Sol: 10
Summary Title: Sol Ten: "We go out of sim when?"
Author’s Name: Adriana Brown
Mission Status: Nominal
Sol Activity Status:
Sol 10 began with a quinoa based breakfast prepared by Sara. Fueled for the day, the EVA crew of Adriana, Eshaana, Riya, and Gabe set out on the rovers for a trip down south to White Rock Canyon. A new location for all, the crew explored the terrain with the specific focus of noting the presence or absence of the Gryphaea fossils characteristic of the Western Interior Seaway. The EVA crew was delighted when Gabe keenly spotted a small bed of oysters, which was reflected on the opposite side of the path as well. The EVA crew sampled 54 of the oysters and ventured farther into the canyon and back. All were in awe of the beautifully river-carved landscape and multicolored rocks scattered along the route.
Upon return, the crew sat down for a cheese and broccoli soup and homemade bread by Sara. Afterward, Riya went to the GreenHab to tend to the plants (including more baby tomatoes) and harvested cilantro, Nathan worked on his sensor code, Adi worked in the lower deck on E.L.F., Sara read through more material for her reporting project, and Adriana went to the Science Dome to clean and catalogue her new oyster samples. With the final sol approaching, the crew is working hard on their research to gather as much data before their return to Earth. These efforts will be rewarded by a tasty dinner of fried rice and some cozy camaraderie around the table.
Look Ahead Plan: Drone + robot testing EVA near the Hab (if weather permits)
Anomalies in work: None
Weather: Cold and overcast
Crew Physical Status: Nominal
EVA: Exploratory geologic EVA #11 to White Rock Canyon
Reports to be filed: Journalist Report, Greenhab Report, Operations Report, Sol Summary, Astronomy Report, Photos, EVA report, EVA Request
Support Requested: None
Crew Photos – January 3rd
Operations Report – January 3rd
Crew 289 Operations Report 1-3-2024
SOL: 10
Name of person filing report: Nathan Bitner
Non-nominal systems: None
Notes on non-nominal systems: None
ROVERS
Spirit rover used: No
Hours: (Before EVA)
Beginning Charge: (Before EVA)
Ending Charge: (On return from EVA, before recharging)
Currently Charging:
Opportunity Rover used: Yes
Hours: 153.4
Beginning Charge: 100%
Ending Charge: 36%
Currently Charging: no
Curiosity Rover used: Yes
Hours: 262.7
Beginning Charge: 100%
Ending Charge: 25%
Currently Charging: no
Perseverance Rover used: No
Hours: (Before EVA)
Beginning Charge: (Before EVA)
Ending Charge: (On return from EVA, before recharging)
Currently Charging:
General notes on rovers: Rovers are functioning properly.
Summary of Hab operations:
WATER USE: 13 gallons
Water (static tank): 305 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 nominal.
Summary of Greenhab operations:
WATER USE: 5.32
Heater: on
Supplemental light: off
Harvest:
cilantro – 16 g
Summary of ScienceDome operations: Weighed and labelled oyster samples.
Dual split: Heat or AC: On
Summary of RAM operations: (Tools used, work done): No work done or tools used.
Summary of any observatory issues: All systems nominal
Summary of health and safety issues: None
Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: None
Journalist Report – January 3rd
Sara Paule, Crew 289 Journalist & Executive Officer
01.03.2024
Sol 10
Weather makes a big difference and Crew 289 has been remarkably fortunate so far on mission. While it has been below freezing after sundown every day, making morning and evening forays into the further parts of the hab chilly, the sunshine has warmed the days to 30-40°F and resulted in quite comfortable EVAs with appropriate gear. (Ok, it’s typically still chilly riding on the rovers but wandering around warms up an astronaut nicely.) Until now, every day has been practically cloud-free with the exception of one partly cloudy day where we needed to preserve power. Today was genuinely cloudy though and in addition to needing to be cautious regarding power usage, our EVA crew came back quite chilled. Cold and, as ever, hungry but, overall, very happy.
Their destination was White Rock Canyon, a decent clip away southward of the hab. We were uncertain about the presence of the fossils in the location since we were unsuccessful in locating oysters just slightly westward at Barrainca Butte but a close look at the map left us hopeful based on earlier finds along Hab Ridge. Elevation is key to finding oyster deposits and today’s exploratory EVA with Adriana “Rocky” Brown, Eshaana “Butter” Aurora, Riya “Pots” Raj, and Gabe “Terminator” Skowronek was shockingly fruitful. The crew collected over 54 fossils and, best yet, these samples are stunningly clean and well-preserved. You can see the growth plate ridges on the shells! Today’s find more than doubles Rocky’s collection for the mission giving her plenty of materials to work with for her graduate research. We also played with LiDAR and 3D scanning of the fossils to try to document them digitally. We still need to optimize the process, scanning something small versus a geographical feature is not 100% comparable, especially when you want a full scan of the entire shell.
Adi “Michelin” Anibha, Nathan “Shrub” Bitner, and I held down the station today and monitored comms while the EVA crew was out hunting up oysters. Due to the cliffs between us and them, comms were very quiet today. The chatter was missed while we completed research tasks and our cooking.
I tackled breakfast today trying out a new recipe: brown rice and quinoa porridge with coconut milk, brown sugar, and soy sauce. It took well over an hour-and-a-half to cook down into porridge but no one complained. My crew is too kind for that! After shoving food in our faces, I started on bread using instant soup packets brought from Earth as a salt substitute. I finished kneading right as the EVA crew got their comms vests on and dashed downstairs to help them finish suiting up for departure. Everyone had to wait longer on the bread than anyone wanted – it went into the oven right after the return of the EVA team – but everyone was so excited when it finally came out that we hacked into it while still steaming and slathered it in Nutella, peanut butter, butter, and/or strawberries. Fried rice is on the menu for tonight. Can’t wait! It smells gooood.
We are winding down our time now and tomorrow marks our final EVA, assuming weather allows. (We may get rain on Mars!) If we are able to proceed, E.L.F. will be the star of the mission again. In a test today, E.L.F. broke irreparably while completing a practice jump. He reached a vertical height of 1.5” but won’t be doing any more leaping until he can be fixed back up at home. Yet, we’re pleased to hear he is not out of action entirely! Tomorrow we’ll hope to witness his origami moving motion out on the planet’s surface.
Tonight, I expect we’ll likely call it an early night after staying up late last night to finish the movie we started New Year’s Eve. We thought we’d watch another hour of the movie but we got drawn into the cricket match of Lagaan and finished the whole thing instead. Adi had to pause to explain the rules to those of us not familiar with the game. We passed a very enjoyable time in the loft but those of us who did not squeak in a nap today are starting to fade.
GreenHab Report – January 3rd
GreenHab Officer: Riya Raj
Environmental Control: Heater on, fan off, door closed.
MORNING
Average Temperatures:
Avg Temp – 10:40 am (67 °F)
Relative Humidity – 13 %
**After Watering:
Avg Temp – 10:45 am (63.2°F)
Relative Humidity – 54%
Used 3 to water all the plants (includes misting amount)
Used less water today since it was very cloudy!
AFTERNOON
Avg Temp – 4:39 pm (68F)
Relative Humidity – 14%
**After Watering:
Avg Temp – 5:12 pm (64°F)
Relative Humidity – 50%
Used 2 gallons to water all the plants (includes more misting)
Hour of supplemental light: 10pm-2am (4 hours)
Daily water usage for crops: Sol 10 – 5.3 gallons
Water in Blue Tank (200-gallon capacity): 152.02 gallons
Times of Watering for Crops: Sol 10 – 10:45am & 5:12pm
Changes to Crops: added more stakes to the cucumber plants since they are getting taller day by day! I also harvested a bunch of cilantro leaves!
Narrative:
Sol 10:
Today was a very CRISPY day! I bet all the plants were enjoying it since they were all perked up every time I went into the greenhouse. We also now have 17 BABY TOMATOES!! I hope that the tomatoes can be harvested by the time the next GHO comes by and the next crew can enjoy some yummy produce! Sara taught me how to add a tomato cage for the plant that is nearby the wall. This will help the leaves and stems be supported while they get taller!
I took care of the overgrown cress that was taking over the red cabbage and parsley! THE PLANT WAS DETERMINED TO RULE THE WORLD! But it was defeated by the legendary Mr. Plant Scissors! The cress was spicy and angry, but it is now chilling in another pot hehehe. Eshaana’s mini farm now has 1 SINGULAR GRASS BLADE LOLZ, but all her plants are doing great though. The spinach, onion, and mint seeds haven’t sprouted anything, so I guess they are taking their sweet time I finally ended the day with some misting on the plants and harvesting of the cilantro leaves that we will use for our fried rice tonight! My LiDAR scans for greenhouse are currently processing so we will see how it looks. The inventory list will be hung up on the giant tank so that people can see what is already planted!
Sol 10 Harvest:
Cilantro: 16 grams
Support/supplies needed: More happies for the tomato plants
EVA Report – January 3rd
EVA Report #11
Author: Eshaana Aurora
EVA Date: 3rd January 2024
Start time: 1109
End time: 1322
Purpose of EVA:
Investigating the Extent of Gryphaea Fossils in White Rock Canyon
Evaluate the presence or absence of the gryphaea fossils which will provide information about the extent of the Western Interior Seaway Shelf Deposit
Narrative:
The Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) commenced at 1109, led by Adriana (Crew Commander) with Gabe (Health and Safety Officer), Riya (Greenhab Officer) and Eshaana (Crew Geologist) as participants. The crew started with Opportunity and Curiosity at full charges – Opportunity at 100% and 153.4 hours, Curiosity at 100% and 262.7 hours. The crew embarked on their Martian exploration by driving their rovers southward along Cow Dung Road and parking near the entrance of Watney Road intersection after which the crew proceeded on foot.
Upon reaching White Rock Canyon the crew commander scouted around in search of oyster fossils while the other took in the interesting shrub filled landscape. Gabe was the first one to spot the rather extensive oyster swarm about 0.8 km away from the rovers. Adriana remarked that while these samples may have been displaced from further north, as we mainly found them in the topsoil layer of the region, they were impeccably preserved which would allow for more accurate results post processing. The crew then moved further into the Canyon, taking in the beautiful rock facies and arches created by the forces of nature. They also came across some interesting red shrubs and circular, hive textured hollows within the riverbed faces that had been eroded over time.
After a brief break on a satisfyingly textured red powdery mound, the crew headed back collecting even more oyster samples on the way back. In total the crew collected 54 gorgeous oyster samples and headed back to the rovers around 1301, with the utmost satisfaction in their hearts.
This EVA involved meticulous navigation, organization and time tracking to ensure the gryphaea fossil exploration objectives were efficiently and successfully completed during the limited excursion time. The crew reached the Hab with Opportunity at 36% and 153.9 hrs and Curiosity at 25% and 263.2 hrs. Overall, the EVA was executed with a resounding success with exploration, research and safety properly balanced and prioritized and the crew finally entered the airlock completing the EVA at 1322.
Destination: White Rock Canyon
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): N 530300, E 4247700
Participants: Adriana Brown (Commander), Eshaana Aurora (Crew Geologist), Riya Raj (Greenhab Officer), Gabriel Skowronek (Health and Safety Officer)
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Drive south on Cow Dung Road 0110 and park a quarter of a mile ahead of the intersection of Cow Dung Road 0110 and Watney Road. Then, walk on foot to White Rock Canyon.
Mode of travel: Driving and Walking (Curiosity and Opportunity)
Sol Summary – January 2nd
Sol: 9
Summary Title: Sol Nine: E.L.F.’s Incline
Author’s Name: Adriana Brown
Mission Status: Nominal
Sol Activity Status:
Sol 9 was another productive sol for the team. After a breakfast of cereal and various dinner leftovers, our EVA crew consisting of Adi, Gabe, Sara, and Nathan set out at 11:00 AM to Candor Chasma. With them, the group carried our drone and Adi’s robot, E.L.F. While at Candor Chasma, they tested E.L.F.’s ability to climb slopes in the dynamic sandy and rocky terrain of the canyon. While our little friend performed gallantly, he will need a wheel repair before his final EVA. The team also conducted LiDAR using the drone (FLiDAR) and took many photos of the beautiful vistas.
During the EVA, Adriana worked in the Science Dome to set up new sediment carbonate experiments and Eshaana uploaded agrivoltaic data. Adriana, Riya, and Eshaana then teamed up for their own expedition: homemade tomato soup with cheesy biscuits. After several iterations of tasting and seasoning, they arrived at a concoction worthy of the hungry EVA crew. After the EVA, Nathan and Adi soldered in the RAM, Sara finished a main portion of her report coding project, Riya and Eshaana worked in the GreenHab to water plants and test a camera set up for the mini farm. Our GHO was very excited this morning to announce that we have baby tomatoes growing! While we might not be here to reap the bounty, it is exciting to know that some vegetable goodness awaits the next crew.
This evening, Eshaana is cooking up some tasty lentils while the crew works on report writing. The crew is starting to plan out their last few days on Mars research-wise, EVA-wise, and importantly, meal-wise!
Look Ahead Plan: Geologic EVA #11 to White Rock Canyon
Anomalies in work: None
Weather: Sunny and clear
Crew Physical Status: Nominal
EVA: robotics EVA #10 to candor chasma
Reports to be filed: Journalist Report, Greenhab Report, Operations Report, Sol Summary, Astronomy Report, Photos, EVA report
Support Requested: a refill on salt (if possible)
Operations Report – January 2nd
SOL: 9
Name of person filing report: Nathan Bitner
Non-nominal systems: None
Notes on non-nominal systems: None
ROVERS
Spirit rover used: Yes
Hours: 240.2
Beginning Charge: 100%
Ending Charge: 37%
Currently Charging: No
Opportunity Rover used: Yes
Hours: 152.8
Beginning Charge: 100%
Ending Charge: 38%
Currently Charging: No
Curiosity Rover used: No
Hours: (Before EVA)
Beginning Charge: (Before EVA)
Ending Charge: (On return from EVA, before recharging)
Currently Charging:
Perseverance Rover used: No
Hours: (Before EVA)
Beginning Charge: (Before EVA)
Ending Charge: (On return from EVA, before recharging)
Currently Charging:
General notes on rovers: Rovers are functioning properly.
Summary of Hab operations:
WATER USE: 19.6 gallons
Water (static tank): 318 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 nominal.
Summary of Greenhab operations:
WATER USE: 6.1 gallons
Heater: on
Supplemental light: off
Harvest:
cilantro – 2 g
Summary of ScienceDome operations: Catalogued and dissolved samples using HCL.
Dual split: Heat or AC: On
Summary of RAM operations: (Tools used, work done): Conducted robot repairs and air quality monitor construction using solder and an iron.
Summary of any observatory issues: All systems nominal
Summary of health and safety issues: Not urgent, but fire extinguishers were last inspected January of 2023, so they expire this month.
Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: We have a bag of burnable and a bag of non-burnable trash in the rear airlock.
Crew Photos – January 2nd
Journalist Report – January 2nd
Sara Paule, Crew 289 Journalist & Executive Officer
01.02.2024
Sol 9
Here on Sol 9, Crew 289 is beginning to count down the days (and the meals) until departure. Less out of excitement to return to Earth and more to begin the necessary planning to ensure that we can maximally complete our various research projects and coordinate travel arrangements to successfully return ourselves and our equipment. However, today also marks the day where we are beginning to feel the dwindling of our food resources. After tonight, we have 4 more breakfasts and 3 more lunches and dinners here at MDRS. We have plenty of food to keep us fed but, from here on, our kitchen experiments will become that much more experimental. Wish us well!
Breakfast this morning was a choose your own buffet mix of leftovers and cereal with coconut milk. Lunch was a tomato soup cooked by today’s Hab team of CO Adriana “Rocky” Brown, Eshaana “Butter” Aurora (GEO), Riya “Pots” Raj (GHO) and cheesy biscuits. Each was peak inventive with cheesy broccoli soup powder going into the biscuits and soy sauce helping add some salt to the soup and brown sugar some sweetness. Also, apparently biscuit mix also went in to the soup. Ingenious since they needed additional salt and thickener and the biscuit mix had both. Dal makhani – lentils and kidney bean combo – is for dinner.
We did have an EVA today. Electronic LeapFrog (E.L.F.) was the star this afternoon at Candor Chasma, getting a chance to tackle some steeper, rockier, terrain. E.L.F. was able to climb and descend well with a leash assist. Unfortunately, when he prepared to undertake a jump, he lost a wheel so we were not able to measure his standing vertical. (Happily, he’s already been fixed up and will be ready for his third Martian terrain test 2 days from now.) Rarely do we only have one objective during our EVAs and this one was no exception. We were able to collect FLiDAR (drone with a phone) of the chasm and to more thoroughly explore the territory for future EVAs. Before heading back, the team – Aditya “Michelin” Anibha (SCI), Nathan “Shrub” Bitner (ENG), Gabe “Terminator” Skowronek (HSO), and me, Sara “Zinger” Paule (XO) – did take a moment for a group photo. The terrain in the chasm was absolutely beautiful so at one point I entrusted my phone to Shrub today to take photographs while I clicked away with the GoPro (his phone was engaged in the FLiDAR scanning which requires 2 phones, 1 to fly and 1 to scan). I also got some entertaining footage of the drive back to the Hab in the rovers. Shrub declared along the way that thinking of this particular route as comparable to a rollercoaster made it even more fun – it was indeed a delightfully bumpy ride.
So much happens in a day at MDRS and I am only able to give you a taste of the experience. Here is a small sampling of other things that happened today: Rocky checked carbonate levels in some of her collected sediments. Terminator processed a photo of the Crab Nebula (M1). Butter set up a camera for her agrovoltaic minifarm. Pots discovered 11 baby tomatoes in the GreenHab. I finished coding the Journalist reports from prior crews that I selected for sampling a few days ago and also started on coding Sol Summaries, another mandatory report type. And, best yet, for fun this evening, we experimented with “Pots” 3D pen. Her 3D printed piping tip performed admirable in decorating funfetti cupcakes! Beautiful and yummy.
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