Day: May 22, 2024

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Journalist Report – May 16th

Hello Mission Control,

We started the morning by holding a team debrief. I went over the daily activities that our crew had to complete. Astronomy observatory hours, science dome research, water usage, and other tasks were discussed in todays meeting. Me, Noah, and Aravind spent the day analyzing samples we collected throughout our EVAs the last few days. We have found some patterns and are going to formally summarize it as soon as we are able to confirm our findings with already published papers. We had many productive hours. We came back for lunch and began reading papers related to the topics. Everyone spent the afternoon either analyzing and adjusting code or reading papers. We now await the stabilization of our XO’s health. Enjoy the overwhelming amount of science dome pictures!

Best,
Prakruti "Pari" Raghunarayan (Crew Commander, Journalist, & Bevonaut)

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EVA Report – May 15th

Crew 299 EVA 3 Report 5-15-2024

EVA #3

Author: Noah Mugan
Purpose of EVA: Visit Candor Chasma to test drone and obtain samples

Start Time: 8:55AM

End Time: 11:13AM

Narrative: The EVA team took rovers Spirit and Opportunity up to approximately 0.15 miles down Galileo Road. At that point, Spirit had reached a charge of 55% and they took the rest of the journey on foot. They walked down Galileo Road and past Compass point until they finally reached the closest section of Candor Chasma. There, the crew engineer piloted the drone to obtain pictures of the crew and the surrounding landscape, as well as test piloting and maneuverability. The EVA team also obtained several geological samples along the way, which were brought back for analysis. After a rest at Candor Chasma, the team walked back to the rovers and drove the rest of the way home. By the end of the trip, Spirit was left with a charge of 43% and Opportunity was left with a charge of 58%.

Destination: Candor Chasma

Coordinates: x = 520500, y = 4251250

EVA Participants: Rishabh (Engineer), Prakruti (Crew Commander & Journalist), Noah (Biologist and Greenhab Officer)

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Cow Dung Road, Galileo Road

Mode of travel: Drove Spirit and Opportunity+Walking

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Journalist Report – May 15th

Hello Mission Control,

We had an early start and a late end today. And albeit, a long day but at the end of the day it was satisfying to have done what we did today. We started the morning by gearing up. Me, Rishabh, and Noah left for our EVA at 9AM sharp and went all the way to Galileo Road, which was shorter than what we expected to drive since we wanted to reach the chasm. However, the rover battery was dying so we had to make an earlier stop and walk extra. We walked all the way to Candor Chasma and stopped at Compass Rock on the way. We got some great pictures! And when we reached the Candor Chasma we tested out the drone, mapped and filmed the area, and even took some other pictures. We then reached the hab before noon and had lunch. I then debriefed the crew for the rest of the day and some important progress points for the rest of the week. Then we broke for an hour and re-grouped to help the second EVA suit up. Noah stayed on comms while Aravind, Avery, and Kristina were out. The second EVA tested out some other equipment Throughout the day, we checked up on the science dome and the astronomy data. Now we will have dinner and do the psych evaluation.

We saw cow prints by the chasma today, it seemed almost fitting for us Longhorns. Bevonauts out!

Best,
Prakruti "Pari" Raghunarayan (Crew Commander & Journalist)

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Operations Report – May 15th

Crew 299 Operations Report 5-15-2024

SOL: 3

Name of person filing report: Rishabh Pandey (Engineer)

Non-Nominal Systems: Suit 9 (broken visor), Suit 11 (fan issue)

Notes on non-nominal systems: Issues with both suits were noted before our mission, both will not be used during our mission.

ROVERS
Rovers Used: Curiosity,Opportunity, Spirit
      Curiosity:
            Hours: 280.9
            Beginning charge: 99%
            Ending charge: 56%
            Currently charging: yes
      Opportunity:
            Hours: 188.5
            Beginning charge: 100%
            Ending charge: 74%
            Currently charging: yes
      Spirit:
            Hours: 252.6
            Beginning charge: 100%
            Ending charge: 43%
            Currently charging: yes
General notes on rovers: Spirit’s range seems to be much lower than that of other rovers, ie. battery consumption is much higher, most likely due to it having the most hours.

Summary of Hab operations:
      WATER USE: 29.12 Gallons
      Water (static tank): 380 (using effective value from spreadsheet)
      Static tank pipe heater: off
      Static tank heater: off
      Toilet tank emptied: yes

Summary of internet usage: Catch up on Earthly news, email responses, code development, entertainment

Summary of suits and radios:
      Radios 1,2,3,4,5 and 6 were used
      EVA Suits 6,7,8, and 10 were used

Summary of GreenHab operations: NA, GreenHab out of operation

Summary of ScienceDome operations: Radishes were watered and notes were taken on their condition. Rock samples were delivered from EVA and were broken down for further inspection.

Summary of RAM operations: Multimeter and Measuring tape used
      
Summary of observatory issues: NA

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EVA Report – May 15th

Crew 299 EVA 4 Report 5-15-2024

EVA #4

Author: Aravind Karthigeyan

Purpose of EVA: EVA to Kissing Camel Ridge and Robert’s Rock Garden in order to collect samples and test radioactivity of the environment.

Start Time: 4:09 PM

End Time: 5:20 PM

Narrative: The EVA team took Curiosity and Opportunity rovers down to Roberts Rock Garden. The crew took some fun pictures to be uploaded to social media and for the journalist. The crew walked around and hiked up a hill to find some interesting samples unique to Roberts Rock Garden and tested the radioactivity of the environment.

Destination: Roberts Rock Garden

Coordinates:

518500 4249500 (Roberts Rock Garden)

EVA Participants: Avery (XO/Astronomer), Kristina (HSO), Aravind (Chemist)

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Taking Cow Dung Road 0110 to Roberts Rock Garden

Mode of travel: Driving Opportunity + Walking

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Sol Summary – May 15th

Crew 299 Sol Summary 05-14-2024
Sol: 3
Summary Title: The Five Mile Success
Author’s Name: Prakruti "Pari" Raghunarayan
Mission Status: Active
Sol Activity Summary:

Pari, Noah, Rishabh:
The three of us went on the morning EVA and drove up to Galileo Road and walked a total of five miles to get to Compass Rock, Candor Chasma, and back to where we parked. It was an exhausting EVA, but totally worth it. We were able to pick up multiple rock samples (a red rock, an igneous rock, and a stone we want to further analyze). We shot the chasma with the drone and got some great footage. We did notice that the battery for the Spirit rover depleted much faster than the others. Then, Noah crushed up some samples we got today, and we are going to spend the day analyzing that tomorrow with Aravind. Rishabh did his daily checkups and got the drone footage. Noah was on comms for the second EVA. We used Opportunity and Spirit.

Avery, Aravind, Kristina:
For Sol 3, we captured more images at the Musk Observatory. Following this, we ate shakshuka for lunch and began processing the robotic observatory FITS files. Soon after, we went on a Camel Ridge EVA to collect samples for our Crew Geologist’s project. We will soon have pizza for dinner and continue data processing. Aravind was comms for EVA 1. We used Opportunity and Curiosity.

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EVA Report – May 14th

Crew 299 EVA 2 Report 5-14-2024

EVA #2

Author: Rishabh Pandey

Purpose of EVA: Test EVA up to Marble Ritual to get certified.

Start Time: 10:39AM

End Time: 11:23AM

Narrative: The EVA team took curiosity and perseverance rovers up to Marble Ritual for their first-ever EVA. The crew took some fun pictures to be uploaded to social media and for the journalist. After walking around the area and climbing the hill for a short period, the crew returned to the HAB.

Destination: Marble Ritual

Coordinates:
4251000 5187500 (Marble Ritual)

EVA Participants: Rishabh (Engineer), Avery(XO), Kristina(HSO)

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Cow Dung Road

Mode of travel: Driving Opportunity + Walking

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Sol Summary – May 18th

Crew 200 Sol Summary 05-18-2024
Sol: 6
Summary Title: A Bevonaut Birthday
Author’s Name: Prakruti "Pari" Raghunarayan
Mission Status: Active
Sol Activity Summary:

We had an EVA today starting at MDRS and heading north up Cow Dung Road. The purpose of this EVA was to get better footage for the program needed to convert the drone footage to a topographical map. Noah and Rishabh went on that and I stayed on comms to monitor their stops and coordinates where the footage was taken. Pooh’s Corner and North Ridge were two stops made. They went around the Galileo Road area as well. Then they came back and Noah, Aravind, and I got right to the material analysis. We have covered most samples and analyzed most except for the ones retrieved yesterday while testing out the Geiger counter and today’s White Mound sample. The White Mound sample showed incredibly transparent spots–I assume we can dig deeper and figure out why these potential bilayers exist (they are a good thing!). Avery and Kristina have continued processing images today from the Robotic Observatory and are continuing to work through issues with the code and downloads for the Musk Observatory. We are also in active communication with Spencer Joseph from Fox News are setting everything up for the news visit. Avery and I created a to do list and a schedule for tomorrow and run that by the rest of the crew.

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Journalist Report – May 18th

Hello Mission Control,

First off I would like to wish our HSO, Kristina Mannix, a very happy birthday! We baked a brownie in celebration! Today our day consisted of a morning EVA where I was on comms for Rishabh and Noah who drove up Cow Dung Road and made a few stops along the way for drone footage for the mapping project. After the EVA, Aravind, Noah and I went back to the science dome and prepared and tested the samples retrieved on yesterday and today’s EVA. The astronomers were able to process some data and continued working on processing images from the Robotic Observatory. Avery also downloaded the programs needed for Musk Observatory imaging on her personal laptop. Now we will wrap up the day with some planning for tomorrow and celebrating one week here and Kristina!

Best Regards,
Pari & the Bevonauts

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EVA Report – May 19th

Crew 299 EVA 9 Report 5-19-2024

EVA #9

Author: Aravind Karthigeyan

Purpose of EVA: EVA slightly up the Hab Ridge to show the Fox 13 News journalist how walking in the EVA suit is like.

Start Time: 3:49 PM

End Time: 4:24 PM

Narrative: The EVA team took the Fox 13 News journalist to the hab ridge to show firsthand how walking in the EVA suit is like and how we collected samples and measured radiation data. We faced relatively heavy winds and though we did stumble a bit on the climb up, that did not stop us. We saw a beautiful view of the hab from part way up the ridge and the journalist recorded

Destination: MDRS

Coordinates:

518750, 4253000 (MDRS)

EVA Participants: Noah (Biologist), Kristina (HSO), Aravind (Chemist)

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: N/A

Mode of travel: Walking

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