Crew Photos – March 20th
Sol Summary – March 20th
Crew 190 Sol Summary Report
20 March 2018
Sol 9
Summary Title:
Here comes the sun.
Michael Saint-Guillain (XO)
Mission Status:
Ready to continue simulation on Sol 10, 08:00
Sol Activity Summary:
8:00 Gym
8:15 Medic inspection
8:25 Breakfast
9:40 EVA: Sophie (muography), Martin (drug degradation), Frederic (bacteriology), Mario (pictures), Michael (support)
11:35 End of EVA – Crew meeting – Relaxation
13:00 Lunch
14:00 Scientific & academic work
18:00 Report redaction
19:00 CapCom
Look Ahead Plan:
Notes:
Morning: EVA: Maximilien (soil sampling, pictures), Martin (samples checking), Ariane (soil sampling for bacteriology), Bastien (cartography, drone). Sophie will work on the telescope (scheduled on the morning, but could be switched with her analysis on the muon detector during the afternoon, depending on the sky).Afternoon: Scientific and academic (not mentioned in the schedule) work for everyone.
Notes: busy days to come before the end of the rotation. We keep Sol 13 (March 24th) for clean up and crew switch with crew 191.
Anomalies in work:
None
Weather:
Cloudy in the morning, blue sky in late afternoon.
Crew Physical Status:
A bit tired today.
EVA:
See EVA report.
Reports to be file:
Commander report
Journalist report
EVA#10 report
EVA#11 request for Sol10
Engineer report
Pictures
Support Requested:
None
EVA Report – March 20th
Crew members: Sophie Wuyckens (EVA leader), Frédéric Peyrusson, Mario Sundic, Michael Saint-Guillain and Martin Roumain
Purposes:
– Samples checking by Fred
– Samples collection + positioning of new samples by Martin
– If weather is ok, positioning of Sophie’s detector outside for data acquisition
– Michael in support
– Pictures by Mario
Operations:
9:30 – Crew get dressed
9:35 – Paparazzi session by Ariane and Maximilien
9:39 – Entering the airlock
9:42 – Outing
9:43 – Burning of our rubbish by Mario and Sophie + Fuel filling of the ATV1 by Mick + Samples checking by Fred
9:50 – Discovery : rovers haven’t charged the whole night + test of a new extension cord.
10:00 – Leaving the MDRS by foot along Main Road
10:20 – Mick found a pillow and an UPS parcel (just a piece of cardboard)
10:30 – Martin positions his new samples along Main road
10:55 – Bastien sent his drone from the hab to record a video of us.
11:06 – On the way back to MDRS
11:21 – Arrival at the Hab
11:25 – Entering the airlock
11:28 – Mission finished.
Narrative:
Our EVA#10 took place on SOL#9 at 9:30. I am Sophie Wuyckens and I wanted to be part of this EVA in order to position my detector near a hill in our way. Unfortunately, we realized that the rovers didn’t charge the whole night. We understood that the fuses blew when we plug 2 sockets in the airlock. We have already discussed with Shannon to find a solution.
We decided together to follow our initial plan and follow the main road direction to the north. The weather was quite sunny. Our hiking was announced to be difficult. Fred, Mick and Martin climbed a hill quite high. Mario and I kept an eye on them and took pictures of them. Bastien from the Hab sent his drone to record a video of us. It was quite funny. On our way along the main road, we picked up some rubbish : a piece of cardboard, a pillow, a wooden post. We took the whole thing in our way back and put the rubbish in the burning bin outside (except the pillow). Given that we hadn’t got the rovers, I couldn’t position my detector (it is a quite heavy device). We didn’t make it to Tank Wash but it was still a good mission.We finished at 11:28.
Vehicles
- No vehicles
Commander Report – March 20th
As any common day on Mars, our crew woke up at 7:30 am and started with a breakfast prepared by Michael and myself. Pancakes and coffee at the menu!
Afterwards, five of us prepared themselves for a 2:30 hours long EVA (see EVA report). Like yesterday, the EVA team was confronted to a charging problem with the rovers. This problem was solved later by connecting only one plug to the electrical outlet.
During the EVA, Ariane and myself have done some administrative work and Bastien worked on his 3D mapping. When the EVA team came back we started cooking the lunch and tidying a bit the second floor of the station. After the copious meal, we spent time talking together around a coffee to ensure that all scientific project are progressing well. Later on, crew members were back to their occupation and scientific projects. Sophie worked the whole day on her detector and Ariane on her bacteria. Unfortunately, for Ariane, she did not get the expected result for her bacteria selection. But she is not giving up and will continue her project!
To continue our evening after the dinner, we will do a blind test game.
The mood of the crew is still good after more than one week on Mars. That is good news! Tomorrow, an EVA is planned for more sample collection and the team is going to start to think about finishing their scientific work before going back to earth.
Regarding the station, there is no significant problem detected. Only the problem of rover mischarging was to note but now it is fixed.
Astronomy Report – March 20th
Astronomy Report
Name: Sophie Wuyckens Crew: 190
date: 3/20/2018
Sky Conditions: Cloudy all the day long but very clear sky from 5:00 PM.
Wind Conditions: no wind
Observation Start Time: 17:00
Observation End Time: 18:30
Summary: I haven’t gone to the observatory for the last few days because of the bad weather. Therefore when I saw a clear blue sky at 17:00, I jumped on the occasion. I took 3 pictures of the Sun. They were taken in the excitation and in a short time so they are not amazing. I hope to enjoy the telescope with nice ends of afternoon like that for the last days of my stay at MDRS.
Objects Viewed: some little solar eruptions and surface of the Sun
Problems Encountered: I had a small problem with ICap : When I want to take capture each 35s, a message pops up " Error writing bmp files" and it stops the captures. I didn’t have the problem for my last pictures.
Crew Photos – March 18th
EVA Report – March 18th
EVA #8 Report– 18th March 2018 – Sol 7
Crew members: Frédéric Peyrusson (EVA leader), Maximilien Rirchald, Sophie Wuyckens, Bastien Baix, Mario Sundic
Objectives:
- Soil samples for Maximilien’s experiment.
- 3D mapping for Bastien Baix.
- Pictures
Sample positioning for Frédéric’s experiments.
Operations:
14:15 – Entering the airlock
14:21 – Samples positioning of Frédéric’s samples close to the station
14:29 – Leaving the MDRS with the 3 Rovers
14:41 – Arrival at Yellow Moon for pictures, sampling and 3D mapping with the drone. The weather was windy and the drone wasn’t stable enough for mapping
15:09 – Leaving of Yellow Moon
15:18 – Second stop in the road towards Green Valley. Some pictures in front of the beautiful Skyline Rim
15:23 – On the way back to MDRS
15:47 – Arrival at the Hab. We tried to fix the Deimos’ wheel and helped Sophie install her detector.
15:53 – Entering the airlock
15:56 – Mission finished
Narrative:
Our EVA#8 took place on SOL 7 at 14:15. I am Frédéric Peyrusson and I wanted to be part of this EVA in order to place samples of Bacillus subtilis in closed chamber outside. Samples were prepared during the morning.
The weather was quite windy and cold today. Fortunately it was less cloudy than in the morning. We arrived at Yellow Moon at 14:41 after a tough trip. Bastien tried to use his drone for 3D mapping but it wasn’t stable enough. We took soil samples for Maximilien’s experiments. We also saw a lot of motorbikes tracks in the hills.
We then moved towards Green Valley, made some great pictures for our website in front of Skyline Rim, and went back to MDRS. We tried to fix the Deimos rover, but the tools didn’t fit. The EVA finished at 15:56.
Vehicles
- Opportunity, Curiosity and Spirit rovers
GreenHab Report – March 18th
GreenHab report for Sol7 :
Crewmember’s name: Frédéric Peyrusson (Biologist)
Date 18/03/2018
Environmental control:
Ambient with door open.
Shade cloth on.
Fan on, without cooling.
Average temperatures: 23°C
Low: 6,2°C
High: 31,7°C
Hours of supplemental light: 0 hours
Changes to crops: No change
Daily water usage for crops: 4 gal
Time(s) of watering for crops: 3
Moringa research observations: ?
Changes to research plants: N/A
I made measurements of mint plants. Mario will transfer his crops on the 2 hydroponic towers soon.
All other plants have been watered.
Support/supplies needed: N/A
Journalist Report – March 18th
The Mars Desert Research Station is an ever-expanding project. Initially composed of only the main Hab and a GreenHab, new modules have since been added. A solar observatory (the Musk Observatory), an automatic night telescope, solar panels, the Repair and Assembly Module, as well as the Science Dome which has allowed the laboratory to be moved from the restricted lower deck of the Hab to a brand-new area with lots of space to work. Among our researchers working in the Science Dome are Ariane and Fred, both experts in microbiology.
Ariane is a molecular biology graduate, currently beginning her doctorate in the field of genetics. Her experiment, despite being centred on microbiology, is of great importance to the whole crew: she is making Martian bread! Indeed, we may imagine a situation in which we would run out of yeast on Mars, leaving us unable to make one of our favourite staple foods. To keep the bread production sustainable, we would need to get the yeast, lactobacillus, from elsewhere, and that is exactly what Ariane is doing: she is isolating it from human saliva! This is no easy task. First, she sampled saliva and cultivated the many microorganisms it contains in Petri dishes. These Petri dishes were supposed to be filled with what we call a selective medium – a substance which only allows for the growth of a specific microorganism, in this case, lactobacillus. Unfortunately, the shipment from Earth which carried this medium has had an accident, and hasn’t been able to reach us in time. Ariane therefore had to rely on her knowledge of microbiology to manually isolate and cultivate only the required yeast, and no other micro-organism – no easy task, given their very close resemblance! She is currently very close to achieving her goal, and the rest of the crew very close to eating our first true Martian bread (made, in part, from spit)!
Fred, on the other hand, is a biotech and pharma graduate, currently pursuing a doctorate in bacteriology. His fist experiment, concerning plant culture in Martian regolith, has been covered below. In addition to this, he is also working on a microbiology experiment, aiming to evaluate the survival capacity of bacteria in the harsh conditions that exist on Mars. He is using the bacterium bacillus subtilis, a very common microorganism, and placing it in small quartz vials (a material which allows UV rays to pass unhindered), in different conditions around the station to see how many of them will survive. At the end of the experiment, these bacteria will be counted and their numbers compared to a standard sample which will have been staying in the safety of the Science Dome. This experiment is especially interesting because it sets out to answer many questions about the ability of earth-born bacteria, which are therefore adapted to earth-like conditions, to survive in an environment that is literally alien and extremely aggressive. If conclusive, a positive result could mean that the Martian environment is suitable to harbour Earth’s microbes, which could mean many things for agriculture, human life, development, terraforming, and generally our future on the Red Planet.
Operations Report – March 18th
Crew 190 Operations Report 18th March 2018
SOL: 7
Name of person filing report: Bastien BAIX
Non-nominal systems: Ventilation cover fell.
Notes on non-nominal systems:
Due to the extremely hard winds of the last days, the cover of a ventilation opening above the kitchen fell. We found it on the ground near the GreenHab. As you can see on our self-made 3D model enclosed to this mail, it is high. We don’t have a ladder long enough to fix it.
Generator (hours run): Turned off at 9.45 am (and turned on at 7:10pm).
Solar – SOC 85 % (Before generator is run at night)
Diesel – ~45%
Propane – 81%
Ethanol Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV) – 2 empty jerrycans.
Water (trailer) – 0 gallons.
Water (static) – ~ 250 gallons
Water (third tank) – 500 gallons
Trailer to Static Pump used – NO
Water (loft) – Static to Loft Pump used – YES
Water Meter: 132 355.8
Toilet tank emptied: YES
ATV’s Used: –
Oil Added: NO
ATV Fuel Used: NO
Hours the ATVs were used today: _
Notes on ATVs: –
Deimos rover used: NO
Hours: 116.6
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: –
Currently charging: NO
Notes on Deimos rover: flat tire, not yet repaired
Sojourner rover used: ASSIGNED TO DIRECTOR
Hours:
Beginning charge:
Ending charge:
Currently charging:
Spirit rover used: YES
Hours: 26.1
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 43%
Currently charging: NO
Opportunity rover used: YES
Hours: 25
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 30%
Currently charging: YES
Curiosity rover used: YES
Hours: 20.7
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 55%
Currently charging: YES
HabCar used and why, where: –
General notes and comments: –
Summary of internet: ~ 270 Mb remaining
Summary of suits and radios: –
Summary of Hab operations: day off
Summary of GreenHab operations: –
Summary of ScienceDome operations: Fred working on their experiments.
Summary of RAMM operations: the muon detector of Sophie is remotely controlled from the Hab
Summary of health and safety issues: –
Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: –
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