Crew 245 EVA Report 23APR2021
EVA # 12
Author: Alex Coultrup, Health and Safety Officer
Purpose of EVA: Final survey for emergency shelters and soil samples
Start time: 1015 MDT
End time: 1215 MDT (planned 1300, actual 1200)
Narrative: The EVA this morning started 15 minutes after the scheduled EVA window opened, as the crew had carefully gathered and sterilized required scientific instruments to meet Planetary Protection Protocols. After suiting up, the crew waited 5 minutes before exiting the airlock. The EVA crew departed from the Hab/Hab Grounds by foot, heading northwest. We rapidly identified the ATV road (1103) and followed it north, then west as it curved just before North Ridge, keeping an eye out for potential emergency shelter locations along the way. We followed the trail of GPS points left by the previous day’s EVA crew and demonstrated a successful navigation of our instruments.
After a thirty-minute hike, we reached the top of the western ridge stopping occasionally to drop more points and practice orienting our position with respect to both the GPS device and the map. We took soil samples along the ridge, then admired the view of North Ridge, Schubert’s Pass, and the western buttes. After determining there were no valid candidates for emergency sheltering, the team headed back along the 1103 route pointed out by the outpost as advice. The team managed a very quick return by foot to the Hab and was in the airlock just before 1200.
Destination: Schubert’s Pass
Participants: Health and Safety Officer Coultrup, Crew Scientist Ettlin
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Walking up near a ridge slope by the Hab, taking 1103 walking back.
Mode of travel: Walking.