Month: December 2023

EVA # 7
Author: Hunter Vannier
Purpose of EVA: Investigate boulders within Candor Chasma and gypsum deposits.
Start time: 1100
End time: 1456
Narrative: EVA began at 1100 led by Hunter and joined by Jilian, Ryan, and Jesus. Curiosity started with 100% charge and 261.5 hours, and Perseverance started with 100% charge and 280.0 hours. The crew took Curiosity and Perseverance rovers north on Cow Dung Road and parked at the Gateway to Candor. The crew unloaded sampling tools and walked east along the streambed and admired the intact layers of conglomerate and sandstone that are largely converted to soil in other parts of MDRS. The crew also may have observed a fossilized bone in a boulder in the middle of the riverbed. Just before 12:00, they observed a pronghorn in the distance just as they descended into Candor Chasma, and then walked 2-3 km along the stream bed. Through this traverse, the crew noticed multiple changes in local geology, starting with the Morrison formation dominating the walls and much of the erosional material that was light-toned loose sand, some of which formed ripples that were covered in frost and scattered pawprints of pronghorn, coyote, and rabbit. The sand was present in the stream bottom along with red clay/sand sized particles, and at one point observed large limestone boulders 2-4 m tall. The crew then entered a region with abundant gypsum layers and veins intersecting darker brown/orange/grey thinly bedded layers. Finally, the crew descended far enough to see a 1-2 m exposure of limestone that was often in contact with the streambed and had rounded bulbous shapes due to weathering. In this area the crew also observed more significant walls of the thinly bedded brown/dark brown/tan layers dominating the walls of Candor Chasma. The eroded scree transitioned from lighter to a darker tone as we walked, likely due to a transition from more to less exposures of the sandstone capping unit. In this darker brown region, there were fewer obvious veins of gypsum and the paleosol/scree slopes reached as high as ~5 m from the top of the cliff face and was abundant through the gully. They then began returning to the rovers at 1300 and collected a few different forms of weathered limestone (crystalline green and orange) and examples of fresh and weathered gypsum. The team made it back to the HAB with Curiosity at 61% charge and 261.7 hours and Perseverance at 66% and 280.1 hours. They began the reentry process for the HAB at 1451.
Destination: Candor Chasma
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): N521500, E4251000
Participants: Jilian Welshoff (Health and Safety Officer), Ryan DeAngelis (Green Hab Officer), Jesus Galvan (Crew Engineer), Hunter Vannier (Crew Geologist)
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Drove north on Cow Dung Road and parked at the Gateway to Candor. Then walked east 2-3 km.
Mode of travel: driving and walking (Curiosity and Perseverance)

EVA # 8
Author: Riley McGlasson 
Purpose of EVA: Collecting 3D GPR data and use spectrometer to identify hydrated materials.
Start time: 1100
End time: 1530
Narrative: EVA began at 1100 led by Hunter and Riley (out of sim due to broken leg) and joined by Ryan and Lipi. The crew took Perseverance and Opportunity rovers north on Cow Dung Road. Perseverance started with 100% charge and 280.1 hours. Opportunity started with 100% charge and 150.4 hours. The crew drove north on Cow Dung Road until the rovers hit 55% batter about halfway between Cowboy Corner and Brahe Highway. The crew unpacked the equipment and started walking to their survey location northwest of the Brahe Hwy and Cow Dung Rd intersection. There they set up a 100 ft by 100 ft survey grid with 10ft grid spacing for GPR acquisition. The team took a very efficient GPR grid, and then Hunter led sampling and spectra collection at 5 sites within the survey region. The team then continued on foot towards the overlook on the western Brahe intersection, stopping frequently as Hunter took more spectra and got distracted by Gypsum. At their determined turnaround time of 1430 they started walking back to the rovers. The team made it back to the HAB with Opportunity at 35% charge and 150.9 hours and Perseverance at 27% and 150.4 hours. They began the reentry process for the HAB at 1516.
Destination: Brahe Highway intersection
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): N517500, E4255000
Participants: Riley McGlasson (Executive Officer), Hunter Vannier (Crew Geologist), Ryan DeAngelis (GreenHab Officer), Lipi Roy (Crew Journalist)
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Drive north on Cow Dung Road as close as the rovers can get to Brahe Highway and walk the rest of the way to the Brahe Highway intersection.
Mode of travel: driving Cow Dung (Perseverance and Opportunity) and walking to Brahe Highway intersection.