Category: EVA Report

EVA # 6
Author: Riley McGlasson 
Purpose of EVA: EVA to obtain a large GPR survey and assess hydration content paired with geologic characterization and sampling.
Start time: 1100
End time: 1530
Narrative: EVA began at 1100 led by Hunter and Riley (out of sim due to broken leg) and joined by Cesare and Lipi. The crew took Spirit and Opportunity rovers north on Cow Dung Road. Spirit started with 100% charge and 238.9 hours. Opportunity started with 100% charge and 149.7 hours. The crew drove north on Cow Dung Road until turning East on Galileo road, which they drove until reaching Compass Rock. At this point the rovers had between 60% and 65% charge, so it was clear that they would not be able to reach Somerville Overlook. On the NW side of Compass Rock they set up a 100 ft by 100ft survey side with 10ft grid spacing for GPR acquisition. After testing that the GPR survey wheel issue was fixed (it was!), the team took an excellent GPR grid that Riley is very much looking forward to analyzing. After taking the GPR survey, Hunter led sampling and spectra collection at 6 sites within the survey region. The team then started to head back to the HAB, pausing whenever Hunter (crew geologist) saw a cool rock or distant rock formation. The team made it back to the HAB with Spirit at 43% charge and 239.4 hours and Curiosity at 51% and 150.4 hours. They began the reentry process for the HAB at 1520.
Destination: Compass Rock and Somerville Overlook (only made it to Compass Rock)
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): N522000 E4253000 (planned), N520000 E4252000 (actual)
Participants: Riley McGlasson (Executive Officer), Lipi Roy (Crew Journalist), Cesare Guariniello (Crew Commander), Hunter Vannier (Crew Geologist)
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Drive North on Cow Dung Road until turning east onto Galileo Rd 1104 and driving that until Compass Rock. Walk less than ½ a km to get to GPR site.
Mode of travel: driving and walking (Spirit and Opportunity)

EVA # 3
Author: Riley McGlasson 
Purpose of EVA: EVA to obtain radar transects of two flat areas and assess hydration content paired with geologic characterization and sampling.
Start time: 1100
End time: 1530
Narrative: EVA began at 1100 led by Hunter and Riley (out of sim due to broken leg) and joined by Ryan and Jillian. The crew took Perseverance and Curiosity rovers south on Cow Dung Road. Perseverance started with 100% charge and 279.4 hours. Curiosity started with 100% charge and 260.9 hours. The crew drove south until the rovers hit 55% charge just shy of Watney Road, where they unloaded equipment and walked northeast to the river bed at the Watney Road turnoff. There they set up a small training area where Hunter and Riley tested out GPR and sampling protocols with Ryan and Jillian. Then the crew set a larger 3D GPR acquisition grid that covered the riverbed and the abutting bank, as well as collected spectra and samples from areas of geological variability. At ~1315 the team loaded equipment back in the rovers and drove back towards the HAB, stopping at Kissing Camel Ridge on the way back. There, Hunter led the gathering of spectra and samples at 4 geological sites on the north side of the east camel. Follow up 2D GPR transects were collected from the 3 accessible sample sites. The team made it back to the HAB with Perseverance at 37% charge and 279.9 hours and Curiosity at 40% and 261.5 hours. They began the reentry process for the HAB at 1520.
Destination: Aonia Terra, Kissing Camel Ridge
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): N520500, E4248500
Participants: Riley McGlasson (Executive Officer), Jilian Welshoff (Health and Safety Officer), Ryan DeAngelis (Green Hab Officer), Hunter Vannier (Crew Geologist)
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Drive on Cow Dung Road and park at intersection with Watney. Then walk northeast ¾ km or less. On return, will stop at Kissing Camel and conduct second set of measurements along the northern base of Kissing Camel Ridge E within ¾ km of road.
Mode of travel: driving and walking (Perseverance and Curiosity)

EVA # 4
Author: Hunter Vannier
Purpose of EVA: EVA to obtain volcanic samples in fluvial channel near Barainca Butte.
Start time: 1100
End time: 1530
Narrative: EVA began at 1100 led by Hunter and Cesare and joined by Lipi and Jesus. The crew took Spirit and Opportunity rovers south on Cow Dung Road to Barainca Butte. Spirit started with 100% charge and 238.3 hours. Opportunity started with 100% charge and 149.1 hours. The crew drove south until reaching the beginning of 1101 and parked. The crew unloaded equipment and walked west along the trail and observed numerous volcanic rocks. Approximately ~1200 they established a station to sample one large vesicular basalt boulder. The region contained numerous scattered fist-sized volcanic rocks, mostly basalt but some andesite, which appeared to be transported fluvially. We obtained spectra and documented the sampling with photographs and GPS coordinates; these steps were repeated at subsequent stations. The crew continued walking until reaching Barainca Butte and investigated the area for any other source of volcanic rocks. We then approached the butte and Cesare led sample collection of light toned sedimentary boulder and accompanying sediment, establishing Station 2. The crew observed boulders at the butte base representing multiple stratigraphic units. They then began returning to the rovers. Approximately ¼ of the way back, they established a third station and collected six samples that well represented the volcanic diversity of transported material in the region, but the question remains where exactly they were sourced from. The crew returned to the rovers at 1406 and packed the gear and stowed samples. then stopped at Kissing Camel Ridge on the way back. There, Hunter led the gathering of spectra and samples at 2 geological sites on the north side of the West Camel Ridge, following up on scouting from EVA #3. The team made it back to the HAB with Spirit at 41% charge and 238.3 hours and Opportunity at 47% and 238.3 hours. They began the reentry process for the HAB at 1520.
Destination: Barainca Butte, Kissing Camel Ridge
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): Barainca: N519000, E4247300; Kissing Camel: N5180000, E4249500
Participants: Cesare Guariniello (Executive Officer), Lipi Roy (Crew Journalist), Jesus Galvan (Crew Engineer), Hunter Vannier (Crew Geologist)
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Drive south on Cow Dung Road and park at intersection with 1101. Then walk west 1-1.25 km. On return to Hab, stopped at Kissing Camel to conduct second set of measurements along the northern base of Kissing Camel Ridge W within ¼ km of road.
Mode of travel: driving and walking (Spirit and Opportunity)

EVA # 5
Author: Cesare Guariniello
Purpose of EVA: Scouting EVA for accessibility and location for drone experiments on HAB ridge, and searching for kaolinite at the bottom of skyline ridge.
Start time: 1100
End time: 1428
Narrative: This EVA is dedicated to our friends at Nanohmics, Inc. The EVA began at 1100 led by Hunter and Cesare and joined by Jesus and Jilian. The crew prepared a limited amount of equipment for the long walk (GPS units, rock hammer, flags, sample bags, notepad with paper and ruler, a map, and the outdoor first aid kit). The crew walked north of the habitat, while observing the emplacement of various layers, then identified the intersection with 1103, Sagan Rd, and began ascending to Hab Ridge. This part of the EVA also had an exploratory function, to assess whether the gentle ascend is easily accessible (it is), and to identify a suitable location for an experiment of transportation of small samples with our drone. We also took panoramic context photos for past EVAs. After a brief stop to collect Gryphaea fossils, the crew began the long walk (about 2 miles) to Skyline Rim. A few stops along the way occurred when interesting examples of gypsum made their appearance. Once at the foot of Skyline Rim cliff, the crew identified a location with diverse samples from the various overlying layers, established a station and collected samples under the direction of our crew geologist Hunter. Two and a half hours into the EVA, the crew began its long and satisfied walk back to the habitat. During the walk back, they picked some old trash and played some MDRS-themed game of 20 questions. They began airlock re-pressurization at 1453.
Destination: Hab Ridge + Skyline Rim
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): N516000 E4251500
Participants: Jilian Welshoff (Health and Safety Officer), Hunter Vannier (Crew Geologist), Cesare Guariniello (Commander), Jesus Meza (Crew Engineer)
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Walk north and then east from HAB on 1103 up Hab Ridge to the base of Skyline Ridge.
Mode of travel: walking

EVA # 1
Author: Riley McGlasson 
Purpose of EVA: Training EVA to familiarize crew members with rover operation, suits, and navigation.
Start time: 1100
End time: 1230
Narrative: EVA began at 1100 led by Riley (out of sim due to broken leg) and joined by Hunter and Lipi. The crew took Perseverance and Curiosity rovers onto Cow Dung Road and then walked east until Marble Ritual. Perseverance started with 100% charge and 279.3 hours. Curiosity started with 100% charge and 2608 hours. The crew completed the ritual and then continued East to get more comfortable navigating terrain in the EVA suits. The crew stuck to conservative slopes of no more than 10-15 degrees and were comfortable going up and down the small hills near the Marble Ritual site. They also took photos and explored the local geology of the region, with Hunter and Riley teaching Lipi about differential erosion and sediment transport. Hunter gathered some small samples for use in training the rest of the team on how to use the spectrometer. The team made it back to the HAB with Perseverance at 78% charge and 279.4 hours and Curiosity at 82% 260.9 hours. They began the reentry process for the HAB at 1211.
Destination: Marble Ritual
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): N518700, E4250800
Participants: Riley McGlasson (Executive Officer), Hunter Vannier (Crew Geologist), Lipi Roy (Crew Journalist)
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Drive on Cow Dung Road and walk east until Marble Ritual.
Mode of travel: driving and walking (Perseverance and Curiosity)

EVA Crew Lead: HSO Duluu
Team Members: Geologist Davaa, Psychologist Tungaa
CapCom: Engineer Muggi
Objective: Our mission was to reach and explore Overlook, take soil samples for geological and microbiological work, utilizing drone technology for remote reconnaissance and surveying areas inaccessible by foot or rover.

Weather Conditions: The weather was favorable, with cloudy skies and temperatures ranging from -4 to 7 degrees Celsius, conducive to outdoor exploration activities.

Activities and Observations:

The EVA began at 11:00 a.m., with our team navigating the terrain in the Spirit and Opportunity rovers.
We haven’t successfully reached the Overlook, but arrived at Brahe HWY which presented a landscape strikingly similar to the Gale crater.
Due to the drone’s restricted remote control range of 2 km, we were unable to track it to Brahe. Nonetheless, we commenced recording from Cowboy Corner.
During the extravehicular activity (EVA), the EVA team aimed to evaluate the rover’s battery capacity by reaching a targeted level of 48 percent. Following this, we temporarily left the rover to explore more extensively and gathered soil samples.
Upon returning to base at 12:30 p.m., we noted the Spirit still had 32% battery left, and Opportunity had 31% of capacity.
Challenges and Solutions:

Battery Concerns: Yesterday there was more snow in the highlands, so our path was quite muddy. Our drivers geologist Davaa and psychologist Tungaa were proficient at handling this situation.
Communication Disruption: Today, we did not experience any specific contact loss. However, there was a connection interruption on the far side of the hill, situated beyond Cowboy Corner, in summary.
Conclusion and Next Steps: The outcome of EVA was geological samples for experiments for building blocks. We were inspired by such a beautiful scene of Mother Nature which helps us understand how lucky we are to have her on Earth and even on Mars. Our engineer made such amazing videos and pictures by drone. Now our geologist and engineer have experience using drones.

EVA # 7

Author: Davaa-Ochir “Davaa” Dashbaatar

Purpose of EVA: Reconnaissance; Soil sampling; Drone testing;

Start time: 11:25 AM

End time: 13:17 AM

Narrative: The extravehicular activity (EVA) #7 commenced at 11:25 AM with the crew led by Muggi. Co-operators included Dono and Sunny, who were equipped with MARS-V Suits and earlier versions of life support helmets. Muggi did not don a special suit or life support helmet, given his task of operating a drone during the EVA.

Upon departure, it was noted that the rovers Spirit and Opportunity had not been connected for charging post-EVA #6 due to an oversight. This error was communicated by CAPCOM Davaa to Mission Support, who acknowledged the mistake and offered an apology to the Alpha team. Consequently, the rover Perseverance was dispatched to the crew’s location near the HAB, resulting in a 20-minute extension of EVA #7. Additionally, the crew was informed that a further 30-minute extension was available if needed.

The EVA team reached White Rock Canyon, their destination, at 12:07 PM. The rovers’ status at this time indicated that Perseverance had 58% battery life and 278.7 life hours, whereas Curiosity had 66% battery life and 259.6 life hours.

At 12:52 PM, the crew departed for Zubrin’s Head, arriving at 12:56 PM. It was noted there was limited activity to be conducted at Zubrin Hill by 13:03 PM, prompting a decision to return to the HAB after completing photographic documentation and drone reconnaissance.

The final leg of the journey saw the crew head back to the HAB, with a brief stop at Kissing Camel before parking the rovers at 1:17 PM. At this juncture, Perseverance’s battery life was at 37%, with life hours at 279, and Curiosity’s battery life was at 44% with life hours at 259.9.

EVA #7 was successfully concluded with a duration of one hour and fifty-two minutes, marking the end of SOL #7’s field operations.

Destination: White Rock Canyon

Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 520300;4247500

Participants:

· CAPCOM: Davaa, (Geologist)

· EVA #7 Leader: Muggi (Engineer)

· Co-operators: Dono (Commander) and Sunny (Journalist)

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Hab -> Robert’s Rock Garden -> Cow Dung Rd 0110 -> Zubrin’s Head -> White Rock Canyon -> Cattle Guard

Mode of travel: Driving—Perseverance and Curiosity.

EVA # 8

Author: Enkhtuvshin “Dono” Doyodkhuu

Purpose of EVA: Reconnaissance; Drone testing; Photo shooting;

Start time: 13:40

End time: 16:30

Narrative: The EVA for today was an out-of-sim EVA and all crew members participated. It started almost two hours later than planned because our lunch preparation took a bit longer—we had lasagna. We have been trying to visit Lith Canyon for some time now, and the only way to reach there was to take the crew car. Taking this opportunity, we’ve decided to go altogether, taking 2 of the MDRS suits, 2 of MARS-V suits, and one MARS-V helmet. We arrived at our destination with no problem, and the view on the way was awe inducing. We did drone footage, some photo shooting for public outreach, and explored around the canyon for a bit. Ben served as the Capcom for us, and he did a great job at sharing information along the way. We arrived at the Hab just in time—30 minutes before sunset. All in all, it was a successful and energetic trip. We might take some time to work on our research reports in the following days and put a hold on doing EVAs until the Netflix crew arrives on Sol 12.

Destination: The area between Lith Canyon and Whitehouse.

Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): (518000,4257000)

Participants: All crew members

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Hab -> Marble Ritual -> Pooh’s Corner -> Cowboy Corner -> Overlook -> Sea of Shells -> White House -> Lith Canyon -> Sea of Shells -> Overlook -> Cowboy Corner -> Pooh’s Corner -> Marble Ritual -> Hab

Mode of travel: Crew car.

EVA # 9

Author: Dulsaikhan “Duluu” Zorig

Purpose of EVA: Geological map hand sketch ;

Start time: 13:05

End time: 16:10

Narrative: The extravehicular activity (EVA) conducted today focused on creating hand sketches of geological maps for Beta mission tasks assigned to geologists. Our destination was Cowboy Corner, marking the concluding EVA within the simulation. Davaa and I engaged in discussions about potential geological tasks for the ‘experience and science takers.’ He provided insights into the fundamental process of drawing geological maps and underscored their significance in a Martian context. It becomes increasingly apparent that specialized tasks for geologists during science activities are limited unless we equip ourselves with high-performance instruments. After that, we head to the Brahi HWY to find a glove that we lost last EVA. And we got it.

Munkh-Erdene ‘Muggi’ Altankhuyag was at CapCom and taking care of us in terms of rover battery level and EVA crew safety and whether we have reached our destination.

When we got back to the hab, Elephant Hill caught the eye of our journalist’s phone camera.

Destination: Cowboy Corner

Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): (518000,4254000)

Participants:

CapCom: Muggi (Engineer)
EVA #9 Leader: Duluu (HSO)
Co-operators: Davaa (Geologist) and Sunny (Journalist)
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Hab -> Cowboy Corner-> Hab

Mode of travel: Spirit and Curiosity

EVA # 10

Author: Enkhtuvshin “Dono” Doyodkhuu

Purpose of EVA: Drone footage; Photo shooting; Portraits;

Start time: 10:20

End time: 13:00

Narrative: This was our final EVA of the rotation. We took some of the promotional photos and videos that were left and spent some time taking fun portraits. Time management today could have been better, but we were close enough to the Hab, and Ben was kind enough to be flexible with time.

Destination: Below Hab Ridge, 500m north of the Hab.

Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): (518200;4251500)

Participants: All crew members

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Hab -> South of North Ridge

Mode of travel: Walking