Crew 216 Commander Report 04Dec2019

[title Commander Report – December 04th]

Crew 216 Commander Report 04-DEC-2019
Sol: 10
Summary Title: High and Low
Author: Marc Levesque
When you walk away from the Hab, you are always treated to something special. The rocks, soils, shapes, colors, and sun angle form a unique optical combination no matter where you look. The people who chose the MDRS location nailed it for an analog Martian landscape. Walking around in an EVA suit adds to this feeling that you truly are on a different planet. Today’s trip to the summit of Phobos Peak for Evgenia’s filming and Michael’s drone footage once again reinforced how special it is to be here at MDRS and participate as a crew in this environment. After decompressing from this high, we then prepared for our attempt to contact the International Space Station via amateur radio. The ISS orbital schedule had it passing directly overhead at 1315 for 10 minutes. After we set up my vehicle’s mobile radio as a cross-band repeater, we returned to the Hab to attempt the contact. We knew it would be a very long shot, as there were too many variables that had to come together to make it happen. Most crucial of all was that an astronaut had to be listening, which is something they do only on an occasional basis unless a contact is set up months in advance through a formal program. The crew was pretty excited by the prospect, however, and while we were disappointed that no contact was made, all felt the effort worthwhile. From a ham’s perspective, it was a great technical exercise.

Crew 216 EVA Report 04Dec2019

[title EVA Report – December 04th]

Crew 216 EVA Report 04-Dec-2019
EVA # 15
Author: Levesque
Purpose of EVA: To set up a cross-band repeater in the Crew Commander’s vehicle for an attempt to contact the International Space Station via amateur radio.
Start time for EVA: 1230
End time for EVA: 1345
Narrative: Walked to vehicle to set up radio in cross-band mode. Returned to Hab for contact attempt, and then returned to vehicle to shut down radio.
Destination: Crew Commander’s vehicle next to Outpost.
Coordinates (use UTM NAD27 CONUS): 12 S 0518364 4249273.
EVA Participants: Levesque and Lawson
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map:
1) Walk from Hab to vehicle to set up the repeater
2) Return to Hab for contact attempt with a handheld radio
3) Return to vehicle to shut off repeater and the vehicle
Mode of travel: Foot

[end]

Crew 216 Sol Summary 04Dec2019

[title Sol Summary – December 04th]

Crew 216 Sol Summary Report 04-DEC-19
Sol: 10
Summary Title: Phobos Peak and International Space Station
Author: Marc Levesque
Mission Status: Active
Sol Activity Summary: The morning’s EVA to Phobos Peak captured some great film footage for Evgenia’s project and allowed Michael an opportunity to do the same for his drone project. The landscape around MDRS is different no matter which direction you go, and the view from Phobos was spectacular. The afternoon EVA was short, less than 100 meters, to set up the radio in the Crew Commander’s vehicle for an attempt to conduct an amateur radio contact with the International Space Station. Alas, no one was listening, but it was certainly worth a shot. As usual, GreenHab and Astronomy activities were ongoing.
Look Ahead Plan: Starting to wrap up projects with no EVAs.
Anomalies in work: N/A.
Weather: Clear and cold.
Crew Physical Status: Healthy
EVAs: To Phobos Peak and Crew Commander’s vehicle
Reports to be filed: Sol Summary Report, Commander Report, Operations Report, GreenHab Report, Journalist Report, Research Report, EVA Report, Astronomy Report, and Photos.
Support Requested: None

[end]

Journalist Report – December 3rd

Crew 216 Journalist Report 03-DEC-19
Sol 9
Author: Evgenia Alexandrova

Long martian days are about discussions and getting to know each other. We are basically six strangers who happened to love space and applied for MDRS over a year ago. We keep steadily learn from each other and our discussions become more and more profound and personal. But in the end, it all comes down to a human factor no matter on which planet you are. People is all we have and hopefully we won’t end up talking to furniture here, and as one of the crewmembers stated today:

“When you start giving anthropomorphic characteristics to a piece of equipment, life gets harder”

And another crewmember wrote this today:

Martian landscape burning bright

In sol system, 4th small light

What untold view of human eye

Could scry thy red ‘neath open sky

In chasms gasping towards the skies

Burnt out cones of ancient fires

Within our heart such dreams to beat

Of Martian dust on human feet

Astronomy Report – December 3rd

Crew 216 Astronomy Report 03-DEC-19
Crew Astronomer: Michael Ho

MDRS ROBOTIC OBSERVATORY
Robotic Telescope Requested: MDRS-14
Objects to be Imaged this Evening: The Great Orion Nebula, The Crab Nebula, Bubble Nebula
Images submitted with this report: nil
Problems Encountered: nil

MUSK OBSERVATORY
Solar Features Observed: None.
Images submitted with this report: nil
Problems Encountered: Nil.

Greenhab Report – December 3rd

Crew 216 GreenHab Report 03-DEC-19
Crew GreenHab Officer: Michael Ho

Environmental control: Door opened for ventilation at 12.10 pm, closed at 5.00 pm.
Average temperature: 18C
Hours of supplemental light: Automatic system
Daily water usage for crops: 18L
Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: nil
Water in Blue Tank – enough
Time(s) of watering for crops: 09.45 am; 4.45 pm.

SEASONAL PLANTING HISTORY:
(Plants introduced since 03/11/2019 till 22/11/2019 please refer to Crew 215 GreenHab Report of 22/11/2019.)
Crew 216:
26/11/2019:
1 avocado seed in small black pot
24/11/2019:
1 avocado seed in small black pot
23/11/2019:
seeded Zucchini in 2 large black pots
seeded Chilli Pepper ‘Shishito’ in 2 2-gallon black pots
seeded Sweet Greenfield Pepper ‘California Wonder’ in 2 2-gallon black pots seeded Swiss Chard ‘Flamingo Pink’ in 4 2-gallon black pots
transplanted three self-seeded tomato plants in large blue tub transplanted to 2-gallon pots

OTHER NOTES:
1st sprouts:
Zucchini – 1 of 2 pots;
Sweet Peppers – 1 of 4 pots;
Tomatoes – 3 more pots – making a total of 4 of 6 pots;

Harvest: None
Support/supplies requested:nil.

“You cannot change the course of the wind, but you can adjust your sails.”

EVA Report – December 3rd

Crew 216 EVA Report 03-Dec-2019
EVA # 13
Author: Whittle
Purpose of EVA: In-situ fluorescent mineral survey. Per agreement with the director, this EVA extended into low light and was therefore partial sim (flight suits only). No photos/videos were taken. Start time for EVA: 1700
End time for EVA: 1820
Narrative: Drove to Robert’s Rock Garden, inspected sites found on EVA 12. Proof of concept completed and a number of samples collected for lab analysis. Returned to Hab via same route.
Destination: Kissing Camel Ridge (Robert’s Rock Garden)
Coordinates (use UTM NAD27 CONUS): 12 S 0518364 4249273.
EVA Participants: Lawson, Whittle, Kennedy
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map:
1) Drove from Hab to Robert’s Rock Garden via Cow Dung Road
2) Explored Robert’s Rock Garden to mark (GPS) locations for EVA 13 3) Returned to Hab via same route
Mode of travel: Curiosity, Spirit

EVA Report – December 3rd

Crew 216 EVA Report 03-Dec-2019
EVA # 12
Author: Whittle
Purpose of EVA: Reconnaissance for EVA 13 (evening EVA)
Start time for EVA: 0830
End time for EVA: 0915
Narrative: Drove to Robert’s Rock Garden, found 4 sites for evening inspection in vicinity of rovers (<10m from road). All sites marked with GPS and track recorded to annotate map for nighttime navigation. Returned to Hab via same route.
Destination: Kissing Camel Ridge (Robert’s Rock Garden)
Coordinates (use UTM NAD27 CONUS): 12 S 0518364 4249273.
EVA Participants: Lawson, Whittle, Alexandrova
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map:
1) Drive from Hab to Robert’s Rock Garden via Cow Dung Road
2) Explore Robert’s Rock Garden to mark (GPS) locations for EVA 13 3) Return to Hab via same route
Mode of travel: Curiosity, Spirit

Research Report – December 3rd

Crew 216 Research Report 3-Dec-2019
Sol 9
Submitted by: Whittle

1) Psych Scale (TAMU IRB2019-1042D) – 3rd stage surveys to take place on Wednesday.

2) Medical Casts – powder was dehydrated with 400 degree Celsius treatment. Samples were taken before and after dehydration to evaluate total water loss by weight. Powder will be rehydrated into molds to evaluate breaking points tomorrow or Thursday pending success of standardized mold.

3) In-Situ Fluorescent Mineral Prospecting – EVA was successful with several samples obtained. Further evaluation will be done in Hab in a controlled dark room and compared against reference materials.

4) MDRS Mapping – Nothing further to report.

5) MDRS Communications – No new developments on this project today.

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