April 29, 2022 – Mars Desert Research Station

April 29, 2022May 2, 2022

EVA Report – April 29th

Crew 265 EVA Report 29-04-2022

EVA # 5

Author: Levesque

Purpose of EVA: Communications testing and road condition evaluation.

Start time: 0930

End time: 1345

Narrative: The EVA team drove along Cow Dung Road testing radio communications along the way using the project radios via the repeater on North Ridge and a simplex MDRS channel. Upon parking the rovers at the entrance to the dinosaur quarry, the team proceeded on foot down into Lith Canyon. During their trek along the canyon floor and its south rim, several communication checks were made with the Hab to test the project repeater and the MDRS radio channel. Radio contacts continued on the project radios via the repeater, but none were achieved on the simplex MDRS channel because of the terrain. It wasn’t until the team reached a high point on the south rim that contact was re-established on the MDRS channel, where line of sight communications could be obtained. After completing the testing, the team returned to the rovers and traveled back to the Hab. About a mile from the Hab, the Opportunity rover overheated and had to stop for 10 minutes before proceeding. It did so again just short of its parking space in front of the station and had to be pushed to its recharge station.

Destination: Lith Canyon

Coordinates: UTM NAD27 CONUS 0518270 4256052

EVA Participants: Levesque, Iakymov, Blanco

Road(s) and Routes per MDRS map: Cow Dung Road to Quarry Road and return.

Mode of Travel: Opportunity and Perseverance and on foot.

April 29, 2022May 2, 2022

Operations Report – April 29th

Crew 265 Operations Report Sol 5 29-04-2022

SOL: 5

Name of person filing report: Dave Laude/Sergii Iakymov

Non-nominal systems: Furnace. Room#2 door knob. Percy’s left rear tail light is non-functional, but the brake light is working. Upper deck clock hour hand offset and one can be confused on the hour reading.

Notes on non-nominal systems: Furnace is functional and we remain cautious over limiting to early morning only. Infrequently used now. Door knob feels like it’s about to fail. Clock hour hand has been adjusted.

ROVERS

Spirit rover used: No

Hours: 176.2

Beginning charge: 100

Ending charge: 100

Currently charging: Yes

Opportunity rover used: Yes

Hours: 96.1

Beginning charge: 100

Ending charge: 69

Currently charging: Yes

Curiosity rover used: No

Hours: 187.3

Beginning charge: 100

Ending charge: 100

Currently charging: Yes

Perseverance rover used: Yes

Hours: 238.0

Beginning charge: 100

Ending charge: 59

Currently charging: Yes

General notes and comments: Oppy overheated about 1.5Km north of MDRS on return EVA leg. A 10 minute cool down allowed it to reach within 50m of its parking place before overheating again.

Summary of Hab operations:

WATER USE:

Water (static tank): Not full. ~342 gallons.

Water (loft tank): 55 gallons

Water Meter: 158169.2 units

Static to Loft Pump used – Yes

Static tank pipe heater (on or off): Off

Static tank heater (On or off): Off

Toilet tank emptied: Yes

Summary of internet: Nominal

Summary of suits and radios: Batteries charging. Six radio batteries have now been tested. Three are very good, one fair and the others only about 60% of full new capacity (still usable, but could deplete on long EVAs). It may be that some failed suit batteries that are accumulating are a result of over-discharge that could ruin standard SLA batteries. This could happen if the suit hasn’t been charged then used or the fan is not turned off upon returning from EVA. It might be helpful if the charger doesn’t get switched off from the battery when the fan is running. The charger could then supply the current needed to run the fan. There is a class of batteries called "deep discharge" that could better handle over-discharge if that is happening.

Summary of GreenHab operations: NA

WATERUSE: N/A

Heater: N/A

Supplemental light: N/A

Harvest: None

Summary of ScienceDome operations: Not used.

Dual split: Heat or AC, On or Off

Summary of RAM operations: None

Summary of any observatory issues: NA

Summary of health and safety issues: Per HSO report all crew members are feeling good and can participate in EVA.

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: n/a

April 29, 2022May 2, 2022

Daily Photos – April 29th

April 29, 2022May 2, 2022

Journalist Report – April 29th

Sol: 05
Summary Title: Sweet Emotions
Author: Sarah Treadwell, Crew Journalist

Today is Sol 05 here at the Mars Desert Research Station. It was another day with an EVA consisting of Commander Marc, Mapping Tech Benny, and Engineer Sergii. This was one of the longer and further tests of the new radio system thus far, and we are pleased to report that it is working in even the most challenging of areas.

With challenges comes rewards and for our EVA team today they certainly had that. To say the views they were treated to were stunning may be an understatement. The landscape here is dramatic and the emotions and reactions the crew returned with was that of awe and gratitude. Upon return, commander Marc removed his helmet and reported that he now could die a happy man.

Back at the station, the rest of us took turns operating as Capcom and preparing lunch. We also watched the maps and tracked the direction our EVA crew was heading. Mapping tech Isai flexed his culinary skills and made tortillas from scratch for lunch, which we made into chicken quesadillas. Needless to say, now no one is very hungry for dinner.

I’m noticing that this time is causing many of us to have time to reflect on where we currently are in our lives professionally, and where we would like to direct that going forward. It’s a familiar feeling for me and I often find that experiences like this give me some breathing room to process a wide range of ideas and emotions.

This experience has certainly for me highlighted how spotlight our emotions can be here as there is no place to completely bury them. We are all surrounded by people whom we haven’t ever met in person before arriving. Personally, I started this mission with some pretty low moments and now came back up with some pretty high moments. It’s unusual to have so much vulnerability without much rapport, which really is a challenge that really any randomly selected collaborative group must overcome.

Humans are undeniably sloppy, emotional, and prone to making mistakes. But we are also cognitive, intelligent, and inquisitive. All the puzzle pieces that make us who we are don’t have to be perfect. We simply must strive to do our best, help others, and enjoy our brief blip of moment of being alive.

“The cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself.”