Category: Sol Summary

November 23, 2017

Julielynn Wong, Crew 183 Mission Commander

Mission Status: Crew 183 received MDRS orientation training from MDRS Director, Shannon Rupert and EVA training from Crew 182 Geologist, Brandon Ferguson.

Sol Activity Summary: Yesterday, Crew 183 unloaded our equipment and personal items from our Tesla Model S vehicle.  Our Crew Astronomer and Engineer conducted night-time astral photography.  Our Greenhab Officer and Crew engineer assembled our portable off-grid power systems.

Sol Summary Report

November 22, 2017

A quiet day is a good day on Mars

Shannon Rupert, MDRS Director

Mission Status: Good.  Crew 183 has arrived and will begin their
one-week mission tomorrow.

Sol Activity Summary: We spent the morning and much of the afternoon
cleaning the Hab.  Late in the afternoon, we both took a break and did
a little exploration. Crew 183 arrived at the station at 7:30 pm.

Look Ahead Plan: Training tomorrow for Crew 183.

Anomalies in work:  Out of sim.

Weather:  Calm, sunny and wonderfully warm.

Crew Physical Status:  We are both fine.  I personally am very tired tonight.

EVA: Brandon went exploring to the south this afternoon, and I went
north to the southernmost branch of Tank Wash.  It was amazing.

Reports to be file: Sol Summary and Operations Report.

Support Requested: Will someone be standing by to add the crew to the
Mission Support eList?  I’m worried because it is Thanksgiving.

Sol Summary Report

November 20, 2017

…and new civilizations…

Shannon Rupert, MDRS Director

Mission Status: Still not in sim.  Still just Brandon and I although
we had many visitors today working on the preparations for the arrival
of the RAMM, our new repair and maintenance module, which lands on
station at 10 am tomorrow.

Sol Activity Summary:  I spent some time in the GreenHab this morning,
and this afternoon Brandon and I parted ways: he went to explore Coal
Mine Wash and then got water and I went to the canyon I discovered
last winter and explored.  I found evidence of a drying inland sea and
Brandon found the pond was already frozen in Coal Mine Wash.  He also
found the overlook on Skyline Rim.

Look Ahead Plan:  RAMM arrives, we clean and prep for Crew 183.  I
just realized that Crew 183 won’t be here tomorrow but rather the next
day. But I also just today realized that this week is Thanksgiving in
the US, so my timeline is all messed up!

Anomalies in work:  Other than not being in sim, it was just another
day on Mars.

Weather:  Calm, sunny and cold…again.

Crew Physical Status:  We are both fine.

EVA: Brandon out of sim in the HabCar to Coal Mine Wash, me in rover
to Discovery Canyon (for lack of a better name).

Reports to be file: Sol Summary and Operations Report.  No photos.

Support Requested: None at this time.

Sol Summary Report

November 19, 2017

Seek out new worlds…

Shannon Rupert, MDRS Director

Mission Status: We are not in sim. Brandon and I are the only two
here.  Les and his team departed early.  We are awaiting Crew 183 on
Tuesday, when they will begin their one-week mission.

Sol Activity Summary:  We did some map/road checking today, exploring
road 1574 and Cactus Road.  Updates will be in my soon to be released
guide to MDRS roads.

Look Ahead Plan: Tomorrow HudgesNet comes to fix my service and we
begin work on the pad for the new RAMM, which will be installed on
campus on Tuesday.  I will also order winter blend diesel, because I
believe it is now cold enough that the summer mix is what shut down
the generator last night.  We also need to get water, ethanol free gas
and work on the new rovers.

Anomalies in work:  Not a sim day.  Generator did not run all night,
but has run all day.  I suspect the summer blend diesel is the issue.
Tried to get lower deck heater to work this morning but it did not.
Will continue troubleshooting.  Water was frozen in the am but thawed
by noon.  We need to get the tank and pipes insulated soon.  I will
contact the contractor.

Weather:  Calm, sunny and cold.

Crew Physical Status:  We are both fine.

EVA: Out of sim EVA to check out northern routes.

Reports to be file: Sol Summary and Operations Report, which was sent
earlier today.  No photos will be sent.

Support Requested: NOTICE:  Effectively immediately and until I say
differently in the spring, the heater at the Hab will stay on as
follows:

Temperature 72 degrees

Fan on auto

Heater on ON

The controller should not be adjusted at all by any crew.  When you
adjust it, we lose the heater and it just blows cold air, but if you
just leave it alone, it works perfectly.  If the crew is cold, they
should turn on the secondary heater (once I get it running!)

Please find out what type of filter the heater uses and let me know so
I can order some.  Thank you.

MDRS Daily Summary Report for Sol 10

Summary Title: Is this the real life?…

Mission Status: No incidents to report today, except that our crew biologist was kind of trippy today in the EVA session. She had to many pancakes.

Sol Activity Summary: Or is this just fantasy? Today we met with Survivorman, also known as Les Stroud. A pretty calm guy with really interesting experiences around the world. Both he and the cameramen were great and we had a great time. But first, let’s explain how our day started: It was just a normal day… expecting the arrival of Survivorman, but a normal day none-the less. We asked again about the pancakes and all those things that became inside jokes around the crew. And then we realized: Man, this will be our last night in MDRS, right? The thought is kind of frightening… specially for me, because I need to do an exposition in my University about some paper I haven’t even read. I would like to stay in MDRS at least a little bit longer. The bacterias I cultivated here have so many different shapes and colors, it is quite exciting for me as a wanna-be microbiologist.

After the philosophical moment, Survivorman arrived! Fortunately, we planned an EVA today, one where yours truly participated. We went to the Lith canyon. The new ATVs were great, but the trekking there got tiring after a while. We were so tired that some crewmembers here made some associations with Igor the donkey of Winnie the Pooh (Get it? There’s a place called after Pooh, so we think about Winnie the Pooh characters… ok, maybe that’s another inside joke). The cameramen started filming us, and I must say they got nice shots. That Lith Canyon place is absolutely beautiful and so interesting. It had so much geological material and the plants there were thrilling! I will always be amazed by how life still goes on even in such places as deserts.

We arrived to the hab with the filmcrew and decided to take some lunch. But, before that, we decided to do what we were expecting since day one: Eating the russian space food that they sent so gently to us. We were waiting for Survivorman to make this even more epic. And there we were, holding our toothpaste-like tubes to our mouths, tasting the meat and the apple pure. I must say that I liked both, but some of the guys just couldn’t get around with the new flavour. Anyways, it was quite a shocking experience.

After a nice lunch at the hab, we finally got some rest. I had to do some work at the lab, but the guys stayed here to help bring in the new food for the next crew.

I still can’t believe this will be our last day at MDRS. But I’m glad I had the chance to get to know the crewmembers, as well as Survivorman, the people of Mars Society we got to know (yes, even the Capcoms) and, of course, the desert.

Maybe a proper thank you wouldn’t be enough, y’know? But at least I have a story to tell my grandchildren in the future, with some good pancakes.

Look Ahead Plan: Our homes are waiting in our respective countries, so as long as we arrive on time and safely, that’s the only plan we have.

Anomalies in work: Nope.

Weather: Windy and with some rain.

Crew Physical Status: Very well.

EVA: Most of our EVA is explained in the summary. We collected some samples of geological interest. The cameramen did some shots of our activities during this EVA.

Reports to be file:

Commander Report
EVA Report
Science Report
Engineering Report
Green Hab Report
Final Mission Report

Support Requested: Nope.

Camila Castillo, Crew Biologist and Journalist

MDRS Daily Summary Report for Sol 13.

Summary Title: Organizing MDRS.

Mission Status: Preparing to leave MDRS. We did some improvements in MDRS fixing some issues in the physical facilities.

Sol Activity Summary: We just concluded the cleaning procedures of the entire installation, also cleaning the GreenHab and the laboratory. We developed many different activities organizing and fixing the facilities of MDRS.

Look Ahead Plan: Tomorrow, probably will happen an EVA, but We are just waiting the SurvivorMan to decide about would be interesting to him.

Anomalies in work: Nope.

Weather: 17^o C, 62^o F.

Crew Physical Status: Fine.

EVA: We planed an EVA today, but not was possible. We planed to go to Lith Canyon, collect samples from the Salt Wash Member, and return to the Hab. Our EVA for today did not take place, since we needed additional time to clean up the Hab before Survivorman arrives.

Reports to be file:

Commanders Report

Daily Summary Report

Operation Report

GreenHab Report

HSO Report

XO Report

Crew-photos Crew 182 16Nov2017.

Support Requested: Nope.

MDRS Daily Summary Report for Sol 12.

Summary Title: Rescuing the ATV.

Mission Status: We developed many kinds of activities today: preparing meals, doing research, practicing exercises and rescuing the ATV.

Sol Activity Summary: Great part of our day was consumed with the rescue of the ATV in the in southeast of Skyline Ridge area. They depart at 12h20m and arrived at 15h30m. Julio and Camila worked in a proposal of guidelines to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) during their times aboard of the MDRS. All the crew members developed their specific research.

Look Ahead Plan: Tomorrow, will happen the EVA #9. Starting  11h and finishing 14h. Will participate in the EVA: Brandon (EVA planning, Navigation, Sample Collection), Julio (rock collection and photography) and Carmen (Sample Collection).

Anomalies in work: During the morning part of the crew moves to Skyline Ridge area to rescue the red ATV. Julio broke the simulation between 16h30m-17h30m (1 hour) for 1) to do photos of the full MDRS station from a little distance showing all of the buildings and 2) walking exercise as part of his research related with health and personal sustainability. Julio communicated the external activity to Brandon (EVA Lead).

Weather: 8^o C, 46^o F.

Crew Physical Status: Fine.

EVA: No EVA today.

Reports to be file:

Commanders Report

Daily Summary Report

Scientific Report

Operation Report

GreenHab Report

HSO Report

XSO Report

Crew-photos Crew 182 15Nov2017.

Support Requested: Nope.

Crew 182 Daily Sumary Report  November 14^th, 2017

MDRS Daily Summary Report for Sol 11.

Summary Title: A day of outdoor activities and fix some issues in MDRS.

Mission Status: Now We have 4 new ATVs. This is very good. We can explore more the region around MDRS. We had technical difficulties with the EVA today

Sol Activity Summary: 4 New ATVs. Doing some improvements, cleaning the MDRS and technical difficulties in the EVA.

Look Ahead Plan: Not was requested EVA.

Anomalies in work:  Nope.

Weather: 12^o C, 54^o F.

Crew Physical Status: Fine.

EVA: The EVA was in Write Moon area. Participated in the EVA, Brandon, Atila and Camila. In the return of the EVA area exploration the Atila ATV was out of gas. Brandon and Camila come back to the MDRS, but In the stations the gasoline tank pumps was also out of gas. Brandon goes to Hanksville to buy gasoline. I (Julio), Brandon and Shannon walked until the area where the ATV was stopped. I refill the tank and tried to turn on, but didn’t work. Probably a battery malfunction. We 4 (Julio, Brandon, Shannon and Atila) returned in safety to the MDRS. The car was let to be recovered at November 15^th.

Reports to be file:

Commanders Report

EVA #7 report

Daily Summary Report

Operation Report

GreenHab Report

HSO Report

XSO Report

Support Requested: Nope.

MDRS Daily Summary Report for Sol 10

Summary Title: About pancakes.

Mission Status: We had discussed how long time and accuracy is necessary for to do pancakes.:) Sometimes, common circumstances, as prepare a meal and let everything fixed, would consume a great time. Less is more! Some activities had been shared between the crew members. Most of us are available to help each other in regular activities.

Sol Activity Summary: Regular operational activities; preparing meals; each crew member developing their researches; Julio Rezende doing physical activities; Tentative of Carmen and Brandon fix the water heater; EVA of Atila and Camila in front of the MDRS.

Look Ahead Plan: Tomorrow, We are planning an EVA with ATV in the region of Yellow Moon. Julio Rezende will be writing the data related with sustainability.

Anomalies in work:  Nope.

Weather: 7^o C, 45^o F

Crew Physical Status: Very well.

EVA: The EVA was close to MDRS. Atila and Camila collected some soil samples to a post-analysis.

Reports to be file:

Commanders Report

EVA #6 report

Daily Summary Report

Journalist Report

Biologist Report

Engineering Report

EVA #7 request

GreenHab Report

HSO Report

XSO Report

Support Requested: Nope.