Crew Photos – February 17th
Journalist Report – February 17th
Sol 5 – “Mission Support, we have a problem…”
“He wanted to go to Mars on the rocket. He went down to the rocket field in the early morning and yelled in through the wire fence at the men in uniform that he wanted to go to Mars.”
– Chapter 5 of The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
So, you want to go to Mars? Are you sure?
After a very intense Sol 4, and for some of us, staying up late preparing the weather station for the next EVA, our commander noticed a power outage at 5:27am. As we all began to stir and emerge from our sleep to the sound of the comms radio, we noticed that, like yesterday, the temperature had dropped on the upper and lower decks of the Hab. When the power came back, immediately the propane alarm went off on the Lower Deck. Corentin and Quentin rushed to the RAM to get gas detectors and evaluate the situation. After a careful check of every possible source, they concluded that there was no gas leak, and that the alarm was either deregulated by the extreme temperature, or that when the power went out, the furnace valve was not closed right away, and a small amount of gas was expelled and accumulated close to the Lower Deck floor. While no one was put in danger, it was a very stressful experience. Later in the day, we were even able to retrace the events by looking at the data from the chest bands we wear at night.
Our heartbeats skyrocketed when Jérémy called Mission Support with the Hab radio and when the propane alarm went off. After the power came back, temperatures started to slowly rise again, and we shed some layers. Thank the Martian gods, Adrien’s aquaponic fishes are still alive and well!
Given how our night had been drastically shortened, and because we risked another power outage, we decided to cancel today’s EVA and reschedule it to tomorrow morning. As a result, instead of staying up and starting the day normally, many of us went back to bed… According to our commander, it felt like a Sunday morning at MDRS: some of us sleeping, some working, some cleaning the Hab.
By late morning, it was once again all hands on deck: Adrien in the GreenHab, Quentin working on the environmental sensors, Alice writing an article on meteorites. Today was also official launching day for EchoFinder: Jérémy and I, then Adrien and Corentin took turns being subject and operator, to detect specific, pre-scanned organs during a session at CNES, the French space agency.
After this strange day, we are ready and rested for our rescheduled EVA: building the weather station near the MegaAres antenna. We hope that tonight, the power generator will take its revenge and win the fight against the cold!
Astronomy Report – February 17th
Astronomy Report
Name: Alexandre VINAS
Crew: 275
Date: 02/17/2023
MDRS ROBOTIC OBSERVATORY
Robotic Telescope Requested (choose one) MDRS-14 MDRS-WF
Objects Viewed: Asteroid Eos (see picture attached)
Problems Encountered: /
MUSK OBSERVATORY
Solar Features Observed: /
Problems Encountered: /
GreenHab Report – February 17th
GreenHab Officer: Adrien Tison
Environmental control: Heater
Average Temperature: 70.75 °F
Average humidity: 20% (to be double-checked)
Hours of supplemental light: 4 hours
Daily water usage for crops: 7.39 gallons
Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 0 gallons
Water in the blue tank: 134.65 gallons
Time(s) of watering for crops: 9:32 & 17:46
Changes to crops: N/A
Narrative: As it is cold nowadays, the temperature was around 66 °F in the morning, but thankfully the sun was bright (and the heater also did its job very well), so the temperature went back up again.
Everything was normal, nothing to signal, so I maintained and watered crops and plants as my daily operations.
I didn’t get to use another sensor today to double-check the humidity, but I will do it as soon as possible during the following days.
I harvested basil and thyme for today’s lunch, what a pleasure it is to have access to so many tasteful possibilities.
Harvest: 4g of Basil & 3g of thyme
Support/supplies needed: N/A
Operations Report – February 17th
Crew 275 Operations Report 17Feb2023
SOL: 5
Name of person filing report: Quentin ROYER
Non-nominal systems:
• Toilet
• Science Dome: 3 leaks in the walls – same as yesterday
• Propane Generator
Notes on non-nominal systems:
• Propane generator: power outage from [unknown] to 5:32 am
ROVERS
Spirit rover used: No
• Hours: 209.0
• Beginning charge: 100%
• Ending charge: N/A
• Currently charging: Yes
Opportunity rover used: No
• Hours: 113.0
• Beginning charge: 100%
• Ending charge: N/A
• Currently charging: Yes
Curiosity rover used: No
• Hours: 220.9
• Beginning charge: 100%
• Ending charge: N/A
• Currently charging: Yes
Perseverance rover used: No
• Hours: 255.4
• Beginning charge: 100%
• Ending charge: N/A
• Currently charging: Yes
General notes on rovers: Today’s EVA was postponed for safety reason after the propane alarm in the morning, because the crewmembers were tired, and the Crew wanted to stay at the Hab to monitor any unexpected situation during the day. Indeed, crewmembers planned for this EVA included the Commander and the Crew Engineer.
Summary of Hab operations: Power outage in the morning (see below the section “Summary of health and safety issues”). The weather station which will be deployed during the next EVA was fully assembled and tested in the Lower Deck.
• WATER USE: 14.42 gallons
• Water: 396.54 gallons
• Static tank pipe heater: On
• Static tank heater: On
• Toilet tank emptied: No
Summary of internet: Hughes Net was used during the day before the opening of COMMS for email purposes, and Starlink (MDRSCampus-Guest) is used during COMMS.
Summary of suits and radios: Nothing to report as today’s EVA was postponed to another day.
Summary of GreenHab operations: The Crew botanist conducted routine operations.
• WATER USE: 7.39 gallons
• Heater: On
• Supplemental light: From 10:00 pm to 2:00 am
• Harvest: 4 g of basil – 3 g of thyme
Summary of ScienceDome operations: The Commander and Crew Scientist tested some experimental protocols.
• Dual split: Heat / From 10 pm to 7 am
Summary of RAM operations: The RAM was not used because of the freezing temperatures. There is no more whistling sound. There is no more leak.
Summary of any observatory issues: The robotic observatory was open until around 12:30.
Summary of health and safety issues:
At 5:27 am, the Commander woke up and detected that there was a power outage, and a very low temperature on the Upper and Lower Decks (56°F / 13°C on the Upper Deck, much less on the Lower Deck). He immediately notified Mission Support who promptly reacted. He also notified the Crewmembers to wear hot clothes and to stay in their rooms, where the temperature was warmer.
At 5:32 am, power came back in the main Hab, and propane detectors warmed up.
At 5:34 am, the Lower Deck propane detector’s alarm rang, announcing a “possible gas leak”. The Commander, the HSO and the Crew Engineer reacted to the emergency. The Commander notified Mission Support. The HSO and Crew Engineer went to the RAM to get the two gas detectors.
Back in the Hab, crewmembers began an inspection of the Lower Deck with the gas detectors.
At 5:39 am, the alarm stopped. Crew members continued to monitor the situation, and seek for a potential gas leak. As the temperature was very low, Mission Support instructed to Crew to switch on the Lower Deck heater. This took about 20 minutes, because the heater did not switch on before (there was no gas going out from the pipe, even though the valve was open).
We finally managed to switch on the heater, and Crew members rested before starting their daily activities at 6:45. A propane gas detector was left ON in the Lower Deck to monitor the situation. It ran out of battery around 2 hours later.
The yellow gas detector showed weird values: when the red gas detector was beeping, the yellow one still showed the same value of LEL (0 to 2%)
The heater was left on during most of the day, and the temperature was back to normal (72°F) at 10:57 am in the Upper Deck.
Questions, concerns, and requests to Mission Support:
• The oven is working now. Same for the heater on the lower deck, after 20 minutes of trying to switch it on, it switched on
• Greenhab Radio on channel 1: the sound of the radio is very low, even though the volume is at MAX, it is hard to hear the person speaking, what can we do?
• Both gas detectors ran out of battery, each one work with 3 AAA batteries, and we have no more AAA batteries.
Sol Summary Report – February 17th
Crew 275 Sol Summary Report 17Feb2023
Sol: 5
Summary Title: “Mission Support, we have a problem…”
Author’s name: Jeremy Rabineau, Commander.
Mission Status: Nominal.
Sol Activity Summary:
After working quite late in the evening on the EVA planned for this morning, we had to wake up way earlier than planned because of another blackout. Again, the generator failed in its fight against the cold. The latter reached us in the Upper Deck of the Hab, where it was only 13°C/56°F at 5:27 am. It is at that time that we contacted Mission Support. They reacted very efficiently, and power was soon back in the Hab. Still, in the Lower Deck, the temperature was close to freezing. The Commander, Crew Engineer, and Health & Safety Officer joined forces to monitor the situation, as the propane alarm started to ring. We made sure that there was no actual gas leak using portable devices found in the RAM. To help the main heating system, we then tried to turn ON the propane heater of the Lower Deck. However, only after about 20 minutes we could finally hear that some propane was reaching the heater. With the propane heater running, the temperature of the Hab became nominal again at around 11:00. Given these events and their consequences (necessity to monitor the situation, lack of sleep, lack of time to prepare the last details of the EVA), we decided to postpone the EVA planned for the morning. The whole crew was relieved about this decision and took this opportunity to get some well-deserved rest, to clean some parts of the station, and to sort the numerous files that are already gathering on our respective computers.
Look Ahead Plan:
With the events of this night / early morning, we decided to not proceed with the EVA planned at 10:00. We would like to postpone it to tomorrow, as the weather seems suitable for this. The other EVA, dedicated to photogrammetry and initially planned for tomorrow, will also be postponed (to next week).
Anomalies in work: Issues with the generator, leading to a blackout during the night. This led to a low temperature (13°C/56°F) in the Upper Deck and the necessity to limit power consumption more than usual during the rest of the day. The dome of the robotic observatory was still open until about noon, but then closed.
Weather: Sunny, low -16°C/3°F, high -1°C/30°F.
Crew Physical Status: Optimal.
EVA: None.
Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, EVA Report, EVA Request, Operations Report, Journalist Report, HSO Report, GreenHab Report, Astronomy Report.
Support Requested: None.
Operations Report – February 16th
Crew 275 Operations Report
16th Feb 2023
SOL: 4
Name of person filing report: Quentin ROYER
Non-nominal systems:
• Toilet
• RAM: 1 leak in the roof
• Science Dome: 3 leaks in the walls – same as yesterday
• Lower Deck carbon monoxide detector
• Propane Generator
• Oven: light of the oven non-working – heating does not seem to work either
• Spacesuit helmet
• Robotic observatory (potentially): it was opened for the whole day
Notes on non-nominal systems:
• Propane generator: power outage from 6:45 to 6:52
• Spacesuit Helmet: a zip tie is missing at the rear of one helmet, I can replace it with your permission
ROVERS
Spirit rover used: Yes
• Hours: 209.0
• Beginning charge: 100%
• Ending charge: 84%
• Currently charging: Yes
Opportunity rover used: No
• Hours: 113.0
• Beginning charge: 100%
• Ending charge: N/A
• Currently charging: Yes
Curiosity rover used: Yes
• Hours: 220.9
• Beginning charge: 100%
• Ending charge: 88% – Curiosity remained ON due to a crewmember’s mistake
• Currently charging: Yes
Perseverance rover used: No
• Hours: 255.4
• Beginning charge: 100%
• Ending charge: N/A
• Currently charging: Yes
General notes on rovers: Snow was removed from the rovers during the EVA, prior to departure. Curiosity remained ON after the EVA due to a crewmember’s mistake
Summary of Hab operations: Power outage from 6:45 am to 6:52 am, and the Crew reduced their energy consumption in the evening per the request of Mission Support. Routine operations were conducted at the RAM, and the Crew Engineer built the weather station which will be deployed during the next EVA.
• WATER USE: 13.39 gallons
• Water: 410.96 gallons
• Static tank pipe heater: On
• Static tank heater: On
• Toilet tank emptied: Yes
Summary of internet: Hughes Net was used during the day before the opening of COMMS for email purposes, and Starlink (MDRSCampus-Guest) is used during COMMS.
Summary of suits and radios: The radio slipped from a crewmember’s head at the very beginning of the EVA. The 3 crewmembers went back to the Hab after going through the repressurization protocol. The crewmember then wore a headband to keep the radio in place. The EVA could resume after the depressurization protocol, and Spacesuits and radios were nominal.
One helmet has a missing zip tie at its rear. I can replace it with your approval.
Summary of GreenHab operations: The Crew botanist conducted routine operations and relocated tomato plants.
• WATER USE: 12.16 gallons
• Heater: On
• Supplemental light: From 10:00 pm to 2:00 am
• Harvest: 57 g of beans
Summary of ScienceDome operations: The Commander and Crew Scientist tested some experimental protocols.
• Dual split: Heat / From 10 pm to 7 am – We suspect that the dual split did not work last night
Summary of RAM operations: The RAM was not used because of the freezing temperatures.
Summary of any observatory issues: The robotic observatory was open for the whole day.
Summary of health and safety issues: The lower deck carbon monoxide detector beeped 3 times, 3 times in a row at 21:50, it then stopped. There was a Fire Alarm in the Hab at 11:00, during the EVA. The alarm rang because the kitchen hood was not on MAX mode during cooking. The HabCom went down to the lower deck, and the EVA was not disrupted. The remaining crewmembers in the Hab managed the alarm.
Questions, concerns, and requests to Mission Support: None
EVA Report – February 16th
Crew 275 EVA Report 16-02-2023
EVA # 3
Author: Alexandre VINAS (crew astronomer and EVA leader)
Purpose of EVA: Installation of the Mega-Ares instrument, dedicated to the measurement of the electric field in the atmosphere, at a location between 150 and 300 meters away from the hab.
Start time: 10:00
End time: 12:57
Narrative:
10:07 Airlock closed
We had difficulties opening the door because of the snow, so the EVA crew cleaned the stairs before leaving the station.
10:25 Rovers Curiosity and Spirit unplugged. EVA crew put the plugging wires in a dry place under the RAM in order to protect them from the snow.
Crew astronomer’s headset radio fell off and couldn’t be put back without breaking the simulation.
10:31 EVA crew back in the airlock to fix this problem. The headset has been attached with headband.
EVA crew loaded the material in the rovers.
10:53 EVA crew leaves the MDRS. Astronomer and journalist in Curiosity, HSO in Spirit.
Rovers were parked but not at the right location, EVA crew had to move again.
11:20 Rovers parked at the right location, beginning of the deployment of the antenna.
12:30 End of the installation of the antenna.
EVA crew took all the equipment away from the surrounding of the antenna, and went back to the MDRS with the rovers.
12:45 EVA crew parked the rovers, but forgot to turn Curiosity OFF.
12h57 End of the pressurization, EVA crew back in the main hab.
Some of the EVA#3 objectives could not be achieved due to lack of time and one item missing.
Destination: Between the Hab and Marble Ritual near the road.
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): N4251000 E518500
Participants: EVA leader: Alexandre Vinas (Crew Astronomer), Marie Delaroche (Crew Journalist), Corentin Senaux (HSO), HabCom: Quentin Royer (Crew Engineer)
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Drive Cow Dung Road 0110 to a place just before Marble Ritual (see map on the attached picture)
Mode of travel: Driving, even if the destination was less than 1 km away, the crew had to transport heavy instruments that also take up a lot of space
GreenHab Report – February 16th
GreenHab Officer: Adrien Tison
Environmental control: Heater
Average Temperature: 78.39 °F
Average humidity: 17%
Hours of supplemental light: 4 hours
Daily water usage for crops: 12.16 gallons
Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 0 gallons
Water in the blue tank: 142.04 gallons
Time(s) of watering for crops: 11:34 & 14:23
Changes to crops: I relocated three of the tomatoes originally located on the upper storage. I put them next to the beans.
Narrative: Indeed, the temperature on the upper storage was 117 °F and the humidity was 6%. This may explain why there were more dry leaves even though the tomatoes were well watered.
I also pulverized water as explained yesterday, and then maintained and watered crops and plants as my daily operations.
Today’s temperature was rather high and the humidity lower than usual, making it even hard to work. I decided to open the door for a few minutes to drop the temperature and have better humidity for the plants.
Besides that, everything is fine, aquaponics still running and fishes still doing well. However, I had to use more water today as it was hotter and dryer.
Harvest: 57g of beans
Support/supplies needed: N/A
Crew Photos – February 16th
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