Category: EVA Report

Crew 297 EVA 13 Report 23-04-2024    

EVA # 13

Author: Pawel Sawicki

Purpose of EVA: We plan on continuing tests of Case’s abilities with a local EVA. A ground station will be set up inside of the ScienceDome, with Case maneuvering in the surrounding outside area. While one crew member monitors (and if needed, controls) Case from the inside of the ScienceDome, another (Pawel) will follow Case around to locally monitor and help troubleshoot any problems. The operator of the ground station in the ScienceDome will not be involved in the EVA.
Within the vicinity (and LOS) of the Case operation, Sarah will take gamma-ray spectral data of the areas around the Hab/ScienceDome.

Start Time: 11:35 AM

End Time: 1:45 PM

Narrative: Today’s EVA was the final set of trial runs needed to get Case’s confidence up before exploring an area outside of the shadows of the MDRS Station. Sarah and Pawel quickly set up the ground station with Sean initially monitoring and controlling Case from the cool comfort of the ScienceDome. After setup, Sarah explored the area and took gamma-ray spectrometer measurements. She noted that the uranium content here was more than areas further south from the Hab (around Robert’s rocks), but inline with what is expected. Meanwhile, Sean was able to deliver a secret message to Pawel using a hexadecimal circle and Case’s precise IMU, ala The Martian. Case was also able to maneuver around an obstacle course to gather imagery of a point of interest, but needed some manual input from Sean in the process.

Destination: Around the MDRS ScienceDome

Coordinates: 12S 518203E 4250930N

EVA Participants: Pawel Sawicki (Commander) and Sarah Lamm (Crew Geologist)

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: none, local EVA

Mode of travel: walking

Vehicles you will be using (If applicable): none

Crew 297 EVA 10 Report 21-4-2024
      
EVA # 10

Author: Pawel Sawicki

Purpose of EVA: The purpose of this EVA is to test Case’s abilities within the confinement of a local EVA. While one member monitors (and when needed, controls) Case from inside the RAM, another follows Case around to locally monitor and help troubleshoot any problems.

Start Time: 1:40 PM

End Time: 3:11 PM

Narrative: The crew of two opened up the back RAM airlock in their pressurized suits at 1:40 PM and quickly got started on getting Case’s equipment setup. A ground station was set up in the RAM with ancillary equipment (router and GPS station) just outside. In about 10 minutes of entering the Martian atmosphere, the robot was up and running around the area in front of the Hab. While Case’s paths to destinations were certainly mysterious at times, it was always able to reach the designated POI and avoid obstacles. Dave also took over manually to avoid obstacles, test Case’s range of operation, and perform the precise maneuver of bringing Case up the RAM’s ramps.

Destination: At the MDRS RAM and within close proximity.

Coordinates: 12S 518154E 4250918N

Participants: Pawel Sawicki (Commander) and David Laude (Crew Journalist)

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: none

Mode of travel: walking

Crew 297 EVA Report 21-04-2024

EVA #9

Author: Matthew Lynch (Engineer)

Purpose of EVA: Perform the third ‘hiding’ EVA for the nuclear power project. Two members of Team A will go into the field and place the NPS for Team B to find on a future EVA. Potential NPS burial sites and geological sites of interest will also be observed.

Start time: 9:57 am

End time: 12:39 pm

Narrative: Starting on time and exiting the airlock, we placed the NPS in the back of Opportunity and headed North. As expected, the battery was at 55% when we were halfway down Brahe Highway. We parked the rover and saw what appeared to be a road heading North, we mistook this for route 1575 and attempted to follow this to reach the sea of shells, eventually realizing our error we circled back and followed the real road until we reached the moon overlook and eventually the sea of shells at 11:45 AM. We analyzed the area for potential digging sites and the ground looked excellent. However there were minimal ideal spots for placing the NPS. We began the walk back to the rovers and determined our best course of action was to not place the NPS, as the day was getting very hot, our EVA suit batteries were draining, and critically there were minimal good spots in the terrain to place the NPS. We returned back to the Hab at 12:40 PM. It should be noted there are some discrepancies between the MDRS map, the routes on the ground, and the Bureau of Land Management road markers, this was the primary cause for the challenges in reaching the Sea of Shells.

Destination: Sea of Shells area

Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 425500 N 516500 E

Participants: Matthew Lynch (Engineer), Matthew Storch (XO)

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Cow Dung Road 0110 & Brahe Highway

Mode of travel: Rover Opportunity and walking.

Crew 297 EVA 11 Report 21-4-2024    

EVA # 11

Author: Sarah Lamm

Purpose of EVA: To observe the grey geological unit seen from orbit.

Start Time: 7:37 AM

End Time: 10:11 AM

Narrative: We arrived at the grey unit and took gamma-ray measurements of it, specifically to see if the uranium content would be higher than the previous units. From there we traveled to the overlook, and just south of the Sea of Shells. Once we came back to the intersection of Brahe Hey and Cow Dung Row, we hid the NPS device for Matt’s L project.

Destination: Area between Sea of Shells and Overlook

Coordinates: 12S 516033 4254592

Participants: Pawel Sawicki (Commander), Sarah Lamm (Geologist)

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

Mode of travel: Opportunity

Crew 297 EVA 4 Report 17-4-2024

EVA #4

Author: Sarah Lamm

Purpose of EVA: To locate the NPS from yesterday and to observe a geological formation that from orbit is redder than the surrounding location

Start Time: 9:36 AM

End Time: 1:00 PM

Narrative: We arrived at the first stop to locate the NPS device for Matt L’s research project. It was found quickly. From there we moved to the south and stopped at the location yesterday to test how easy it would be to dig in the regolith and to get initial Gamma-Ray Spectrometer readings of the regolith. We continued south to the region that looked redder from orbit, to take more observations of the regolith and the rocks. Lastly, we headed north toward the Hab and stopped at Robert’s Rock Garden to observe those rocks in comparison to those we had already seen.

Destination: Find the NPS, location to dig and gamma ray on regolith, redder area regolith & rocks, Robert’s Rock Garden (Stop #4)

Coordinates: 12S 518166N, 425092E (Stop #1); 12S 518065 4250003 (Stop #2); 12S 518819 4248714 (Stop #3); 12S 518278 4249467 (Stop #4)

Participants: Pawel Sawicki (Commander), Dave Laude (Journalist), Sarah Lamm (Geologist)

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

Mode of travel: Spirit, Opportunity; Walking

Crew 297 EVA Report 18-04-2024

EVA #5

Author: Pawel Sawicki (Commander)

Purpose of EVA: This EVA will kick off the human-interaction study from CU Boulder (COHRINT Lab), where two crewmates will use the User Interface (UI) to monitor and interact with the robot as it traverses and records imagery of the relatively flat terrain. Thus it will also be the first time Case (the name of the robot) touches Martian regolith. The other half of the EVA crew will be in the vicinity (visual and audio site maintained) testing digging techniques that may be used to bury the [inert] NPS. Any dug-up holes will be filled in before the end of the EVA.

Start time: 9:50am

End time: 11:53am

Narrative: Today’s EVA was a first for the crew for many reasons. It was the first time we had four crewmates involved in the same EVA, the first time that Case got to test itself out on Martian regolith, and the first true attempt at digging the NPS. With four EVA members, Case (along with Case’s GSE), and a medley of digging tools, the exit via airlock took longer than nominal. Entrance into the Martian atmosphere required 5 minutes of depressurization so that two crewmates could leave along with the tools and the rover, 5 minutes of pressurization again, and finally 5 minutes of depressurization so that the remaining crewmates could exit. We finally arrived to our destination near Cow Dung Road approximately 26 minutes after first entering the airlock, determined to meet all our EVA objectives. Case was able to capture useful imagery of the surroundings, yet, it was not able to take off its metaphorical leash, needing to be monitored constantly and manually driven for a large portion of its adventure. The other two EVA crew mates had great success – digging a hole suitable for the NPS at a rate of 30 cubic feet per hour. Two hours had passed before the rover and related GSE were collected, the hole was filled up, and we started heading back home.

Destination: 920 m South (185°) of MDRS

Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 12S 518058N 4250031E

Participants: Pawel Sawicki (Commander), Matt Storch (XO), Matt Lynch (Crew Engineer), Dave Laude (Journalist)

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

Mode of travel: Driving 2 rovers (Curiosity & Spirit) and walking

Crew 297 EVA 7 Report 19-4-2024
      
EVA # 7

Author: Sarah Lamm

Purpose of EVA: Team B for the NPS Project will travel to 300 m northwest of Cowboy Corner (based on the NPS location that Team A had chosen), and search a 250 m radius for the NPS. Once found, we will continued to explore the region for geological exploration.

Start Time: 1:00 PM

End Time: 2:28 PM

Narrative: Crew arrived at the destination about 30 minutes after leaving the Hab. Starting from the north we started looking for the NPS device. After about 20 minutes we located it in a gorge. From there we traveled south stopping to look at dark rock formations. At this point, it was discovered that Suit #11’s batteries were quickly losing charge, and the fan was not blowing as much air. We aborted the remainder of the EVA and headed for the Hab.

Destination: 300 meters NW of Cowboy Corner

Coordinates: 12S 518534 4253152

Participants: Pawel Sawicki (Commander), Dave Laude (Journalist), Sarah Lamm (Geologist)

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

Mode of travel: Spirit, Opportunity, and Walking

Crew 297 EVA Report 19-04-2024

EVA #6

Author: Matthew Lynch (Engineer)

Purpose of EVA: Perform the second searching EVA for the nuclear power project. Mission support will have provided a simulated landing site for the NPS. The Crew Commander (not on requested EVA) will give an approximate landing site, which will be within 1000 feet from the real location. This EVA will utilize known searching methods to find the NPS. Once found, it will be collected and a new simulated landing site will be selected and recorded for the next EVA crew to recover.

Start time: 9:04 am

End time: 11:22 pm

Narrative: Having a slightly late start we suited up, left the airlock, and entered the rovers without any issue. At 9:31 Curiosity’s charge was at 56% and we were still approximately ~1km from the edge of our search area by road. After parking the rovers, we proceeded on foot until we reached the edge of our search area at 9:47. Once there we spread out and moved towards the center of the region. At 9:55 Matt S. noticed a small hill he could see the local area from and once he climbed it he spotted the NPS near the edge of our search area. We collected the NPS and returned the rovers to return to the hab. On our return we stopped and deposited the NPS for the following EVA (that day) to search for in an area. We then returned to the hab and entered the airlock at 11:17 AM.

Destination: NPS expected landing area #3

Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 517696N 4254089E (Expected NPS landing location)

Participants: Matthew Lynch (Engineer), Matthew Storch (XO), Sean Marquez (Greenhab Officer)

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Cow Dung Road 0110

Mode of travel: Driving 2 rovers (Curiosity & Opportunity) and walking.

Crew 297 EVA 8 Report 20-4-2024
      
EVA # 8

Author: Matthew Storch

Purpose of EVA: We first did another seek for the NPS Project, by traveling to the coordinates specified by Mission Support, and searching a 300 m radius for the NPS. We then evaluated the robot, excavated a site for placement of the NPS, and explored the surrounding region for geological purposes.

Start Time: 9:08 AM

End Time: 12:55 PM

Narrative: Crew obtained the NPS search coordinates and proceeded to the search area, which was near the Candor Chasma. We stopped just off Cow Dung road and proceeded on foot along the Gateway to Candor, to conduct the search. The crew split into 2 teams that straddled a ravine. Matt Lynch quickly spotted the NPS and we retrieved it and returned to the rovers. We then proceeded north along Cow Dung Road to Galileo Road and headed east on Galileo until we reached the turnaround limit on battery power. The turnaround point was not deemed suitable for the other mission objectives, so we started to return along Galileo road, stopping twice to evaluate possible sites to cover the remaining mission objectives. Once a suitable location was found, Pawel and Matt S set up the robot, while Matt L scouted for suitable nearby excavation sites and Sarah conducted geological studies of the area. The robot had problems connecting to its network and there was not much we could do in the field to address the problem, so we had to abandon that objective for today. All four EVA crew members then joined the excavation effort, using a variety of tools and working in shifts. In the end we were able to excavate deep enough to properly bury the NPS, but finished just in time to return from the EVA with a suitable time margin. Excavation was much more difficult than in the first location, with the regolith removal rate being about one half of what it was in the first excavation, despite having 4 crew members to work this excavation vs. 2 for the previous one.

Destination: Candor Chasma area

Coordinates: 519608E 4251496N

Participants: Pawel Sawicki (Commander), Matthew Storch (XO), Sarah Lamm (Geologist), Matthew Lynch (Engineer)

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

Mode of travel: Curiosity, Opportunity, and walking

EVA # 1

Author: Sarah Lamm (Geologist)

Purpose of EVA: EVA certification training to Marble Ritual as requested by the MDRS.

Start time: 2:00 pm

End time: 3:00 pm

Narrative: We arrived at Marble Ritual with Spirit and Opportunity, and proceeded due east for about 270 m to the ritual buckets. After each person dropped a rock in the bucket, we proceed to examine the most Northwestern mound (about 4250921 N 518693E) within 30 meters of the Marble Ritual Posts. There we saw evaporated stream beds, filled with fine grained red sediments, as well as irregular white and red fine-grained patches. From there we proceed to the center mound, which is southeast of the first mound. and climbed to the top (about 4250899 N 518703 E). We quickly decided to leave as the wind was much stronger at the top. We briefly explored the shorter Northeastern mound (about 4250925 N 518714 E), until we descended at 2:20 pm due to the wind picking up. On the ground, we observed ventifact sandstones, as well as desert vanish. At 2:34 pm the crew returned to the rovers and parked at the Hab at 2:39 pm.

A singular curious alien coming from the south was spotted on Cow Dung Road at 2:21 pm. They seem to observe the EVA team and the Mars Desert Research Campus for about 10 minutes, until they left going north on Cow Dung Road.

Destination: Marble Ritual

Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 4250957 N 518615 E

Participants: Sarah Lamm (Geologist), Pawel Sawicki (Commander), Sean Marquez (GreenHab Officer)

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

Mode of travel: Spirit and Opportunity Rovers