Category: EVA Report

Crew 286 EVA #5 report 17-NOV-2023

EVA # 4

Author: Roger Gilbertson

Purpose of EVA:

We escorted the visiting photojournalists, Andrea and Caleb, on their first EVA to Marble Ritual. It was performed later in the day to take advantage of “late afternoon” light prior to sunset at 5:08 PM.

Start time for EVA: 2:30 pm

End time for EVA: 4:30 pm

Narrative: In the afternoon we completed radio training, then suited up and conducted EVA 5 with two rovers, two team members (Raj and LIzzy) driving, and two visitors (Caleb and Andrea) riding. Photography was conducted on hills next to Marble Ritual. On return to the rovers, a stretchy beanie cap was noticed to be missing. It was located after a brief retracing of our steps. We then drove back to the habitat and captured additional photos in the vicinity of the Observatory, before finally returning to base.

Destination: Marble Ritual

EVA Participants:
• Roger Gilbertson
• Liz Cole
• Andrea Orejarena
• Caleb Stein

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: N Cow Dung Rd, parking point WSG (518606,4251022)

Mode of travel: North on Cow Dung Rd to the parking point (518666,4251022), then walked to Marble Ritual (518799,4250996). After returning to the vehicles we drove back to the vicinity of the Observatory for some more photos. We then returned to the vehicles, and parked them at the Habitat.

Vehicles used: Spirit, Opportunity

Crew 286 EVA #3 report 14-NOV-2023
EVA # 3
Author: Roger Gilbertson
Purpose of EVA: To explore and test sites for future hi-res LIDAR scanning and outdoor music performance.
Start time for EVA: 2:30 pm
End time for EVA: 4:35 pm
Narrative: Getting prepared was more efficient, thanks to lessons leaned from EVA 1 and 2, and the newly drafted EVA checklist. GPS monitors were worn by two crew members. The crew reported what seemed to be a rapid drop in remaining vehicle charge during their drive south. Curiosity was at 65% and Perseverance at 62% even with modest driving speeds. Due to that, they stopped their drive in the vicinity of Zubrin’s Head, and short of the intended Barrainca Butte walking path.
The afternoon EVA 3 departed about 30 minutes late and unfortunately the crew “assumed" a 30 minute extension without specifically requesting one from Mission Support. The EVA drove south on Cow Dung Road, noting a rapid drop in both vehicle’s state of charge. Communications became intermittent due to increasing distance from the repeater. One EVA crew member’s radio seemed to stop working, so they resorted to remaining close together in order to use gestures and shouting. CapCom was not notified of the radio problem until after the end of EVA.
Photo were captured using iPhone and documentary video was captured by professional Panasonic EVA-1, with audio recording via separate a Zoom H8 microphone on a stand, which also recorded sound of the radio coms. LIDAR scans were performed near the vicinity of Zubrin’s Head. A series of scans were collected using a iPhone 13 and NeRF (Neural Radiance Field) software to build 3D models.
The crew returned to the habitat at precisely 4:30 and entered the airlock at 4:35.

Destination: Barrainca Butte (not achieved), Zubrin’s Head reached.
Coordinates (use UTM WSG 84): Barrainca Butte (518799,4250996)
EVA Participants:
• Scott Beibin
• Liz Cole
• Hugo Saugier

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: South on Cow Dung Road, to area of Zubrin’s Head (4247500, 520000), park and perform scans in the area. Retrace route back to Hab.
Mode of travel: Driving and walking

Vehicles you will be using: Curiosity, Perseverance

Crew 286 EVA #1 report 13-NOV-2023
EVA #1
Author: Roger Gilbertson
Purpose of EVA: To carry out our first EVA to Marble Ritual in order to learn and practices operations, and usage of spacesuit, photo and video equipment, and general EVA methodology.
Start time for EVA: 11:30 am
End time for EVA: 1:00 pm
Narrative: Getting prepared took longer to complete than expected. Departure was additionally delayed slightly when one rover was not unplugged. Mission support provided an extension to the excursion time by 30 minutes. Time was spent learning proper and effective radio communications.
Lidar Scanning – Performed three successful low-res landscape scans at several exterior locations. Used iPhone 14 and PolyCam Pro app software. Locations were selected that showed effects of water erosions. Other sites showed details of selected rock formations. Attention was paid to operator position to minimize shadows. Software requires processing in the field.
Photo and video – Captured using iPhone and Android phones, and Sony Alpha camera.
360 Video – Captured using Insta360 One RS 1inch.
Aerial drone photography – Captured using Ascend Aeronautics ASC 2600. Test flights were of limited time to increasing breezes aloft.
Challenges arose from headsets slipping, as they were worn without caps. Caps will be worn on future missions. As walking paths went behind various berms radio reception varied, and signal tests were conducted as people moved in and around outcroppings.
The team forgot to bring the LoRa GPS modules. The team forgot to record the hours and state of charge when powering up the rovers. A small tripod was inadvertently dropped during the EVA. Crew stopped briefly for rehydration during EVA. Sunblock needs to be worn.
Destination: Marble Ritual
Coordinates (use UTM WSG 84): (518799,4250996)
EVA Participants:
• Liz Cole
• Scott Beibin
• Donald Jacques
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: N Cow Dung Rd, parking point WSG (518606,4251022)
Mode of travel: We will drive to N Cow Dung Rd to the parking point (518666,4251022), then we will walk to Marble Ritual (518799,4250996). Then we will walk back to the vehicles and return to the HAB.
Vehicles used: Spirit, Curiosity

EVA # 10
Author: Andrea de la Torre
Purpose of EVA: Collect drone data for the rescue project from Hab Ridge.
Start time: 9:00 am
End time: 11:49 am
Narrative:
We walked through route 1103 and continued through Hab Ridge Rd. Once up, we wait for the drone for the search and rescue test. We returned to the habitat safely.
Destination: Hab Ridge
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 517450 E, 4250950 N
Participants:
· Andrea de la Torre
· Andres Reina
· David Mateus
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Walking through route 1103, continuing through Hab Ridge Rd until the repeater. The same path is followed to return to the station.
Mode of travel: Walking through the designated path.

EVA # 9
Author: Tomás Burroni
Purpose of EVA: Collect drone images from Hab Ridge for the geolocation project and generate 2D path for tomorrow’s EVA.
Start time: 13:00
End time: 15:05
Narrative:
Walked through route 1103, continued through Hab Ridge Rd where the drone images were taken, then kept going until the station was in sight. The same path was followed to return to the station while recording GPS data to generate the digital map.
Destination: Hab Ridge
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 517450 E, 4250950 N
Participants:
Luis Díaz López
Marina Buqueras
Tomás Burroni
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Walking through route 1103, continuing through Hab Ridge Rd until the repeater. The same path is followed to return to the station.
Mode of travel: Walking through the designated path

EVA # 7
Author: David Mateus
Purpose of EVA: Test search and rescue protocol in a canyon. And explore the Canyon.
Start time: 9:00 pm
End time: 11:10 pm
Narrative:
Following the route, we drove from the HAB to Cowboy Corner. We parked at that point and walked towards the canyon. Once inside the canyon, we waited for our crew members from the other team who were at the HAB and awaited the arrival of the drone to carry out the search and rescue simulation. It was not possible to fly the drone to the Canyon due to the winds. The crew returned safely to the Hab.
Destination: Tharsis Montes
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 518858 E, 4253133 N
Participants:
· David Mateus
· Tomas Burroni
· Andres Reina
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Driving up Cow Dung Road and stopping at Cowboy Corner.
Mode of travel: Driving on the rovers, Perseverance, and Spirit and walking around the nearby canyon.

EVA # 8
Author: Andrea de la Torre
Purpose of EVA: Ortho mosaic, 3D modeling, and canyon exploration.
Start time: 9:00 am
End time: 11:45 am
Narrative:
Following the route, we drove from the HAB to Cowboy Corner. We parked at that point, began the drone flight to perform the Ortho mosaic and 3D modeling, and then walked towards the canyon. Once inside, we explored walking from side to side of the canyon. The crew returned safely to the Hab.
Destination: The canyon between Cowboy Corner and Tharsis Montes Canyon.
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 518858 E, 4253133 N
Participants:
· Andrea de la Torre
· Marina Buqueras
· Luis Díaz
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Driving up Cow Dung Road and stopping at Cowboy Corner.
Mode of travel: Driving on the rovers, Curiosity, and Opportunity and walking around the canyon.

EVA # 5
Author: Tomás Burroni
Purpose of EVA: Collect drone images from el Dorado Canyon to generate the digital elevation model for the second EVA and gather more data for the geolocation project.
Start time: 9:00 am
End time: 11:00 am
Narrative:
We drove from the HAB South through Cow Dung Rd, parking at Zubrin’s head. There, we first took 10 min to do the programmed drone flight to generate the map for the second EVA. We then started walking eastwards into the Canyon and took a soil sample at (519371, 4248609). While inside the Canyon one of the crew members realized that the sound from the suit’s had lowered in intensity. We tried turning it off and on again and they felt that the difference in airflow was lower than expected. This was not noted before as there had been no fog build up in the helmet and the chilly temperature allowed them to stay comfortable even with lower airflow. At that moment we headed straight back to the rovers and the Hab instead of taking the second soil sample as planned. It was not deemed necessary to remove their suit on the way back as the crew member was not suffocating and the helmet was not fogging up.
Destination: Zubrin’s head (vehicle + walking in site)
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 519371 E, 4248609 N
Participants:
· Luis Díaz
· Tomás Burroni
· Andrés D. Reina
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: N Cow Dung Rd and Galileo Road.
1. Took East on Entrance Road (Drove)
2. Turned right onto Cow Dung Road (Drove)
3. Walked to the entrance of canyon
4. Walked into the canyon towards the East
5. Returned by the same route.
Mode of travel: Driving on the rovers Opportunity and Curiosity and walking around the canyon, located nearby.

Crew 285 EVA Report 03-11-2023
EVA # 3
Author: Andrea de la Torre
Purpose of EVA: Continue the mapping of Candor Chasma with the drone and make a 2D path to follow with the QFIELD app.
Start time: 9:00 am
End time: 11:45 am
Narrative:
Our mission was focused on capturing GPS coordinates throughout the journey to create a digital route that our colleagues can follow with a mobile app, leveraging the fact that one of our EVA team members was already familiar with the location. Additionally, we deployed an automated drone flight over the Candor Chasma canyon to generate an orthomosaic, a 3D model, and a DMS chart for analyzing the final exploration area for the next EVA team. Furthermore, we collected a soil sample to further our construction material project, using a different type of soil than in previous EVAs.
Destination: Candor Chasma
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): (520500,4251000)
Participants:
· David Mateus
· Luis Diaz
· Andrea De La Torre
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: N Cow Dung Rd and Galileo Road.
Mode of travel: driving from the HAB north through Cow Dung Rd, turning into Galileo Road. We parked 300 meters before Compass Rock because the SOC of Perseverance was at 65% and we walked to the entrance of the canyon of Candor Chasma.

EVA # 1
Author: Luis Diaz
Purpose of EVA: Collecting Martian regolith samples, suiting up with the use of spacesuits, and drone flight.
Start time: 11:05
End time: 12:15
Narrative:
We headed to Marble Ritual to take soil samples and sent the drone to conduct exploration shots in the Candor Chasma area; however, we experienced a slight delay of 2 minutes as we deviated a few meters off the path, quickly returning to the right route.
Once at the scheduled destination point, Andrés began collecting 3.3 kg of Martian regolith while Luis and Marina deployed the drone to execute automatic photo capture tasks for the subsequent generation of a 3D model and contour lines. These will enable us to identify future exploration zones.
Destination:
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 518606,4251022
Participants:
– Luis Diaz
– Marina Buqueras
– Andrés Reina
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: N Cow Dung Rd to Marble Ritual zone.
Mode of travel: We use the Curiosity and Spirit rovers.