Month: December 2022

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Journalist Report – December 7th

Sol: 10
Author: Dr. Kristine Ferrone, Commander
Title: Snow Day!

This morning the crew awoke to a winter wonderland outside; the landscape surrounding MDRS that had just started to become familiar was once again new and different with a soft white blanket over the ruddy rock formations. The crew consulted with Tier 1 mission support regarding their EVA plans for the day and decided that a short EVA to repair the mirror sample payload justified the additional risk of traversing the muddy terrain. Health and Safety Officer (Barbara Braun) and Crew Engineer (Ashley Kowalski) embarked in the late morning (with Green Hab Officer Matt Eby leading IVA comms) to the mirror payload location and worked through some realistic astronaut challenges such as working with tools and fasteners not specifically designed for use while wearing an EVA suit, bringing to mind the challenge Astronaut Mike Massimino experienced in removing tiny screws from a panel of the Hubble Space Telescope on a Space Shuttle EVA on STS-125. During the EVA, Technology Officer (Trevor Jahn) worked through challenges with data processing for Project Phantom while Commander (Kristine Ferrone) and XO (Alli Taylor) worked on planning, mission summary reports, and coordination for Friday’s STEM event. After the EVA, the crew settled in with hot chocolate to work on reports and begin preparation for end of mission activities. For dinner, Ashley and Trevor made extra large black bean burgers with microgreens Matt harvested from the Green Hab, served on homemade sourdough buns made by Barbara.

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GreenHab Report – December 7th

GreenHab Officer: Matthew Eby
Environmental control: Heater on, door closed, 20% humidity.
Average temperatures: 68-deg F at time of watering. Range prior 24 hours: 64-deg F – 76-deg F
Hours of supplemental light: 4 hours
Daily water usage for crops: Approximately 5 gallons
Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 0 gallons
Water in Blue Tank: Approximately 195 gallons (Based on a 250 gallon capacity, visually 80% full)
Time(s) of watering for crops: 2:30 PM
Changes to crops: None
Narrative: Today plant food was added to the watering. Also, it was noted that the soil level was low on several of the tomato plants, exposing the top of the roots. More soil was added and additional supports provided to promote vertical growth (see pictures). Finally, a cage was added to one of the bean plants to provide support (see picture).
Harvest: 9 grams of microgreens and 21 grams of carrot tops (part of effort to thin carrot plot).
Support/supplies needed: None needed at this time.

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Sol Summary – December 6th

Sol: 9
Summary Title: Colorful Buttes
Author’s name: Matt Eby
Mission Status: In-Simulation
Sol Activity Summary: Photogrammetry of mirror experiment location and along Cow Dung Road, excursion to Barrainca Butte to collect a soil sample, and dry-run of balloon flight procedure.
Look Ahead Plan: Flip and reset mirror experiment, local EVA for Project Phantom.
Anomalies in work: EVA headset #3 transmission issue.
Weather: Calm winds throughout. Cloudy skies early, sunshine briefly in the afternoon before clouds returned by dusk.
Crew Physical Status: Crew is in good shape, nothing of concern to note.
EVA: EVA# 1 led by the XO, with Technology Officer and Health and Safety Officer, traveled in the local area by foot with a single rover to transport gear. 3 hour duration. EVA #2 with Commander, Crew Engineer and GreenHab Officer traveled South to the intersection with route 1101, and then proceeded on foot to Barrainca Butte, 2 1/2 hour duration by rover and foot.
Reports to be filed: Journalist, Commander, Operations, Photos, EVA report, EVA request, GreenHab
Support Requested: N/A

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EVA Report – December 6th

EVA # 12
Author: A. Taylor
Purpose of EVA: Manually align the 3D model in AR and conduct more drone imagery capture around the local area.
Start time: 8:32 AM
End time: 11:12 AM
Narrative: EVA crew departed the airlock and immediately set up the AR headset. Trevor attempted to manually align previously marked objects but had some difficulty. We quickly switched gears to the drone flights and completed image capture with 4 flights around the hab, mirror payload, cow dung rd, and near the north ridge. Spirit accompanied the crew down Cow Dung Rd to carry the drone equipment.
Destination: Hab, intersection of Hab Rd & Cow Dung Rd., Mirrors (near cow dung rd & marble ritual), and north on Cow Dung Rd. to Pooh’s corner, flew drone west of Cow Dung Rd at the North Ridge.
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 4251000, 518800
Participants: Technology Officer (Jahn), HSO (Braun), XO (Taylor)
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Cow Dung Rd (0110)
Mode of travel: Rover (Spirit) and Walking

EVA # 13
Author: A. Taylor
Purpose of EVA: Test EVA sampling tools (radiation sensor, rake, scoop, sample bags) and collect a sample in a new region not yet sampled.
Start time: 12:15 PM
End time: 2:56 PM
Narrative: EVA crew departed in Curi and Oppy and headed south on Cow Dung Rd past kissing camel ridge. Crew explored the Barrainca Butte area by foot and collected two regolith samples. Crew successfully tested the handheld ham radio supplemental comms.
Destination: Barrainca Butte
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 4247000, 519000
Participants: GreenHab (Eby), Crew Eng (Kowalski), Commander (Ferrone)
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Cow Dung Rd. (0110) south to intersection of 1101
Mode of travel: Rovers (Curi & Oppy) & Walking

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Commander Report – December 6th

Sol: 9
Summary Title: EVAs #12 and #13
Author’s name: Dr. Kristine Ferrone, Commander
Mission Status: Nominal
Commander’s Report:

Crew 269 experienced another day of great weather on Mars with mostly mild temperatures, sunny skies, and light high-altitude clouds, with morning to midday cloud cover and a sprinkle of rain. The crew awoke early this morning and enjoyed a quick breakfast of cereal, oatmeal, and dried fruit. After a morning planning meeting, XO, HSO, and Technology Officer conducted the morning EVA (#12) for the purpose of flying the drone and to continue demonstrating the VR/AR headset in the area around the Hab and along Cow Dung Rd. to Marble Ritual. During the morning EVA, Engineer and Green Hab Officer exchanged the furnace filter and changed the battery on space suit #6. Upon return of the EVA #12 crew, and after a quick lunch, CDR, Engineer, and Green Hab Officer embarked on EVA #13 south on Cow Dung Rd. and then on foot on Rte 1101 to Barrainca Butte for the purpose of regolith sample collection, radiation environment measurements, and handheld ham radio comm checks. Throughout the day, the crew was updated on the status of the power system by Tier 1 support and entered various levels of power conservation as directed. In the afternoon, HSO collected health stats, crew completed exercise protocols, and conducted a test of the weather balloon payload scheduled to launch later this week. For dinner the crew enjoyed pesto pasta with vegetables with homemade sourdough bread.

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Operations Report – December 6th

SOL: 9

Name of person filing report: Ashley Kowalski

Non-nominal systems: N/A

Notes on non-nominal systems: N/A

ROVERS

Spirit rover used: Yes
Hours: 203.2 (Start), 203.4 (End)
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 90%
Currently charging: No

Opportunity rover used: Yes
Hours: 107.3 (Start), 107.9 (End)
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 69%
Currently charging: No

Curiosity rover used: Yes
Hours: 215.6 (Start), 216.2 (End)
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 63%
Currently charging: No

Perseverance rover used: No
Hours: N/A
Beginning charge: N/A
Ending charge: N/A
Currently charging: N/A

General notes on rovers: No additional notes/comments.

Summary of Hab operations:
WATER USE: ~350 gallons used to-date
Water (static tank): ~200 gallons (This is my best guess, but I am requesting Mission Support to let us know a more accurate value, if possible.)
Static tank pipe heater (on or off): On
Static tank heater (On or off): On
Toilet tank emptied: No

Summary of internet: No issues with the internet. Connection is good.

Summary of suits and radios:

The Crew Engineer replaced the battery in EVA Suit #6 today. She wore this suit out on the long afternoon EVA today, and the suit’s air flow system worked well. Please let us know what to do with the old battery.

Additionally, the Crew Engineer’s headset (headset #4) seemed to be working normally today and had no issues. However, the GreenHab Officer’s headset (headset #3) seemed to be experiencing issues today. The GreenHab Officer could hear his crewmates speaking, but his crewmates could not hear him. We switched his headset and he used headset #5 for his EVA today instead. We will monitor and report back on its status.

Summary of GreenHab operations: Additional information can be found in the GreenHab Report.
WATER USE: ~44 gallons (~5 gallons today)
Heater: On
Supplemental light: On
Harvest: N/A

Summary of ScienceDome operations: N/A
Dual split: Per Mission Support’s message, the heat is on in the ScienceDome and set to 65 F.

Summary of RAM operations: No RAM operations today.

Summary of any observatory issues: No observatory issues.

Summary of health and safety issues: No health and safety issues.

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: The Crew Engineer replaced the heat furnace air filter today. Also, the Crew Engineer acknowledges the email that was sent to the crew yesterday regarding batteries for the walkie talkies. The large sharpies work well. Finally, the toilet seems to now be functioning well. No problems today.

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Journalist Report – December 6th

Sol: 9
Author: Barbara Braun, Health and Safety Officer
Title: Big Buttes

Our time on Mars is starting to run short! The crew counted the remaining days last night, and was astonished to discover that we had only a handful of opportunities left for final data collection. Today, an EVA crew of XO Alli Taylor, HSO Barbara Braun, and Tech Officer Trevor Jahn embarked on a morning data-gathering session with the photogrammetry drone, which students in a northern Virginia elementary school have named “Vixl.” After four flights over many of the features of our local Martian area, the team packed up the drone and examined the area on foot before returning to the Hab to crunch data. The imagery will be used to create 3D maps for augmented-reality exploration.

Next, an afternoon crew consisting of Commander Kristine Ferrone, Green Hab Officer Matt Eby, and Crew Engineer Ashley Kowalski drove a pair of rovers to Barrainca Butte to take radiation measurements in the area and conduct more regolith sampling. The crew also tested out ham radio communications back to the Hab. After returning to the Hab, Matt prepared an afternoon snack for the crew involving lots of chocolate and peanut butter, before conducting a dry-run of the weather balloon launch scheduled for Thursday. The three ham radio operators on the crew have been enjoying testing out the Hab’s ham radio equipment, and have received transmissions from around the world. We have not yet received confirmation of any of our transmissions, but we plan to keep trying!

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GreenHab Report – December 6th

GreenHab Officer: Matthew Eby
Environmental control: Heater on, door closed, 20% humidity.
Average temperatures: 67-deg F at time of watering. Range prior 24 hours: 64-deg F – 83-deg F
Hours of supplemental light: 4 hours
Daily water usage for crops: Approximately 5 gallons
Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 0 gallons
Water in Blue Tank: Approximately 200 gallons (Based on a 250 gallon capacity, visually 80% full)
Time(s) of watering for crops: 5:30 PM
Changes to crops: None
Narrative: Today two notes of interest, first, one of the distressed pea plants flowered, and second a correction to a prior report, the pea plant that sprouted is actually a bean plant (and is growing vigorously, already 6” tall).
Harvest: None
Support/supplies needed: None needed at this time.

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