Month: February 2023

Crew 275 Sol Summary Report 22Feb2023

Sol: 10

Summary Title: Wuthering Heights and Rainy Nights

Author’s name: Jeremy Rabineau, Commander.

Mission Status: Nominal.

Sol Activity Summary:

Since yesterday evening, our activities have been highly impacted by the weather conditions. The noise of the wind was very impressive and impaired the sleep of some crewmembers. We were all very afraid for our atmospheric experiments, especially for the LOAC instrument that is very sensitive to rain. In the morning, we were authorized to leave the Hab for EVA #8 and stopped on our way to check the status of our instruments, as per EVA request. We noticed that both the meteorological mast and the LOAC had toppled over. We only retrieved the LOAC and left the meteorological mast, because we were aware that the wind speed would remain quite high. The crew of EVA #8 then reached North Ridge to perform their main mission, but after about 40 minutes they decided to come back because they were too cold, and the wind speed was too high to safely conduct their operations.

Following this event, we decided to also cancel EVA #9 that was planned for the afternoon.

On the campus, the environmental sensors have been fully deployed on all the buildings and can now give us information about temperature, humidity, pressure, and luminosity.

Look Ahead Plan:

We had to adapt our plans because of the weather. We will wait for better wind conditions to put back the antenna of Mega-Ares back at its initial place.

Today, two crewmembers have trained with the 3D map of North Ridge obtained by photogrammetry. Tomorrow, we would like to test their ability to reach some specific checkpoints there, as compared to the EVA crew of today (using only a 2D map). We are thus planning an EVA tomorrow morning (Sol 11), should the weather conditions allow it.

Anomalies in work: None.

Weather: Very cloudy and very windy,low 0°C/32°F, high 9°C/48°F.

Crew Physical Status: Optimal.

EVA: Because of the bad weather conditions, the team of EVA#8 had to retrieve the LOAC instrument, which was done successfully. They had to shorten their EVA because of high wind, which means that the scientific objectives were only partially achieved. EVA #9 was cancelled because the LOAC instrument was already retrieved, and the weather conditions were not good enough to safely leave the Hab.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, EVA Request, EVA Report, Operations Report, Journalist Report, GreenHab Report, HSO Report.

Support Requested: None.

Crew 275 Sol Summary Report 21Feb2023

Sol: 9

Summary Title: Aluminum foil and zip ties are an astronaut’s best friends

Author’s name: Jeremy Rabineau, Commander.

Mission Status: Nominal.

Sol Activity Summary:

Even if the food stocks are quickly decreasing, which makes the crew quite anxious about the fact that they will have to limit their food intake more than they already do, several successes have managed to keep our spirits high.

Another EVA dedicated to the atmospheric instruments was successfully conducted today, with the installation of the LOAC, measuring particles in the air. Following the failure of some tests during the previous EVAs, the antenna from Mega-Ares was also retrieved so that we can fix it from within the Hab. A smart fix based on aluminum foil and aluminum tape has indeed been found and all the atmospheric instruments should be fully functional very soon.

In the meantime, the photogrammetry team has finished generating 3D and 2D maps of the terrain explored yesterday at North Ridge. They started training the crewmembers taking part in the next EVAs to explain the tasks they will have to perform onsite, so that it is possible to evaluate the added value of a 3D map over a 2D map.

We started a human factor experiment whose purpose is to evaluate the impact of the architecture of an extraterrestrial station on the overall performance of the crew. To do so, we conducted very demanding cognitive tests at different locations through the campus: the Upper Deck of the Hab, the Science Dome, and the Green Hab. This experiment includes also other protocols that will be implemented progressively.

In the evening, because of the wind, the external door of the main airlock was blown open and we had to secure it with a rope. For safety’s sake, the door of the engineering air lock was also secured with a screwdriver.

Look Ahead Plan:

With the 2D and 3D maps of the terrain explored yesterday fully rendered, we are planning to send two teams to the exact same location to check the added value of the 3D map to ease the ability of astronauts to identify some specific features onsite. We thus plan to send an EVA crew to North Ridge with a 2D map tomorrow morning (Sol 10) and another one with a 3D map on Thursday morning (Sol 11).

As explained yesterday, we would like to perform another EVA tomorrow (Sol 10) in the afternoon to put back the antenna of Mega-Ares back at its initial place. The antenna has indeed been fixed today.

With the LOAC instrument now deployed, it should also be noted that we would like to have the possibility to perform an “emergency EVA” in case too strong precipitations are announced, or at least to take the opportunity of another EVA to retrieve it. Indeed, this instrument is not only very expensive, but also very sensitive to precipitations and could be damaged if it rains or snows too much.

Anomalies in work: None.

Weather: Cloudy and windy, low -4°C/24°F, high 8°C/47°F.

Crew Physical Status: Optimal.

EVA: The team of EVA#7 successfully deployed the LOAC instrument and retrieved the Mega-Ares antenna to repair it inside the hab.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, EVA Request, EVA Report, Operations Report, Journalist Report, GreenHab Report, HSO Report.

Support Requested: None.