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GreenHab Report – April 22nd

Crew 297 GreenHab Report 22-04-2024

GreenHab Officer: Sean Marquez

Environmental control:

Heater on (set to 55F)
Fan on (set to turn on at 94F; turn off at 82F)
Average temperatures: 82F

Hours of supplemental light: N/A

Daily water usage for crops: 4 gal

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 0 gal

Water in Blue Tank: 175 gal

Time(s) of watering for crops: 12:50

Changes to crops: N/A

Narrative: Fan system was operating nominal. Though, due to the afternoon heat wave, the GreenHab atmospheric temperature reached close to 110F around 14:30. The GreenHab door was opened again to allow for supplemental airflow from the tunnel system, which helped keep the atmospheric temperatures below 100F. More brown/yellow leaves/stems from the cherry tomato plants were composted.

Harvest:

2g of cherry tomato
Support/supplies needed: N/A

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EVA Report – April 22nd

Crew 297 EVA 11 Report 21-4-2024    

EVA # 11

Author: Sarah Lamm

Purpose of EVA: To observe the grey geological unit seen from orbit.

Start Time: 7:37 AM

End Time: 10:11 AM

Narrative: We arrived at the grey unit and took gamma-ray measurements of it, specifically to see if the uranium content would be higher than the previous units. From there we traveled to the overlook, and just south of the Sea of Shells. Once we came back to the intersection of Brahe Hey and Cow Dung Row, we hid the NPS device for Matt’s L project.

Destination: Area between Sea of Shells and Overlook

Coordinates: 12S 516033 4254592

Participants: Pawel Sawicki (Commander), Sarah Lamm (Geologist)

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Cow Dung Road, Brahe Hwy

Mode of travel: Opportunity

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Sol Summary – April 21st

Crew 297 Sol Summary Report 21-04-2024

Sol: 07

Summary Title: I’m Sorry Dave, I’m Afraid I Can’t Do That

Author’s name: Pawel Sawicki

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary:

The crew woke up today well rested after a night of watching the Martian and getting to sleep in, a celebration for passing the mid-mission mark. Today’s docket of EVAs consisted of i) the Matts adventuring far northwest searching for an NPS hiding spot around the Sea of Shells and ii) Case adventuring right outside of the RAM. Both EVA crews were satisfied with what they saw today, whether it was the spectacular views of the Overlook or a fully functioning User Interface. The whole crew was later treated to a bon gou Jambalaya by Chef Lamm, a dish reminiscent of New Orleans street jazz – soulful, vibrant, and complex characteristics heard within each bite.

Look Ahead Plan:

Tomorrow there will only be one EVA, commencing shortly after the Martian sun wakes up. During this EVA, Sarah and Pawel intend on exploring interesting geological features to the northwest of the Hab within the vicinity of the Sea of Shells and Overlook. The rest of the crew will rest from EVAs and continue their nominal duties including preparing and conducting IVA research.

Anomalies in work:

Suit 11 (fan power significantly decreased mid-EVA): Battery has been replaced.
GreenHab (automated fan not working): working now that generator power is back online
ScienceDome (foul smell): Source of odor (batteries) has been determined and removed. Crew will continue to monitor for another day before using the ScienceDome fully.
Weather:
Morning (data from 0900): calm winds (2 mph), chilly (57F), and sunny with clear skies
Noon: calm winds (2 mph), warm (68F), and sunny with clear skies
Afternoon (1800): moderate winds (14 mph), warm (77F), and sunny with clear skies
Crew Physical Status: Crew health is nominal.

EVA: There were two EVAs today with two crewmates each – a first for us. The first EVA crew set out to hide the NPS, but due to a lack of good hiding spots in the area this goal was delayed to a later EVA. The crew remarked on the spectacular landscapes that part of Mars has to offer. The other EVA was more local to the Hab (by the RAM), where Case went out for a walk to test its features. Operation of the robot was as smooth as expected and more challenging EVAs are to come for Case.

Reports to be filed:

Sol Summary
Journalist Report
GreenHab Report
Operations Report
EVA report (2 EVAs)
EVA request (1 EVA)

Support Requested: None requested.

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Operations Report – April 21st

Crew 297 Operations Report 21-04-2024

SOL: 7

Name of person filing report: Matt Lynch (Engineer)

Non-nominal systems: Suit 2 (stuck valve), Suit 9 (broken visor),

Notes on non-nominal systems: The issues with Suit 2 and 9 were already noted before our mission. Suit 11’s battery has now been replaced

ROVERS

Opportunity rover used:

Hours: 182.7

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 43%

Currently charging: No

General notes on rovers: All rovers key locks were tighten today on EVA #10

Summary of Hab operations:

WATER USE: 25.4 gallons

Water (static tank): 258.8 gallons

Static tank pipe heater (on or off): off

Static tank heater (On or off): off

Toilet tank emptied: yes

Summary of internet: Looking up recipes, downloading entertainment, report formatting methods, catching up on Earthly news

Summary of suits and radios:

Radios 2,3,4,5, and 6 were used.

EVA Suits 1,4,6 and 7 were used.

Summary of GreenHab operations:

WATER USE: 4 gallons

Heater: Yes

Supplemental light: N/A

Harvest: 106 g of cherry tomatoes

Summary of ScienceDome operations: NA

Summary of RAM operations: (Tools used, work done): Tools from the RAM were used in suit repair today. EVA #10 used the RAM to perform their robotic studies in the area right in front of the Hab.

Summary of any observatory issues: NA

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Journalist Report – April 21st

Crew 297 – Janus 1 Journalist – David Laude

One week in, Sol 7, and the Janus 1 Crew has full confidence in completing nearly all research projects before departing Mars, problems or not. Today’s EVAs took one team (Matt and Matt) to the far NW where the "Overlook" (previously the "Moon Overlook" where this journalist once performed an EVA on Phobos). A few km north they reached the "Sea of Shells" where hill side after hill side is covered dense with ancient sea shells. The other EVA team (Pawel and Dave) stayed at home base and spent time with the mobile robot Case in front of the Hab. Dave set it on its automated course and at times manually controlled it from within the RAM while Pawel accompanied it. Case had a mind of its own at times stopping and turning about before proceeding on and then finally losing its azimuth by fixating on 71 degrees east. The final drive of the day up the ramp into the RAM to Dave was a perfect end to an otherwise somewhat troubled afternoon. Our goal was to evaluate for ease of use and note any problems and so one should consider the event a success. In the Hab whole wheat raisin bread was baked and for dinner jambalaya with Red Lobster brand muffins.

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EVA Report – April 21st

Crew 297 EVA Report 21-04-2024

EVA #9

Author: Matthew Lynch (Engineer)

Purpose of EVA: Perform the third ‘hiding’ EVA for the nuclear power project. Two members of Team A will go into the field and place the NPS for Team B to find on a future EVA. Potential NPS burial sites and geological sites of interest will also be observed.

Start time: 9:57 am

End time: 12:39 pm

Narrative: Starting on time and exiting the airlock, we placed the NPS in the back of Opportunity and headed North. As expected, the battery was at 55% when we were halfway down Brahe Highway. We parked the rover and saw what appeared to be a road heading North, we mistook this for route 1575 and attempted to follow this to reach the sea of shells, eventually realizing our error we circled back and followed the real road until we reached the moon overlook and eventually the sea of shells at 11:45 AM. We analyzed the area for potential digging sites and the ground looked excellent. However there were minimal ideal spots for placing the NPS. We began the walk back to the rovers and determined our best course of action was to not place the NPS, as the day was getting very hot, our EVA suit batteries were draining, and critically there were minimal good spots in the terrain to place the NPS. We returned back to the Hab at 12:40 PM. It should be noted there are some discrepancies between the MDRS map, the routes on the ground, and the Bureau of Land Management road markers, this was the primary cause for the challenges in reaching the Sea of Shells.

Destination: Sea of Shells area

Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 425500 N 516500 E

Participants: Matthew Lynch (Engineer), Matthew Storch (XO)

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Cow Dung Road 0110 & Brahe Highway

Mode of travel: Rover Opportunity and walking.

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GreenHab Report – April 21st

Crew 297 GreenHab Report 21-04-2024

GreenHab Officer: Sean Marquez

Environmental control:

Heater on (set to 55F)
Fan on (set to 92F)
Average temperatures: 78F

Hours of supplemental light: N/A

Daily water usage for crops: 4 gal

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 0 gal

Water in Blue Tank: 179 gal

Time(s) of watering for crops: 12:28

Changes to crops: Crops looking much healthier; minimal to no wilting compared to previous day.

Narrative: Fan power did not go out today, as the network on which the fan system controller running on HomeAssistant has been switched to the generator. Based on the recorded logs, the GreenHab atmospheric temperatures appear to not have exceeded 98F. Some brown leaves/stems from the cherry tomato plants were composted. Cucumber vines were found strangling its neighboring cherry tomato plants, which have since been separated and placed on an adjacent trellis.

Harvest:

106g of cherry tomato
Support/supplies needed: N/A

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EVA Report – April 21st

Crew 297 EVA 10 Report 21-4-2024
      
EVA # 10

Author: Pawel Sawicki

Purpose of EVA: The purpose of this EVA is to test Case’s abilities within the confinement of a local EVA. While one member monitors (and when needed, controls) Case from inside the RAM, another follows Case around to locally monitor and help troubleshoot any problems.

Start Time: 1:40 PM

End Time: 3:11 PM

Narrative: The crew of two opened up the back RAM airlock in their pressurized suits at 1:40 PM and quickly got started on getting Case’s equipment setup. A ground station was set up in the RAM with ancillary equipment (router and GPS station) just outside. In about 10 minutes of entering the Martian atmosphere, the robot was up and running around the area in front of the Hab. While Case’s paths to destinations were certainly mysterious at times, it was always able to reach the designated POI and avoid obstacles. Dave also took over manually to avoid obstacles, test Case’s range of operation, and perform the precise maneuver of bringing Case up the RAM’s ramps.

Destination: At the MDRS RAM and within close proximity.

Coordinates: 12S 518154E 4250918N

Participants: Pawel Sawicki (Commander) and David Laude (Crew Journalist)

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: none

Mode of travel: walking

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Supplemental Operations Report – April 21st

Date: 4/21/2024
Name of person filing report: Ben Stanley
Reason for Report: Routine
Non-Nominal Systems: Hab wall heater, solar observatory, perseverance parking brake & battery. EVA suit 2 & 9, Solar Power Battery system.

Power system:
Solar: Offline. Two malfunctioning batteries removed and we’re on generator power indefinitely until it can be fixed.
SOC Last 24 hours: N/A
VDC Last 24 hours: N/A
Generator run time: 5724.0 hours. Oil changed and air filter replaced on 4/19/2024.

Propane Readings:
Station Tank: 67%
Director Tank: 57%
Intern Tank: 80%
Generator Tank: 39%

Water:
Hab Static Tank – 304.2 gallons
GreenHab – 183 gallons
Outpost tank – 420 gallons
Science Dome – 0 gallons
Septic Tanks emptied: No

Rovers:
Sojourner rover used: Yes
Hours: 200.2
Beginning Charge: 100 %
Ending Charge: 100 %
Currently Charging: yes
Notes on Rovers: Perseverance is charging only up to about 90%. Charging error appears from time to time.

ATV: ATV’s Used: None. Nothing to report.

Cars:
Hab Car used and why, where: To Hanksville for supplies.
Crew Car used and why, where: No.
General notes and comments: Hab car needs its gas cap replaced.

Summary of Internet: All nominal.

EVA suits and radios:
Suits: Suit 2 has twisted airway coupling, spare parts are in order. Suit 9 has damaged visor and put aside until end of the season.
Comms: Crew reports one headset is malfunction. They were asked to set it aside at the end of their rotation.

Campus wide inspection, if action taken, what and why: Solar Power & Battery system down
Summary of Hab Operations: Wall heater is not functioning. Diagnostic is pending. Toilet level indicator won’t go below 1/3.

Summary of GreenHab Operations: Some issues with fan automation. It appears to be related to power outages associated with battery issues prior to taking system offline.

Summary of SciDome Operations: 2 malfunctioning batteries removed and batteries disconnected. Inverter off and solar panel breakers off. Switched to generator power all the time for now.

Summary of Observatories Operations: Solar observatory telescope diagonal is awaiting new part for replacement. Lower shutter is decoupled and fastened by bungee cord.

Summary of RAM Operations: All nominal
Summary of Outpost Operations: All nominal.
Summary of Health and Safety Issues: All nominal.