Day: December 25, 2023

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Operations Report – December 21st

SOL: 11
Name of person filing report: Jesus Meza-Galvan
Non-nominal systems: Crew car.
Notes on non-nominal systems: Crew car sprung a coolant leak that needs to be repaired by mechanic. Mission support is aware and coordinating repairs.
ROVERS
Spirit rover used: No
Hours: (before EVA)
Beginning charge: (Before EVA)
Ending charge: (On return from EVA, before recharging)
Currently charging: Yes
Opportunity rover used: Yes
Hours: 151.0
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 44 %
Currently charging: No
Curiosity rover used: No
Hours:
Beginning charge:
Ending charge:
Currently charging: Yes
Perseverance rover used: Yes
Hours: 280.6
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 31%
Currently charging: No
General notes on rovers: Rovers are functioning properly.
Summary of Hab operations:
WATER USE: 23 gallons
Water (static tank): 266 gallons
Static tank pipe heater (on or off): On
Static tank heater (on or off): On
Toilet tank emptied: Yes.
Summary of internet: Internet is nominal.
Summary of suits and radios: Suits and radios are nominal.
Summary of GreenHab operations:
WATER USE: 2.0 gallons
Heater: On
Supplemental light: On
Harvest:
Parsley – 14 g

Summary of ScienceDome operations: Science dome was used today for geology sample packing. The photolithography set-up in the laminar hood was taken down. The laminar hood is now back to its normal configuration. Photolithography samples and waste material were packed and removed from ScienceDome. Waste will be taken away by the crew when leaving MDRS.
Dual split: Heat or AC: Off
Summary of RAM operations: (Tools used, work done): No work was conducted in the RAM today. Dremel stand used for lithography was returned to the RAM.
Summary of any observatory issues: All systems are nominal.
Summary of health and safety issues: No health or safety issues.
Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: None.

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Journalist Report – December 21st

Lipi Roy, Crew 288 Journalist
12.21.2023
Sol 11
It’s not the destination, it’s the journey. The breathtaking beauty of the Martian landscape, the unintended rock sample collections, unexpected alien creatures, and surprise drone gifts. Crew 288 appreciated these simple joys one last time as they went on their last EVA of the mission…
Today, the crew woke up to an excited Ryan preparing breakfast. Ryan, I know you’ve been eager to make your special peanut-butter and banana pancakes but isn’t 7 AM a bit too early? Just kidding, I know it takes time, and we all appreciate you for doing a great job with that!
After the filling breakfast, Cesare (commander), Hunter (Crew Geologist), Ryan, and Jilian (HSO) prepped for what was going to be the last EVA of Crew 288. Walking along the Galileo Road, they enjoyed breathtaking views and collected rock samples.
Let me quote the EVA lead, Hunter, on his special request to talk about the journey in detail – “we continued uninterrupted until reaching Somerville Overlook (yeah, who’s the one interrupting, Hunter?), where we spooked some (alien) pronghorns. There were approximately nine of them, and one had a glowing red nose which the crew didn’t second guess given the season. At the Overlook, we established a station on a small hill covered in a thin layer of grey, silt-sized regolith like material.” Sorry, Hunter, that’s all the footage you’ll get for today. But I’m sure the crew had a great time and collected some interesting samples and photos!
Back at the Hab, Riley worked on documentation of her research, Ryan harvested some fresh Parsley for dinner, while Hunter worked on characterizing his rock samples. Meanwhile, Cesare and Jesus made amazing whole-wheat bread. I tried preparing Chocolate brownies, but due to the absence of eggs, it turned out to be what the crew has named – ‘choc slop’ (thankfully, they did not call it choc flop). I better not make fun of Ryan’s baking anymore, after that.
Our last dinner in the Hab comprised of the GEO-special Tuna tomato sauce pasta and a well-concluded discussion on our spacecraft back to Earth. It’s going to be quite a day tomorrow- sending back samples, preparing the Hab for the next crew, and acquiring logistics to ensure our safe journey back home.

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GreenHab Report – December 21st

GreenHab Officer: Ryan DeAngelis
Environmental control: Heater on, fan on for 3 hours, door closed
Average temperatures: 70 deg
Hours of supplemental light: 10 pm to 2 am (4 hours)
Daily water usage for crops: 2 gallons
Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: None
Water in Blue Tank (200 gallon capacity): __149__ gallons
Time(s) of watering for crops: 4 pm
Changes to crops: Harvested parsley
Narrative: Harvested parsley for dinner today, trimmed the tomatoes some. Cucumbers are looking much better now and growing like crazy. Peas are shooting up really well, same with the fennel.
Harvest: Parsley: 14 grams
Support/supplies needed: None

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EVA Report – December 21st

EVA # 10
Author: Hunter Vannier
Purpose of EVA: Investigate geologic units between Compass Rock and Somerville Overlook along/near Galileo Road
Start time: 1000
End time: 1456
Narrative: EVA began at 1100 led by Hunter and Cesare, joined by Jilian and Ryan. Opportunity started with 100% charge and 151.0 hours, and Perseverance started with 100% charge and 280.6 hours. The crew took Opportunity and Perseverance rovers north on Cow Dung Road and exited for Galileo road. They turned left at Compass Rock and continued along Galileo Road ~3/4 km before parking. The crew unloaded sampling tools and walked northeast along the road, taking in the beautiful views of the western portion of MDRS and Mancos shales, and Henry Mountains to the south where snow looked to be falling. As the crew walked, the Sun broke through the low, thin cloud cover and bathed the southeast faces of Factory Butte and accompanying edifices in light. The crew walked mostly in tan/pink/orange sand with dry vegetation on either side of the road and frequent animal droppings. ~1/2 km into the walk, the crew reached a large outcrop of fine-grained, orange/grey cross bedded sandstone overlain by darker sandstone and conglomerate lenses; at least one was a Morrison Formation member. This location was identified for sampling on the return to the rovers. The crew continued along Galileo Road and stopped to observe a stream bed (finding their beach), and continued uninterrupted until reaching Somerville Overlook, where they spooked some pronghorns. There were approximately 9 of them, and one had a glowing red nose which the crew didn’t second guess given the season. At the Overlook, we established a station on a small hill covered in a thin layer of grey, silt-sized regolith like material. Many red, orange, and purple opaque and crystalline material an average of 5 cm length (longest axis), probably chert and other chalcedony were common on the surface. Just below the surface, there was abundant bright white well consolidated material expected to be a layer of gypsum which was sampled. This layer was situated below light-toned sandstone exposed upslope and above the brown Triassic deposits that lay before the crew in the valley below. The crew took some photos and made their way back to the previously noted outcrop and obtained samples from boulders of the conglomerate lens and lower sandstone unit. As with almost all areas in MDRS where the Morrison formation is exposed, there were large 2-4 m boulders typically dominated by conglomerate lenses, though some interesting light/dark weathering rind striping was present at this location. The crew observed the largest pebbles in a boulder thus far on our mission, and also saw that often the desert varnish on smaller boulders welded a layer of conglomerate pebbles to the top of finer-grained sandstone. This made the boulder appear conglomerate dominated, when in reality was mostly composed of light-toned sandstone. After bagging samples, the crew returned to the rovers at 1305 and drove directly back to the HAB. The team made it back with Opportunity at 44% charge and 151.7 hours and Perseverance at 31% and 281.3 hours. They began the reentry process for the HAB at 1335.

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Astronomy Report – December 21st

[category 

astronomy-report]

Astronomy Report
Name: Cesare Guariniello
Crew: 288
Date: 21 Dec 2023

MDRS ROBOTIC OBSERVATORY
Robotic Telescope Requested (choose one): MDRS-WF.
Objects to be Imaged this Evening: Cloudy weather
Images submitted with this report: Leo Triplet (Spiral galaxies M65, bottom left; M66, bottom right; NGC 3628, top), imaged with MDRS-WF.
Problems Encountered: None

MUSK OBSERVATORY
Solar Features Observed: None (cloudy weather)
Images submitted with this report: None
Problems Encountered: None

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Sol Summary – December 20th

Sol: 10
Summary Title: A Day of Firsts
Author’s name: Jilian Welshoff
Mission Status: Nominal
Sol Activity Summary:
Crew 288 started the day off at 7:30AM for a breakfast of the previously enjoyed spam and fried rice, made by Hunter (GEO). They spent the rest of the morning with some reading and slop related jokes and then prepped for EVA #9. Riley (XO), Hunter (GEO), Lipi (JOU), and Jesus (ENG) headed out to Hab Ridge to collect more GPR and geology spectrum samples with the help of Purdue AAE. Jesus and Riley used a drone to take overhead videos and photos of the GPR and of nearby areas while Lipi (JOU) and Hunter (GEO) grabbed more geology and spectroscopy data. They were able to deliver the first sample of sandstone to the HAB crew via drone!
The crew at the HAB had a day of baking, movie watching, and drone assistance. Cesare (CMD) and Ryan (GHO) made a yummy loaf of whole wheat bread used for lunch post EVA. Jilian (HSO) and Ryan (GHO) also setup a DVD of Harry Potter to watch and listened attentively to the radio for updates and check-ins. The HAB crew was involved in the initial and final take off and landings of the drone and were able to also send their own “sample”, of leftover coffee cake to the EVA crew via drone that was enjoyed by out of sim robo-Riley (XO)! Ryan (GHO) tended to the Greenhab harvesting basil for a quick pasta lunch made by Cesare (CMD).
After returning from EVA, the crew enjoyed leftovers of tacos from last night and made some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on top of the freshly baked bread. Ryan (GHO) collected some dill to aid Riley’s (XO) lunch and had some leftovers the crew can use for the next couple days. To take a rest from EVA, some of the crew completed crosswords and read, while others finished Harry Potter. Jesus (ENG) had a different plan in mind. He spent some time in the Science Dome completing photolithography and created some of the first photo-patterns produced on Mars!
Lipi (JOU) is hard at work now making us a delicious rajma dinner of kidney beans and veggies, while the rest of the crew completes their reports. Later the crew might enjoy some board games, or Cesare’s (CMD) VR set, or more likely some crosswords and reading.

Look Ahead Plan: Complete final day on Mars, finish going on EVAs to aid in research, produce more photolithography, harvest and tend to the Greenhab plants, create new recipes for MDRS book
Anomalies in work: None
Weather: Very cloudy day, got colder in the late afternoon, ominous clouds
Crew Physical Status: Some sore muscles but good attitudes
EVA: EVA #9 to Hab Ridge completed
Reports to be filed: Eva Request, EVA Report, Journalist Report, Greenhab Report, Operations Report, Sol Summary, Astronomy Report, Photos
Support Requested: None

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Operations Report – December 20th

SOL: 10
Name of person filing report: Jesus Meza-Galvan
Non-nominal systems: All systems are nominal.
Notes on non-nominal systems: No non-nominal systems.
ROVERS
Spirit rover used: No
Hours: (before EVA)
Beginning charge: (Before EVA)
Ending charge: (On return from EVA, before recharging)
Currently charging: No
Opportunity rover used: No
Hours:
Beginning charge:
Ending charge:
Currently charging: No
Curiosity rover used: No
Hours:
Beginning charge:
Ending charge:
Currently charging: No
Perseverance rover used: No
Hours:
Beginning charge:
Ending charge:
Currently charging: No
General notes on rovers: No rovers were used today.
Summary of Hab operations:
WATER USE: 20 gallons
Water (static tank): 289 gallons
Static tank pipe heater (on or off): On
Static tank heater (on or off): On
Toilet tank emptied: No.
Summary of internet: Internet is nominal.
Summary of suits and radios: Suits and radios are nominal.
Summary of GreenHab operations:
WATER USE: 2.0 gallons
Heater: On
Supplemental light: On
Harvest:
Cilantro – 8 g
Dill – 7 g
Basil – 3 g

Summary of ScienceDome operations: Science dome was used today for photolithography. The laminar flow hood was outfitted to perform UV-exposure of photoresist. The hood currently houses the Dremel stand (acting as the photo-aligner) a beaker of photo developer (MF-26 A) and a beaker of water. The first experiment produced one good sample. Lithography experiments will continue tonight.
Dual split: Heat or AC: Off
Summary of RAM operations: (Tools used, work done): RAM was not used today.
Summary of any observatory issues: All systems are nominal.
Summary of health and safety issues: No health or safety issues.
Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: None.

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Journalist Report – December 20th

Lipi Roy, Crew 288 Journalist
12.20.2023
Sol 10
Gazing from the Hab Ridge, we marvel at the grandeur of nature, exquisite patterns of red, white, and purple for miles and miles and miles. Among these patterns, we spot our tiny Hab. Our eyes wide with anticipation, we await the special drone delivery from our friends. Our tiny Christmas gift!
The day began with Hunter’s (Crew Geologist) delicious spam fried rice, preparing us for another four-hour walking EVA. Flight suit, comms, EVA suit, and five minutes of depressurization later, we were ready to hike up to Hab Ridge. Treated to a diverse array of stunning landscapes, our journey led us to a lookout point where we caught sight of our Hab in the distance. Finally, it was time for the long-awaited drone experiment.
As Cesare (Commander) sent the drone to us, we successfully received secret messages and a surprise piece of Jilian’s coffee cake! This wasn’t just a proof of concept, it was a connection to our Hab, an emotion, that brought a smile to all our faces. It made us reminisce for an instant, all the great times we shared, an experience which will soon come to an end…
Jesus then took charge of the drone and skillfully captured the moments of rock sample collection and Riley’s GPR grid. Great job, Jesus! Since we are on the topic of Jesus, let me report that last night, he successfully captured the image of a calibration pattern onto the photoresist using silicon sample, a template, UV light and a photo developer. This is proof of concept to one of the many steps that would help humans build Solar Panels and semiconductor devices from regolith on Mars!
The EVA crew came back to Ryan’s amazing freshly cooked whole wheat bread (which I’m guessing was supervised by the commander because, um, sugar) which we all enjoyed with different toppings. After a relaxing afternoon of ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’, I cooked ‘Rajma’, an Indian kidney-beans curry for dinner. Hoping everyone enjoyed it!

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GreenHab Report – December 20th

GreenHab Officer: Ryan DeAngelis
Environmental control: Heater on, fan off, door closed.
Average temperatures: 70 degrees
Hours of supplemental light: 10 pm to 2 am (four hours)
Daily water usage for crops: 2 gallons
Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: None
Water in Blue Tank (200 gallon capacity): __151__ gallons
Time(s) of watering for crops: 12 pm, 6 pm
Changes to crops: Harvested, dill, basil, and cilantro, and pea & fennel shoots are peaking out of the soil.
Narrative: I watered a couple of the cucumber plants and tomato plants today around 12 pm. I also harvested some basil. I went back to the GreenHab around 6 pm to finish watering the rest of the plants and harvest some more plants. I harvested a fair amount of cilantro and dill this time around. The peas I planted earlier this week are doing well and growing fast, and I also saw some fennel shoots poking up. Cucumber plants are doing well and are almost fully recovered now.
Harvest: Basil: 4 grams. Dill: 8 grams. Cilantro: 8 grams. 20 grams total
Support/supplies needed: None.

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