Sol Summary – December 17th

Crew 305 Sol Summary Report 17-12-2024
Sol: 9
Summary Title: Splish Splash, I Was Taking a Bath
Author’s name: Peter Zoss
Mission Status: Active
Sol Activity Summary:
Ian, Spruha, and Rashi left on a walking EVA in the afternoon today from the RAM. Peter, Monish, and Hunter monitored comms from the HAB. Alien activity was high during the afternoon today. Monish and Spruha spent a lot of time with circuits again today working on their projects. Ian made a quick lunch before the EVA again. Hunter put together a nice dinner in the evening. Our water usage was on track, so we were able to fit in our second quick shower today.
Look Ahead Plan:
The next EVA will be tomorrow, Sol 10. Ian will lead Spruha and Hunter on a mission up around Kissing Camel Ridge. They will be joined by a special guest entering sim for the day with us. Monish, Rashi, and Peter will monitor comms from the HAB.
Anomalies in work:
None.
Weather:
Today was partly cloudy and warmer than usual again.
Crew Physical Status:
Everyone appears in good health.
EVA:
EVA 09 saw a trek around the HAB on foot again for dry stream channel measurements, eventually back up to HAB Ridge before returning to the RAM. Ian led the EVA and had Spruha and Rashi accompanying him.
Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Journalist Report, Greenhab Report, Operations Report, Crew Photos, EVA Report, and EVA Request
Support Requested:
None

Operations Report – December 17th

Crew 305 Operations Report 17-12-2024
SOL:09
Name of person filing report: Spruha Vashi
Non-nominal systems: None!
Notes on non-nominal systems: None!
ROVERS
Spirit rover used: No
Opportunity rover used: No
Curiosity rover used: No
Perseverance rover used: Yes
General notes on rovers: None!
Summary of Hab operations: Operations were standard.
Water Use (please use both methods to estimate water usage)
Time of measurements: 7pm
1) Per formula:22.95 gallons
2) Smart Home Dashboard: 24.33 gallons
Water (static tank, remaining gallons): 344.175
Static tank pipe heater (on or off): On
Static tank heater (on or off): On
Toilet tank emptied (no or yes): Yes
Summary of internet: No internet issues
Summary of suits and radios: None
Summary of GreenHab operations: No major greenhab operations, Hunter spent some time harvesting and checking on the crops.
WATER USE: 5 gallons
Heater (On or Off): On
Supplemental light (hours of operation): 5-10pm
Harvest (name, weight in grams): Scallions, 8 grams.
Summary of Science Dome operations: No science dome operations.
Dual split (Heat or AC, On or Off): Automatic functions running.
Summary of RAM operations: Tidied up RAM, no operations in there.
Summary of any observatory issues: No issues.
Summary of health and safety issues: No issues.
Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: None!

EVA Report – December 17th

Crew 305 EVA Report 17-12-2024

EVA # 09

Author: Ian Pamerleau

Purpose of EVA: Test rover parts and get a few stream measurements.

Start time: 13:35 hr

End time: 15:00 hr

Narrative: Unfortunately, Hermes is still under construction. However, Spruha cleverly found a way to conduct some tests about how the rover will likely operate when it is functional. Ian led the EVA accompanied by Spruha and Rashi. We walked up Route 1103 to the region north of the Hab. Spruha and Rashi took measurements of Herme’s wheel tracks as it crossed over different terrain like sand and desert pavement. As they did this, Ian was taking some stream measurements of flows that came down from Hab Ridge and eventually led to Kissing Camel Ridge. After some measurements and observations were taken, we headed north at a quick pace because with our limited time, we wanted to find a disposable camera that was left behind accidentally on EVA 08. As we searched for the camera, “aliens” ironically took pictures of us with their own cameras. We ran out of time before finding the camera as the region had many valleys it could have been hiding in, if it is even at that location as we think. We hustled back to the Hab and entered the RAM for depressurization.

Destination: North of Hab, a little SE of North Ridge

Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 518250E, 4251500N (Hermes wheel testing); 518690E, 4251605N (looking for lost camera)

Participants: Ian Pamerleau, Rashi Jain, Spruha Vashi

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Route 1103

Mode of travel: Walking

GreenHab Report – December 17th

Crew 305 GreenHab Report 17Dec2024

GreenHab Officer: Hunter Vannier

Environmental control (fan & heater): Heater and fan on automatically.

Average temperatures (last 24h): 85 F

Maximum temperature (last 24h): 94.8 F

Minimum temperature (last 24h): 75.6 F

Hours of supplemental light: 1700 – 2200

Daily water usage for crops: 5 gallons

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 0

Water in Blue Tank (200-gallon capacity): 130.75 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 10:12 am, 5:22 pm

Changes to crops: none

Narrative: Dill, cilantro, and parsley are growing a lot. A lot of radish microgreens are sprouted and can be harvested soon. A few more sunflowers sprouted, and some peas were peeking. All other crops are nominal. Scallions were harvested to be used in savory oatmeal tomorrow morning.

Harvest: 8 g

Support/supplies needed: There are only a few gallons of soil left after the tomato repotting and microgreen seeding. I don’t need any, but the next crew might.

Operations Report – December 16th

Crew 305 Operations Report 16-12-2024
SOL:08
Name of person filing report: Spruha Vashi
Non-nominal systems: None!
Notes on non-nominal systems: None!
ROVERS
Spirit rover used: Yes
Hours: (before EVA): 295.8
Beginning charge: (Before EVA) 100
Ending charge: (On return from EVA, before recharging):88
Currently charging: Yes
Opportunity rover used: No
Curiosity rover used: No
Perseverance rover used: Yes
Hours: 257.19
Beginning charge: 100
Ending charge: 88
Currently charging: Yes
General notes on rovers: None!
Summary of Hab operations: Operations were standard.
Water Use (please use both methods to estimate water usage)
Time of measurements: 7pm
1) Per formula: 11 gallons
2) Smart Home Dashboard: 16.38 gallons
Water (static tank, remaining gallons): 367.02
Static tank pipe heater (on or off): On
Static tank heater (on or off): On
Toilet tank emptied (no or yes): No
Summary of internet: No internet issues
Summary of suits and radios: None
Summary of GreenHab operations: No major greenhab operations, Hunter spent some time harvesting and checking on the crops.
WATER USE: 6.25 gallons
Heater (On or Off): On
Supplemental light (hours of operation): 5-10pm
Harvest (name, weight in grams): None
Summary of Science Dome operations: No science dome operations.
Dual split (Heat or AC, On or Off): Automatic functions running.
Summary of RAM operations: Monish did some soldering work for his sensors. Monish and Spruha’s work is still out on the tables in the Hab as there will be continued work for the following days.
Summary of any observatory issues: No issues.
Summary of health and safety issues: No issues.
Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: We are having trouble using the weather widgets on the Hab computer, all other reports from the smart system are working great but the weather page shows no data. No major concerns, as Mission Support has been providing us with weather information and we have been utilizing online resources, but wanted to make sure you are aware.
Mission Support Response: Please continue to monitor the weather widgets. We will investigate after completion of the mission.

GreenHab Report – December 16th

Crew 305 GreenHab Report 16Dec2024

GreenHab Officer: Hunter Vannier

Environmental control (fan & heater): Heater and fan on automatically.

Average temperatures (last 24h): 86 F

Maximum temperature (last 24h): 94.6 F

Minimum temperature (last 24h): 75.2 F

Hours of supplemental light: 1700 – 2200

Daily water usage for crops: 6 gallons

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 0.25

Water in Blue Tank (200-gallon capacity): 135.75 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 10:16 am, 4:30 pm

Changes to crops: Removed blackout cover for peas and sunflowers

Narrative: The two cucumbers I watered last night are a bit less wilted, but not much. The plants closest to the eastern wall of the GreenHab seem most affected. Regardless, they are staying green and not dying, so I think I will relax finally about the wilting situation and accept that they should always get a morning and evening watering. Excitingly, there are some baby cucumbers growing (~1 cm) that have gotten larger than the withered ones I observed last week, so hopefully they will continue to mature.

My recommendation for the arugula, sunflowers, and tomatoes is to just water them when they start to wilt because they bounce back quickly and don’t need water every day at this point.

I removed the blackout cover from the sunflower/pea microgreen bed and one sunflower is starting to sprout.

On a research front, I have started my soil moisture monitoring experiment. The soil moisture sensors are giving data, and I took multiple data points today to make sure they are working. Because of the small pots I’m using, the moisture sensor needs to be off the bottom of the pot and closer to the surface to get a consistent reading. Because I primed the soil yesterday, it wasn’t completely dry to start, but that should be accounted for based on the initial measurements prior to watering.

Harvest: none

Support/supplies needed: none

Sol Summary – December 16th

Crew 305 Sol Summary Report 16-12-2024
Sol: 8
Summary Title: These Boots Were Made for Walking
Author’s name: Peter Zoss
Mission Status: Active
Sol Activity Summary:
Ian, Spruha, and Hunter left on an EVA in the afternoon today, a large portion of which was conducted on foot. Peter, Monish, and Rashi monitored comms from the HAB. Hunter was able to spend more time in the morning working on his project in the GreenHab before the EVA. Spruha and Monish spent a lot of time working on their research projects and troubleshooting issues with Spruha’s rover, Hermes. Rashi has been writing a lot for her research as well. Ian made a quick lunch before the EVA. Rashi put together a nice dinner in the evening.
Look Ahead Plan:
The next EVA will be tomorrow, Sol 9. Ian will lead Spruha and Rashi on a walking mission to test out Spruha’s rover around the HAB. Monish, Hunter, and Peter will monitor comms from the HAB. After some more collaborative work from the team today, the rover software, wiring, and power issues have been overcome and it is in the final stages of assembly now for tomorrow’s EVA!
Anomalies in work:
None.
Weather:
Today was another warm one. Lots of cloud cover as well.
Crew Physical Status:
Everyone appears in good health.
EVA:
EVA 08 saw a semi-successful trek up to HAB Ridge on foot for the first portion of the EVA, and then a quick drive south of Kissing Camel Ridge for dry stream channel measurements and paleosol sample collection. Ian led the EVA and had Spruha and Hunter accompanying him.
Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Journalist Report, Greenhab Report, Operations Report, Crew Photos, EVA Report, and EVA Request
Support Requested:
None

EVA Report – December 16th

Crew 305 EVA Report 16-12-2024

EVA # 08

Author: Ian Pamerleau

Purpose of EVA: Obtain samples on Hab Ridge, take a stream measurement east of Hab Ridge Road, obtain samples near Zubrin’s Head, take two stream measurements east of Zubrin’s Head.

Start time: 12:00 hr

End time: 15:25 hr

Narrative: Ian led the EVA accompanied by Hunter and Spruha. We had planned on testing Hermes around the Hab and in the field, but he was not operational for EVA 08. Instead, we proceeded with the other plans for the EVA. We began by walking north of the Hab along route 1103. Crossing over the flatter lands before the climb to Hab Ridge, Spruha noted that it would be a good place to test her rover on a later EVA. We walked the slope up to Hab Ridge to get some pictures of Factory Butte and the large Mancos Shale exposure to the west. Hunter took some samples of a bleached paleosol that had peculiar red/brown dots throughout the unit along the climb. We then headed east to take a stream measurement of a small flow that was less than 400 m upstream from where we took our first measurement and eventually flows into Candor Chasma. We then walked back to the Hab and loaded our gear into Perseverance and Spirit. Each rover was at 100% battery and had 257.9 hr and 295.8 hr, respectively. We drove the rovers to Zubrin’s Head and parked the rovers where we did for EVA 07. Hunter finished taking paleosol samples from EVA 07. After the samples were done, we walked to the main ephemeral stream east of Zubrin’s Head and took a measurement of a tributary to the north and of the main channel. We then walked back to the rovers and returned to the Hab, noting where we would return for the EVA on Wednesday to Spruha. At the end of the EVA, Perseverance had 88% battery and 258.3 hrs, and Spirit had 88% battery and 296.2 hrs.

Destination: Hab Ridge Road; SE of North Ridge; E of Zubrin’s Head

Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 518000E, 4251500N (halfway up Hab Ridge sample); 518690E, 4251605N (stream measurement); 519614E, 4248284N (paleosols); 519687E, 4248746N (stream measurements)

Participants: Ian Pamerleau, Hunter Vannier, Spruha Vashi

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Route 1103; MDRS driveway to Cow Dung Road heading south until Zubrin’s Head

Mode of travel: Walk to Hab Ridge Road and back; rovers (Perseverance & Spirit) to Zubrin’s Head, walk to samples and stream

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