Category: Sol Summary

Crew 192 Sol Summary Report 21Apr2018

Sol 13

Summary Title: Prepare for Departure

Author: Victoria Varone

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: We welcomed Crew 193 to the hab and gave them an introduction and orientation to Mars life.

Look Ahead Plan: Departure and adjusting to life back on Earth.

Anomalies in Work: None

Weather: Beautiful

Crew Physical Status: All crew are physically healthy and safe.

EVA: None

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary Report, Operations Report, GreenHab Report

Support Requested: Please remove Joe, Ashok, and Andreea from Mission Support emails. Keep Victoria and Richard on for the duration of Crew 193’s rotation.

Maintenance request: New lock for Musk Observatory and fluorescent lights for lower deck of hab.

Crew 192 Sol Summary Report 20Apr2018

Sol 12

Summary Title: Splash Down

Author: Victoria Varone

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: The crew divided up our last day in sim into two fantastic EVAs and a mission to clean the hab from top to bottom for the incoming crew and close out all of our reports. We went through each of the buildings in the hab site and made sure everything is clean, organized, and in great shape for use by future crews.

Look Ahead Plan: Finishing up our last reports and inventories to prepare for incoming crew and our departure.

Anomalies in Work: None

Weather: Cloudy and rainy in the morning, warmer and sunny in the afternoon.

Crew Physical Status: All crew are physically healthy and safe.

EVA: See EVA Report.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary Report, EVA Report, Photo Report, Commander’s Report, GreenHab Report, Astronomy Report, End of Mission Report, Science Report

Support Requested: Note: Filter for loft water tank is already light brown/orange in color.

Maintenance request: Lock for Musk Observatory is no good anymore, it was severely jammed and we tried various fixes but it still sticks. Recommend replacement. Also we will need fluorescent light bulbs soon, They are flickering. Finally had to secure the water under the sink in the upstairs sink because the leak has gotten worse.

Crew 192 Sol Summary Report 19Apr2018

Sol 11

Summary Title:

Author: Victoria Varone

Mission Status: Nearing it’s completion, we’ve begun field day work to present the hab in the best possible condition for the next crew.

Sol Activity Summary: A wonderful morning EVA across Hab Ridge Road capped off our intense EVAs for our mission, where we hiked along the beautiful ridge and collected some data on helmet fogging inside our spacesuits.

We climbed down and took some great photos of the beautiful sites and structures on our way back to the hab.

Upon returning, we had lunch and then executed a short engineering EVA to finish up some close-out tasks for the end of our mission and the incoming Crew 193.

Look Ahead Plan: Planning a few wrap up EVAs to collect last bit of Data. Getting the hab ready for Crew 193.

Anomalies in Work: None

Weather: Cool in the morning, then warm and sunny, ending with clouds in the afternoon.

Crew Physical Status: All crew are physically healthy and safe.

EVA: See EVA Report.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary Report, EVA Report, Photo Report, Commander’s Report, GreenHab Report, Journalist Report

Support Requested: None

Maintenance request: See Operations Report

Crew 192 Sol Summary Report 18Apr2018

Sol 10

Summary Title: Canyons, Baby

Author: Victoria Varone

Mission Status: A beautiful day for the crew, mission nearing its end.

Sol Activity Summary: The crew went on two amazing EVAs today, exploring some of the major Martian canyons in the area. Lith Canyon and Murphy Canyon provided some of the most breathtaking views we’ve seen so far.

Then we get a little sun-gazing in at the Musk Observatory before cooking an awesome dinner for the crew that was a wonderful example of a team effort.

Look Ahead Plan: Aiming to make our last few EVAs fantastic ones and get in some great stargazing before we leave.

Anomalies in Work: None

Weather: Freezing in the morning, a bit warmer throughout midday and the afternoon. Calm with little wind and partly cloudy.

Crew Physical Status: All crew are physically healthy and safe.

EVA: See EVA Report.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary Report, EVA Report, EVA Request, Photo Report, Commander’s Report, GreenHab Report, Astronomy Report

Support Requested: Please add Doug Campbell, incoming with Crew 193, to the Mission Support list

Maintenance request: See Operations Report

Crew 192 Sol Summary Report 17Apr2018

Sol 9

Summary Title: Don’t Feed the Penguin

Author: Victoria Varone

Mission Status: Nearing its end, aiming to fit in as much exploration as possible.

Sol Activity Summary: The crew went on two great EVAs today, exploring parts of the Martian terrain that we haven’t yet seen. It’s fascinating to see just how many different kinds of soil, rock, and sediment you can find even in just one area, in varying colors, textures, shapes, and sizes. The winds were strong today (and last night) so extra caution was exercised during EVAs.

Look Ahead Plan: Trying to fit in as many EVAs as possible (pending weather) since weekend weather may not be suitable and our mission ends on Saturday.

Anomalies in Work: None

Weather: Chilly, mix of clouds and sun, strong winds throughout the night and most of the day.

Crew Physical Status: All crew are physically healthy and safe.

EVA: See EVA Report.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary Report, EVA Report, EVA Request, Photo Report, Commander’s Report, GreenHab Report

Support Requested: None

Maintenance request: See Operations Report

Crew 192 Sol Summary Report 16Apr2018

Sol 8

Summary Title: Houston, We Have a [Mouse] Problem

Author: Victoria Varone

Mission Status:

Sol Activity Summary: Our day started with a visit from a tiny companion ‒ code name “Paul Watney” in honor of our missing crew member and “The Martian” ‒ who made his way into the upper deck of the hab. He accompanied us in the hab for the day but then decided to return to Mars. (see Photo Report)

Our first EVA of the day was a long walking hike along the ridge. We climbed some of the dunes and hills and had to get creative along the way as there weren’t outlets or shallow spots where we thought they would be. One of the highlights of the hike was making our way up to the hab overview, which offered some amazing Martian views overlooking the hab.

Our second EVA was shortened due to strong winds that increased as the day went one. It was turned into a short relocation EVA where we dropped off our tiny friend “Paul Watney” back onto the vast plains of Mars.

The evening consisted of some more cooking for the crew, baking peanut butter cookies, and watching “Apollo 13.”

Look Ahead Plan: Finish cleaning Water Tank and final skirt HAB clean up. Exploration continues to the south and spreading North.

Anomalies in Work: None

Weather: Chilly early on, warmer later in the day, mostly cloudy all day.

Crew Physical Status: All crew are physically healthy and safe.

EVA: See EVA Report.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary Report, EVA Report, EVA Request, Photo Report, Commander’s Report, GreenHab Report

Support Requested: None

Maintenance request: See Operations Report

Crew 192 Sol Summary Report 15Apr2018

Sol 7

Summary Title: It’s Not Possible, It’s Necessary

Author: Victoria Varone

Mission Status: Today was a half-stand down day for the crew.

Sol Activity Summary: One medical emergency simulation EVA in the afternoon, which taught the crew the basics of how to handle a medical emergency when out in the field on Mars. Crew doctor Ashok Narayanamoorthi shared the rules of what to do and what not to do, the most important being to remain calm.

The afternoon consisted of a debrief, some knot-tying lessons with the Commander, a Martian Matinee (we watched "Interstellar"), and some more fun cooking for dinner.

Look Ahead Plan: We’re aiming for some solid EVAs this week, exploring the stretches of the Martian terrain.

Anomalies in Work: None

Weather: Warm, partly sunny early in the day, cloudy in the afternoon.

Crew Physical Status: All crew are physically healthy and safe.

EVA: See EVA Report.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary Report, EVA Report, EVA Request, Photo Report, Commander’s Report

Support Requested: None

Maintenance request: Almost out of bleach, could use a refill.

Crew 192 Sol Summary Report 14Apr2018

Sol 6

Summary Title: Here Comes the Sun

Author: Victoria Varone

Mission Status: The crew is now halfway through their mission! We were very excited to get back to EVAs after the last 2-3 days of strong winds and cold temperatures.

Sol Activity Summary: Today consisted of two really great EVAs for Crew 192. The weather started off cool and sunny and gradually became warmer, remaining clear and beautiful all day.

At the end of the second EVA, we started work on a hab repair request to remove the skirting from all the way around the hab. Some of it has been removed and the rest will be worked on during our second week in sim.

We ended up the day with an Italian meal of pasta and salad. Ciao bella!

Look Ahead Plan: Some stargazing at night (we’ll be using some red astronomy lights for night vision), a half-day’s break tomorrow plus a medical simulation EVA, some more planning for hab repairs and EVAs for next week.

Anomalies in Work: None

Weather: Warm and sunny.

Crew Physical Status: All crew are physically healthy and safe.

EVA: See EVA Report.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary Report, GreenHab Report, EVA Report, EVA Request Journalist Report, Photo Report

Support Requested: See Operations Report

Maintenance request: See Operations Report

Crew 192 Sol Summary Report 13Apr2018

Sol 5

Summary Title: The Winds of Mars

Author: Victoria Varone

Mission Status: Our Mars mission has been slightly inhibited by approximately two and a half days of strong winds (paging Mark Watney), but like most scientists, the crew is keeping themselves busy and happy finding other things to do (repairs, cleaning, organization, cooking) until the weather calms down.

Sol Activity Summary: With strong winds blowing again today, the crew attempted to gather a weather report before heading out on their first EVA of the day. Unfortunately, a sluggish connection prevented us from obtaining this prior to the EVA (Martian technology, right?). We left a little later than planned but were instructed to call off the outing, so we headed back inside to make a new plan for the morning and afternoon.

The winds started to pick up again a bit, so the crew used the extra time inside to conduct a day of cleaning and organizing the hab. This turned out to be a worthwhile task as we removed layers of dust from many areas and long-unused objects and organized some of the boxes and bins in the lower deck. After this, the crew enjoyed a delicious brunch of nachos crafted by their own Richard Blakeman.

We went ahead with our afternoon EVA as scheduled as the winds were slower than they were yesterday and our two crew members remained perfectly safe during their outing. Upon their return, we had a nice dinner, checked out the GreenHab together, looked through some of our many amazing mission photos so far, and planned for weekend EVAs and activities.

Look Ahead Plan: The forecast says that the winds will die down tonight and the weather will be beautiful over the weekend. We’ll use that time to make up for the EVAs and other activities that were prohibited over the last couple of days due to the strong winds.

Anomalies in Work: None

Weather: Chilly and windy. Winds blowing at approximately 23 mph with gusts 30 mph.

Crew Physical Status: All crew are physically healthy and safe.

EVA: See EVA Report.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary Report, GreenHab Report, EVA Request, EVA Report Journalist Report, Photo Report

Support Requested: See Operations Report

Maintenance request: See Operations Report

Sol 4

Summary Title: Whatever It Takes

Author: Victoria Varone

Mission Status:

Sol Activity Summary: It was quite a busy day for Crew 192 as we spent almost all of our time literally “battening down the hatches” as severe winds caused the HAB some physical wear that needed repair and periodic observation.

It began at ~0220 when the wind peeked. We had to tie down the center wooden cap for the structure because it kept slamming against the ceiling and being pulled up by the wind. It is now secure.

We had an approved short morning scouting EVA …The commander recalled the team when the front airlock door vibrated and broke free from its hasp and the door swung open so hard that it broke the banister and damaged the habitat. The commander decided to have the team emergent repair the HAB by reattaching the hasp and screwing the banister back in place. The external repairs to the HAB must be made at a later date because they were not emergent and beyond the ability of the crew.

We completed another engineering EVA (ALL HANDS EFFORT) to clean the trailer water tank in the RAM so that our next crew can maintain a large and safe supply of water. This involved stringing 550 cord to make a safety line which allowed all personnel to get to the HAB without issue in the mounting wind.

Look Ahead Plan: The strong winds are forecast to continue into tomorrow and should slow down after that. Once it does, we will resume our exploration EVAs, continually exploring new sites and familiarizing ourselves further with ones we’ve already seen.

Anomalies in Work: None

Weather: Chilly and extremely windy. Winds blowing at approximately 30 mph with gusts 46 mph.

Crew Physical Status: All crew are physically healthy and safe.