Category: Sol Summary

Crew 279 Sol Summary Report 03-04-2023

Sol: 0

Summary Title: Discovering of the station

Author’s name: Agnès Dekeyser, XO

Mission Status: Nominal.

Sol Activity Summary: Crew 279 arrived at the research station and discovered its surroundings. Their training for operating all major facilities, all main procedures and learning how to drive the rovers, went well. The first reports were also completed.

Look Ahead Plan: The stimulation will start tomorrow morning at 08:00. In the morning, a training EVA will take place at Marble Ritual to practice maneuvering a rover and perform a communication check for half of the crew members. The other half of the crew will perform the practice the next day.

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: Windy and sunny

Crew Physical Status: Good

EVA: Training

Reports to be filed: Operations Report, Mission plan, HSO Pre-Mission Checklist, EVA request.

Support Requested: None

Sol: 6

Summary Title: Ultrasounders

Author’s name: Arian Anderson

Mission Status: Nominal
Sol Activity Summary: Today we had specialists in emergency medicine ultrasound teach our students how to do basic diagnostics. We also demonstrated how ultrasound has used new technology to reduce learning curves
Look Ahead Plan: Morning EVA and end of mission planning
Anomalies in work: None
Weather: Cold in the morning, sunny and warm in the afternoon. Blustery winds
Crew Physical Status: Crew is fatigued
EVA: N/A
Reports to be file: HSO, Operations Report
Support Requested: None at this time.

Crew 275 Sol Summary Report 10Mar2023

Sol: 26

Summary Title: It’s not over until it’s over… but now it’s over!

Author’s name: Jeremy Rabineau, Commander.

Mission Status: Nominal.

Sol Activity Summary:

For our last EVA, we had planned four hours to disassemble all the atmospheric instruments located at a site close to the MDRS. We wanted to make sure that no adverse events could happen and that the EVA crew would have enough time for all the operations needed. But they were very efficient, and did not meet any problem. As a result, everything was done in less than two hours, even though the high winds did not make the operations as easy as they could have been.

The aquaponics system has been also dismantled by our GreenHab Officer. He took this opportunity to harvest the crops that grew there during our stay. The fish are still in their bucket, waiting for Donald to retrieve them. Please keep us updated, if he is not able to retrieve them, so that we are aware of it and can bring them back to the store where we purchased them.

Once we were all gathered in the Hab, we used our last hours there to complete all the protocols remaining for our datasets to be complete, which was successfully done. Another emergency drill was performed with the help of AI4U, our assistant based on an artificial intelligence. When the alarm rang at 13:55, our Crew Journalist again took the lead of the operations. One team was sent to go through all the buildings and detect the one causing the non-nominal status. As they were in the Science Dome, they simulated another issue, as a crewmember pretended to faint. While the HSO took care of this crewmember, the others prepared for an emergency EVA. They quickly, but safely, left the Hab and fixed a fictive leak located in the GreenHab. The drill took 30 minutes, which is exactly the time limit that was fixed.

On their way back from the emergency EVA, the EVA crewmembers found some items from our burnable garbage flying around. They managed to bring some of them back to the Hab. We saw more of them along the pressurized corridors and tried to call Mission Support from 15:00. When we managed to reach them, we also took this opportunity to inform them about our wish to exit the sim, which was done a few minutes later, at 17:00.

Look Ahead Plan:

Now that we are out of simulation, we will complete the checkout list as well as the food inventory. We will also start gathering all our personal belongings and scientific material. At what time can the CrewCar be placed in front of the Hab so that we can start loading it? We plan to leave tomorrow at 12:00. We will fill the tank of the CrewCar in Grand Junction, park it at the Day’s Inn, and give the keys at the front desk.

Some water was spilled on the computer of the Commander. Now it does not turn on anymore. This computer contained the Final Mission Science Report as well as the Final Mission Summary. Would it be possible to send these to you tomorrow instead, so that we have time to write them again?

Anomalies in work: None.

Weather: Windy, low 3°C/37°F, high 12°C/54°F.

Crew Physical Status: One crewmember recovering from surgery after a broken collarbone.

EVA: EVA #22 dedicated to the disassembling of the atmospheric instruments conducted successfully. EVA #23 (emergency EVA) dedicated to a drill of an emergency protocol in the vicinity of the Hab also conducted successfully.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, EVA Report, Operations Report, Journalist Report, GreenHab Report, HSO Report.

Support Requested: None.

Crew 275 Sol Summary Report 09Mar2023

Sol: 25

Summary Title: Let’s (pretend to) save the station!

Author’s name: Jeremy Rabineau, Commander.

Mission Status: Nominal.

Sol Activity Summary:

We were very excited with today’s EVA, as we were planning to explore the Special Region and the weather was very good (which we are not used to!). Our routine operations on the atmospheric instruments went perfectly and we headed North towards the Special Region, leaving the rovers before the battery level was too low. About 45 minutes of walking later, we finally had a visual on the Special Region, however, we saw a pick-up truck parked just in front of it. We thus decided not to take the risk of meeting anyone and started our way back. Rather than exploration, it was more a kind of hike with spacesuits, but we enjoyed it very much anyway!

Back at the Hab, we continued yesterday’s training about the emergency protocols assisted by AI4U, our artificial intelligence tool. An alarm was set to ring at a random time during the afternoon and we all went on with our respective tasks. It was 15:05 when the alarm rang. The Crew Journalist took the lead of the operations and, as everyone was already in the Hab, we directly formed three teams. The Crew Scientist and the Crew Engineer explored all the buildings of the campus and restarted the environmental instruments to check where the simulated hole was located. In the meantime, the Crew Botanist and the Health & Safety Officer put on their spacesuits to get ready to fix the hole, while the other crewmembers kept an eye on the procedure and communicated the instructions to the other teams. After identifying a fictive hole in the tunnel leading to the Science Dome, a call was made to Mission support to request an emergency EVA. After being authorized to exit the airlock, the EVA crew successfully identified and fixed the fictive hole in the tunnel. The overall process took about 30 minutes, which is exactly the target time.

No bad news with the fish today. It looks like they are doing fine, but they are still in the very small bucket where they were placed yesterday. We would like to reiterate our suggestion for Donald to retrieve them whenever he wants so that they can be placed in a larger aquarium.

Look Ahead Plan:

We would like to perform an EVA dedicated to the disassembling of our atmospheric instruments tomorrow morning (Sol 26).

Then, in the early afternoon, we plan to perform another test of the emergency protocols with AI4U, our numerical assistant based on artificial intelligence. An emergency EVA may thus be requested to go to the immediate vicinity of the Hab at any time between 14:00 and 16:30.

We would like to exit the simulation at 17:30 and start the checkout procedure as well as the food inventory. Is there a crew coming to the MDRS directly after us? Do you confirm that we should arrive at the Day’s Inn in Grand Junction in the early afternoon on Saturday (Sol 27)?

Anomalies in work: None.

Weather: Sunny, low -2°C/28°F, high 9°C/48°F.

Crew Physical Status: One crewmember recovering from surgery after a broken collarbone.

EVA: None.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, EVA Report, EVA Request, Operations Report, Journalist Report, GreenHab Report, HSO Report.

Support Requested: None.

Crew 275 Sol Summary Report 08Mar2023

Sol: 24

Summary Title: Panic at the aquaponics

Author’s name: Jeremy Rabineau, Commander.

Mission Status: Nominal.

Sol Activity Summary:

Yesterday, we were very lucky that the surgery of the injured crewmember could take place so quickly. Everyone was back at the Hab before midnight, and we spent some time debriefing our respective days. Even if we are happy to all be back in simulation. We can all feel that we are exhausted by the 24 days of the mission and all the events that have happened in the meantime.

To make matters worse, another fish has been found floating dead in the aquarium today. The indices of water quality are still normal, except for a slightly high pH, so we do not really understand what happened. The remaining fish have been placed in another bucket, with new water and separated from the hydroponics system. We all hope that this will solve the problem. Since the fishes are no longer used to grow the plants and they are now in a relatively small bucket, maybe Donald would like to retrieve them before the end of the mission. The situation is far from ideal for them at the moment.

As the end of the mission is close, we have trained for one of our last experiments: the emergency protocols assisted by AI. In particular, we have rehearsed a protocol aimed at repairing a fictive hole causing a depressurization. Starting now, an alarm may ring anytime and any day between 14:00 and 18:00. When the alarm rings, we will have to proceed with the rehearsed protocol.

Look Ahead Plan:

We would like to perform an exploration EVA to the Special Region tomorrow (Sol 25), and another EVA dedicated to the disassembling of the atmospheric instruments on Friday (Sol 26).

Anomalies in work: None.

Weather: Cloudy, low -3°C/27°F, high 9°C/49°F.

Crew Physical Status: One crewmember recovering from surgery after a broken collarbone.

EVA: None.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, EVA Request, Operations Report, Journalist Report, GreenHab Report, HSO Report.

Support Requested: None.

Crew 275 Sol Summary Report 07Mar2023

Sol: 23

Summary Title: Keeping the (space)ship afloat!

Author’s name: Jeremy Rabineau, Commander.

Mission Status: Nominal.

Sol Activity Summary:

With three crewmembers leaving to the hospital early in the morning, only four crewmembers remained at the Hab today. Since we knew that things will be more difficult in this context, especially with the presence of journalists onsite, we planned mainly routine activities.

Due to the late arrival of the journalist, we had to slightly delay the EVA dedicated to changing the batteries of the atmospheric instruments and retrieving their data. As planned, we also took some time to go to North Ridge and shoot nice videos with the journalists, including drone footage. The afternoon was then mainly dedicated to showcasing our different experiments and touring the different buildings of the campus with the journalists.

With the temperature in the GreenHab close to 40°C/100°F, we noticed that the leaves of the tomato crops were turning yellow. We are also very sad to announce that one of our fishes has passed out for an unknown reason. The water tests seem to indicate that this event was not linked to the quality of the water. The GreenHab officer will keep an eye on this in the next few days.

Some news also from our injured crewmember. After another X-ray and an appointment with a surgeon in the end of the morning, they have directly proceeded with surgery in the afternoon. It was a success, and they feel well. Everyone feels relieved to know that the three missing crewmembers will be back to the Hab in a few hours!

Look Ahead Plan:

With the three missing crewmembers back to the Hab in a few hours, we will be able to go back to our nominal planning. No EVA is planned for tomorrow, but we would like to perform an exploration EVA on Thursday (Sol 25) and another EVA dedicated to the disassembling of the atmospheric instruments on Friday (Sol 26).

Anomalies in work: None.

Weather: Sunny, low -3°C/26°F, high 11°C/52°F.

Crew Physical Status: One crewmember injured (broken collarbone / clavicula). Together with the Health & Safety Officer and the Crew Scientist, they left for the hospital in the morning to see a surgeon at the Sevier Valley hospital. The surgery was successfully conducted in the afternoon, and they are about to come back to the MDRS.

EVA: EVA # 19 was successfully conducted, after requesting a delay due to the late arrival of the journalist team from France Televisions. The batteries of the atmospheric instruments have been changed and the data retrieved. Then the EVA crew went to North Ridge to shoot some nice videos with the journalists.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, EVA Report, Operations Report, Journalist Report, GreenHab Report, HSO Report.

Support Requested: None.

Crew 275 Sol Summary Report 06Mar2023

Sol: 22

Summary Title: “The last week’s a smooth ride”, they said!

Author’s name: Jeremy Rabineau, Commander.

Mission Status: Nominal.

Sol Activity Summary:

Another 4-hour EVA left three crewmembers very tired today. They went to Candor Chasma and successfully performed the photogrammetry EVA, based on a 3D render of the region. Only one crewmember could take part as a subject, since the other subject was injured. Before reaching Candor Chasma, they stopped to install the LOAC, and then to change the batteries and retrieve the data of the other atmospheric instruments. They noticed that MegaAres was off, as it ran out of battery. We have noticed that about 3 hours of recording are missing. This is due to the fact that we did not have enough time and enough chargers to completely charge the batteries of all the atmospheric instruments.

With the GreenHab officer in EVA, the Crew Astronomer watered the crops. We then spent some additional time in the GreenHab to perform a few cognitive tests, while the temperature there was very close to 100°F/40°C.

The injured crewmember is feeling slightly better, and we managed to get an appointment with a surgeon for her. We will drive her to Richfield tomorrow. However, the fact that a few crewmembers will not be at the MDRS required us to modify the schedule and to perform additional activities today.

Look Ahead Plan:

Today, we managed to get an appointment with a surgeon in Richfield. The injured crewmembers will have to be at the Sevier Valley hospital tomorrow (Sol 23) at 10:40 for a second X-ray and then to see the surgeon. We requested Mission Support to use the CrewCar to do so. The plan is to leave between 7:00 and 7:30 with the Crew Journalist, the Crew Scientist, and the Health & Safety Office, so that two drivers can accompany the injured crewmember. In the absence of the Health & Safety Officer, the Commander will take this role. The tasks of the Crew Scientist and of the Crew Journalist will be shared between the four crewmembers remaining at the MDRS.

A media visit is planned for tomorrow (Sol 23) with a crew from France Televisions. They will arrive at 9:00 and leave at 17:00. In the morning, we plan to have them following us during our EVA, first to change the battery and retrieve the data from the atmospheric instruments, and then to shoot nice videos at North Ridge. In the afternoon, we will show them the different buildings and the rest of our experiments.

We would also like to perform an exploration EVA on Thursday (Sol 25) and another EVA dedicated to the disassembling of the atmospheric instruments on Friday (Sol 26).

Anomalies in work: None.

Weather: Windy, low 1°C/34°F, high 12°C/54°F.

Crew Physical Status: One crewmember injured (broken collarbone / clavicula). Appointment with surgeon is planned tomorrow (Sol 23) at 11:10 in Richfield. Surgery should soon follow.

EVA: EVA # 18 dedicated to the photogrammetry experiment based on a 3D render was successfully performed. Some anomalies were observed regarding the batteries of the atmospheric instruments.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, EVA Report, EVA Request, Operations Report, Journalist Report, GreenHab Report, HSO Report.

Support Requested: None.

Crew 275 Sol Summary Report 05Mar2023

Sol: 21

Summary Title: Sunday Slumber

Author’s name: Jeremy Rabineau, Commander.

Mission Status: Nominal.

Sol Activity Summary:

With the high winds, we decided to limit our EVA to changing the batteries and retrieving the data of the atmospheric instruments. The weather bothered the two EVA crewmembers, but they still managed to conduct all the operations required. Onsite, they noticed that the LOAC and the Mega-Ares were both off. Apparently, the LOAC stopped working after being turned on during the last EVA, while the Mega-Ares worked for about 40 hours before it was out of battery. We are currently inspecting what may have caused the dysfunction of the LOAC.

It was definitely a strange Sunday. While they are usually dedicated to getting some rest and cleaning the Hab, this time we had to get back on track with all the activities that have been delayed due to the medical event of Friday night. The good point is that the station had already been fully cleaned prior to the arrival of the journalists on Friday.

Unfortunately, the weather was also too windy for astronomy activities to be conducted. The afternoon was then dedicated to other activities: some crewmembers watched a movie, while others did some physical activity, and others took a nap. We finally took some time to do some data processing and to train with AI4U, an AI tool aimed at assisting the astronauts in their daily tasks.

Look Ahead Plan:

All the EVAs involving the injured crewmember have been cancelled until the end of the simulation. The optimistic plan is to see the surgeon as early as tomorrow (Sol 22), so that they can potentially have surgery on Tuesday (Sol 23). We will know more about this plan when we can call the surgeon tomorrow at 9:00. We will make sure to keep close contact with Mission Support, to communicate all the information that may be relevant to the health of this crewmember as well as to the continuation of the simulation. So far, we plan to use the CrewCar to proceed with the transport of the injured crewmember.

Tomorrow, we are also planning to do the photogrammetry EVA that had to be postponed following the medical event of Friday evening. We will take this opportunity to change the batteries of the atmospheric instruments, since they apparently have problems lasting even 48 hours.

A media visit is planned for next Tuesday (Sol 23) with a crew from France Televisions. They will arrive at 9am and depart at 5pm.

Anomalies in work: None.

Weather: Windy, low 2°C/36°F, high 12°C/54°F.

Crew Physical Status: One crewmember injured (broken collarbone / clavicula), awaiting appointment with a surgeon early next week (Sol 22) in Richfield.

EVA: EVA # 17 was successfully performed, even though some anomalies were observed onsite.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, EVA Report, EVA Request, Operations Report, Journalist Report, GreenHab Report, HSO Report.

Support Requested: None.

Crew 275 Sol Summary Report 04Mar2023

Sol: 20

Summary Title: Safety first!

Author’s name: Jeremy Rabineau, Commander.

Mission Status: Nominal.

Sol Activity Summary:

During a common sport session with the rest of the crew, one of the crewmembers got injured at the shoulder at approximately 23:30. Once we were able to slightly calm them down and have a look at the injury, we immediately understood that the situation was serious and decided to not move them until the emergency services would be there.

We called Mission Support approximately 15 minutes after the event. Sergii was very reactive and arrived at the Hab with an additional first-aid kit. Since he was also the only one to have a proper cellular connection, he contacted 911. He also prepared the arrival of the emergency services by placing light signals on the road, so that the ambulance could understand which road to follow up to the Hab. While waiting for the ambulance, we made sure that all the formalities related to health insurances were correctly done, to avoid any additional bad surprises. The sheriff arrived approximately one hour after the call to 911, soon followed by the ambulance. We proceeded with banding the arm to immobilize it, while we helped the victim stand up and reach the ambulance. The Health & Safety Officer accompanied her in the ambulance, leaving at approximately 2:00.

In the meantime, Sergii had parked the CrewCar in front of the Hab and informed us that it was available for us to use should we need it. He also helped us to reach the insurance company of the victim, using his personal phone. They arrived at the Sevier Valley Hospital (Richfield) after more than two hours of driving and were then able to give us information about the situation. At approximately 5:30, the results of the X-ray scanner confirmed that the collarbone (clavicula) of the victim was broken and that they would need to see an orthopedic surgeon. The Commander and the Crew Scientist took the CrewCar in direction of the Sevier Valley Hospital to repatriate the victim and the Health & Safety Officer to the MDRS. During this time, the responsibility of the 3 remaining crewmembers and the station was given to the Crew Engineer / Executive Officer. The CrewCar arrived at the hospital at approximately 9:00.

We ensured with the staff of the hospital that the victim could safely be brought back to the MDRS. They gave us the contact of an orthopedic surgeon located in Richfield, mentioning the fact that it would certainly be possible to have an appointment there as early as on Monday (Sol 22) and to proceed with surgery on Tuesday (Sol 23). This still requires confirmation, until we can contact the surgeon on Monday and have an appointment. In the meantime, the victim is taking painkillers.

The 4 crewmembers left the Sevier Valley Hospital at approximately 10:00, taking turns driving. At their arrival in Hanksville, they filled the tank of the CrewCar and they were back at the MDRS at approximately 14:30.

Overall, the simulation had to be broken during approximately 15 hours. We discussed the event and its consequences as a crew and took the decision to continue the simulation as much as possible, while making sure that the injured crewmember will have the necessary medical support. We would like to very sincerely thank Sergii for his perfect reaction and support at all times.

The rest of the day was dedicated to getting some rest, as most of the crewmembers did not have the opportunity to sleep at all because of this event.

Look Ahead Plan:

All the EVAs including the injured crewmember have to be cancelled until the end of the simulation. The optimistic plan is to see the surgeon as early as on Monday (Sol 22), so that they can potentially have surgery on Tuesday (Sol 23). We will know more about this plan when we can call the surgeon, whose contact has been given by the Sevier Valley hospital, on Monday (Sol 22). We will make sure to keep close contact with Mission Support, to communicate all the information that may be relevant to the health of this crewmember as well as to the continuation of the simulation. So far, and with your approval, we plan to use the CrewCar to proceed with the transport of the injured crewmember.

In the meantime, we will have to change the batteries of the atmospheric instruments, since they cannot last for more than 48 hours in cold weather. We are planning a very short EVA dedicated to these operations tomorrow (Sol 21), with only two crewmembers.

A media visit is planned for next Tuesday (Sol 23) with a crew from France Televisions. We will keep you updated as soon as we have more information regarding their planned arrival and departure.

Anomalies in work: None.

Weather: Cloudy, low -3°C/26°F, high 9°C/48°F.

Crew Physical Status: One crewmember injured (broken collarbone / clavicula), awaiting appointment with a surgeon early next week (Sol 22) in Richfield.

EVA: EVA # 16 was cancelled, because four crewmembers were away from the MDRS at the moment the EVA should have happened.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, EVA Report, EVA Request, Operations Report, Journalist Report, GreenHab Report, HSO Report.

Support Requested: None.

Crew 275 Sol Summary Report 03Mar2023

Sol: 19

Summary Title: Under the spotlight

Author’s name: Jeremy Rabineau, Commander.

Mission Status: Nominal.

Sol Activity Summary:

Finally, a day when we wake up and don’t see the landscape covered with snow or mud! The flipside of this coin is that the temperature in the spacesuits got higher than usual and the EVA crew was very tired after their 4-hour EVA. We are no longer used to walk 10 000 steps a day, and even less in a spacesuit! An exhausting EVA, but a very fulfilling one, as all the objectives have been accomplished in perfect agreement with the planned timeline. The LOAC has been re-installed, while the batteries and the SD cards of all the other atmospheric instruments have been changed. All the checkpoints of the photogrammetry experiment have been identified by the subjects onsite at Candor Chasma, where the terrain was still slightly muddy.

The main event of the day was the presence of a journalist crew from BBC. They accompanied us during the first hour of our EVA. They then filmed the activities in the Upper Deck, the lunch, and finally they spent the whole afternoon interviewing us at our dedicated workplaces: the Science Dome, the GreenHab, etc. It was honestly a bit strange to see other people after three weeks just among us, but we are happy that they were very cooperative and respectful regarding the simulation. We are looking forward to seeing the output they can get out of their footage.

Look Ahead Plan:

Tomorrow (Sol 20), we would like to have our third EVA to Candor Chasma. The EVA crews will have to find specific checkpoints based on a 3D render. We would like to take the opportunity of this EVA to change the batteries of the atmospheric instruments, since they cannot last for more than two days, and we are not planning any EVA for Sunday.

Another media visit is planned for next Tuesday (Sol 23) with a crew from France Televisions. We will keep you updated as soon as we have more information regarding their planned arrival and departure.

Anomalies in work: None.

Weather: Cloudy, low -5°C/23°F, high 8°C/46°F.

Crew Physical Status: Optimal.

EVA: EVA # 15 was successful, both the main (photogrammetry) and secondary (atmospheric instruments) objectives have been fulfilled.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, EVA Report, EVA Request, Operations Report, Journalist Report, GreenHab Report, Astronomy Report.

Support Requested: None.