Category: Sol Summary

Crew 275 Sol Summary Report 22Feb2023

Sol: 10

Summary Title: Wuthering Heights and Rainy Nights

Author’s name: Jeremy Rabineau, Commander.

Mission Status: Nominal.

Sol Activity Summary:

Since yesterday evening, our activities have been highly impacted by the weather conditions. The noise of the wind was very impressive and impaired the sleep of some crewmembers. We were all very afraid for our atmospheric experiments, especially for the LOAC instrument that is very sensitive to rain. In the morning, we were authorized to leave the Hab for EVA #8 and stopped on our way to check the status of our instruments, as per EVA request. We noticed that both the meteorological mast and the LOAC had toppled over. We only retrieved the LOAC and left the meteorological mast, because we were aware that the wind speed would remain quite high. The crew of EVA #8 then reached North Ridge to perform their main mission, but after about 40 minutes they decided to come back because they were too cold, and the wind speed was too high to safely conduct their operations.

Following this event, we decided to also cancel EVA #9 that was planned for the afternoon.

On the campus, the environmental sensors have been fully deployed on all the buildings and can now give us information about temperature, humidity, pressure, and luminosity.

Look Ahead Plan:

We had to adapt our plans because of the weather. We will wait for better wind conditions to put back the antenna of Mega-Ares back at its initial place.

Today, two crewmembers have trained with the 3D map of North Ridge obtained by photogrammetry. Tomorrow, we would like to test their ability to reach some specific checkpoints there, as compared to the EVA crew of today (using only a 2D map). We are thus planning an EVA tomorrow morning (Sol 11), should the weather conditions allow it.

Anomalies in work: None.

Weather: Very cloudy and very windy,low 0°C/32°F, high 9°C/48°F.

Crew Physical Status: Optimal.

EVA: Because of the bad weather conditions, the team of EVA#8 had to retrieve the LOAC instrument, which was done successfully. They had to shorten their EVA because of high wind, which means that the scientific objectives were only partially achieved. EVA #9 was cancelled because the LOAC instrument was already retrieved, and the weather conditions were not good enough to safely leave the Hab.

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 21Feb2023

Sol: 9

Summary Title: Aluminum foil and zip ties are an astronaut’s best friends

Author’s name: Jeremy Rabineau, Commander.

Mission Status: Nominal.

Sol Activity Summary:

Even if the food stocks are quickly decreasing, which makes the crew quite anxious about the fact that they will have to limit their food intake more than they already do, several successes have managed to keep our spirits high.

Another EVA dedicated to the atmospheric instruments was successfully conducted today, with the installation of the LOAC, measuring particles in the air. Following the failure of some tests during the previous EVAs, the antenna from Mega-Ares was also retrieved so that we can fix it from within the Hab. A smart fix based on aluminum foil and aluminum tape has indeed been found and all the atmospheric instruments should be fully functional very soon.

In the meantime, the photogrammetry team has finished generating 3D and 2D maps of the terrain explored yesterday at North Ridge. They started training the crewmembers taking part in the next EVAs to explain the tasks they will have to perform onsite, so that it is possible to evaluate the added value of a 3D map over a 2D map.

We started a human factor experiment whose purpose is to evaluate the impact of the architecture of an extraterrestrial station on the overall performance of the crew. To do so, we conducted very demanding cognitive tests at different locations through the campus: the Upper Deck of the Hab, the Science Dome, and the Green Hab. This experiment includes also other protocols that will be implemented progressively.

In the evening, because of the wind, the external door of the main airlock was blown open and we had to secure it with a rope. For safety’s sake, the door of the engineering air lock was also secured with a screwdriver.

Look Ahead Plan:

With the 2D and 3D maps of the terrain explored yesterday fully rendered, we are planning to send two teams to the exact same location to check the added value of the 3D map to ease the ability of astronauts to identify some specific features onsite. We thus plan to send an EVA crew to North Ridge with a 2D map tomorrow morning (Sol 10) and another one with a 3D map on Thursday morning (Sol 11).

As explained yesterday, we would like to perform another EVA tomorrow (Sol 10) in the afternoon to put back the antenna of Mega-Ares back at its initial place. The antenna has indeed been fixed today.

With the LOAC instrument now deployed, it should also be noted that we would like to have the possibility to perform an “emergency EVA” in case too strong precipitations are announced, or at least to take the opportunity of another EVA to retrieve it. Indeed, this instrument is not only very expensive, but also very sensitive to precipitations and could be damaged if it rains or snows too much.

Anomalies in work: None.

Weather: Cloudy and windy, low -4°C/24°F, high 8°C/47°F.

Crew Physical Status: Optimal.

EVA: The team of EVA#7 successfully deployed the LOAC instrument and retrieved the Mega-Ares antenna to repair it inside the hab.

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 20Feb2023

Sol: 8

Summary Title: Sol 8 – Exploring the eighth continent

Author’s name: Jeremy Rabineau, Commander.

Mission Status: Nominal.

Sol Activity Summary:

Today we conducted the first EVA dedicated to photogrammetry. It started very successfully with a stop at the location of the atmospheric instruments to retrieve some data, change batteries, and conduct supplementary tests on Mega-Ares. The EVA crew then reached North Ridge to start their activities: sample collection and 3D mapping of the terrain using drones. If the scientific objectives were completely fulfilled, it is important to make a few remarks regarding this EVA. 1) One crewmember had a problem with their hat and headset during the operations. There was a misunderstanding regarding the actions to take in this situation, which led to a few minutes before taking the decision to put the hand inside the helmet to solve the issue. This event was discussed as a group and the procedure is now clear for everyone. 2) There were issues regarding radio communications within the crew and between HabCom and the Crew. This led to some confusion. Again, this event was debriefed and the procedure is also clear for everyone now. It includes some reminders on how to communicate efficiently on the different radio channels. 3) The EVA crew was approached by 4 pick-ups getting as close as 150 m from them. They took pictures of the crew conducting their activities. This was reported as a very stressful event by the EVA crew, as this took a lot of their mental space as they were piloting a drone at this moment.

Look Ahead Plan:

The tests conducted during the last two EVAs have shown that there was a small issue with the antenna of Mega-Ares, which can be solved only from within the Hab. For this reason, we would like to perform an EVA tomorrow (Sol 9) morning to retrieve this antenna and proceed to a few additional checks on the atmospheric instruments. We plan to put this antenna back in its place on Wednesday (Sol 10) afternoon and to take this opportunity to change the batteries of all the atmospheric instruments.

With the success of the first photogrammetry EVA, a 3D map of the target area has been rendered. Now, we would like to send two EVA crews to the exact same location to check the added value of the 3D map to ease the ability of astronauts to identify some specific features onsite. We thus plan to send an EVA crew to North Ridge with a 3D map on Wednesday morning (Sol 10) and another one with only a 2D map on Thursday morning (Sol 11).

Anomalies in work: None.

Weather: Sunny, low -8°C/18°F, high 6°C/42°F.

Crew Physical Status: Optimal.

EVA: None.

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 18Feb2023

Sol: 6

Summary Title: If the Moon is made of cheese, let Mars be made of brownies!

Author’s name: Jeremy Rabineau, Commander.

Mission Status: Nominal.

Sol Activity Summary:

Today, the crew was happy to wake up by the sound of their alarm, rather than by the sound of radio communications with Mission Support. Let’s hope that the temperature will not decrease again and give some very relative rest to the generator (and to Mission Support)! As yesterday’s EVA was postponed to this morning, we already knew the procedures very well and the pre-EVA briefing was relatively short. The three hours of this EVA were used efficiently, as the meteorological mast is now standing proudly right next to Mega-Ares and data acquisition is already ongoing on most of the instruments. In addition, we had time to perform most of the tests on Mega-Ares and launched the acquisition as well, even though some additional tests will be needed during a future EVA (potentially during the deployment of LOAC, that has not been done so far because of the weather conditions). After this successful collaboration between the EVA crew and HabCom, everyone was very happy to share a delicious meal, prepared by the ones who remained at the Hab (we even had brownies!). The other activities continued within the station with absolutely no problem, even though it is always difficult to stick exactly to the hourly schedule meticulously prepared by our Crew Scientist, especially for activities requiring the contribution of several crewmembers.

Look Ahead Plan:

As we are successfully reaching the end of this first week, tomorrow will be a well-deserved rest day for the crew. We will take this opportunity for some team building activities and personal time. This rest time is even more important as week 2 will also be packed with many activities, including the beginning of the photogrammetry EVAs and the end of the deployment of the atmospheric science instruments.

Anomalies in work: None.

Weather: Slight cloud coverage, low -9°C/15°F, high 1°C/34°F.

Crew Physical Status: Optimal.

EVA: None.

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

Support Requested: None.

Crew 275 Sol Summary Report 17Feb2023

Sol: 5

Summary Title: “Mission Support, we have a problem…”

Author’s name: Jeremy Rabineau, Commander.

Mission Status: Nominal.

Sol Activity Summary:

After working quite late in the evening on the EVA planned for this morning, we had to wake up way earlier than planned because of another blackout. Again, the generator failed in its fight against the cold. The latter reached us in the Upper Deck of the Hab, where it was only 13°C/56°F at 5:27 am. It is at that time that we contacted Mission Support. They reacted very efficiently, and power was soon back in the Hab. Still, in the Lower Deck, the temperature was close to freezing. The Commander, Crew Engineer, and Health & Safety Officer joined forces to monitor the situation, as the propane alarm started to ring. We made sure that there was no actual gas leak using portable devices found in the RAM. To help the main heating system, we then tried to turn ON the propane heater of the Lower Deck. However, only after about 20 minutes we could finally hear that some propane was reaching the heater. With the propane heater running, the temperature of the Hab became nominal again at around 11:00. Given these events and their consequences (necessity to monitor the situation, lack of sleep, lack of time to prepare the last details of the EVA), we decided to postpone the EVA planned for the morning. The whole crew was relieved about this decision and took this opportunity to get some well-deserved rest, to clean some parts of the station, and to sort the numerous files that are already gathering on our respective computers.

Look Ahead Plan:

With the events of this night / early morning, we decided to not proceed with the EVA planned at 10:00. We would like to postpone it to tomorrow, as the weather seems suitable for this. The other EVA, dedicated to photogrammetry and initially planned for tomorrow, will also be postponed (to next week).

Anomalies in work: Issues with the generator, leading to a blackout during the night. This led to a low temperature (13°C/56°F) in the Upper Deck and the necessity to limit power consumption more than usual during the rest of the day. The dome of the robotic observatory was still open until about noon, but then closed.

Weather: Sunny, low -16°C/3°F, high -1°C/30°F.

Crew Physical Status: Optimal.

EVA: None.

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

Support Requested: None.

Crew 275 Sol Summary Report 16Feb2023

Sol: 4

Summary Title: “HabCom, do you copy?”

Author’s name: Jeremy Rabineau, Commander.

Mission Status: Nominal.

Sol Activity Summary:

Today was certainly the most intense day since the beginning of the simulation. We woke up a bit earlier and shortened our daily sport session, so that we could get ready for a relatively technical EVA. With temperatures getting as low as -17°C/1°F, the three EVA crewmembers had to wear very warm clothes that still allowed them to move freely so that they could proceed with the deployment of the MegaAres instrument. After a three-hour EVA, the first step of the installation has now been accomplished in an area free of snow less than 250 meters away from the Hab. The next step will be to connect the instrument to an external battery during another EVA and install a meteorological mast for contextualization of the data. We spent a large part of the afternoon rehearsing for the deployment of this mast. The cold weather also affected the power supply systems, with a short blackout in the morning, which was fortunately soon fixed by mission support. In the evening we continued to be very careful with our power consumption to be gentle with the generator. On the bright side, we are learning from our mistakes, getting better and better with the bread-making machine, which is fundamental for French people.

Look Ahead Plan:

Should the weather and the ground conditions allow it, we would like to continue the deployment process of the instruments dedicated to atmospheric measurements. To do this, we are planning an EVA tomorrow morning to bring power supply to MegaAres, test it, and install the meteorological mast right next to it. Due to the weather forecast, the EVA dedicated to the deployment of LOAC may be further delayed.

On Saturday, we would like to make a first EVA dedicated to photogrammetry, using drones.

In the meantime, we will proceed with the deployment of our environmental sensors throughout the campus.

Anomalies in work: Issues with the generator, leading to a blackout in the morning and the necessity to limit power consumption more than usual during the rest of the day. In addition, we observed that the robotic observatory has been left in open position since at least this morning.

Weather: Sunny, low -17°C/1°F, high 1°C/34°F.

Crew Physical Status: Optimal.

EVA: None.

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

Report, Journalist Report, HSO Report, GreenHab Report, Astronomy Report.

Support Requested: None.

 

Crew 275 Sol Summary Report 15Feb2023

Sol: 3

Summary Title: Waiting for a Martian spring.

Author’s name: Jeremy Rabineau, Commander.

Mission Status: Nominal.

Sol Activity Summary:

Another very busy day starting with a health status check at 6:45, followed by the daily physical activity session organized by our Health & Safety Officer. We managed to solve a few technical problems during some tests of the Echofinder experiments, whose purpose is to allow non-experts to perform ultrasound measurements using artificial intelligence and augmented reality. Our crew scientist spent a lot of energy reorganizing the schedule due to the snow and the cold temperatures. The crew engineer continued to work on the deployment of environmental sensors that will measure humidity, temperature, and luminosity from different places in the station. But the most important task of the day was certainly the preparation of tomorrow’s EVA, with the labeling of the different parts of the MegaAres instrument and an extensive rehearsal to build it, performed in the lower deck of the Hab.

Look Ahead Plan:

With the snow slowly melting, we decided to keep tomorrow’s EVA dedicated to the deployment of the MegaAres instrument, meant to measure the electric field in the atmosphere. However, we postponed it to the afternoon, so that the temperature is more compatible with the planned activities. If no additional precipitation occurs until Friday, we will go ahead with the deployment of the meteorological mast, which will be necessary for the contextualization of the data from the two atmospheric instruments Mega-Ares and LOAC.

Anomalies in work: Nothing to report.

Weather: Cloudy, low -3°C/27°F, high 1°C/33°F.

Crew Physical Status: Optimal.

EVA: None.

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

Support Requested: None.

 

 

Crew 275 Sol Summary Report 14Feb2023

Sol: 2

Summary Title: Journey to the poles.

Author’s name: Jeremy Rabineau, Commander.

Mission Status: Nominal.

Sol Activity Summary: Today the crew was surprised by the snow. With the solar panels covered by a blanket of a few inches/centimeters, we had to pay even more attention than usual to our power consumption. Before real-life deployment during a dedicated EVA, the crew trained to build a first device dedicated to atmospheric measurements in the RAM. However, the temperature became too cold for long activities to be conducted in there (2°C/36°F). We limited navigation between the different modules as much as possible, as snow started to also cover the floor in the different tunnels. As a result, most of the crew had to adapt their activities and gathered in the Hab to work from there, which made the atmosphere a bit more noisy than usual.

However, we remain productive and managed to calibrate the first sensors that will monitor the environmental conditions within the station. They are now connected to the local network. In the GreenHab, the activities were successfully conducted, and we now have a fully operational aquaponics system, containing 28 plants and 8 fishes. As for the astronomy project, even though the robotic observatory has been fixed yesterday, no observations were performed during the night (both at the MDRS and at the other observatory in New Mexico).

Look Ahead Plan:

The weather conditions have already impacted the schedule of the different activities and it is to be expected that this impact will extend to the next few days. If the land remains covered with snow, it may not be possible to proceed with the deployment of at least one of the two devices dedicated to atmospheric studies (LOAC). Depending on the width of snow at the targeted observation site on Thursday, the whole EVA may have to be postponed for safety reasons.

Some temperature sensors have been installed in the Science Dome and on the Lower Deck of the Hab. They are connected to the local network and will record data every few minutes during the whole night so that tomorrow we wan check if there were any problems, in particular regarding network.

Anomalies in work: Nothing to report.

Weather: Snowy, low -5°C/23°F, high 2°C/35°F.

Crew Physical Status: Optimal.

EVA: None.

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

Support Requested:

Requesting the possibility to add the following email address to the Mission Support mailing list (we apologize for not already including in the previous request):

alexandremdrs275

 

 

Crew 275 Sol Summary Report

13th Feb 2023

Sol: 1

Summary Title: The owl has landed.

Author’s name: Jérémy Rabineau, Commander.

Mission Status: Nominal.

Sol Activity Summary: The crew entered the simulation with high spirits at 9:00. Most of the Sol was dedicated to EVA training, with three crew members taking part in the morning EVA and the remaining four crew members taking part in the afternoon EVA. All of them managed to safely perform basic operations while wearing their spacesuit, which includes kneeling down, drawing, taking pictures, and driving the rovers. Inventories of most of the material and consumables available have been performed. The GreenHab activities have started with the first harvest and the safe transfer of the fishes to their tank, while the installation of the aquaponics system is ongoing.

Look Ahead Plan: A safe place has been identified to install the meteorology instruments at 150-200 meters from the Hab and close to Marble Ritual. After training inside the Hab, two EVAs are planned for Sol 4 and 5 to install these instruments on the identified location. In the GreenHab, the installation of the aquaponics system is ongoing and should be completed in the next few days.

Anomalies in work: Nothing to report.

Weather: Slightly Cloudy, high -5°C/23°F, low 4°C/39°F.

Crew Physical Status: Optimal.

EVA: None.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Operations Report, Journalist Report, EVA report, HSO Pre-Mission Checklist, HSO Report, GreenHab Report, Astronomy Report.

Support Requested: None.

 

Crew 275 Sol Summary Report 12Feb2023

Sol: 0

Summary Title: From one planet to another.

Author’s name: Jérémy Rabineau, Commander.

Mission Status: Nominal.

Sol Activity Summary: Crew 275 safely arrived on site this afternoon and has received training for operating all major facilities and for all main procedures. All crewmembers were trained in properly operating the rovers, which were taken out for a test run.

Look Ahead Plan: The simulation is due to start tomorrow morning at 09:00.

Two training EVAs at Marble Ritual are planned (one in the morning, the other one in the afternoon).

Anomalies in work: Nothing to report.

Weather: Sunny, high 11°C/52°F, low -5°C/23°F.

Crew Physical Status: Optimal.

EVA: None.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Operations Report, Journalist Report, Mission Plan, EVA request, HSO Pre-Mission Checklist.

Support Requested: Requesting the possibility to add the following email addresses to the Mission Support mailing list, as we will not be checking our personal email addresses (already included in the list):

alice.astro275
marieastro275@gmail.com
quentin.royer.mdrs@gmail.com
corentinastro.275@gmail.com