Month: October 2023

By Loren Scott

8am – Breakfast

9am – The crew finished up the gypsum experimentin the dome lab. The conclusions formed were that in the oven, the gypsum calcified to the point of becoming plaster of paris. The team hypothesized that the H2O trapped in the rock was released as steam causing a chemical reaction. As for the gypsum in the water, we found that it became more clear and glass-like. Both experiments also found that somewhere between 5-10% of the mass was lost. Again, we thought that the water was released into the water and that what was left was slowly dissolving in the water.

10:30 – After the experiment, the crew ended the SIM.

11am – The crew took a hike to look for rocks. The crew saw dinosaur bones embedded into the stone east of the hab as well as some good petrified wood and baryte roses. Then we went up the bluff behind the hab to the Gryphaea bed.

1pm – Lunch and hike debrief.

By Deb DeBerard

This morning we started with a wonderful breakfast of cereal. The favorites were Chocolate Frosted Flakes and Extra Raisin Raisin Bran. We followed this with a quick meeting to go over our day. The first EVA started at 10 am. Darin, Emily and Deb headed out to the rovers where we successfully started two rovers and managed to drive off to the south. We successfully passed through the rocks by the Kissing Camels (unlike the 40’ long camper we found on the other side), escaped the lightning sand and made it to our destination. At the first destination we quickly decided to collect all the good rocks so the other group wouldn’t have any. We searched the glorious wash finding lava rocks, conglomerates, other pretty stones and even a Devil’s Toenail before proceeding to the second site. At the second site it took us a moment to find the correct wash, then we collected all the agate petrified trees we could, leaving nothing for the next group. Return to the Hab was successful.

Upon return to the Hab we had a wonderful lunch of macaroni and cheese, veggie soup and fresh bread. Better than we eat at home! Then we sent Enrique, Jason and Loren out to meet their doom or return triumphant, loaded down with rocks of all shapes and sizes (except all the good ones that we had already taken.)

Back at the Hab, Emily and Deb experienced their first very short showers and got cleaned up for a virtual meeting with Shannon, the research scientist. We discussed the plans for Spaceward Bound, the classroom portion. The goal is to get the Spaceward Bound program into the classroom. As teachers we have many ideas, hopefully some of them will be good and help students who can’t make it to the Hab learn the ways of life on Mars. Then Deb and Emily planted some seeds in the greenhouse for future use.

The second team had a successful mission gathering rocks. Their rovers successfully made it to the planned locations unlike the day before. Their communication was stellar and they had amazing map reading. The wind was nice without being overwhelming. Jason, Enrique and Loren all successfully returned to the Hab with no near death experiences and they even got the rovers back. They were greeted by Wicket at their return and came through the airlocks excited to share their experiences.

The entire group reconvened to investigate rocks with Jen in the science lab. We all now have both Mars and analog rocks in our collections. We also have a lot of other rocks that are just plain cool and we like them. Once our rock collections were complete Darin and Deb figured out the rock id’s of a Utah rock puzzle that Shannon had left them. Enrique and Jason went on a quest for solar flares using the solar observatory. Others returned to the Hab to shower, relax or do some work.

The gang is now all gathered in the upper floor of the Hab while Enrique, Jason and Emily figure out how to make a delicious meal of rice, chickpeas and one little scoop of protein each(chicken). It is smelling good and quite appetizing. We only hope it will taste as good as it smells or we will all be fighting over the Chocolate Frosted Flakes. We look forward to hearing Jen’s story and a video meeting with Shannon tonight.

By Darin Orton

Spaceward Bound
Crew 284
Journal Entry
Tuesday, Oct 24th, 2023

Day began with breakfast all together (scrambled eggs, spam, cheese, and oatmeal).

Following breakfast we met all together in the science dome for a geology lesson and mission objectives for today’s EVAs. We started with a zoom meeting with Dr. Shannon Rupert that included some instruction on Mars’ interesting history and MDRS works well as an analog for the Martian environment. She presented some thought provoking questions about the geologic history of Mars that we were assigned to ponder as we explored the Martian landscape and prepared our own investigations. We plan to revisit the questions at a future meeting later this week.

At the conclusion of the zoom meeting, Hab Commander Jen led a briefing to prep us for the EVA missions. We discussed safety, mission parameters, and goals for the EVA. She supplied us with directions to the two collection sites and the rock types that we need to collect. We then prepared for the first team EVA.

The first team suited up and prepared for departure. They suited up, checked comms, and completed safety checks. After spending 2 mins in the airlock we left the hab and headed for the rovers.

The team experienced battery issues and were unable to reach the collection zones before battery levels dropped below the critical limit and they were required to return to the hab.

Based on the experience of the first crew. The hab commander and mission leadership determined that the rover needed work and for the second EVA we would take the hab car.

This allowed us to take all six crew members with Commander Jen staying behind to lend support from the hab. With the hab car we were able to reach the first collection area and had no trouble collecting the gypsum samples we would need for our analog collections and investigations. We then proceeded to the second collection site to look for sandstone and blueberries for our collection. This took a little longer but we found the samples we needed for our analog collection. We loaded back into the hab car and returned to the hab.

Once at the hab we unloaded our gear and made sure everything was returned and charging. We took our gypsum samples to the science lab and began our investigation led by Commander Jen. For this investigation we are exploring the changes that take place when gypsum is exposed to heat and water. We set our samples up and will monitor them for changes over the next day or two.

We then had some down time before dinner. We ate dinner all together (Taco Tuesday at the hab!

At 7pm we connected once again with Dr. Shannon for a mission debrief. We discussed today’s EVA challenges and successes and got the new mission objectives for tomorrow’s EVAs.

The rover issues seem to be resolved so the plan is to continue the EVAs as planned, in crews of three, one in the morning, another in the afternoon.

Crew is tired but in good spirits. Early bed for all and looking forward to another challenging yet rewarding day on the red planet.

By Darin Orton

Spaceward Bound
Crew 284
Journal Entry
Tuesday, Oct 24th, 2023

Day began with breakfast all together (scrambled eggs, spam, cheese, and oatmeal).

Following breakfast we met all together in the science dome for a geology lesson and mission objectives for today’s EVAs. We started with a zoom meeting with Dr. Shannon Rupert that included some instruction on Mars’ interesting history and MDRS works well as an analog for the Martian environment. She presented some thought provoking questions about the geologic history of Mars that we were assigned to ponder as we explored the Martian landscape and prepared our own investigations. We plan to revisit the questions at a future meeting later this week.

At the conclusion of the zoom meeting, Hab Commander Jen led a briefing to prep us for the EVA missions. We discussed safety, mission parameters, and goals for the EVA. She supplied us with directions to the two collection sites and the rock types that we need to collect. We then prepared for the first team EVA.

The first team suited up and prepared for departure. They suited up, checked comms, and completed safety checks. After spending 2 mins in the airlock we left the hab and headed for the rovers.

The team experienced battery issues and were unable to reach the collection zones before battery levels dropped below the critical limit and they were required to return to the hab.

Based on the experience of the first crew. The hab commander and mission leadership determined that the rover needed work and for the second EVA we would take the hab car.

This allowed us to take all six crew members with Commander Jen staying behind to lend support from the hab. With the hab car we were able to reach the first collection area and had no trouble collecting the gypsum samples we would need for our analog collections and investigations. We then proceeded to the second collection site to look for sandstone and blueberries for our collection. This took a little longer but we found the samples we needed for our analog collection. We loaded back into the hab car and returned to the hab.

Once at the hab we unloaded our gear and made sure everything was returned and charging. We took our gypsum samples to the science lab and began our investigation led by Commander Jen. For this investigation we are exploring the changes that take place when gypsum is exposed to heat and water. We set our samples up and will monitor them for changes over the next day or two.

We then had some down time before dinner. We ate dinner all together (Taco Tuesday at the hab!

At 7pm we connected once again with Dr. Shannon for a mission debrief. We discussed today’s EVA challenges and successes and got the new mission objectives for tomorrow’s EVAs.

The rover issues seem to be resolved so the plan is to continue the EVAs as planned, in crews of three, one in the morning, another in the afternoon.

Crew is tired but in good spirits. Early bed for all and looking forward to another challenging yet rewarding day on the red planet.