Photo Report – October 07th

Here are some pictures from a very slow day on mars!! Picture of the day is "rows of cucumbers for future mars pickles.jpg"

Thank you for all your help Mission Support and have a good night!!!

Inga

Sol Summary – October 07th

Sol: 10

Summary Title: The Ultimate Penultimate

Author’s name: Lindsay Rutter

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: Our penultimate sol on Mars was quiet. Jin needed to obtain COVID planetary protection certifications for his return flight to Planet Earth. The nearest certification center was more than two hours away, at the Hanskville Spaceport. Dave and Jin departed the HAB around 0930, with Dave bringing science gloves to prevent touching the same space fuel nozzles at recharging fuel stations along the route. Inga and I remained at the HAB. Our radio communication with Dave and Jin only lasted for about ten minutes. They gave an estimated return time of 1630. Indeed, they were gone most of the day.

I continued my metagenomic regolith experiments in the ScienceDome and Inga prepared for her upcoming presentation at the Mars Society Conference. She will present machine learning findings about social dynamics in space analogs. When I returned from the ScienceDome to the HAB to share lunch with Inga, she commented on how oddly quiet the HAB had felt when she was in it all alone for the first time!

After Dave and Jin safely returned to the HAB, we made minor adjustments in our schedule for how to spend our final sol on Mars. I feel a bit of the "third-quarter effect" wafting throughout the HAB. But it is not as prominent as usual. We have several big events tomorrow that keep us anchored to our mission. Tomorrow, we will participate in the first Mars-to-Mars (M2M) Video Link. We will virtually celebrate Space Week together with the AARG-1 crew, who are located at the other station on Mars, UND ILMAH. We Areonauts have been kind and supportive to each other, with engaging conversations each day. Still, we are eager for this event, because it will break our routine and expand our fishbowl population from four to eight – even if just for one hour!

Weather: Sunny, cloudy, and warm.

Crew Physical Status: All crew nominal.

EVA: None

Reports to be filed: Science, Photo, Sol, Journalist, GreenHab, Operations

Support Requested: None

END

Journalist Report – October 07th

THE SOUNDS OF MARS
Lindsay Rutter
Commander, Crew 228

Sounds on Mars, punctuated with Japanese onomatopoeia.

Disclaimer: The sequence of events has been modified for creative purposes.

========== Verse One ==========

"You hear that? That whistling sound? Whoooooo," one asked.

"That sure is weird music," the other replied.

On the dark side of the Moon, Apollo 10 astronauts Eugene Cernan and John Young describe its hauntingly beautiful melody. But the Moon should have no sound – there is no sound medium. Turns out the mysterious music was only VHF radio interference between the Command Module and the Lunar Module. The public hears the eerie sounds decades later.

We suit up for our first EVA. A muffled buzzing comes from our air supply. [ぶんぶん Buuuun Buuuun]. It echoes in our space helmets. Will we hear much of Mars beyond this purring?

Standing in the airlock, the five minute countdown initiates. Our emotions well up into what almost feels like a sound.

[わくわく Waku Waku].

That is the sound of anticipation in Japanese. In English, onomatopoeia is restricted to physical sounds. But in Japanese, onomatopoeia extends past this physical limitation. Our emotions, our sensations, our motions, our appearance, how we experience nature – all of these conditions have sound symbolism in Japanese.

We step onto the landscape and squint our eyes at the dizzying splendor. The Sun blazes its sweltering song. [ぎらぎら Gira Gira]. Jin and I depart on our rovers, Perseverance and Curiosity. We hear a raspy track from the gravel below. [凸凹 Deko Boko].

Percy is determined to detect life, meticulously caching rock samples. They say the tune a rock hums when Percy’s laser strikes it is what allows us to infer mass and relative hardness. Today, Jin and I join Percy in her passion project. Our target destination is Jotunheim, Homeland of the Gods. The inverted river channel is believed to contain potential biochemistry of interest and our mission is to confirm this hypothesis.

We traverse the dangerous terrain at the speed of sound. The sound of a snail’s pace, that is. [のろのろ Noro Noro].

"Slow is smooth and smooth is fast," Jin says.

Disembarking at a predetermined location near Jotunheim, we contact HABCOM.

"EVA to HABCOM. We arrived at the junction. We will now circumnavigate the feature by foot. Expect a radio blackout. We will reestablish connection by 0945."

"HABCOM to EVA. Contact by 0945. Copy that."

We head to Jotunheim by foot. The vermillion regolith sighs hoarsely as we walk on it. [さくさく Saku Saku].

A smoky mint-green sand is exposed beneath. The elevated remains of the ancient river come into view. My head sweeps across the field from left to right, a stunning panorama. Variegated mesas and stately buttes pepper the landscape. We begin collecting samples from the precipitous slopes of Jotunheim. The steepness proves hard to navigate, and I stagger backward, with my heavy spacesuit exacerbating my descent.

I stomp down the slopes until I regain my balance. [ドドドドド Do Do Do Do Do]!

My heartbeat percusses in my ears. [ドキドキ Doki Doki]!

A fall in this harsh world, and I would become one with the dusty landscape.

"Slow is smooth and smooth is fast," a concerned Jin reminds me.

We finish our sample collection. 0938. Seven minutes remain. We walk back to our rovers, and hear the splashy chimes of precipitation. [ぽたぽた Pota Pota].

"EVA to HABCOM. We have sampled Jotunheim. We will continue Northward to examine the raised sea-green dome structure. Do you copy?"

"HABCOM to EVA. We have precipitation. You are not authorized to continue the EVA." Our radios warble with static. [ざーざー Zaa Zaa].

Did they say we ARE authorized or we ARE NOT authorized? One word sure can make a difference! Even Neil Armstrong confided his infamous line was recorded in the history books with one word missing.

I am pretty sure they said we ARE authorized. But sometimes we hear what we want to hear!

"I repeat. You are NOT authorized to continue the EVA. Please return to the HAB immediately."

It was clear. Even the pink noise of the static could not conceal it.

"Okay. This is the saddest moment of my life," I say, duplicating the 50-year-old words Ed White muttered, when he did not want to return from his spacewalk.

We return to the HAB without incident.

========== Verse Two ==========

Back in the ScienceDome, I attempt to extract DNA from the samples. Bead-beating. Eluting. Vortexing. I pipette the liquified regolith into tubes the size of my pinky. I line them up in a microtube rack.

"Hey, they look like tiny chocolate milkshakes in little cupholders!" I say to Jin.

"Can I try one?" Jin asks, hopefully jokingly.

He stands to my right, but his voice arrives at my left. My head spins. A whispering gallery effect. The circular enclosure propagates sound waves along its walls, betraying our intuitive senses.

I attempt to separate the contents of the regolith samples by density. But the microcentrifuge looks ancient. It whirls into a hustled spin – but is it really reaching 14,400 RPM?

We use auditory evidence to check. Everything that spins causes a vibration at the frequency of its spin. Jin analyzes those vibrations with his Spectroid app. Rainbow ribbons of Fourier transformed vibrations twirl across his screen.

"Yes, it is spinning at 14,400 RPM," he says.

Jin, the audio detective.

========== Verse Three ==========

Back in the GreenHab, Inga works her magic. Green popping sounds. [にょきにょき Nyoki Nyoki]. The plants sprout their seed leaves. The microscopic shoots fizzle throughout the space garden. Her years of living on an organic farm are showing.

Inga harvests rosemary, and carefully documents its weight. She tallies precious greeneries in our Martian station. Inga sprinkles the herbs onto delicious soup that she concocted from water and powder.

The hearty warmth of the food is like a sweet lullaby. [ほかほか Hoka Hoka]. We all gather around the table to share dinner.

Dave regales us with a story from the summer of 1969. The grumbling and rumbling. The roaring and thundering. [ごろごろ Goro Goro]. The Apollo 11 liftoff happened right before his very eyes. And its bass drumming sent a rolling shockwave through the gathered crowds.

I glance around the table. All crew are happily listening. Their smiles are an allegro chorus. [にこにこ Niko Niko].

We turn off the lights. Our tin can morphs into a riveting cinema. Then Dave plays us his original concerto, "Sunrise from Olympus Mons", composed on his 1040ST mid-1980s Atari computer. It starts with a pianississimo ensemble of ephemeral nocturnal sounds. They gradually crescendo as the blue glow of sunrise lights up the Martian terrain.

[ごんごん Gon Gon]!

An unwanted fortissimo from the pipe of our loft water tank. It thumps loudly, comically interrupting the music. Back leakage in the valves have sounded off every few minutes in our mission. The pipe must feel resentful to hear refined music it could never replicate.

Dave’s concerto ignores the interruption. His electronic orchestration continues to enchant us. Flutes. Organs. Pianos. “Ice-Rain Locust” Sound Effects. The sun has now almost fully risen in his composition.

[ごんごん Gon Gon]! [ごんごん Gon Gon]!

The pipes welt at us again.

As our evening winds down, Jin records our body temperature for the Planetary Protection Office. Our daily monitoring prevents astrovirological complications.

[カタカタ Kata Kata]. Clickety Clackety. He types away, sending our anonymized body temperatures to our remote flight surgeon.

We return to our staterooms for sleep. Dave turns off the water tank. Nobody wants to hear what sounds like machine gun sound effects from the Space Force in their dreams!

========== Verse Four ==========

Feeling cozy and content in my stateroom, I suddenly remember I need to finish one last science recording. Begrudgingly, I brave the pitch-black tunnel system and scurry at a prestissimo cadence toward the ScienceDome. As I place my flashlight down to turn the heavy submarine hatch door, I sense something is behind me. I turn around to see nothing but darkness. I chuckle at my cowardice. Nobody else is on this Martian terrain! I quickly enter the ScienceDome and turn on the light. My mind becomes engrossed in the meticulous world of molecular biology.

[ぴぴ Pi Pi]!

A sudden beeping sound. Coming from the door.

[ぞっとZotto]!

A shiver run down my spine. Who (or what!) is at the door?

My head whiplashes toward the door window. Pitch black. The sound came from the power system on the opposite side of the room. Fooled by the whispering gallery effect.

========== Verse Five ==========

Back at the HAB, I lay my head down on the fluffy pillow to the sound of soft clouds. [ふわふわ Fuwa Fuwa].

The musical performance of the sol replays in my head.

[ぶんぶん 。わくわく。ぎらぎら。凸凹。のろのろ。さくさく。ドドドドド!ドキドキ!ぽたぽた。ざーざー。にょきにょき。ほかほか。ごろごろ。にこにこ。ごんごん。カタカタ。ぴぴ!ぞっと!ふわふわ。]

[Buuuun Buuuun. Waku Waku. Gira Gira. Deko Boko. Noro Noro. Saku Saku. Do Do Do Do Do! Doki Doki! Pota Pota. Zaa Zaa. Nyoki Nyoki. Hoka Hoka. Goro Goro. Niko Niko. Gon Gon. Kata Kata. Pi Pi! Zotto! Fuwa Fuwa.]

Are we living in Dave’s concerto? Is this all a simulated reality?

The piece ends with a final tenuto.

[しーん Shin].

The sound of silence.

Sol Summary – October 07th

Sol: 10

Summary Title: The Ultimate Penultimate

Author’s name: Lindsay Rutter

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: Our penultimate sol on Mars was quiet. Jin
needed to obtain COVID planetary protection certifications for his
return flight to Planet Earth. The nearest certification center was
more than two hours away, at the Hanskville Spaceport. Dave and Jin
departed the HAB around 0930, with Dave bringing science gloves to
prevent touching the same space fuel nozzles at recharging fuel
stations along the route. Inga and I remained at the HAB. Our radio
communication with Dave and Jin only lasted for about ten minutes.
They gave an estimated return time of 1630. Indeed, they were gone
most of the day.

I continued my metagenomic regolith experiments in the ScienceDome and
Inga prepared for her upcoming presentation at the Mars Society
Conference. She will present machine learning findings about social
dynamics in space analogs. When I returned from the ScienceDome to the
HAB to share lunch with Inga, she commented on how oddly quiet the HAB
had felt when she was in it all alone for the first time!

After Dave and Jin safely returned to the HAB, we made minor
adjustments in our schedule for how to spend our final sol on Mars. I
feel a bit of the "third-quarter effect" wafting throughout the HAB.
But it is not as prominent as usual. We have several big events
tomorrow that keep us anchored to our mission. Tomorrow, we will
participate in the first Mars-to-Mars (M2M) Video Link. We will
virtually celebrate Space Week together with the AARG-1 crew, who are
located at the other station on Mars, UND ILMAH. We Areonauts have
been kind and supportive to each other, with engaging conversations
each day. Still, we are eager for this event, because it will break
our routine and expand our fishbowl population from four to eight –
even if just for one hour!

Weather: Sunny, cloudy, and warm.

Crew Physical Status: All crew nominal.

EVA: None

Reports to be filed: Science, Photo, Sol, Journalist, GreenHab, Operations

Support Requested: None

END

Operations Report – October 07th

MDRS Operations Report 5-7-OCT-2021

Name of person filing report: Shannon Rupert and Crew Engineer/XO David Laude

Reason for Report: Routine

Non-nominal systems:

Action taken for non-nominal systems:

Generator: Nothing to report

ScienceDome Dual Split: Off

Solar— Nominal, providing all power

Solar— SOC % Last 24 hours:

Average 60.1

Minimum 14

Maximum 100

Note on solar: We are recovering from a day and a half of rain and clouds.

Diesel Reading – Empty, tank to be removed soon

Propane Reading, station tank – 76 %

Propane Reading, director tank— 71 %

Propane Reading, intern tank— 72 %

Propane Reading, generator— 80 %

Ethanol Free Gasoline – 1 gallons

Water (loft tank): 35 gallons. From the dimensions I calculated this to have a 60 gallon full to top of main tank capacity. The numbers written on one end are in close enough agreement with that. So, from that our water usage has been 25-30 gal/day on average. The water meter says 32 gal/day.

Water Meter: 152,581 units

Water (static tank) – 300 gallons

Static to Loft Pump used –yes

Water in GreenHab – 40%

Water in ScienceDome: 0 gallons

Water (Outpost tank) – 175 gallons

Hab toilet tank emptied: yes

Perseverance rover used:

Hours:

Beginning charge: 100

Ending charge:

Currently charging: yes

Sojourner rover used: yes

Hours:

Beginning charge: 100

Ending charge: 100

Currently charging: yes

Spirit rover used: yes

Hours: 140.8

Beginning charge: 100

Ending charge: 99

Currently charging: yes

Opportunity rover used:

Hours:

Beginning charge: 100

Ending charge:

Currently charging: yes

Curiosity rover used: yes

Hours: 148.0

Beginning charge: 100

Ending charge: 98

Currently charging: yes

Notes on rovers: Adaptions to protect the spacesuits have remained intact and functional.

ATV’s Used: (Honda, 350.1, 350.2, 350.3): All four were started and checked.

Reason for use: routine maintenance

Oil Added? Yes, to 350.1

ATV Fuel Used: 4 Gals

# Hours the ATVs were Used today: 0.25

Notes on ATVs: Both of the Honda’s rear tires are flat. I need to take them off and see if they are repairable. The oil is dirty on all four. They need to have a full tuneup and oil change. 350.2 runs well but is too dangerous to use. 350.3 needed the bolts on the battery tightened.

HabCar used and why, where? Yes, to town to pick up the trailer from storage and bring it back to campus

CrewCar used and why, where? Yes, to town to fill up with gas to turn it over to the crew. Also used to go get COVID test in Grand Junction.

Luna used and why, where? Yes, to town

General notes and comments: People were adding trash to the trailer where it was parked at storage so I went and picked it up. I had some trouble with the hitch but some people in town helped me with it. Lugs on the tires were also tightened, however the rear of the two axles has been bent in the past and needs replaced.

Summary of internet: All accounts are nominal.

Summary of suits and radios: Suits good, but sometimes charger connector to EVA suit needs jiggling to charge. Looks like same problem and same type connectors I saw here in 2009. The newer barrel connector style might work better. 5 radio batteries have been identified as not suitable for further use and will be removed from the hab so no other crew will have to fuss with them. 3 radios have been identified as faulty and labeled. They are on the second shelf down on the radio table in lower hab. There are just enough batteries remaining for all the working radios. Likely a few more batteries may not be up to par as I did not test all. The tested good batteries will run a radio in transmit on high power for ~25 minutes continuously. Intermittently my guess is ~30 minutes.

Campus wide inspection, if action taken, what and why?

Summary of general operations: No significant worries.

Summary of Hab operations: Replaced loft tank and portable kitchen water jug filters. Toilet leak is ~ 2 gal/day of potable (I assume) water .

Summary of Outpost operations: Transfer of the construction trash from the work party has begun. Director Trailer blackwater emptied.

Summary of GreenHab operations: All good except purple watering can was damaged. Still works.

Summary of ScienceDome operations: DNA sequencing on regolith samples on going.

Summary of RAM operations: No action.

Summary of any observatory issues: Robotic observatory is down.

Summary of health and safety issues: Everything good.

Questions, concerns, supplies needed and requests: I need to put two weird little metal pieces on the trailer to attach the new VIN number. They look like thumb tacks but instead of a skinny metal pin they have a thick, blunt metal pins divided into fourths. Can anyone help me with this? How do these things work? (Shannon) If trailer is on campus I can look after sim. I don’t know how from your description. Since it’s for a VIN maybe it’s some permanent attachment that requires force and tools to place into holes (Dave)

Journalist Report – October 75th

THE SOUNDS OF MARS
Lindsay Rutter
Commander, Crew 228

Sounds on Mars, punctuated with Japanese onomatopoeia.

Disclaimer: The sequence of events has been modified for creative purposes.

========== Verse One ==========

"You hear that? That whistling sound? Whoooooo," one asked.

"That sure is weird music," the other replied.

On the dark side of the Moon, Apollo 10 astronauts Eugene Cernan and
John Young describe its hauntingly beautiful melody. But the Moon
should have no sound – there is no sound medium. Turns out the
mysterious music was only VHF radio interference between the Command
Module and the Lunar Module. The public hears the eerie sounds decades
later.

We suit up for our first EVA. A muffled buzzing comes from our air
supply. [ぶんぶん Buuuun Buuuun]. It echoes in our space helmets. Will we
hear much of Mars beyond this purring?

Standing in the airlock, the five minute countdown initiates. Our
emotions well up into what almost feels like a sound.

[わくわく Waku Waku].

That is the sound of anticipation in Japanese. In English,
onomatopoeia is restricted to physical sounds. But in Japanese,
onomatopoeia extends past this physical limitation. Our emotions, our
sensations, our motions, our appearance, how we experience nature –
all of these conditions have sound symbolism in Japanese.

We step onto the landscape and squint our eyes at the dizzying
splendor. The Sun blazes its sweltering song. [ぎらぎら Gira Gira]. Jin
and I depart on our rovers, Perseverance and Curiosity. We hear a
raspy track from the gravel below. [凸凹 Deko Boko].

Percy is determined to detect life, meticulously caching rock samples.
They say the tune a rock hums when Percy’s laser strikes it is what
allows us to infer mass and relative hardness. Today, Jin and I join
Percy in her passion project. Our target destination is Jotunheim,
Homeland of the Gods. The inverted river channel is believed to
contain potential biochemistry of interest and our mission is to
confirm this hypothesis.

We traverse the dangerous terrain at the speed of sound. The sound of
a snail’s pace, that is. [のろのろ Noro Noro].

"Slow is smooth and smooth is fast," Jin says.

Disembarking at a predetermined location near Jotunheim, we contact HABCOM.

"EVA to HABCOM. We arrived at the junction. We will now circumnavigate
the feature by foot. Expect a radio blackout. We will reestablish
connection by 0945."

"HABCOM to EVA. Contact by 0945. Copy that."

We head to Jotunheim by foot. The vermillion regolith sighs hoarsely
as we walk on it. [さくさく Saku Saku].

A smoky mint-green sand is exposed beneath. The elevated remains of
the ancient river come into view. My head sweeps across the field from
left to right, a stunning panorama. Variegated mesas and stately
buttes pepper the landscape. We begin collecting samples from the
precipitous slopes of Jotunheim. The steepness proves hard to
navigate, and I stagger backward, with my heavy spacesuit exacerbating
my descent.

I stomp down the slopes until I regain my balance. [ドドドドド Do Do Do Do Do]!

My heartbeat percusses in my ears. [ドキドキ Doki Doki]!

A fall in this harsh world, and I would become one with the dusty landscape.

"Slow is smooth and smooth is fast," a concerned Jin reminds me.

We finish our sample collection. 0938. Seven minutes remain. We walk
back to our rovers, and hear the splashy chimes of precipitation.
[ぽたぽた Pota Pota].

"EVA to HABCOM. We have sampled Jotunheim. We will continue Northward
to examine the raised sea-green dome structure. Do you copy?"

"HABCOM to EVA. We have precipitation. You are not authorized to
continue the EVA." Our radios warble with static. [ざーざー Zaa Zaa].

Did they say we ARE authorized or we ARE NOT authorized? One word sure
can make a difference! Even Neil Armstrong confided his infamous line
was recorded in the history books with one word missing.

I am pretty sure they said we ARE authorized. But sometimes we hear
what we want to hear!

"I repeat. You are NOT authorized to continue the EVA. Please return
to the HAB immediately."

It was clear. Even the pink noise of the static could not conceal it.

"Okay. This is the saddest moment of my life," I say, duplicating the
50-year-old words Ed White muttered, when he did not want to return
from his spacewalk.

We return to the HAB without incident.

========== Verse Two ==========

Back in the ScienceDome, I attempt to extract DNA from the samples.
Bead-beating. Eluting. Vortexing. I pipette the liquified regolith
into tubes the size of my pinky. I line them up in a microtube rack.

"Hey, they look like tiny chocolate milkshakes in little cupholders!"
I say to Jin.

"Can I try one?" Jin asks, hopefully jokingly.

He stands to my right, but his voice arrives at my left. My head
spins. A whispering gallery effect. The circular enclosure propagates
sound waves along its walls, betraying our intuitive senses.

I attempt to separate the contents of the regolith samples by density.
But the microcentrifuge looks ancient. It whirls into a hustled spin –
but is it really reaching 14,400 RPM?

We use auditory evidence to check. Everything that spins causes a
vibration at the frequency of its spin. Jin analyzes those vibrations
with his Spectroid app. Rainbow ribbons of Fourier transformed
vibrations twirl across his screen.

"Yes, it is spinning at 14,400 RPM," he says.

Jin, the audio detective.

========== Verse Three ==========

Back in the GreenHab, Inga works her magic. Green popping sounds.
[にょきにょき Nyoki Nyoki]. The plants sprout their seed leaves. The
microscopic shoots fizzle throughout the space garden. Her years of
living on an organic farm are showing.

Inga harvests rosemary, and carefully documents its weight. She
tallies precious greeneries in our Martian station. Inga sprinkles the
herbs onto delicious soup that she concocted from water and powder.

The hearty warmth of the food is like a sweet lullaby. [ほかほか Hoka
Hoka]. We all gather around the table to share dinner.

Dave regales us with a story from the summer of 1969. The grumbling
and rumbling. The roaring and thundering. [ごろごろ Goro Goro]. The Apollo
11 liftoff happened right before his very eyes. And its bass drumming
sent a rolling shockwave through the gathered crowds.

I glance around the table. All crew are happily listening. Their
smiles are an allegro chorus. [にこにこ Niko Niko].

We turn off the lights. Our tin can morphs into a riveting cinema.
Then Dave plays us his original concerto, "Sunrise from Olympus Mons",
composed on his 1040ST mid-1980s Atari computer. It starts with a
pianississimo ensemble of ephemeral nocturnal sounds. They gradually
crescendo as the blue glow of sunrise lights up the Martian terrain.

[ごんごん Gon Gon]!

An unwanted fortissimo from the pipe of our loft water tank. It thumps
loudly, comically interrupting the music. Back leakage in the valves
have sounded off every few minutes in our mission. The pipe must feel
resentful to hear refined music it could never replicate.

Dave’s concerto ignores the interruption. His electronic orchestration
continues to enchant us. Flutes. Organs. Pianos. “Ice-Rain Locust”
Sound Effects. The sun has now almost fully risen in his composition.

[ごんごん Gon Gon]! [ごんごん Gon Gon]!

The pipes welt at us again.

As our evening winds down, Jin records our body temperature for the
Planetary Protection Office. Our daily monitoring prevents
astrovirological complications.

[カタカタ Kata Kata]. Clickety Clackety. He types away, sending our
anonymized body temperatures to our remote flight surgeon.

We return to our staterooms for sleep. Dave turns off the water tank.
Nobody wants to hear what sounds like machine gun sound effects from
the Space Force in their dreams!

========== Verse Four ==========

Feeling cozy and content in my stateroom, I suddenly remember I need
to finish one last science recording. Begrudgingly, I brave the
pitch-black tunnel system and scurry at a prestissimo cadence toward
the ScienceDome. As I place my flashlight down to turn the heavy
submarine hatch door, I sense something is behind me. I turn around
to see nothing but darkness. I chuckle at my cowardice. Nobody else is
on this Martian terrain! I quickly enter the ScienceDome and turn on
the light. My mind becomes engrossed in the meticulous world of
molecular biology.

[ぴぴ Pi Pi]!

A sudden beeping sound. Coming from the door.

[ぞっとZotto]!

A shiver run down my spine. Who (or what!) is at the door?

My head whiplashes toward the door window. Pitch black. The sound came
from the power system on the opposite side of the room. Fooled by the
whispering gallery effect.

========== Verse Five ==========

Back at the HAB, I lay my head down on the fluffy pillow to the sound
of soft clouds. [ふわふわ Fuwa Fuwa].

The musical performance of the sol replays in my head.

[ぶんぶん 。わくわく。ぎらぎら。凸凹
。のろのろ。さくさく。ドドドドド!ドキドキ!ぽたぽた。ざーざー。にょきにょき。ほかほか。ごろごろ。にこにこ。ごんごん。カタカタ。ぴぴ!ぞっと!ふわふわ。]

[Buuuun Buuuun. Waku Waku. Gira Gira. Deko Boko. Noro Noro. Saku Saku.
Do Do Do Do Do! Doki Doki! Pota Pota. Zaa Zaa. Nyoki Nyoki. Hoka Hoka.
Goro Goro. Niko Niko. Gon Gon. Kata Kata. Pi Pi! Zotto! Fuwa Fuwa.]

Are we living in Dave’s concerto? Is this all a simulated reality?

The piece ends with a final tenuto.

[しーん Shin].

The sound of silence.

Science Report – October 07th

Jin Sia, HSO

Science Report

Lindsay:

Today, Lindsay continued to investigate reddish-brown regolith she
collected from five locations along the slopes of the Jotunheim
structure, an inverted river bed located approximately two kilometers
North of the HAB at 38.41712 N, -110.78466 W (NAD27). The regolith
were collected from the same geographical feature sampled by Maggiori
et al. (2020), who confirmed the presences of microbes from all three
kingdoms of life, including extremophiles that could potentially
survive the harsh elements of the Martian environment, such as
psychrophiles, halophiles, and UV-resistant microorganisms. In the
ScienceDome, Lindsay began to extract DNA using a Soil DNA Isolation
Plus Kit (Product #64000, Norgen Biotek Corp) and will then prepare
the DNA samples into libraries using the Field Sequencing Kit
(SQK-LRK001, Oxford Nanopore Technology). To simulate the lack of
state of the art facilities in the rudimentary Martian science labs,
she used human power to lyse the cells instead of using
micro-centrifuge or vortexes. Her protocol will take much longer than
usual and she will assess how this alternative process will affect the
yield of the DNA.

She will then use the handheld DNA sequencer MinION to basecall and
sequence the libraries and the MinKNOW software to perform
metagenomics analyses on the reads from the MinION. Overall, this
process will allow Lindsay to identify what organisms, if any, are
present in the regolith samples. She aims to validate the findings of
Maggiori et al. (2020), only now conducting the complete experimental
process from regolith sample collection to metagenomics analysis while
undergoing planetary exploration simulation at MDRS, all as a
proof-of-concept that metagenomics studies can be completed in-situ in
this remote environment.

Lindsay continued sequencing the regolith samples today. She observes
that, similiarly to yesterday, all samples had very low DNA yields.

Jin:

No updates from Jin today, as he was occupied with compliance to
planetary protection protocol.

Inga:

I am studying small mixed gender crew interactions. There is no
significant gender difference in task performance and physical
adaptation in isolated, confined, and extreme environments (Harm et
al. 2001; Kanas and Manzey 2008; Mark et al. 2014). Mixed-gender crews
are praised as more efficient, cohesive, and with overall better team
climate than men-only teams. But at the same time gender differences
are recognized as a source of additional tension in a crew (Bishop
2004; Kahn and Leon 2000; Kring and Kaminski 2012; Leon 1991, 2005).
In my dissertation I aim to investigate gender inequality and
differences from a socio-structural point of view in order to help to
send a well-functioning group of women and men to Mars.

The first two chapters of the dissertation use reports from the
previous MDRS crews. In Chapter 1 I use multilevel generalized
regression models to show that women on average participate in six
percentage points less EVAs than men (p<.05) controlling for their
crew role, education, previous analog experience, number of women in
the crew, and commanders’ gender. A paper based on this chapter is
accepted for publication at the Journal of Human Performance in
Extreme Environments.

Chapter 2 utilizes commanders’ reports from 2009-2016 and looks at
communal and agentic aspects of leadership behavior. Sentiment
analysis results showed that female commanders are statistically
significantly (p<.001) more positive in their reports than their male
counterparts. Qualitative analysis results demonstrated that both male
and female commanders are agentic, but male commanders talked more
about maintenance issues, and did it in a more negative tone in
comparison to female commanders. Commanders of both genders were
communal, but male commanders focused on crew cohesion in terms of
team spirit, and women emphasized mutual support. Proportional word
frequencies confirmed that commanders of both genders are agentic, but
women tend to use more general terms and men use more specific terms
in their reports. Female commanders used more communal words than male
commanders. Overall, the results are in line with previous social role
theory research and show that commanders of both genders are agentic
(but with granular differences), and female commanders tend to be more
communal. This paper is currently under peer review.

Currently at MDRS I collect ethnographic (participant observation)
data for the last chapter of my dissertation. In addition to rich
original data, this chapter will provide context to the rest of the
project.

And last but not least, crew 228 is helping me to pilot a future
journal study of emotion and emotion management. A significant body of
empirical psychological research on mixed-gender crews in space analog
environments reaffirm gender stereotypes: women are more
other-oriented and care more about the wellbeing of others, and men
are more individualistic and competitive (Bishop et al. 2010; Kahn and
Leon 2000; Leon 2005). Emotional behavior in this line of research is
seen as an intrinsic part of a personality. I approach emotions and
emotion management as aspects of a social structure. Emotional
behavior is closely intertwined with an individual’s gender and
status. Emotion management is a conscious attempt to align one’s
emotions with situational emotion rules (Hochschild 1983). This future
study will examine emotion management and unwritten emotion rules in
space analog environments.

Today, Inga worked on her presentation for her backup PhD dissertation
chapter that will be presented at this year’s Mars Society
International Teleconvention.

References:

Bishop, Sheryl L. 2004. “Evaluating Teams in Extreme Environments:
From Issues to Answers.” Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine
75(Suppl 7):C14-21.

Bishop, Sheryl L., Ryan Kobrick, Melissa Battler, and Kim Binsted.
2010. “FMARS 2007: Stress and Coping in an Arctic Mars Simulation.”
Acta Astronautica 66(9):1353–67. doi: 10.1016/j.actaastro.2009.11.008.

Harm, Deborah, Richard Jennings, Janice Meck, Michael Powell, Lakshmi
Putcha, Clarence Sams, Suzanne Shneider, Linda Shackelford, Scott
Smith, and Peggy Whitson. 2001. “Genome and Hormones: Gender
Differences in Physiology. Invited Review: Gender Issues Related to
Space Flight in NASA Perspecitve.” Journal of Applied Psychology
(91):2374–83.

Hochschild, Arlie Russell. 1983. The Managed Heart: Commercialization
of Human Feeling. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Kahn, P., and G. Leon. 2000. “Group Climate & Individual Functioning
in an All-Women Antarctic Expedition Team.” Journal of Human
Performance in Extreme Environments 5(1). doi: 10.7771/2327-2937.1005.

Kanas, Nick, and Dietrich Manzey. 2008. Space Psychology and
Psychiatry. Springer Science & Business Media.

Kring, Jason P., and Megan A. Kaminski. 2012. “Gender Composition and
Crew Cohesion During Long-Duration Space Missions.” in On Orbit and
Beyond: Psychological Perspectives on Human Spaceflight, edited by D.
A. Vakoch. Springer Science & Business Media.

Leon, G. R. 2005. “Men and Women in Space.” Aviation, Space, and
Environmental Medicine 76(6 Suppl):B84-8.

Leon, Gloria R. 1991. “Individual and Group Process Characteristics of
Polar Expedition Teams.” Environment and Behavior 23(6):723–48. doi:
10.1177/0013916591236005.

Maggiori, Catherine, Jessica Stromberg, Yolanda Blanco, Jacqueline
Goordial, Edward Cloutis, Miriam García-Villadangos, Victor Parro, and
Lyle Whyte. 2020. “The Limits, Capabilities, and Potential for Life
Detection with MinION Sequencing in a Paleochannel Mars Analog.”
Astrobiology 20(3):375–93. doi: 10.1089/ast.2018.1964.

Mark, Saralyn, Graham B. I. Scott, Dorit B. Donoviel, Lauren B.
Leveton, Erin Mahoney, John B. Charles, and Bette Siegel. 2014. “The
Impact of Sex and Gender on Adaptation to Space: Executive Summary.”
Journal of Women’s Health (2002) 23(11):941–47. doi:
10.1089/jwh.2014.4914.

GreenHab Report – October 07th

Crew Scientist/GreenHab Officer: Inga Popovaite

Environmental control: Kept up at 65F at night; temp higher during the day. Doors open during the day.

Average temperatures: ~70-80F during the day; kept at 65F at night.

Hours of supplemental light: N/A

Daily water usage for crops: ~5-6 gallons. Air cooled off; no need for that much water.

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes:

Water in Blue Tank ~94 gallons (~40% full)

Time(s) of watering for crops: morning, afternoon (2 times, checking soil moisture levels more often)

Changes to crops: Seeds are sprouting and seedlings are growing rapidly. Basil developed white leaves on the bottom, otherwise looks healthy. I suspect lack of sunlight but it can be nutrient deficiency. Banana peppers sprouted!

Narrative: Mostly caring for the seedlings; bigger plants are watered once a day. All plants are happy and growing fast. We use fresh herbs from the garden daily. I planted more microgreens on the left side of the microgreen bed.

Current crops:

Seedlings/sprouts: wild rocket, microgreens, tomatoes, radishes, cucumbers, zucchini, Swiss chard, chives, marjoram, sage, oregano, thyme, carrot, chamomile, lettuce, banana peppers

Mature: green onion, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, aloe, rosemary, basil, cilantro, mint, Swiss chard, aloe, thai hot pepper (ornamental).

Harvest: Since last report:

16 g green onion

38 g tomato

38 g micro greens

6 g mint

11 g arugula

Total: 109 g of fresh bounty to supplement dried vegetable rich diet.

Support/supplies needed: The purple plastic watering can got broken (I tripped on it and the spout fell off and broke). 🙁

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