Category: Greenhab Report

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! 🙂

GreenHab Officer: Riya Raj
Environmental Control: Heater on, fan off, door closed.
MORNING
Average Temperatures:
Avg Temp – 10:40 am (67 °F)
Relative Humidity – 13 %
**After Watering:
Avg Temp – 10:45 am (63.2°F)
Relative Humidity – 54%
Used 3 to water all the plants (includes misting amount)
Used less water today since it was very cloudy!
AFTERNOON
Avg Temp – 4:39 pm (68F)
Relative Humidity – 14%
**After Watering:
Avg Temp – 5:12 pm (64°F)
Relative Humidity – 50%
Used 2 gallons to water all the plants (includes more misting)
Hour of supplemental light: 10pm-2am (4 hours)
Daily water usage for crops: Sol 10 – 5.3 gallons
Water in Blue Tank (200-gallon capacity): 152.02 gallons
Times of Watering for Crops: Sol 10 – 10:45am & 5:12pm
Changes to Crops: added more stakes to the cucumber plants since they are getting taller day by day! I also harvested a bunch of cilantro leaves!
Narrative:
Sol 10:
Today was a very CRISPY day! I bet all the plants were enjoying it since they were all perked up every time I went into the greenhouse. We also now have 17 BABY TOMATOES!! I hope that the tomatoes can be harvested by the time the next GHO comes by and the next crew can enjoy some yummy produce! Sara taught me how to add a tomato cage for the plant that is nearby the wall. This will help the leaves and stems be supported while they get taller!
I took care of the overgrown cress that was taking over the red cabbage and parsley! THE PLANT WAS DETERMINED TO RULE THE WORLD! But it was defeated by the legendary Mr. Plant Scissors! The cress was spicy and angry, but it is now chilling in another pot hehehe. Eshaana’s mini farm now has 1 SINGULAR GRASS BLADE LOLZ, but all her plants are doing great though. The spinach, onion, and mint seeds haven’t sprouted anything, so I guess they are taking their sweet time I finally ended the day with some misting on the plants and harvesting of the cilantro leaves that we will use for our fried rice tonight! My LiDAR scans for greenhouse are currently processing so we will see how it looks. The inventory list will be hung up on the giant tank so that people can see what is already planted!
Sol 10 Harvest:
Cilantro: 16 grams
Support/supplies needed: More happies for the tomato plants

Crew 289 GreenHab Report : 2-1-2024 (Sol 9)
GreenHab Officer: Riya Raj
Environmental Control: Heater on, fan off, door closed.
MORNING
Average Temperatures:
Avg Temp – 9:53 am (70.3 °F)
Relative Humidity – 13 %
**After Watering:
Avg Temp – 10:17 am (66.6°F)
Relative Humidity – 80%
Used 4 gallons & 30 oz to water all the plants (includes misting amount)
AFTERNOON
Avg Temp – 4:13 pm (88.6°F)
Relative Humidity – 10%
**After Watering:
Avg Temp – 4:45 pm (79°F)
Relative Humidity – 54%
Used 2 gallons & 17 oz to water all the plants (includes more misting)
(Turned on fan for 3 min & 30 seconds)
Hour of supplemental light: 10pm-2am (4 hours)
Daily water usage for crops: Sol 9 – 6.1 gallons
Water in Blue Tank (200-gallon capacity): 157.32 gallons
Times of Watering for Crops: Sol 9 – 10:17am & 4:45pm
Changes to Crops: poked more holes in the cling wrap for the spinach, onions, and mint plants. Screamed about new baby tomato plants
Narrative:
Sol 9:
WE NOW HAVE 11 BABY TOMATOES!!! THEY ARE ADORABLE TEENY GREEN BUNDLES OF HAPPY! Today’s weather is better than usual and the reflector that I put on behind the tomatoes is working great for them. Too much sunlight was also hurting them, so they have been getting partial shade and partial sun! The best way to take care of plants is to treat them like princesses! I make sure to give them words of encouragement and happy sprinkles.
Eshaana also set up her camera for her mini farm! The tiny little kales look so cute! Her camera was acting a little weird, so she used Sara’s GoPro to help track the sunshade from sunrise to sunset! We are hoping to do a LiDAR scan for that and the greenhab! We can make some rearrangements in the greenhab with a CAD model to optimize water usage and space! The inventory sheet is also almost done!
Sol 9 Harvest:
Cilantro: 2 grams
Support/supplies needed: Provide all the happies for baby tomatoes! (^-^)

Crew 289 GreenHab Report : 1-1-2024 (Sol 9)
GreenHab Officer: Riya Raj
Environmental Control: Heater on, fan off, door closed.
MORNING
Average Temperatures:
Avg Temp – 9:55 am (69.8 °F)
Relative Humidity – 14 %
**After Watering:
Avg Temp – 10:15 am (69.4°F)
Relative Humidity – 43%
Used 3 ½ gallon & 14 oz to water all the plants (includes misting amount)
AFTERNOON
Avg Temp – 4:30 pm (70 °F)
Relative Humidity – 13%
**After Watering:
Avg Temp – 4:45 pm (68°F)
Relative Humidity – 43%
Used 2.1 gallons & 16 oz to water all the plants (includes more misting)
Hour of supplemental light: 10pm-2am (4 hours)
Daily water usage for crops: Sol 9 – 5.93 gallons
(includes 28 oz of sprayed mist at 10:30 pm on 12/31)
Water in Blue Tank (200-gallon capacity): 163.42 gallons
Times of Watering for Crops: Sol 9 – 10:15 am & 4:45 pm
Changes to Crops: planted some onion seeds and added fertilizer to the spinach and mint plants – hopefully they can start sprouting soon. Changed compost and extra soil pots to keep things organized.
Narrative:
Sol 9:
Today was a little warmer than the day before so I watered all the plants before our 12pm EVA. The humidity was low as usual, but the misting makes it warm and moist. The cucumber plants are doing better with the elevated stakes since they are getting more sunlight. I also checked on Eshaan’s mini solar farm and there are more baby kale sprouts! I’m glad to see her setup working!
I am little worried about the spinach and mint that I planted a few days ago. I added some organic fertilizer to both of those plants to give it more nutrients. The cling wrap is also still on there since the pots are closer to the edge near the higher sunlight concentration. I was able to properly harvest the kale and lettuce for our dinner plans that we have. I still have no idea what we are making lolz. The inventory list is almost done and I will put that in the greenhab soon.
Sol 9 Harvest:
Lettuce: 13 grams
Kale: 53 grams
Support/supplies needed: More potting soil please? Maybe like a tiny bag, doesn’t have to be too big!

GreenHab Officer: Riya Raj
Environmental Control: Heater on, fan off, door closed.
MORNING
Average Temperatures:
Avg Temp – 11:20 am (86 °F)
Relative Humidity – 10 %
AFTERNOON
Avg Temp – 1:35 pm (93.9°F)
Relative Humidity – 10%
Turned on the fan for 20 minutes to cool plants
**After Watering:
Avg Temp – 2:30 pm (73.1°F)
Relative Humidity – 42%
Used 2 gallons to water all the plants (includes more misting)
Hour of supplemental light: 10pm-2am (4 hours)
Daily water usage for crops: Sol 7 – 5.5 gallons
Water in Blue Tank (200-gallon capacity): 169.35 gallons
Times of Watering for Crops: Sol 7 – 2:30 pm
Changes to Crops: added extra stakes for the cucumber plants since they are wildly growing!
Narrative:
Sol 7:
I took off the cling wrap from the carrot plants since they were growing fungus – but this is a good sign! The moisture retained! The stems of the plant got stronger, and I am hoping that the roots are now properly established. I left two more wraps on it to keep the water dripping in the soil. The cucumber plants are also becoming stronger and stronger everyday, so I tied more water to hold the taller vines. Today was also weirdly hot so I turned on the large fan to cool the plants down and make them stand up again! Eshaana also checked on her mini solar farm and now there are about 10 tiny little kales, and the C4 Bermuda grass has broken through the top layer of the soil. So many cute baby plants!
Sol 7 Harvest: None
Support/supplies needed: None