Category: Sol Summary

Crew 263 Sol Summary Report 28-02-2022

Sol: 7

Summary Title: Back to work

Author’s name: Cerise Cuny

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: Surprisingly after a day of rest, we felt more tired this morning when we woke up than during the previous week. The two morning EVAs went smoothly. Meanwhile, the crew Engineer and I tested the broken earpiece with several radios and modes. We spotted some exposed wires which may be the source of the issue. As the earpiece has not been subject to any violent/unusual use, maybe it is very sensitive. To make sure we do not damage any other earpiece, we will think about ways to attach the wire so that it cannot get caught in anything while on EVA. Our astronomer worked on astrophotography images and tried to retrace the light curve of an exoplanet transit using the data from the New Mexico remote telescope.

We had lunch all together, as usual: we deeply value these moments when we can share the latest development in our experiments, our feelings about being on Mars, far from our family and friends, how confinement and isolation impacts our mood, etc.

In the afternoon, our GreenHab officer started a spiruline experiment, which reminded her of her role even with the GreenHab being closed. We prepared our EVA plans for tomorrow. Some of us did artistic activities (water color painting and knitting).

Anomalies in work: None.

Weather: Sunny, 12°C at 6pm (warmer than last week).

Crew Physical Status: Good.

EVA: 2 EVAs (n°8,9). Both went well, no issue to report.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, 2 EVA Requests, 2 EVA Reports, Operations Report, Journalist Report, HSO Report.

Support Requested: No support requested.

Crew 263 Sol Summary Report 27-02-2022

Sol: 6

Summary Title: Rest day

Author’s name: Cerise Cuny

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: Today was our rest day, except for two very short EVAs. We thoroughly cleaned the Hab. We watched movies, played games. I worked a bit on my water consumption monitoring experiment. Shannon worked all day to fix the SOC issue, we are very grateful for her work.

Anomalies in work: None.

Weather: Mostly sunny, thin clouds, cold.

Crew Physical Status: Very good.

EVA: Two EVAs, one in the morning to change the batteries of the atmospheric experiments, and one in the afternoon for an application testing with a HoloLens. Both went well.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, 2 EVA Requests, 2 EVA Reports, Operations Report, Journalist Report, HSO Report.

Support Requested: None except the spare earpiece mentioned in the Operations report.

Crew 263 Sol Summary Report 26-02-2022

Sol: 5

Summary Title: Back to (Martian) reality

Author’s name: Cerise Cuny

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: In the morning we did an EVA to change the batteries of the atmospheric experiments. Nicolas and Valentine tried to make contact with Toulouse, in France (simulating a different Mars settlement) but it failed, they are going to try again in a few days.

For lunch, we cooked soup with some of the cabbage of our last harvest. It warmed up the crew members which was quite necessary as the day was very cold. Just after lunch, Shannon retrained us about EVAs and the philosophy of the sim. We were very grateful to have feedback: it will help us live the Martian experience better. We then finished the Mars puzzle together, which was quite a nice cohesion activity.

In the afternoon, we worked on our EVA requests to make them precise. Some of us went through human factors experiments. Two of the crew members used the RAM and its tools to do some repair work.

Anomalies in work: None.

Weather: Mostly sunny.

Crew Physical Status: Good.

EVA: One EVA in the morning, went well. We are doing 2 EVA Requests for tomorrow.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, 2 EVA Requests, EVA Report, Operations Report, Journalist Report, HSO Report, Astronomy Report.

Support Requested: None.

Crew 263 Sol Summary Report 25-02-2022

Sol: 4

Summary Title: Productive work day.

Author’s name: Cerise Cuny

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: While four of us were on EVA, the others (including me) did a sport session, swept the lower Hab and started the Mars puzzle. For lunch we cooked a delicious french gratin dauphinois -it is good to know that it is possible to do béchamel with dehydrated butter! In the afternoon, some of us were occupied with prepping MegaAres -that we might finally setup outside with the rest of the atmospheric experiments by the beginning of next week, Human Factors experiments that were exhausting, HF communication tests, and astronomy post-processing. Some bread is in the oven for tonights diner.

Look Ahead Plan: We are looking forward to trying communication with Toulouse tomorrow with our HF antenna. Hopefully the weather and terrain conditions will be good enough to do our first LIBS analysis during EVA.

Anomalies in work: None.

Weather: Mostly sunny.

Crew Physical Status: Good.

EVA: Two EVAs in the morning, both were successful.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, 2 EVA Requests, 2 EVA Reports, Operations Report, Journalist Report, HSO Report, Astronomy Report.

Support Requested: None.

Crew 263 Sol Summary Report 24-02-2022

Sol: 3

Summary Title: Critical Alert in GreenHab

Author’s name: Cerise Cuny

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: The morning EVA went pretty well, until one of the participants lost her mic, so we headed back to the Hab. The setup of the antenna was a great success and we were soon able to listen our first signals.

Just after lunch we were contacted by Shannon for an emergency in the GreenHab: we had to act right away to get rid of a fly contamination, all hands on deck. Sadly we had to get rid of all the plants, harvesting everything we could. There probably won’t be enough time to grow any new plants before the end of our sim. On the bright side, this evening, diner is going to be made of fresh vegetables.

This emergency prevented Elena and Mathéo from doing their afternoon EVA that should be postponed to Sol 5.

Look Ahead Plan: In the next days we are going to try to catch up with the missed experiments of this afternoon.

Anomalies in work: GreenHab emergency.

Weather: Mostly sunny.

Crew Physical Status: Good.

EVA: Two EVA’s. The morning EVA went well. The afternoon EVA was cancelled.

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

Support Requested: We found a tool holder in the RAM which would fit perfectly our LIBS analyser for EVAs and would also allow us to carry it in a safer manner. Could we use it during our EVAs? We would put it in the RAM immediately after use.

Crew 263 Sol Summary Report 23-02-2022

Sol: 2

Summary Title: Tiresome cognitive experiments.

Author’s name: Cerise Cuny

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: This morning we woke up with a Mars polar landscape, and immediately knew that the EVA would be jeopardized because of the snow. In the end, it was decided with mission support that we would only get out to change the batteries of the atmospheric experiment. It was a brief EVA (40 minutes); the landscape was beautiful. The Crew members that stayed in the Hab performed the ultrasound experiment for the CNES. After the EVA, our Crew Engineer repaired the faulty suit and swept the corridors.

In the afternoon, we went through our experiments just as planned. Mathéo and Marine did our human factors experiment, we all were subjects and operators for the ultrasound experiment, and Nicolas and I were subjects of a cognitive experiment. This last one was particularly exhausting: we had to teleoperate a rover lying on the side (among other body positions). I was totally disoriented, I flipped the rover, and it took me 15 minutes to get it back on its wheels! Nicolas is also frustrated because he flipped the rover too: this experiment may have an impact on our mood.

Look Ahead Plan: If the weather allows it, we will set up the antenna during the EVA to be able to start communicating with Toulouse, France (simulating another mars station) and explore a predefined geological area of interest for LIBS analysis. The afternoon will be less intense than today, just a few experiments and hopefully some rest.

Anomalies in work: None to report.

Weather: Cloudy, windy.

Crew Physical Status: Good.

EVA: One performed, everything went fine.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, 2 EVA Requests, EVA Report, Operations Report, Journalist Report, Astronomy Report, HSO Report.

Support Requested: We are out of garbage bags, and digesters. Just in case it did not reach the right person yesterday: it would be more convenient for us to have a second working GPS for tomorrow’s EVA as we need to record the GPS information of the observed point. Currently, only one GPS is working, it would be better to have another one for redundancy.

Crew 263 Sol Summary Report 22-02-2022

Sol: 1

Summary Title: First steps on Mars!

Author’s name: Cerise Cuny

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: At 7:00 AM, we did our first sport session organised by our HSO. After breakfast we prepared for our first EVA ; it was a bit longer than expected because we struggled with putting on the HoloLens inside the Spacesuit’s helmet. During the EVA, my crew mates really felt like they were on Mars and were positively surprised by how the spacesuits felt very real (or at least how they imagine a real Mars experience), because of their weight, the impact of the suit and gloves on mobility, and the constraint of the helmet on vision. We were unable to conduct one of the AR experiments because the HoloLens fell around the neck of Nicolas. Elena will improve the device for future EVAs.

After lunch some of us went through one of Crew 240’s human factors experiments while others did some prep work for tomorrow’s experiments such as the ultrasound protocol and the setup of the antenna. Our Journalist recorded the beginning of his podcast’s first episode, which sounds absolutely amazing! Bread is in the oven for dinner, it smells wonderful in the hab!

Look Ahead Plan: If the terrain conditions allow it, I will go on a second Initiation EVA to Marble Ritual with the three remaining crew members. In the afternoon, all crew members will perform ultrasound sessions, both as operators and subjects, in order to test a CNES protocole.

Anomalies in work: None to report.

Weather: Cloudy.

Crew Physical Status: Perfectly fine.

EVA: One performed, everything went fine except for the aforementioned HoloLens issue.

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

Support Requested: Only one GPS is working (we already tried changing batteries for the other ones) ; if possible we would like to have another working one for redundancy.

Crew 263 Sol Summary Report 21-02-2022

Sol: 0

Summary Title: Beginning of sim

Author’s name: Cerise Cuny

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: This morning we went on with the training with Atila. We tried on the suits and everyone was attributed a specific suit number to keep during the whole mission. Then we tested the rovers on the main road from the MDRS to the intersection with Galileo Road. Back in the hab we went threw the maps. We were pleased to see that the points of interest for a Geological experience were definitely accessible. We went threw the sim philosophy with Atila. We tried to take photos in front of the Hab but the wind was too strong and we couldn’t keep our eyes open.

At noon, we enjoyed our last steps on Earth and definitely closed the door to start the sim. I did a quick motivational speech and each one of us expressed its expectations for this three-week experience as a group, on a professional point of view, and individually.

This afternoon we had some experiments to do : we did a tutorial for an Augmented Reality experiment, and some of us had individual experiments to prep for the rest of the sim.

Look Ahead Plan: Tomorrow we will do our first EVA and get more into the afternoon routine of experiments.

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: Violent gusts of wind, snow in the evening.

Crew Physical Status: Fine

EVA: None

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, EVA Request, Operation Report, Journalist Report, Astronomy Report, HSO Report.

Support Requested: We would need some salt and kitchen clothe if possible.

Crew 263 Sol Summary Report 20-02-2022

Sol: -1

Summary Title: First day of training

Author’s name: Cerise Cuny

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: After a bit of a stressful morning, we managed to reach the MDRS and begun training with Atila. We did a quick tour around the station to discover the amazing Mars landscape. Our HSO completed the initial checklist while our Greenhab Officer watered the plants and the rest of the crew did a food inventory. We are extremely excited because it is the beginning of the mission that completes a year’s work. We can’t wait to begin the simulation.

Look Ahead Plan: We will go on with the training tomorrow, focusing on EVAs, and then start the sim.

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: Very windy, clear sky, a bit cloudy in the afternoon.

Crew Physical Status: Fine

EVA: None

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Bios & Photos, Crew Patch, HSO checklist.

Support Requested: None

Crew 240 Sol Summary Report 18Feb2022

Sol: 18

Summary Title: This is the end

Author’s name: Clément Plagne

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: Today was the last day. The whole crew was abuzz with the idea of being out soon, but we still stayed focused for the EVA as we needed to get clean data for Pierre’s experiment. The afternoon was spent working on the last videos for our outreach programme and working on our final human factors tests, and before we knew it, it was time to exit the hatch and get some fresh air. After the pictures taken, and the last of the work done, it was time to prepare for what has to come after.

Look Ahead Plan: Well, not much left to do, is there? Let’s just get the station nice and clean for the next crew

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: Fair

Crew Physical Status: Good

EVA: One, nominal

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

Support Requested: None.