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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
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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.

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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.

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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
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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

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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.

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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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Sol Summary – March 18th

Crew 190 Sol Summary Report
18March2018
Sol 7

Summary Title:
Chilly day.

Michael Saint-Guillain (XO)

Mission Status:
Ready to continue simulation on Sol 8, 08:00

Sol Activity Summary:
10:00 Gym
10:30 Breakfast
10:50 Relaxing
12:30 Lunch
14:00 EVA: muography (Sophie), cartography (Bastien), soil sampling (Maximilien, Frederic), Photos (Mario)
14:00 Food inventory
15:50 Team meeting
17:00 Cleaning
18:00 Report redaction
19:00 CapCom

Look Ahead Plan:
Sol 8:


​
Notes: EVA (Maximilien, Martin, Ariane, Michael: see EVA request); scientific work for the others.

Sol 8 to sol 12:


​
Notes: The last days are quite charged, however we still have March 24th in backup.

Anomalies in work:
We spotted many tracks in the desert, had visual contacts with motorbikes.

Weather:
Very windy. Sunny in the afternoon. Cold.

Crew Physical Status:
Better thanks to a longer night ! (Sunday sleep in!)

EVA:
See EVA report.

Reports to be file:
Commander report
Journalist report
EVA#9 request for Sol8
Engineer report
Pictures

Support Requested:
None

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Commander Report – March 18th

Today, it was planned to have a day off to relax, make the food inventory, clean up a bit the station and leave on EVA. After waking up, Michael and Sophie began a gym session while others were just relaxing up to midday. After that we had a Sunday lunch composed of mashed potatoes with chicken and compote. Our bellies being fully filled up, five crew members left for an EVA towards “yellow moon” to take soil samples, pictures and exploit the drone (see EVA report). Unfortunately, the weather was too windy and as a consequence it was impossible the fly with the drone. We came back to the Hab at 15h47 and we started to clean our living place. Shannon came to spoke with us about tracks found in the desert. This morning we have seen motorbikes and probably ATVs riding off road.

Tonight we will have the dinner and a board game time to strengthen the team spirit.

Concerning the food inventory, we will need some food supplies. It would be really appreciated if a space ship can bring us these food supplies.

Regarding the station, a part from the MDRS aeration felt. During the EVA, we tried to dismantle the wheel of the broken rover. Unfortunately, the tools provided do not fit.