Category: Greenhab Report

Crew 290 GreenHab Report 17-01-2024 (Sol 10)

Greenhab Officer: Ben Kazimer

Heater on (set to 72⁰F), fan off, door closed

Average temperatures: 0815: 77.0⁰F, 15%, 1505: 86.4⁰F, 15%

Hours of supplemental light: nominal 4 hours overnight

Daily water usage for crops: 5 ½ gallons

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: N/A

Water in Blue Tank 131.8 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops:

0815: 4 gallons watering, ½ gallon misting, 1432: ½ gallon watering, ½ gallon misting

Changes to crops: None

Narrative:

This sol’s narrative starts on the eve of sol 9, immediately after our taco Tuesday feast ended. I went to check on my plants before I settled in for the night, and upon entering the greenhab I knew I was in for a trip. It was about 20⁰F outside and 41⁰F inside the greenhouse… The heater was not running and the plants clearly wore upset emotions on their yellowing and flaking leaves. After a quick chat with Mission Support, I got the greenlight to open up the heater to see what was going on along with the help of Engineer Roots. We took the side panels off to expose the electrical components to clean things out and check a few connections. After some resets and reassembly, the heater was back to keeping the greenhouse at a pseudo-summer like status. Mission Support informed me that this issue could have been occurring the past few nights during the coldest point (they are still testing out experimental remote monitoring systems that are not fully integrated to the habitat). While the greenhouse was warming, I wasn’t convinced it was stable. I stayed up relatively late and checked on the heater throughout the night. I did not actually visit the facility as that would require waking another crewmate for comms check-ins, but instead gauged the heater status by the motion of Riya’s inventory list which was taped to the water tank, right in the flow field of the heater’s hot output. Fast forward to today, the plants have been happy throughout the sol and I’m hoping the heater can continue nominal operations until it is further diagnosed before Crew 291 comes in.

Harvest: None

Support/supplies needed: None!

Crew 290 GreenHab Report 18-01-2024 (Sol 11)

Greenhab Officer: Ben Kazimer

Heater on (set to 65⁰F), fan off, door closed

Average temperatures: 0829: 80.8⁰F, 15%, 1545: 76.8⁰F, 25%, 1750: 70.2⁰F, 29%

Hours of supplemental light: nominal 4 hours overnight

Daily water usage for crops: 6 ½ gallons

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: N/A

Water in Blue Tank 125.3 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops:

0829: 6 gallons watering, 1545: ½ gallon misting

Changes to crops: Big harvest of leafy greens and trimming of some dead leaves on herbs.

Narrative:

A rather chill sol in the wonderful world of the greenhab affairs. All system and plant health statuses are nominal, which was quite welcome with other duties occupying most of my time today. The plants have been riding out the early morning watering, with an afternoon pick-up misting, and will hopefully get a post-sunset misting and light watering (if I don’t fall asleep on the bean bag chair after I submit this report). I’ve been letting a bunch of greens grow out to stockpile a fresh salad, hence tonight’s bountiful harvest. I’m holding off on a few miscellaneous veggies for a sampling harvest tomorrow that should contain one pea pod, 3 tomatoes, and an assortment of herbs. Tomorrow, I’ll also update the inventory list and leave a few (optional) recommendations to 291! Last but not least, I forgot to report on yesterday’s music choice ☹ Despite previous trends with disaster, I let out some more rap but this time a bit newer with a curated rotation of Mac Miller. Today, the plants got a pretty wide range of tunes, most notably the long-awaited Dave Matthews Band #41 Live in Rio. I think it’s quite obvious, but everyone in the greenhouse enjoyed that one.

Harvest: 13 grams Cilantro, 47 grams Kale, 47 grams Red Cabbage, 32 grams Arugula, 20 grams Lettuce

Support/supplies needed: None!

Crew 290 GreenHab Report 14-01-2024 (Sol 7)

Greenhab Officer: Ben Kazimer

Heater cycled throughout day due to warm weather but is currently on, fan off, door closed

Average temperatures: 0925: 77.4⁰F, 25%, 1648: 63.5⁰F, 28%

Hours of supplemental light: 4.5 (4 overnight and ½ from watering after sunset)

Daily water usage for crops: 7 gallons

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: None!

Water in Blue Tank 151.05 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops:

0925: 5 gallons watering, ½ gallon misting, 1257: ¼ gallon misting, 1648: ¼ gallon misting, 1833: 1 gallon watering

Changes to crops: rearranged tomatoes and cucumbers for more separation on main planter table, also trimmed their leaves

Narrative:

Woahhhhhhh we’re halfway there! While the plants did not listen to any Bon Jovi this sol, Crew 290 is halfway through our rotation. The plants seemed a bit melancholic with stressed leaves, but the fruit looked great so I’m chalking that up to yestersols dosage of Rat Pack (+ Louis Prima) vocals. To remedy the leaves, the cucumbers and tomatoes did another Martian shuffle today, this time to increase separation between pots as branches and leaves were getting a little too close for everyone’s comfort. This did come with the price of my observation bench as I needed more planter real estate, but I am willing to make such sacrifices for the increased health of these plants. During the afternoon check-in, I noticed Tomato No.4 is really excelling after previous struggles! They are the Sol 7 rising star, winning the title “Comeback Kid”. I also made sure all the herbs were staying in their designated growing regions and did my best to reduce any physical altercations. Finally, I added a little compost to Riya’s spinach, mint, and onion to encourage growth (the onions are doing great!).

Harvest: None :/

Support/supplies needed: None!

Crew 290 GreenHab Report 10-01-2024 (Sol 3)

Greenhab Officer: Ben Kazimer, Callsign “Funk”

Heater on, fan off, door closed

Average temperatures: 0955: 61.2⁰F & 22%, 1222: 77.2⁰F & 22%, 1721: 69.6⁰F & 51%

Hours of supplemental light: Nominal 4 hours overnight

Daily water usage for crops: 5 gallons

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 0.5 gallons

Water in Blue Tank 176.3 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 1133: 3 gallon watering and 32 oz misting, 1705: 1 gallon watering and 32 oz misting

Changes to crops: pruned some dead flowers off the cucumbers in the large blue planter. Added two Earth-based potato chunks on toothpicks to beakers with water to promote sprouting.

Narrative:

I was able to spend a good amount of time in the greenhab today, it was fantastic! I checked in at 0955 to see a relatively cold environment of 61.2⁰F. I had a chat with Mission Support on nominal greenhab status, to which he sent me some words of wisdom from Crew 289’s GHO (Thanks Riya 😊). Going forward, I’m going to mist the green guys a few times while maintaining 3-5 gallons of direct watering. For most of the morning, Engineer Anna and I measured soil salinity levels of many plants to have as reference for any future changes (fertilizer, repotting, etc.). We were able to setup a makeshift laboratory in the greenhab with my plant-viewing benches and it worked quite well! I even found a tiny pot full of unused potting soil that I plan to use for Earth-grown potato sproutings. I suspended two potato chunks for sprouting over separate beakers full of water, fingers crossed we see some roots! Last note is the now regular music rundown of the day: I downloaded the highlight release of Live in Europe ’72 from the GD and I certainly enjoyed it so hopefully the plants did too. I was apprehensive to expose our crops to rap music, but I felt like a little switch up during the pre-dinner checkup wouldn’t hurt… Sol 4 will tell us all if the greenhouse inhabitants are welcoming of OVO music.

Harvest: N/A

Support/supplies needed: None!

Crew 290 GreenHab Report 11-01-2024 (Sol 4)

Greenhab Officer: Ben Kazimer

Heater on (Shifted to 70⁰F, fan off, door closed

Average temperatures: 0748: 62.2⁰F, 19%, Sensor then moved to middle of greenhab away from door, 1410: 86.7⁰F 15%, 1703: 71.2⁰F, 19%

Hours of supplemental light: Nominal 4 hours overnight

Daily water usage for crops: 6.5 gallons

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 1.2 gallons

Water in Blue Tank 168.6 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops:

1/10 2211: ½ gallon misting;

Today’s watering0929: 4.5 gallons with 4 tablespoons fertilizer, ½ gallon misting, 1410: ¾ gallon misting, 1658: ¼ gallon misting

Changes to crops: Trimmed flowering pieces of dill, cleaned up dead leaves from tomatoes and cucumbers. Big harvest! Details below.

Narrative:

Last night after comms closed, I checked on the greenhab as the automatic lights didn’t click on. Now I don’t easily scare, but walking through the abyss (pressurized tunnels) from the hab to greenhouse at 2230 in whipping winds and no light, I was on edge. Mission support helped me troubleshoot the lights and cleared me to rev the heater up to max power. Doing this slightly worried me but I was more worried about the cold shocking the crops than overheating causing a bit drier environment. To that end, I checked in on our green neighbors at 0748 today and was greeted by many happy faces! Everyone got a good fertilizing and misting, along with some trimmings and a massive harvest. The crew is currently grazing on the deconstructed salad as we write up reports and all three greens are getting great reviews; the arugula has to be the spiciest and most flavorful I’ve ever had! Operationally, Roots (Anna) hung out in the greenhab for a bit while I harvested and trimmed, starting up a fun clay experiment in the warm environment. When I stopped by the greenhab at 1410 right before science training, I read out a tepid 87⁰F. This prompted me to set the heater to a Goldilocks 70⁰F. I’m still struggling to keep the humidity up despite 3-4 mistings a day, so I’m considering bringing our hab humidifier to the greenhab to see if it makes a significant difference. The rest of the crew may revolt against this as the humidifier is the only remedy we have to perpetual bloody noses. Updates tomorrow will follow on whether or not I am mutinied and thrown out the airlock. Music update: Fred again… great dance party with my captive audience of plants.

Harvest: 80 grams Red Cabbage, 56 grams Kale, 19 grams Arugula

Support/supplies needed: None!

Crew 290 GreenHab Report 12-01-2024 (Sol 5)

Greenhab Officer: Ben Kazimer

Heater on (Shifted to 65⁰F), fan off, door closed

Average temperatures: 0845: 70.7⁰F, 15%, 1158: 86.7⁰F, 10%, 1655: 68.7⁰F, 44%

Hours of supplemental light: Nominal 4 hours overnight

Daily water usage for crops: 5.25 gallons

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: None!

Water in Blue Tank 163.3 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops:

0845: 3 gallons watering, ¾ gallon misting, 1158: ½ gallon misting, 1639: ½ gallon watering, ½ gal misting

Changes to crops: Rearranged positioning of tomatoes and moved them slightly away from the greenhab wall. Pruned all stressed/discoloring leaves on tomatoes and cucumbers

Narrative:

Today was a good sol in the world of the greenhouse. The plants got a healthy dose of water for breakfast and several mistings throughout the day. I noticed the tomatoes on the back of the main platform, closest to the outside wall, were slightly wilting and looking rather somber. I took matters into my own hands (even though I guess they’re the only hands available) and rearranged the positioning of all the tomato plants, to be further away from the wall and swapped the arrangement to alternate who’s getting the cold side of the bed (Tomato No. 9 stayed put mainly as I didn’t want to interrupt his flow and partially due to favorite child actions). If it’s not the cold, it could also be over exposure to the sun as they are closely in line with the sun’s trajectory. While the plants were doing the Martian Shuffle, I also trimmed off all the dead leaves. They received a good diversity of sonic vibrations today, the highlight being a double dose of Billy Strings! In preparation for the long-awaited Chana Aloo dinner, I was able to harvest some fresh cilantro for garnish. I clipped the herbs radially working inward as to prevent overlap with other herbs in the garden, the neighboring kale and dill appreciated this. I’m not sure if it’s because our Martian kitchen is devoid of fresh spices, but this cilantro tasted just as great as the arugula did yestersol. The rest of the crew shared this sentiment as the curry with garnish was a hit!

Harvest: 29 grams cilantro

Support/supplies needed: Just food for thought in terms of future greenhab upgrades, an automatic misting system or at least electrically driven handheld device would be great! It is tedious to deliver the misting (for managing humidity levels) with a spray bottle, but still manageable. Also, an upgrade to the environmental sensor would make a big difference, for more accurate data and possibly even a timelog. Knowing what’s going on overnight would be great!

Crew 290 GreenHab Report 13-01-2024 (Sol 6)

Greenhab Officer: Ben Kazimer

Heater on, fan off, door closed

Average temperatures: 0925: 71.2⁰F, 17%, 1729: 75.4⁰F, 20%

Hours of supplemental light: 4.5 (4 overnight and ½ from misting after sunset)

Daily water usage for crops: 5.25 gallons

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: None!

Water in Blue Tank 158.05 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops:

0925: 3 gallons watering, ½ gallon misting, 1729: 1.5 gallon watering, ¼ gal misting

Changes to crops: Harvested a fair bit a greens for salad tonight, paid extra attention to moisture levels in tomato plant soil

Narrative:

Today was a bit lighter on Greenhab operations due to preparing, executing, and unloading from a 4-hour EVA to Candor Chasma (see other crew member reports for details!) I was still able to get all the watering and misting in, and I even swapped the environmental sensors between the Science Dome and Greenhab. Chopper had been harboring a more capable sensor that displays the current status, as well as the 24-hour max and min reading, so I took that and gave her my plain sensor. I cleaned up some dead pieces of plant throughout the growing areas and made sure that all sprouting plants were not choking out their neighbors (the pea shoots put up a good fight against the cilantro). In Tomatoes news, Tomato number 4 now has 2 yellowing fruit! I’m hopeful Crew 290 will experience some ripe tomatoes by the end of our mission (291 is going to have enough to make a whole pot of Sunday sauce!). Tomorrow is our rest day so I’m looking forward to spending some time going through all the plants in detail to trim unhealthy branches and rearrange crops as needed. Lastly, if you have ever wondered how a plant’s growth rate would respond to about half an hour of Louis Prima, Dean Martin, and Frank Sinatra, then tune into my sol 7 report!

Harvest: 73 g Kale, 51 g Red Cabbage, 11 g Parsley

Support/supplies needed: Another idea for future greenhouse upgrades, a nice stereo system with surround sound would be cool. The plants seem to love the music as much as I do 😊

Crew 290 GreenHab Report: 08 Jan 2024 (Sol 1)

GreenHab Officer: Ben Kazimer

Environmental control: Heater on, fan off, door closed

Average temperatures: 80.1⁰F at 14:40, 65.3⁰F at 16:35

Hours of supplemental light: Nominal 4 hours at night

Daily water usage for crops: 5.19 gallons

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 0

Water in Blue Tank:188.8 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 14:40 water and mist, 16:28 misting

Changes to crops: none

Narrative: First day of official greenhab operations was great! I checked on the plants while EVA #01 took place and discovered the dual use of the greenhouse as a personal sauna. The building cooled as I watered the plants but with all my layers still on from training, it got toasty. Tomato plants are doing great: all are flowering and most are showing small fruits (plant number 9 is the all-star with the biggest fruit so far, and all others were green with envy). The herb planter is happy and healthy, hoping to harvest dill tomorrow and basil later in the week. In that vein, I’m brainstorming farm-to-table recipes with the crew for potential harvests! The only plants underperforming are the cucumbers in the back corner planter :/ I checked the soil with the moisture meter, provided supplemental water where necessary, and heavily misted them. These troublemakers are the main reason for my second trip to the greenhouse later in the afternoon, where I found they had maintained their look of saggy sorrow. I provided more mist and even held a music therapy session: Good Lovin’ by the Grateful Dead (Live at MSG, 3/9/81). If problems persist, I may prescribe some botanical songs from that set such as China Cat Sunflower or Ramble on Rose.

Harvest: None

Support/supplies needed: Additional botany guidance for troubleshooting the cukes and general knowledge (I will consult internal MDRS knowledge found in the textbooks from the Science Dome). Also, potting soil if ever possible for future plantings 😊

Crew 290 GreenHab Report 09-01-2024 (Sol 2)

Greenhab Officer: Ben Kazimer

Heater on, fan off, door closed

Average temperatures: 1136: 76⁰F & 15%, 1743: 65.8⁰F & 27%

Hours of supplemental light: Nominal 4 hours overnight

Daily water usage for crops: 7 gal

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 2 gal

Water in Blue Tank 181.8 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 1136, watering and misting

Changes to crops: pruned some dead flowers off the cucumbers in the large blue planter. Harvested some dill from herb garden

Narrative:

Today was wicked busy as the first full sol of simulation, so I didn’t get to check out the greenhouse until around 1130. The heat inside wasn’t as abrasive as yesterday, and it was actually welcome after the EVA. I first noticed some yellow leaves on the tomatoes and that a few flowers were starting to wilt, so after my usual watering level I checked the soil with the moisture meter. A relatively low reading encouraged me to add extra water to the colony of stalks, where I was happy to see they all looked happy and healthy during the 1743 check. Tomato plant No. 4 is this sol’s rising star with the most and healthiest looking flowers, with Tomato plant No. 9 holding the MVP slot. The cucumber leaves still looked rough, but the flowers seemed a bit more vibrant. I pruned off a couple of the wilted dead flowers and gave a double dose of GD music therapy. I was originally only planning for China Cat Sunflower but the transition into I Know Your Rider was too good to turn off (still from 3/9/81 show at MSG). While that played, I harvested a good bit of dill (23 grams!) from the herb garden with the Greenhab scissors. I’m hopeful for basil, cilantro, and potentially lettuce harvests by the end of this week, and maybe even some tomatoes by the end of the mission! Supplemental Note: The crew engineer tested the water supply I provided to the Science Dome and found the salinity registered at 0.4. A reference guide stated plants should receive water at least above 0.5, so this could be the reason the cucumbers are struggling. We will continue investigating this issue and its possible connection to the cukes.

Harvest: 23 grams of Dill

Support/supplies needed: None!

Crew 289 GreenHab Report : 5-1-2024 (Sol 12) 🕺🌳🌱🌷🌽🌼😋🌈🦋
GreenHab Officer: Riya Raj
Environmental Control: Heater on, fan off, door closed.
MORNING
Average Temperatures:
Avg Temp – 11:58 pm (80.6 °F)
Relative Humidity – 26 %
**After Watering:
Avg Temp – 1:20 pm (78.6 °F)
Relative Humidity – 57%
Used 3 gallons and 32 oz while the humidity was higher like yesterday.
AFTERNOON
Avg Temp – 5:04 pm (68.7°F)
Relative Humidity – 29 %
**After Watering:
Avg Temp – 5:10 pm (70.7°F)
Relative Humidity – 59%
Used 2 gallons and 22 oz to water all the plants (includes more misting)
Hour of supplemental light: 10pm-2am (4 hours)
Daily water usage for crops: Sol 12 – 5.3 gallons
Water in Blue Tank (200-gallon capacity): 141.32 gallons
Times of Watering for Crops: Sol 12 – 1:20 pm & 5:10 pm
Changes to Crops: no changes!
Narrative:
Sol 12:
I was a little sad that today would be my last full day with the plants. It’s safe to say that I grew attached to them, especially the cute little baby tomatoes! I love all the plants equally, so I made sure to set them all comfortable for the next GreenHab Officer! The humidity once again was slightly higher than normal and that made them happy too! I also saw 4 MORE baby tomatoes so now there should be 26 baby tomatoes!! ^-^ 🍅The replanted broccoli and radish plants are doing well since they are now enjoying their new bigger pot! I am little concerned about the carrot plants, but the roots should be growing stronger over the next few weeks! 🥕💪 The mint, spinach, and onions should also be sprouting soon hehe!
Eshaana also took her mini farm down today and we wanted to let her baby kale and C4 grass live on! We set the kale in the front next to the cucumbers and the C4 grass on the back shelf! One thing I would mention is that since the humidity is usually low, regularly misting the hab really helps the plants get stronger! Plants are super awesome so they should be treated with all the happy sprinkles! The hab is also properly organized with all tools and equipment set in place! The inventory list should also be up to date! I hope to see the little plants grow into big bois!
Sol 12 Harvest: None
Support/supplies needed: None – thank you Sergii for all the help! 🙂