Category: Sol Summary

Crew 275 Sol Summary Report 04Mar2023

Sol: 20

Summary Title: Safety first!

Author’s name: Jeremy Rabineau, Commander.

Mission Status: Nominal.

Sol Activity Summary:

During a common sport session with the rest of the crew, one of the crewmembers got injured at the shoulder at approximately 23:30. Once we were able to slightly calm them down and have a look at the injury, we immediately understood that the situation was serious and decided to not move them until the emergency services would be there.

We called Mission Support approximately 15 minutes after the event. Sergii was very reactive and arrived at the Hab with an additional first-aid kit. Since he was also the only one to have a proper cellular connection, he contacted 911. He also prepared the arrival of the emergency services by placing light signals on the road, so that the ambulance could understand which road to follow up to the Hab. While waiting for the ambulance, we made sure that all the formalities related to health insurances were correctly done, to avoid any additional bad surprises. The sheriff arrived approximately one hour after the call to 911, soon followed by the ambulance. We proceeded with banding the arm to immobilize it, while we helped the victim stand up and reach the ambulance. The Health & Safety Officer accompanied her in the ambulance, leaving at approximately 2:00.

In the meantime, Sergii had parked the CrewCar in front of the Hab and informed us that it was available for us to use should we need it. He also helped us to reach the insurance company of the victim, using his personal phone. They arrived at the Sevier Valley Hospital (Richfield) after more than two hours of driving and were then able to give us information about the situation. At approximately 5:30, the results of the X-ray scanner confirmed that the collarbone (clavicula) of the victim was broken and that they would need to see an orthopedic surgeon. The Commander and the Crew Scientist took the CrewCar in direction of the Sevier Valley Hospital to repatriate the victim and the Health & Safety Officer to the MDRS. During this time, the responsibility of the 3 remaining crewmembers and the station was given to the Crew Engineer / Executive Officer. The CrewCar arrived at the hospital at approximately 9:00.

We ensured with the staff of the hospital that the victim could safely be brought back to the MDRS. They gave us the contact of an orthopedic surgeon located in Richfield, mentioning the fact that it would certainly be possible to have an appointment there as early as on Monday (Sol 22) and to proceed with surgery on Tuesday (Sol 23). This still requires confirmation, until we can contact the surgeon on Monday and have an appointment. In the meantime, the victim is taking painkillers.

The 4 crewmembers left the Sevier Valley Hospital at approximately 10:00, taking turns driving. At their arrival in Hanksville, they filled the tank of the CrewCar and they were back at the MDRS at approximately 14:30.

Overall, the simulation had to be broken during approximately 15 hours. We discussed the event and its consequences as a crew and took the decision to continue the simulation as much as possible, while making sure that the injured crewmember will have the necessary medical support. We would like to very sincerely thank Sergii for his perfect reaction and support at all times.

The rest of the day was dedicated to getting some rest, as most of the crewmembers did not have the opportunity to sleep at all because of this event.

Look Ahead Plan:

All the EVAs including the injured crewmember have to be cancelled until the end of the simulation. The optimistic plan is to see the surgeon as early as on Monday (Sol 22), so that they can potentially have surgery on Tuesday (Sol 23). We will know more about this plan when we can call the surgeon, whose contact has been given by the Sevier Valley hospital, on Monday (Sol 22). We will make sure to keep close contact with Mission Support, to communicate all the information that may be relevant to the health of this crewmember as well as to the continuation of the simulation. So far, and with your approval, we plan to use the CrewCar to proceed with the transport of the injured crewmember.

In the meantime, we will have to change the batteries of the atmospheric instruments, since they cannot last for more than 48 hours in cold weather. We are planning a very short EVA dedicated to these operations tomorrow (Sol 21), with only two crewmembers.

A media visit is planned for next Tuesday (Sol 23) with a crew from France Televisions. We will keep you updated as soon as we have more information regarding their planned arrival and departure.

Anomalies in work: None.

Weather: Cloudy, low -3°C/26°F, high 9°C/48°F.

Crew Physical Status: One crewmember injured (broken collarbone / clavicula), awaiting appointment with a surgeon early next week (Sol 22) in Richfield.

EVA: EVA # 16 was cancelled, because four crewmembers were away from the MDRS at the moment the EVA should have happened.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, EVA Report, EVA Request, Operations Report, Journalist Report, GreenHab Report, HSO Report.

Support Requested: None.

Crew 275 Sol Summary Report 03Mar2023

Sol: 19

Summary Title: Under the spotlight

Author’s name: Jeremy Rabineau, Commander.

Mission Status: Nominal.

Sol Activity Summary:

Finally, a day when we wake up and don’t see the landscape covered with snow or mud! The flipside of this coin is that the temperature in the spacesuits got higher than usual and the EVA crew was very tired after their 4-hour EVA. We are no longer used to walk 10 000 steps a day, and even less in a spacesuit! An exhausting EVA, but a very fulfilling one, as all the objectives have been accomplished in perfect agreement with the planned timeline. The LOAC has been re-installed, while the batteries and the SD cards of all the other atmospheric instruments have been changed. All the checkpoints of the photogrammetry experiment have been identified by the subjects onsite at Candor Chasma, where the terrain was still slightly muddy.

The main event of the day was the presence of a journalist crew from BBC. They accompanied us during the first hour of our EVA. They then filmed the activities in the Upper Deck, the lunch, and finally they spent the whole afternoon interviewing us at our dedicated workplaces: the Science Dome, the GreenHab, etc. It was honestly a bit strange to see other people after three weeks just among us, but we are happy that they were very cooperative and respectful regarding the simulation. We are looking forward to seeing the output they can get out of their footage.

Look Ahead Plan:

Tomorrow (Sol 20), we would like to have our third EVA to Candor Chasma. The EVA crews will have to find specific checkpoints based on a 3D render. We would like to take the opportunity of this EVA to change the batteries of the atmospheric instruments, since they cannot last for more than two days, and we are not planning any EVA for Sunday.

Another media visit is planned for next Tuesday (Sol 23) with a crew from France Televisions. We will keep you updated as soon as we have more information regarding their planned arrival and departure.

Anomalies in work: None.

Weather: Cloudy, low -5°C/23°F, high 8°C/46°F.

Crew Physical Status: Optimal.

EVA: EVA # 15 was successful, both the main (photogrammetry) and secondary (atmospheric instruments) objectives have been fulfilled.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, EVA Report, EVA Request, Operations Report, Journalist Report, GreenHab Report, Astronomy Report.

Support Requested: None.

Crew 275 Sol Summary Report 02Mar2023

Sol: 18

Summary Title: When space exploration brings philosophy to the table

Author’s name: Jeremy Rabineau, Commander.

Mission Status: Nominal.

Sol Activity Summary:

With the precipitation of the last few days, we knew that the ground would be too muddy today to conduct EVAs, which is why we decided to wait a bit before performing our second EVA to Candor Chasma. It was apparently the right choice, as we can see from our windows that the mud is quickly drying out.

We conducted routine operations in the Hab, the GreenHab, and the Science Dome, finalizing most of the Human Factors experiments planned for Week 3. With the sunny weather, our Crew Astronomer was finally able to take his first pictures of the Sun. He has been waiting for this moment for so long and is very happy with the result!

The end of the afternoon was dedicated to cleaning the different modules, as we want to make a good impression on the BBC tomorrow. They have also sent us a list of questions that we have started to prepare for tomorrow’s interviews. Some of these questions were actually the topic of a very interesting discussion that we all had together after lunch.

Look Ahead Plan:

Tomorrow (Sol 19), we would like to have our second EVA to Candor Chasma. We then plan to go back there on Saturday (Sol 20). The EVA crews will have to find specific checkpoints based on a 2D map or a 3D render, respectively. We would like to take the opportunity of these EVAs to change the batteries of the weather instruments, since they cannot last for more than two days, especially in cold weather. In addition, since no precipitation is expected, we would like to re-install the LOAC next to the other atmospheric instruments.

The BBC is planned to arrive at the MDRS tomorrow (Sol 19) between 8:30 and 9:00. They will follow us on our EVA to Candor Chasma, then film inside the station in the afternoon, and leave at around 17:00.

Anomalies in work: None.

Weather: Sunny, low -1°C/30°F, high 7°C/44°F.

Crew Physical Status: Optimal.

EVA: None.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, EVA Request, Operations Report, Journalist Report, GreenHab Report, Astronomy Report, HSO Report.

Support Requested: None.

Crew 275 Sol Summary Report 01Mar2023

Sol: 17

Summary Title: Saving Private LOAC

Author’s name: Jeremy Rabineau, Commander.

Mission Status: Nominal.

Sol Activity Summary:

The weather surprised us again today and we had to cancel our exploration EVA to Candor Chasma, initially planned in the morning. When it stopped snowing, Mission Support agreed to let us put on our spacesuits to quickly change the batteries of our atmospheric instruments and retrieve the LOAC device, as it is very sensitive to precipitation. With the rainy afternoon that we had, we were indeed happy that the LOAC was safe within the Hab!

All these changes in the schedule give additional work to our Crew Scientist, who is responsible for planning our scientific activities. At least, we all hope that the ground will soon be dry so that we can go back on EVA, especially during the visit of the BBC on Friday (Sol 19).

Today, we have finished equipping everyone with the tracking system, so that we are aware of our position at anytime of the day and correlate this with other information. We have also continued the human factors protocols, as well as the tests of the ultrasound device based on virtual reality and artificial intelligence.

Look Ahead Plan:

We would like to reschedule today’s EVA at Candor Chasma. The plan would be to have a first EVA on Friday (Sol 19) and another one on Saturday (Sol 20). The EVA crews will have to find specific checkpoints based on a 2D map or a 3D render, respectively. We would like to take the opportunity of these EVAs to change the batteries of the weather instruments, since they cannot last for more than two days, especially in cold weather.

The BBC is planned to arrive at the MDRS on Friday (Sol 19) between 8:30 and 9:00. They would follow us on our EVA to Candor Chasma, then film inside the station in the afternoon, and leave at around 17:00.

Anomalies in work: None.

Weather: Rainy, low 0°C/32°F, high 8°C/46°F.

Crew Physical Status: Optimal.

EVA: The objectives of EVA #14 were changed due to the bad weather conditions. This EVA will have to be rescheduled.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, EVA Report, Operations Report, Journalist Report, GreenHab Report.

Support Requested: None.

Crew 275 Sol Summary Report 28Feb2023

Sol: 16

Summary Title: An extraordinary routine

Author’s name: Jeremy Rabineau, Commander.

Mission Status: Nominal.

Sol Activity Summary:

With a probability of precipitation of 0%, I must say that we were all surprised to see that the surroundings were covered with snow when we woke up. Since no EVA was planned for today, we took some time to relax a bit in the morning with a longer sport session including 30 minutes of yoga.

With the anchors of the location tracking system fully deployed, we have started equipping the crew with tags that they have to always keep on their arm or on their belt. This system enables us to check who is in which part of the station at which time. Later on, it will allow the scientists to correlate these locations and the environmental conditions at these locations with other parameters such as stress levels extracted from heart rate variability.

With the yesterday’s harvest, everyone is delighted to have the opportunity to eat fresh food. Our Crew Botanist and our Health & Safety Officer have prepared some delicious meals that recharged our batteries. We then discussed about more profound topics, which we did not really have the opportunity to do so far. These small things are extremely important for the mood, as we have already entered our third week here, and the end of the mission still looks relatively far.

In the afternoon, the crewmembers assigned to tomorrow’s EVA have taken some time to prepare for their mission with a 3D render of Candor Chasma. Tomorrow, they will only be allowed to read their notes to find the checkpoints defined during the previous EVA there.

Our Crew Astronomer also took the opportunity of today’s weather to visually observe the Sun. Unfortunately, he could not record any video of his observation. On his first attempts, the Sun hid behind some clouds, while on the second attempt, it hid behind the landscape, as it was already getting late.

Look Ahead Plan:

We plan an EVA at Candor Chasma for tomorrow (Sol 17) and another on Friday (Sol 19). The EVA crews will have to find specific checkpoints based on a 2D map or a 3D render. We are also planning to have a second geology EVA on Sol 20, to further test the MetMet instrument. We would like to take the opportunity of these different EVAs to change the batteries of the weather instruments, since they cannot last for more than two days, especially in cold weather.

The BBC is planned to arrive at the MDRS on Friday (Sol 19) between 8:30 and 9:00. They would follow us on our EVA to Candor Chasma, then film inside the station in the afternoon, and leave at around 17:00.

Anomalies in work: None.

Weather: Windy, low -5°C/23°F, high 7°C/44°F.

Crew Physical Status: Optimal.

EVA: None.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, EVA Request, Operations Report, Journalist

Report, GreenHab Report, Astronomy Report.

Support Requested: None.

Crew 275 Sol Summary Report 27Feb2023

Sol: 15

Summary Title: Cosmic Chasma

Author’s name: Jeremy Rabineau, Commander.

Mission Status: Nominal.

Sol Activity Summary:

Today we performed our very first 4-hour EVA at Candor Chasma. The aim of this ambitious EVA was to define checkpoints and perform photogrammetry of the area using Anafi drones. This time, the area of interest was much wider and required more pictures (the computer is still working on building the 3D render of the terrain). The EVA crew was amazed by the landscapes that they had the opportunity to see, and the four remaining crewmembers are looking forward to seeing that for themselves later during the week.

With the clear sky of last night, our crew astronomer thought that the observations he had planned would have been performed, but he was disappointed to see that it was not the case. Unfortunately, it was also too windy to observe the Sun today…

At the GreenHab, it was time for an intense harvest. New seeds have also been planted. We are all looking forward to seeing them grow as we get closer to the end of our mission every day.

Look Ahead Plan:

After today’s EVA, some post-processing is needed to prepare the two next EVAs to Candor Chasma. The first one would take place on Wednesday (Sol 17) and the second one on Friday (Sol 19). The EVA crews would have to find specific checkpoints based on a 2D map or a 3D render. We are also planning to have a second geology EVA on Sol 20, to further test the MetMet instrument. We would like to take the opportunity of these different EVAs to change the batteries of the weather instruments, since they cannot last for more than two days, especially in cold weather.

The BBC is planned to arrive at the MDRS on Friday (Sol 19) between 8:30 and 9:00. They would follow us on our EVA to Candor Chasma, then film inside the station in the afternoon and leave at around 17:00.

Anomalies in work: None.

Weather: Sunny and windy, low -2°C/28°F, high 8°C/46°F.

Crew Physical Status: Optimal.

EVA: None.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, EVA Report, Operations Report, Journalist Report, GreenHab Report, Astronomy Report.

Support Requested: None.

Crew 275 Sol Summary Report 26Feb2023

Sol: 14

Summary Title: Halfway through

Author’s name: Jeremy Rabineau, Commander.

Mission Status: Nominal.

Sol Activity Summary:

Here we are! Exactly halfway through our mission. Even though we decided that Sundays should be rest days, some of us found themselves busy with work-related activities. But we made sure to also take the opportunity of this day off to clean the station, play games, etc.

In the early afternoon, we were surprised when we heard people speaking Japanese on the Channel 1 of our radios. When looking at the window of the Hab, we indeed saw two pickup trucks on the road. Two days ago, while on EVA, we saw a helicopter turning around us and around the MDRS at a very low altitude. We were not aware of how close we were from the other Martian stations!

Our crew journalist and crew engineer worked hard on the mid-rotation video, and we are very happy about the result! With the weather getting better, the crew astronomer is excited to finally be able to start his observations. The crops in the GreenHab are very pleasing to see and we all look forward to the next harvests. Everything is set for this third week to be fantastic!

Look Ahead Plan:

Next week, we would like to plan 3 additional EVAs dedicated to photogrammetry in Candor Chasma. The first one would take place tomorrow (Sol 15) and would be dedicated to the mapping of the area. In the two following ones (on Sol 17 and Sol 19), the EVA crews would have to find specific checkpoints based on a 2D map or a 3D render, respectively. We are also planning to have a second geology EVA on Sol 20, to further test the MetMet instrument. We would like to take the opportunity of these different EVAs to change the batteries of the weather instruments, since they cannot last for more than two days, especially in cold weather.

Anomalies in work: None.

Weather: Sunny, low -1°C/30°F, high 10°C/50°F.

Crew Physical Status: Optimal.

EVA: None.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, EVA Request, Operations Report, Journalist Report, GreenHab Report, Mid-mission research report.

Support Requested: None.

Crew 275 Sol Summary Report 25Feb2023

Sol: 13

Summary Title: Field Day for Crew 275

Author’s name: Jeremy Rabineau, Commander.

Mission Status: Nominal.

Sol Activity Summary:

After almost two weeks at the MDRS, all the crewmembers are getting more and more efficient in all their tasks. This gives a little bit more time to relax between activities, which is appreciated by everyone. Today was the first geology EVA and it was a success. It started by a first stop at the atmospheric instruments site to change the batteries and retrieve the data, before heading to Kissing Camel Ridge W. The EVA Crew had the opportunity to test an instrument to easily measure both the magnetic susceptibility and the conductivity in real field conditions.

On the campus, everyone is now very happy to be able to follow the past and current temperature, humidity, and luminosity in all the buildings. Human factors experiments have continued, while our crew journalist has started working on our mid-rotation video. We are all looking forward to seeing the results!

As we are reaching the end of this second week, I also decided to spend some time to see each crewmember individually and talk about how they felt so far. I know that the third quarter of any long-duration challenge (like a Marathon, for instance) is the most difficult. It is also the case for analog missions like ours, and I want to make sure that everyone is in the best condition for this period.

Look Ahead Plan:

Today we have changed the batteries of the atmospheric instruments. This means that tomorrow can be a real rest day without any EVAs. Next week, we would like to plan 3 additional EVAs dedicated to photogrammetry: One for the mapping of the area, one for the exploration with a 2D map, and the third one for the exploration with a 3D render. This time the target area would be Candor Chasma.

Anomalies in work: None.

Weather: Sunny, low -4°C/25°F, high 6°C/43°F.

Crew Physical Status: Optimal.

EVA: EVA #12 was successful. All the objectives have been accomplished and the collected samples will soon be analyzed.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, EVA Report, Operations Report, Journalist Report, GreenHab Report.

Support Requested: None.

Crew 275 Sol Summary Report 24Feb2023

Sol: 12

Summary Title: When stomachs are full, hearts are too!

Author’s name: Jeremy Rabineau, Commander.

Mission Status: Nominal.

Sol Activity Summary:

The day started with a big misunderstanding regarding the conditions of the simulation. Indeed, even if we are very aware that a pressurized tunnel starts from the door of the engineering airlock, we were using it in the context of EVA to store material to be retrieved by EVA crews when there was not enough space in the main airlock for both the EVA crew and the material. We were very aware that this was a limitation of the simulation, but we were considering this as a virtual “third airlock” dedicated to transfer of material from the inside to the outside of the Hab, while the crew was either in the Hab or in a pressurized suit. I have been instructed to do so during my first mission at the MDRS in 2016, and last year’s Supaero crew was also operating this way. I reckon that the good practice would have been to include this in the EVA request, so that we could have had this important discussion beforehand. We have never tried to hide this procedure from Mission Support. For all our EVAs dedicated to the atmospheric instruments, our communications (in English) on channel 1 included sentences like “Request permission to open the door of the Engineering Airlock”, but I understand that this may have been lost in the middle of communications in French between the EVA crewmembers on channel 2. We now understand very well that we are not allowed to use the Engineering Airlock this way. From now on, do you confirm that we must wait for 5 minutes of re-pressurization to open the internal door of the main airlock, before putting the equipment there, and then wait another 5 minutes of depressurization before the EVA crew is allowed to open the external door of the main airlock and retrieve the equipment?

Besides this misunderstanding, the EVA was very successful: both the re-deployment of the instruments and their functional tests have been successful. We now have a fully functional set of atmospheric instruments.

The other good news of the day is the food resupply. It is always very impressive to observe how food can boost the crew’s morale!

Look Ahead Plan:

Tomorrow (Sol 13), we would like to perform our first EVA dedicated to the MetMet experiment. The plan would be to collect geological samples based on the information given by a user-friendly instrument measuring the magnetic susceptibility and conductivity of rocks (the aim being to check the interest of a rock sample before collecting it). In addition to this, we would change the batteries of the atmospheric instruments, because we do not plan to go on any EVA on Sunday (Sol 14), and the batteries cannot last more than 48 hours in cold weather.

Next week, we would like to plan 3 additional EVAs dedicated to photogrammetry: One for the mapping of the area, one for the exploration with a 2D map, and the third one for the exploration with a 3D render. This time the target area would be Candor Chasma.

Anomalies in work: None.

Weather: Windy and cloudy, low -3°C/27°F, high 5°C/41°F.

Crew Physical Status: Optimal.

EVA: EVA #11 was successful. All the objectives have been accomplished and we now have a fully operational set of atmospheric instruments.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, EVA Request, EVA Report, Operations Report, Journalist Report, GreenHab Report, HSO Report.

Support Requested: None.

Crew 275 Sol Summary Report 23Feb2023

Sol: 11

Summary Title: The sweetness of success

Author’s name: Jeremy Rabineau, Commander.

Mission Status: Nominal.

Sol Activity Summary:

Today, the EVA Crew going to North Ridge had the opportunity to study a 3D map of the area before starting their exploration tasks. They reported that they felt almost like they already knew the place and managed to reach all the targeted checkpoints very quickly. This seems to show that such 3D maps generated by drones are very effective in training crews to explore a place they have never been to before. It was actually so effective that they came back about an hour earlier than planned. We decided to spend this spare time cooking, and ended up with a very tasty brioche and an amazing cake!

Inside the Hab, we continued our activities, including installing the software dedicated to AI-assisted echography on a more powerful tablet. It is now even easier for non-trained subjects like us to perform ultrasounds on each other.

In the context of our experiment with the Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden), our Crew Engineer is now working on a location tracking system that will enable the possibility to correlate our stress and emotions to our position in the station.

Look Ahead Plan:

If the weather conditions allow it, we would like to perform the tasks planned for EVA #9 (which was cancelled) tomorrow morning (Sol 12). We would thus re-install the antenna of Mega-Ares and the weather instruments that have been removed during EVA #7. As no rain is forecasted for the next few days, we will also re-install the LOAC.

On Saturday (Sol 13), we would like to perform our first EVA dedicated to the MetMet experiment. The plan would be to collect geological samples based on the information given by a user-friendly instrument measuring the magnetic susceptibility and conductivity of rocks (the aim being to check the interest of a rock sample before collecting it). In addition to this, we would change the batteries of the atmospheric instruments, because we do not plan any EVA for Sunday (Sol 14) and the batteries cannot last more than 48 hours in cold weather.

Anomalies in work: None.

Weather: Windy,low -6°C/22°F, high 3°C/37°F.

Crew Physical Status: Optimal.

EVA: EVA #10 at North Ridge went smoothly, and the EVA Crew managed to reach all the desired checkpoints very quickly.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, EVA Request, EVA Report, Operations Report, Journalist Report, GreenHab Report.

Support Requested: None.