Sol: Sol #7
Summary Title: Good weather for field work
Author’s name: Annalea Beattie
Mission Status: Nominal
Sol Summary: Sunday is our scheduled day off so we slept in until after nine had a breakfast of leftovers and then went back to our work. Daniel spent time in the Science Dome successfully extracting DNA with his mobile Bento Lab. Rajvi and Mehnaz continued their usual chores caring for all the systems and the Green Hab. Aditya worked on his star imagery and on his research project. That was the story for the home crew for the rest of the day. Clare, Bharti and I prepared our gear for our EVA #8 south of Cowboy Corner. With Rajvi, we adjusted our suits and checked batteries. For the first time I chose to wear the all-in-one suit with the built-in helmet and I am converted. It was super comfortable, a little bit noisy sometimes but the weight is distributed evenly on the shoulders and the hips. It felt easy to move about the field in spacesuit number eight and I barely noticed wearing it. Our EVA was successful with samples gathered for Daniel from two locations. On a large scale we examined the rubble falling down the grey, greenish grey and red slopes of the Morrison. Their spectacular sinuous and cross-bedded features have been deposited by ancient river systems over millions of years. It was both sunny and chilly today and there was still snow settled in the shadows. As we walked around the base of the ridge we found elongated cross-bedding, micro-folding and varieties of small concretions. It was a successful EVA and we were all really happy to be out working in the field. We arrived home at four and after a cup of tea now our crew are cooking and writing reports for the day to be submitted tonight to Mission Support. After Comms this evening we have a special outreach event organized by our terrific media person on the ground in India, Sakshi Sharma. Our crew will meet with her, with the members of Women in Space South Asia, and all the other invited guests from all over the world to talk about our work and our experiences living here in simulation at the Mars Desert Research Station.
Look Ahead Plan: Two EVAS requested tomorrow to east and then to west Kissing Camel Ridge.
Anomalies in work: None
Weather: Cold but dry in the morning and sunny this afternoon at 41F. There is little chance of rain and the wind tonight is at 4mph. There is a waxing crescent moon and clear skies.
Crew Physical Status: Nominal
EVA: EVA #8 to south of Cowboy Corner.
Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Journalist Report, Greenhab Report, Operations Report, EVA report, Astronomy Report, EVA request.
Support Requested: None
Operations Report – February 11th
SOL: #7
Name of person filing report: Rajvi Patel
Non-nominal systems: None
Notes on non-nominal systems: Lower Hab Heater
The heater turned off again last night showing 4 orange flashes (1 short 3 long). I fixed it using the same method as earlier and informed Sergii about this. The heater has been working fine since then.
ROVERS
Spirit rover used: Not used
Opportunity rover used: EVA #8
Hours: 161.1
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 52%
Currently charging: No because of the late afternoon
Curiosity rover used: EVA #8
Hours: 266.1
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 46%
Currently charging: No because of the late afternoon
Perseverance rover used: Not used
General notes on rovers:
Summary of Hab operations: put notes here
WATER USE: 30.36 gallons
Water (static tank): 310.72 gallons
Static tank pipe heater (on or off): On
Static tank heater (On or off): On
Toilet tank emptied: Yes
Summary of internet: Nominal
Summary of suits and radios: Nominal. Suits and radios worked fine for the EVA #008.
-Regarding Suit#6: I have ran four set of tests.
1) Case a: 20 min run at max fans
0 min 12.71 V
20 min 12:18 V
40 min 6.92 V
60 min 4.13 V
80 min 3.16V
2) Case b: 3 min run at max fans
0 min 13.89 V
3 min 12:97 V
6 min 10.57 V
9 min 6.04 V
12 min 5.12 V
The fans started to slow down super quick after hitting 10 V and the rate of voltage reduction was quite fast from 10V to 5.3V. This was followed by a reduction in the rate of voltage decrease (e.g. approx. 0.5 V per second)
3) Case c: 20 min run at min fans
0 min 13.13 V
20 min 8.95 V
40 min 8.55 V
60 min 7.73 V
I think the battery needs to be replaced as it cannot last long while the fans are at max speed. Need your advice.
Summary of GreenHab operations: put notes here
WATER USE: 7.2 gallons
Heater: On
Supplemental light: 22:00 – 02:00
Harvest: None
Summary of ScienceDome operations: In the morning Daniel successfully carried out a PCR and gel electrophoresis to identify the microbes found in the DNA from the soil reported yesterday, results are yet to be analyzed. In the afternoon another PCR targeting biogeochemical cycling genes was carried out on the same DNA, currently waiting for the gel to finish running. DNA extractions took place concurrently on soil gathered in today’s EVA.
EVA.Dual split: Heat On
Summary of RAM operations: (Tools used, work done) : RAM was accessed to receive the medical supplies delivered by Sergii.
Summary of any observatory issues: None
Summary of health and safety issues: None
Questions, concerns, and requests to Mission Support: put notes here
The Toilet was emptied at midnight as the bad smell reached the Upper Hab and it was difficult for the crew to breathe. The sensor was still at ½ .
Journalist Report – February 11th
Sol 7: Busy, busy, busy!
Sunday dawned a gorgeous, sunny day. Well, I say dawned, but really, we had a slower start to the day, given Sunday is our day off. After a bit of a late night on Sol 6, all the Mangalyatri crew opted for a bit of a sleep-in. We had leftover bread, fruits, and cereal for breakfast (well, brunch), and discussed our upcoming EVA. Daniel also headed straight for the Science Dome to continue his experiments.
Annalea and Bharti were both thinking of trying out the one-piece suits, rather than the two-piece suits, so we decided to fit them early to save time when preparing to leave for our EVA. They both greatly enjoyed the one-piece suits and quickly had them adjusted for their size. So back on the charge the suits went, until it was time for our EVA.
After a quick bite to eat, the EVA team started to get ready. It was a speedy donning of the suits, as all the adjustments had already been made, and we were excited to get in the field. This EVA took us just south of Cowboy Corner to a ridge that has been interpreted as a palaeochannel. There, we explored various palaeochannel signatures such as cross-bedding and great examples of upward fining. We also found another bed of concretions, but these were much smaller than any previously observed by the crew members. There were still remnants of snow on the northern side of the ridge, despite the warmth of the day, and we were glad to have rugged up a little bit before heading out.
Back at the Hab, Mehnaz, our GreenHab officer, read some more about evapotranspiration for her research, as well as check on her research plants to see them sprout! Mehnaz also misted the plants in the GreenHab to ensure they didn’t wilt too much during the day. Aditya has been working away with the remote telescope and showed us his image of the Pac-Man Nebula and has also got data to process for an image of the Whirlpool Galaxy. He has submitted another request to image the Crab Nebula tonight, and we’re all anxiously waiting to see his processed images of these gorgeous celestial objects. Rajvi continued to be a stunning Crew Engineer and worked away to better understand the systems in the Hab and test Suit 6 which was not running properly, so it needs troubleshooting before it can be taken out again.
Daniel kept working away on his experiments in the Science Dome after successfully doing a PCR and gel electrophoresis this morning. By this afternoon, he had conducted another PCR targeting biogeochemical cycling genes for the same DNA from the soil sample and is awaiting a gel to finish. Daniel continued his DNA extractions on soil collected on today’s EVA too. He’s a busy biologist!
We got some additional afternoon excitement when seeing some Earthlings paragliding in the thin Martian atmosphere. We’re all just pleased they didn’t come too close to us!
Feeling like a bee … busy,
Clare Fletcher (292 Mangalyatri Journalist)
GreenHab Report – February 11th
GreenHab Officer: Mehnaz Jabeen
Environmental control: heater on , fan off , door close
Average temperature
6:30: 70. 1 F, 27%
14:00 : 97.2 F, 15%
17:30: 77.8 F, 26 %
Hours of supplemental light: 22:00 – 02:00
Daily water usage for crops: 7 gallons
Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 0.2 gallon
Water in Blue Tank (200 gallon capacity): 152.8 gallons
Time(s) of watering for crops: 14:11 : mist , 17:30 : water
Changes to crops: None
Narrative:
Sol 7 started early, I went to the GreenHab three times to do my usual duties. The Weather condition inside the hab was comfortable and warm. I Checked the moisture levels of each crops in the morning and they were all the same as usual. Following are the moisture levels :
1. Tomatoes, Cress, Pea : 60-70%
2. Cucumbers, Oregano, sage, Dalli, Cilantro, Cives: 80 %
3. Basil : 40-80%, Parsley: 90%, Red Cabbage 70-80%
4. Radish 70-75%, Corn Salad, Dutch Lettuce: 80%
5. Onion, Broccoli, Arugula, Carrots, Kale : 70- 90%
In the afternoon around 14:00 the moisture levels slightly depleted and the leaves of the few crops namely radish, tomatoes look wilted. I have been watering the crops adequately i.e not under watering or over watering. That is when I realized it is because of too much heat during the afternoon so I mist all the crops for a little more humidity as the humidity level was 15% during the day . I used a full bottle of mist spray (0.2 gallons) and noticed that the new seeds had sprouted in the big blue tub. I felt so content. Soon afterwards I felt to the science dorm to check my experiment pots in the growth tent and noted the reading of the moisture levels for each pots given:
1. Pot 1 : 60%
2. Pot 2: 70%
3. Pot 3: 70%
4. Pot 4: 70%
All the seeds in the pots were sprouting except the ones in pot 1st. I assume it is because of the low moisture level. Therefore I watered the first pot a little bit more and left for hab.
Harvest: None
Support/supplies needed: None
EVA Report – February 11th
EVA #008
Author: BHARTI SHARMA
Purpose of EVA: To collect concretions and soil samples for biology and engineering projects. To map and locate different types of structures and features for geology and geo-conservation studies.
Start time: 13:30
End time: 16:00
Narrative: Bright sunny day and our CREW members ABC were all set for exploration. Bharti drove the rover (the first time that long) to the destination. The crew started the exploration journey to identify as many rocks, concretions, cross-beddings and if there is any igneous intrusion. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find any igneous intrusion. However, there was a thin layer of shale bedding (shale is a sedimentary rock formed by the compression of mud), and there were some signatures of meta-sedimentary rock such as meta-conglomerate. We were able to mark the locations of several cross-bedding features. However, the cross-bedding was on the big boulders of the country rock which got weathered away from the top so, slope angles were not measured as they would not be accurate. We found various micro-folding on the sandstone bed. Overall, our in-detail geology EVA was great.
Destination: South of Cowboy Corner – 518681, 4252888
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 518681, 4252888
Participants: Annalea, Bharti and Clare (the ABC)
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Exited the Hab through the main Air Lock, drove the driveway to Cow Dung Road 0110 to the north until the crew reached the south of the Cowboy corner. The crew conducted the detailed field within a radius of 400 m only
Mode of travel: Curiosity Rover and Opportunity Rover, and walk within a radius of 400m only.
Astronomy Report – February 11th
[category
astronomy-report]
Name: Aditya Krishna Karigiri Madhusudan
Crew: 292
Date: 11/02/2024
MDRS ROBOTIC OBSERVATORY
Robotic Telescope Requested: MDRS WF
Objects to be Imaged this Evening: NGC 1952 Crab Nebula
Images submitted with this report: None
Additional Notes:
1. Skynet shows both MDRS WF and RCOS 16 telescopes are down with a camera error.
2. Do you have any updates on the solar telescope?
Crew Photos – February 10th
Astronomy Report – February 10th
[category
astronomy-report]
Name: Aditya Krishna Karigiri Madhusudan
Crew: 292
Date: 10/02/2024
MDRS ROBOTIC OBSERVATORY
Robotic Telescope Requested: None
Objects to be Imaged this Evening: None
Images submitted with this report: NGC 281 – Pacman Nebula
Additional Notes:
1. Skynet shows both MDRS WF and RCOS 16 telescopes are down with a camera error.
Astronomy Report – February 9th
[category
astronomy-report]
Name: Aditya Krishna Karigiri Madhusudan
Crew: 292
Date: 09/02/2024
MDRS ROBOTIC OBSERVATORY
Robotic Telescope Requested: RCOS 16
Objects to be Imaged this Evening: AG DRA
Images submitted with this report: None
Additional Notes:
1. Further photometric observations on AG DRA with BVR filter are planned to be submitted tonight.
2. Skynet shows the RCOS 16 telescope is down with a camera error.
Astronomy Report – February 8th
[category
astronomy-report]
Name: Aditya Krishna Karigiri Madhusudan
Crew: 292
Date: 08/02/2024
MDRS ROBOTIC OBSERVATORY
Robotic Telescope Requested: MDRS-WF
Objects to be Imaged this Evening: M51 Whirlpool Galaxy
Images submitted with this report: NGC 5904 Globular Cluster.
Problems Encountered:
1. Only a single bias calibration frame was generated in Skynet. No dark and flat calibration frames for the filter were generated.
2. The images were initially calibrated using the single bias calibration frame, aligned, and stacked using AstroImageJ. Later they were processed and stacked once again into a color image using Photoshop. MDRS astronomy laptop was used to carry out the analysis. However, I could not find the camera raw option in the filter menu. As a result, I could not make fine adjustments to the image.
3. The images obtained through the luminous filter seem to be more noisy. The final image with and without the luminous layer is attached to this email. Maybe due to the lack of calibration frames?
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