Category: Sol Summary

Sol: 2

Summary Title: “Getting acquainted with Mars”

Author’s name: Enkhtuvshin “Dono” Doyodkhuu

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary:

Morning Routine:

· The crew woke up at 8:00 AM with Davaa and Sunny designated for today’s duties of cooking and cleaning. This follows yesterday’s responsibilities handled by Muggi and Duluu, while Dono and Tungaa will take over tomorrow.

· Breakfast featured a traditional Mongolian milk rice.

EVA #1:

· Preparation for the first EVA began at 9:30 AM for a 10:00 AM start, led by Dono.

· Muggi and Tungaa operated the rovers to Marble Ritual, where they added rocks to the three poles and went on to explore the surrounding area of foot.

· CAPCOMM was led by Davaan from the Science Dome, who noted the battery usage and distance travelled.

· The team returned promptly at 11:00 AM for a debriefing.

Meals:

· Lunch consisted of fried meat with potatoes, carrots, and mushrooms, accompanied by a fresh salad from our greenhab’s harvest, which was thoroughly enjoyed.

Second EVA:

· The afternoon EVA was prepared for at 2:30 PM, with a start time of 3:00 PM.

· Led by crew geologist Davaa, joined by journalist Sunny and HSO Duluu. The activity was documented by the CAPCOMM led by Dono from the Science Dome, noting battery usage and distance covered.

We wore two of the analog suits brought from Mongolia, and they turned out to be quite comfortable. We still haven’t used the helmet. After that, all 6 crew members went out with suits to take a picture in front of the HAB, which was the first time we broke protocol. HSO Duluu is now in charge of the greenhab, and engineer Muggi oversees operation reports. Journalist Sunny oversees public outreach, geologist Davaa is currently in charge of media and content, psychologist Tungaa is keeping close tabs on the crew mindset. We lost our drone on the way to Mars and are expecting to have a new one delivered tomorrow. Davaa will then start mapping out the topography of the surrounding area. Dinner is being made at the time of writing, and we are all looking forward to a delicious meal made from freeze dried Mongolian recipe.

Look Ahead Plan: The next two days on Mars promises to be an exciting day for us since we have all gotten experience doing EVAs. We plan to go on reconnaissance EVAs twice a day for the next couple days and determine areas of geological interest. CAPCOMM will operate fully during these long-distance EVAs, and we plan to utilize COMMS fully and effectively. We plan to use the helmet we brought from Mongolia to see if the battery will hold for 4 hours. We also have 2 psychological games to play throughout the rotation to analyze individual and team mindset. Each member is in the process of proactively setting goals for themselves and coming up with action plans for the remainder of our time on Mars. We are still getting used to the station and the environment, but so far Mars is treating us quite well.

Anomalies in work: The distance travelled by the rovers came out to be inconsistent with the reality. Curiosity’s odometer reading went down, and Perseverance’s reading said it travelled for about 100m. These may need maintenance.

Weather: Sunny with minimal clouds. Not much wind. 6 degrees Celsius during the warmest part of the day. Perfect for wearing MARS-V analog suits.

Crew Physical Status: Nominal.

EVA: Two test EVAs performed successfully.

Reports to be filed: Sol summary, Journalist report, Greenhab report, Operations report, Photos.

Support Requested: None.

Sol: 3

Summary Title: Winding down.

Author’s name: Enkhtuvshin “Dono” Doyodkhuu

Mission Status: Sleep schedule is slowly settling in. Still waiting for our drone to arrive. Getting used to doing EVAs. Water and power consumption needs to be closely monitored.

Sol Activity Summary: Our power went off last night due to a generator issue and we are trying our best to conserve electricity. The crew was well prepared for such occasions, and we spent the evening playing cards after dinner. Fortunately, the HAB’s propane supply is still sufficient for our meals, and we turned on the space heater in the HAB’s first floor to stay warm throughout the night. We also faced connectivity issues due to the power failure and could not send in the Greenhab report and the daily photos to Mission Support. I have just sent them in. Water consumption is also becoming a problem now, and we only have 6 days’ worth of water according to our calculations. We are now carefully monitoring our water usage.

The sol started around 8:30 AM. We had a lentil soup with vegetables for breakfast and some coffee. The first EVA started a little after 10:00 AM with Muggi as the leader with Davaa and Dono accompanying him as the designated drivers. We reached a bit farther than Cowboy Corner and returned with 48% batteries on both rovers. The rest of the day has been relaxed, and the crew is finally able to rest after a long trip and a busy initiation of the mission. Mars is starting to challenge us in a variety of ways, but the crew came prepared to survive and adapt, and morale is high.

Look Ahead Plan: We are planning to take it easy for the next few days and get accustomed to the time zone. Tomorrow, we plan to head out to Gateway to Lith while carefully monitoring the battery power of the rovers, and with constant communication with CAPCOMM. The drone should arrive sometime in the afternoon tomorrow, and we will get a better view of the environment from up above.

Anomalies in work: Power failure. Low water level. Connectivity issue. I also burnt our dinner, wasting a perfectly good black bean burger patty. Apparently it is super important to pay close attention to cooking on Mars.

Weather: Sunny with a good amount of clouds.

Crew Physical Status: 3 of the crew members are showing fatigue from the long journey. Our sleep schedule is also yet to completely settle in.

EVA: Successfully performed 1 EVA today with Muggi as the leader of the expedition.

Reports to be filed: Sol summary, Journalist report, Operations report, Greenhab report, EVA report, EVA request, Photos.

Support Requested: It has become apparent to us that the water we have left is not sufficient for the rest of the mission. We are requesting a water refill during the weekend if possible.

Sol: 4

Summary Title: Habituation

Author’s name: Enkhtuvshin “Dono” Doyodkhuu

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: We are quickly adapting to our life on Mars. The power situation has been sorted out: propane is resupplied, and the generator has been fixed. Water has been refilled. We had our second salad harvested from the Greenhab. Finally received our drone. Ben worked wonders on assisting us so far, with his delightful companion, Jewels. We are having rice soup with Mongolian beef for dinner and are getting ready to play a psychology game at the time of writing.

The crew woke up promptly at 8 AM, had breakfast and exercised together. We had a quick meeting to discuss our roles and our individual target results for the rotation and started to prepare for the EVA of the day. Led by Tungaa, the EVA crew of 3 headed for Gateway to Lith, but the rover batteries proved insufficient to reach there; this is considering the 55% protocol. This was our first long-distance EVA and the CapComm led by Sunny showed quite the professionalism, checking with us every 5 minutes. We are getting used to communicating effectively via the different channels. The foot exploration after parking the rovers proved to be physically demanding, but it is not a challenge we can’t face.

The afternoon was relaxed, and the crew managed to take a quick nap. During this time, I had a chat with the Netflix documentary producer – Lauren, their logistics person – Skoti, and the Mars Society’s Director of Public and Media Relations – Michael Stoltz. We are getting ready to receive them on the last day of our rotation.

We will be contacting the MARS-V team back in Mongolia later during the Comms window today, and the crew has taken care of the reports in advance to make time for that. We’ve also tested our drone inside, and all seems nominal.

It has already been 5 days since we came to Mars. It has become apparent to us that there lie innumerable base challenges in this alien place in terms of infrastructure, psychology, physiology, consumption, daily routine, and crew chemistry. We came prepared for all these challenges but facing them head-on is an incredible reality check. Onwards and upwards!

Look Ahead Plan: We will now start using the drone for EVAs and will commence geological and microbiological testing. We also plan to record a crew log early in the morning tomorrow. The MARS-V training program is also ready to be tested in a true sense starting tomorrow. Hopefully more positive updates to follow.

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: Bit chilly during the night, but nice and sunny during the day.

Crew Physical Status: All healthy and energetic.

EVA: Performed one successful long-distance EVA today.

Reports to be filed: Sol summary, Journalist report, Operations report, Greenhab report, EVA report, EVA request, Photos.

Support Requested: Fixing Perseverance’s parking brake.

Sol: 5

Summary Title: The Case for Hybrid Mars

Author’s name: Enkhtuvshin “Dono” Doyodkhuu

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: We decided last night during our daily meeting to stay flexible with the sim from now on until the end of our rotation. We will be performing hybrid EVAs with 2 of the members in suit, with the accompanying one without a suit. We realize this is not ideal for the purposes of MDRS operations, but our goal is to explore around as much as possible, and effectively operate the drone during the EVAs. Crew HSO also warned me that the physical toll of in-sim EVAs on two of our crew members is high, and I want them to experience the environment as much as possible during their time at MDRS.

The crew woke up today at 6 AM and made our first crew log. We discussed everything starting from how we received the invite to MDRS, how the preparation went, the support from our sponsors and collaborators, the trip to the US, and what we experienced and learned since coming to Mars. The breakfast early in the morning was simple quick oats at 6:30 AM and fried eggs around 8 AM. We have been using the food provided to us by the station here and there, mixing it with the freeze-dried food we brought.

The morning ritual has been set in stone for the crew. We exercised together, did breathing exercises afterwards, and meditated. This was the most active we have been in the morning since coming here, and the sleep quality of the crew is improving drastically. We have been measuring our sleep quality with the smart watch, and the deep sleep time reached over 6 hours the past two days.

The EVA preparation today commenced around 9:30 AM. As usual, we check our comms, suits, helmets, and tracker, and head out to the field. The drone operation today was experimental at best, and we plan to improve the maneuverings from here on out. We notified Ben that we were going with the hybrid EVA plan prior to heading out, and he was kind enough to be flexible with us. The crew headed out to Compass Rock and spent around 40 minutes out of contact, but apparently it is a known issue around that site. Crew geologist identified four different muddy soil types to test out making building blocks, but the site they reached on foot had abundant vegetation, so we’re postponing the gathering of soil samples for the next two days.

We had fried beef with lettuce for lunch after the EVA. Dinner was prepared by the crew psychologist, Tungaa, and she made a delicious fried beef with potatoes and carrots, with brown rice on the side. In the RAM, Muggi and Duluu made aeroponic planting equipment for the Greenhab and are planning to test it out tomorrow. We are now planning to play a team game to test out our crew psychology, and everyone is very much looking forward to it.

The crew has officially adapted to the environment, the station, and their new lifestyle, and are starting to have fun, listening to music and dancing during the day, exercising whenever time allows, and making full use of different parts of the station. The only inaccessible part of the station right now is the observatory, and I have inquired Peter whether it would be possible to grant me a late permission to use the telescope. I plan to take the test and send a proposal promptly tomorrow. We’ll see how it goes.

I’ve noticed today that the crew has gotten much more proficient at running things around here, preparing for the EVA with zero mistakes, directing the CapComm with professionalism, and preparing delicious meals for 6 within 20 minutes. The reports were cumbersome at the beginning, but we have gotten used to it.

Our two biggest areas of water usage were taking showers and washing dishes. We are now using buckets to take showers, with everybody taking one every 3-4 days, and are conserving and saving the water when washing dishes. We are saving the water even when washing hands. Hopefully this resolves our water consumption problem.

It has already been almost a week since arriving here, and we’ve noticed that adaptation has taken the majority of our time. Looking at the performance of the crew today, I’ve gained a bit of confidence that we may even be able to survive on actual Mars, provided that Mars Direct commences within our lifetime.

Look Ahead Plan: Crew psychologist, Tungaa, is also trained in microbiology. She and Davaa are planning to take several soil samples to start a few elementary microbiological experiments. Geologist Davaa is planning on testing out different materials to determine which is best for making building blocks. The EVAs for the next two days will be for taking soil samples. Greenhab officer Duluu will try out her new aeroponic equipment tomorrow. Muggi has already come up with a novel design for a Mars analog helmet and is now planning to design a general structure for a Mars analog station with the support of Davaa. Sunny has been actively engaging in public outreach; the interest and support back home amongst the MARS-V community has been incredible and uplifting. We are in the process of finalizing our plans and logistics for our trip back home. Hopefully we won’t be tired to our bones before the long journey back to Earth.

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: Sunny with a bit of cloud cover. Seems like it might rain tonight, but the weather station says otherwise.

Crew Physical Status: All healthy and happy.

EVA: Performed one successful EVA today to Compass Rock.

Reports to be filed: Sol summary, Journalist report, Operations report, Greenhab report, EVA report, EVA request, Photos.

Support Requested: We would like the crew car to be made available to us on Sol 11 which is December 7th for the purposes of out-of-sim exploration around the station.

Crew 286 Sol 10 Summary Report 22-NOV-2023
Sol: 10
Summary Title: “Droning on the Campus”
Author’s name: Roger Gilbertson
Mission Status: Nominal
Sol Activity Summary: In the morning, the EVA 9 crew realized they would not need the entire duration originally planned, and requested a later departure time to allow for better lighting of the campus structures.
Guillaume conducted a live video tour of the interior of the habitat and the various buildings, including the suiting up for the EVA 9.

Suiting up for EVA 9 went smoothly, and equipment was placed in the airlock. Their work proceeded effectively. Liz encountered some configuration errors with the drone, and eventually realized that the information provided in the manual was not entirely correct, or that something had changed from the standard settings. Many excellent scans and aerial clips were captured. They successfully returned, but five minutes past the requested ending time.
The Afternoon EVA 10 preparations for the music performance involved moving video and drone equipment to the RAM for departure. Don and Guillaume assisted with the opening of the RAM door, then went to the MASH vehicle to perform activities needed for tomorrow’s EVA 11. They completed their work in good time, then sat outside the habitat building, and had a discussion about the prospects for bringing living to Mars, which was recorded on video and audio by documentarian Hugo.
Scott and Liz moved out to the area between the two observatory domes. Liz conducted drone surveys of the buildings while Scott prepared his equipment. Liz again encountered challenges with the drone, nevertheless some excellent scans and aerial video clips were captured. Scott also encountered technical and system problems, however they were all eventually overcome, and the music performance began about 4:00 pm. The weather and lighting cooperated, and the sounds of “martian” music drifting across the surface could be heard from the Observatory dome enclosure, enveloping the observers in magical moments of calm and stillness.
After, equipment was collected and they both returned to the RAM airlock, closing the door about 5 minutes behind plan.
Roger successfully cast the third and final bismuth metal piece, and will be trimming them for final assembly this evening.

Don prepared the MASH for tomorrow morning’s proposed EVA. Discussions were held about maximizing the results of our final full sol, and the need to write up our Final Mission Report tomorrow.

SOL 10 PLAN (tomorrow, our last full day of sim): The science program will continue to monitor bacterial growth. Guillaume has a video interview in the morning. EVA 11 with the MASH vehicles is planned for 9 am to noon. We will then submit our Final Mission Report, and celebrate with a martian Thanksgiving dinner.

EXIT PLAN: At present we plan to exit sim after awaking Friday morning. We will clean, inventory, pack, and load the Crew Car. Then, as time allows, we would like to borrow the Habitat Car and conduct an out-of-sim drive to the Special Area to the north. We will return to campus by 4 PM, then depart in the Crew Car for Grand Junction.

Anomalies in work: none
Weather: sunny
Crew Physical Status: nominal
EVA: EVA 9 completed, EVA 10 completed, request for EVA 11 submitted.
Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Journalist report, Photos, Operations report, Green Hab report, EVA 9 report, EVA 10 report, EVA 11 request.
Support Requested: none

Crew 286 Sol 11 Summary Report 23-NOV-2023
Sol: 11
Summary Title: “A monster MASH success, followed by mashed potatoes”
Author’s name: Roger Gilbertson
Mission Status: Nominal
Sol Activity Summary: In the morning, the EVA 11 crew loaded up the MASH vehicle with suits and equipment for their excursion. Guillaume completed another live media interview, then boarded with the three other MASH crew members: Don, Lizzy and Guillaume.
They detached from the docking portal next to the Science Dome at 9:15 am, backed out, then drove down Moon Walk Road, exited the campus and drove south on Cow Dung Road to Kissing Camel. There they performed a turn-around at the previously identified location, then parked.
All astronauts suited up, then the MASH depressurized its front section, and three astronauts exited. Ducky remained aboard as local Cap-Com. Lizzy and Gee walked along the base of the nearby ridge, with Liz piloting a drone scan of the magnificent geology, while Hugo captured images of the MASH operating in the the exotic terrain.
Unexpectedly, at about 10:55 am the MASH control panel showed a “check engine light” and the engine would not start. The crew contacted Cap-com and consulted with them about the situation. Cap-com informed Mission Support, and options were discussed. Ducky suited up, depressurized, and went out to check the fluids on the vehicle, remaining fully in-sim the entire time. Oil was added to the engine, and the vehicle then restarted properly.
Filmmaker Hugo was pleased to capture an actual unexpected situation, and though it did not develop into a full “emergency,” it provided some much-hoped-for moments of true drama and concern.
Once all had reboarded and repressuized, they were able to have a small snack, then returned to MDRS in the comfort of the pressurized MASH interior. Redocking at the portal occurred smoothly, and the vehicle doors were opened at exactly 12:00 pm.
Roger successfully modified the plaster mold, then melted down the failed third metal part, and recast it. He then trimmed the pieces, and performed a test assembly.
Guillaume performed another sampling and was pleased to find that the bacteria growth had reached a plateau in growth, indicating a successful completion of his experiment for this mission.
We gathered images and text for our Final Mission Report, then turned to the kitchen to prepare our much-anticipated Thanksgiving dinner.
EXIT PLAN: Tomorrow morning we plan to exit sim upon awakening, then pack our things, clean, do the food inventory, and load the Crew Car. Then we plan to borrow the Habitat Car and visit the Special Area to the north. We will return to campus by 4 PM so that we can depart in the Crew Car before sunset, and head for Grand Junction.
Anomalies in work: none
Weather: overcast
Crew Physical Status: nominal
EVA: EVA 11 completed
Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Journalist report, Photos, Operations report, Green Hab report, EVA 11 report, Final Mission Report.
Support Requested: May we have the Crew Car delivered to the habitat by 10 AM or so, for loading? And we still hope to borrow the Hab Car to visit the Special Area before we depart, as time and weather allows.

Crew 286 Sol 07 Summary Report 19-NOV-2023

Sol: 07

Summary Title: “Rainy Mid-Mission Report Day.”

Author’s name: Roger Gilbertson

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: Rain fell on and off throughout the night, causing the cancellation of both morning and afternoon planned EVAs. We performed interior tasks, monitoring bacterial growth, GreenHab work, and preparing and collating our Mid-Mission reports.

Look Ahead Plan: The science program will continue to monitor bacterial growth. Plaster mold preparation continues for test metal casting, as well as processing of LIDAR scans, photography and videography.

We will continue to monitor weather and surface conditions in hopes of revising our EVA proposals. Our visiting New York Times photojournalists plan to depart tomorrow morning, Sol 8.

Anomalies in work: none
Weather: rainy

Crew Physical Status: nominal

EVA: none

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Journalist report, Photos, Operations report, Green Hab report, EVA 7 request, Mid-mission report.

Support Requested: none

Crew 286 Sol 08 Summary Report 20-NOV-2023

Sol: 08

Summary Title: “Again We Are Six.”

Author’s name: Roger Gilbertson

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: After dinner last night we experienced Scott (aka Groucho) performing an excellent music set in the Science Dome. He played an original composition on electronic keyboard, then played it again but engaged a specially designed digital filter which transformed the music to resemble what we would hear on the surface of Mars with its thin, cold atmosphere. After the show, we went to bed, eager to awake before sunrise, eager to hear the outdoor surface conditions report from Mission Support.

As the Sun rose above the eastern hills, we were given the "go” signal for our six-person EVA. But before leaving the habitat, we said goodbye to our visiting photographer Andrea, who was leaving sim so she could document our EVA, unencumbered by a suit. (As has been done with previous visiting media.) Her companion Caleb remained in-sim and joined us on our EVA. From then on Andrea was only a “ghost” and a fond memory.

Suited up, we walked to the RAM, carrying our helmets in their cases, then finished our preparations, closed the RAM door, performed a five-minute depressurization, and rolled up the door to a glorious martian morning.

The six of us carried a substantial amount of advanced music, photo, video and audio equipment, and made our way to the hills just north of the Observatory, where Maestro Groucho setup and performed another music set, this time in the open air, with all spectators in suits. As the end time of our EVA approached we returned to the RAM airlock and reentered.

The rest of the day involved various interior activities: vacuuming and sweeping the substantial amount of dirt that made its way in after the rains turned the surface to mud, sampling the prolific spirulina growth in the Science Dome and drying it so it can be returned to Cécile Renauld (MDRS 261 scientist and PhD candidate at University of Mons), video interviews, LiDAR scanning of the MASH vehicle, and casting of the 2nd half of the metal fabrication demonstration. We also learned that when reconstituted, dehydrated butter makes a very good mold release compound.
Look Ahead Plan: The science program will continue to monitor bacterial growth. Plaster molds are drying in preparation for a test metal casting, and we are mapping out the rest of our activities for the remaining sols.

Anomalies in work: none
Weather: sunny

Crew Physical Status: nominal

EVA: EVA 7 completed, request for EVA 8 submitted for tomorrow

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Journalist report, Photos, Operations report, Green Hab report, EVA 7 summary, EVA 8 request.

Support Requested: none

Crew 286 Sol 08 Summary Report 20-NOV-2023

Sol: 08

Summary Title: “A Fine Day Sampling Mars.”

Author’s name: Roger Gilbertson

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: This morning’s EVA #8 to collect samples from three locations went smoothly. We prepared efficiently and exited the airlock at the planned time, driving out of the campus and south on Cow Dung Road. Gee used the iPhone GPS and directed us to stop on the road near the coordinates provided by the previous researchers. We trekked eastward, and located each sampling position with relative ease. The locations where the first two samples were previously collected appeared clearly on the ground, having only received minor erosion and filling in since their April sampling. The third sample, been in a stream bed, were not apparent, but we took samples at the indicated coordinates. At each location we collected and labeled samples, and photographed each before and after digging.

We returned to the vehicles with an hour remaining, and asked for a time extension so that filmmaker Hugo could continue to film content for his documentary, including shots taken by him standing at the roadside and filming as we drove past in the rovers. We continued northwards until we filmed rovers entering the campus, and astronauts entering the airlock.

We have cleaned both floors of the mud which entered after the rains. Science sampling continued, the purple bacteria continues to show steady growth. The second half of the metal casting mold was dried and trimmed. Then both halves were joined, and the first bismuth casting performed. It was removed from the mold successfully, and a second casting was performed prior to this report. Time permitting, a third cast will be made this evening, and then the three pieces can be assembled tomorrow into the final structure. Drone test flights were successfully performed in the tunnel between the habitat and RAM, in preparation for tomorrow’s EVA.

SOL 9 PLAN: Morning EVA #9, Afternoon EVA #10, completion of science and metal casting projects, begin drafting our Final Mission Report.

SOL 10 PLAN (Thursday, last full day of sim): The science program will continue to monitor bacterial growth. Plans have been made for our final sols, including our Thanksgiving dinner. Our EVA 10 proposal is in development and proposes three crew members driving the MASH vehicle southwards, parking at the Barrainca Butte road, then conducting a 2-person walking EVA in the vicinity with CapCom operating in the MASH. The EVA walkers will conduct comms test from nearby hilltops to hopefully reach the stations via the CH1 repeater, then return to the MASH vehicle. After a rest and recharge, a second brief demonstration EVA may be conducted before returning to the habitat. We estimate the entire excursion to be about 4 hours from exit to return. Then we will complete our Final Mission Report, and celebrate with a martian Thanksgiving dinner.

EXIT PLAN: At present we plan to exit sim after waking Friday morning. We will clean, inventory, pack, and load the Crew Car. Then, as time allows, we would like to borrow the Habitat Car and conduct an out-of-sim drive to the Special Area to the north. We will return to campus by 4 PM, then depart in the Crew Car for Grand Junction.

Anomalies in work: none
Weather: sunny

Crew Physical Status: nominal

EVA: EVA 8 completed, request for EVA 9 and EVA 10 submitted, EVA 11 outlined above

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Journalist report, Photos, Operations report, Green Hab report, EVA 8 report, EVA 9 and 10 requests.

Support Requested: none

Crew 286 Sol 06 Summary Report 18-NOV-2023

Sol: 06

Summary Title: “Red, Red Rain.”

Author’s name: Roger Gilbertson

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: We started the morning by watching the exciting and successful Starship launch from Earth. In the science dome our purple bacteria continue their excellent growth, as confirmed by samples which were taken and processed. The first half of the plaster mold was placed into an oven in the Science Dome for drying. Mid-mission reports are being prepared.

Today’s scheduled EVA-6 started about 20 minutes late, but as the four crew members exited the airlock door, drops of rain were noted. The rain increased a few moments later, and the crew returned to the airlock for the safety of their camera and electronic equipment. We watched the terrain grow increasingly wet, and Mission Support stated that weather radar showed that the rain was likely to continue for the duration of the EVA. After a few more minutes the crew agreed to abort and reschedule.

Look Ahead Plan: The science program will continue to monitor growth. Plaster mold preparation will continue, as will processing of LIDAR scans, photography and videography. EVA proposals are uncertain due to the now-muddy exterior conditions. Mid-mission reports will be delivered.

Anomalies in work: none
Weather: cloudy in AM, rain in afternoon

Crew Physical Status: nominal

EVA: EVA 6 completed, request for EVA 7 and EVA 8 submitted for tomorrow

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Journalist report, Photos, Operations report, Green Hab report, EVA 6 Summary, EVA 7 Request, EVA 8 Request.

Support Requested: none