice pictures/videos of the base for outreach purposes, by Carla Conejo (XO & Biologist) and Ariadna Farrés (Scientist & HSO).
Clean the plastic debris scattered around the base during the high-wind past days; Laia Ribas (GreenHab Officer).

Start time: 10:00 AM

End time: 11:45 AM

Narrative: After performing 5 minutes of depressurization in the front airlock, the EVA team started to walk towards Marble Ritual to find a good spot to start flying the drone to take some nice pictures/videos of the base. Three flights with the drone were performed: for the first flight the crew stayed in Marble Ritual and the drone flew towards the base and back where we were able to take some nice videos and pictures from the air. During the second flight the drone followed the crew back to the base, and the third flight was around the base.

Once the crew was back to base, the crew spent approximately 30 min walking around collecting plastic and metal debris that were scattered because of the winds of the last few days. The crew collected a total of 170g plastic debris, including bridles and other plastics, and 204g of metal debris, including wires and old nails.

Before entering the Hab, we followed the 5-minutes pressurization protocol.

Destination: Around the base and no further than Marble Ritual.

Coordinates (use UTM WSG 84): 518000 E, 4251000 N

EVA participants: 3: Ariadna Farrés (Scientist & HSO) (EVA Leader), Carla Conejo (XO & Biologist), Laia Ribas (GreenHab Officer).

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Walk around the base and Cow Dung Road 0110

Mode of travel: Walk around the base and no further than 500m until Marble Ritual.

Crew 280 EVA Report 21-04-2023

EVA #5

Author: Núria Jar (Crew Journalist) and Ariadna Farrés (HSO)

The EVA had four goals:
Evaluating the feasibility of navigation strategies developed by Ariadna Farrés (Scientist & HSO). Towards the end of the mission, as part of the navigation experiment, Ariadna would like to do an orientation exercise with the crew members; she needs to find locations to start planning this exercise.
Collecting some iron containing rock samples to evaluate it use for martian batteries by Neus Sabate (Mission Specialist); The project aims at demonstrating that it is possible to obtain Fe3+ ions from iron-containing rocks such as hematite, jarosite, limonite or argillite by immersing small pieces of rock in acid.
Documenting the rock sampling for outreach purposes, Núria Jar (Crew Journalist) filmed and took pictures of the crew while performing the EVA.
Creating a map of the sample collection area, Cesca Cufi (Crew Engineer) has experience in the field and will be creating a map of Roberts Rock Garden area, this has a double purpose: (1) help identify the areas that have already been sample for future expeditions; (2) help with the navigation and orientation exercise in future EVAs.

Start time: 10:14 AM

End time: 12:10 PM

Narrative: After performing 5 minutes of depressurization in the front airlock, the EVA team drove Spirit and Curiosity rovers to Roberts Rock Garden to perform the four main tasks: 1) evaluating the feasibility of navigation strategies; 2) collecting some iron containing rock; 3) documenting the rock sampling for outreach purposes; 4) and creating a map of the sample collection area.

After passing Kissing Camel Ridge the EVA crew lost communication with the base and were only able to communicate with the main Hab team with Hypatia’s own Midland radios. With the latter, communication between the EVA team and base was continuous.

When reaching our destination, Roberts Rock Garden, the rovers were parked and the team organized themselves into two groups. The first group, Neus Sabaté (Mission Specialist) and Núria Jar (Crew Journalist), explored the area looking for iron-containing rocks; they walked around the area around 4.5 miles, but never farther than 1000 meters from the rovers. Núria Jar documented all the sampling for outreach purposes. Unfortunately they did not find any iron-containing rocks. The second group Ariadna Farres (HSO) and Cesca Cufí (Crew Engineer) stayed closer to where the rovers were parked, identifying landmarks and planning the navigation exercise for the crew. The two groups maintained constant visual and radio communications.

After 1 hour exploring the area, the EVA crew walked back to the rovers, and started to drive back to the MDRS. The two rovers made a quick stop halfway before the main Hab, where they thought there might be iron-containing rocks, unfortunately this was not the case. The EVA ended an hour earlier than what was planned and will have to find other places to sample in future EVAs. Before entering the Hab, we followed the 5-minutes pressurization protocol.

Destination: Roberts Rock Garden

Coordinates (use UTM WSG 84): 518000 E, 4248000 N

EVA participants: 4: Núria Jar (Crew Journalist) (EVA Leader), Neus Sabaté (Mission Specialist), Ariadna Farrés (HSO), Cesca Cufí (Crew Engineer).

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Drive on Cow Dung Road 0110

Mode of travel: Drive on Cow Dung Road 0110 to Roberts Rock Garden then walking around no farther than 1000 meters for sampling.