Month: February 2023

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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.

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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Journalist Report – February 16th

Sol 4 – “HabCom, do you copy?”

“You are a Martian!” The man smiled. “The word is not familiar to you, certainly. It’s an Earth expression.”

– – Chapter 4 of The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury

This morning, Mars offered us clear skies and biting cold: the weather station read -17°C at 6:45 when we woke up! As we were beginning to complete our daily surveys and health check, still half asleep, the power suddenly went out. Jérémy immediately contacted Mission Support, who responded quickly, and the power came back a few minutes later, though enough time passed for us to start to feel the cold seep through the Hab walls… and give us a taste of what awaited out there in the Martian atmosphere! The EVA to install MegaAres being scheduled in the morning, we regularly checked the temperature as we got ready. By 10am, we had reached -10°C! Warmly dressed and equipped with our spacesuits, Alexandre, Corentin and I stepped into the airlock for depressurization, led by Quentin, our HabCom.

This was the crew’s first high-stakes EVA science-wise, and we were all aware of the importance of this experiment: the MegaAres antenna is supposed to stay in place during the entire mission to collect data on the electric field of the Martian atmosphere. After collecting all the parts and tools in the engineering airlock, and loading everything into the rovers, the unexpected happened, as always. Alexandre, our EVA leader, lost radio contact with us. Fortunately, we were still close to the Hab and could return to the airlock, pressurize, and re-equip Alexandre. We then headed to the chosen site and worked as hard as we could to make up for the lost time. I started feeling more intensely what we had all noticed during our training EVA: exertion arrived much more quickly when performing the simplest actions required by the installation of the antenna, such as kneeling, standing up, even grabbing a tool… Every single movement was impeded by the thickness of our gloves, the impreciseness of our movements, the weight of our equipment. It took us half an hour to insert two screws and adjust the correct nuts…

Nevertheless, we succeeded! The antenna is upright, sitting on its four “legs” on the metal mesh serving as the electrical system’s ground. We can even see it from the Hab! And to the Hab we returned, exhausted but quite content. After debriefing the EVA over some lunch prepared by Alice, a nap was deemed necessary, and approved by our Crew Scientist who had even thought of including it in the original schedule. But there was no time to waste : tomorrow, another EVA to the same location is scheduled to set up a weather station! Quentin, Jérémy and Alexandre spent their afternoon preparing, while the others worked on their various tasks in the Hab. In the persisting cold, the generator is struggling to keep some of the appliances up and running. We are currently running the Coms window, gathered around scavenged flashlights! Luckily, the heater is still working miracles…

This first week, on which rests the correct implementation of our main experiments, is stressful for all of us, but we are still in great shape!

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Astronomy Report – February 16th

Astronomy Report

Name: Alexandre VINAS

Crew: 275
Date: 02/16/2023

MDRS ROBOTIC OBSERVATORY

Robotic Telescope Requested (choose one) MDRS-14 MDRS-WF

Objects Viewed: /

Problems Encountered: The robotic observatory is currently open but the observations have not been completed

MUSK OBSERVATORY

Solar Features Observed: /

Problems Encountered: cold weather

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Sol Summary Report – February 16th

Crew 275 Sol Summary Report 16Feb2023

Sol: 4

Summary Title: “HabCom, do you copy?”

Author’s name: Jeremy Rabineau, Commander.

Mission Status: Nominal.

Sol Activity Summary:

Today was certainly the most intense day since the beginning of the simulation. We woke up a bit earlier and shortened our daily sport session, so that we could get ready for a relatively technical EVA. With temperatures getting as low as -17°C/1°F, the three EVA crewmembers had to wear very warm clothes that still allowed them to move freely so that they could proceed with the deployment of the MegaAres instrument. After a three-hour EVA, the first step of the installation has now been accomplished in an area free of snow less than 250 meters away from the Hab. The next step will be to connect the instrument to an external battery during another EVA and install a meteorological mast for contextualization of the data. We spent a large part of the afternoon rehearsing for the deployment of this mast. The cold weather also affected the power supply systems, with a short blackout in the morning, which was fortunately soon fixed by mission support. In the evening we continued to be very careful with our power consumption to be gentle with the generator. On the bright side, we are learning from our mistakes, getting better and better with the bread-making machine, which is fundamental for French people.

Look Ahead Plan:

Should the weather and the ground conditions allow it, we would like to continue the deployment process of the instruments dedicated to atmospheric measurements. To do this, we are planning an EVA tomorrow morning to bring power supply to MegaAres, test it, and install the meteorological mast right next to it. Due to the weather forecast, the EVA dedicated to the deployment of LOAC may be further delayed.

On Saturday, we would like to make a first EVA dedicated to photogrammetry, using drones.

In the meantime, we will proceed with the deployment of our environmental sensors throughout the campus.

Anomalies in work: Issues with the generator, leading to a blackout in the morning and the necessity to limit power consumption more than usual during the rest of the day. In addition, we observed that the robotic observatory has been left in open position since at least this morning.

Weather: Sunny, low -17°C/1°F, high 1°C/34°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.

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Sol Summary Report – February 15th

 

Crew 275 Sol Summary Report 15Feb2023

Sol: 3

Summary Title: Waiting for a Martian spring.

Author’s name: Jeremy Rabineau, Commander.

Mission Status: Nominal.

Sol Activity Summary:

Another very busy day starting with a health status check at 6:45, followed by the daily physical activity session organized by our Health & Safety Officer. We managed to solve a few technical problems during some tests of the Echofinder experiments, whose purpose is to allow non-experts to perform ultrasound measurements using artificial intelligence and augmented reality. Our crew scientist spent a lot of energy reorganizing the schedule due to the snow and the cold temperatures. The crew engineer continued to work on the deployment of environmental sensors that will measure humidity, temperature, and luminosity from different places in the station. But the most important task of the day was certainly the preparation of tomorrow’s EVA, with the labeling of the different parts of the MegaAres instrument and an extensive rehearsal to build it, performed in the lower deck of the Hab.

Look Ahead Plan:

With the snow slowly melting, we decided to keep tomorrow’s EVA dedicated to the deployment of the MegaAres instrument, meant to measure the electric field in the atmosphere. However, we postponed it to the afternoon, so that the temperature is more compatible with the planned activities. If no additional precipitation occurs until Friday, we will go ahead with the deployment of the meteorological mast, which will be necessary for the contextualization of the data from the two atmospheric instruments Mega-Ares and LOAC.

Anomalies in work: Nothing to report.

Weather: Cloudy, low -3°C/27°F, high 1°C/33°F.

Crew Physical Status: Optimal.

EVA: None.

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

Support Requested: None.

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