Author: jburk

SOL 8: Do you copy?…

14:20: The second week of Mission 311 starts off beautifully: the first week allowed us to set up all the experiments that will take place throughout the mission. Now it’s time for us to schedule those on which we couldn’t focus earlier. Starting this morning, Quentin, Meddi, and Robin went on an EVA to Candor Chasma to begin photogrammetry. They identified different locations where they placed beacons, and using a drone, they took hundreds of photos of the entire area, from which they will create a 3D map. We will use this during the next phase of the experiment. This was also Didier’s first EVA, our mascot!

This outing was the longest in terms of time and distance: Candor Chasma is a deep fissure carved into the desert. It’s a very interesting place to study, but this distance weakens communication signals, so Somaya, who was HabCom, lost all communication with our EVA crew members. When trying to establish communication with the EVA crew, we first ask if they can hear us: “Do you copy?” This question often went unanswered this morning…

Meanwhile, the HAB was rather quiet. Erin and Somaya worked on an abstract, a sort of summary, to write their scientific articles about the mission. Célyan took care of the GreenHab for the first time! He also worked extensively on managing the data collected for the Orbital Architecture experiment. We have already collected over 8 GB of physiological data, positions, and cognitive tests for the experiment, and it takes a lot of rigor to manage all these data. For my part, I started working on a small project that we’ll keep as a surprise…

SOL 10: 10 Sols, 10 Experiments

5:22 PM: It’s another day at the MDRS, our tenth. Sometimes it takes a moment to realize where you are and what you’re doing. To realize that we are on an analog mission in the middle of the magnificent desert of Utah, USA, even though half of us have never ventured much farther than the bordering countries of France. To realize that we are completing the end of a year of preparation, a year of hard work alongside our studies, a year of seeking experiences, sponsors, outreach, projects, and selections. To realize that we are seven excited individuals willing to lock ourselves in a tin can with six teammates we didn’t choose, and no shower for a month. To realize that another Martian day has begun, and during this day, which seems ordinary on the surface, we conduct experiments like Orbital Architecture, Twins2, AMAIA, HUMANISE, LOAC, megaARES, Photogrammetry, Micropouss’, TimePecept, LättaLL, UCF, SUPAEROMOON, CoreData… a dozen experiments for the tenth sol.

This morning, Somaya and I searched for beacons in the Candor Chasma canyon using our map drawn the day before, alongside Meddi who analyzed our performance as part of the photogrammetry experiment. On our way back, we admired the landscape, which was magnificent, reminding us of the extraordinary environment we’ve been immersed in for the past ten days. The crew is very dynamic right now; Robin started the first 3D prints of the SUPAEROMOON (a club from ISAE-SUPAERO) rover this morning, which we will assemble in the coming days. He and I tested AMAIA, our assistant AI, thoroughly this afternoon.

Erin continues to manage our schedules expertly and modeled a small box to store all the necessary materials for retrieving data from atmospheric instruments during EVAs. Indeed, we must handle a USB key and a tiny micro-SD card with bulky ski gloves that we wear during these outings. This operation requires precision, so much so that we perform part of it using tweezers, and meticulous storage is essential.

Today again, we will observe the sun set over the Martian horizon from our portholes. All of us? No, because I believe Quentin has found a way to make superb observations of solar storms, which promise to make the coming days rich in high-quality observations.