Category: Sol Summary

Sol: 8

Summary Title: Tick Tock

Author’s name: Inga Popovaite

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary:

Our time on Mars is racing towards the end. Today we realized that we have less than a handful of sols left, and I think we all wish we can stay longer. Far away from Covid and other problems that plagues our home planet.

The morning started with another EVA. This time Lindsay and Dave went back Jotunheim to collect more samples for Lindsay’s DNA study and Jin acted as the head HabComm. The EVA crew left early, at 8 am, and came back a couple of hours later, just seconds before it started to rain. But then another EVA had to be conducted to retrieve a phone left behind in one of the rovers. Inga and Lindsay suited up, depressurized for five minutes and went to get the phone. Less than a couple of minutes later, they were back into the airlock with the phone for another five minutes of repressurization. It was probably one of the more complicated phone retrievals in the author’s life.

For lunch Inga and Lindsay warmed up leftover vegetable soup and made Red Lobster Cheddar biscuits to go with it. The crew watched an episode of Away while eating.

Afterwards, everyone worked on their own projects. Lindsay continued her research in the Science Dome, Jin caught up on his grad school work, Inga set up an improvised TV studio downstairs to film some outreach videos, and Dave tinkered with things around the Hab. Inga and Dave measured water tanks in Hab and the GreenHab, and calculated that the loft tank holds ~60 gallons and the GreenHab tank holds ~236 gallons of water.

We are ending the day with another pizza tonight.

Look Ahead Plan: Inga and Dave are going to an EVA tomorrow, Lindsay continues her research work, Jin will continue updating the map of the area.

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: Rain in early and mid afternoon, cloudy afterwards.

Crew Physical Status: Nominal

EVA: EVA #6 to Jotunheim

Reports to be filed: Journalist Report, EVA report, EVA request, Science Report, crew photos

Support Requested: None

Sol: 7

Summary Title: The Stars Are Calling…

Author’s Name: Jin Sia, HSO

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary:

Inga prepared a breakfast of oats and fruit this morning. At 0900, Jin
and Inga departed on the EVA of the day, which covered extensive
objectives and spatial area. They tested two prospective EVA paths to
ascend the delta escarpment south of Kissing Camel Ridge West and
conducted an interview about field exploration with the escarpment as
a stunning background. Jin surveyed radio reception quality south of
Robert’s Rock Garden, then the team conducted a similar survey over a
nearly 4-kilometre stretch of Cow Dung Road, learning valuable
insights about the value of viewshed analysis for communications. Inga
also helped Jin practice his Russian with words relevant to driving,
like "поехали", "хорошо", and "давай".

In the afternoon, Dave conducted a fascinating post-lunch
show-and-tell about the history of electronics. He showed samples of
punch-cards for computers, toroid magnetic memory (like that used on
the Apollo spacecraft), integrated circuit designs he made, and old
models of floppy disks. Later, he led a discussion on what Martian
society could be like. He started the discussion with the prompt:
"Food production will be done by specially trained personnel and run
by a single organization answering to a citizen committee." The crew
launched on multiple tangents delving into topics like sociology, the
nuclear family structure, astrodynamics, and gender inequality. The
crew learned a lot from each other and look forward to the next
session.

Finally, in the evening, Lindsay, Jin, and Inga started putting
together a Martian pizza. It’s currently in the making as this report
is being written and we can’t wait to try it.

On Sol 7, the crew pushed the boundaries of exploration and of the
imagination in pursuit of the goal of Mars. The stars are calling, and
we must go.

Look Ahead Plan: Lindsay will lead a second EVA to the Jotunheim
formation tomorrow to collect more samples. She will be accompanied by
Dave, who will continue Jin’s work in geographical data collection.

Anomalies in work: Some of the radio batteries are old and are causing
issues during EVA operations. Three radios failed during EVA #5 for
this reason. Dave Laude is conducting a systematic investigation.

Weather: Warm (low 80s F) and sunny.

Crew Physical Status: All crew nominal.

EVA: EVA #5

Reports to be filed: Photo report, journalist report, science report,
operations report, GreenHab report, EVA #5 report, EVA #6 request.

Support requested: None.

END

Crew 228 Sol Summary Report 03OCT2021

Sol: 6

Summary Title: Mid Way

Author’s name: David Laude XO/Crew Engineer

Mission Status: Going as planned.

Sol Activity Summary: We started the day with a simple cereal breakfast offered by Dave featuring the granola extracted from Dave’s personal supply ship yesterday at the end of EVA#4. Granola was missing in our food supply. After breakfast we discussed the day’s activities. Today is the least active of all so far and happens to coincide with today being Sunday. Water was delivered to the static tank. We quietly worked on our research projects and planned for tomorrow’s EVA including some ideas for a couple more. A terrific hot potato casserole lunch was prepared and served by Jin. At lunch we watched an episode of "Moon Base 8". It’s a comedy regarding a moon base analog in Arizona that looks generally like MDRS. This episode focused on running out of water and a deadly attempt to remedy the situation by a crew member digging a well and falling into a cave-in. About 10 radios were tested for functionality and battery condition. One or two suspect radios and a failed battery were identified. A few more of both will be tested in the next few days.

Look Ahead Plan: EVA tomorrow morning. Ongoing research project work at hab.

Anomalies in work: None.

Weather: Warm (80F) and sunny. No Storms.

.

Crew Physical Status: All crew nominal.

EVA: None today.

Reports to be filed: Science, Journalist, Crew Photos, EVA request and this Sol Summary

Support Requested: None.

Sol: 5

Summary Title: Exploring the Unexplored

Author’s name: Jin Sia

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary:

Jin prepared a breakfast of omelettes loaded with vegetables and
cheese with a side of sauteed potato slices. Then, it was time for
Dave and Inga to begin preparing for their EVA.

Today at 0900, Dave and Inga departed on Crew 228’s first exploration
EVA. They drove south in the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers to
explore the dried-out river delta located to the west of Robert’s Rock
Garden, which is underexplored, by recommendation of Dr. Rupert. They
planned an ambitious EVA; they aimed to find interesting sites for
future exploration, test the digital elevation model of the area,
record material for outreach, study group interaction, test a
makeshift suit sunshade, and most importantly, retrieve vital granola
supplies from Dave’s personal supply spacecraft. While they were
unable to scale the escarpment, several valuable lessons were learned
about EVA protocol and about the difficulty of the local landscape.

After they returned from their EVA at 1300 with the all-important
granola, the crew had leftovers for a late lunch. Lindsay conducted
mid-term check-ins with each of the crew to see how the mission was
going for them. Jin began putting together some health and safety
recommendations in preparation for the end of the simulation.

Then, Lindsay began work on her genomic analysis of the samples
collected from the Jotunheim structure on Sol 4, although she had to
do so without a micro-centrifuge due to a missing power cable. Dave
the Wizard and Jin brainstormed alternate ways to power the
centrifuge. Inga prepared tomato soup for dinner with pasta, chicken,
and leftover vegetables.

Overall, it was a busy and productive day for Crew 228.

Look Ahead Plan:

Lindsay will continue her work analyzing the Jotunheim samples. Jin
will continue refining his GIS map and virtually scouting out future
EVA targets. Inga will film outreach videos for the Lithuanian media.
Dave will assist Inga and set aside some time for a crew discussion
about how Martian society would be different from the one they left
behind on Earth. Jin and Dave, together, will also do operational
checks on all the radios to identify and isolate defective units and
batteries.

Anomalies in work: None to report.

Weather: Hot and sunny, with a high of 85 F during the EVA.

Crew Physical Status: All crew nominal.

EVA: EVA #4, conducted by Dave and Inga, to the dried-up river delta.

Reports to be filed: EVA #4 report, science report, journalist report,
operations report, photo report

Support Requested: None.

Sol Summary Report

Lindsay Rutter, Crew Commander 228

Sol: 4

Summary Title: Homeland of the Gods

Author’s name: Lindsay Rutter

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: We started our day at 0700 enjoying pancakes made by Dave. During the morning, each crew member worked on their own projects. Jin and I would be embarking on the first science EVA of the mission and we both thoroughly prepared for it. I was sterilizing my regolith collection equipment and determining best practices for regolith collection, knowing the limitations of the spacesuit. Jin was refining his geographical collection procedure.

After a quick lunch, Jin and I began suiting up for our endeavor. Waiting giddily in the airlock, we
pumped ourselves up by playing Multi-Axis Trainer from the First Man soundtrack. As we approached my favorite road in the solar system (Cow Dung Road), we noticed a space vehicle, filled with space tourists. They stopped and took our pictures (as tourists do).

Jin and I successfully located our targeted destination, an inverted river channel called Jotunheim, located west of Galileo Road. I was able to collect five samples of dark red regolith from the Jotunheim geographical feature, while Jin collected important metadata, including sample collection time, altitude, and GPS coordinates (WGS84). In Norse mythology, Jotunheim is the “Homeland of the Gods”, and I concur with whoever coined this geographical structure. Taking in the entire landscape was breathtakingly subliminal.

Despite the successful sample collection, we identified several operational areas for improvement that we can incorporate when we return to Jotunheim for another science EVA, this time to collect endolith and non-endolith rocks. We experienced radio blackout with HABCOM several times and I experienced issues with VOX functionality on my radio, which eventually lost battery power. We will perform a viewshed analysis of the radio blackout and bring a spare radio in our follow-up EVA science mission.

In the evening, Inga harvested several herbs from the GreenHab, which we used as toppings to the vegetable soup Jin and I concocted. We ended our hard-worked day with some treats. Some of us dared to try a tangy orange mystery drink that is apparently popular here at MDRS and Jin made us some cookies.

Look Ahead Plan: Inga and Dave will perform EVA #4 tomorrow, exploring a less-explored area South-West of Robert’s Garden

Anomalies in work: We have significantly less water remaining in our static tank than expected and have confirmed a few minor leakages around the HAB, although these small leakages should not add to anything close to the loss of water we are observing. We will continue to investigate.

Weather: Sunny and hot with few clouds

Crew Physical Status: Healthy

EVA: EVA 3 to the Jotunheim (see EVA reports filed separately)

Reports to be filed: Journalist Report, EVA report, EVA request, Science Report, Crew photos, GreenHab report, Operation Report

Support Requested: None

Sol Summary Report

Lindsay Rutter, Crew Commander 228

Sol: 4

Summary Title: Homeland of the Gods

Author’s name: Lindsay Rutter

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: We started our day at 0700 enjoying pancakes made by Dave. During the morning, each crew member worked on their own projects. Jin and I would be embarking on the first science EVA of the mission and we both thoroughly prepared for it. I was sterilizing my regolith collection equipment and determining best practices for regolith collection, knowing the limitations of the spacesuit. Jin was refining his geographical collection procedure.

After a quick lunch, Jin and I began suiting up for our endeavor. Waiting giddily in the airlock, we
pumped ourselves up by playing Multi-Axis Trainer from the First Man soundtrack. As we approached my favorite road in the solar system (Cow Dung Road), we noticed a space vehicle, filled with space tourists. They stopped and took our pictures (as tourists do).

Jin and I successfully located our targeted destination, an inverted river channel called Jotunheim, located west of Galileo Road. I was able to collect five samples of dark red regolith from the Jotunheim geographical feature, while Jin collected important metadata, including sample collection time, altitude, and GPS coordinates (WGS84). In Norse mythology, Jotunheim is the “Homeland of the Gods”, and I concur with whoever coined this geographical structure. Taking in the entire landscape was breathtakingly subliminal.

Despite the successful sample collection, we identified several operational areas for improvement that we can incorporate when we return to Jotunheim for another science EVA, this time to collect endolith and non-endolith rocks. We experienced radio blackout with HABCOM several times and I experienced issues with VOX functionality on my radio, which eventually lost battery power. We will perform a viewshed analysis of the radio blackout and bring a spare radio in our follow-up EVA science mission.

In the evening, Inga harvested several herbs from the GreenHab, which we used as toppings to the vegetable soup Jin and I concocted. We ended our hard-worked day with some treats. Some of us dared to try a tangy orange mystery drink that is apparently popular here at MDRS and Jin made us some cookies.

Look Ahead Plan: Inga and Dave will perform EVA #4 tomorrow, exploring a less-explored area South-West of Robert’s Garden

Anomalies in work: We have significantly less water remaining in our static tank than expected and have confirmed a few minor leakages around the HAB, although these small leakages should not add to anything close to the loss of water we are observing. We will continue to investigate.

Weather: Sunny and hot with few clouds

Crew Physical Status: Healthy

EVA: EVA 3 to the Jotunheim (see EVA reports filed separately)

Reports to be filed: Journalist Report, EVA report, EVA request, Science Report, Crew photos, GreenHab report, Operation Report

Support Requested: None

Crew 228 Sol Summary Report 30Sep2021

Sol: 3

Summary Title: Boots on Mars

Author’s name: Inga Popovaite

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary:

Third day on Mars was the most exciting so far. We had scrambled eggs with dry-freeze vegetables with some fresh bounty from the GreenHab (Swiss chard, tomatoes, micro greens, and lettuce) for breakfast. Afterwards, Lindsay and me suited up for the very first EVA of Crew 228. We went to the Marble Ritual about half a kilometer away. It might seem a short distance, but have you tried walking up and down a sandy hill and driving a rover wearing a 30 lbs spacesuit and a helmet? Not as easy as it sounds.

We left the Hab at 9.30 and came back at 11. Lindsay picked up some test samples, and I took pictures and videos of her doing that. Different data for different science, I guess 🙂

We had leftovers for lunch (rice and beans from last night’s dinner prepared by Dave). After lunch it was time for the second EVA of the day. This time, Jin and Dave stepped onto the Red Planet at 14.30 sharp (and came back at 16). The second EVA team also went to the Marble Ritual and test-drove two rovers (Spirit and Curiosity). This EVA climaxed with Jin reading on the radio “No sea was ever sailed” by Cordair from the top of the hill in front of the Hab. The silhouettes of the Mars Walkers and the backdrop of the rust-colored desert made it for quite a sight.

Diner was another feast prepared by Jin and Lindsay – a pasta dish with vegetarian tomato sauce enhanced by herbs from the GreenHab.

Another successful day on Mars.

Look Ahead Plan: Lindsay and Jin will go on an EVA tomorrow, Inga and Dave will work on their own projects back at the Hab and prepare for the EVA for the day after tomorrow.

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: Sunny morning followed by lightly overcast afternoon and yet another cotton candy sunset.

Crew Physical Status:

EVA: EVA #1 and EVA#2; both to the Marble Ritual (see EVA reports filed separately).

Reports to be filed: Journalist Report, EVA reports, EVA request, Science Report, crew photos

Support Requested: None

Inga Popovaitė

Crew 228 Sol Summary Report 29Sep2021

Sol: 2

Summary Title: Breath In, Slow Down

Author’s name: Inga Popovaite

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary:

Second day on Mars was a slow one. No EVAs were scheduled for the day due to inclement weather. The main activity of the crew was the safety tour of MDRS led by Jin, the crew HSO. Otherwise, we all worked on our own projects and slowly settled into life on Mars. Inga (crew scientist/GreenHab officer) planted some banana peppers, lettuce, chamomile and carrots. Cucumbers and zucchini seem to have sprouted overnight!

Lindsay set up her work space in the Science Dome, Dave fixed one of the room doors and worked on the radios, and Jin caught up with his blogging. Some of us took our very first showers.

Crew 228 slowed down, breathed in, and settled on Mars.

Look Ahead Plan: Planning to have first EVAs (the Marble Ritual) tomorrow.

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: Rain in the morning; overcast in the afternoon, beautiful cotton sunset.

Crew Physical Status: Feeling more rested than yesterday

EVA: None

Reports to be filed: Commanders Report, Journalist Report, EVA request, Science Report

Support Requested: None

Sol: 1

Summary Title: The Orange Bucket

Author’s name: Jin Sia (HSO)

Mission Status: Nominal, Hab fully prepared for in-sim operations

Sol Activity Summary: We started the day with breakfast pancakes made
by Dave, during which we discussed how our daily routine will run for
the next few sols. Then, we got to work cleaning the Hab lower deck
and the RAM. After a thorough vacuuming and mopping, including Inga
and Lindsay going over every square inch of the lower deck with paper
towels, the floors are now sparkling clean. We hope they won’t get too
dirty again if we keep our EVA boots confined to the airlocks –
perhaps this is a bit optimistic, given that we are surrounded by
literal mountains of dust! After a lunch of broccoli cheddar soup made
by Lindsay, we tested out the EVA suits by donning and doffing them on
the lower deck, then walking through the tunnel between the Hab and
the RAM. We found that the old style of spacesuits worked best for us
if the straps are secured properly. However, a ferocious Martian dust
storm (that contained a suspiciously large amount of liquid water)
quickly forced us back into the Hab. I proceeded to make a Malaysian
staple, Chinese-style fried rice. It turned out to be the best fried
rice I’ve ever made – does this mean that restaurants use freeze-dried
ingredients for fried rice?! Overall, it was a productive day that
ended with us all being very well-fed. We may find we’ve gained weight
at the end of this…

Look Ahead Plan: Inga will begin her psychological journal pilot study
later tonight. We also hope to file a plan for our first two EVAs on
the Red Planet tomorrow, if weather permits.

Anomalies in work: We encountered issues with the new spacesuit neck
rings that made them uncomfortable to wear. We will contact Dr. Rupert
to discuss next steps.

Weather: Warm and sunny this morning, but a thunderstorm came near the
Hab late in the afternoon. We did not need to evacuate to the lower
deck.

Crew Physical Status: All crew nominal, feeling better than yesterday.

EVA: None today.

Reports to be filed: GreenHab, Science, Photo, EVA request

Support Requested: RAM seems to be missing a smoke detector,
requesting an additional one to put there.

END

Sol-Summary Report
Jin Sing Sia, HSO

Submitted by: Jin Sia
Crew: 228
Date: 2021/09/26

Smoke alarms:
– Upper deck: Functional
– Lower deck: Functional
– RAM: None found, please advise on location
– GreenHab: Functional
– ScienceDome: Functional

CO alarms:
– Upper deck: Functional
– Lower deck: Beeping very soft, recommend battery replacement
– GreenHab: Functional

Fire extinguishers:
– Upper deck: Charged
– Kitchen: Charged
– Lower deck: 1 charged, 1 empty
– GreenHab: None found, recommend transferring one from ScienceDome
– ScienceDome: 2 charged
– RAM: Charged

Fire blankets:
– Kitchen: Ready
– RAM: Ready
– ScienceDome: Ready

First aid kits:
– Lower deck: Inventoried, items missing
– EVA room: Inventoried, minor issues found
– ScienceDome: Inventoried
– GreenHab: None found
– RAM: Inventoried

Jumper cables:
– EVA room: No longer there
– HabCar: Did not get chance to check
– CrewCar: Did not get chance to check

Emergency exits:
– Round window: All levers can be actuated
– Stairs: No non-nominal issues
– Commander’s room window: Unobstructed but no breaking tool
available; please advise if tool is required
– Emergency ladder: Transferred to correct compartment under sofa

HabCOMM radios on and working: Checked by work party crew

Noted safety issues:
– Toiletries cubbies: Contaminated with rat poison, toxicity hazard.
Strongly recommend thorough cleaning removal of poison block before
use.
– Engineering airlock: External door does not seem to close properly,
please advise
– Hab ladder: Falling hazard. Recommend minimum three-point contact at
all times, descend backwards only. Crew members should give way to
those descending. Only one crew member on ladder at all times.
– Fire extinguishers: Placement in ScienceDome and RAM are
non-obvious. Recommend moving to more conspicuous locations and
conducting safety tour to familiarize crew with locations once in-sim.

Noted health/environmental issues:
– General crew fatigue noted. Concur with command decision to start
sim later in day on Sep 27.

Missing health and safety supplies:
– EVA first aid kit in hab lower deck: Loose gloves unsealed and
dirty, throat lozenges unsealed and dirty, large syringe unsealed and
dirty. Recommend discard.
– Diabetic kit in hab lower deck: Blood glucose tester has low
battery. Recommend battery replacement, but for later crews.
– First aid kit in Hab lower deck: Missing tape, ointment for burns
(only antiseptic available), ice pack, and aspirin. Recommend replacement.