Month: December 2023

Sol: 8

Summary Title: Settling

Author’s name: Enkhtuvshin “Dono” Doyodkhuu

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: The day started today around 8:30 AM for the crew. We had the best sweet rice with milk for breakfast which is a Mongolian traditional meal. HSO Duluu and I got promptly to work in the morning since we had a long trip planned for the afternoon. She tended to Green Hab, and I started my work as the newly appointed crew astronomer. Tungaa, Davaa, Sunny, and Muggi performed our usual morning routine, starting the Sol with energy and vigor. Muggi has been appointed as the trainer/coach for the crew, and he has been leading the morning exercises.

Lunch was prepared by Sunny and Davaa, which took meticulous preparation—Martian lasagna made completely from a freeze-dried recipe. It was made with beef, potatoes, penne, and cheese. Nutritious, delicious, and groundbreaking. It has been chosen as the second-best meal we’ve had since coming to Mars. Competition is fierce in the kitchen.

We had our first and only 6-person out-of-sim EVA today with the crew car and headed out to Lith Canyon and Whitehouse. The view is amazing, and we managed to perform extensive drone footage and photo shooting. Capcom was Ben, and our communication was cut off somewhere around Whitehouse, but all went well.

We had a warm and nutritious soup for dinner and got to work immediately afterwards. We have now gotten completely accustomed to Mars, and it is hard to believe we’re already beyond halfway through our rotation. Our work efficiency is going up day by day as we get more and more adapted to our new lifestyle, environment, and workflow. This could be how it feels to actually settle on Mars. It’s invigorating.

Look Ahead Plan: We are now planning to hold off on doing EVAs for a while and focus on our research reports in the 5 priority areas we’ve been working on. Tungaa and I are the appointed chefs for tomorrow, and we plan to hold our own amongst the culinary skills of the crew. We have T-bone steak menu for Sol 10, but we are planning to save that for when the Netflix crew arrives, and the crew is very much looking forward to their company on Mars.

Anomalies in work: None.

Weather: Sunny. Almost no clouds. Very warm.

Crew Physical Status: All healthy.

EVA: Successfully completed one EVA.

Reports to be filed: Sol summary, Journalist report, Operations report, Greenhab report, EVA report, Photos.

Support Requested: None.

Sol: 7

Summary Title: Momentum

Author’s name: Enkhtuvshin “Dono” Doyodkhuu

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: The day started a bit late today around 9 AM. We had oatmeal breakfast, exercised, and meditated together and started the EVA preparation around 10:50 AM. The EVA #7 crew headed out to the field at 11:25 AM, visited White Rock Canyon, and returned to the HAB 20 minutes after 1 PM. Lunch was prepared by Duluu, who made a delicious full course meal for us. Dinner was prepared by Muggi, and we had a delicious spicy penne soup. At the time of writing, the crew has had dinner and are working on the research report we plan to compile at the end of the mission.

Davaa has started his testing on the mud samples. Duluu is intently caring for the Greenhab. Sunny is keeping up the public outreach work. Muggi is becoming more and more proficient at drone operation. Tungaa would have started her microbiological work, but she needs petri dishes, which we can’t seem to find around the station. Any support on this from Mission Support would be greatly appreciated. I still haven’t heard from Peter regarding opening the Musk Observatory. Hopefully I’ll get to have some telescope time before the end of the rotation.

Each day brings us closer to the culmination of our research, weaving together the individual threads of our work into the rich tapestry of this mission’s legacy.

Look Ahead Plan: Today, we’ve started focusing more intently on our goals and the results we want to achieve by the end of the rotation. Our goal is to have one comprehensive file elaborating on each of these areas which will lay the foundation for MARS-V analog station in the Gobi. These are, respectively:

· Improving the development of the MARS-V training program.

o Challenge Takers;

o Science Takers;

o Experience Takers;

· Experimenting with the freeze-dried Mars analog food.

o How to improve the packaging, cooking instructions, variety, and quality.

· Testing out the MARS-V analog suit.

o How the helmet can be improved. What the simulated LSS should include. How to make it ergonomically comfortable.

· Developing and improving the general structure of a Mars analog station.

· Learning from the operational structure of MDRS.

o Protocols. Mission support system.

Anomalies in work: We had a bit of a mishap with the charging of the rovers today, but Ben promptly mended the situation. No anomalies to report otherwise.

Weather: Sunny with abundant cloud cover. It was quite warm today with the warmest part of the day showing 16 degrees Celsius.

Crew Physical Status: All healthy.

EVA: Successfully completed one EVA.

Reports to be filed: Mid-mission report, Sol summary, Journalist report, Operations report, Greenhab report, EVA report, Photos.

Support Requested: I want to request the crew car for tomorrow if possible. Our destination is beyond Overlook and Sea of Shells, to the area around White House and Lith Canyon. This will be an out-of-sim trip for the crew for the purposes of photo shooting and drone videos.

Sol: 6

Summary Title: Bonding

Author’s name: Enkhtuvshin “Dono” Doyodkhuu

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: The crew is getting more and more accustomed to Mars. We are also getting more and more comfortable with each other. The longest friendship within the crew is 20+ years, and the shortest is 4 years; we have all worked together on various projects and are very much familiar with each other, and our bonding experiences in this remote and isolated place are that much more nuanced. The environment never ceases to amaze us, and we still stand in awe of the scenery thus far.

The morning started at 7 AM today at the Hab. We had oatmeal soup for breakfast, did leg and back exercises, and tried out a different meditation technique. This morning routine has been as ideal as it could get—light breakfast to nourish our bodies; physical exercises to get our blood pumping; breathing exercises to get it back down; meditation to calm our minds. This took a bit longer than usual despite starting the day earlier. We then headed out for EVA #6 around 10:30 AM.

The EVA crew of 3 led by HSO Duluu headed for Overlook but stopped midway on Brahe Hwy 1572. CAPCOM was led by Muggi, who was also operating the drone from inside the Hab. He warned against going farther than 55% on the rovers, but the team stopped at 48% after discussion amongst themselves to get closer to the muddy part of the site. Soil sampling was successful—Davaa and Tungaa have started geological and microbiological work today. The returning batteries on both rovers were at 32% which led us to believe that we can start testing out the battery capacity of the rovers to their limit.

Lunch was prepared by Sunny. It was fried beef with vegetables, with rice on the side. Delicious and nourishing. We then played a team bonding game. There were some cries and lots of hugs. Dinner was couscous soup with a salad harvested from the Greenhab. Nutritious and heartwarming.

Our water consumption has been excellent, and we plan to keep it that way. The evening will be individual free time to work on their respective projects. Mars is not an alien place anymore. It is already filled with warm memories, exciting challenges, and lots of lessons learned. I just hope we can absorb this experience as much as we can while we are here before looking back on this incredible experience from our comfortable home and indulged life back on Earth.

Look Ahead Plan: We are expecting good results from Duluu’s hydroponic wick system. Muggi is getting proficient at operating the drone; he will be documenting the scenery around Zubrin’s head tomorrow. Davaa’s building blocks from different muddy soil types will be ready in 3-4 sols. Tungaa is starting her experiments on the soil samples tomorrow at the Science Dome. Sunny’s journalism and public outreach work is excellent as always. I am positively hoping to gain access to Musk Observatory in the next two days. My plan is to take the full image of the Sun detailing out the granules and prominences and generate a close-up video of possible flares.

However, my priorities as the commander are to keep my crew productive, stress-free but reasonably challenged, healthy, and happy. Onwards and upwards!

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: Sunny with abundant cloud cover. Forecast suggests we’ll be getting rain for the next 12-24 hours.

Crew Physical Status: All healthier and happier than yesterday.

EVA: Successfully completed one out-of-sim EVA.

Reports to be filed: Mid-mission research report, Sol summary, Journalist report, Operations report, Greenhab report, EVA report, EVA request, Photos.

Support Requested: Requesting a break of protocol. The rovers are all coming back from long-distance EVAs with 30+ battery percentage. Please lower the 55% limit down to 40%. We realize there are inherent risks to doing this—such as rovers getting stuck on the way back to the Hab. The risk management we’re planning is to have two of the remaining rovers on standby to pull them back to the Hab. The goal here is to (1) test out the battery capacity of the rovers to their limit (2) explore farther areas (3) simulate a challenge for ourselves. Hoping for a positive and flexible reply to this.