Category: EVA Report

EVA # 12
Author: A. Taylor
Purpose of EVA: Manually align the 3D model in AR and conduct more drone imagery capture around the local area.
Start time: 8:32 AM
End time: 11:12 AM
Narrative: EVA crew departed the airlock and immediately set up the AR headset. Trevor attempted to manually align previously marked objects but had some difficulty. We quickly switched gears to the drone flights and completed image capture with 4 flights around the hab, mirror payload, cow dung rd, and near the north ridge. Spirit accompanied the crew down Cow Dung Rd to carry the drone equipment.
Destination: Hab, intersection of Hab Rd & Cow Dung Rd., Mirrors (near cow dung rd & marble ritual), and north on Cow Dung Rd. to Pooh’s corner, flew drone west of Cow Dung Rd at the North Ridge.
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 4251000, 518800
Participants: Technology Officer (Jahn), HSO (Braun), XO (Taylor)
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Cow Dung Rd (0110)
Mode of travel: Rover (Spirit) and Walking

EVA # 13
Author: A. Taylor
Purpose of EVA: Test EVA sampling tools (radiation sensor, rake, scoop, sample bags) and collect a sample in a new region not yet sampled.
Start time: 12:15 PM
End time: 2:56 PM
Narrative: EVA crew departed in Curi and Oppy and headed south on Cow Dung Rd past kissing camel ridge. Crew explored the Barrainca Butte area by foot and collected two regolith samples. Crew successfully tested the handheld ham radio supplemental comms.
Destination: Barrainca Butte
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 4247000, 519000
Participants: GreenHab (Eby), Crew Eng (Kowalski), Commander (Ferrone)
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Cow Dung Rd. (0110) south to intersection of 1101
Mode of travel: Rovers (Curi & Oppy) & Walking

EVA # 10
Author: A. Taylor
Purpose of EVA: Retrieve mirror payload and return it to airlock, test EVA sampling tools (radiation sensor, rake, scoop, sample bags).
Start time: 9:01 AM MT
End time: 11:19 AM MT
Narrative: Ferrone, Braun, and Taylor departed the airlock and headed northeast of the Hab to pick up the mirror coating experiment for inspection and had the payload back in the airlock by 9:15 am. From there the crew took off on the rovers (Taylor and Braun on Curi, and Ferrone on Percy) south on Cow Dung Rd approaching Kissing Camel Ridge. The crew parked the rovers just past the ridge near Robert’s Rock Garden. The trio made their way around the back of the West Kissing Camel Ridge, traversing a large flat area with large boulders on the right. They made their way up red hills and found a path up the side of Hab Ridge to Hab Ridge Rd. The crew took a regolith sample at the top of Hab Ridge. At the halfway mark of the EVA the crew made their way back down the same trail, stopping to take a second regolith sample at the bottom of Kissing Camel Ridge. For both regolith collections the crew used the rake to scrape away the top surface and then scooped the dirt into the handheld sifter, collecting 75 micron size and smaller samples in the special collection bags.
Destination: Stop 1: Retrieve Mirror Payload NE of the hab (not quite to Cow Dung Rd or Marble Ritual) and return to hab. Stop 2: Rovers South on Cow Dung Rd to park near Kissing Camel Ridge – Walk West toward Robert’s Rock Garden and up to Hab Ridge Rd and then back down to Rovers.
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 4249200, 518500
Participants: Commander (Ferrone), XO (Taylor), HSO (Braun)
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Cow Dung Rd. (0110) to Kissing Camel Ridge area
Mode of travel: Rovers (Curi & Percy) and walking

EVA # 11
Author: A. Taylor
Purpose of EVA: Return Mirror Payload and conduct handheld Ham Radio range test.
Start time: 1:53 PM MT
End time: 3:32 PM MT
Narrative: Eby and Kowalski departed the airlock with the mirror surface payload and returned it to its deployment location for one more stint in the Martian environment. From there, they traversed toward the north ridge to test the ham radio operations. The crew traversed up Sagan St toward the North Ridge, and with no obvious path up North Ridge continued westward on Sagan St. toward the intersection with Hab Ridge Rd. Ham radio comms were nominal, even more clear than EVA radios. The crew then made their way back to the deployed mirror location to record the humidity and temperature at the site before returning to the habitat.
Destination: Stop 1: Redeploy Mirror Payload NE of the hab (not quite to Cow Dung Rd or Marble Ritual), Stop 2: Up Sagan St. toward North Ridge stopping before Hab Ridge Rd.
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 4252000, 518500
Participants: Crew Engineer (Kowalski), GreenHab (Eby)
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Hab to Sagan St (1103)
Mode of travel: Rovers Walking

EVA #9

Author: Kristine Ferrone (CDR) / Trevor Jahn (Technology Officer) / Matthew Eby (Green Hab Officer)

Purpose of EVA: Deploy ham radio antenna near Hab, visual inspection of mirror coating experiment samples, drone flights around Hab and mirror coating experiment sample location across Cow Dung Rd from Marble Ritual
Start Time: 12:00 PM MT
End Time: 1:36 PM MT

Narrative: CDR (Kristine Ferrone), Technology Officer (Trevor Jahn), and Green Hab Officer (Matthew Eby) left the airlock at 12:00 PM MT. Drone Flight Plan 1 had a successful takeoff Southeast of the Crew Habitat and conducted a successful fly over pattern over the Crew Habitat, while taking timelapse photos for later processing using photogrammetry. The crew then proceeded to the north side of the Hab and drove in the ground spike for the ham radio antenna. The base was threaded onto the ground spike, the ground wire laid out, and the extension pole and whip antenna raised for ham radio comms. The coax cable was laid out from the antenna to the side of the tunnel outside the rear airlock and IVA crew retrieved the cable from the tunnel and ran it to the ham radio station. The crew then traversed on foot to the location of the mirror coating experiment samples across Cow Dung Rd. from Marble Ritual and visually inspected the payload. Drone Flight Plan 2 took off successfully near the Mirror Sample location, and conducted 90% of its planned flight pattern, before returning to its takeoff point due to the battery falling below 25%. Timelapse photos were captured for later processing using photogrammetry, and finally, the crew traversed on foot back to the Hab.

Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 4251000, 518500

Participants: CDR (Kristine Ferrone), Technology Officer (Trevor Jahn), Green Hab Officer (Matthew Eby)

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Hab area, mirror coating experiment sample location (close to Marble Ritual but not crossing Cow Dung Rd)

Mode of Travel: Walking

EVA #7
Author: Kristine Ferrone (CDR)
Purpose of EVA: Test EVA sampling tools (radiation sensor, rake, scoop, sample bags). Identify other potential areas for tools testing along return route for EVA #8 crew to explore in the afternoon.
Start Time: 09:01 AM MT
End Time: 11:39 AM MT

Narrative: CDR (Kristine Ferrone), XO (Alli Taylor), and ENG (Ashley Kowalski) left the airlock at 09:00 AM MT. Crew proceeded in rovers (CDR and XO on Oppy and ENG on Spirit) from the Hab to Cow Dung Rd, then north on Cow Dung Rd to the Special Region. Crew exited the rovers and proceeded on foot to explore the Special Region around the quarry area. Crew collected regolith samples at three diverse locations around the Special Region, including gray, red, and green soils, paying attention to the restrictions to not disturb any fossils in the area. The regolith samples were collected using a set of EVA tools developed by XO including a rake and scoop, battery-powered sifter, and special regolith sample collection bags. Crew also noted that the Special Region would be an excellent site for a drone flight later in the mission. CDR also collected radiation dose information along the route. Comms with IVA support were limited during the EVA. Crew then returned to the rovers and proceeded back to the Hab, stopping to flag a location for the EVA #8 crew to explore for further regolith sampling in the afternoon. Rovers were parked back near the Hab and were not plugged in following power status consultation with Tier 1 support.

Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 4256000, 518300

Participants: CDR (Kristine Ferrone), XO (Alli Taylor), and ENG (Ashley Kowalski)

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Cow Dung Rd (0110) to Special Region

Mode of Travel: Rovers (Spirit and Oppy), Walking

EVA #: 8
Author: Kristine Ferrone (CDR)
Purpose of EVA: Scout sample locations and test EVA sampling tools (radiation sensor, rake, scoop, sample bags) at and around location flagged by EVA #7 crew.
Start Time: 1:00 PM MT
End Time: 2:53 PM MT
Narrative: HSO (Barbara Braun) and Green Hab Officer (Matt Eby) exited the airlock at 1:00 PM MT and proceeded in rover (Curi) from the Hab to Cow Dung Rd, then north along Cow Dung Rd to location flagged by EVA #7 crew at the “ROUTE” marker near the intersection of Brahe Hwy (1572). Crew collected regolith samples there and in an additional location West & South of the marker that they reached on foot. HSO also collected radiation dose information along the route. Crew identified additional areas for drone flight near the second collection site. Comms with IVA support were limited during the EVA, but EVA crew demonstrated simple contingency text comms using pre-canned messages triggered by a handheld communication device, which were successful. Crew then returned to the rover and proceeded back to the Hab. Rover was parked back near the Hab and was not plugged in.
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 454800, 517800
Participants: HSO (Barbara Braun), Green Hab Officer (Matt Eby)
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Cow Dung Rd (0110)
Mode of Travel: Rover (Curi), Walking

EVA # 5
Author: Trevor Jahn, Technology Officer
Purpose of EVA: Retrieve Mirror Samples
Start time: 9:10 am
End time: 9:55 am
Narrative: Allison Taylor and Ashley Kowalski left the airlock and continued on foot to the Mirror Sample location, retrieved the Mirror Samples, and returned to the airlock.
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 518500, 4251000
Participants: Allison Taylor and Ashley Kowalski
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: N/A, path of least resistance to and from Mirror Samples, North of the Crew Habitat
Mode of travel: Walking

EVA # 6
Author: Trevor Jahn, Technology Officer
Purpose of EVA: Demonstrate Augmented Reality Programs, and Drone Flight Plan 1, 2 and time permitting Flight Plan 3.
Start time: 12:00 pm
End time: 2:30 pm
Narrative: Trevor, Kristine, and Barbra left the airlock at 12:00 pm for the second EVA of the day and proceeded on foot clockwise around the crew habitat until they were approximately 100 ft due north of the crew habitat. The three began their drone Flight Plan 1 launch procedures, but before launching the drone to proceed along it’s predetermined path, the crew called off the flight due to wind conditions being too variable for a maiden flight and proceeded on foot back to the front of the crew habitat, on the crew habitat’s south side, where they deposited their equipment and conducted an Augmented Reality (AR) software demonstration. The trio proceeded, after their AR demonstration, in the crew rovers, Perseverance and Spirit, to the corner of Cow Dung Road and Habitat Road, conducted a second AR demonstration, before continuing onto Marble Ritual, where they left the crew rovers, and continued foot to the Mirror Sample deposit location. The Mirror Samples were not there by design but had been collected during an EVA earlier in the morning, but the crew conducted another AR demonstration at the Mirror Sample location, before assessing the weather conditions to determine if they should proceed with drone Flight Plan 2 and 3 but concluded the weather conditions had not improved enough to continue with the flight. The three astronauts continued to investigate the flight area of drone Flight Plan 3, which was over Marble Ritual, followed by continuing back to the crew rovers, and returning to the crew habitat. The Mirror Samples, which were retrieved during the morning EVA, were not ready to be returned to the airlock for the EVA crew to return to their deployment location, so a request was put in to Tear 1 Mission Support, to make a second attempt at drone Flight Plan 1. This request was granted, and the EVA crew conducted a successful EVA flight. Mirror Samples were deployed in the airlock, and the EVA crew returned them to their deployment location on foot and returned to the Crew Habitat airlock without incident, ending their EVA at 2:30 pm, 30 min before their 3:00 pm deadline.
Destination: Marble Ritual and Galileo Road
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 518100, 4251000, 519000, 4252000 and 520000, 4251500
Participants: Dr. Kristine Ferrone, Barbara Braun, Trevor Jahn
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Cow Dung Rd (0110) to Marble Ritual
Mode of travel: Rovers (Perseverance and Spirit), Walking

EVA # 4

Author: Barbara Braun, Health and Safety Officer
Purpose of EVA: Crew training with small robotic drone
Start time: 12:00 pm
End time: 1:20 pm
Narrative: Trevor, Kristine, and Barbara made their way out the airlock for the drone checkout EVA today at approximately 12:05 pm. With them they brought the crew’s small drone and a tote bag of support equipment. The trio first stowed the spare drone batteries and other equipment in the Spirit rover, and proceeded on foot to an area slightly to the north-northwest of the Hab where they set up the drone for flight. At this point the crew discovered that the drone controller battery was at 28%, and deeming this too low a state of charge to be able to complete the flight safely, the crew connected a battery to the controller to let it charge. While waiting for the controller to charge, the crew took the Spirit and Perseverance rovers to the corner of the road to the Hab and Cow Dung Road in order to pre-stage the rovers at the first drone landing location. The crew proceeded on foot to the location of the mirror sample experiment nearby to check on the integrity of the mirrors, and noted a buildup of salt on one of the mirrors which should provide good data to the experimenters when the mirror is retrieved for examination tomorrow. The crew then proceeded on foot back to the Hab area to check on the state of charge of the controller. The controller had sufficient charge to complete the first flight, so the crew began loading the first flight plan into the drone. The drone SD card then gave an error, but the crew loaded a backup copy of the flight plan and was preparing to launch the drone. At this point mission support called to inquire about the rovers parked at the intersection of the road to the Hab and Cow Dung Road. After consulting with mission support, the team realized that the EVA request did not include sufficient detail about the drone flight plans and the overall plan for the EVA, and the EVA was called off for the day. The crew stowed the drone and its equipment near the Hab airlock and proceeded on foot to retrieve the two rovers. The crew parked the two rovers, noted ending hours and state of charge, left them unplugged, and proceeded into the airlock at 1:15 pm with all equipment.

Destination: Hab, Marble Ritual / mirror deployment location

Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 519000, 4251000

Participants: Commander (Kristine Ferrone), HSO (Barbara Braun), Technology Officer (Trevor Jahn)

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Road to the Hab, Cow Dung Rd (0110)

Mode of travel: Rovers and walking

EVA # 3
Author: Trevor Jahn, Technology Officer
Purpose of EVA: Demonstrate Augmented Reality Programs, and collect data for future EVAs using a Remote Control Rover named Goose.
Start time: 12:10 pm
End time: 2:59 pm
Narrative: Trevor, Ashely, and Matt made their way out the airlock for their 3-hour EVA today at approximately 12:10 pm, with them they brought the crew’s remote control (RC) rover, now named Goose, an augmented reality (AR) headset, and a tote bag full of support equipment for Goose and the AR headset. The trio first conducted their AR demonstration at the crew habitat to the right of the airlock door from the outside, after their demonstration was complete, they proceeded to the corner of Cow Dung Road, and the road branching off the habitat, using crew rovers Curiosity and Opportunity, where they performed the second AR demonstration. The crew continued onto Marble Ritual in the crew rovers following completion of their work at the crossroads of Cow Dung Road and the road branching off the habitat. Curiosity and Opportunity were parked on the side of Cow Dung Road close to Marble Ritual, where the crew disembarked and made their way to the deployment location of the Mirror Sample experiment, and upon locating the Mirror Samples the crew conducted another AR demonstration before returning the crew rovers and preparing Goose for deployment and data collection. Goose was remote controlled heading south along Cow Dung Road until the crew were nearly parallel with the Mirror Samples, which were due west from their location. Goose’s data collection instruments were activated at the edge of Cow Dung Road, and the crew navigated Goose to the Mirror Sample location without difficulty. Goose made a lap around the Mirror Samples before the crew turned off data collection. The EVA was well ahead of schedule at that point, and the crew took the opportunity to take additional photos, before returning to Cow Dung Road with Goose along the same path. Data collection, using Goose, resumed from Marble Ritual, and the crew continued North along the road to see if they could reach the crossroads of Cow Dung Road and Galileo Road before 2:30 pm, when they would need to return to the crew rovers and make their way back to the crew habitat and airlock. The crew did not make it to Galileo Road before reaching their turn around time, but turned around after turning off Goose’s data collection, and driving Goose back to the crew rovers. The crew made it back into the airlock with time to spare before their EVA concluded at 3:00 pm.

Destination: Marble Ritual and Galileo Road
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): stop 1: (~518400, ~4250900), stop 2: (~518400, 4250800), stop 3: (~518550, ~4251000), stop 4: (~518500, ~4251000), stop 5: (~518550, ~4251000), stop 6: (~518950, ~4251500), stop 7: (~518550, ~4251000), stop 8: (~518400, ~4250900)
Participants: Matt Eby, Ashley Kowalski, Trevor Jahn
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Cow Dung Rd (0110) to Marble Ritual, and almost to Gateway to Candor
Mode of travel: Rovers (Curiosity and Opportunity), Walking

EVA # 1
Author: Alli Taylor
Purpose of EVA: Familiarize with radio communications protocols and driving rovers with spacesuits on.
Start time: 1:17pm
End time: 2:00pm
Narrative: Three crew took two rovers a short distance to Marble Ritual in order to acclimate to driving in a spacesuit and familiarize with use of radio. Short amount of time spent exploring the local area before heading back to the habitat.
Destination: Marble Ritual
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84):
Participants: Kristine Ferrone, Alli Taylor, Matt Eby
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Cow Dung Rd (0110) to Marble Ritual
Mode of travel: Rovers (Curie, Oppy), Walking

EVA # 2
Author: Alli Taylor, Trevor Jahn
Purpose of EVA: Familiarize with radio communications protocols and driving rovers with spacesuits on.
Start time: 2:42pm
End time: 4:11pm
Narrative: Three crew took two rovers a short distance to Marble Ritual in order to acclimate to driving in a spacesuit and familiarize with use of radio. Additionally, the crew used a remote control mini-ATV with cameras, dubbed “Goose”, controlled from a follow distance of roughly 80-100 ft. The trio drove the RC rover from Marble Ritual, south along Cow Dung Road, and back to the road which turns west back towards the crew habitat collecting data along the way. The EVA was running out of time by then, so the three quickly changed the RC rover configuration for a 3rd time and drove it in a short loop around Marble Ritual collecting data before returning to the crew habitat. The EVA team had some trouble with the airlock door but were able to get it shut after much labor, and concluded the EVA. Crew was 11 mins late getting back to hab due to misunderstanding the EVA would be full 2 hours but the team had failed to re-check the EVA request to confirm before starting the EVA. Next time the crew will double check EVA end time prior to beginning EVA.
Destination: Marble Ritual
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84):
Participants: Barbara Braun, Ashley Kowalski, Trevor Jahn
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Cow Dung Rd (0110) to Marble Ritual
Mode of travel: Rovers (Spirit, Percy), Walking

EVA #: 13
Author: Jenni Hesterman
Purpose of EVA: Biological sample collection.
Start time: 10:30 AM
End time: 2:30 PM
Narrative: CDR and XO drove north to the Gateway to Lith to explore the “Special Region”. CDR and XO collected several samples throughout the canyon.
Destination: Gateway to Lith and Special Region
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 518000, 4256000
Participants: CDR & XO
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map:
“Cow Dung Rd” to “Gateway to Lith” by rover
Rover from “Gateway to Lith” to “Special Region” by rover
Explore “Special Region” by foot
Return

Mode of travel: Rovers (Curi, Spirit), Walking

EVA # 12
Author: Elizabeth Balga
Purpose of EVA: Biological sample collection.
Start time: 10:30 AM
End time: ~2:00 PM
Narrative: XO, BIO, and HSO drove north to the Gateway to Lith to explore the “Special Region”. XO used the drone to preview the region at the beginning of the EVA while BIO and HSO explored on foot to identify an entry point. BIO collected several samples of ice and other specimens throughout the canyon. On the return trip, XO tested the drone in various locations and wind conditions.
Destination: Gateway to Lith and Special Region
Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 518000, 4256000
Participants: XO, BIO, HSO
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map:
“Cow Dung Rd” to “Gateway to Lith” by rover
Rover from “Gateway to Lith” to “Special Region” by rover
Explore “Special Region” by foot
Return, stopping at several points along the way to test the drone

Mode of travel: Rovers (Curi, Spirit), Walking