Crew 297 EVA Report 18-04-2024
EVA #5
Author: Pawel Sawicki (Commander)
Purpose of EVA: This EVA will kick off the human-interaction study from CU Boulder (COHRINT Lab), where two crewmates will use the User Interface (UI) to monitor and interact with the robot as it traverses and records imagery of the relatively flat terrain. Thus it will also be the first time Case (the name of the robot) touches Martian regolith. The other half of the EVA crew will be in the vicinity (visual and audio site maintained) testing digging techniques that may be used to bury the [inert] NPS. Any dug-up holes will be filled in before the end of the EVA.
Start time: 9:50am
End time: 11:53am
Narrative: Today’s EVA was a first for the crew for many reasons. It was the first time we had four crewmates involved in the same EVA, the first time that Case got to test itself out on Martian regolith, and the first true attempt at digging the NPS. With four EVA members, Case (along with Case’s GSE), and a medley of digging tools, the exit via airlock took longer than nominal. Entrance into the Martian atmosphere required 5 minutes of depressurization so that two crewmates could leave along with the tools and the rover, 5 minutes of pressurization again, and finally 5 minutes of depressurization so that the remaining crewmates could exit. We finally arrived to our destination near Cow Dung Road approximately 26 minutes after first entering the airlock, determined to meet all our EVA objectives. Case was able to capture useful imagery of the surroundings, yet, it was not able to take off its metaphorical leash, needing to be monitored constantly and manually driven for a large portion of its adventure. The other two EVA crew mates had great success – digging a hole suitable for the NPS at a rate of 30 cubic feet per hour. Two hours had passed before the rover and related GSE were collected, the hole was filled up, and we started heading back home.
Destination: 920 m South (185°) of MDRS
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 12S 518058N 4250031E
Participants: Pawel Sawicki (Commander), Matt Storch (XO), Matt Lynch (Crew Engineer), Dave Laude (Journalist)
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Cow Dung Road
Mode of travel: Driving 2 rovers (Curiosity & Spirit) and walking