Journalist Report Jan 04th

Journalist Report

Ben Durkee, Crew 218 Journalist

Sol 13

This morning started off soothing and somber. We crawled out of our sleeping bags to the gentle ukelele of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” Depleting our remaining hot chocolate supply, we watched the sun scale the hill east of the Hab. Without sharing any words, we lamented this being our last Martian sunrise together. Once we had fully woken up and sufficiently mellowed out, there was an immediate paradigm shift and we launched straight into our jam-packed itinerary.

First on the docket: Hab cleaning. Since we had done most of the cleaning yesterday, we knew exactly what still needed to be done and we each splintered off to tackle a different task. I took mop duty. Our pipes still hadn’t thawed, so mopping became a struggle between refreshing the water as little as possible without slathering the floor with a muddy sludge. I spent a period in a seemingly unending sine wave between cleaning a region and then painting it brown, back and forth ad infinitum. Eventually, we sent Jonathan outside with pots of hot water to pour on the pipes in an attempt to thaw them. In light of this effort and the many gallons of water we had remaining from the mission, we considered water conservation a bit less of a concern. As a result, we got our Martian housekeeping done just in time for our guests to arrive.

Our metaphorical doorbell (the Habitat radio) rang and we invited Crew 219 through the airlock. They are a squad assembled of Florida Tech students and alumni, 8 people strong. Considering there are only 6 state rooms and 1 loft, it’s going to be a bit of a cozy Hab. I get the impression they’ll handle it well, though. They seem like a very tight-knit group and more than ready to face this mission together. I have only good things to say about these guys and training them today has been an absolute pleasure.

It’s weird to be the jaded survivors tasked with passing down knowledge to our starry-eyed successors. I’m almost jealous they now get to live this incredible experience that we’ve just concluded. It’s like when you finish a great book or television show and wish you could just erase your memory of it and live it again. But we’ve had our fun and the time has come to pass the torch and hand these folks the keys to a shiny new Mars Habitat.

Tonight is going to be a bittersweet night, full of reminiscing about our time on the red planet and breaking bread with our new Floridian friends. All in all, this has been an unbelievably enriching experience.

Were we packed into tiny, overheated sleeping quarters like a can of sardines in an oven? Yes. Did I have to painstakingly scrape beans from all the dishes with my fingernails and a bean juice-soaked sponge? I’ll never be able to forget. Was I forced to put up with these 5 lovable scamps for two whole weeks? Yep. Would I do it again?

In a heartbeat.

Commander Report Jan 04th

Crew 219 Commander Report – 04-01-2020

On time, On Target

Crew 219 had a smooth trip to the Hab, where we met a cheerful Crew 218 preparing lunch. After some hearty soup and some laughs, we broke off by respective job roles to be trained by our predecessors. The members of 218 were thorough and informative, patiently answering all of our questions. We took some group photos and moved out for dinner at Stan’s. We are immensely grateful for the warm and hilarious welcome that 218 gave us, and we are eagerly looking forward to beginning our mission.

Dave Masaitis

Commander, Crew 219

Crew Photos Jan 04th

Attached are the photos for our training and transfer day with Crew 219! The pic of the day is “01042020 Admonishing_the_Throne.JPG.”

Hope your weekend is going well!

Ben Durkee, Crew 218 Journalist

Operations Report Jan 04th

Crew 218 Operations Report 4-Jan-20

SOL: 13

Name of person filing report: Luz Maria Agudelo Urrego

Non-nominal systems: NA

Generator: run

Hours run: 13

From what time last night: 1730

To what time this morning: 0630

List any additional daytime hours when the generator was run: N/A

Solar— SOC % (Before the generator is run at night: 45%

Diesel Reading – 73%

Station Propane Reading – 59%

Ethanol Free Gasoline: N/A

Water (loft tank) (gal): 48

Water Meter (units): 0147332,0

Water (static tank) (gal): 175

Static to Loft Pump used – Yes

Water in Green Hab (gal): 68

Water in Science Dome (gal): 0

Toilet tank emptied: No

Deimos rover used: Still in the workshop

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Sojourner rover used: Assigned to director

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Spirit rover used: Nominal

Hours: 122.7

Beginning charge: (Before EVA):

Ending charge: (On return from EVA, before recharging):

Currently charging: Yes

Opportunity rover used: Still in the workshop

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Curiosity rover used: Nominal

Hours: 128.1

Beginning charge:

Ending charge: (On return from EVA, before charging):

Currently charging: Yes

Notes on rovers: Opportunity and Deimos off-site for maintenance.

ATV’s Used: (Honda, 300, 350.1, 350.2, 350.3): No

Reason for use: N/A

Oil Added? No

# Hours the ATVs were used today: 0

Notes on ATVs: N/A

HabCar used, and why, where? No

CrewCar used, and why, where? Used to pick up Crew 219 in Grand Junction.

General notes and comments: Crew 219 arrived at the hab. They are healthy and ready for the rotation.

Summary of the internet: Nominal

Summary of suits and radios: Nominal

Summary of Hab operations: The pipe from the static tank through the loft tank is working now, Yeaaah! There are mice in the house.

Summary of Science Dome operations: Nominal

Summary of RAM operations: Nominal

Summary of any observatory issues: Nominal

Summary of health and safety issues: Nominal

Questions, concerns, and requests to Mission Support: NA

Green Hab Report – Jan 04th

Crew 218 GreenHab Report 04-JAN-20

Crew GreenHab Officer: Dr. Jonathan R. Buzan and Crew 219 GreenHabOfficer Cynthia Montanez

Environmental control: Heating.

Shade cloth (40% and 30%) on.

Average temperature: 20.8°C; 19%

11:15AM

Floor Unit: 15°C

Electronic: 23.6°C

humidity 18%

12:30PM

Floor Unit: 18°C

Electronic: 24°C

humidity 18%

3:00PM

Floor Unit: 16°C

Electronic: 21.1°C

humidity 19%

7:15PM

Floor Unit: 15°C

Electronic: 22.2°C

humidity 19%

Max: 25.0°C; 22%

Min: 16.7°C; 17%

Hours of supplemental light: Light system 6:00PM-11:00AM.

Daily water usage for crops: 6.4Gal.

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: N/A

Water in Blue Tank – ~68 Gal.

Time(s) of watering for crops:

7:30PM

SEASONAL PLANTING HISTORY:

Change to crops: None.

OTHER NOTES:

1st sprouts: N/A

Harvest: N/A

Commander Report – Jan 04th

Crew 218 Commander Report – 04-01-2020

Back home and ready to pass the torch

After a few hours on Friday evening and Saturday morning spent cleaning our habitat and the rest of campus, we welcomed the next MDRS crew.

We are tired but happy of our mission, which was very successful even when facing adversities, but also happy to get ready to step back on Earth, while wishing a wonderful mission to our friends from Florida Tech. After training them, we all went to get dinner at Stan’s Shack. Now we are getting ready for our last night here. Thanks again to all the people who supported us before and during this mission. Boiler up

Cesare Guariniello,

Commander 218

Sol Summary Report – Jan 04th

Crew 218 Sol Summary Report 04-JAN-2019

Sol: 13

Summary Title: Close Encounters of the Florida Tech Kind

Author’s name: Pat Pesa

Mission Status: Making New Friends.

Sol Activity Summary: Crew 218 vigorously cleaned the Hab before our new Crew 219 came around. The afternoon was spent training them in general crew operations, and then in specific job duties. The evening was spent taking some collaborative pictures, and an last meal at Stan’s Burgers Shack.

Look Ahead Plan: Flight Home to Earth

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: Cloudy and 30 degrees.

Crew physical status: Healthy

EVA: none

Reports to be filed: sol summary, commander report, operations report, greenhab report, journalist report

Support Requested: none

Pat Pesa

Geologist, MDRS 218

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