Category: Journalist Report

Hello Mission Control,

We had an early start and a late end today. And albeit, a long day but at the end of the day it was satisfying to have done what we did today. We started the morning by gearing up. Me, Rishabh, and Noah left for our EVA at 9AM sharp and went all the way to Galileo Road, which was shorter than what we expected to drive since we wanted to reach the chasm. However, the rover battery was dying so we had to make an earlier stop and walk extra. We walked all the way to Candor Chasma and stopped at Compass Rock on the way. We got some great pictures! And when we reached the Candor Chasma we tested out the drone, mapped and filmed the area, and even took some other pictures. We then reached the hab before noon and had lunch. I then debriefed the crew for the rest of the day and some important progress points for the rest of the week. Then we broke for an hour and re-grouped to help the second EVA suit up. Noah stayed on comms while Aravind, Avery, and Kristina were out. The second EVA tested out some other equipment Throughout the day, we checked up on the science dome and the astronomy data. Now we will have dinner and do the psych evaluation.

We saw cow prints by the chasma today, it seemed almost fitting for us Longhorns. Bevonauts out!

Best,
Prakruti "Pari" Raghunarayan (Crew Commander & Journalist)

Hello Mission Control,

We started the morning by holding a team debrief. I went over the daily activities that our crew had to complete. Astronomy observatory hours, science dome research, water usage, and other tasks were discussed in todays meeting. Me, Noah, and Aravind spent the day analyzing samples we collected throughout our EVAs the last few days. We have found some patterns and are going to formally summarize it as soon as we are able to confirm our findings with already published papers. We had many productive hours. We came back for lunch and began reading papers related to the topics. Everyone spent the afternoon either analyzing and adjusting code or reading papers. We now await the stabilization of our XO’s health. Enjoy the overwhelming amount of science dome pictures!

Best,
Prakruti "Pari" Raghunarayan (Crew Commander, Journalist, & Bevonaut)

Hello Mission Control,

We started off the day bright and early with two EVAs back to back. We had one walking and one driving down to Zubrin’s Head to map the area for the topographical map and test out different rocks for the Geiger counter. While the crew members rotated the EVA other members prepared samples at the science dome and RAM, and tried working on the observatory. After the EVAs, we spent the day trying to make the map, working on code, and reading papers for the respective sub projects we are in. We also haven’t showered in a while, but hope to take showers tomorrow to celebrate a crew member’s birthday!

Best Regards,
Pari & the Bevonauts

Hello Mission Control,

First off I would like to wish our HSO, Kristina Mannix, a very happy birthday! We baked a brownie in celebration! Today our day consisted of a morning EVA where I was on comms for Rishabh and Noah who drove up Cow Dung Road and made a few stops along the way for drone footage for the mapping project. After the EVA, Aravind, Noah and I went back to the science dome and prepared and tested the samples retrieved on yesterday and today’s EVA. The astronomers were able to process some data and continued working on processing images from the Robotic Observatory. Avery also downloaded the programs needed for Musk Observatory imaging on her personal laptop. Now we will wrap up the day with some planning for tomorrow and celebrating one week here and Kristina!

Best Regards,
Pari & the Bevonauts

Hello Mission Control,

Today we were able to do two EVAs, both with Spencer Joseph. The first one, me, Avery, and Rishabh took him to Camel Ridge. We collected some samples there and showed him how the drone works. We also got more footage for the map. Since we had the Curiosity and Opportunity rovers, they had better batteries and we took him to Marble Ritual as well. Marble Ritual provides the "Martian" look and so we were able to get him some better footage for that.

Then, we took him to the RAM and Rishabh explained how the engineering software and drone works. He also gave insight into how this could be used to perform search and rescue missions. Next, we took him to the Science dome where myself, Noah, and Aravind explained our research. We did a live exfoliation and microscope test for him with the white mound sample. Noah and Aravind were also interviewed here. I took him to the greenhab to get some shots there and the next stop was the observatory. There, Avery and Kristina were interviewed and they showed him how to work the telescope. We got back to the hab and my interview was conducted.

After we had lunch with him, we took him on an EVA where he was suited up. Rishabh and I adjusted the suit for him and Noah, Aravind and Kristina took him around for a walking EVA. They tested out the Geiger counter. Now we are working on reports and resting up.

Have a great day!

Hello Mission Control,

Today we had a relatively research focused day. It wasn’t very active since the winds were quite intense and we couldn’t do much with the drone due to the heavy rains. We did get group pictures to promote MDRS and our project on LinkedIn. Me, Kristina, and Avery worked on the astronomy project, got the Musk observatory up and working again. However, it wasn’t able to focus on the sun right away due to the winds. Avery and I prepped the samples that we retrieved yesterday and Noah and Aravind analyzed them. Noah, Aravind and I are working on EVA requests since we are yet unsure of what samples give us better data about how to work around Martian terrain. We are going to visit spots that we find would give us better day throughout the next few days. Rishabh is still working on processing his videos and the astronomers are hard at work with the code. We are yet again stuck with another rainy Monday :))

Best,
Pari & the Bevonauts

Hello Mission Control,

Today we had an early start. Kristina and I helped set up Avery, Noah and Aravind for their morning EVA. Kristina was on comms while they went to Marble Ritual, Pooh’s Corner, and drove up to Galileo road to test the battery of the rovers. They were back promptly and we started to then disperse for our individual projects.

Kristina and Avery went to the observatory and got it working again. After they took two sets of images and are almost done processing them. During that time, Aravind, Noah and I finished retesting the interesting samples we wanted to retake data for. I also deduced the age, cause, volcanic activity and interest to applying this technique on Mars and created a document. Noah also worked with his radishes and prepared a soil sample to look at. We also are now determining the final composition of some potting soil.

Rishabh has been working hard processing his videos and working on the map.

We have honestly had a very productive and long day as the Bevonauts! Happy to see this.

And Avery and Kristina prepared some incredible dinner. All in a day’s work!

Best,
Pari & the Bevonauts

Hello Mission Control,

Today we had a day where we mainly split into and worked amongst our subgroups. We planned EVAs and ate our meals (butter noodles we are kind of in the trenches as we speak) as a group. Luckily, Noah and Kristina are quite creative and we are having a taco night for dinner.

Other than that, me and Noah have started taking care of the disaster of a biohazard that was left in the science dome and we thought we deserved to feel clean after (we took showers!). We worked on the science dome samples and categorized them. After the success of the first overnight sample experiment, we decided to do some more.

Avery and Kristina processed some images in the observatory and have been occupied the entire day with it. Rishabh has also been working hard at finishing the last few steps with this map.

Proud of the efforts and progress made!

Best,
Pari & the Bevonauts

Crew 297 – Janus 1 Journalist – David Laude

"The surface of Mars is a place of bare rock sculpted by wind, with canyons and valleys much deeper than the Grand Canyon on Earth." – Steven Squyres

Today’s Sol 10 brings with it a sense of urgency as Sol 12 will be our last for this team of researchers and explorers.

Curiosity carried the morning EVA team, Matt and Matt, to the exact coordinates for the NPS and it was recovered quickly, although it was hidden in an extremely challenging spot by the previous team. Around noon, they returned to the Hab and began their on-foot journey to Skyline Rim. By 12:40 they had reached the top of the ridge line behind MDRS, and continued with the long march across the Amazonis Planitia. They reached the Skyline Rim and proceeded with ground testing to determine the feasibility of burying the NPS in that region. After testing was completed, they headed back to the Hab.

Sarah and Pawel traveled to Somerville Overlook to observe the orange region.

The last of the crew members biographies to present is that of the Journalist/Engineer:
"David Laude was present for the memorable and impressive launches of Apollo 11, the first Space Shuttle and subsequent Shuttle night launches. He also met several lunar astronauts and like many others, dreamed about space exploration. David began a lifelong passion for electronics and space technology in elementary school. With a B.S. and a M. Eng. in Electrical Engineering, he designed integrated circuits for Harris Semiconductor (now Intersil), Ford Aerospace (now unknown), Ford Motor Company and Linear Technology Corporation (now Analog devices). David is currently retired from the work force and is a lifelong learner who enjoys working with talented people. He also has formal training in Anthropology and Archaeology. He is a member of The Planetary Society and a founding member of The Mars Society. His hobbies include radio controlled airplanes, electronics, musical instrument synthesizers, music composition and antique radio restoration. Utah, with its stark beauty and remote areas, is one of his favorite states. He previously served as a crew member at MDRS on Crews 80, 181, 228 and 265 in the roles of commander, executive officer and engineer."

Crew 297 – Janus 1 Journalist – David Laude

"Mars is much closer to the characteristics of Earth. It has a fall, winter, summer, and spring. North Pole, South Pole, mountains, lots of ice. No one is going to live on Venus; no one is going to live on Jupiter." – Buzz Aldrin

With one more Sol remaining after today there are heightened thoughts towards completion of individual goals among us. Some goals, while having made progress, remain incomplete and at least two crew members have hopes to come back to Mars for further research work on this red planet.

The morning EVA team, Pawel and Matt S. first tested Case in the usual way, by defining an objective and some obstacles. Case was able to complete its mission and return to the starting point, but only after several recalculations, each which required manual intervention before it would resume autonomous operations. Next was a simple terrain capability test in full manual mode, attempting to climb a 30 degree slope. Case made it about 3/4 of the way up the hill and then lost traction on the loose regolith, after which the test was ended.

The afternoon EVA team, Dave and Matt L., road rover Opportunity to Somerville Overlook to acquire telephoto photos of the sedimentary rock layers in the walls of the escarpments. The view was stunning, like that of a nascent Grand Canyon, complete with the Canyon’s range of Earth tone colors. As the weather turned cloudier and windier the team headed back towards MDRS, but made a planned stop at Chandor Chasma for additional photos of stratigraphy and rocks. These were then uploaded to our Crew’s website for later analysis by Crew Geologist Sarah.