Category: Sol Summary

Sol:1

Summary Title: Welcome to Mars

Author’s name: Maria Grulich, M.Sc.

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: Today we woke up on Mars; it is a beautiful morning and it feels like we are just meant to be here. Our first day of being on Mars is supposed to be about familiarizing with the station. Everyone moved into their rooms and we are working on our cooking skills to eat better food than ramen and noodles, so commander Grulich made a German bread and a carrot cake. The morning started with our first ever EVA preparation. After the training yesterday, the crew was already briefed on voice protocols and procedures and checklists to go on an EVA. We only had to find all the required equipment which took us more time than expected. Still, the first crew was out of the habitat just 15 min later as planned. During our afternoon EVA, we managed to go through all the checklists, so the team was out just 5 min late.

Once back in the habitat, we had warm soup and hot chocolate. Then the crew was working on the first surveys for the crew HSO Rawan and crew journalist Hemani, while the rest of the team also is working on the mission plan.

Tonight, we will have our first sports session with Jessica, our GreenHab Officer. Every day we are going to either have a sports or meditation session and every second day we have a cultural night to learn about each other’s cultures.

Look Ahead Plan: Sport Session, Science Day

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: cloudy with high NW winds 25-40km/h gusting 60km/h no precipitation or snow

Crew Physical Status: All crew in good health.

EVA:

Morning 10:15-14:00 low wind speed

Afternoon 14:05-15:14 higher wind speed

Reports to be filed:

Sol Summary

Commanders Report

Photo Report

EVA Report

Operations Report

GreenHab Report

EVA Request

Astronomy Report

Support Requested: None

Crew 221 Sol Summary Report 02-02-2020

Sol:0

Summary Title: Training and preparation time

Author’s name: Maria Grulich, M.Sc.

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: Crew 221 Earth2Mars arrived on the station meeting members of MDRS-MAU crew 220. The handover of the station was done yesterday from two commanders Shawna and John. Both crews went out for burgers and after a night in the science dome, the crew started their final preparation to start our journey to Mars. Everyone is very excited after one year of preparation to get here to start the rotation.

This morning we waived crew 220 ‘goodbye’, being happy that we could meet this incredible crew and see what they have accomplished. Crew 221 will try its best to also accomplish most of their mission goals.

Today the crew spent all day preparing filling up the water tanks, getting rover training and moving into their new homes and having our first MDRS meals on the completely new oven.

Tomorrow we will wake up on Mars we are looking forward to our launch!

Look Ahead Plan: Internal Crew Training, Voice Protocols, Planning

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: A 20 percent chance of snow before 11 am. Mostly sunny, with a high near -3. Windy, with a northwest wind 45 to 48 km/h.

Crew Physical Status: All crew in good health.

EVA: None

Reports to be filed:

Sol Summary
Photo Report
Operations Report
GreenHab Report

Support Requested: None

Crew 220 (MAU) Sol 13 Summary 1Feb2020

Summary Title: Touchdown!
Author’s name: Shawna Pandya, Commander
Mission Status: 1g-ominal
Sol Activity Summary: Touchdown! We awoke on Earth today and spent the day on post-mission logistics and teardown. After a wonderful pancake breakfast together as a group, the MDRS and MAU crews came together, and as one well-oiled machine, completed MDRS checkout, took down every last piece of MAU station, loaded the vehicles and ensured that our crew left no trace on the Red Planet. Later, we enjoyed a delicious homemade pizza lunch followed by a dessert of brown sugar brittle, and greeted incoming MDRS Crew 221. We briefed the new crew, took some last pictures to cement our memories of Mars and will be soon headed off to a celebratory dinner together. How time flies…Till the next time!
Look Ahead Plan: Till next time…so long and thanks for all the fish!
Anomalies in work: None
Weather: -6C low / 6C max, 0C average, 10% chance of precipitation
Crew Physical Status: Earthbound!
EVA: None.
Reports to be filed:
Sol Summary
Commander’s Report
Photo Report (joint with MDRS)
Operations Report
EVA Request: None
Support Requested: None – rather we would like to thank YOU all for your wonderful support during this mission!

Crew 220 (MDRS) Sol Summary 01Feb2020

Sol: 13

Summary Title: HabComm this is MDRS – Over

Author’s name: Connie Delisle, PhD

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: The MDRS-MAU crews woke up at 08:00 and began for their Mars departure. The signature red sky gave reluctantly gave way to a light blue as the sun began to glow. The morning ritual of sky-gazing and sipping coffee will remain a cherished memory of Mars. The Crew was treated to a pancake breakfast by Crew Engineer Wise. Following the meal, Commander Hanacek delegated Crew members to station clean up – MDRS lower deck, upper deck, airlocks and stair, the RAM, and the Science Dome. We were fortunate that MAU Crew Engineer Roberts cleaned Spirit and Curiosity rovers – scrubbing off the red mud by hand. We really appreciated that he took this on knowing he had to depart for Earth later that day. The MAU Crew was joined by a few of the MDRS Crew members for the better part of the afternoon to take down the MAU Station which is a series of portable structures – airlock, living quarters, crew activity / meal, and cooking area. Due to cycles of Mars soil freezing and thawing, the station required a great deal of regular maintenance and engineering support. We are grateful we are resourceful! Marufa Bhuiyan, MSc. and International Astrology Researcher joined me in cleaning the upper deck. The arrival of a beautiful new gas stove was a highlight for me as I was preparing to make pizza with the herbs form the Green Hab for a late lunch. As part of a multi-tasking habit from Earth, I let lunch preparation sit and accompanied the MDRS Assistant Director on the check-out walk through. I am pleased to report that the Station is ship shape. The rest of the afternoon was focused on packing up the MAU station into the UHaul, writing reports and completing science research studies.

Look Ahead Plan: This evening activities includes finishing reports, briefing the incoming crew and going to town for shared meal. The entire MDRS-MAU 220 Crew will depart will tomorrow at 04:00 to the Grand Junction Airport and other points on Earth.

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: Tonight, the temperature is predicted to be 0 degrees Celsius, falling to -8 overnight and rising to a daytime high of 2 degrees Celsius tomorrow. No perception predicted.

Crew Physical Status: All the Crew is in good health. Some are excited to return to Earth. For myself, I will never fully return there. It’s too important to let the space created to lapse into the blue.

EVA: None planned.

Reports to be filed:

Commander Report

Sol Summary
Photo Report
Operations Report
GreenHab Report

Support Requested: None. Thank you infinitely!

Crew 220 (MDRS) Sol Summary 31Jan2020

Sol: 12

Summary Title: End (almost) of the Mars Journey: Station-to-Station Medical EVA

Author’s name: Marufa A. Bhuiyan, International Astronomy Researcher and Connie Delisle, PhD

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: The MDRS-MAU crews woke up at 07:00 on this beautiful red planet – Mars. Captivated by its timelessness, we confirmed this was indeed a real “time” through using our precious radios located at both stations. About time and space – we understand that time passes at different rate for different people and we need space for ourselves. No wonder we needed a reality check – it was a breathtaking view outside on Mars. Let us not forget to have a quick glance (about sky, land and weather) as we did here on Mars, watching through Mars unfolding though the unique round-shaped kitchen windows in the Hab. No humans (or animals) were running around outside; I could not spot anyone! The crew had some brief but intensive conversations in the short span of our quick regular breakfast together. Today’s topics included: culture, science, world politics, religion, human behavior to name a few. Since we had a pre-scheduled join MAU-MDRS Medical EVA (MEVA) at 09:00 we finished our breakfast really quick and postponed our precious conversations for the next round.

Building on lessons from yesterday’s MEVA, MDRS crew members felt mentally organized and capable of implementing what they learned in Mars which to humans is an austere environment. MDRS MEVA crews drove the rovers (e.g. Curiosity and Spirit) from MDRS Habitat to Mars Academy USA (MAU) Station which took only a few minutes. We were confident about starting our journey to MAU station because we had a professional doctor (Dr. Johannes Svensoy, MD), an efficient videographer who is also the Commander for MDRS (John Hanacek) and two talented crew members (Connie Delisle, PhD and Marufa Bhuiyan, MSc.) from different parts of the planet Earth. As soon as we reached MAU station, we were cordially greeted and well received by two sophisticated MAU crews (Matt Wise and Lee Roberts, MSc.) from the MAU station. Commander Hanacek did a great job in setting up the plot for injury site (simulated injured astronaut) in a proper location (GPS Coordinate: 12518124, 4250680) while we were waiting for other two crew members (Wise and Roberts) to return from MDRS to fetch radios we determined we needed. The combined team (both MDRS and MAU crews) proceeded to execute a Search and Rescue (SAR) and quickly located the injury site. They two attending medical professionals (Wise and Svensoy) executed the initial medical assessment (P-MARCH-P) protocol. Since all injuries on Mars are deemed as major, we called for METHANE and injured astronaut (simulated/dummy) was transported in the “Golden Bubble” – a pressurized medivac device prototype invented by Crew member Wise. As soon as both rovers arrived at the MDRS station, we had another simulated incident near at the corner of the GreenHab – simulating the rover running over crew astronaut Marufa Bhuiyan’s (who tries to be a human) right foot. Immediately two Crew astronauts helped the injured astronaut, the medical professionals also took great care to assess the condition.

The MEVA ended successfully today; by that I mean we will learn from our errors and take to heart the things we did efficiently. An exciting achievement was in getting the drone in the air and taking Arial shots of the MEVA.

Just after the lunch, the GreenHab Officer went to our amazing green-looking spaceship we call “GreenHab” to put some labels, setting up recycle bins, and cleaning/sweeping the Hab for the next crews. We request MDRS to replace these labels with permanent labels or, re-label these newly planted seeds (e.g. Ginger brought by our crew member Matt Wise, Romania Lettuce, Radish Sparkle, Bell Pepper (California Wonder) and re-arranged a mystery seed; no one knows what plant it is, probably a surprise for the next MDRS crews. In addition, we added a new red handled paint brush (to clean dust), seed bank (not labelled yet), hand sanitizer, napkins, and labelled two recycle bins/tubs (organic and inorganic/non burn) for the future crews.

Look Ahead Plan: Sol 13. Today marks the close of the MEVAs. Commander Hanacek issued orders to focus on report writing, preparing the end of mission report for the MDRS leadership, completing inventories and cleaning.

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: Tonight, -6 degrees Celsius and a high of 4 degrees Celsius tomorrow. No perception predicted.

Crew Physical Status: All the Crew is good health, despite a very short night.

EVA: None planned.

Reports to be filed:

Journalist Report

Sol Summary

Photo Report
Operations Report
GreenHab Report

Support Requested: Final garbage pick-up on Feb 2 (our departure date). There is only two rolls of toilet paper left – the incoming crew will require some additional toilet paper no doubt.

Crew 220 (MAU) Sol 12 Summary 31Jan2020

Summary Title: Sol long, Marswell
Author’s name: Shawna Pandya, Commander
Mission Status: Winding down… (already?!)
Sol Activity Summary: Today is our last Sol at MAU station, and we made the most of it! The Sol started with MAU Station hosting MDRS Engineer Wise as its Ambassador, yielding a fruitful and productive exchange regarding mission and engineering operations and logistics. Next, both MAU and MDRS stations conducted a a joint medical EVA exercise which tested the EVA team’s search-and-rescue, medical assessment and evacuation capabilities. The team shone and performed admirably amidst a complex situation! The afternoon was rounded out with check out cleaning, inventorying, report-writing and wrap-up activities, leaving the evening free for the crew to enjoy each other’s company one last time amidst art and Indian food. Sol long, Mars! You’ve been good to us.
Look Ahead Plan: Tomorrow, we return to Earth!
Anomalies in work: None
Weather: -6C low / 5C max, 0C average.
Crew Physical Status: MAUtacular
EVA: Successful search-and-rescue, medical triage and evacuation mission accomplished today in a joint exercise with MAU.
Reports to be filed:
Sol Summary
Commander’s Report
Photo Report
Operations Report
EVA Report
EVA Request: None
Support Requested: Commander requesting a half-sweet almond milk mocha with an extra shot of espresso pretty please

Crew 220 (MDRS) Sol Summary 30Jan2020

Sol: 11

Summary Title: Integration of Medical Assessments, Search and Rescue

Author’s name: Connie Delisle

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: The Crew rose at 07:00 to an intensive skyscape. The orange glow of the forever red dunes of Mars is a sight to always remember. After a light breakfast, the MDRS Crew began preparations for the morning Medical EVA (MEVA), starting with a rendezvous at the MAU station. Each station fielded its own team, meeting at MAU station to commence the MEVA. The Crews successfully met most of the MEVA objectives set by Commander Hanacek; namely to integrate medical assessment and Search and Rescue techniques and tools. Medical techniques drilled in previous MEVAs include: P-MARCH-P for primary trauma survey, Secondary Survey, and SAMPLE. The Golden Bubble and a semi-autonomous drone was slated for testing for the first time in the Mission with a view to obtaining comparative data concerning the challenges in rescue and medical assessments in ICE environments.

XO Wise remained at MDRS to allow time to focus solely on setting up a test MAU-MDRS WIFI connection which is part of the objectives set for this mission. Should connectivity be established it would represent another piece of the MAU Crew Lead’s vision clicking into place.

Look Ahead Plan: Sol 12. Additional training will be conducted tomorrow, in order to reinforce the medical and Search and Rescue (SAR) already delivered. In addition, a second attempt will be made to test the drone. The main objectives are to add this capability, test it, as well as drill and become more fluent with what has already been learned. The Crew will be asked to take mental note of the challenges in applying these well establish techniques in ICE conditions. This information can be fed back to the organizations and innovators that are designing technology and procedures for ICE environments.

We continue to receive top quality advice and guidance from CapComms and we really appreciate the kind comments and interest showed. As a final word, it was a pleasure and honor to Command MDRS; at the same time I was delighted to welcome back Commander Hanaceck to take command of MDRS late last night. I continue working with him to assure he is fully supported and up to speed as the overall Mission is quickly coming into its final few days.

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: Tonight’s low to -2 degrees (Celsius). Mostly sunny tomorrow with high cloud tomorrow with a high predicted to be 7 degrees Celsius night. Near zero percent perception forecast.

Crew Physical Status: All the Crew is good health, despite a very short night.

EVA: One morning three-hour EVA.

Reports to be filed:

Journalist Report

Sol Summary

Photo Report
Operations Report
GreenHab Report

Support Requested: Garbage pick up from the rear airlock would be very much appreciated.

Crew 220 (MAU) Sol 11 Summary 30Jan2020

Summary Title: Hey Sol Sistah!
Author’s name: Shawna Pandya, Commander
Mission Status: aMAUzing

Sol Activity Summary: As our Mission winds down, we are working together to coordinate the final touches on our projects, studies, technology demonstrations and academic activities. The morning at MAU started with a team breakfast as we hosted our second-ever MDRS ambassador, MDRS GreenHab Officer Bhuiyan, whose presence delighted us all, and who herself seemed to enjoy the visit. Next, the MAU and MDRS teams united to conduct a joint search-and-rescue, triage and evacuation exercise that tested the skills the two crews had learned this mission. The day continued with expert-led knowledge transfers and demonstrations as various crew members led demonstrations of virtual reality, ultrasound and medical technologies. The evening will end with some medical teaching regarding airway management, as well as arts and wellness actvitities, including a Mars Circle.
Look Ahead Plan: As our Mission winds down, we will be filling the final Sol with one last advanced medical drill involving search-and-rescue, triage and evacuation, and some final wellness, arts and teaching activities.

Anomalies in work: None
Weather: -6C low / 5C max, 0C average.
Crew Physical Status: MAU-velous, dahling
EVA: Successful search-and-rescue, medical triage and evacuation mission accomplished today.

Reports to be filed:
Sol Summary
Commander’s Report
Photo Report
Operations Report
EVA Report
EVA Request: Pending.
Support Requested: Can you please bottle some of the Mars magic for us to take back to Earth?

Crew 220 (MAU) Sol 10 Summary 29Jan2020

Summary Title: All Aboard the Sol 10!
Author’s name: Shawna Pandya, Commander
Mission Status: MAUtastic
Sol Activity Summary: We had an extremely productive day at MAU. The morning consisted of in-depth upkeep, cleaning, and maintenance, and we achieved a lot in getting our electrical operations, data network and station cleanliness up to par. In other news, we hosted our first-ever visiting Ambassador from MDRS, Officer Kainu, and deem our first exchange extremely successful, and look forward to many more. The afternoon saw a successful exploratory EVA to Cowboy’s Corner with the MAU Crew, followed by an evening sojourn to MDRS for a cultural exchange including martial arts and dance demonstrations, and culminating with a "Future Cafe."
Look Ahead Plan: As our Mission winds down, we will be filling the remaining Sols with medical technology demonstrations, academic activities, wellness and a few more EVAs.
Anomalies in work: None
Weather: -6C low / 5C max, 0C average.
Crew Physical Status: MAUminal
EVA: Successful Exploratory EVA to Cowboy’s Corner completed.
Reports to be filed:
Sol Summary
Commander’s Report
Photo Report
Operations Report
EVA Report
EVA Request: Pending.
Support Requested: If you could invent a mud-cleaning machine, MAU Station would LOVE to hear about it! 🙂

Crew 220 (MDRS) Sol Summary 29Jan2020

Sol: 10

Summary Title: Sweet Homeostasis

Author’s name: Connie Delisle

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: The Crew rose at 08:00 to a cloudy sky with very light snow. Into mid-morning Mother Nature decided to bless us with high cloud and sun. MDRS again served as a relay point to MAU to communicate with the MAU Director. However, XO Wise has made good progress today in setting up a test WIFI connection which is part of the objectives set during this mission. The remaining Crew at MDRS, myself and astronomy researcher Marufa Akhter Bhuiyan thoroughly cleaned and organized the lower deck – floor, walls, airlocks, bathroom, cabinets. A safe, orderly homebase not only helps avoid accidents – it creates a sense of ownership and in becoming a home we could be forever living here on Mars if we didn’t have to return to Earth.

The MDRS Crew stayed close to home today to work in the GreenHab, planting radishes and romain lettuce. MDRS also served as HabComm to support the MAU Crew who participated in a 3-hour EVA focused on exploration and scouting. From a Raven’s eye view, the Team Leader remarked that “he felt part of the landscape of Mars”. The rolling red hills and blue sky was a remarkable backdrop to explore the soil, rocks and outcroppings.

Look Ahead Plan: Sol 11 includes an AM and PM EVA. These experiences aim to reinforce the medical training already received and introduce Search and Rescue (SAR). On Mars, medical emergencies may occur in the Hab or on EVA. The MAU-MDRS Crew testing and training is fundamental to establish a baseline understanding of the medical challenges in using “Earth” patient assessment protocols, conventional SAR equipment and applying operational protocols for recovery. All this hard work is for the purpose of innovating medical equipment, training and processes to improve the safety of security of astronauts on Mars.

Yesterday was a milestone in submitting reports before the CapComm window closure yesterday and to receive such positive comments on the photos. The Crew has done a great job on progressively becoming more organized, creating time and space to spend time on reports, science and to reflect on life on MARS. As this is my last night as Commander at MDRS, I am happy to transfer to Commander Hanacek, a station that I feel is well taken care of and appreciated.

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: Approximately -6C at night, max 3C during the day tomorrow; probability of precipitation is less than 20%.

Crew Physical Status: All the Crew is good health, bolstered after a good night’s sleep.

EVA: One morning and one in the afternoon.

Reports to be filed:

Journalist Report

Sol Summary

Photo Report
Operations Report
GreenHab Report

Support Requested: Revised request for two not four fluorescent bulbs for the lower deck. The engineer found two bulbs on the lower deck and has installed them.