Month: December 2023

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Operations Report – December 22nd

SOL: 12
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: Yes
Opportunity rover used: No
Hours:
Beginning charge:
Ending charge:
Currently charging: Yes
Curiosity rover used: No
Hours:
Beginning charge:
Ending charge:
Currently charging: Yes
Perseverance rover used: No
Hours:
Beginning charge:
Ending charge:

Currently charging: Yes
General notes on rovers: No rovers were used today.
Summary of Hab operations: 110-120 gallons of water were re-filled for cleaning and crew showers. HAB, Science Dome, RAM, Green Hab were moped today for departure tomorrow.
WATER USE: 60-70 gallons
Water (static tank): 298 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: No harvest.

Summary of ScienceDome operations: Science dome was cleaned and samples were removed prior to departure tomorrow.
Dual split: Heat or AC: Off
Summary of RAM operations: (Tools used, work done): RAM was cleaned prior to departure tomorrow.
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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Sol Summary – December 22nd

Sol: 12
Summary Title: Cleaning Day, Last Day
Author’s name: Jilian Welshoff
Mission Status: Complete
Sol Activity Summary:
Crew 288 started the final day off at 7:30AM for a breakfast of spam fried rice AGAIN made by Hunter (GEO). It was a delicious meal and great final breakfast for our crew. The day was a slow but efficient one, with cleaning and rental car pickup. But first, we got to take our first walks out of simulation outside the HAB and enjoy some fresh air. It was a nice conclusion to simulation and we were greeted by Sergii, our director.
After that nice moment, it was back to work. Jesus and Hunter set off to Grand Junction to pickup our new spaceship (a Honda van), while the rest of the crew got to cleaning. Riley (XO) and Jilian (HSO) tackled the food inventory and cleaning the upper deck while jamming out to music, Ryan (GHO) took care of the Greenhab plants and all the cleaning tasks. Lipi (JOU) and Cesare (CMD) took on the Science Dome, mopping and cleaning and checking tasks off the list. They had some time to pack and eat lunch of assortments of leftovers before getting back to cleaning. They finished their mopping and checks for the day then were able to take their final showers!
At last Jesus and Hunter returned with the “Astrovan” and wolfed down some snacks before the crews big final dinner at the Burger Shak. They happily ate their burgers and shakes then headed home to finish cleaning and writing their final reports to conclude their mission.
Look Ahead Plan: Looking forward to returning to Earth
Anomalies in work: Crew car not fixed
Weather: Cloudy overcast day with some rain at night
Crew Physical Status: Awesome
EVA: “EVA” to Grand Junction
Reports to be filed: Journalist Report, Greenhab Report, Operations Report, Sol Summary, Astronomy Report, Photos, Mission Summary Report, Research Report
Support Requested: None

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Sol Summary – December 21st

Sol: 11
Summary Title: Finale Official Day on Mars
Author’s name: Jilian Welshoff
Mission Status: Nominal
Sol Activity Summary:
Crew 288 started the day off at 7:30AM for a breakfast of banana peanut butter pancakes made by Ryan (GHO). They had an earlier time for EVA so not much time for reading today post breakfast. The crew got ready to prep and Hunter (GEO), Jilian (HSO), Cesare (CMD), and Ryan (GHO) set out for the final EVA, #11 to Somerville Overlook. The EVA crew had a bumpy ride out to the walking destination and collected some final geology samples. The view and antelopes were worth the walk and the crew enjoyed the beautiful day for a finale to the mission.
The crew at the HAB had a day of relaxing and “CAPCOMing”. Riley wrote about geology and served as an awesome CAPCOM. Jesus was prepping for leaving and spent the day in the Science Dome finishing up and packing all his samples and equipment. Lipi had a day of listening and learning, Jesus explained photolithography and Riley and her had lovely conversations about geology and life.
After returning from EVA, the crew enjoyed leftovers of peanut butter pancakes and tacos. Ryan (GHO) collected parsley from the Greenhab to assist with dinners menu. Lipi had an adventure baking brownies, with the challenge being no eggs. She conquered the brownies kinda creating what we call “Choc Slop”. Delicious! Hunter and Riley spent time in the Science Dome analyzing data and Ryan watered plants in the Greenhab.
The crews plan for tonight is to eat a wonderful dinner cooked by Hunter and enjoy our last full day of simulation, as tomorrow includes cleaning and prepping to return home from Mars.
Look Ahead Plan: Looking forward to returning to Earth
Anomalies in work: Crew car waiting to be fixed
Weather: Cold and cloudy in the morning, sunny and beautiful in the afternoon.
Crew Physical Status: Sore but morale is high!
EVA: EVA #11 to Somerville Overlook
Reports to be filed: EVA Report, Journalist Report, Greenhab Report, Operations Report, Sol Summary, Astronomy Report, Photos
Support Requested: None

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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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