Sol: 4
Summary Title: Surviving windy Mars
Author’s name: Alba Sánchez Montalvo
Mission Status: Advancing well
Sol Activity Summary:
We started the day early today because it was planned to be a very busy one! In the morning, the whole team were on EVA (in two turns) for Romain’s experiment about manipulating the drone. We did it all during the morning because the wind was expected to be too strong in the afternoon. They were two fast EVAs. Back at the station, a delicious meal cooked by Imane was waiting for us, so we all had lunch before doing anything else. Later, Alba, Arnaud and Imane collected their samples for their biomedical research: blood, saliva and inflammatory cell count in blood. To continue with our experiments, we followed Romain’s instructions for the TapStrap on how to order the drone to perform a certain action; we had a consultation with our psychologist Loriane to discuss our personality profiles; last, we had a meeting with Hippolyte for his AI crew mate experiment. But that’s not all. The team also worked on doing some content in the form of videos for our collaborations and visibility of the project, showing around the different modules and their function in the station.
Look Ahead Plan: No EVAs planned for tomorrow, the crew will focus on the mission plan and in a big cleaning of the station
Anomalies in work: Perseverance’s handbrake seems to be a little loose. The rover is still going backwards even if the handbrake is on. Suit 2 (stuck valve) and Suit 5 (battery) are going to be checked.
Weather: cloudy in the morning, very windy from the afternoon on
Crew Physical Status: everyone feels quite good, some people feel a little bit tired
EVA: During the sixth EVA on Sol 6, led by Romain Maddox, the crew focused on continuing Romain Maddox’s experiment, which had begun with a baseline measurement on Sol 1. This session was dedicated to the first actual data collection, to be followed by additional sessions on Sols 8, 11, and 12. Utilizing a Parrot Anafi drone, the four crew members each conducted 8 maneuvers lasting approximately 7 minutes, within a 60-meter radius around their rover at Marble Ritual—the same location as their previous EVA. They were prepared to extend up to 60 meters from the rover if necessary, though protocol required them to stay within 20 meters and to notify the Main Hab should they need to exceed this distance due to potential drone malfunctions.
The EVA began at 9am and concluded at 9:51am. After a preparatory period that included a suit change and time in the airlock, the team reached the Marble Ritual site, where Arnaud refreshed everyone on the experiment’s objectives. The tests commenced with Romain, followed by Arnaud, Louis, and Imane. Despite a brief increase in wind speed during Imane’s turn, conditions quickly improved, allowing the experiments to proceed smoothly. The crew also captured several photographs of the surrounding landscape before returning to the hab.
To end up data collection, the crew repeated this EVA later the same day, conducting an identical session at 11AM with the remaining crew members, ensuring consistency in their experimental approach and data quality
Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Journalist’s Report, Greenhab Report, Operations Report, Photos (6-8 pics), EVA Report
Support Requested: NA
Sol Summary – April 5th
Sol: 5
Summary Title: Time to shine on Mars
Author’s name: Alba Sánchez Montalvo
Mission Status: In progress
Sol Activity Summary:
Weather forecast was horrible for today. During the morning, through the window, we could see a huge dust storm on the horizon! The girls managed to wash their hair with less than 5L of water for the 3 of them. Since the conditions were not ideal, we did not plan any EVAs for today. During the morning, we cleaned every module and worked on a mid-mission summary, to report how our experiments are advancing.
Early in the afternoon, we spent some time making different videos for our social media, our collaborations and for promoting space exploration and science. We laughed a lot behind the scenes, we are definitely not made for the camera but for drones, microscopes and research.
To finish the day, as usual, we worked on our daily reports and appreciated having more time to be relaxed and together as a team. We discussed our next steps for the weekend and had dinner together, looking forward to one more sol on Mars!
Look Ahead Plan: The EVA mission scheduled for tomorrow entails a maintenance check at the weather station to evaluate wind damage and dust formations. Following this, the crew will head north for a geological survey near Cow Dung Road 0110 and Brahe Hwy 1572, prioritizing fossil discovery while monitoring rover battery levels to stay above 50%.
Anomalies in work: none
Weather: windy during the entire day
Crew Physical Status: everyone is feeling in shape
EVA: N/A
Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Journalist’s Report, Greenhab Report, Operations Report, Photos (6-8 pics), EVA Request(s)
Support Requested: N/A
Sol Summary – April 6th
Sol: 6
Summary Title: Discovering the martian history below our feet
Author’s name: Alba Sánchez Montalvo
Mission Status: In progress
Sol Activity Summary:
This sol was expected to be windy in the afternoon, so half of the team (Maxime, Romain, Hippolyte and Loriane) went on an EVA early in the morning. The main goal was to repair Maxime’s weather station because of the strong wind we had in SOL 5 and to explore and discover some fossils. Meanwhile, the rest of the team worked on their projects at the station. The expedition returned to the station with some interesting stones and minerals to have a look at them under the microscope. Imane cooked a delicious ‘chilli con carne’ and later, some crew members took a nap and some others played board games. The crew members that were left had psychological consultations with Loriane today. The rest of the evening was chill, it was very windy and we stayed in the main hab and different modules working on our project.
Look Ahead Plan: there’s an exploratory EVA planned for tomorrow for the biomedical team, psychological consultations will finish tomorrow
Anomalies in work: we found the freezer in the science dome not completely closed even though last night we checked that is was ok
Weather: light wind in the morning, stronger in the afternoon and evening
Crew Physical Status: a little bit tired but very excited about the simulation
EVA: The EVA crew successfully reached the station after their rover parked at Pooh’s Corner sustained some damage from high winds, including a torn wind indicator. They repaired it using duct tape and confirmed the wind’s impact through camera recordings. After station maintenance, they conducted a geological survey near the intersection of Cow Dung Road 0110 and Brahe Hwy 1572. They found gypsum and collected samples but did not discover any fossils despite thorough searching. They returned to the hab with the gypsum samples for later analysis.
Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Journalist’s Report, Greenhab Report, Operations Report, Photos (6-8 pics), EVA Report, EVA Request(s), Mid-mission research report.
Support Requested: NA
Sol Summary – April 1st
Sol: 1
Summary Title: Getting used to Mars
Author’s name: Alba Sánchez Montalvo
Mission Status: initiated
Sol Activity Summary:
First day on Mars! This morning, the crew ATLAS had breakfast together after taking their probiotic/placebo treatment and prepared for their morning EVA which was mainly about drones. Half of the crew performed the baseline register for Romain’s experiment and Louis started to evaluate the surroundings for his experiment. During this time, part of the team also started the food summary and Maxime built his weather station mount in the RAM. After lunch, Alba, Arnaud and Imane performed blood cell count in a few drops of blood and collected saliva from the crew members for their biomedical research. In the afternoon, the other half of the team went on an EVA to do the baseline of Romain’s experiment. Once they were back to the station, Alba collected some blood from the crew members to extract serum and they also performed a salivary test for their studies. The crew had a good time together at the science dome during the analysis and right after, they came back to the main hab and they filled some forms for Loriane and Arnaud’s experiment on the psychological part of the simulation. During the day, everyone collected their feces and started collecting urines for the analysis of the biomedical team. To finish the day, the crew worked together on the daily reports.
Look Ahead Plan: the crew will do an EVA tomorrow. The purpose of the EVA involves two main experiments conducted by four crew members. Maxime and Loriane will work on setting up a weather station near the hab using the Curiosity rover, while Louis and Hippolyte will utilize the Spirit rover for Louis’ experiment, which involves conducting automated flights with a drone using PIX4Dcapture software. Both experiments focus on exploring the area around the hab, particularly the North Ridge, to gather data on weather conditions, terrain, and the feasibility of automated flight missions for future exploration.
Anomalies in work: Romain’s drone lost its connection during the EVA in the afternoon. Louis forgot some material for the complete use of his drone.
Weather: Cloudy and sunny in the morning, a little windy and warmer in the afternoon.
Crew Physical Status: nothing special, everyone feels good and active.
EVA: Despite Romain’s issue with the drone, we achieved our planned goals.
Reports to be filed: Sol summary, Journalist’s report, Greenhab report, operations report, EVA report, EVA request, astronomy report.
Support Requested: we asked for a table to place it in the science dome.
Sol Summary – April 2nd
Sol: 2
Summary Title: Chilling (or troubleshooting) on Mars
Author’s name: Alba Sánchez Montalvo
Mission Status: Ongoing
Sol Activity Summary:
The day started with a slow morning today. The team decided not to do any EVAs during this morning to rest and recover from the sleepless and frenetic days they had before arriving at the MDRS. Maxime made pancakes for breakfast and after that, some people worked on their experiments, played card games or had some time to do sports. After lunch, Louis, Loriane, Maxime and Hippolyte went on an EVA to set Maxime’s weather station and to start mapping our surroundings for Louis’ experiment. Arnaud, Romain, Imane and Alba stayed at the station and worked on their experiments. For Imane’s experiment’s, she weighed the stool tubes collected yesterday. She also weighed the next collection tubes. Hippolyte collected the first tomatoes from the GreenHab, they taste really good ! When the crew members came back from their EVA, everyone sat together to work on the reports about daily life and operations at the station before preparing dinner and having some time for team building to finish the day.
Look Ahead Plan: 2 EVAs (one in the morning and one in the afternoon) will be performed. The first one will be performed by Maxime and Alba. They will pursue Maxime’s experiment and explore a new area. The second EVA will focus on continuing Louis’ experiment and automatically flight the drone above more diverse landscapes. To help Louis in his endeavor, Hippolyte and Arnaud will be joining him in his journey. The crew members staying in the station will continue to work on their respective experiments but they will be no need to take medical samples from the crew members.
Anomalies in work: Louis (Engineer) had struggles with setting up his experiment. At first, the drone wouldn’t take off because of magnetic interference even though the drone was isolated on the ground. After a few minutes of troubleshooting with Hippolyte’s help, the drone was able to take off. During the same EVA, Maxime had problems with his weather station. His wind indicator partially broke and a future EVA should be planned to repair it.
Weather: blue and clear skies, sunny and warm the whole day!
Crew Physical Status: everyone is feeling good after some rest
EVA: They began by exiting their station to secure Maxime’s weather station to the Curiosity rover, heading towards Pooh’s Corner. However, the weather station suffered damage on the way, specifically losing its wind direction indicator. Despite this, they managed to set up the station west of Pooh’s Corner and activated its cameras. They noted a low battery alert but proceeded with their mission, planning to address these issues in a follow-up EVA.
Simultaneously, another team struggled with magnetic interference affecting their drone’s takeoff. With some troubleshooting, they overcame this obstacle, enabling the drone to complete its first automatic flight, which validated the basic parameters of their experiment.
Following their respective tasks, they gathered and headed towards Cowboy Corner for further exploration. However, due to navigational errors, they stopped near North Ridge instead, where they decided to climb the hills to gather additional data through pictures and videos. The day concluded with the team returning to their base, marking the end of their EVA.
Reports to be filed: Sol summary, Journalist’s report, Greenhab report, operations report, EVA report, EVA request, astronomy report.
Support Requested: the biomedical team made a request for Sergii to pick up a package at the end of the week and asked for permission to leave the station for a few hours during the last day of simulation to arrange the shipment of the different samples collected during the experience to Belgium.
Sol Summary – April 3rd
Sol: 3
Summary Title: Mars is our oyster
Author’s name: Alba Sánchez Montalvo
Mission Status: Ongoing
Sol Activity Summary:
This morning, Maxime and Alba went on an EVA to repair and check on Max’s weather station and explore the surroundings. The rest of the crew stayed at the station and worked on their experiments and tasks in the different modules. After having lunch together, Louis, Arnaud and Hippolyte prepared for their EVA to perform the automatic flight with Louis’ drone to study the area between the MDRS, the Hab Ridge and the North Ridge. Meanwhile, the rest of the team listened to some music and worked on their experiments. Maxime spent some time at the observatory doing solar observations and following the tutorials on how to take pictures. Arnaud, Hippolyte, Romain and Alba spent some time together doing some sports, regretting not having unlimited water to have a shower, reminding us that we are on Mars now! Later, the team sat together to work on the daily reports before having dinner and resting to face one more day.
Look Ahead Plan: the team plans to go on EVA tomorrow, if the windy weather allows, to perform Romain’s experiment with the drone and the TapStrap. The biomedical team will perform the second time point of collection of their samples tomorrow (blood, saliva and salivary test for aMMP-8).
Anomalies in work: At the end of EVA#5, we forgot some equipment in the Curiosity rover. We let Arnaud search for the material without another person accompanying him. We are aware that it is necessary to always have two people outside the station during each outing, and this mistake will not happen again. We will discuss this during our daily meeting to avoid this type of occurrence in the future.
Weather: clear skies, sunny and warm
Crew Physical Status: full or energy, fully adapted to Mars
EVA: For the EVA #4, the astronauts successfully completed their mission by locating the weather station using GPS coordinates gathered during yesterday’s EVA. They used duct tape to fix the wind indicator and replaced the battery. While checking the trap cameras, they found no dust activity due to low wind speed, as expected. After the weather station repairs, they headed west towards Hab Ridge, encountering intriguing geological formations such as small sinkholes in the valley south of the footpath. Upon reaching the ridge’s peak, they captured stunning scenery in photographs. Feeling fatigued and overheated in their suits, the team opted not to venture further east. Descending the ridge via a wash, they returned safely to the hab at 10:31, having walked approximately 1.24 miles.
Regarding EVA #5, comprising Louis, Arnaud, and Hippolyte, utilized the Perseverance and Curiosity rovers for transportation. Initially, the trio journeyed to the North Ridge via Cow Dung Road 0110 to further explore the area discovered during the previous day’s EVA (#3). With growing confidence in their suited mobility, they ascended higher hills than the previous day’s exploration after parking their rovers by the roadside. This provided them with a better understanding of the area south of the North Rim. En route back to the rovers, they paused at the base of the North Ridge to investigate intriguing geological formations and conducted Louis’ inaugural automatic drone flight. Upon reuniting with the rovers, the team proceeded to Cowboy Corner using Cow Dung Road 0110. Once there and with the rover parked, they ventured towards the western hills of Cowboy Corner. This vantage point afforded them a deeper understanding of the area north of Cowboy Corner and a panoramic view not visible from the station. However, conditions and terrain were unsuitable for the planned second automatic drone flight. Drawing from the data collected at North Ridge, Louis opted to cancel the second flight. Subsequently, the crew returned to the MDRS via Cow Dung Road 0110, rejoining their rovers for the journey.
Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Journalist’s Report, Greenhab Report, Operations Report, Photos (6-8 pics), EVA Report, EVA Request(s) (if applicable), Astronomy Report (if applicable)
Support Requested: N/A
Sol Summary – March 14th
Crew 293 Sol Summary Report 14-03-2024
Sol: 25
Summary Title: Cake and Confetti
Author’s name: Marie Delaroche, Crew Commander
Mission Status: Nominal
Sol Activity Summary:
Last Photogrammetry EVA this morning! I left the Hab with the Crew Astronomer and GreenHab Officer, equipped only with some notes taken from a 2D map of Kissing Camel Ridge. We managed to find 11 of the 12 checkpoints; the terrain was much harder to read than previous locations: we spent more than an hour looking for the last two. As we were going to head back to the rovers, the Crew Astronomer’s suit started malfunctioning, sending very little air. The helmet was taken off for safety, and we made our way back to the Hab.
What I did not know, was that while I was out on EVA, the rest of the crew was preparing a surprise birthday party for me! I came back to an Upper Deck decorated with balloons and filled with a scent of cake. I am lucky to be a part of this group of thoughtful and amazing people!
In the afternoon, we started to feel the end of our rotation creep nearer and nearer… some experiments have been officially wrapped up, such as EchoFinder and AI4U. We swap opinions and feelings about what we look forward to on Earth, but also about what we are going to miss about living at MDRS: contributing to science, the intensity of our life here, and most importantly, being with each other.
Look Ahead Plan:
We aim to dismantle and retrieve all atmospheric instruments on Sol 26 (morning), and to break sim at 6 PM.
Anomalies in work: EVA Suits 6, 7 and 9
Weather: Cloudy, Low 1°C, High 12°C
Crew Physical Status: Nominal
EVA: Photogrammetry exploration EVA, Kissing Camel Ridge
Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Journalist’s Report, GreenHab Report, Operations Report, Photos (6-8 pics), EVA Reports, EVA Request
Support Requested: NA
Sol Summary – March 15th
Sol: 26
Summary Title: A New Chapter
Author’s name: Marie Delaroche, Crew Commander
Mission Status: Nominal
Sol Activity Summary:
There was definitely a strange vibe when the Crew awoke this morning. Everything was done for the last time: taking our daily measurements, going through our last workout session… But the rest of the Sol did not go according plan. We were supposed to dismantle and retrieve the atmospheric instruments during an EVA this morning. Due to rain and snowfall, conditions were deemed unsuitable to perform this last EVA. The station was also placed in “low power” mode, as the solar panels struggled to keep up.
After finishing wrapping up our experiments, taking our last tests and writing our final reports, we broke sim at 4 PM to dismantle the atmospheric instruments. A seagull flew and circled above us as we worked, welcoming us home, as if we were back from a long journey at sea!
Look Ahead Plan:
We will complete and send the checkout list tomorrow morning. At what time can the HabCar 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.
Anomalies in work: EVA Suits 6,7,9
Weather: Rain, low 0°C, high 5°C
Crew Physical Status: Nominal
EVA: NA
Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Journalist’s Report, GreenHab Report, Operations Report, Photos (6-8 pics), Mission Summary, Food Inventory, Mission Science Report
Support Requested: NA
Sol Summary – March 12th
Crew 293 Sol Summary Report 12-03-2024
Sol: 23
Summary Title: The Calm before the Storm
Author’s name: Marie Delaroche, Crew Commander
Mission Status: Nominal
Sol Activity Summary:
Today was our last Sol with no EVA planned, before the final sprint. The Crew is starting to plan for post-mission data collection and analysis, as well as logistical considerations. We spent the day continuing to run experiments, and most notably preparing the last MELiSSA meal. We are looking forward to sharing our results with all of the researchers who are counting on us!
In the afternoon, more coding, more data handling, more work… A routine is definitely established, and it’s almost frustrating to see that we are going to have to leave Mars soon after having found a stable rhythm. But the next three Sols will be far from a smooth ride: all of our studies need to be wrapped up, the last bits of data collected, and preparations for our trip to Earth made.
Look Ahead Plan:
The two exploration EVAs at Kissing Camel Ridge (involving a 2D team and a 3D team) are scheduled on Sol 24 and Sol 25. We aim to dismantle and retrieve all atmospheric instruments on Sol 26 (morning), and to break sim at 6 PM.
Anomalies in work: EVA suits 7 and 9
Weather: Cloudy, low 0°C, high 12°C
Crew Physical Status: Nominal
EVA: NA
Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Journalist’s Report, GreenHab Report, Operations Report, Photos (6-8 pics), EVA Request
Support Requested: NA
Sol Summary – March 13th
Crew 293 Sol Summary Report 13-03-2024
Sol: 24
Summary Title: Mission objective: Save the station
Author’s name: Marie Delaroche, Crew Commander
Mission Status: Nominal
Sol Activity Summary:
No Sol on Mars is uneventful, especially when one gets closer and closer to the end of their mission… This morning, the last exploration EVA supported by 3D mapping took place at Kissing Camel Ridge, involving the Crew Engineer, Crew Journalist and Crew Scientist. As the Journalist and Engineer were searching for checkpoints, suit n°5 stopped working. While the Crew tried troubleshooting on site, they could not find the source of the issue, and the EVA had to be continued out of sim for one of the EVA crew members. Once they were all safely back at the Hab, the Crew Engineer was able to figure out the source of the issue.
Meanwhile, after doing some more troubleshooting on the Echofinder tool, we have decided to continue running the experiment without the AI assistant, using only Augmented Reality. One session was performed this afternoon, the final one will take place on Sol 25.
With the help of Mission Support, we were also able to test our Anomaly Monitoring Interface, while simultaneously performing a meaningful fix outside the station. At 16:08, a programmed depressurization alarm resounded, prompting the crew to follow a realistic emergency EVA procedure. The objective was to repair the tunnel to the Science Dome; the designated crew was successful, the tunnel is now much safer to travel through. The interface test was also successful. We believe this tool could be a great addition for future simulations.
Look Ahead Plan:
The final exploration EVA for the Photogrammetry EVA is to take place on Sol 25. We aim to dismantle the atmospheric instruments on Sol 26, before breaking sim at 6 PM.
Anomalies in work: EVA Suits 7, 9
Weather: Partly cloudy; low 5°C, high 15°C
Crew Physical Status: Nominal
EVA: Exploration of Kissing Camel Ridge (Photogrammetry)
Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Journalist’s Report, GreenHab Report, Operations Report, Photos (6-8 pics), EVA Reports, EVA Request, Astronomy Report
Support Requested:
We would like to thank Ben for his support on this afternoon’s EVA, and for giving us the opportunity to perform it.
The tools used for the emergency EVA have been placed in the RAM Airlock. We will cut the protruding ends of the zip ties in the Science Dome tunnel tomorrow.