Author: jburk

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GreenHab Report – December 27th

Crew 218 GreenHab Report 27-DEC-19

Crew GreenHab Officer: Dr. Jonathan R. Buzan

Environmental control: Heating.

Shade cloth (40% and 30%) on.

Average temperature: 22.7°C; 18%

11:40AM

Floor Unit: 16°C

Electronic: 20.7°C

humidity 20%

3:45PM

Floor Unit: 17°C

Electronic: 22.5°C

humidity 19%

5:45PM

Floor Unit: 15°C

Electronic: 20°C

humidity 20%

Max: 27.3°C; 21%

Min: 18°C; 16%

Hours of supplemental light: Light system 7:20PM-12:20AM.

Daily water usage for crops: 6.4Gal.

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: N/A

Water in Blue Tank – ~110 Gal.

Time(s) of watering for crops:

3:45PM 2.1Gal. watered all hanging plants.

5:45PM 4.3Gal. watered cucumber spinach lakeside, green leaf chard, and wild rocket twice—soil moisture was already dry from earlier watering.

SEASONAL PLANTING HISTORY:

Change to crops: None.

OTHER NOTES:

1st sprouts: N/A

—Moved hanging plants: snow peas and butter crunch away from heater vent. They are now hanging over the herbs.

—Recommend transplanting herbs to pots, and transplanting larger plants (tomatoes, peppers, etc.) to Plot E.

Harvest: N/A

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Commander Report – December 27th

Crew 218 Commander Report 27-12-2019

Sol 5 – What would a Martian do?
The forecast we received from mission support yesterday proved correct and when we woke up, we could see snow coming down again and covering (this time with a smaller thickness) the terrain that was beginning to show up. Since this means at least one or two more days without EVAs, I called a meeting with the crew after breakfast, to ask ourselves the question "what would a Martian do?". In particular, we all know we are here to do something valuable, besides the obvious chance of studying ourselves in these conditions of isolation Knowing that many of our research projects are based on outdoor activities, we discussed our goals for the next couple of days. In the meanwhile, we waited for the pipes to thaw in order to be able to pump more water inside the habitat, which finally we were able to do in the early afternoon. For our extra goals, we had various proposals that I and other crew members brought up: GreenHab projects, outreach, and use of the solar observatory and science dome were talked about. We began with a simple task that occupied less for about one hour in the GreenHab (more details in other reports), and we discussed a larger project that will be proposed to the program director; we decided that we will produce descriptive and training videos of our life at MDRS; and we will wait for the Sun to finally reappear for some good astronomical observation. I think this was a good opportunity to figure out how to react, with our limited resources, to unexpected situations.

Cesare Guariniello, Commander

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Science Report – December 26th

Crew 218 Science Report 26-DEC-2019
Crew Science Officer: Dr. Jonathan R. Buzan

1. Decision Making in support of autonomy for crew EVAs:

Nothing to report.

2. Move the first steps towards autonomously generating reliable weather information in the area surrounding MDRS:

Nothing to report.

3. Subsurface structure on Mars:

Nothing to report.

4. Detecting radio signal strength:

Nothing to report.

5. EVA workload analysis:

Nothing to report.

6. EMU (Extravehicular Mobility Unit) ergonomic assessment:

Nothing to report.

7. Environmental Stresses over MDRS habitat and Crew Members and projection over Martian Terrain:

Discussed the progress of measuring environmental stressors inside the habitat with Crew Engineer Luz Maria Agudelo Urrego. These first couple days were calibrating 3 different instruments within her room. She plans to take nighttime measurements tonight. The goal is to develop a continuous dataset, and translate the temperature-humidity combinations into known human thermal comfort algorithms.

8. Messier and other space objects for outreach:

Nothing to report.

9. Reliability and maintenance:

Nothing to report.

10. Medical readings in preparation for future crew-wide project:

Nothing to report.

11. Collection of clay, shale, and hematite samples:

Nothing to report.

12. Media and outreach:

Nothing to report.

Glassware check out: None

A reminder to all crewmembers: There’s a $300 fine for using any glassware material without MDRS Mission support permission.

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GreenHab Report – December 26th

Crew 218 GreenHab Report 26-DEC-19

Crew GreenHab Officer: Dr. Jonathan R. Buzan

Environmental control: Heating.

Shade cloth (40% and 30%) on.

Average temperature: 26.8°C; 18%.

10:30AM

Floor Unit: 18°C

Electronic: 24.6°C

humidity 18%

1:40PM

Floor Unit: 21°C

Electronic: 28 °C

humidity 16%

3:50PM Measured by Dr. Cesare Guariniello

Floor Unit: 8°C

Electronic: 19°C

humidity N/A

5:30PM

Floor Unit: 14°C

Electronic: 19.1°C

humidity 20%

Max: 31.1°C; 22%

Min: 16.5°C; 14%

Hours of supplemental light: Light system 7:20PM-12:20AM.

Daily water usage for crops: 4.3Gal.

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: N/A

Water in Blue Tank – ~117 Gal.

Time(s) of watering for crops: 5:30PM

SEASONAL PLANTING HISTORY:

Change to crops: None.

OTHER NOTES:

1st sprouts: Butter Crunch leaves are sprouting

Chili Pepper sprouted.

—10:30AM leaving door closed. 1:40PM opened the door. 3:50PM door closed.

—ALARM: 1:40PM fire alarm in RAM closet went off unexpectedly.

Harvest: for Thai Curry

Basil: 14g

Cilantro: 7g

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Journalist Report – December 26th

Journalist Report
Ben Durkee, Crew 218 Journalist

Sol 04

It’s sol three of being trapped in the Hab. Our first sol without the puzzle to keep us
sane. The snow shows no intention of melting in time for us to be able to EVA tomorrow.
My crewmates have reported seeing a mouse-sized Martian creature in the Hab. It may very
well be a mirage. A fire alarm went off in the RAM (Repair & Assembly Module) and we
rejoiced having something interesting happen. Luckily, it was a false alarm.

Sanctuary has been found in the digital realm. The six of us rotated around playing
Super Smash Bros., abusing our four controllers with incessant button mashing. It’s
strange how much release can be derived from those random AABB button combos – but hey, I’d rather we take it all out on Jigglypuff than on each other.

However, contrary to the picture I’ve just painted, we aren’t completely aimless.
Shefali and LuzMa both have research projects that can be performed from the confines of the Hab. The rest of us have been helping out as much as we can, but one requires taking readings over long spans of time and the other is a psychological study, so they are both slow boils.

Jonathan also has big ambitions for us to reorganize the GreenHab tomorrow if we are
inhibited from EVAing. It appears the current agricultural arrangement is inefficient
and even detrimental to the growth of a few of the young plants. I’m excited because
the Save the Sprouts Initiative offers the rest of us something to occupy our hands and
minds.

The sun has decided it’s had enough of tag-teaming our retinas with the snow and has
begun to hibernate behind the Martian hills. We are winding down with our reports as the
aroma of dinner being assembled fills the air. I think we can rest easy tonight knowing
we have been the most productive we possibly can in spite of the red planet’s attempts
to keep us constricted. You can stop us from stretching our legs, but you can’t stop
science! If nothing else, we have survived another day on this alien world, once thought
unfit for human life.

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Operations Report – December 26th

Crew 218 Operations Report 26-Dec-19

SOL: 04
Name of person filing report: Luz Maria Agudelo Urrego
Non-nominal systems: NA
Generator: run
Hours run: 13
From what time last night: 1800
To what time this morning: 0730
List any additional daytime hours when the generator was run: N/A Solar— SOC % (Before the generator is run at night: 78 %
Diesel Reading – 84%
Station Propane Reading – 79%
Ethanol Free Gasoline: N/A
Water (loft tank) (gal): 33
Water Meter (units): 0147036.4
Water (static tank) (gal): 435
Static to Loft Pump used – Yes
Water in Green Hab (gal): 117
Water in Science Dome (gal): 0
Toilet tank emptied: Yes

Deimos rover used: Still in the workshop
Hours:
Beginning charge:
Ending charge:
Currently charging:
Sojourner rover used: Assigned to director
Hours:
Beginning charge:
Ending charge:
Currently charging:
Spirit rover used: Not used
Hours: 119.2
Beginning charge: (Before EVA):
Ending charge: (On return from EVA, before recharging):
Currently charging: Yes
Opportunity rover used: Still in the workshop
Hours:
Beginning charge:
Ending charge:
Currently charging:
Curiosity rover used: Not used
Hours: 124.4
Beginning charge:
Ending charge: (On return from EVA, before charging):
Currently charging: Yes
Notes on rovers: Opportunity and Deimos off-site for maintenance. ATV’s Used: (Honda, 300, 350.1, 350.2, 350.3): No
Reason for use: N/A
Oil Added? No
# Hours the ATVs were used today: 0
Notes on ATVs: N/A
HabCar used and why, where? No
CrewCar used and why, where? No
General notes and comments: N/A
Summary of the internet: Nominal
Summary of suits and radios: Nominal
Summary of Hab operations: Toilet clogged! The toilet tank was emptied for unclogging it, now is working as usual and is not smelling bad. Summary of GreenHab operations: routine watering
Summary of Science Dome operations: Nominal
Summary of RAM operations: Nominal
Summary of any observatory issues: Nominal
Summary of health and safety issues: Nominal
Questions, concerns, and requests to Mission Support: NA

Luz Ma
ENG

Crew 218

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Sol Summary – December 26th

Sol: 04

Summary Title: Waitin’ On A Sunny Day

Author’s name: Pat Pesa

Mission Status: Crew is hoping for good weather soon, but also enjoying the extra bonding time indoors.

Sol Activity Summary: Little action in the Hab. Our Greenhab officer has been taking great care of the plants and we have all appreciated the greenery that is otherwise so sparse on Mars.
Due to weather we have been severely limited in our research, but progress was made today in our Engineer’s Indoor Climate-Comfort project, and our Health and Safety Officers project quantifying EVA Stress and Workloads.

Look ahead plan: No EVA planned for tomorrow, due to the weather conditions, but hoping for sunny and dry days to come soon!

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: Foggy morning to a sunny afternoon, around 32 degrees

Crew physical status: Healthy

EVA: none

Reports to be filed: sol summary, commander report, operations report, greenhab report, journalist report, science report

Support Requested: none

Pat Pesa
Geologist, MDRS 218

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Commander Report – December 26th

Crew 218 Commander Report 26-12-2019

Sol 4 – Boxed Day

In what is Boxing Day on Earth, we feel a little “boxed” or “caged”. Still too much snow on the ground and a foggy and cloudy weather kept us indoor again. Most of our projects are based on EVAs and outdoor observations and data or sample collection, which leaves us with plenty of spare time while waiting until we will finally have appropriate conditions to don our space suits and venture outside. We now therefore have mixed feelings: a very Martian-like situation that gives us a personal challenge and the chance for self-evaluation for what concerns our capability of spending time inside the habitat, and at the same time a little concern and sadness for all the research projects we are eager to perform (with much hope that the weather will improve soon). Overall, though, I am extremely pleased with the crew’s attitude towards this disruption. Though we are all putting up weight because a little boredom brings us often towards snacks and food, we are having a balanced mix of work, crew time and team activities, and personal time, and the morale is still high and full of hope! On a final note, yesterday we had a movie night and the crew selected (without any push from their commander) the favorite movie of Purdue Fencing Club, of which I have been a member since 2011: The Princess Bride!

Cesare, Commander

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