Category: Greenhab Report

Crew 222 GreenHab Report – 16/02/2020

GreenHab Officer : Bleuenn ROIRON

Environmental control : Ambient with door open

Average temperatures: 22°C

Hours of supplemental light: NA

Daily water usage for crops: 11,6 Gallons

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 5 gallons

Water in blue Tank: 138,4 gallons

Time(s) of watering crops: 2

Changes to crops: NA

Narrative: Today, I watered plants before my first EVA and then asked to our journalist to take care of the greenhab,
This afternoon I went there to start my spiruline experiment, first i prepared the aquariums with the right components
and then I looked after plants. Nina, our crew scientist planted her plants(swiss chard, raddish, spinach, peas) that will be next planted in our culture
tower and we planted our first flower(zinnia) to add some colors in our simulation! Finally, tonight after having watered plants again I did injected spirulina in
the aquariums and my first experiment have started. I also harvested some aromatic herbs to cook tonight and make
our meals be more tasty!

Harvest: 5g lemon balm/ 4g basil/ 5g chives

Support/supplies needed: don’t have the real amount of water in the blue tank since i don’t know the real amount
that were in this tank at the beginning.

Crew 222 GreenHab Report – 16/02/2020

GreenHab Officer: Bleuenn ROIRON

Today, Greenhab was operated by the station director

Environmental control: NA

Average temperatures: NA

Hours of supplemental light: NA

Daily water usage for crops: NA

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

Water in blue Tank: 150 Gallons

Time(s) of watering crops: 2

Changes to crops: Tomato plants were separated in different pots

Narrative: Today, Greenhab was operated by the station director

Harvest: 200g of spinach

Support/supplies needed: more water in the blue tank

Crew 221 GreenHab Report 15FEB2020

GreenHab Officer: Jessica Todd

Environmental control: Heating. GreenHab door shade cloth (40%) (30%) on. Door opened today from 10:30 am to 3:48 pm.

Average temperatures: 18.25°C

Hours of supplemental light: 19:30 to 00:00

Daily water usage for crops: 16.4 gallons

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

Water in Blue Tank: empty (using static tank), being refilled tomorrow

Time(s) of watering for crops: 2

Changes to crops: The cucumber plant has a new cucumber, ready for harvesting in a few days. Harvested all the spinach chard, rocket and spinach from the grey pot by the door and reseeded. Harvested all icicle radish and reseeded with fresh radish. Should sprout in the next 2-3 weeks.

Narrative: This is my last report as GreenHab officer for Crew 221. It’s been a wonderful experience being entrusted with the care of these plants for the last two weeks. I don’t consider myself much of a gardener, but I’ve developed a real love for watching plants grow and harvesting my own greens from a garden I’ve helped to keep alive in the harsh environment of Mars! In preparation for the arrival of crew 222, today was GreenHab clean up! The whole GreenHab was swept and cleaned, all plants watered, and the remnants of our mungbeans and corn experiments packed up. Shannon came by and we discussed some final harvesting, so for the next few hours I harvested a huge pot of greens and a planter of radishes, and replanted them all. I went through and relabeled a few of the pots, including the chamomile and mint I planted a few days ago (enjoy some lovely fresh brew tea Crew 222!). This evening it was time for my final watering of the GreenHab. I introduced Crew 222’s GreenHab Officer Bleuenn to the ways of the GreenHab and tried to impart as much Mark Watney knowledge as I could. I hope she finds the job as rewarding as I have! Good luck my little Martian botany friends, you’re in safe hands xx

Harvest: 60g chard, 12g rocket, 26g radish greens.

Support/supplies needed: NA

Other Notes: The bottom row of pots on the central shelves behind the benches have not sprouted in two weeks and I can’t find any evidence of roots/shoots/seeds. I cleaned out the pots, removed the labls, and left the soil there for replanting. The GreenHab tank was empty this morning, so on Shannon’s instructions we used water from the tap outside the GreenHab that is fed by the static tank. Crew 222 started refilling the GreenHab tank today so hopefully tomorrow they will start their sim with a full 300 gallon tank.

Crew 221 GreenHab Report 14FEB2020

GreenHab Officer: Jessica Todd

Environmental control: Heating. GreenHab door shade cloth (40%) (30%) on. Door opened today from 10:14 pm to 2:22 pm.

Average temperatures: 19.25°C

Hours of supplemental light: 19:30 to 00:00

Daily water usage for crops: 8.45 gallons

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 1.32 gallon

Water in Blue Tank: 142.5 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 1

Changes to crops: We harvested our corn today!

Narrative: Today was our last day in sim and my last official mission day as the GreenHab officer so it was time to see how our crops had done! Sadly our mungbeans have still not sprouted, but our corn grew even better than we expected! Amazingly, we got between 5 and 7 g of corn grown from Martian or Martian/Earth soil, and 86g of corn grown in Earth soil in just over a week! So a lesson for Mark Watney, next time grow corn, not potatoes!

Harvest: 7g spinach chard, 9g wild rocket, 2g corriander.

Support/supplies needed: NA

Other Notes: Same as yesterday: Can I clarify; the tap I can use is the big antique looking one at the tunnel entrance to the GreenHab with the big orange tape that says “do not use”? Also, Shannon, you would like me to pick all the plants in the two tier grey pot by the door (i.e. the chard, spinach and rocket on the top, and the sprouting spinach on the bottom) or just the top pot?

Crew 221 GreenHab Report 13FEB2020

GreenHab Officer: Jessica Todd

Environmental control: Heating. GreenHab door shade cloth (40%) (30%) on. The door opened today from 10:14 pm to 2:22 pm.

Average temperatures: 18°C

Hours of supplemental light: 19:30 to 00:00

Daily water usage for crops: 16.51 gallons

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 0.52 gallon

Water in Blue Tank: 152.3 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 2

Changes to crops: I repotted the avocado into a larger pot with fresh soil and perlite and removed the prickly weed. Didn’t water the narcissus, so the pots can dry out.

Narrative: Today was a garden maintenance day. I repotted the avocado (which is doing surprisingly well!) into a much larger pot and removed the horrid prickly weed that was growing around it. I added some perlite to a few of the newly potted plants and tidied up the radish and carrot beds. Fresh carrots for dinner, yum!

More news on the Martian corn, it’s now growing out of all but 1 Martian pot (apparently Martian clay isn’t ideal for corn growing), even a little resilient sprout out of clay mixed with earth soil.

Our mungbeans are trying to sprout, but I don’t think the Martian climate is agreeing with them. We also harvested some of the older greens, in preparation for working on those plant beds tomorrow.

Harvest: 26g Chard, 7g Rocket, 8g Spinach, 42g Carrots, 12g Lettuce.

Support/supplies needed: NA

Other Notes: Can I clarify; the tap I can use is the big antique looking one at the tunnel entrance to the GreenHab with the big orange tape that says “do not use”? Also, Shannon, you would like me to pick all the plants in the two-tier grey pot by the door (i.e. the chard, spinach and rocket on the top, and the sprouting spinach on the bottom) or just the top pot?

Crew 221 GreenHab Report 12FEB2020

GreenHab Officer: Jessica Todd

Environmental control: Heating. GreenHab door shade cloth (40%) (30%) on. Door opened today from 1:20 pm to 5:20 pm.

Average temperatures: 26°C

Hours of supplemental light: 19:30 to 00:00

Daily water usage for crops: 8.98 gallons

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 0.53 gallon

Water in Blue Tank: 169.3 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 1

Changes to crops: We planted some fresh lettuce, chamomile and mint! A new cucumber is growing on one of the plants. Also, the avocado seed has sprouted but there’s a prickly leafy plant also growing in the pot. Do I have permission to remove it? It’s definitely not avocado.

Narrative: Today we planted some more lettuce, since we’ve harvested quite a bit this mission. We also planted some chamomile and mint so the next crew can make some lovely fresh tea! Our corn is growing nicely, we now have corn growing out of purely Martian soil. Unfortunately no progress for our mungbeans, apparently they don’t like Mars.

Harvest: 21g Rosemary, 26g Butter lettuce, 2g Oregano, 1g Basil, 2g Chives.

Support/supplies needed: NA

Other Notes: Still a bit worried about the water level in the GreenHab tank (see previous GreenHab report). Please advise.

Crew 221 GreenHab Report 11FEB2020

GreenHab Officer: Jessica Todd

Environmental control: Heating. GreenHab door shade cloth (40%) (30%) on. Door opened today from 12:15 pm to 4:06 pm.

Average temperatures: 22°C

Hours of supplemental light: 19:30 to 00:00

Daily water usage for crops: 15.85 gallons

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 0.53 gallon

Water in Blue Tank: 178.8 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 2

Changes to crops: We have a cucumber! The zucchinis and cucumbers are flowering, and the strawberry plant has begun growing a strawberry. The tips of the narcissus are incredibly dry and browning. They have been watered regularly so I’m concerned the heater is drying them out. Should we move them to a lower level?

Narrative: Today was exciting as we harvested quite a bit from the GreenHab on Shannon’s recommendation for tonight’s dinner. Rosemary potatoes and salad! We are feasting like kings! The plants were watered this morning and this evening, and excitingly one of our Blue corn plants in Martian soil has begun to sprout. That’s right; Crew 221 has officially grown crops on Mars.

Harvest: 71g Cucumber, 20g lettuce, 6g butter lettuce, 14g onions, 4g rosemary.

Support/supplies needed: NA

Other Notes: Myself and the Crew Engineer noticed the water level in the GreenHab tank is much lower than expected. The water has just dropped below the level of the upper tap, meaning it is around 1/3 full (~100 gallons). We have been basing our water amount each day on subtracting the amount used every day from a full tank at the start of Sol 0. Due to the busy schedule of Crew 220, and the repairs being done by David and Atila, Crew 221 did not complete all the water refilling of the station prior to the start of our mission, and the GreenHab tank had to be refilled by Atila on Sol 1. We were told the GreenHab tank was filled to full (300 gallons), however we have kept a careful record of our water usage, and while our numbers tell us we should have 178.8 gallons, this is clearly not the case. We should have sufficient water in the GreenHab to get us to the end of our mission, however it will be cutting it close.

Crew 221 GreenHab Report 10FEB2020

GreenHab Officer: Jessica Todd

Environmental control: Heating. GreenHab door shade cloth (40%) (30%) on. Door opened today from 1:15 am to 4:25 pm.

Average temperatures: 21.5°C

Hours of supplemental light: 19:30 to 00:00

Daily water usage for crops: 15.85 gallons

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 0.52 gallon

Water in Blue Tank: 195.2 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 2

Changes to crops: Same as yesterday: Pumpkin plants are flowering nicely. There are a number of soil-filled pots on the bottom level of the central shelf. They are labeled as bell peppers but in one week of monitoring I’ve seen no sprouting. I don’t think there are any plants in these pots.

Narrative: Once again it was a pretty hot day in the GreenHab so we opened the door for a few hours. Morning watering was uneventful; all the plants are doing well. Our Mars corn is starting to sprout (yay!), still waiting on our mungbeans. We harvested some yummy chard spinach and chives for our quinoa salad (finally getting some greens!).

Harvest: 9g Chard Spinach, 10g Rocket, 2g Chives, 3g Corriander

Support/supplies needed: NA

Other Notes: NA

Crew 221 GreenHab Report 09FEB2020

GreenHab Officer: Jessica Todd

Environmental control: Heating. GreenHab door shade cloth (40%) (30%) on. Door opened today from 1:05 pm to 4:25 pm.

Average temperatures: 18.33°C

Hours of supplemental light: 19:30 to 00:00

Daily water usage for crops: 14.7 gallons

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 1 gallon

Water in Blue Tank: 211.6 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 2

Changes to crops: Pumpkin plants are flowering nicely. There are a number of soil-filled pots on the bottom level of the central shelf. They are labeled as bell peppers but in one week of monitoring I’ve seen no sprouting. I don’t think there are any plants in these pots.

Narrative: Watered the plants this morning at 9:43am. Today was a little colder so we kept the GreenHab toasty this morning and opened the door for a few hours around lunch. We had omelettes for breakfast so harvested some lovely spinach and rocket to get some greenery! Our mungbeans and blue corn have yet to sprout but will continue to monitor.

Harvest: 9g Chard Spinach, 3g Spinach Lakeside, 6g Rocket

Support/supplies needed: NA

Other Notes: NA

Crew 221 GreenHab Report 08FEB2020

GreenHab Officer: Jessica Todd

Environmental control: Heating. GreenHab door shade cloth (40%) (30%) on. Door opened today for four hours from 2:45 pm to 6:52 pm due to very warm weather.

Average temperatures: 24.33°C

Hours of supplemental light: 19:30 to 00:00

Daily water usage for crops: 14.7 gallons

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 1 gallon

Water in Blue Tank: 227.3 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 2

Changes to crops: One of our succulents has died (picture attached). I managed to rescue three out of five, waiting on one, but sadly the other one is completely dead. Rest of the GreenHab looks really healthy, including the tomatoes. Ginger plant going strong and we have some new bell peppers and lettuce sprouting!

Narrative: Morning watering was a little late today due to the early EVA, but plants all look really healthy. Commander Maria and I set up a new experiment in the GreenHab, attempting to grow mungbeans in different ratios of Earth and Martian soil. We have several beds of mungbeans growing in 100% Earth Soil, 100% Martian Soil, 50%/50% Martian/Earth Soil and 70%/30% Martian/Earth soil. We will be monitoring the soil pH and nutrients to see if the Earth soil can populate the Martian soil with some healthy bacteria (Mark Watney style!). Evening watering was uneventful, all the plants save the succulent look pretty healthy. We should be ok to harvest herbs again tomorrow.

Harvest: NA

Support/supplies needed: NA

Other Notes: Sprayed one of the lettuce plants with pesticide. The bugs seemed to have fled the sprayed herbs and onto the lettuce. The lettuce plants in the hanging Ikea pots are having trouble with over-moist soil, as the pots have no drainage. Am I able to mix some perlite in with them to help absorb up the water? Also should I fertilize the plants at all while I’m here?