Crew 280 EVA Report 23-04-2023
EVA #7
Author: Neus Sabaté (Mission Specialist)
The EVA had four goals:
Check communications between the Midland radios that we brought for a larger distance between the EVA crew and the base
Collecting some iron-containing rock samples to evaluate its use for Martian batteries
Collecting some sand samples to search for microorganisms
Documenting the rock sampling for outreach purposes
Start time: 10:00 AM
End time: 12:10 PM
Narrative: After performing 5 minutes of depressurization in the front airlock, the EVA team took Curiosity and Opportunity rovers and headed towards Compass Rock. Following Mission Support’s advice, the team decided to drive at a very slow pace, which significantly decreased the discharging rate of the battery rovers. During the journey, communication with the Hub was checked every five minutes. Soon after taking Galileo Road, the transmission with the Hub became weak and on the first turn communication with the base was lost. At that point, communication with Midland radios was tested, with negative results.The team reached the final destination 10 minutes later. At Compass Rock, the team explored the area within a radius of no more than 1000 meters from the rovers. Cesca Cufí and Neus Sabaté climbed to a hill and established contact with the base. Then, they collected different samples, mainly sandstone rocks of sizes between 5-15 cm of diameter. In the meantime, Laia Ribas collected red sandstone at three different locations while Nuria Jar documented the collecting process by taking images of the locations. At 11:40AM the team decided to return to the MDRS, which they reached at 12:10PM. Before entering the Hab, we followed the 5-minutes pressurization protocol.
Destination: Compass Rock
Coordinates (use UTM WSG 84): 520000 E, 4252000 N
EVA participants: 4: Neus Sabate (Mission Specialist and EVA leader), Núria Jar (Crew Journalist), Cesca Cufi (Crew Engineer) and Laia Ribas (Green Hab Officer).
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Drive north on Cow Dung Road 0110, turn east on Galileo Road 1104.
Mode of travel: Driving on Cow Dung Road 0110 to Galileo Road 1104. Drive 0.8 miles until Compass Rock. Then walking around no farther than 1000 meters for sampling.