Crew Photos – May 15th
Sol Summary – May 15th
Crew 281 Sol Summary Report 15-05-2023
Sol: 1
Summary Title: First EVA and Training
Author’s name: Ritupriya Patil (XO) and Megan Kane (Commander)
Mission Status: Nominal
Sol Activity Summary: We went out for our first EVAs where the crew of 5 was split in two EVA groups 3 members in each. The prep for this included doing a quick pre brief, health and water check done by Rachel Jones (HSO). We donned the radio equipment and the spacesuit.
EVA 1: Ritupriya Patil (XO, EVA Lead), Ana Pires (Crew Scientist), KC Shasteen (Crew Engineer).
EVA 2: Megan Kane (Commander, EVA Lead), Ana Pires (Crew Scientist), Rachel Jones (HSO).
EVA prep began at 7:45 am when we started prepping our suits, radio comms, helmets and air circulation. KC SHashteen (Crew Engineer) made the pre-EVA checks with radios and spacesuit. We got suited and followed a 5 minute depressurization in the air lock, starting out at 8:30 am. We took the Perseverance and Curiosity rover to Marble Ritual for our first EVA and did a 100 m of training walk with the spacesuit and geotechnical equipment. We performed communication checks with the hab com and the EVA com. The crew successfully achieved another training goal of the EVA by recording 200 measurements for rock hardness with Schmidt Hammer and Equotip. In order to acquire images of the first scanline and take pictures of the geological features the crew scientist left the fibreglass tape onsite. This was a lesson learned and after the debrief, it was decided that no equipment from the EVA should be left behind. This EVA enabled us to work on design suggestions for future traverse planning to carry out the geological-geotechnical characterization. The crew returned ahead of time at 10:00 am.
The second EVA was performed after a 30 minute break from the first one since we had one crew scientist going back for the second EVA. The second crew started EVA at 10:51 am also following the depressurization in the airlock.Crew of 3 drove Spirit and Opportunity to Cow Dung road and stopped at Marble Ritual. Some tourists arrived at the EVA location and the crew lost some EVA time since they had to wait. Due to this, we truncated the EVA and were only able to do visual observations of the geological features and we were not able to document those.
In the afternoon, the Cacao (Chocolate) sprouting experiment was started in the Science Dome and the passive watering system was installed in the greenhab. Also in the afternoon cleaning fo the lower deck and repairs to the tunnel system were done.
Look Ahead Plan:
We have a plan for scouting EVA around the hab tomorrow which was approved
Additional experiments are in the works and existing experiments will be continued.
Anomalies in work: None
Weather: Fine
Crew Physical Status: Fine
EVA: Completed 2 today
Reports to be filed:
Greenhab Report
EVA Reports EVAs 1 and 2
Ops Report
Commander’s Report
Support Requested:
Support with Wifi password was requested and received
EVA assistance was requested and received
Operations Report – May 15th
Crew 281 Operations Report 15-05-2023
SOL: 1
Name of person filing report: Megan Kane
Non-nominal systems:
· Lower deck shopvac
· Electrical outlets in kitchen
· Remote observatory
· EVA Helmet – One of the helmets has some damage to the collar, base and back. The spare helmet will be used instead
· Headset 4 is non-operational and requires replacement as described EVA report
Notes on non-nominal systems:
· Lower deck shopvac filter is beyond end of life and needs replacement; significant amount of hair and dust by-passed filter and entered blower. This has been mostly removed with pliers. Makeshift filter from previous crew removed from outlet, older filter banged and blown clean, but frame is bent out of shape and cannot easily be reformed. Recommend replacement.
· Electrical outlets in kitchen remain non functional from previous crew.
· Remote observatory still out of commission from previous mission.
· EVA Helmet collar damage similar to previous crew, additional fracture in rear panel, additional use will likely extend fracture.
ROVERS
Spirit rover used: Yes
Hours: (before EVA): 222.2
Beginning charge: (Before EVA): 100%
Ending charge: (On return from EVA, before recharging): 88%
Currently charging: Yes
Opportunity rover used: Yes
Hours: 129.4
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 99%
Currently charging: Yes
Curiosity rover used: Yes
Hours: 239.8
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 88%
Currently charging: Yes
Perseverance rover used: Yes
Hours: 264.3
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 83%
Currently charging: Yes
General notes on rovers:
Summary of Hab operations: put notes here
WATER USE: 65.35 gallons (sols 0 and 1 combined)
Water (static tank): 484.65 gallons
Static tank pipe heater (on or off): off
Static tank heater (On or off): off
Toilet tank emptied: no or yes: no
Summary of internet:
· Password to Outpost Internet has the incorrect capitalization written, resolved by radio communications with Mission Control
· Additional MDRScampus-guest was requested and the access was extended to be from 6-10 pm for additional research resources that cannot be downloaded or synced.
Summary of suits and radios: All suits and radios are fully recharged after todays EVAs
Summary of GreenHab operations: put notes here
WATER USE: 3.43 gallons
Heater: Off
Supplemental light: Off
Harvest: report crop and mass in grams and any other operational notes
Tomatoes 60 harvested for a total of 252 grams and an Average Mass of 0.238095g per tomato.
Installed passive watering system.
Summary of ScienceDome operations: put notes here
Dual split: Heat or AC, On or Off
Summary of RAM operations: (Tools used, work done)
· Water came in around the edges of the skylight window. Everything in the RAM was moist. This is the most likely cause of the rust visible on the tools.
· Removed masking tape for use in the main hab. It is still in the main hab so it remains dry for future use.
· Removed multimeter to lower deck for use in testing comm and suit batteries
· Removed tape measure to lower deck for use in measuring water usage
Summary of any observatory issues: NA
Summary of health and safety issues:
· No injuries,
· hydration packs have been used,
· Anticipate heat and overheating will be the largest challenge going forward
Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support:
· Downstairs shopvac was clogged and had to be cleaned prior to use. Suggest that future crews empty all vacuums at the end of the mission. Additionally, recommend that filters are checked between missions.
GreenHab Report – May 15th
Crew 281 GreenHab Report 15 May 2023
GreenHab Officer: Megan Kane
Environmental control: fan with door open
Average temperatures: 88.6
Hours of supplemental light: None
Daily water usage for crops: 3.43 gallons
Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: NA
Water in Blue Tank 176.57 gallons
Time(s) of watering for crops:
Watered herb, cucumbers and tomato buckets on the left side of the greenhouse at 0947. Took approximately 5 minutes.
Between 1345 and 1442.
Changes to crops:
There were no noticeable change to the plants. It was noted that all of the tomatoes show some amount of nutrient deficiency.
Narrative:
In the morning the greenhab was checked and it was noted that many of the plants soil was still saturated. In the afternoon the tomatoes were harvested and the passive watering system installed in approximately half of the planters. Overall, 10 terracotta watering spikes with 500mL bottles attached were set up to supply water as needed to the plants in their planters. All plants were watered with fertilizer due to noticeable nutrient deficiencies in the tomatoes and other plants.
Harvest: (include which crop and mass in grams)
Tomatoes 60 harvested for a total of 252 grams and an Average Mass of 0.238095g per tomato.
Support/supplies needed:
None
EVA Report – May 15th
Crew 281 EVA Report 15-05-2023
EVA # 1
Authors: Ritupriya Patil (Executive Officer), Ana Pires (Crew Scientist)
Purpose of EVA: Training EVA + communication test with crew members and with the hab; test some of the geo-technologies
Start time: 8:27 AM
End time: 10:55 AM
Narrative: Crew of 3 took our first steps on the red planet. It was exhilarating to look at the red landscapes through the glass helmets of the newly donned spacesuits. The crew drove Curiosity and Perseverance to Cow Dung road and stopped at Marble Ritual.
The EVA was challenging since it was the first and took place right after a stormy and rainy night that added to the difficulty while walking on the muddy/slippery EVA site. The crew was able to gain experience for future traverse planning. The collected data (more than 200 measurements) will contribute towards the development of cartographic maps and geotechnical zoning of the region.
Overview of EVA
Operations check of Schmidt Hammer and Equotip (non-destructive testing equipment) and taking measurements for scanline and walk around for 100 m.
See how long it takes to complete one scanline for future EVA strategy.
Accomplish training goals for walking around the suit
Comms
Issues Experienced During EVA
The headset 4 for spacesuit comms does not work and needs to be replaced with one that works. Headset 1 was used in lieu of headset 4.
The measurements with the Schmidt hammer required extra effort from the crew scientist and it was quite difficult to take horizontal measurement.
Operating the equipment took a lot of physical effort.
Despite the Equotip being an automated equipment the crew engineer found it challenging to operate the probe with one hand.
Outcomes
The crew successfully achieved the primary goal of the EVA by recording 200 measurements for rock hardness with Schmidt Hammer and Equotip. In order to acquire images of the first scanline and take pictures of the geological features the crew scientist left the fibreglass tape onsite. This was a lesson learned and after the debrief, it was decided that no equipment from the EVA should be left behind.
Communications between the Hab Comm and EVA Comm were tested with success.
This EVA enabled us to work on design suggestions for future traverse planning to carry out the geological-geotechnical characterization.
The training for walking in the spacesuits and driving the rovers was completed.
Due to bad weather from the previous night, we had to be more careful while walking the slippery site our first EVA day as well as driving with more attention on the muddy roads, while taking into account the recommendation from mission support.
Despite the initial challenge to acquire data with both the equipment, in the end, crew scientist and engineer are more prepared to handle the Schmidt Hammer and Equotip.
We need a board or other way to post information in the EVA room
Destination: Marble Ritual
Coordinates (use UTM WSG 84): 521500 E, 4251000 N
EVA Participants: 3: Ritupriya Patil (XO, EVA Lead), Ana Pires (Crew Scientist), KC Shasteen (Crew Engineer).
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Drive on Cow Dung Road and walk east until Marble Ritual.
Mode of travel: Curiosity and Perseverance
EVA # 2
Author: Ritupriya Patil (Executive Officer)
Purpose of EVA: Training EVA + communication test with crew members and with the hab; geology recognition (observation of geological features).
Start time: 10:45 AM
End time: 12:00 PM
Narrative: Crew of 3 drove Spirit and Opportunity to Cow Dung road and stopped at Marble Ritual.
Overview of EVA
The EVA consisted of testing communications with Hab Comm and mission support. Along with training completion for spacesuit walk and driving the rovers. The crew walked south east of Marble Ritual about 100m to recover the fibreglass tape and did some observation of geological features. The EVA was shortened due tourist activities at EVA location.
Issues Experienced During EVA
Some tourists arrived at the EVA location and the crew lost some EVA time since they had to wait. We acknowledged the mission support’s help with the situation.
Due to the tourists, we truncated the EVA and were only able to do visual observations of the geological features and we were not able to document those.
Outcomes
Good recognition of the area was done based on geological features.
Communications between the Hab Comm and EVA Comm were tested with success.
Fibreglass tape was recovered from the site.
Destination: Marble Ritual
Coordinates (use UTM WSG 84): 521500 E, 4251000 N
EVA Participants: 3: Megan Kane (Commander, EVA Lead), Ana Pires (Crew Scientist), Rachel Jones (HSO).
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Drive on Cow Dung Road and walk east until Marble Ritual.
Mode of travel: Spirit and Opportunity
Commander Report – May 15th
Crew 281 Commander’s Report 15-05-2023
SOL: 1
Commander: Megan Kane
Sol 1, the first day of Team Pegasus’s mission. The crew started waking at dawn, excited for the first day on Mars. Many activities were planned and conducted. Some went as planned, others not so much. However today was a success as we learned, adapted and began settling into the mission.
During our first EVA’s we tested the geotechnical equipment and the procedures that are the bedrock of our crew scientist’s mission. Learning a lot in the process. A soup lunch was followed by an afternoon of habitat tasks and experiment setup culminating in a delicious dinner of quesadillas dipped in the leftover soup.
After a full evening of filing reports and consolidating photos we plan to rest before launching into Sol 2.
Commander Kane signing off.
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