Crew Photos – May 12th
Sol Summary – May 12th
Sol 12
Summary Title: A successful search & rescue Safety drill for our last Sol on Mars !
Author’s name: Aline Decadi, XO
Mission Status: nominal
Sol Activity Summary: Today took place our final EVA-19.
We conducted a safety drill that involved James Burk (Commander) and Aline Decadi (XO) taking a rover on a new route never traveled before and getting stuck and needing to be rescued. In actuality, the Commander and XO planned this out and discussed with Mission Support the night before, and so the entire situation was meant to improve safety and awareness on the part of the crew on what to do in an emergency.
Overall, we were very happy how the crew rallied and worked together to establish a rescue operation and arrived only 20 minutes after the initial Request for Assistance ping was sent. It was a great experience for all crewmembers and a great way to cap off our successful mission to the MDRS.
Many valuable outcomes and recommendations have been listed as lessons learnt from this Safety drill. They are collected in the EVA report.
Nota EVA-20 initially foreseen in the afternoon has been cancelled in order for the crew to finish their analysis and research before the end of Sim planned at 06:00 PM.
The crew spent the rest of the day finishing their experiments and analysis and start packing for tomorrow’s departure. The crew will have a nice dinner together tonight with Sergii as our VIP.
Look Ahead Plan: This is our last day in Sim. Tomorrow, the crew will leave MDRS.
Anomalies in work: None.
Weather: Pleasant and sunny. Windy in the afternoon.
Crew Physical Status: Nominal.
EVA: EVA-19 North on the main road to the "Gateway to Candor".
Reports to be filed: HSO Report, EVA Report, Operations Report, Journalist Report, Pictures of the day, GreenHab Report.
Support Requested: None.
Journalist Report – May 12th
Crew 261 Journalist Report 12-05-2023
Author: Kris Davidson, Crew Journalist
Earth and Mars pirouette around the sun in a cosmic dance covering mind-boggling distances. Two cosmic dancers, they swing close and then recede. The distance between Earth and Mars varies depending on their positions in their respective orbits around the Sun. At its closest approach, Mars is about 54.6 million kilometers (33.9 million miles) from Earth. At its farthest, the distance can be over 400 million kilometers (249 million miles).
Yet, distance isn’t merely a spatial concept. If we think of time as a flowing river, then each moment is an island in that river, each separated from the others by the relentless current of time. Consider standing at MDRS, your feet grounded in the same soil, separated not by miles but by millennia. Some 145 million years ago to 150 million years ago, dinosaurs roamed this landscape, the remnants of their existence still being unearthed by paleontologists working at the nearby Hanksville-Burpee Dinosaur Quarry. The same latitude and longitude, yet a chasm of a million years stretches between them. The temporal distance between these moments is profound and poignant, a vivid demonstration of how time itself is a kind of distance, no less real than the vast expanse between Earth and Mars.
Finally, there is another kind of distance, one not easily measured — the emotional distance between human beings. Not the unfathomable gulf between celestial bodies, nor the temporal chasm between epochs, but the distances that ebb and flow between souls.
On Sol 12, the crew’s final Sol on Mars, Commander Burk and Executive Officer Aline Decadi executed a rescue drill (carried out on EVA 19), unbeknownst to the rest of the crew. Once they sent the “assistance needed” signal over the garmin device, the crew at the hab went to work to close the distance, not knowing the nature of the call as comms had been lost. It ended up being a physical distance of 2 kilometers between the hab and the EVA crew, a gap that was closed in 22 minutes. The emotional distance during those 22 minutes can only be described as charged. After two weeks, we have all become good friends, and the concern while in the blind was real and raw.
Distance, in the end, is a paradox. It isn’t static. It separates and unites, isolates, and connects. Today marks Sol 12 for Transatlantic Mars Crew 261, the final day of our simulation. At 1800, we will exit our Mars habitat, shedding our spacesuits to reconnect with Earth’s environment. The distance is inconsequential, this traverse from Mars back to Earth occurring in an instant, with words spoken by Commander James Burk. We will leave here with memories and our shared story of time on Mars.
Anthony de Mello famously said that “the shortest distance between a truth and a human being is a story.” Stories serve as bridges, closing the gap between hearts and minds, weaving threads of understanding where misunderstanding once prevailed. Every sim carried out at MDRS can be thought of as a story, with the goal of bridging distances in understanding of what human-to-mars is all about. Throughout our Mars mission, we have fostered friendships destined to endure and contributed to the vast body of knowledge propelling humanity towards a future on Mars. Tomorrow, on an Earth day, we will begin our homeward journeys. The physical distances between us will become tangible once more, but the shared memories of our time on Mars will ensure that reconnection is only a thought away. Our collective story about our time on Mars will continue to bind us, regardless of the miles that separate us.
With immense gratitude, we are Transatlantic Mars Crew 261, signing out:
James Burk (Crew Commander)
Aline Decadi (Executive Officer + Crew Geologist)
Cécile Renaud (Greenhab Officer + Crew Biologist)
Julien Villa-Massone (Crew Engineer)
Erin Kennedy (Crew Robotics Engineer)
Audrey Derobertmasure (Health + Safety Officer)
Kris Davidson (Crew Journalist)
Sol Summary – May 12th
Crew 261 Journalist Report 12-05-2023
Author: Kris Davidson, Crew Journalist
Earth and Mars pirouette around the sun in a cosmic dance covering mind-boggling distances. Two cosmic dancers, they swing close and then recede. The distance between Earth and Mars varies depending on their positions in their respective orbits around the Sun. At its closest approach, Mars is about 54.6 million kilometers (33.9 million miles) from Earth. At its farthest, the distance can be over 400 million kilometers (249 million miles).
Yet, distance isn’t merely a spatial concept. If we think of time as a flowing river, then each moment is an island in that river, each separated from the others by the relentless current of time. Consider standing at MDRS, your feet grounded in the same soil, separated not by miles but by millennia. Some 145 million years ago to 150 million years ago, dinosaurs roamed this landscape, the remnants of their existence still being unearthed by paleontologists working at the nearby Hanksville-Burpee Dinosaur Quarry. The same latitude and longitude, yet a chasm of a million years stretches between them. The temporal distance between these moments is profound and poignant, a vivid demonstration of how time itself is a kind of distance, no less real than the vast expanse between Earth and Mars.
Finally, there is another kind of distance, one not easily measured — the emotional distance between human beings. Not the unfathomable gulf between celestial bodies, nor the temporal chasm between epochs, but the distances that ebb and flow between souls.
On Sol 12, the crew’s final Sol on Mars, Commander Burk and Executive Officer Aline Decadi executed a rescue drill (carried out on EVA 19), unbeknownst to the rest of the crew. Once they sent the “assistance needed” signal over the garmin device, the crew at the hab went to work to close the distance, not knowing the nature of the call as comms had been lost. It ended up being a physical distance of 2 kilometers between the hab and the EVA crew, a gap that was closed in 22 minutes. The emotional distance during those 22 minutes can only be described as charged. After two weeks, we have all become good friends, and the concern while in the blind was real and raw.
Distance, in the end, is a paradox. It isn’t static. It separates and unites, isolates, and connects. Today marks Sol 12 for Transatlantic Mars Crew 261, the final day of our simulation. At 1800, we will exit our Mars habitat, shedding our spacesuits to reconnect with Earth’s environment. The distance is inconsequential, this traverse from Mars back to Earth occurring in an instant, with words spoken by Commander James Burk. We will leave here with memories and our shared story of time on Mars.
Anthony de Mello famously said that “the shortest distance between a truth and a human being is a story.” Stories serve as bridges, closing the gap between hearts and minds, weaving threads of understanding where misunderstanding once prevailed. Every sim carried out at MDRS can be thought of as a story, with the goal of bridging distances in understanding of what human-to-mars is all about. Throughout our Mars mission, we have fostered friendships destined to endure and contributed to the vast body of knowledge propelling humanity towards a future on Mars. Tomorrow, on an Earth day, we will begin our homeward journeys. The physical distances between us will become tangible once more, but the shared memories of our time on Mars will ensure that reconnection is only a thought away. Our collective story about our time on Mars will continue to bind us, regardless of the miles that separate us.
With immense gratitude, we are Transatlantic Mars Crew 261, signing out:
James Burk (Crew Commander)
Aline Decadi (Executive Officer + Crew Geologist)
Cécile Renaud (Greenhab Officer + Crew Biologist)
Julien Villa-Massone (Crew Engineer)
Erin Kennedy (Crew Robotics Engineer)
Audrey Derobertmasure (Health + Safety Officer)
Kris Davidson (Crew Journalist)
GreenHab Report – May 12th
Crew 261 GreenHab Report 13-05-2023
GreenHab Officer: Cécile Renaud
Environmental control: Door open from 6:45 to 17:30
Average temperatures: 55.3°F at 06:45, 85.3°F at 11:35, 17:30
Hours of supplemental light: N/A
Daily water usage for crops: 6 gal at 06:45 + 6 gal at 17:30
Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 1 gal
Water in Blue Tank 143 gallons
Time(s) of watering for crops: 06:45 and 17:30
Changes to crops: N/A
Narrative: N/A
Harvest: (include which crop and mass in grams) : Mint (10 g), sage (10g), Thym (10g), Origano (10g).
Support/supplies needed: None
EVA Report – May 12th
Crew 261 EVA Report 12-05-2023
EVA # 19
Authors: James Burk (Commander), Aline Decadi (XO), Erin Kennedy (Crew Roboticist)
Purpose of EVA: Search & Rescue Drill
Start time: 8:52 am
End time: 10:19 am
Narrative:
Overview of EVA
Today was our crew’s final exam. We planned a safety drill that involved the Commander and XO taking a rover on a new route never traveled before and getting stuck and needing to be rescued. In actuality, the Commander and XO planned this out and discussed with Mission Support the night before, and so the entire situation was meant to improve safety and awareness on the part of the crew on what to do in an emergency.
Commander James Burk and XO Aline Decadi took out to rover Spirit at approx 9am and drove north on the main road to the "Gateway to Candor" turn, on a planned traverse to the area south of Compass Rock, ostensibly to investigate a route to the southern ridge of Candor. We had never taken this route before on this mission and it is marked on the map as a footpath.
We lost comms as normal, when passing behind the north ridge near Pooh’s Corner, but we also did not make any attempt to reestablish comms throughout the EVA, as was part of the drill parameters. We did not turn on the Garmin tracking device since that would have made it too easy for the crew to find us, and we ignored a couple reminders from HabComm to do so.
Once on the Gateway to Candor, Commander Burk found a suitable place for the EVA Team to "hide" so that it would not be obvious where we had "gotten stuck".
Commander Burk and XO Decadi parked the rover and debarked. We removed our helmets, as discussed prior to the EVA, since this was a rescue drill and we were planning to break sim anyway. We had prepared to be at that location for a couple hours if needed.
We decided to take the opportunity to record a couple narrative videos about what we were doing, to help with XO Decadi’s education & outreach project. We explained the drill and send the SOS ping "MDRS Assistance Required" which our crew uses when it’s a non-emergency situation but we are requesting support from the Hab to the EVA team. We hoped that the crew would react well and work together to find us.
After only a few minutes, we heard a drone flying nearby, which was obviously Crew Engineer Julien Villa-Massone’s attempt to locate us. After exactly 20 minutes, a rover carrying Villa-Massone and GreenHab Officer Cecile Renaud appeared. They walked to our position and we confirmed it was a drill, then we spent about 10 minutes doing a debrief before returning to the Hab and having a longer debrief session with the whole crew.
We learned that the Hab Crew forgot that assistance required means that they are safe so they treated the entire situation as an emergency, and were worried that the EVA crew was not working on getting back in Comms. As mentioned, Mission Support was in on the drill and did almost nothing to help them, even telling them "No Drone" to ensure they were not relying solely on a drone for rescue.
Overall, we were very happy how the crew rallied and worked together to establish a rescue operation and arrived only 20 minutes after the initial SOS ping was sent. It was a great experience for all crewmembers and a great way to cap off our successful mission to the MDRS.
Timeline
8:52 am EVA started
HabCom sent a message to EVA crew via Garmin InReach that tracking was not turned on
9:20 am EVA crew sent SOS Ping "MDRS Assistance Required" (Non-EMS) via Garmin InReach
9:20 am Received MDRS Assistance Required message via Garmin InReach
Mission Support (Sergii) was contacted, confirmed we should go (break sim)
First Aid kit bag was created, given to Cecile and Julien
9:27 am Cecile and Julien took Perseverance rover SOC: 98%
9:30 am Cecile and Julien on the road
EVA crew hears a drone sound (9:35 am?)
9:40 am Cecile and Julien at Gateway to Candor (website)
9:42 am Rescue team (Cecile and Julien) arrives to EVA crew (Aline and Julien)
9:38 am Cecile reports SOC 98%. They see the tracks of James and Aline’s rover that didn’t take the right road
9:50 am Cecile and Julien report that everything is OK with James and Aline, they are discussing about the drill
10:00 am Status update from Cecile: They are going to come back to the Hab
10:06 am Cecile reports Perseverance SOC: 94%
10:07 am Aline reports Spirit SOC: 75%
10:14 am EVA-2 Cecile and Julien in sight from Hab
10:16 am EVA-1 James and Aline in sight from Hab
10:17 am Cecile – Perseverance Hours: 129.0, SOC: 94%
10:17 am James – Spirit Hours: 222.0, SOC: 71%, plugged in
10:18 am 0 min Hab decompression requested (Sim already broken)
10:19 am Everyone is back in the Hab
Mission Support (Sergii) updated on the status
What Went Well
Crew all understood that it was clear to break sim (Safety over Sim)
Crew’s priorities were correct and everybody rallied
Everyone was safe at all times and nobody got hurt during the exercise
Rescue team found EVA team only 22 minutes from initial communication0
(James said his expectation was minimum 40 mins)
Areas for Improvement
Some time was taken (~ 2 mins) regarding asking about if the drone should be used to investigate first. Mission Support was firm "No Drone".
Disruption when initial Comms was happening
Confusion regarding retrieving a medical kit bag (there was none available, and the Hab’s main kit was taken)
Raspberry Pi stopped working / slow, mouse being intermittent, had to access webpage on computer, did not have URL handy.
There was only one person who could fly a drone, and they went on the rescue team.
There was confusion and lack of communication about who was going on the rescue team
Confusion on who was speaking on the radio, especially with similar sounding voices and accents. Confusion about who was acting as HabComm after Cecile (primary HabComm) left.
Cecile lost valuable data from her experiment that she was in the middle of collecting when the drill happened.
Issues Experienced During EVA-19
The crew back at the Hab did not fully understand the difference between our "MDRS Assistance Required" non-emergency/non-EMS ping and our Emergency SOS ping that is connected to the red SOS button on the Garmins. The former is meant when there is no crew injury or safety issue and the latter is for a true emergency when you need all-hands on deck including county EMS and Mission Support.
The crew was confused who was doing what role, and one person expected to go on the rescue team but wasn’t chosen. We plan to address this by recommending that all EVA teams have a designated rescue team.
The Hab does not have a quick carry medical kit for EVA rescues. In today’s case, the rescue team took the Hab’s entire medical kit with them.
There was confusion over who was HabComm after Cecile (who had been the primary HabComm) joined the rescue team.
The crew was not sure what emergency number they might need to call, other than trying to contact Mission Support.
Outcomes / Recommendations
The Hab should have a quick carry medical kit with needed supplies for broken bones, bleeding and other life threatening emergencies.
Every rover should have a first aid kit that is mandatory. This should be checked routinely throughout the mission.
Crews should designate a rescue team prior to EVA
Crews should carry a signaling device such as a reflective foil blanket in the emergency medical kit bag.
When using Radio Comms, people’s names should be used after breaking sim.
Need to remember to pause a bit before talking on Ch. 1 (repeater).
Role changing (ie changing who is HabComm) needs to be identified ("Audrey doing HabComm" or don’t use roles at all, just people’s names.
The person requesting assistance should advise if sim is being broken.
Water to go with the medical kit bag should be prepared
One person on the EVA should be assigned responsible for the medical kit bag
We are lacking some basic medical supplies for emergencies such as AED (see HSO recommendations as reported early on in the mission).
1st person to identify assistance required should make an announcement on radios regarding breaking sim
HabComm has to be located in the Hab, cannot have any science experiments or engineering work ongoing, just light work on a computer and focusing in on the EVA status. In today’s case, Cecile was trying to multitask and ended up losing valuable biological experiment data because of the perceived emergency.
Every crewmember should understand how to trigger a real SOS by using the dedicated button on the Garmin InReach. Pushing the actual button is not straightforward and it should be practiced. Garmin SOS can be cancelled within 20 seconds, so there is no risk to pushing the button as long as you cancel.
Every crewmember should understand the different ways to contact EMT in the case of a real emergency.
Crews should have a training procedure to call SOS prior to doing EVAs.
Destination: Southeast of Compass Rock where Gateway to Candor intersects with Spur of Galileo Road / Watney Road
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 519800 E, 4251400 N
Participants: James Burk (Commander) (EVA Leader), Aline Decadi (XO).
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Take Cow Dung Road to Gateway to Candor
Mode of travel: Rover
Vehicles you will be using (If applicable): Spirit
Supplemental Operations Report 13May2023
[title Supplemental Operations Report – May 13th]
Supplemental Operations Report 13May2023
Name of person filing report: Sergii Iakymov
Reason for Report: Routine.
Non-Nominal Systems: Robotic observatory.
Action taken for non-nominal systems: New parts for Robotic observatory are received and installation is pending.
Power system:
Solar: nominal. Input breaker of one of MPTT was off today. After resetting the breaker and solar charger controller current work is nominal.SOC Last 24 hours: Max 100%; Min 41 %; Avg 70.2%.
VDC Last 24 hours: Max 60.36V; Min 43.94V; Avg 50.34V.Generator run time: average run time 3.2 h/day . Generator hours 3810.3. Maintained on May 8th.
Propane Reading Station Tank: 75%
Propane Reading Director Tank: 60%
Propane Reading Intern Tank: 71%
Propane Reading Generator Tank: 72%
Water (Static Tank) – 540 gallons
Water in GreenHab – 190 gallons
Water (Outpost tank) – 380 gallons
Water in Science Dome: 0 gallons
Hab Toilet Tank emptied: n/a
Sojourner rover used: No.
Hours: 191.7
Beginning Charge: 100
Ending Charge: 100
Currently Charging: Yes
Notes on Rovers: All are plugged in, charged.
ATV’s Used: (Honda, 350.1, 350.2, 300): None
Reason for use: n/a
Oil Added? No
ATV Fuel Used: 0 Gals
Ethanol Free Gasoline — 0 Gallons
# Hours the ATVs were Used today: 0
Notes on ATV: All parked at the outpost and awaiting to be taken to service.
HabCar used and why, where? Yes. To Hanksville for water runs and supplies pick up.
Crew Car used and why, where? No. In Grand Junction.
General notes and comments: Nominal.
Dual Split in Science Dome: off due to warmer weather.
Summary of Internet: Nominal
Summary of suits and radios: Nominal
EVA COMMS: Nominal
Campus wide inspection, if action taken, what and why: nothing to report
Summary of General Operations: All nominal.
Summary of Hab operations: Kitchen outlets are not working, inspection will be done on SUnday morning. Septic tank emptied on May 4th, per vendor it was overfield.
Summary of GreenHab Operations: Nominal, heater turned off.
Summary of SciDome Operations: Nominal.
Summary of any Observatory Issues:
ew parts for Robotic observatory are received and installation is pending.
Summary of RAM Operations: Nothing to report
Summary of Outpost Operations:
Septic tank emptied on May 4th.
Summary of Health and Safety Issues: Nominal.
Questions, Concerns, Supplies needed and Requests: Nothing to report
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