Crew 186 Sol 11 Summary Report 11JAN2018
Sol 11
Summary Title: The first of the lasts
Author’s name: Max Fagin
Mission Status: Preparing for a grand finale EVA to a geology site we have saved especially for our last EVA.
Sol Activity Summary: The sun came back out today, much to our appreciation (and the appreciation of our solar panels). Any problem can be fixed in a spacecraft as long as you still have power and comms, and it has been a great weight off our shoulders to only view cloudy days as a mild annoyance, rather than a critical power threat as they might be on a pure solar mission.
The clear weather allowed for our last navigation EVA to take place as scheduled. We now have four complete demonstrations of an astronaut using nothing but the radio beacon to safely return to the hab, two where the astronaut had no experience with the system, and an impaired range of vision. I’m very pleased with Justin for producing such a practical aid to navigation in places where no gps is available (such as Mars … for now at least). It’s an early back to school for some of us, as Melanie has begun taking us on short engineering EVAs to test the efficacy of the VR training module she has developed for teaching EVA tasks. Around the hab, we continue to check off the last remaining items on our individual projects so we can face handoff with a clear schedule.
On a personal note, today was the first day I really saw GreenHab as more than just a greenhouse. I remember contributing to the Kickstarter campaign to rebuild Greenhab after the fire, and it has made me immeasurably proud to see it continue to thrive and grow under Mark’s skillful control while we are here. Stepping into the tropical heat and humidity of GreenHab today after a cold and dry EVA felt as relaxing as stepping into a hot tub. I sat down amidst the plants to appreciate the magnificent oasis thriving in this red/brown landscape, and the environment was so placid that I was not at all surprised when I woke up 15 minutes later to find I had drifted to sleep in my chair. Greenhouse, oasis, zen garden, GreenHab is much more now than just a place where plants grow.
Look Ahead Plan: Our last EVA will take place tomorrow, with one final geological survey to the highest elevation site on our list at the base of Skyline Ridge. Harvesting of our carefully grown GreenHab bounty will also take place tomorrow, we are planning to exit sim at noon on Saturday 01/13.
Anomalies in work: None
Weather: 6C, Wind SSE 8km/h, Fair, Humidity 52%
Crew Physical Status: Healthy
EVA: Preliminary photography of the Plane of Dirt / Skyline Ridge region for the last geology EVA, then walk back to the hab to test the radio navigation system.
Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Operations Report, GreenHab Report, Journalist Report, EVA Report, EVA Request
Support Requested: None.