Category: EVA Report

Crew 263 EVA 20 Report 09-03-2022

EVA # 20

Author: Cerise Cuny

Purpose of EVA: Replacing the batteries for the atmospheric experiments, a second analysis of sulfate deposits using a handheld LIBS (Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy) analyser.

Start time: 08:09 am
End time: 12:19 pm

Narrative: We first checked the rovers’ batteries and usage duration, then drove with Opportunity (86.3h and 100%) and Curiosity (170.3h and 100%) to the atmospheric experiment site. Changing the batteries took only 5 minutes this time, everything went well. At 8:25 we left for Candor Chasma.

As planned, we stopped at the intersection of Galileo Road and Streambed connector at 8:40 (Opportunity 86% and Curiosity 88%). From there, the canyon was reached by foot. We found our path very easily thanks to the very precise instructions and pictures of yesterday’s EVA team.

Inside the canyon, we made several stops to proceed on pictures and LIBS analysis. We took a sampling of what we thought was a nodule for further analysis at the station. The drone was quite useful to evaluate which arms of the canyon were accessible by foot. We were able to reach outcrops that wouldn’t be reachable by a Martian rover.

We also tried to use it to spot interesting outcrops but at some point, the Summerville formation was everywhere around us, so it was easy to find relevant outcrops with our own eyes.

At 11:11, we u-turned and reached the rovers at 11:50, with several breaks to catch our breath. Elena’s suit went out of battery at 11:15 during our return, she struggled a bit with fog in the helmet. We entered the AirLock at 12:19 for depressurisation.

Opportunity: Usage Duration – 86.7 Battery Charge – 81%

Curiosity: Usage Duration – 170.7 Battery Charge – 81%

Destination: Zone G -final expected point of interest is located at coordinate 4251533.157 N 521043.495 E.

Participants: Cerise Cuny (EVA leader), Nicolas Wattelle, Mathéo Fouchet, Elena Lopez-Contreras Gonzalez

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Entrance Road, Cow Dung Road, Galileo Road 1104.

Mode of travel: Rover for battery change and then until the entrance of Candor Chasma, By Foot in Candor Chasma.

Vehicles you will be using (If applicable): Curiosity, Opportunity

Crew 263 EVA 18 Report 08-03-2022

EVA # 19

Author: Marine Prunier

Purpose of EVA: Replacing the batteries for the atmospheric experiments, Analysis of sulfate deposits using a handheld LIBS (Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy) analyzer.

Start time: 08:12

End time: 12:34

Narrative: EVA Participants entered the airlock at 08:12. Depressurization ended at 08:17. EVA participants checked the rover batteries. The obtained information is:

Perseverance: Usage Duration – 228.1 Battery Charge – 100%

Spirit: Usage Duration – 157.7 Battery Charge – 100%

Opportunity: Usage Duration – 85.8 Battery Charge – 100%

Curiosity: Usage Duration – 169.9 Battery Charge – 100%

The EVA participants took Opportunity and Curiosity at 08:17 and drove on Entrance Road until Cow Dung Road. Batteries of the Atmospheric Experiments -LOAC, Mega-Ares, Purple Air- were replaced. The old batteries were placed on the rover trunks (08:40).

The participants drove on Cow Dung Road to the southern end of Galileo Road 1104 towards Candor Chasma. From there, the canyon was reached by foot. The EVA participants took about one hour to find the entrance of the canyon. Their GPS went out of battery at the beginning of the EVA, and they took the wrong direction. The correct path to the canyon was finally found and was documented with notes and pictures for a potential other EVA in this area.

Inside the canyon, the participants made several stops to proceed on sketches and pictures. A software issue with the LIBS analyzer prevented the participants to use it on the field, therefore several samples of rocks have been taken for further analysis at the station.

At 11:13, the participants left the point of interest inside the Canyon. At 11:55 they reached the rovers parked on Galileo Road. They arrived back near the Atmospheric Experiments at 12:07 and stopped there for 15 minutes to extract data from Mega-Ares. They drove back to the Hab at 12:27.

Opportunity: Usage Duration – 86.3 Battery Charge – 77%

Curiosity: Usage Duration – 170.3 Battery Charge – 76%

They entered Airlock and at 12:34 the pressurization was over.

Destination: Zone G -final expected point of interest is located at coordinate 4251533.157 N 521043.495 E.

Participants: Marine Prunier (EVA leader), Léa Rouverand, Valentine Bourgeois. HabCom was Cerise Cuny.

Elena Lopez-Contreras was supposed to participate to the EVA, but she woke up feeling tired and decided that it would be safer to stay at the Hab and have some rest.

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Entrance Road, Cow Dung Road, Galileo Road 1104.

Mode of travel: Rover for battery change and then until the entrance of Candor Chasma, By Foot in Candor Chasma.

Vehicles you will be using (If applicable): Curiosity, Opportunity

Crew 263 EVA Report 07-03-2022

EVA # 18

Author: Nicolas WATTELLE

Purpose of EVA: Atmospheric Experiment Maintenance, Augmented Reality Mapping in zone J

Start time: 9:03

End time: 11:23

Narrative:

Nicolas, Mathéo and Cerise first checked all rovers’ batteries. They then moved to the Atmospheric experiment zone using Spirit and Perseverance. There, they changed batteries of MegaAres, PurpleAir and LOAC. But LOAC had trouble restarting, so they decided to take it back in the Hab in order to repair it, and put it back on the field tomorrow.

At 9:27 they moved towards White Rock Canyon, and arrived at 9:50. Perseverance’s battery was at 63% charged and Spirit’s one 73%.

9:55: Mathéo flied his drone around the zone in order to spot the best way to enter the Canyon.

10:00: Nicolas, Cerise and Mathéo started walking to the Canyon entrance.

10:11: Arrival inside the Canyon. Mathéo then started using the Hololens, but struggled to see Augmented Reality information because of natural luminosity. Then they walked through the Canyon, mapping the place. The mapping did not stay in place during the verification phase.

11:02: Nicolas, Cerise and Mathéo took back the rovers and headed to the station.

11:20: Arrival at MDRS. Perseverance’s battery was at 43% charged and Spirit’s one 61%.

11:23: Nicolas, Cerise and Mathéo entered the Airlock. Pressurization ended at 11h28.

Destination: Intersection between Cow Dung Road and Entrance Road. The atmospheric experiment devices are set up in a circle of radius 2 m. Zone J. Coordinates (use UTM NAD27 CONUS): 518288 E, 4250586 N

Participants : Nicolas Wattelle, Mathéo Fouchet, Cerise Cuny

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Entrance Road, Cow Dung Road (heading to South)

Mode of travel: rover, foot

Crew 263 EVA Report 06-03-2022

EVA #17

Author: Cerise Cuny

Purpose of EVA: Re-orienting the HF antenna, Changing the batteries of atmospheric experiments, Looking for gypsum for analysis along cow dung road, AR application testing for geological studies.

Start time: 9:04

End time: 11:30

Narrative: Before going out, we collectively decided to swap the work around the antenna and the battery change ; it seemed so much more logical to start with the antenna instead of going to the atmospheric experiment site, than back to the Hab and then go to the north. After checking the rovers usage and batteries, we thus headed to the antenna, it was a quick and easy task. We left the Hab with the rovers at 9:22 with Curiosity and Opportunity (both were at 100% battery and hour usages were 169.2 and 85.2, respectively). After a quick battery change, we left the atmospheric experiment site at 9:32. We successfully spotted the pole indicating the intersection was a hundred meters further. We then struggled a bit to find the road. When it was obvious we went too far (200m from the pole), we turned back and then found the road. We parked near the intersection at 10:00, (Batteries: 68% for Curiosity, 75% for Opportunity). We walked for an hour, stopping at several interesting spots that might have been relevant for the geological study. Léa and Marine (responsible for the geological experiment), did quick drawings, wrote down the GPS information and did LIBS analysis while Nicolas and I took pictures of the areas of interest to add to their analysis report. Analysis on the field did not reveal any gypsum but the samples we brought back to the Hab were indeed gypsum! The landscape was absolutely breathtaking, once more very different from what we were used too until now. We went back to the rovers at 10:56. On the way back, before Tank Wash, we spotted an outcrop that might have been relevant, stopped at 10:59 to check it out, and went back to the rovers again at 11:10. We reached the Hab, plugged the rovers in and then entered the Air Lock at 11:24. Curiosity had 61% battery charge and 169.9 usage, and Opportunity 65% and 85.8.

Destination: Around Hab (for antenna), Intersection between Entrance Road and Cow Dung Road (for atmospheric experiment), Intersection between Cow Dung Road and Brahe Hwy (for Gypsum search).

Coordinates (use UTM NAD27 CONUS): Atmospheric Experiment: 518288 E, 4250586 N ; Gypsum Search: 517700 E ,4254700 N

Participants: Cerise Cuny, Nicolas Wattelle, Léa Rouverand, Marine Prunier.

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Entrance Road, Cow Dung Road.

Mode of travel: Foot to go to the antenna, rovers to go to the atmospheric experiments, then to the area of interest and go back to the Hab.

Crew 263 EVA Report 05-03-2022

EVA # 16

Author: Valentine Bourgeois

Purpose of EVA: Atmospheric Experiment Battery Change and reorientation of the antennas.

The atmospheric experiment includes 5 devices: LOAC (Light Optical Aerosol Counter), an Electrical Field Mill, Purple Air (Aerosol Counter), Mega-Ares (Electrical Field Counter) and a Weather station. The aim of this experiment is to do testing of Martian-Atmospheric Study Equipment and their maintenance by human operators. Performing their maintenance and set-up while wearing spacesuits and following EVA protocols is the purpose of the experiment. All devices are located at the same place.

Batteries for the LOAC, Mega-Ares and Purple Air need to be changed daily. Hence, during this maintenance EVA, the 3 batteries needed to be replaced. As there is a chance of snowing tonight and tomorrow, we also decided to bring the LOAC back to the station as it might be damaged by the snow.

Start time: 10:36

End time: 11:28

Narrative: EVA Participants entered the airlock at 10:36 Depressurization ended at 10:41. EVA participants checked the rover batteries just in case. The obtained information is:

Perseverance: Usage Duration – 228.1 Battery Charge – 100%

Spirit: Usage Duration – 157.2 Battery Charge – 100%

Opportunity: Usage Duration – 85.2 Battery Charge – 100%

Curiosity: Usage Duration – 169.2 Battery Charge – 100%

The EVA participants arrived at the Atmospheric Experiment location at 10:46. The 2 batteries were replaced. Marine turned off the LOAC and disconnected the battery. Nicolas changed the battery of Mega-Ares and protected it with a second garbage bag. Valentine found some rocks to elevate the battery in case of snow tomorrow. Léa changed the Purple Air battery. The status of the devices was checked.

At 10:52, the participants left the atmospheric experiment location. With two old batteries and the LOAC. They have been placed in front of the air-lock to continue the EVA. We went to the antenna to fix it.

At 10:55, the participants arrived at the antenna location. Because of the wind the antennas have changed their orientation. We fixed it and place some more ropes and rocks to keep them from doing it again.

When we were almost done, Valentine’s earphone broke. She couldn’t hear anything but her teammates where able to hear her. We finished to fix the last rope and went back to the Hab. We took the old batteries and the LOAC with us to go back to the air-lock.

11:23 pressurization over.

Destination: Atmospheric experience site (at intersection between Cow Dung Road and Entrance Road) and the antenna site

Coordinates (use UTM NAD27 CONUS): 518288 E, 4250586 N

Participants :Valentine Bourgeois (EVA Leader), Léa Rouverand, Nicolas Wattelle and Marine Prunier

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Entrance Road

Mode of travel: Foot

Crew 263 EVA Report 04-03-2022

EVA # 15

Author: Marine Prunier

Purpose of EVA: Atmospheric Experiment Battery Change and Augmented Reality application testing with a HoloLens device.

Start time: 8:56

End time: 9:35

Narrative: EVA Participants entered the airlock at 8:56 Depressurization ended at 9:01 and the participants exited the airlock.

The EVA participants arrived at the Atmospheric Experiment location at 09:08. The 3 batteries were replaced. Marine changed the LOAC battery and Cerise changed the Purple Air Battery and Mega-Ares batteries. Mathéo took back the stored data from the two last days of MegaAres. They returned to the Hab at 9:18.

Then the AR mapping of the station started. Following the same route taken in previous EVAs, the first waypoint was successfully placed on the RAM. The pictures were successfully taken as well by Marine Prunier the astronaut wearing the HoloLens. The following waypoints were placed in the Hab, GreenHab, Science Dome and Solar Observatory. The pictures were successfully taken at every point.

Once the waypoints had been placed, the second tour of the station began. The visible waypoints were reported back to HabCom and will be analyzed.

The astronauts entered the airlock at 9:35 and pressurization began. At 9:40 they entered the Hab.

Coordinates (use UTM NAD27 CONUS): 4250750 N, 518250 E

Participants: Cerise Cuny, Mathéo Fouchet and Marine Prunier. Nicolas Wattelle as HabCom.

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: NaN

Mode of travel: Foot

Vehicles used (If applicable): NaN

Crew 263 EVA 14 Report 03-03-2022

EVA # 14

Author: Léa Rouverand

Purpose of EVA: Replacing the batteries for the atmospheric experiments, Analysis of geology transition zones using a handheld LIBS (Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy) analyzer.

Start time: 09:00

End time: 11:27

Narrative: EVA Participants entered the airlock at 09:02. Depressurization ended at 09:07. EVA participants checked the rover batteries. The obtained information is:

Perseverance: Usage Duration – 228.1 Battery Charge – 100%

Spirit: Usage Duration – 157.2 Battery Charge – 100%

Opportunity: Usage Duration – 85.1 Battery Charge – 100%

Curiosity: Usage Duration – 169.1 Battery Charge – 100%

The EVA participants took Opportunity and Curiosity at 09:11 and drove on Entrance Road until Cow Dung Road. Batteries of the Atmospheric Experiments -LOAC, Mega-Ares, Purple Air- were replaced. The old batteries were placed on the rover trunks (09:17).

The participants drove on Cow Dung Road until Marble Ritual, as the road was muddy, the participants they stopped and parked the rovers along Cow Dung Road at 09:19. The EVA participant walked on Cow Dung Road until the junction with Stream Bed Connector (09:40).
They walked on Stream Bed Connector and reached two points of interest at 10:00 (the two points of interest were located at 519704E 4251292N and 519574E 4251279N).

The EVA participants stayed about an hour in this area, they proceeded on sketches, pictures and taking LIBS measurements. A drone was launched to take pictures of the study outcrops and to identify the entrance to Candor Chasma (area of interest for future geology studies).

At 11:00, the participants left the points of interest. At 11:21 they reached the rovers parked on Cow Dung Road

At 11:25, the participants arrived at the Hab:

Opportunity: Usage Duration – 85.2 Battery Charge – 97%

Curiosity: Usage Duration – 169.2 Battery Charge – 97%

They entered Airlock and at 11:27, the pressurization was over at 11:32.

Destination: Zone F -final point of interest reached located on the Stream Bed Connector road at 519704E 4251292N

Participants: Léa Rouverand (EVA leader), Nicolas Wattelle, Mathéo Fouchet, Valentine Bourgois. HabCom was Cerise Cuny.

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Entrance Road, Cow Dung Road

Mode of travel: Rover on Entrance Road and Cow Dung Road till Marble ritual, foot on Cow Dung Road and on Stream Bed Connector.

Crew 263 EVA Report 02-03-2022

EVA #13

Author: Mathéo Fouchet

Purpose of EVA: Changing the batteries of atmospheric experiments, Testing an EVA security protocol, and Search and Rescue exercise with a Thermal Drone with teams less than a kilometer apart.

Start time: 9:13 am
End time: 10:25 am

Narrative: We left the airlock at 9:13 and checked the rover batteries (all full), then we took Curiosity and Opportunity as requested and went to the atmospheric experiment at 9:16. We changed the batteries of MegaAres and the LOAC and we put back the Purple Air device. We went back to rovers at 9:26 to go to Robert’s Rock Garden, Opportunity and Curiosity had 100% battery.

We noticed that we passed Robert’s Rock Garden for approximately 20 meters, so we turned around and stopped the rovers next to Robert’s Rock Garden at 9:34. We checked the rovers’ batteries: Opportunity at 98% and Curiosity at 95%.

To implement the Search and Rescue with Drone experiment, the Blue team (Valentine and Elena) walked in the East direction. Then, the Red team launched the drone at 9:46 to look for the Blue team. During this time, the Blue team tried to implement the Security Protocol, everything went well and Valentine acted the «victim» well. The Red team saw the Blue team at 9:50 thanks to the drone’s camera. The drone stayed in the air to help the Red team to reach the Blue team, we carefully found an easy way to join the others. Both teams gathered at 9:57 thanks to the drone vision. All 4 EVA members reached the rovers (still 98% for Opportunity and 95% for Curiosity) at 10:17. The radio contact between the two teams has never been lost.

We finally stopped and plugged the rovers at the RAM and reached the airlock at 10:25.

Destination: Intersection between Entrance Road and Cow Dung Road, Zone I, and Kissing Camel Ridge E

Coordinates (use UTM NAD27 CONUS): Atmospheric Experiment: 518288 E, 4250586 N; 4249500W, 518350S (entrance of Robert’s Rock Garden), 4249500W, 518500S (Kissing Camel Ridge E.)

Participants: Valentine Bourgeois, Mathéo Fouchet (EVA Leader), Cerise Cuny, Elena Lopez-Contreras.

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Entrance Road, Cow Dung Road.

Mode of travel: Foot at Kissing Camel Ridge E, Rover until Robert’s Rock Garden

Crew 263 EVA Report 03-01-2022

EVA # 11

Author: Nicolas WATTELLE

Purpose of EVA: Atmospheric Experiment maintenance (battery change, recovering data from PurpleAir)

The atmospheric experiment includes 5 devices: LOAC (Light Optical Aerosol Counter), an Electrical Field Mill, Purple Air (Aerosol Counter), Mega-Ares (Electrical Field Counter) and a Weather station. The aim of this experiment is to do testing of Martian-Atmospheric Study Equipment and their maintenance by human operators. Performing their maintenance and set-up while wearing spacesuits and following EVA protocols is the purpose of the experiment. All devices are located at the same place.

Batteries for the LOAC, MegaAres, the Electrical Field Mill and Purple Air needs to be changed daily. Hence, during this maintenance EVA, the 3 batteries (the Field Mill and MegaAres use the same battery) needed to be replaced.

Start time: 08:59

End time: 09:19

Narrative: EVA Participants entered the airlock at 08:57. Depressurization ended at 09:02.

The EVA participants arrived at the Atmospheric Experiment location at 09:06. The batteries of the LOAC and MegaAres were changed. Valentine was in charge of changing LOAC battery. Nicolas changed the MegaAres battery. In order to recover PurpleAir data (because we can not pull out the SD card during EVA), Mathéo took it off the mast and took it back to the station. The device will be put back on tomorrow.

At 09:11, the participants left the atmospheric experiment location.

At 09:15, the participants arrived at the Hab and entered Airlock.

09:20, pressurization over.

Destination: Atmospheric experience site (at intersection between Cow Dung Road and Entrance Road)

Coordinates (use UTM NAD27 CONUS): 518288 E, 4250586 N

Participants : Nicolas Wattelle (EVA Leader), Mathéo Fouchet, Valentine Bourgeois. HabCom was Marine Prunier.

Crew 263 EVA Report 28-02-2022

EVA # 10

Author: Elena López-Contreras González

Purpose of EVA: Augmented Reality application testing with a HoloLens device and drone image capture of the station.

Start time: 10:30h

End time: 10:51h

Narrative: EVA Participants entered the airlock at 10:25h. Depressurization ended at 10:30h and the participants exited the airlock. Elena placed the drone on the ground and checked Perseverance.

The EVA started 10 minutes later than scheduled due to troubleshooting the application. Nevertheless, the re-enter time is well within the scheduled limit.

Perseverance: Usage Duration – 228.1 Battery Charge – 100%

The drone was correctly deployed from the inside of the Hab. Several videos and pictures were taken, most notably a Birdseye view of the station, a view with the antenna and a desert view.

Following the same route taken in previous EVAs, the first waypoint was successfully placed on the RAM. The pictures were successfully taken as well by Cerise Cuny, the astronaut wearing the HoloLens. The following waypoints were placed in the Hab, GreenHab, Science Dome and Solar Observatory. The pictures were successfully taken in every point.

Once the waypoints had been placed, the second tour of the station began. The visible waypoints were reported back to HabCom and will be analyzed.

At 10:43, after finishing the second tour of the station, the drone was retrieved –the pilot posed it on the ground for safe retrieval-.

The astronauts entered the airlock at 10:46h and pressurization began. At 10:51h they both entered the Hab.

Nominal EVA and the application was successfully tested.

Coordinates (use UTM NAD27 CONUS): 4250750 N, 518250 E

Participants: Elena López-Contreras and Cerise Cuny. Léa Rouverand as HabCom.

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: NaN

Mode of travel: Foot

Vehicles used (If applicable): NaN