Category: Sol Summary

Sol 12
Summary Title: The last dance
Author’s name: Loriane Baes
Mission Status: 100%
Sol Activity Summary:
Sol 12 began and the Atlas mission came to an end. After one final morning EVA for Romain’s drone experiment, the crew gathered to do a live broadcast with a major Spanish television channel. During this exchange, Alba had the opportunity to explain the entire mission. At the end of the live broadcast, the crew crossed the entrance door together to immortalize the end of the simulation. An emotional moment where everyone applauded in recognition of the journey undertaken. Without delay, the biomedical team then took the crew car to drop the samples in Grand Junction for their shipment to Belgium. Meanwhile, the rest of the team conducted a second live broadcast with the Mars Society Belgium to explain the experiments conducted. The rest of the day was dedicated to the final cleanup and various reports while waiting for the biomedical team to return, followed by a group aperitif in nostalgia for this unique experience that has touched everyone’s lives. The end of a long journey has arrived today, but our exploration of space is only just beginning.
Look Ahead Plan: Tidying up and returning to solid ground.
Anomalies in work: /
Weather: The sun was shining for our last day.
Crew Physical Status: Good.
EVA# 17: The group went to Marble Ritual, where they conducted Romain’s experiment for the last time. Everyone now manages to pilot the drone successfully.
Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Journalist’s Report, Greenhab Report, Operations Report, Photos (6-8 pics), EVA Report, Astronomy Report, End-mission research report, Mission summary, Food inventory, MDRS checkout .
Support Requested: NA

Sol: 7
Summary Title: Rrrrrap on Mars
Author’s name: Alba Sánchez Montalvo
Mission Status: Overcoming inconveniences
Sol Activity Summary:
The sol started with an EVA by the biomedical team (Alba, Arnaud, Imane and Loriane) where the main goal was to explore and to make a reconnaissance of the Candor Chasma area for future EVAs. We took beautiful pictures and we had a little accident in which Arnaud got attacked by a space cactus. Our crew health and safety officer took good care of him and it was solved and disinfected successfully. Despite the inconvenience, everyone had a great time. Meanwhile, Louis spent some time in the RAM preparing some beacons for his experiment with his drone. Maxime took incredible pictures of the sun and made a beautiful composit image of it. We are all very excited because there will be an eclipse tomorrow and Maxime will take care of everyone being able to see it and understand what is going on. It was a sampling sol for the biomedical team so, as previously done, blood and saliva collection, inflammatory cell count in blood and sample processing were performed in the science dome. We thank again our collaborator @dentognostics for providing us with the incredible ORALyzer and @yourbio_health for the device used for blood collection. Also, we would like to thank the IREC, specially the LUNS department, for providing us with some of the material needed for the sample collection. On top of that, Centro Sur, and all the sponsors who joined us, for making this project possible. In the evening, we made some bread and enjoyed some time together. In the evening, we made some bread and enjoyed some time together. The rappers are back, the show must go on on Mars.
Look Ahead Plan: we plan to do an EVA tomorrow to continue with Romain’s experiment, we will observe the eclipse with the guidance of Maxime and will make some content for our social media and for our collaborations
Anomalies in work: NA
Weather: sunny and warm all day
Crew Physical Status: a little bit tired, but feeling great
EVA: In the morning, Alba, Imane, Loriane and Arnaud headed for the compass rock where they parked their rovers. They took some photos at this rock and then descended into the Candor Chasma to visit the area and take some photos and videos in order to carry out reconnaissance for future EVAs.
Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Journalist’s Report, Greenhab Report, Operations Report, Photos (6-8 pics), EVA Report, EVA Request(s) Astronomy Report.
Support Requested: NA

Sol 8
Summary Title: Our sun got eaten by the moon
Author’s name: Alba Sánchez Montalvo
Mission Status: In progress
Sol Activity Summary:
The sol started very early since it was scheduled to be a busy one. Two EVAs were planned for in the morning to continue with Romain’s experiment to do different maneuvers with the drone, followed by the TapStrap test to assess whether this device facilitates communication between crew members. Maxime has become addicted to making bread (and the rest of the crew to devour it). Around 12h, the crew went to the observatory to observe a beautiful solar eclipse which was taking place this sol, which makes it unique for us! After lunch, it was time to record some more videos for our social media and collaborators. There was time for half of the crew and we talked about the goal, methodology and importance of our experiments. We also made some videos to thank all our sponsors for their support on this mission, it would not have been possible without them! Then, some crew members practiced some sports while others were preparing dinner: it’s pizza night! Time flies, we are now more than halfway through the experience. We don’t want to leave Mars, we have made it our new home!
Look Ahead Plan: there are two EVAs planned for tomorrow, one for Louis’ experiment and one for Maxime’s one to check on his weather station and to explore new areas. Also, we will finish recording our videos about our experiments tomorrow.
Anomalies in work: NA
Weather: Mostly clear skies, no wind
Crew Physical Status: Some crew members are little bit tired, but all good in general
EVA:
EVA#10 : We got out at exactly 8 o’clock and directly went to Marble ritual. We didn’t want to waste time since near noon, the eclipse would be at its highest. Once we arrived at the location, we all flew the drone as intended with no problems. We headed back home and finished one of the shortest EVA’s. A quick but really efficient EVA.
EVA#11 : We got out near 9 o’clock and directly went to Marble ritual. Once we arrived at the location, Hippolyte, Alba and Loriane flew the drone without any problems occurring. We came back to encode the data, enjoy a snack before the eclipse.
Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Journalist’s Report, Greenhab Report, Operations Report, Photos (6-8 pics), EVA Report, EVA Request, Astronomy Report
Support Requested: NA

Sol 9
Summary Title: Mars from the underground and from the hills
Author’s name: Alba Sánchez Montalvo
Mission Status: Ongoing
Sol Activity Summary:
The Sol started with a morning EVA with some of the crew members (Arnaud, Alba, Hippolyte and Louis) covering the Candor Chasma area for exploration. Louis performed a couple of automatic flights with his drone to make a reconnaissance of the zone for his experiment. Meanwhile, the rest of the crew worked on their own projects in the station. After lunch, there was a second EVA (Maxime and Loriane) to check on Maxime’s weather station and to explore different areas around North Ridge. In the station, the rest of the team played card games and rested a little bit, recovering some energy as the red planet is demanding a lot lately. Imane made some cakes, we cannot understand how this girl makes that magic with lyophilized resources. When the second expedition returned to the station, they shared some of the incredible pictures they took. Some crew members practiced some sports and later, everyone worked on the daily reports together.

Look Ahead Plan: there’s the intention to go on an exploratory EVA tomorrow and to continue creating some content about our experiments at the MDRS for our social media and collaborators
Anomalies in work: NA
Weather: Sunny, almost no wind and no clouds
Crew Physical Status: recovering some energy, feeling good
EVA:
EVA#12 : We parked our rovers at the foot of the compass rock. We then headed for the Condor Chasma entrance to fly Louis’ drone and take a few more photos. Compared with EVA#9, we covered a longer distance inside Candor Chasma and then rejoined our rovers. We then waited about twenty minutes for Louis to make two automatic flights with the drone to establish a reconnaissance of the area. Finally, we made our way back, stopping at a few viewpoints to take videos and photos.

EVA#13: During the EVA, the team assessed the weather station, noting a repaired wind indicator that required cautious data analysis due to slight bending. The camera ran out of battery while filming, necessitating a return to the Hab for a spare battery, authorized by capcom. After retrieving the battery, they proceeded to North Ridge, enjoying scenic views while hiking before safely descending and returning to the Hab, feeling tired and thirsty.
Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Journalist’s Report, Greenhab Report, Operations Report, Photos (6-8 pics), EVA Report, EVA Request(s).
Support Requested: NA

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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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