Day: February 27, 2024

Crew 292 Sol Summary Report 13-02-2024

Sol: Sol # 9

Summary Title: Another remarkable day for Mangalyatri Crew 292

Author’s name: Annalea Beattie

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Summary Activity: This morning all crew ate blueberry pancakes together and over breakfast we talked again about the future Indian Mars Desert Research Station. This time we discussed how we conserve resources here and then, our waste here, what happens to it and how other remote facilities everywhere manage their refuse. We decided to create a combined research project for Ladakh that focuses on waste disposal and see if we can create some interest and support from engineers and scientists and students in India. And each of our crew will contribute from their own position. For instance, Rajvi Patel, our engineer, works on Boeing aircrafts so she can investigate best practice for how they dispose of lithium in their batteries.

After breakfast some of us worked in the Science Dome. Clare demonstrated for Rajvi how to test rocks for carbonates. Daniel carried out another PCR and gel visualisation for ID of the DNA that was extracted from a second soil sample, which Rajvi assisted with. This found Archaea and Fungi in sample. More media dilutions of the brought 5 different media were prepared and inoculated with the soil and “yellow goo” collected yesterday. A non-targeted PCR was run to identify if there was any DNA present in the “yellow goo” and soil put into media in the morning. Meanwhile I tried to draw a sample of honeycomb weathering. Bharti planned her base geology map and wrote the introduction to her paper on the geology of the area. She is currently working on methodology. Aditya continued analysis of a new image of the Crab Nebula. Mehnaz gardened and worked on data cleaning and her codes. This afternoon Clare, Bharti and I left in Curiosity and Opportunity for EVA #11 to Candor Chasma. Our EVA was three and a half hours long and we left the rovers parked and walked about a kilometre to the canyon. At the chasma we climbed down, noticing the bedding plane, the contact between Salt Wash and the Sommerville formations and the geomorphology of the canyon. Then we traced the pathway of the dry riverbed from the ridge. We were home in time for a late afternoon cup of tea. Before dinner Aditya and Mehnaz did drawings in the science lab, exploring ideas about their research. This evening we are still busy, extracting DNA from rocks, all working on our research and reports (as this is our last week here) and drawing the dark sky. Pizza for dinner.

Look Ahead Plan: One EVA requested tomorrow to Candor Chasma and Compass Rock.

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: Cold but sunny all day 39F average with clouds early on and clear skies all afternoon.

Crew Physical Status: Nominal

EVA: EVA #11 to Candor Chasma.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Journalist Report, Greenhab Report, Operations Report, EVA report, Astronomy Report, EVA request.

Support Requested: None

Crew 292 Sol Summary Report 12-02-2024

Sol: Sol #8

Summary Title: Business on Mars as usual

Author’s name: Annalea Beattie

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: Even after great excitement, a late night and a terrific outreach interview run by Sakshi Sharma in India, we completed two successful EVA’s today to Kissing Camel Ridge using Spirit and Perseverance rovers. In our two groups we covered 800 metres of Kissing Camel Ridge, up and down. There is still ice on the Morrison even though it was a beautiful day. I kept an eye out for terrestrial mountain lions and saw nothing even though paw prints have been spotted near the road. EVA’s #9 and # 10 focused on inverted river channels and different types of weathering including cross-bedded sandstone. These complex signs of ancient fluvio-lacustrine dunes are very similar to large scale outcrops photographed by Curiosity on Mars (and they are amazing to draw). Both EVA’s today ran like clockwork and we continue to achieve our science goals.

The last couple of days especially, our joint Australian Indian crew is in its full stride. Morale is great. This crew is a considerate crew and we are enjoying being a team. Every day the group at home cares for the group away, ensuring jobs are done and food is on the table when the others return and this is what happened today. In the hab there is a rhythm to our day as if this is the way we have always lived. We have really learnt in the last week to pull together to conserve our resources. This includes, for instance, portioning food so there is no waste. This is a challenge when cooking a meal for seven hearty vegetarians but we are getting the hang of it. Today during EVA# 9 the home group cleaned and cooked and discussed our crew plans for analogue research and astrobiology in India. We decided that it’s time we reinvigorated Mars Society India and our geologist Bharti Sharma has taken the lead. In the afternoon while our second crew were out on EVA #10, Clare assisted Daniel with DNA extractions in the Science Dome, Aditya worked on his image of a spiral galaxy and Mehnaz worked on her experiments in the Green Hab checking plants for rates of evapotranspiration. Chocolate orange peanut butter brownies were cooked by Dan and a sabji dinner with chapattis is now ready for us after Comms.

Look Ahead Plan: One EVA requested tomorrow to Candor Chasma and Compass Rock

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: Cold but sunny all day with clear skies.

Crew Physical Status: Nominal

EVA: All crew in two groups (EVA #9 and EVA #10) to the east and then west of Kissing Camel Ridge.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Journalist Report, Greenhab Report, Operations Report, EVA report, Astronomy Report, EVA request.

Support Requested: None