Month: January 2024

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Journalist Report – January 12th

Journalist Report

Nicole Chan, Crew 290 Journalist

01.12.2024

Sol 5

This morning, the crew made staggered entrances to the kitchen to enjoy some cookies and bread made by Anja (Freebee) last night. With today’s EVA 6 being our longest yet, our EVA crew, Madelyn (Melon), Anna (Roots), and Freebee began preparing for their adventure to Vallaris Marineris. This region has promising geological features that Melon hoped to target, from evidence of river flow in the area. The rest of the crew did our best to help feed them (with Freebee’s tasty risotto from last night) and suit up before departing from the Hab at 1255. The goal of this EVA is to collect samples from two sites of interest for MADMEN science objectives while Freebee is to drive REMI around those sites to collect more radar data.

At the base, Ben (Funk) was responsible for CAPCOM while Rebecca provided scientific field test support for the EVA crew. I (PODO) experimented with the pH probe to determine the electrical charge buildup that is necessary for accurate pH measurements on field tests. Currently, its metal panels require 5 minutes of charge buildup to get an accurate reading of the buffers we have on hand. Although this was not the expected measurement protocol, it has been a great workaround for the pH meter issues we had during the initial setup period.

The EVA crew ended up collecting samples at the mouth of the Tharsis Montes riverbed. They were even able to find fossils! While they performed ATP field measurements and salinity tests of the soil, the crew also collected plenty of interesting rocks for analysis. The most worthy of note amongst those is the gypsum-resembling rock. It’ll be analyzed and properly categorized under the microscope in the coming days. Overall, it was a great success! We congratulated the EVA crew at their return and are super excited to “dig into” (ba-dum-tsh) the samples they collected. Today we also got the chance to image the microfluidic devices with the Sol 3 and found bacteria in them! Very exciting indeed. (To be fair, we’re all in a very excited mood right now particularly while we’re smelling the tasty Chana Aloo that Funk is cooking up.)

Looking ahead, we have another long EVA tomorrow that will target sites at Candor Chasma. With a rover ride included, we can’t wait to bring back some sick samples to the crew. We’ll keep you posted!

Photo of the Day: 290-01_12_2024 in da valley.JPG

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Sol Summary – January 12th

Crew 290 Sol Summary Report 11-01-2024

Sol: 5

Summary Title: Signs of life

Author’s name: Madelyn Hoying

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary:

The day began with science, with Chopper (Rebecca), Roots (Anna), Freebee (Anja), and PODO (Nicole) working out the pH and microfluidics studies. The first signs of life were observed out of the microfluidic devices! Melon (Madelyn) laid out a checklist for sample site selection in the field to optimize EVA output. After a lunch of leftover risotto, the EVA crew of Melon, Freebee, and Roots, with Funk (Ben) on CAPCOM, ventured out for the furthest expedition yet with an ambitious goal to reach Lith Canyon. Unfortunately, the rover batteries reached their limit at about halfway, necessitating a turn-around point near Tharsis Montes. Two diverse sample sites were investigated, with one in a valley between two Morrison Formation hills and another in a dried riverbed heading east into the Tharsis Montes region. Field tests gave clear indications of microbial life at the riverbed site, so the crew is excited to begin lab testing and compare those results to the smectite regions! REMI had another solid day of data collection, managing to squeeze 10 sites into the EVA. Funk is cooking his own, specially-developed space food recipe tonight of chana aloo, and the crew is impatiently waiting for a taste test. With water usage still remarkably low post-shower, the crew is looking forward to showers after another long sample collection mission tomorrow.

Look Ahead Plan: Sample collection in the field and science!

Anomalies in work: none

Weather: Windy, but less so than Sol 4

Crew Physical Status: nominal

EVA: 05 engineering EVA, with Anja and Anna

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Journalist Report, Greenhab Report, Operations Report, EVA Report, EVA Request

Support Requested:

Trash pickup tonight in the rear airlock
There is an old handheld GPS that was found on the shelf with the walkie talkies in the ground floor of the Hab. Is there a charger for this? It ran out of battery in the field today.

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GreenHab Report – January 12th

Crew 290 GreenHab Report 12-01-2024 (Sol 5)

Greenhab Officer: Ben Kazimer

Heater on (Shifted to 65⁰F), fan off, door closed

Average temperatures: 0845: 70.7⁰F, 15%, 1158: 86.7⁰F, 10%, 1655: 68.7⁰F, 44%

Hours of supplemental light: Nominal 4 hours overnight

Daily water usage for crops: 5.25 gallons

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: None!

Water in Blue Tank 163.3 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops:

0845: 3 gallons watering, ¾ gallon misting, 1158: ½ gallon misting, 1639: ½ gallon watering, ½ gal misting

Changes to crops: Rearranged positioning of tomatoes and moved them slightly away from the greenhab wall. Pruned all stressed/discoloring leaves on tomatoes and cucumbers

Narrative:

Today was a good sol in the world of the greenhouse. The plants got a healthy dose of water for breakfast and several mistings throughout the day. I noticed the tomatoes on the back of the main platform, closest to the outside wall, were slightly wilting and looking rather somber. I took matters into my own hands (even though I guess they’re the only hands available) and rearranged the positioning of all the tomato plants, to be further away from the wall and swapped the arrangement to alternate who’s getting the cold side of the bed (Tomato No. 9 stayed put mainly as I didn’t want to interrupt his flow and partially due to favorite child actions). If it’s not the cold, it could also be over exposure to the sun as they are closely in line with the sun’s trajectory. While the plants were doing the Martian Shuffle, I also trimmed off all the dead leaves. They received a good diversity of sonic vibrations today, the highlight being a double dose of Billy Strings! In preparation for the long-awaited Chana Aloo dinner, I was able to harvest some fresh cilantro for garnish. I clipped the herbs radially working inward as to prevent overlap with other herbs in the garden, the neighboring kale and dill appreciated this. I’m not sure if it’s because our Martian kitchen is devoid of fresh spices, but this cilantro tasted just as great as the arugula did yestersol. The rest of the crew shared this sentiment as the curry with garnish was a hit!

Harvest: 29 grams cilantro

Support/supplies needed: Just food for thought in terms of future greenhab upgrades, an automatic misting system or at least electrically driven handheld device would be great! It is tedious to deliver the misting (for managing humidity levels) with a spray bottle, but still manageable. Also, an upgrade to the environmental sensor would make a big difference, for more accurate data and possibly even a timelog. Knowing what’s going on overnight would be great!

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EVA Report – January 12th

Crew 290 EVA Report 12-01-2024

EVA # 06

Author: Madelyn Hoying

Purpose of EVA:

Start time: 1230

End time: 1630

Narrative: After a late start to finish piecing together the necessary science equipment, the EVA crew ventured out for the furthest expedition yet with an ambitious goal to reach Lith Canyon. Unfortunately, the rover batteries reached their limit at about halfway, necessitating a turn-around point near Tharsis Montes. Two diverse sample sites were investigated, with one in a valley between two Morrison Formation hills and another in a dried riverbed heading east into the Tharsis Montes region. Field tests gave clear indications of microbial life at the riverbed site, so the crew is excited to begin lab testing and compare those results to the smectite regions! We successfully used our new method of loading and transporting REMI in the rovers which reduces time spent prepping the robot at our field sites. REMI collected data at 10 different sites, focusing mostly on very aerated red soil and hard sandy riverbeds. REMI burned through both of her batteries during the 4-hour EVA.

Destination: Intended for the southern edge of Lith Canyon; the rover batteries reached 55% (the cutoff) when we were approximately halfway there, so we reached approximately the Tharsis Montes region.

Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): N517653, E4256169

Participants: Madelyn Hoying (Commander), Anja Sheppard (Crew Scientist), Anna Tretiakova (Crew Engineer)

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Drive north on Cow Dung Rd until reaching 55% battery on rovers, here at the dried riverbed of Tharsis Montes. Park rovers and walk east in the riverbed.

Mode of travel: Driving and walking

Vehicles to be used (If applicable): Spirit and Opportunity

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Operations Report – January 12th

Crew 290 Operations Report 12-01-2023

SOL: 5

Name of person filing report: Anna Tretiakova

Non-nominal systems: None

Notes on non-nominal systems: Not Applicable

ROVERS

Spirit rover used: Yes

Hours: 241.6 hours

Beginning Charge: 100%

Ending Charge: 33%

Currently Charging: No

Opportunity rover used: Yes

Hours: 155.2 hours

Beginning Charge: 100%

Ending Charge: 42%

Currently Charging: No

Curiosity rover used: No

Hours: (Before EVA)

Beginning Charge: (Before EVA)

Ending Charge: (After EVA and before recharging)

Currently Charging:

Perseverance rover used: No

Hours: (Before EVA)

Beginning Charge: (Before EVA)

Ending Charge: (After EVA and before recharging)

Currently Charging:

General Notes on Rovers: Nominal Condition

Summary of Hab Operations:

Kitchen trash was changed and left in the back door seal lock.

WATER USE: 8.5 gallons

Water (static tank): 391.9 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 during times 18:00 to 22:00

Summary of Suits and Radios: Radios nominal. Suits nominal.

Summary of Greenhab Operations:

WATER USE: 5.25 gallons

Heater: on

Supplemental Light: off

Harvest: 29g of cilantro

Summary of Science Dome Operations:

Final preliminary tests were run with the pH soil sensor and imagined the incubated microfluidic devices to see if there was any bacteria growth that happened in 24 hours. Then flushed one and put it on a microscope slide and imagned isolated bacteria. Samples were put back into the incubator. New samples collected on EVA 6 will be prepped for tomorrow.

Dual Split Heater or AC: On

Summary of RAM Operations: (Tools used, work done):

Measuring tape was used to measure the water level. RAM was used as an airlock for EVA 6.

Summary of any observatory issues: Nominal

Summary of health and safety issues: All crew in good health and happy spirits. No safety issues.

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support:

Please pick up the trash left in the back door seal lock. 1 Burn trash and 1 Not Burn trash.

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Journalist Report – January 11th

Journalist Report

Nicole Chan, Crew 290 Journalist

01.11.2024

Sol 4

Today is a special day! Madelyn (Melon) informed us in the crew debrief last night that Sol 4 is where we’ll have our first showers on Mars. How exciting! The crew began the day with rehydrated coconut milk and cereal (another great Earth-meal remake). With EVA #5 scheduled to begin at 0900, the crew helped with suit up before EVA crew Anna (Roots) and Anja (Freebee) went on a productive engineering EVA with Melon on CAPCOM. Roots made repairs to the rover rear-view mirrors which were loose. Then, the two of them successfully built a dirt ramp for an easier exit of the RAM for REMI on future EVAs. Over comms, it sounded pretty physically demanding but the EVA crew worked effectively on their task and were successful!

In the meantime, Ben (Funk) recorded a significant harvest of red cabbage, arugula, and kale from the GreenHab (did someone say salad?). After returning to Hab, he began cooking a very tasty lunch of spaghetti with meatballs and tomato sauce. The crew licked our plates clean in approval. At this time, half of our crew (Funk, Freebee and Rebecca (Chopper)) completed their bucket showers. They had varied levels of success but also tips to save water on future showers (I began taking notes of course). As the crew dispersed for our afternoon tasks, Melon, Chopper, and Freebee put their heads together to plan out future EVAs and science equipment training for the crew. They were able to optimize crew task time and science sample output.

At 1430, the crew gathered in the ScienceDome to get a rundown of how to use the pH meter and the microscope. This will be an important component for our Project MADMEN science objectives. At 1500, the science equipment onboarding process began with Freebee, Funk and myself getting trained on the process of loading the Microfluidic Devices with the diluted soil samples from EVA #4. We took turns practicing in the laminar flow hood and examining the processed Microfluidic Devices under the microscope. It felt pretty rewarding to produce a properly flushed LB agar and take pictures of what is under the slide. We hope that any microbes present in the soil will have a happy time living in the nutrients in the next few days. We sure hope to be able to identify them.

As the sun is setting, the crew continues with their tasks and preparing their reports for the Comms window. We have been settling into a good routine so far, juggling MADMEN science tasks, individual roles, exercising, personal and crew socializing time. Overall, we have been making good progress on our research timeline as well as our consumables. Besides settling into our routines, we’ve been settling well into our roles too. Whenever we have any engineering issues pop up, Roots locates the source of the problem and works with Mission Support to make sure our Hab runs smoothly. Whenever it nears the mealtimes, Funk (or sometimes Freebee) comes up with new and creative recipes to fill our days with tasty meals. Melon ensures that the crew stays on schedule (with work-life balance!) and keeps us on track every Sol. Chopper is a very knowledgeable biologist and works tirelessly to process our soil samples, all while training us on the equipment. Freebee takes great care of REMI (both in and out of EVAs), filling her time with not only data analysis but also brainstorming future meals with our Martian selection of ingredients with Funk. As PODO, I watch over their progress, making sure it all gets documented and of course sharing it with you all. We complement each other’s skills well and have bonded over many nighttime social activities and mealtime conversations. Morale is good and we’re all excited to get positive results on our science tests in the coming days.

Photo of the Day: 290-01_11_2024 living off the land.jpeg

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GreenHab Report – January 11th

Crew 290 GreenHab Report 11-01-2024 (Sol 4)

Greenhab Officer: Ben Kazimer

Heater on (Shifted to 70⁰F, fan off, door closed

Average temperatures: 0748: 62.2⁰F, 19%, Sensor then moved to middle of greenhab away from door, 1410: 86.7⁰F 15%, 1703: 71.2⁰F, 19%

Hours of supplemental light: Nominal 4 hours overnight

Daily water usage for crops: 6.5 gallons

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 1.2 gallons

Water in Blue Tank 168.6 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops:

1/10 2211: ½ gallon misting;

Today’s watering0929: 4.5 gallons with 4 tablespoons fertilizer, ½ gallon misting, 1410: ¾ gallon misting, 1658: ¼ gallon misting

Changes to crops: Trimmed flowering pieces of dill, cleaned up dead leaves from tomatoes and cucumbers. Big harvest! Details below.

Narrative:

Last night after comms closed, I checked on the greenhab as the automatic lights didn’t click on. Now I don’t easily scare, but walking through the abyss (pressurized tunnels) from the hab to greenhouse at 2230 in whipping winds and no light, I was on edge. Mission support helped me troubleshoot the lights and cleared me to rev the heater up to max power. Doing this slightly worried me but I was more worried about the cold shocking the crops than overheating causing a bit drier environment. To that end, I checked in on our green neighbors at 0748 today and was greeted by many happy faces! Everyone got a good fertilizing and misting, along with some trimmings and a massive harvest. The crew is currently grazing on the deconstructed salad as we write up reports and all three greens are getting great reviews; the arugula has to be the spiciest and most flavorful I’ve ever had! Operationally, Roots (Anna) hung out in the greenhab for a bit while I harvested and trimmed, starting up a fun clay experiment in the warm environment. When I stopped by the greenhab at 1410 right before science training, I read out a tepid 87⁰F. This prompted me to set the heater to a Goldilocks 70⁰F. I’m still struggling to keep the humidity up despite 3-4 mistings a day, so I’m considering bringing our hab humidifier to the greenhab to see if it makes a significant difference. The rest of the crew may revolt against this as the humidifier is the only remedy we have to perpetual bloody noses. Updates tomorrow will follow on whether or not I am mutinied and thrown out the airlock. Music update: Fred again… great dance party with my captive audience of plants.

Harvest: 80 grams Red Cabbage, 56 grams Kale, 19 grams Arugula

Support/supplies needed: None!

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EVA Report – January 11th

Crew 290 EVA Report 11-01-2024

EVA # 05

Author: Madelyn Hoying

Purpose of EVA: Engineering EVA to fix the rearview mirror on Spirit, build up a regolith ramp outside the RAM airlock to remove the drop off for robotic operations, and smectite collection (no more than 2lbs) for an attempt at making ISRU-derived clay items. Would like to test methods of loading/unloading REMI into the bed of the rover, and securing it with bungee cords.

Start time: 0900

End time: 1030

Narrative: All engineering tasks were successfully completed. The Hab’s front airlock door had blown partially open in the wind even after pre-emptively securing it with rope on Sol 3, so the EVA crew exited the RAM airlock and secured the front door. They then proceeded to secure all rover rear-view mirrors, noting that they were particularly loose and that Perseverance has a cracked mirror. Soil collection for RAM ramp began at the site specified by Mission Support but ran into too rocky of an area. Mission Support approved a proposed sandy site to collect from and the ramp was completed. Smectite was collected for ISRU clay, with all collection areas filled in afterwards. Additionally, methods for loading, unloading, and securing REMI in the bed of the rover were successfully demonstrated with two crewmembers and some ratchet straps. Pictures and additional details can be provided, with the crew noting no concerns about the ability to do this in the field.

Destination: within 100m of MDRS

Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): N518169, E4250939

Participants: Anja Sheppard (Crew Scientist), Anna Tretiakova (Crew Engineer)

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Exit the RAM airlock and walk to sites of interest within a 100m radius

Mode of travel: Walking

Vehicles to be used (If applicable): None

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Sol Summary – January 11th

Crew 290 Sol Summary Report 11-01-2024

Sol: 4

Summary Title:

Author’s name: Madelyn Hoying

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: Off of Earth, still in class

After a windy night, the crew started strong with a successful engineering EVA to fix rover mirrors, build a ramp to the RAM airlock, collect smectite for ISRU clay projects. Freebee (Anja) also used the EVA to demonstrate loading, unloading, and securing REMI into the rover beds for future traverses. Funk (Ben) used leftover chicken powder and breadcrumbs to make meatballs to compliment the spaghetti for lunch, and worked on operationalizing the pH meter with Roots (Anna) in the afternoon. Melon (Madelyn) planned EVA sites and operations while Chopper (Rebecca) instructed the crew on MADMEN test procedures in the Science Dome. PODO (Nicole) spent time interviewing each crew member for some profile posts on social media. The crew as a whole celebrated scientific success with the first showers of the trip, experimenting with the bucket method. We were excited to note that we are still significantly under our budgeted water usage per day while including showers, and are cautiously scheduling an increase in shower frequency. Looking forward to sewing our mission patches onto our flight suits tonight!

Look Ahead Plan: Sample collection in the field

Anomalies in work: heater restart required due to high winds

Weather: Windy

Crew Physical Status: nominal

EVA: 05 engineering EVA, with Anja and Anna

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Journalist Report, Greenhab Report, Operations Report, EVA Report, EVA Request

Support Requested:

1. Approval to load REMI into the rover bed for long traverses on future EVAs

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