Journalist Report – October 24th

Journalist Report

MDRS Crew 301

Michael Ho, 10.24.24

Day 4: We woke up and find ourselves back on MDRS Utah, Earth!

That awesome Martian landscape through the visor of the helmet while that constant swishing of oxygen blowing past our ears will now hang proudly suspended in time within all our memories.

Nevertheless the crew is now back on Earth, and we still have much to learn and samples to collect.

0742 hrs: Sunrise. Eager to catch the only Sun we share with Mars as seen from Earth. Right on time, it appeared, bathing the landscape below with its beautiful golden glow.

0900 hrs: Zoom with Mission Specialist Dr. Shannon Rupert (who is still on Mars). We had a very brief history of NASA’s search for water and life on Mars through the various rovers such as Pathfinder and Sojourner. We had a quick lesson with samples of petrified wood, Gryphaea, coprolite, man-made mud pottery, dinosaur bone marrow. The importance of using desert varnish as a model to detect life on Mars made a lot of sense, knowing that these rocks may potentially contain microbial mats of cyanobacteria and fungi (as on Earth), and desert varnish had been detected by Spirit on Mars.

1000 hrs: Off we went, looking for desert varnish at…

1100 hrs: We arrived at Gryphaea Hill at North Ridge and were mind blown by the sight of the exoskeletons of gryphaea dotting every single inch of the entire area. An upheaval of the landform here must have then left all marine life here high and dry – leaving only a mass grave of these lifeforms from some 155 million years ago.

1300 hrs: Burger Shak! Nothing fills the spirit more than a great Hanksburger Combo at Burger Shak after a stint on Mars.

1400 hrs: Rockin Riddle Rock Shop – this shop totally rocks! We went in and felt like Harry Potter when he first entered Diagon Alley – there were just so many rocks to check out! Cathy the owner is such a gem with many interesting stories to tell!

1515 hrs: Some of the crew members also tried out Riley’s two new designs of helmets for EVA.

Riley wearing the helmet she designed as part of SWB Utah.

Alex from Crew 301 wearing the helmet Riley designed.

1600 hrs: We went off to Barrainca Butte to hunt for galaxy rocks and to stake out the area near Robert’s Garden for the lichen that fluoresces under UV. We found the patch, and will go out again tonight with UV flashlights to have a look at it.

1730 hrs: Back to Hab!

Astronomy Report – October 23rd

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astronomy-report]

MUSK OBSERVATORY
Solar Features Observed: Sunspots, Prominences
Images submitted with this report: Sun_241023_Sunspots&Prominence
Problems Encountered: None

EVA Report – October 23rd

EVA # 2

Author: Jen Carver-Hunter

Purpose of EVA: Geologic sample collection

Start time: 09:00

End time: 11:00

Narrative: Rachel, Alex, Jason, Mike, Steve, and Jen drove to 1101 (the road to Barrainca Butte), where they stopped to collect specimens from the wash on the west side of Cow Dung Rd. After collecting specimens, they returned to the rovers and drove north on Cow Dung Road to the southwest side of Kissing Camels Ridge. There, they collected additional rock specimens along the wash on the west side of Cow Dung Rd before returning to the rovers and continuing back to the Hab.

Destination: Road to Barranca Butte and Southwest Kissing Camel Ridge

Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 519700, 4247300 and 518200, 4249300

Participants: Rachel Johnson, Michael Ho, Jason Trump, Alex Grab, Steve Kirsche, Jen Carver-Hunter

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Crew took rovers from the Hab, turned south on Cow Dung Road, and continued to Route 1101 (the road to Barrainca Butte). They did collect specimens on foot in the wash near the road. From there, they returned North on Cow Dung Rd, stopping at Kissing Camels Ridge before continuing back to the Hab on Cow Dung Rd.

Mode of travel: Crew drove rovers (Spirit, Curiosity, Opportunity) to the collection sites and walked a small area on foot to collect specimens.

Journalist Report – October 23rd

MDRS Crew 301
Alex Grab, 10.23.24

Today’s operations focused on two successful EVAs south of the Mars Desert Research Station. The crew explored two key sites: an area near Barrainca Butte and Kissing Camel Ridge West. At Barrainca Butte, samples of basalt, breccia, and several exciting biosignatures (including ancient marine fossils) were collected. At Kissing Camel Ridge West, we discovered petrified wood fragments scattered throughout an ancient riverbed, adding to our growing geological catalog.

Back at the habitat, the crew analyzed our finds and mapped them across the Noachian, Hesperian, and Amazonian periods, weaving them into the larger story of Martian geological history. In the lab, we also continued our selenite weathering experiment. The baked selenite samples displayed calcification and became chalky, while the water-treated crystals smoothed from erosion, each reflecting the impacts of environmental forces over time.

We discussed our findings with Dr. Shannon Rupert to further connect our data to the Martian timeline. Dinner brought the crew together for a comforting meal of cheesy potato and chicken bake with freshly baked bread. Spirits remain high as we prepare for another day of exploration. Mars feels more like home each day, though tomorrow will mark our return to “Earth.”

Astronomy Report – October 21st

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astronomy-report]

MUSK OBSERVATORY

Solar Features Observed: Sunspots, Prominence

Images submitted with this report: Sun_241021_sunspots&prominence

Problems Encountered: None

Journalist Report – October 22nd

Journalist Report
MDRS Crew 301 (Spaceward Bound)
Rachel Johnson, 10.22.24

Today was crew 301’s second day in the MDRS and we woke up in simulation on Mars! The day began with a morning lesson focused on the geology timeline of Mars lead by Dr. Shannon Rupert via zoom in preparation for our first EVA. We were also informed of our mission objectives for the afternoon EVA which was to collect various rock samples for experimentation purposes.

In preparation for the EVA we applied our training from day one on proper spacesuit utilization, ensured all of our comms were in working order and exited the hab in two groups. At 1pm, we loaded into three different rovers: Spirit, Curiosity, and Perseverance , to travel 4-5 km north to our first rock collection site, the intersection of Brahe highway, in search of at least three samples of selenite each. After about 20 minutes, we loaded back into the rovers and headed 2.5 km south to our second location, the mounds near the balancing rock south of dry creek wash, with the objective of collecting at least three samples each of sandstone and sandstone blueberries. After about 30 minutes we departed the mounds location headed south and returned to the hab.

After removing, cleaning and storing our gear we analyzed our rock samples and selected three selenite samples each for use in an experiment. We cleaned the samples and designated one as the control, one to be added to a moving water solution and one to be baked at 250 degrees Fahrenheit. During the set-up, Analog Educator Astronaut Michael Ho, demonstrated the UV reactive properties of selenite which we found to be extremely interesting. We will analyze the results and provide outcomes of the selenite experiment on day four.

After concluding the experiment set-up we enjoyed a delicious dinner of tacos with freshly made tortillas courtesy of our Analog Educator Astronaut Commander Jen Carver-Hunter! We ended our evening with some relaxing in the common room with the knowledge that tomorrow is another big day exploring Mars!

Astronomy Report – January 5th

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astronomy-report]

MUSK OBSERVATORY

Solar Features Observed: Sunspots, Prominence

Images submitted with this report: Sun_241021_sunspots&prominence

Problems Encountered: None

Supplemental Operations Report – July 20th

Date: 6/20/2024
Name of person filing report: Sergii Iakymov
Reason for Report: Routine
Non-Nominal Systems: Hab wall heater, Perseverance and Spirit. EVA suit 9, Solar Power inverters slave 1&2, battery bank.

Power system:
Solar: Malfunctioning inverters still out for repairs. One battery bulged and has been removed from the battery bank. Remaining 23 batteries are connected back and currently operational. Control panel did not restart correctly multiply times and does not send SOC to web monitor.
Generator run time: 6201.6 hours. Locked for summer. Portable generator stored for summer in RAM."

Propane Readings:
Station Tank: 77%
Director Tank: 65%
Intern Tank: 76%
Generator Tank: 70%
All tank’s valves closed for summer"

Water:
Hab Static Tank – 200 gallons
GreenHab – 0 gallons
Outpost tank – 100 gallons
Science Dome – 0 gallons
Septic Tanks emptied: No"

Rovers: All rovers are shipped for repairs to Richfield. See packing slip for more information.

ATV: ATV’s Used: None. Nothing to report.

Cars: Hab Car used and why, where: Parked on campus for summer. Odometer: 173006.2 miles.
Crew Car used and why, where: Parked at the outpost for summer. Odometer: 226693 miles.
General notes and comments: Ignition problem persists in habcar. Can get it to start by resetting into park and trying to pull the shifter as high as possible.

Summary of Internet: All nominal.

EVA suits and radios:
Suits: All suits and parts are ready for a pick up.
Comms: All handheld radios brought to Science Dome for summer. Repeater inspected and pictures taken.

Campus wide inspection, if action taken, what and why: Prepared for summer, see pictures for more information.
Tunnels – all tarp removed and inspected.

Summary of Hab Operations: Prepared for summer, see pictures for more information.
Upper deck: fridge emptied and unplugged; all food removed for summer; all necessary devices unplugged; all temperature sensitive devices moved to Science Dome; rat poison and mouse traps have been set up; trash emptied; south window covered; secondary light left on for safety;
Lower deck: outside outlets turned off; inventory pictures taken; toilet emptied; heater breaker is off; water pump breaker is off; pump solenoid valve moved to off position; UV filter is off; all necessary devices unplugged; all temperature sensitive devices moved to Science Dome; trash emptied; rat poison and mouse traps have been set up; all doors locked; safety lights turned on.

Summary of GreenHab Operations: Prepared for summer, see pictures for more information: all necessary devices unplugged; all temperature sensitive devices moved to Science Dome; all breakers set off; new soil brought in; door closed.

Summary of SciDome Operations: Prepared for summer, see pictures for more information: trash emptied; power system operational; AC set up for 75F; summer camera set up; all necessary devices unplugged; safety lights turned on; all windows covered; door locked.

Summary of Observatories Operations: All nominal. Robotic observatory transferred to starlink internet.

Summary of RAM Operations: Prepared for summer, see pictures for more information: all temperature sensitive equipment moved to Science Dome; large ladders moved inside; roll door secured; outside outlets turned off; trash emptied; generator supplies inventory taken; front door and outside breakers locked.

Summary of Outpost Operations: Prepared for summer, see pictures for more information: Shed locked and all gates closed.
Intern trailer: toilet emptied; all windows covered; fridge, heater, water and water heater off; door locked.
Director trailer: toilet emptied; all windows covered; fridge, heater, water and water heater off; door locked.

Summary of Health and Safety Issues: All nominal.