Category: Sol Summary

Sol: 6
Summary Title: Sledding on Mars
Author’s name: Jilian Welshoff
Mission Status: Nominal
Sol Activity Summary:
Crew 288 started the day off at 7:30AM for a breakfast of eggs and potatoes with leftover pizza toppings made by Jesus (ENG) and Lipi (JOU). The crew then prepped for another long of EVA, including 4 crew members, Cesare (CMD), Hunter (GEO), Riley (XO), and Lipi (JOU) who were going on EVA #6 to Compass Rock to collect GPR data and geology samples. They made a 100ft x 100ft grid perfectly and got a lot of clear data from the sled that indicated soil moisture in the top 10cm according to initial analysis. They were able to see the Hab from a far distance and enjoyed a joyride on the rovers home.
The crew that stayed behind had a day of maintenance, resewing patches onto flight suits, and repairing holes found in gloves. Jesus (ENG) made it his day’s mission to fix Baby Yoda who is now inflated and watching over the crew. Ryan (GHO) tended to his plants and moved around a couple of tomato plants. Additionally, he and Jilian (HSO) prepared lunch for the crew and did not follow a recipe, but it turned out great!
After returning from EVA, the crew got to enjoy the efforts of Ryan and Jilian. The crew took some time to analyze the data collected and catch up on some reading. Ryan went to the Greenhab again to water the plants. They enjoyed dinner of rice and stir-fried veggies and chicken made by Jesus (ENG) while completing reports and the Mid-mission Research Report.
To finish off the night they watched Galaxy Quest and enjoyed some tea and popcorn to prep for a nice Sunday rest day.
Look Ahead Plan: Create plans for upcoming EVAs and research headway.
Anomalies in work: None
Weather: Beautiful day outside, sunny
Crew Physical Status: Morale is high, and everyone physically is well just sore from EVAs
EVA: Successfully performed EVA #6 to Compass Rock
Reports to be filed: Eva Report, Journalist Report, Greenhab Report, Operations Report, Sol Summary, Astronomy Report, Photos, Mid-mission Research Report
Support Requested: None

Sol: 7
Summary Title: Rest and Relaxation!
Author’s name: Jilian Welshoff
Mission Status: Nominal
Sol Activity Summary:
Crew 288 started the day off at 8:00AM for a breakfast of banana muffins made by Riley (XO) and Jilian (HSO). Today was a no EVA day so they spent the morning reading, finishing grading, and drinking coffee. During that time Cesare (COM) was working hard in the kitchen to made lunch, baked ziti. Also, Ryan visited the Greenhab to tend to the plants and harvest basil to top the ziti! The crew thoroughly enjoyed lunch and had seconds and thirds! They all retired to their respective rooms and beanbags for a nap post food coma.
After napping, Cesare (COM), Jesus (ENG), and Riley (XO) went to train/learn about drones. They took videos and images and practicing for a proper drone EVA by flying; additionally, they practiced flying and operating the controls of the drone. Apparently the drone was hovering nearby the Hab, but unfortunately the rest of the crew was too busy napping and relaxing to notice!
After returning from drone practice, some of the crew enjoyed coffee and played a couple rounds of bananagrams. Before dinner, Ryan (GHO) prepared sugar cookie dough and “frosting” as an activity of cooking cutting and decorating for the crew! We had leftovers for dinner and had a final evening of stargazing to finish off the night.
Look Ahead Plan: EVA #7
Anomalies in work: None
Weather: Beautiful day outside, sunny
Crew Physical Status: Everyone feeling rested and ready for a week of EVAs!
EVA: None
Reports to be filed: Eva Request, Journalist Report, Greenhab Report, Operations Report, Sol Summary, Astronomy Report, Photos
Support Requested: None

Sol: 5
Summary Title: A Long Walk to Geo Samples
Author’s name: Jilian Welshoff
Mission Status: Nominal
Sol Activity Summary:
Crew 288 started the day off at 7:45AM for a breakfast of spam fried rice made by Hunter (GEO). We shared some music recommendations and jammed out while doing dishes. The crew then prepped for another long EVA, including 4 crew members, Cesare (CMD), Hunter (GEO), Jesus (ENG), and Jilian (HSO) who were going on EVA #5 to Skyline Rim to collect more geology samples. They walked to Hab Ridge first to spot the HAB from a bird’s eye view and then continued to their destination. The walk their took about an hour and they collected about three bags of samples, picking up shell fossils and gypsum along the way.
The crew that stayed behind had a day of work and cooking experimenting, with research papers, security backgrounds, and Lipi who tried out some new recipes and made a Hab-friendly paratha recipe, which should definitely be added to the MDRS recipe book.
After returning from EVA, the crew got to enjoy leftovers and Lipi’s creation from the rest of the crew and snacks and tea. Ryan went to the Greenhab to harvest more greens for a salad and garnish for dinner. The EVA crew had some time to relax and read, grade work, and download photos. Later we enjoyed a pizza dinner made by commander Cesare and had some pizza crust with Nutella, peanut butter, and assorted dried fruits for dessert!
Look Ahead Plan: EVA #6 to collect GPR data, continue maintenance on the Greenhab plants
Anomalies in work: Our inflatable Baby Yoda will not inflate anymore
Weather: Beautiful day outside, sunny overall and great temperature for EVA
Crew Physical Status: Morale is high, and everyone physically is well just sore from EVAs
EVA: Successfully performed EVA #5 to Skyline Rim and Hab Ridge
Reports to be filed: Eva Report, Journalist Report, Greenhab Report, Operations Report, Sol Summary, Eva Request, Photos
Support Requested: None

Sol: 3
Summary Title: An Adventure on Mars and in the Kitchen
Author’s name: Jilian Welshoff
Mission Status: Nominal
Sol Activity Summary:
Crew 288 started the day off at 8:00AM for a breakfast of biscuits and gravy made by Commander. The crew got a lesson in Spectroscopy and roles for the geology EVAs from Hunter (Crew Geologist). After listening and learning, 4 crew members, Riley (XO), Hunter (GEO), Ryan (GHO), and Jilian (HSO) prepped to go on EVA #3 to Kissing Camel Ridge and Aonia Terra to collect GPR data and Spectroscopy data.
The crew that stayed behind had a good time exploring some new recipes in the kitchen and baked some fresh bread, while remaining responsive and attentive COMs. They attempted to take pictures of the sun from the Solar Telescope but were cut off by the incoming clouds.
After returning from EVA, the crew got to enjoy the cooking/baking efforts from the rest of the crew and analyzed/organized the data they collected. Ryan and Lipi went to the Greenhab to check up and water the plants and the EVA crew had a debrief to figure out how to execute data collection more efficiently. Before reports could be completed, we enjoyed a delicious dinner of chickpea curry made by Crew Journalist, Lipi.
Look Ahead Plan: Continue to go on Geology EVAs to collect more data, CO2 continue soldering, begin EVAs for other research, continue collecting data for overall research.
Anomalies in work: Toilet reading level is oscillating
Weather: Good temperature, partly cloudy in the morning, very cloudy in the afternoon.
Crew Physical Status: Little sore from a long EVA day but all is well and morale is high!
EVA: Successfully performed EVA #3 to Kissing Camel Ridge and Aonia Terra
Reports to be filed: Eva Report, Journalist Report, Greenhab Report, Operations Report, Sol Summary, Eva Request, Astronomy Report, Photos
Support Requested: None

Sol: 4
Summary Title: A Mystery on Mars and a Disaster in the Kitchen
Author’s name: Jilian Welshoff
Mission Status: Nominal
Sol Activity Summary:
Crew 288 started the day off at 8:00AM for a breakfast of pancakes made by Riley (XO) and Ryan (GHO). They came up with some fun toppings and mix and matched to make the perfect pancake. The crew got heated in a few rounds of Bananagrams to get energy high for another long day of EVAs and Hunter (GEO) lead some group stretches to get our bodies prepped. After popping and locking, 4 crew members, Cesare (CMD), Hunter (GEO), Jesus (ENG), and Lipi (JOU) prepped to go on EVA #4 to Kissing Camel Ridge and Barainca Butte to collect more geology spectrum data. The crew found abundant volcanic rocks of multiple types on the EVA and collected more spectrum data.
The crew that stayed behind had a good time learning proper form for pushups, FINALLY taking showers, and harvesting some parsley and sage for lunch, while remaining responsive and attentive COMs. They (Ryan) attempted to make Carrot cake but created a sugar mass instead induced by an error in the recipe book.
After returning from EVA, the crew got to enjoy the cooking/baking efforts from the rest of the crew and got to take their showers too. Ryan went to the Greenhab to harvest more greens for a salad and dinner. The EVA crew had a debrief to figure out how to execute data collection more efficiently after today’s attempt. While we completed reports and uploaded photos, we had a delicious redemption dinner made by Ryan (GHO) of Pad Thai and await a proper carrot cake in the oven.
Look Ahead Plan: Continue to go on Geology EVAs to collect more data, CO2 continue soldering, begin EVAs for other research, continue collecting data for overall research. Start Greenhab research
Anomalies in work: None
Weather: Beautiful day outside, started out cloudy then sunny in the afternoon.
Crew Physical Status: Feeling squeaky clean and ready for a new day of EVA
EVA: Successfully performed EVA #4 to Kissing Camel Ridge and Barainca Butte
Reports to be filed: Eva Report, Journalist Report, Greenhab Report, Operations Report, Sol Summary, Eva Request, Astronomy Report, Photos
Support Requested: None

Sol: 1
Summary Title: A Muddy Start (Drone Rescue Gone Bad)
Author’s name: Jilian Welshoff
Mission Status: Get prepped to start EVAs, started on Greenhab maintenance
Sol Activity Summary:
We started sol 1 at 7:30 woken by the lovely Apollo 13 music played by Commander Cesare followed by a breakfast of eggs and potatoes made by Jesus and Lipi! We took our time getting ready after breakfast because we were ahead of schedule and then suited up to take sponsor photos at 10:00AM. We took many fun shots for our sponsors and got to try out the drone for video. That is when disaster struck. The drone had flown out of range but was programmed to fly back to the landing zone when it does so. However, that is far from what happened. Cesare and Sergii decided to take the hab car to go retrieve it since it was a very far distance while the rest of the crew got to try on the official EVA suits, take more photos, and get adjusted to moving in them.
After we had gotten close to our original sim start time, the crew decided to come inside for lunch, not including Cesare who was still on the Rescue Mission for the drone. We had an assortment of snacks for lunch including honey-roasted peanuts, bananas with peanut butter, and a newfound snack of graham crackers with Nutella and freeze-dried blueberries and strawberries. Completing lunch we got correspondence from Cesare. Yet another disaster had struck. After reaching the drone’s destination, the hab car got stuck! Cesare and Sergii tried to release the car by themselves but needed some extra hands and requested help. This officially put EVA #1 and EVA #2 on hold. We waited for Cesare and Sergii to walk back, and then sent Jesus and Ryan to go help! They took Sergii’s car and after a lumpsum of time, they made it back! Officially, it was too late to go on any EVA, but we were able to start on other tasks including working with the Greenhouse. Ryan, our HSO, Lipi, and I went to the Greenhouse and were able to harvest some plants, decide on what to plant next, and water what was already there!
We had a long day with many challenges and changes but morale is high and dinner is cooking!
Look Ahead Plan: Start EVA and sim officially. We plan to get more used to suits and go to Marble Ritual to start us off. We hope to set up CO2 sensors and plant peas tomorrow to get research started!
Anomalies in work: Lost drone and stuck hab car!
Weather: Sunny with some streaky clouds! Beautiful!
Crew Physical Status: People retrieving the drone and car have some fatigue and Lipi had a headache.
EVA: #1 and #2 were not completed but will be tomorrow.
Reports to be filed: Sol Summary Report, Mission Plan, Operations Report, Green Hab report, Journalist Report, EVA Request, Astronomy Report
Support Requested: Coffee grounds (instant or grounds), chicken bouillon, powdered milk } all were at lower supply level when arriving, not in dire need of.

Sol: 2
Summary Title: Finally on Mars
Author’s name: Cesare Guariniello
Mission Status: Nominal
Sol Activity Summary: after a little delay on Earth yesterday, which provided the crew with some breathtaking stargazing time, crew 288, named after Phobos (in conjunction with the twin crew 289 Deimos), finally woke up on Mars. Ryan, our Green Hab Officer, prepared a tasty and healthy breakfast of oatmeal and dehydrated fruit, flavored with honey and Nutella. Despite the delay in communication between the Earth and Mars, some crew members managed to receive important transmissions, including the questions for a final exam!
And then, finally the first experiences with Extra-Vehicular Activities (EVA). For the first excursion to Marble Ritual, the Executive Officer Riley, Crew Geologist Hunter, and Crew Journalist Lipi suited up and experienced the first rover ride and the first walk outside the habitat in a space suit. Meanwhile, the remaining crew at the habitat listened to the comments by the EVA crew on the geology of the surroundings. After the ingress of the first EVA, the Crew Commander Cesare, Crew Engineer Jesus, Health and Safety Officer Jilian, and Green Hab Officer Ryan donned their suit to reach Marble Ritual and explore the surroundings.
The afternoon was spent playing card games, writing Christmas, and planning for the next days. While working on the daily report, the crew enjoyed a wonderful dinner with mujadara (based on lentils and rice), prepared by Jilian. Funfetti cake is in the oven right now, courtesy of Hunter, and the crew is working hard on their research project.

Anomalies in work: one headset works intermittently.
Weather: Sunny and cold in the morning, increasing clouds in the afternoon.
Crew Physical Status: Everybody is in great health and happy mood.
EVA: Successfully performed two Marble Ritual EVAs today.
Reports to be filed: Sol summary, Journalist report, Operations report, Greenhab report, EVA reports, EVA Request, Astronomy Report, Photos.
Support Requested: None.

Sol: 6

Summary Title: Bonding

Author’s name: Enkhtuvshin “Dono” Doyodkhuu

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: The crew is getting more and more accustomed to Mars. We are also getting more and more comfortable with each other. The longest friendship within the crew is 20+ years, and the shortest is 4 years; we have all worked together on various projects and are very much familiar with each other, and our bonding experiences in this remote and isolated place are that much more nuanced. The environment never ceases to amaze us, and we still stand in awe of the scenery thus far.

The morning started at 7 AM today at the Hab. We had oatmeal soup for breakfast, did leg and back exercises, and tried out a different meditation technique. This morning routine has been as ideal as it could get—light breakfast to nourish our bodies; physical exercises to get our blood pumping; breathing exercises to get it back down; meditation to calm our minds. This took a bit longer than usual despite starting the day earlier. We then headed out for EVA #6 around 10:30 AM.

The EVA crew of 3 led by HSO Duluu headed for Overlook but stopped midway on Brahe Hwy 1572. CAPCOM was led by Muggi, who was also operating the drone from inside the Hab. He warned against going farther than 55% on the rovers, but the team stopped at 48% after discussion amongst themselves to get closer to the muddy part of the site. Soil sampling was successful—Davaa and Tungaa have started geological and microbiological work today. The returning batteries on both rovers were at 32% which led us to believe that we can start testing out the battery capacity of the rovers to their limit.

Lunch was prepared by Sunny. It was fried beef with vegetables, with rice on the side. Delicious and nourishing. We then played a team bonding game. There were some cries and lots of hugs. Dinner was couscous soup with a salad harvested from the Greenhab. Nutritious and heartwarming.

Our water consumption has been excellent, and we plan to keep it that way. The evening will be individual free time to work on their respective projects. Mars is not an alien place anymore. It is already filled with warm memories, exciting challenges, and lots of lessons learned. I just hope we can absorb this experience as much as we can while we are here before looking back on this incredible experience from our comfortable home and indulged life back on Earth.

Look Ahead Plan: We are expecting good results from Duluu’s hydroponic wick system. Muggi is getting proficient at operating the drone; he will be documenting the scenery around Zubrin’s head tomorrow. Davaa’s building blocks from different muddy soil types will be ready in 3-4 sols. Tungaa is starting her experiments on the soil samples tomorrow at the Science Dome. Sunny’s journalism and public outreach work is excellent as always. I am positively hoping to gain access to Musk Observatory in the next two days. My plan is to take the full image of the Sun detailing out the granules and prominences and generate a close-up video of possible flares.

However, my priorities as the commander are to keep my crew productive, stress-free but reasonably challenged, healthy, and happy. Onwards and upwards!

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: Sunny with abundant cloud cover. Forecast suggests we’ll be getting rain for the next 12-24 hours.

Crew Physical Status: All healthier and happier than yesterday.

EVA: Successfully completed one out-of-sim EVA.

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

Support Requested: Requesting a break of protocol. The rovers are all coming back from long-distance EVAs with 30+ battery percentage. Please lower the 55% limit down to 40%. We realize there are inherent risks to doing this—such as rovers getting stuck on the way back to the Hab. The risk management we’re planning is to have two of the remaining rovers on standby to pull them back to the Hab. The goal here is to (1) test out the battery capacity of the rovers to their limit (2) explore farther areas (3) simulate a challenge for ourselves. Hoping for a positive and flexible reply to this.

Sol: 7

Summary Title: Momentum

Author’s name: Enkhtuvshin “Dono” Doyodkhuu

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: The day started a bit late today around 9 AM. We had oatmeal breakfast, exercised, and meditated together and started the EVA preparation around 10:50 AM. The EVA #7 crew headed out to the field at 11:25 AM, visited White Rock Canyon, and returned to the HAB 20 minutes after 1 PM. Lunch was prepared by Duluu, who made a delicious full course meal for us. Dinner was prepared by Muggi, and we had a delicious spicy penne soup. At the time of writing, the crew has had dinner and are working on the research report we plan to compile at the end of the mission.

Davaa has started his testing on the mud samples. Duluu is intently caring for the Greenhab. Sunny is keeping up the public outreach work. Muggi is becoming more and more proficient at drone operation. Tungaa would have started her microbiological work, but she needs petri dishes, which we can’t seem to find around the station. Any support on this from Mission Support would be greatly appreciated. I still haven’t heard from Peter regarding opening the Musk Observatory. Hopefully I’ll get to have some telescope time before the end of the rotation.

Each day brings us closer to the culmination of our research, weaving together the individual threads of our work into the rich tapestry of this mission’s legacy.

Look Ahead Plan: Today, we’ve started focusing more intently on our goals and the results we want to achieve by the end of the rotation. Our goal is to have one comprehensive file elaborating on each of these areas which will lay the foundation for MARS-V analog station in the Gobi. These are, respectively:

· Improving the development of the MARS-V training program.

o Challenge Takers;

o Science Takers;

o Experience Takers;

· Experimenting with the freeze-dried Mars analog food.

o How to improve the packaging, cooking instructions, variety, and quality.

· Testing out the MARS-V analog suit.

o How the helmet can be improved. What the simulated LSS should include. How to make it ergonomically comfortable.

· Developing and improving the general structure of a Mars analog station.

· Learning from the operational structure of MDRS.

o Protocols. Mission support system.

Anomalies in work: We had a bit of a mishap with the charging of the rovers today, but Ben promptly mended the situation. No anomalies to report otherwise.

Weather: Sunny with abundant cloud cover. It was quite warm today with the warmest part of the day showing 16 degrees Celsius.

Crew Physical Status: All healthy.

EVA: Successfully completed one EVA.

Reports to be filed: Mid-mission report, Sol summary, Journalist report, Operations report, Greenhab report, EVA report, Photos.

Support Requested: I want to request the crew car for tomorrow if possible. Our destination is beyond Overlook and Sea of Shells, to the area around White House and Lith Canyon. This will be an out-of-sim trip for the crew for the purposes of photo shooting and drone videos.

Sol: 8

Summary Title: Settling

Author’s name: Enkhtuvshin “Dono” Doyodkhuu

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: The day started today around 8:30 AM for the crew. We had the best sweet rice with milk for breakfast which is a Mongolian traditional meal. HSO Duluu and I got promptly to work in the morning since we had a long trip planned for the afternoon. She tended to Green Hab, and I started my work as the newly appointed crew astronomer. Tungaa, Davaa, Sunny, and Muggi performed our usual morning routine, starting the Sol with energy and vigor. Muggi has been appointed as the trainer/coach for the crew, and he has been leading the morning exercises.

Lunch was prepared by Sunny and Davaa, which took meticulous preparation—Martian lasagna made completely from a freeze-dried recipe. It was made with beef, potatoes, penne, and cheese. Nutritious, delicious, and groundbreaking. It has been chosen as the second-best meal we’ve had since coming to Mars. Competition is fierce in the kitchen.

We had our first and only 6-person out-of-sim EVA today with the crew car and headed out to Lith Canyon and Whitehouse. The view is amazing, and we managed to perform extensive drone footage and photo shooting. Capcom was Ben, and our communication was cut off somewhere around Whitehouse, but all went well.

We had a warm and nutritious soup for dinner and got to work immediately afterwards. We have now gotten completely accustomed to Mars, and it is hard to believe we’re already beyond halfway through our rotation. Our work efficiency is going up day by day as we get more and more adapted to our new lifestyle, environment, and workflow. This could be how it feels to actually settle on Mars. It’s invigorating.

Look Ahead Plan: We are now planning to hold off on doing EVAs for a while and focus on our research reports in the 5 priority areas we’ve been working on. Tungaa and I are the appointed chefs for tomorrow, and we plan to hold our own amongst the culinary skills of the crew. We have T-bone steak menu for Sol 10, but we are planning to save that for when the Netflix crew arrives, and the crew is very much looking forward to their company on Mars.

Anomalies in work: None.

Weather: Sunny. Almost no clouds. Very warm.

Crew Physical Status: All healthy.

EVA: Successfully completed one EVA.

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

Support Requested: None.