Category: Greenhab Report

Crew 292 GreenHab Report 12-02-2024

GreenHab Officer: Mehnaz Jabeen

Environmental control: heater on , fan off , door close

Average temperature

6:25: 72.6F, 20%

14:00: 99.5 F, 15%

18:00: 75.7 F, 31%

Hours of supplemental light: 22:00 – 02:00

Daily water usage for crops: 7 gallons

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 0.2 gallon

Water in Blue Tank (200 gallon capacity): 145.6 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 14:11 Mist (heater of) , 18:11 water (heater on)

Changes to crops: More ripe tomatoes

Narrative:

Today I woke up early and went to the GreenHab and noticed the crops seemed healthy within the moist pots. Heater was on and I spent some time there. Went again two more times around afternoon to mist the crops after my EVA because around that time a significant amount of humidity drops down and the temperature rises to 96-99.5 F. In the evening all the crops were watered evenly. Subsequently I examined my experiment for measuring the rate of evapotranspiration in the GreenHab and the science dorm and found out that the experiment is flourishing. Another experiment with the pots to see the effects of temperature on crops in different pots was also achieving good results. We had a harvest after dinner for a juicy salad and called it a sol J.

Harvest:

Lettuce : 30g

Tomatoes: 47g

Kale:60g

Radish: 36g

Cilantro: 20g

Basil: 4g

Support/supplies needed: None

GreenHab Officer: Mehnaz Jabeen
Environmental control: heater on , fan off , door close
Average temperature
6:30 70 F, 27%
18:30: 75.F, 20%
Hours of supplemental light: 22:00 – 02:00
Daily water usage for crops: 8 gallons
Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 0.6 gallons
Water in Blue Tank (200 gallon capacity): 151.94 gallons
Time(s) of watering for crops: 18:30
Changes to crops: More ripe tomatoes
Narrative:
Yesterday as I mentioned in my report about my new experiment to validate my research I went to the GreenHab around 20:00 to the GreenHab with Aditya, our crew astronomer and Rajvi, our crew engineer. We performed the experiment namely ‘the pan experiment’ using some of the water from the GreenHab and left one pan in the GreenHab and kept one in the growth tent at science dorm. We will be checking them again today around the same time.
Sol 5 started a bit earlier than the other days. I woke up at 6 am and went to the GreenHab to water the plants. I did my usual duty of checking moisture levels for each crop and the crops were keeping up with the same levels so I decided to delay watering them to see if the moisture levels drops. The Crew woke up by 7:30 and started Yoga session. The whole crew woke up to stretch our bodies since some of us had to leave for EVA. Right after Yoga and breakfast I finished my mid mission report and left for EVA. Later in the evening around 18:30 I went to the hab and noticed the moisture level has dropped to 6-8%. So I watered all the crops and left back to hab.
Harvest: None
Support/supplies needed: None

GreenHab Officer: Mehnaz Jabeen
Environmental control: heater on , fan off , door close
Average temperature
6:30: 70. 1 F, 27%
14:00 : 97.2 F, 15%
17:30: 77.8 F, 26 %

Hours of supplemental light: 22:00 – 02:00
Daily water usage for crops: 7 gallons
Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 0.2 gallon
Water in Blue Tank (200 gallon capacity): 152.8 gallons
Time(s) of watering for crops: 14:11 : mist , 17:30 : water
Changes to crops: None
Narrative:
Sol 7 started early, I went to the GreenHab three times to do my usual duties. The Weather condition inside the hab was comfortable and warm. I Checked the moisture levels of each crops in the morning and they were all the same as usual. Following are the moisture levels :
1. Tomatoes, Cress, Pea : 60-70%
2. Cucumbers, Oregano, sage, Dalli, Cilantro, Cives: 80 %
3. Basil : 40-80%, Parsley: 90%, Red Cabbage 70-80%
4. Radish 70-75%, Corn Salad, Dutch Lettuce: 80%
5. Onion, Broccoli, Arugula, Carrots, Kale : 70- 90%
In the afternoon around 14:00 the moisture levels slightly depleted and the leaves of the few crops namely radish, tomatoes look wilted. I have been watering the crops adequately i.e not under watering or over watering. That is when I realized it is because of too much heat during the afternoon so I mist all the crops for a little more humidity as the humidity level was 15% during the day . I used a full bottle of mist spray (0.2 gallons) and noticed that the new seeds had sprouted in the big blue tub. I felt so content. Soon afterwards I felt to the science dorm to check my experiment pots in the growth tent and noted the reading of the moisture levels for each pots given:
1. Pot 1 : 60%
2. Pot 2: 70%
3. Pot 3: 70%
4. Pot 4: 70%
All the seeds in the pots were sprouting except the ones in pot 1st. I assume it is because of the low moisture level. Therefore I watered the first pot a little bit more and left for hab.

Harvest: None
Support/supplies needed: None

GreenHab Officer: Mehnaz Jabeen
Environmental control: heater on , fan off , door close
Average temperature
9:30: 68.4 F, 27%
8:25: 73.9F, 20%
13:55: 72.9 F, 30%
17:43: 72 F, 32%
17:59: 73.2 F, 32%

Hours of supplemental light: 22:00 – 02:00
Daily water usage for crops: 7 gallons
Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 1 gallon
Water in Blue Tank (200 gallon capacity): 160 gallons
Time(s) of watering for crops: 17:43
Changes to crops: More ripe tomatoes, radishes
Narrative: Today is sol 4 and I have been going to the GreenHab several times, spending more time there than usual. Last night I went to the hab after we finished dinner. It was the first time I was going to the GreenHab at night. Outside temperature was chilly but it was not windy like during the day. When I entered the GreenHab I felt so warm, the heater was on. I noticed the temperature was down to 68.4 F. Afterwards I checked the moisture levels for each crop and they were almost the same as last evening. The purple light turned on while I was working on my laptop, jotting down some notes. It looked really beautiful. It gave me a strong vibe of how it must feel like being in an artificial habitat (the GreenHab) on mars and taking care of one of the most essential support for living (The Crops). So I played a soundtrack from the Martian movie and finished up the notes and went back to the hab. Later in the morning I woke up and felt spiritually connected with the GreenHab and went straight there to water the crops. After taking the readings for temperature and humidity I noticed the moisture levels were good enough so I did not choose to water them. In the afternoon I went to check the moisture and to sow new seeds for my experiment. Daniel, our crew biologist, came along to help me sow seeds. We transferred the onion and kale from the small pots to the bigger pots and watered them. In the small pots we sowed some soaked radish seeds in 4 parts equally and sowed the rest of the seeds in the big blue container which had no crops planted. We also harvested a good amount of great looking cherry tomatoes which we are going to use for dinner. We took the small pots (4 in number) to the science dorm and kept it in the growth tent after weighing them. In the evening I watered the crops around 17:43 and returned to the hab.
Harvest: Tomatoes : 153g
Support/supplies needed: None

GreenHab Officer: Mehnaz Jabeen
Environmental control: heater on , fan off , door close
Average temperature
8:25: 75.3F, 40%
13:56: 75 F, 40%
17:25: 73.8 F, 32%

Hours of supplemental light: 22:00 – 02:00
Daily water usage for crops: 7 gallons
Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 0.031 gallons
Water in Blue Tank (200 gallon capacity): 152.9 69 gallons
Time(s) of watering for crops: 17:30
Changes to crops: More ripe tomatoes, radishes, grown kale and lettuce
Narrative: I started sol 5 having a treat to my eyes in the morning when I opened the airlock to go to the GreenHab. The red mountains were covered with snow. I cherished the moment, took a photograph and headed to the GreenHab. The GreenHab still looked very green and fresh. The moisture levels for all the crops looked pretty much the same i.e. 75-90%. After taking the readings I headed back to the hab and worked on my research project. Aditiya, our crew astronomer, helped in finding some parameters to derive the equations of PET and ET . We obtained daily climate data from the Loa climate center in Utah as we found out it is the nearest climate center that has data for all the parameters we needed. Around afternoon we came up with an experiment that we can try to validate my research which is impact assessment of the GreenHab Hydrology. In the evening I went to the GreenHab to do my usual duties. Clare, our crew journalist and Rajvi, our crew engineer, joined and helped me harvest some ripe radishes, fully grown lettuce, kale and leaves of red cabbage and water the crops. By the end of the day I went to the science dorm to check on the pots that I left in the growth tent for my experiment, water ½ cup in the pots ( 4 in number), noted down the temperature (80.6 F) and called it a day.
Harvest:
Radish: 172g
Kale: 96g
Red Cabbage: 73g
Lettuce: 33g

Support/supplies needed: None

GreenHab Officer: Mehnaz Jabeen
Environmental control: heater on, fan off, door closed,
Average temperatures:
5:42 : 73.2F, 25%
Hours of supplemental light: None
Daily water usage for crops: 8 gallons
Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 0 gallons
Water in Blue Tank (200 gallon capacity): 192 gallons
Time(s) of watering for crops: 5:44
Changes to crops: None
Narrative: Today was the first official sol as greenhab officer. Right after the training, which got over around 17:30, I went to the hab with Clare, our crew journalist who helped me water the plants and briefed about the crops and activities from the previous crew as she took part in the previous expedition. As soon as we got inside the heater turned on. All the plants looked good except for the cucumbers, the leaves were drying out. Therefore I’m aiming to water them a bit more ( 1 gallon) than the previous crew did daily. I also found one of the big blue containers with no growing seed so I would like to plant some new crops. Many tomatoes were ripening and were red, almost on the last stage so after one or two days they shall be ready for harvest.

Harvest: None
Support/supplies needed: Seeds : zucchini , cauliflower, cabbage

GreenHab Officer: Mehnaz Jabeen
Environmental control:
8:06 am heater off, fan off, door closed
8:13: heater off, fan off, door closed
8:16: heater on, fan off, door closed
17:29: heater on, fan off, door closed
17:40: heater on, fan off, door closed
17:41: heater off, fan off, door closed

Average temperatures:
8:06: 73.9 F, 22%
17:29: 72.0 F, 40%
17:52: 72.1 F, 37%

Hours of supplemental light: 22:00-02:00
Daily water usage for crops: 17 gallons
Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 0 gallons
Water in Blue Tank (200 gallon capacity): 175 gallons
Time(s) of watering for crops: 8:10, 17:38
Changes to crops: Moisture levels
Narrative: Today I went to the GreenHab in the morning and checked the moisture levels for each crop. Moisture levels for the crops are as followed:
Oregano, Cucumber, Basil, Sage, Dilli, Cilantro : 40-50%.
Parsely, Raddish, Cucumber in different Pot,Mint, Carrots, Tomatoes : 20-30%.
Macche, Lambs Lettuce, Corn Salad: 50-60%.
Followed by checking the moisture levels I watered the crops according to how dry they were. The weather forecast seemed low and cooler so I decided not to mist the plants in the afternoon since I used enough water for the plants. By the evening around 5:26 I left the Hab to check the status of the GreenHab and once again repeated the same procedure of checking the moisture levels. The readings are as followed:
Oregano, Cucumber, Basil, Sage, Dilli, Cilantro : 70-80%.
Parsely, Raddish, Cucumber in different Pot,Mint, Carrots, Tomatoes : 40-60%.
Macche, Lambs Lettuce, Corn Salad: 70-80%.
Subsequently I watered the plants evenly using 2 teaspoons of chemical fertilizer, namely miracle in 4 gallons of water. The heater and fan turned on and off two times at different timings while I was present. Lastly I checked the ripened tomatoes and realized they were good for harvest. So I harvested 16 tomatoes from different pots of tomatoes and took them to the hab for dinner after measuring them.
Harvest: (Tomatoes : 83 grams)
Support/supplies needed: Zucchini seeds

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

GreenHab Officer: Scott Dorrington
Environmental control: heater on automatic
Average temperatures:
09:24: 76.8 F, 25%
13:10: 76.8 F, 32%
14:57: 77.5 F, 32%
Hours of supplemental light: 4 hours overnight
Daily water usage for crops: 6 gallons
Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 0 gallons
Water in Blue Tank (200 gallon capacity): 93 gallons
Time(s) of watering for crops: 9:24 water, 13:10 water, 14:57 mist
Changes to crops: None
Narrative:
Today the clouds returned, which meant less light for the plants, but more manageable temperatures. The temperature was a very consistent 76-77 F all day. The GreenHab had higher humidity as well, meaning the plants weren’t as thirsty as they had been the past few days. I gave them a morning watering of 2 gallons before the morning EVA and a midday watering of 4 gallons after returning. I took some time during the afternoon to inspect some of the tomatoes. Tomato 9 has two red fruits that I think we will harvest tomorrow as a send of for Crew 291 (another 1/3 tomato each, yay!!!) and another couple of orange fruits that should ripen for Crew 292. Tomato 7 has two little orange fruits. Tomato 3 has 2 orange as well. Tomato 6 has a nice crop of seven fruits beginning to turn greeny-yellow. I think this plant will provide a bountiful harvest for the next crew. I returned in the afternoon for a bit of misting and the heater turned on – still looks to be turning on around 75 F as expected. Today’s soundtrack was Fleetwood Mac and Meg Mac.
Harvest: None
Support/supplies needed: None

GreenHab Officer: Scott Dorrington
Environmental control: heater on automatic
Average temperatures:
10:05: 75.6 F, 50%
10:30: 75.9 F, 50%
12:18: 76.6 F, 42%
14:48: 75.6 F, 36%
16:19: 67.5 F, 42%
18:03: 71.4 F, 41%
19:39: 71.6 F, 36%
Hours of supplemental light: 4 hours overnight
Daily water usage for crops: 7 gallons
Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 0 gallons
Water in Blue Tank (200 gallon capacity): 86 gallons
Time(s) of watering for crops: 10:05 water, 14:48 water, 19:40 mist
Changes to crops: None
Narrative:
We’ve reached the last sol. Today was another overcast day, with some rain about, so lots of humidity in the outside air. There were also puddles of water and mud in the walkway, so I wanted to minimize the number of trips I did back and forth to the GreenHab today. Luckily, from yestersol’s readings, I expected that the temperature would remain relatively stable throughout the day. In the morning, I found the moisture meter was showing the tomato plants getting towards the dry scale, so decided to give them a big watering early in the day. This brought the moisture levels back up to nicely moist. I also took down the shade cloth in the morning to give the plants some extra sun during this cloudy day. We officially ended our sim at 2pm today, however I still made trips back and forth to check in on the plants, and giving them a top up of an additional gallon and a misting in the afternoon. As a send off treat for crew 291, we harvested the 3 red tomatoes from tomato #9 that I have been eying off for the past few sols and an additional two smaller tomatoes from tomato #3. Tomato #6 has a nice bunch of yellow tomatoes that should be ripe for crew 292. There was some debate also about harvesting the growing cucumber. Some googling of cucumber harvesting suggested to pick them slightly immature as they become bitter as they turn yellow, and that delayed harvesting reduces the quality of the produce. The current fruit looked to be similar to the reference photo of a ready-to-pick cucumber (though a little smaller – but then this cuke is growing in a pot and not a vineyard). So, the decision was made to harvest the cuke to enjoy with the tomatoes as part of our send off. We are very thankful to the GreenHab officer from Crew 290 for taking such good care of the cukes through their troubling times with the heater issues. We topped off our last harvest with three peas from the vines.
Throughout this mission, the GreenHab has been a welcome escape from the Hab. I feel the greenery has had a noticeably positive influence on the mood of the crew, who have brightened up with each new tomato, cucumber or pea that emerged. I think in a real Mars mission, I would be spending a lot of time in the GreenHab.
So long, and thanks for all the fruit!!!
– GreenHab Scott, Crew 291
Harvest: 5x Tomatoes (36g), 3x peas (9g), 1x cucumber (24g)
Support/supplies needed: None