Crew 297 – Janus 1 Journalist – David Laude
Our fourth EVA on Sol 3, taken on this beautiful Martian day by three of the crew, found the hidden nuclear reactor mockup (a 20-gallon capacity cylindrical metal container). Crew members of yesterday’s third EVA provided a simulated landing site for the nuclear power system. Sarah, the EVA Crew Leader, Pawel and Dave were given an approximate landing site via GPS coordinates, which was within 1000 feet from the actual location. The terrain here was like a maze of short hills, any of which could hide the reactor. Fortunately, we were headed in the correct direction from the start and Dave found the reactor within 15 minutes. Afterwards, the EVA crew was tasked to find a location where it could dig to bury it. In this Martian terrain it is common to immediately be stymied by loose chunks of sandstone. The team drove further south on Cow Dung Road and then parked the rovers. Digging near the road quickly revealed sand stone slabs. Dave, having been in this area before, suggested an area 60 meters further west from the road where Pawel found loose regolith with his shovel. He quickly dug down a half meter in one location and then another. This area is likely where it will be buried and later retrieved. Burial is required to help reduce radiation exposure to humans with an active installation.
Sarah had this to say about today’s highly successful EVA, "Today was the first EVA with the Gamma Ray Spectrometer. We measured the natural amounts of radioactive potassium, uranium, and thorium in the regolith 1000 m south of the Hab, as well as conglomerates at Robert’s Rock Garden, and sandstone and regolith at a location that from orbit looks redder that some of the surrounding rocks. Ratios of these different elements can tell us about predicted mineralogy, changes in lithology, and even if Redox conditions has been pervasive in this area."
EVA Crew Leader Sarah is currently a Geology Ph.D. candidate at the University of Kansas, focusing her research on analog materials for Mars and Ocean Worlds using Raman spectroscopy. She worked on developing a chemical calibration for chlorite minerals using Raman Spectroscopy, which also has implications for Mars research. Sarah also interned at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the Origins and Habitability Lab in the summers of 2021 and 2022. Sarah was an active member on the ChemCam Instrument Team on the Mars Curiosity Rover and spent three summers at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Sarah is currently a Geology Ph.D. candidate at the University of Kansas, focusing her research on analog materials for Mars and Ocean Worlds using Raman spectroscopy. During her graduate studies, Sarah also interned at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the Origins and Habitability Lab. In 2018, Sarah graduated from Kansas State University, with three bachelor’s degrees in Chemistry, Geology, and Geography. Throughout her undergraduate years, Sarah spent three summers at Los Alamos National Laboratory.