Category: Sol Summary

Sol 2

Title: An Intriguing Find…

Written by: Brandon Ferguson

Mission Status: Good. Operations are Normal

Sol Activity Summary:

Today, I set off to explore the area to the South of Kissing Camel Range and West of Cow Dung Rd. First I investigated some of the washes crossing the road to see what I could find. In the first wash that I stopped in, I found pieces of petrified wood amongst other very interesting specimens. I’ll definitely have to explore this drainage basin later.

From there, I proceeded further south, until I reached a large wash near White Rock Canyon. I only walked about 2 minutes up, when I found a very large specimen that looked like mineralized bone marrow. Compared to the basalt ejecta littering the wash, this specimen looked completely different. The holes were all aligned in the same direction, and were about the same size. The basalt pieces had gas bubbles, but were of random size, with no obvious pattern. The size of the marrow was very large, with 3-4 mm spacing. If this was indeed a piece of a dinosaur bone, then that meant there is a very large dinosaur fossil somewhere in that drainage basin.

I left the specimen where I found it, planning to come back and visit later. After spending over 2 hours in this area, I didn’t find much more, though there is still quite a bit of ground to cover. I returned to the hab by around 2:00 PM, and informed Shannon on what I had found. On our way to town, we investigated the specimen that I had found in the wash. Shannon wasn’t sure what it was, but we confirmed that there weren’t any other rocks in that area that looked like it.  She figured that if it was indeed a remnant of a dinosaur bone, that it would have to come from a very large dinosaur, much larger than a Utahraptor or velociraptor. We plan on surveying this area further to see what we can find.

Soon after, we ran into town, found a socket wrench kit that would work with the bolts on the new rovers, and organized the next supply of food for Crew 184. We returned to hab after finishing our business in town.

Look Ahead Plan:

Tomorrow and the day after, I will be extensively searching the drainage basin where I found that specimen for large fossil exposures. Since Shannon told me that she hasn’t extensively explored this area, what I may find there could be very interesting.

Anomalies in work: No Problems

Weather: Clear, warm, calm winds

Crew Physical Status: OK, Healthy

EVA:

Reports to be Filed:

-Operations Report

Support Requested: N/A

Crew 183+ Sol Summary Report 28November2017

Sol 1

Title: Departure of Crew 183

Written by: Brandon Ferguson

Mission Status: Good. Operations are Normal

Sol Activity Summary:

This was the last day for Crew 183. They packed the last of their belongings and headed off, back to Earth. After eating breakfast, Shannon and I started assembling the new rovers. It took over an hour to get just one close to being ready to go, as the rovers didn’t come with assembly instructions. Unfortunately, we don’t have a socket wrench that is compatible with the large bolts used with the rovers. Hopefully we’ll be able to find a socket large enough to work.

At around 2:30 PM, we headed off to Cactus Rd, to rediscover a road that was thought to be lost and forgotten to time. Our goal was to see if this area could be accessed and explored by future EVAs. It was obvious it hadn’t been used by ATVs or rovers in years, as the most prominent tracks were from cows. The cow tracks made the road extremely bumpy, slowing our progress significantly.

Once we reached the end, we found a wonderful place to access the Summerville Formation, an easy 100 meter walk. There were these red and yellow pieces of chert-like rocks scattered everywhere that could be petrified dinosaur poop.

Once we finished here, we made our way to the end of Yellow Zebra road and found an amazing place for future EVAs. This area could easily take several hours to explore adequately. As it got closer to dark, we made our way back to the Hab, and I resumed my soil analysis in the Lab.

Look Ahead Plan:

Tomorrow, we plan to gather food supplies for the next incoming crew. I also intend to start exploring the region south of Kissing Camel range, to see if I find anything interesting. There is also a road in the area we conducted our EVA today that we still need to explore, called Maxwell Montes Rd. We may either do this tomorrow or sometime before Saturday, when Crew 184 arrives.

Anomalies in work: No Problems

Weather: Clear, warm, calm winds

Crew Physical Status: OK, Healthy

EVA: End of Cactus Rd & Yellow Zebra Rd

Reports to be Filed:

-Operations Report

Support Requested: N/A

Sol 5 Summary Report

November 27, 2017

Julielynn Wong, Crew 183 Mission Commander

Summary Title: Our final day of rapid prototyping humanitarian supplies at MDRS.

Mission Status: Nominal.

Sol Activity Summary:

Our simulation ended at 0700 MST today.

During our mission, we successfully 3D printed designs created remotely by Medical Makers Labeeba Nusrat, Nazanin Soghrati, Sachin Doshi, Shamsa Qaadri, Susan Lee, Winnie Xu, Zak Chaudhary and Ziyuan (Steve) Xu.

Today Crew 183 continued to rapidly prototype several life-saving and life-changing supplies on-site using our humanitarian 3D printing system (H3DPS-LM).

Our crew continued to use our cycling ergometer system to follow the exercise countermeasures schedule for astronauts onboard the ISS and to power our humanitarian 3D printing system. Power generation data was collected non-invasively during training that crew members would have undertaken if no experiment existed.

Our meals were prepared by the HSO.

To celebrate the end of our mission, we took photos of Crew 183 and the 3D4MD humanitarian 3D printing, recycling, and cycling ergometer systems inside the RAMM (Repair and Maintenance Module) which is slated for use for engineering research in 2018.

We are now packing up our equipment into our Tesla Model S electric vehicle for the return trip home.

Many thanks to Shannon, CAPCOM and the Mars Society team who made the inaugural Medical Makers MDRS mission possible.  We look forward to returning in the next field season.

Look Ahead Plan: Preparing to clean the hab and depart MDRS on Sol 6.

Anomalies in work:  Out of sim.

Weather:  Sunny with occasional winds.

Crew Physical Status:  Healthy

EVA: Crew Astronomer, Crew Engineer, Greenhab Officer, and HSO participated in an EVA led by our Crew Geologist.

Reports to be filed:

GreenHab Report

Operations Report

EVA Report

Astronomer Report

Support Requested: None

Sol 4 Summary Report

November 26, 2017

Julielynn Wong, Crew 183 Mission Commander

Summary Title: A day of 3D printing, film production, and 3D scanning at MDRS.

Mission Status: Nominal.

Sol Activity Summary:

Today we continued to print 3D4MD digital catalog items out of flexible, rigid and biodegradable plastic feedstock on our humanitarian 3D printing system that can be powered by a portable battery charged by our cycling ergometer system.  

Our EVA team obtained image and video footage and conducted 3D scanning of geological formations with a portable handheld scanner.

Our crew continues to use our cycling ergometer system to follow the exercise countermeasures schedule for astronauts onboard the ISS and to power our humanitarian 3D printing systems. Power generation data was collected non-invasively during training that crew members would have undertaken if no experiment existed.

Our meals were prepared by the Greenhab Officer.

Look Ahead Plan: Preparing for end of sim on Sol 5 at 0700 MST.

Anomalies in work:  None.

Weather:  Calm, sunny and warm.

Crew Physical Status:  Healthy

EVA: Crew Astronomer, Crew Engineer, and Greenhab Officer participated in an EVA led by our Crew Geologist.

Reports to be filed:

GreenHab Report

Operations Report

EVA Report

Astronomer Report

Support Requested: None

Sol 3 Summary Report

November 25, 2017

Julielynn Wong, Crew 183 Mission Commander

Summary Title: A day of self-replicating Star Trek Replicators, bike-powered 3D printing, and 3D scanning geological artifacts at MDRS.

Mission Status: Nominal.

Sol Activity Summary:
To kick off our first day in simulation, all Crew 183 members were issued their official Medical Makers stickers.

Our HSO tested the functionality and usability of 3D4MD’s humanitarian 3D printing system (H3DPS-LM) with our Crew Geographer, who is a 3D printing novice. The security features of 3D4MD’s H3DPS-LM — which meets U.S. FDA guidelines for medical software cybersecurity — are functioning.

Today we printed over sixteen 3D4MD digital catalog items (including medical supplies and spare parts for our 3D printer) using flexible, rigid and biodegradable plastic filament.

Our EVA team collected rock specimens for 3D scanning in the MDRS lab for future study and education outreach.

Crew 183 underwent our Medical Makers #UAVs4Good drone training program for safe flight operations with our DJI Mavic Pro drone.

Our crew is now using our cycling ergometer system to follow the exercise countermeasures schedule for astronauts onboard the ISS and to power our humanitarian 3D printing systems. Power generation data was collected non-invasively during training that crew members would have undertaken if no experiment existed.

Look Ahead Plan: Preparing for sim and EVA on Sol 4.

Anomalies in work: None.

Weather: Calm, sunny and warm.

Crew Physical Status: Healthy

EVA: Crew Astronomer, Crew Engineer, and HSO participated in an EVA led by our Crew Geologist.

Reports to be filed:
GreenHab Report
Operations Report
EVA Report
Astronomer Report

Support Requested: None

November 23, 2017

Julielynn Wong, Crew 183 Mission Commander

Mission Status: Crew 183 received MDRS orientation training from MDRS Director, Shannon Rupert and EVA training from Crew 182 Geologist, Brandon Ferguson.

Sol Activity Summary: Yesterday, Crew 183 unloaded our equipment and personal items from our Tesla Model S vehicle.  Our Crew Astronomer and Engineer conducted night-time astral photography.  Our Greenhab Officer and Crew engineer assembled our portable off-grid power systems.

Sol Summary Report

November 22, 2017

A quiet day is a good day on Mars

Shannon Rupert, MDRS Director

Mission Status: Good.  Crew 183 has arrived and will begin their
one-week mission tomorrow.

Sol Activity Summary: We spent the morning and much of the afternoon
cleaning the Hab.  Late in the afternoon, we both took a break and did
a little exploration. Crew 183 arrived at the station at 7:30 pm.

Look Ahead Plan: Training tomorrow for Crew 183.

Anomalies in work:  Out of sim.

Weather:  Calm, sunny and wonderfully warm.

Crew Physical Status:  We are both fine.  I personally am very tired tonight.

EVA: Brandon went exploring to the south this afternoon, and I went
north to the southernmost branch of Tank Wash.  It was amazing.

Reports to be file: Sol Summary and Operations Report.

Support Requested: Will someone be standing by to add the crew to the
Mission Support eList?  I’m worried because it is Thanksgiving.

Sol Summary Report

November 20, 2017

…and new civilizations…

Shannon Rupert, MDRS Director

Mission Status: Still not in sim.  Still just Brandon and I although
we had many visitors today working on the preparations for the arrival
of the RAMM, our new repair and maintenance module, which lands on
station at 10 am tomorrow.

Sol Activity Summary:  I spent some time in the GreenHab this morning,
and this afternoon Brandon and I parted ways: he went to explore Coal
Mine Wash and then got water and I went to the canyon I discovered
last winter and explored.  I found evidence of a drying inland sea and
Brandon found the pond was already frozen in Coal Mine Wash.  He also
found the overlook on Skyline Rim.

Look Ahead Plan:  RAMM arrives, we clean and prep for Crew 183.  I
just realized that Crew 183 won’t be here tomorrow but rather the next
day. But I also just today realized that this week is Thanksgiving in
the US, so my timeline is all messed up!

Anomalies in work:  Other than not being in sim, it was just another
day on Mars.

Weather:  Calm, sunny and cold…again.

Crew Physical Status:  We are both fine.

EVA: Brandon out of sim in the HabCar to Coal Mine Wash, me in rover
to Discovery Canyon (for lack of a better name).

Reports to be file: Sol Summary and Operations Report.  No photos.

Support Requested: None at this time.

Sol Summary Report

November 19, 2017

Seek out new worlds…

Shannon Rupert, MDRS Director

Mission Status: We are not in sim. Brandon and I are the only two
here.  Les and his team departed early.  We are awaiting Crew 183 on
Tuesday, when they will begin their one-week mission.

Sol Activity Summary:  We did some map/road checking today, exploring
road 1574 and Cactus Road.  Updates will be in my soon to be released
guide to MDRS roads.

Look Ahead Plan: Tomorrow HudgesNet comes to fix my service and we
begin work on the pad for the new RAMM, which will be installed on
campus on Tuesday.  I will also order winter blend diesel, because I
believe it is now cold enough that the summer mix is what shut down
the generator last night.  We also need to get water, ethanol free gas
and work on the new rovers.

Anomalies in work:  Not a sim day.  Generator did not run all night,
but has run all day.  I suspect the summer blend diesel is the issue.
Tried to get lower deck heater to work this morning but it did not.
Will continue troubleshooting.  Water was frozen in the am but thawed
by noon.  We need to get the tank and pipes insulated soon.  I will
contact the contractor.

Weather:  Calm, sunny and cold.

Crew Physical Status:  We are both fine.

EVA: Out of sim EVA to check out northern routes.

Reports to be file: Sol Summary and Operations Report, which was sent
earlier today.  No photos will be sent.

Support Requested: NOTICE:  Effectively immediately and until I say
differently in the spring, the heater at the Hab will stay on as
follows:

Temperature 72 degrees

Fan on auto

Heater on ON

The controller should not be adjusted at all by any crew.  When you
adjust it, we lose the heater and it just blows cold air, but if you
just leave it alone, it works perfectly.  If the crew is cold, they
should turn on the secondary heater (once I get it running!)

Please find out what type of filter the heater uses and let me know so
I can order some.  Thank you.