Category: Sol Summary

 

Crew 274 Sol Summary Report 01-29-2023

Sol: 0

Summary Title: ARG-1M successful landing at Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS)

Author’s name: Sarah E. Guthrie (“Ceres”), Commander

Mission Status: Possible weather impact for requested EVAs, standing by for MCC approval.

Sol Activity Summary: ARG-1M arrived at MDRS 11:48am and downloaded equipment. At 3:00pm, ARG-1M received habitat (including RAM, Science Dome and Greenhouse), rover, communications, extra-vehicular activity, and safety training. Training was completed at 6:40pm.

Look Ahead Plan: Current projected weather conditions may impact Sol 1 EVA training. Two EVAs are required to complete the training, however possible snow may eliminate second (mid-day) EVA requests. Should this occur, ARG-1M will shift mission schedule to habitat maintenance (cleaning), individual research projects, and mission planning for Sol 2 EVA requests.

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: Sunny, highs 6.1C, low -22.2C; partially cloudy, winds 3 mph (windy)

Crew Physical Status: Optimal

EVA: None

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Operations, HSO, Mission Plan, Crew Bios, Crew Pictures, and Crew Mission Patch.

Support Requested: None

 

 

Crew 272 Sol Summary Report 13-01-2023

Sol: 12

Summary Title: Rescuing the BTS: The Grand Finale

Author’s name: Kshitij Mall

Mission Status: All nominal

Sol Activity Summary: The grand finale of our Martian crew ensued with a brief morning warm up exercise session, yoga, and meditation led by me. The latter were needed to get the crew calm, composed, and focused as a lot of tasks were on our plate. But before anything else, there was something else that was on our morning breakfast plate: the biscuits purely prepared from Martian resources and hot coffee to wake up the crew and partially fill their veins with the necessary caffeine to keep the crew running. The breakfast for the sol was prepared by Crew Geologist Adriana and supported by Crew Journalist Kenneth. The humongous mission of this sol was to retrieve my electrical baby named the Boiler Transmission Station (BTS) and we named this mission Dynamite. The dynamic EVA crew for the Dynamite mission comprised Crew Engineer (and Pilot-in-Command) Mason, XO Arly, Kenneth, and HSO Megan. Kenneth was a last-minute entry as I had to delegate some other important tasks to myself at the Hab. A huge shoutout to the Purdue Mission Control back at Earth (especially Rachana and Alex) for providing us with the METAR data just in time to help Mason with decision making regarding the drone flight.

Upon leaving the front airlock of the Hab Sweet Hab, the EVA crew was in mission mode to find the BTS. Within 10 minutes they parked their Martian horses, Spirit and Oppie, next to the Gateway to Candor, and then started the transmitter hunt. Mason then launched his flying baby, Garud the drone, and started looking for the BTS. He used visual clues to locate the Boiler Ledge at first because that’s where we last saw BTS. The whole EVA crew slowly started marching up the hill next to the Galileo Road and toward the Boiler Ledge. Garud the drone had brief connectivity issues as encountered previously possibly due to terrain issues. The EVA crew spotted some aliens from a high point but ignored them as the aliens were departing Mars. Mason couldn’t see clearly on the live feed from Garud but thought of checking the video generated post-processing. The last-minute entry to the EVA crew, Kenneth spotted the transmitter eventually in association with Garud and proved to be the hero that I expected him to be while swapping spots with him for this mission. He performed well in the Geologist versus Non-Geologist experiments too as per Adriana and has seen BTS from a close proximity. The EVA crew then also found the BTS box halfway down the cliff, north of the Campus rock, which was expected due to strong winds 2 sols back. Since it was not safe to rescue the box, the crew settled for taking back just the transmitter. After the successful retrieval of the BTS (sans the box) and completion of Mission Dynamite, the crew took some drone media footage to celebrate the successful search and rescue operation. The EVA crew also took group pictures including some with the Purdue flag, which were apt for a place like the Boiler Ledge. Arly and Kenneth also recorded some videos for our Outreach activity with Space Kidz India, which we will be sending back in once we are out of sim and back to Earth. These questions were relayed to Space Kidz India team by several school students hailing from different parts of India. Our plan is to answer remaining outreach questions at the Hab and surrounding units. Even though I couldn’t go to rescue my electrical baby, I’m glad my fellow Martian crew mates rescued it and brought it back to the Hab. BTS was reunited with his sibling transmitter at the Hab, and it was an electrically emotional moment.

As per traditions, the crew completed all the cognitive performance tests and daily questionnaires requested by Arly and Andres. At the Greenhab, Madelyn watered the plants and will fertilize the soil in the afternoon after which she plans to clean this unit. The Science Dome will be deprived of the Martian rocks we collected so far as those rocks are being packed by Adriana in a big box to be taken back to Purdue for further analysis. We plan to clean the Hab and surrounding units and then to pack our Earthly and Martian belongings with a Divide and Conquer policy aimed at dividing the cleanup work among the 7 of us. Of course, we stay united while we do all these cleanup activities. The final mopping and vacuuming of the lower deck will be carried out tomorrow morning to keep the Hab cleanest possible when we depart for our journey back to the Earth. As I submit this final sol summary report for our rotation, we are already out of sim and ready to launch to our other sweet home (a Hab away from Hab). We will surely miss the Martian times but will be ready to savor back the Earthly flavors before we return back to Mars. We thank the Mission support team for an outstanding support to keep us safe, sound, and healthy during the rotation with replenishments and shipments via interplanetary cargo ships.

Look Ahead Plan: Sending the final research and daily (sol-ly) reports, packing our stuff, cleaning the Hab and surrounding units, and then relaxing a bit at MDRS

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: Overcast with Calm Winds

Crew Physical Status: Good

EVA: One

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

Support Requested: None

 

 

Crew 272 Sol Summary Report 12-01-2023

Sol: 11

Summary Title: The Cowboy Trip

Author’s name: Kshitij Mall

Mission Status: All nominal

Sol Activity Summary: After successfully playing Monikers, the team got a good-sol sleep and started the day energized except Crew Engineer Mason. A filled-up toilet served as the alarm clock for Mason, who was quick to act. After a brief morning exercise led by HSO Megan, the crew had a sweeter breakfast: cinnamon rolls prepared by Mason. I shared with the crew some rehydrated fruits and some cookies from Earth. After a quick briefing, the crew suited up to finally explore the Cowboy corner. The EVA crew comprised Crew Geologist Adriana, Megan, XO Arly, and Crew Journalist Kenneth and departed the Hab by 11 AM.

The EVA crew went to the Cowboy corner, walked west and collected samples at that spot. Megan tested the tools she 3D printed at the Hab and found that the smaller rock hammer was more useful for the EVAs. Adriana found that Cowboy Corner has great similarities with the Kissing Camel Ridge, and this matched with her intuition based on her previous EVA. The EVA crew was back by 2:15 PM. As per the traditions, the EVA crew completed the daily human-factors based cognitive performance tests and personal surveys for Arly and Andres. Mason also sent some important information about the oven light that needs some repairs. Our crew also received some outreach questions from Earth, which we will be answering through an offline video tomorrow.

At the Science Dome, for a change, the Greenhab Officer, Madelyn, was busy with the Great Harvest: The Martian Reaping. Madelyn collected over 700 data points regarding volume, mass, leaf length and sprout length of all the different Martian plans grown during our rotation. Kenneth and Mason helped her with the data collection as they are apparently good with rulers. I also went through the Hab and got some raw videos to share about the (amazing) MDRS facility and the grand goals of the Mars Society. Madelyn then asked us to do a survey after eating two samples: a normal micro green and a special fertilized micro green. Almost all the crew members chose the fertilized sample based on different features like color, taste, crispiness, vibrance, etc. The crew was not aware of the answer and was only disclosed about it after completing the survey. The crew indeed was surprised at the result. Dinner for tonight was an Indian dish called Aloo Gobhi (potato and cauliflower) prepared by me and assisted by Arly. We might again play Monikers card game tonight, which we have been procrastinating for several sols. Tomorrow we will retrieve (my electrical baby) the BTS from around the Gateway to Candor. Tomorrow we also launch back to Earth and end this rotation. I bet the crew members will be with mixed feelings of leaving Mars and going back to Earth, but we will aim at making the best of what we can do at Mars while we are here!

Look Ahead Plan: Conduct a geological EVA at the Cowboy corner and complete the Great Harvest at the Greenhab

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: Sunny, Calm Winds

Crew Physical Status: Good

EVA: One

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

Support Requested: None

 

 

Hello Mission Support,

Following is the Sol Summary Report.

Crew 272 Sol Summary Report 11-01-2023

Sol: 10

Summary Title: Hab Ridge: The New Frontier

Author’s name: Kshitij Mall

Mission Status: All nominal

Sol Activity Summary: After successfully completing watching the movie Lakshya (Objective), the crew got pumped up to achieve their Lakshya, which is to retrieve BTS possibly displaced by the heavy wind past night. We also planned to traverse the Hab Ridge and identify places of interest for geological experiments for Crew Geologist Adriana. To calm the team down from the sim-death experience last sol with the outer Hab door opening up by a wind blast, I shared Yog comprising some breathing exercises like Pranayama, Anulom, Vilom, some warmup exercises and some asans (poses) with the crew. As per the crew, it did benefit them after being on a streak of EVAs and living in their new isolated Hab Sweet Hab for quite some time. The breakfast for the sol included egg casserole, which was prepared by our Greenhab Officer Madelyn and supported by HSO Megan. A mistake on my part to not plug the chargers back into two of the rovers thinking that overcast conditions will drain the limited solar power we had followed by bad weather in the night made conditions not congenial for carrying out any EVA. But Mission Support recommended us for an exploratory mission to the Hab Ridge, which we were originally planning to be just a geological EVA instead of retrieving my electrical-Martian-baby, BTS. He will have to wait another day for the rescue, but I’m confident he is strong enough to handle more Martian winds for a few sols. The advice from the Mission Support indeed was handy as the sol unfolded. For exploratory missions we didn’t require extensive Earth Mission Support.

After getting an approval from the Mission Support, an exploratory EVA to the Hab Ridge was then conducted at 2 PM by Adriana and me as the primaries for the geology and exploration part, respectively, with Madelyn and Megan as the supporting EVA crew. Good map reading skills were the need of the hour for this EVA. Our EVA crew had great success in reaching the newly established Repeater Station by Crew 271. We also took some great pictures of the EVA crew at the Hab Ridge with Hab Sweet Hab and our rovers in the backdrop. The remaining boilermaker engineers and scientists were busy doing their rock souvenir shopping on Mars while I was taking pictures and videos that could be used by future EVA crews, who plan to visit the Hab Ridge. I too collected some Gryphaea or the Devil’s toenails as Martian omiyage (souvenirs) for my Earth-based families including my 10-month-old son, Hiro.

After coming back from the EVA at 4:15 PM, Adriana and I debriefed the EVA to Arly. In the meantime, Crew Engineer Mason attempted fixing suit #7 that had connection issues and had a great success in fixing suit #7. We also completed the daily human-factors based cognitive performance tests and personal surveys for Arly and Andres. Dinner duties for the sol are handled by Arly and Mason, who are preparing TikTok Pasta. We might play Monikers card game tonight, which we have been procrastinating for several sols. Tomorrow, we plan to conduct a geological EVA to the Cowboy corner to study the paleo flow indictors and do some tool test of 3D printed hammers. Madelyn would be helped tomorrow during her Great Harvest at the Greenhab by the rest of the crew based on their availabilities during the sol.

Look Ahead Plan: Conduct a geological EVA at the Cowboy corner and complete the Great Harvest at the Greenhab

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: Very Sunny, Calm Winds

Crew Physical Status: Good

EVA: One

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

Support Requested: None

Thanks
Kshitij

 

 

Crew 272 Sol Summary Report 10-01-2023

Sol: 9

Summary Title: Operation Rescue Grogu and his buddy Chewy

Author’s name: Kshitij Mall

Mission Status: All nominal

Sol Activity Summary: After completing another third of the Bollywood movie Lakshya (means Objective) past night, the crew got ready for their objectives for the sol and woke up by 7:30 am. The crew completed some morning stretches led by me. The breakfast (bread, Nutella, and peanut butter), was made by Megan and supported by Madelyn. The EVA crew then got suited up for the rescue operation. Following the buddy system, we thought not to leave the lost astronaut, whom we named Chewy, out alone. So, we also had Grogu’s (whitish) box as a moral support for Chewy. Chewy comprised a cardboard box with a white t-shirt and blue flag taped using a masking tape. After a briefing, the EVA team got ready to launch the rescue operation by 10 am. The rescue operation today was more so a competition between the drone Garud flown by Crew Engineer Mason versus the human team comprising XO Arly and Greenhab Officer Madelyn. I served as the referee for this Martian competition. We reached the Kissing Camel Ridge and conducted the Search and Rescue mission twice. The first time Madelyn and Arly found and rescued Grogu and Chewy (the boxes), while the second time Mason was hovering over the box before the humans, but the video was slightly grainy. While everyone was in line of sight, the drone had some connectivity issues, which were intermittent. The final score was Humans 1.5 – Drones 0.5.

While the EVA crew was out, Adriana organized the rocks in the Science Dome. After getting back to the hab from a relatively simple EVA, we were back to completing the daily personal surveys and cognitive performance tests. Madelyn watered and monitored the growth of Martian plants in the Greenhab. She also got us some green beans and carrots in the hab, which was quickly devoured by me and Arly. Mason is going to investigate the connectivity issues with Garud the drone. The video saved by the drone clearly shows where Grogu and Chewy boxes were identifiable, just not in the live feed. A specialized drone primarily meant for Search and Rescue operations would perform much better on Mars. We had a debriefing session to go over the EVA and the plan for tomorrow.

Madelyn prepared delicious quesadillas for dinner and was assisted by Kenneth. We also celebrated the birth-day of our backup Greenhab Officer, Ian Rimer, with a cake and a green balloon representative of the greens in the Greenhab. Irrespective of who won today: humans or drones, Grogu and Chewy were very happy to be rescued and back to Hab Sweet Hab. The night plan is to complete the final third part of the movie Lakshya and then sleep by the quiet hours. We’ll also complete Andres daily questionnaire. Tomorrow will be another rescue operation, but of the BTS. And that won’t be a competition, but a collaboration between the humans and the machines (drones). Part of the crew also plans to walk to Hab Ridge and support Adriana’s geological experiment upon approval of our EVA request.

Look Ahead Plan: Retrieving BTS and then exploring the Hab Ridge area

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: Overcast, Strong Winds

Crew Physical Status: Good

EVA: One

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

Support Requested: None

Sol: 10

Summary Title: Down day

Author’s name: Marc Levesque, Commander

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: Because of uncertain Martian weather, the crew took a day off from its usual project activities to recoup and prepare for the end of the mission. Games, exercise, harvesting, and naps were among the various activities throughout the sol as we awaited a favorable weather report for tomorrow.

Look Ahead Plan: Two EVAs are planned. The morning will see a reconnaissance of the North Ridge to scout for a possible route up the ridge and site for relocating the radio repeater as part of Levesque’s project. A second afternoon EVA will explore the area around Summerville for Guariniello’s geology project.

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: Cloudy, damp, and cool

Crew Physical Status: Good

EVA: None

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

Support Requested: None

Sol: 11

Summary Title: End of sim

Author’s name: Marc Levesque, Commander

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: Our mission wound down today with one EVA in the afternoon after it was decided to postpone a morning one because of poor ground conditions from yesterday’s precipitation. In the afternoon with the ground firmer, an EVA team walked to Skyline Rim for Guariniellos’ geology project, concluding our planned EVAs for the mission. Tonight, our last dinner in sim was topped off with a Goodbye Mars cake for dessert.

Look Ahead Plan: Our crew will be going out of sim in the morning and start preparing for our return to Earth by packing, cleaning, and report writing. Depending on the weather in the morning, we’re planning a non-EVA reconnaissance of the North Ridge for a possible repeater relocation route.

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: Sunny and cool

Crew Physical Status: Good

EVA: One

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

Support Requested: None

Crew 272 Sol Summary Report 08-01-2023

Sol: 7

SummaryTitle:Relaxing Sol at the Hab

Author’s name: Kshitij Mall

Mission Status: All nominal

SolActivitySummary:The crew decided to take a day off mid-mission very similar to what happens with the astronauts on the ISS. Since the EVA crew yesterday performed very well, I rewarded them with their first showers, which all have taken by today. I also rewarded them with extra sleep, which most of them desired, especially our Crew Geologist Adriana who has been on all EVAs but one. The crew slept last night by 11 pm so they were allowed to wake up at the latest by 9 am. Since I was the chef for the morning, I thought of sharing traditional Indian breakfast with the crew. This was the first time I made Poha (a popular flattened rice breakfast) on Mars and it served more as a brunch item for the team, satiating their hungry stomachs. To spice things up as my Poha recipe had no green chilli, I shared Indian Spice Tea (akin to the ones we find on tapri or street side tea stalls in India) with the crew. Indian biscuits were also offered, and it was the first time for most of threw to have this kind of a breakfast that too on Mars. While preparing tea, I encountered an issue: I accidentally left my tea strainer back on Earth and I knew no emergency interplanetary cargo ship was available today to deliver me this very important item. Thinking like a Maritan the breakfast crew comprising myself, XO Arly, and Crew Journalist Kenneth found a jugaad (Indian word for a makeshift solution) to address this problem. In the kitchen, we identified a very small strainer unit, which seems to be for some type of tea, but certainly not for the humungous amount I made. We poured the tea to be strained in one of the measuring beakers to gain a steady flow out of it and then strained tea carefully to 7 cups. Two of these cups were Martian Kulhads (traditional unpainted and unglazed handle-less clay cups being used for over 5000 years in India and now being made on Mars using Martian clay). The breakfast was followed by Mission Clean Kitchen, in which all crew members participated. After all this is our home on Mars and sanitation is of high importance. We plan on vacuuming the upper and lower decks today. We also completed our daily human factors tests and reports for Arly and Andres. Even though the crew gulped lot more water and did cleaning sessions, we consumed only about 23 gallons of water. The crew did get used to Martian world by mid-mission.

The Greenhab Officer watered the plants and monitored their growth. She also harvested some beans and chives for the crew to feast upon after the sumptuous breakfast. On the 3D printing front, Megan got the rock hammer ready, and another hammer would be ready by the end of the mission for use in one of our upcoming EVAs. Adriana turned Science Dome into a rock party place by hammering some rocks. Kenneth, Megan, Arly, and Madelyn joined the procession. Megan, Arly, and Madelyn returned while Mason and I went to continue the rock party.

The crew led by Kenneth then solved some crossword puzzles. Teamwork was at display once again as was it during the EVAs or any other activity our crew has been a part of. Adriana took half of the crew to the science dome to perform a water cleaning session of her new geo-baby she named Petrie. The dinner for tonight was Chili, which was prepared by Megan and Madelyn. The crew is planning on watching a Bollywood movie (most likely half of it as it is slightly longer, and Kenneth wants to practice the dance steps from this movie). The crew also decided to play a card game called Monikers. We plan to sleep early, and part of the crew will head out to the first Search and Rescue operation.

Look Ahead Plan: First search and rescue test at the end of Gateway to Candor

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: Overcast, Winds Calm

Crew Physical Status: Good

EVA: None

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

Support Requested: None

Sol: 12

Summary Title: Mission conclusion

Author’s name: Marc Levesque, Commander

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: Our crew went out of sim this morning to prepare for our departure tomorrow with station cleaning, packing, and final report writing. With the weather cooperating, we began the sol by scouting and finding a passable route up to North Ridge for the possible relocation of the MDRS radio repeater. Before continuing our cleaning and packing this evening, our crew enjoyed one last dinner together in town.

Look Ahead Plan: Final packing and cleaning before departing for our homeward travels.

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: Cloudy and cool

Crew Physical Status: Good

EVA: None

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Operations, and End of Mission reports.

Support Requested: None