Day: April 26, 2025

CREW 315 SOL SUMMARY REPORT 24-04-2025

Sol: 4

Summary Title: A Glorius Day on this Red Rock in the Earth’s Sky

Author’s Name: David Laude, Commander

Mission Status: Nominal. All systems operational.

Sol Activity Summary:

Sol 4 got an early start when the Commander woke up early and prepped pan cakes and started the coffee maker for the for 7AM crew awakening. Pan cakes were specially tailored for each crew member by size and choice of embedded fruit. This commander wants to serve the crew in multiple ways and appeasing the stomach by any crew member’s culinary ability is welcome by all. Our HSO and Artist appeared before sunrise to catch the Martian sunrise on camera. Once gathered around the table, the same enthusiasm for the day ahead was apparent in all the crew. It’s unusual here on Mars to have clouds, but the last few days had them, sometimes in abundance. We await a clear night to view the heavens from this part of the solar system from a few portals to the sky.

The morning’s first EVA was the longest thus far out to the Overlook (formally Moon Overlook) and to the Sea of Shells area. The main goal was to sight what the Commander call the Monolith. The Monolith was "discovered" by him while here on Mars with Crew 228 (the first after the pandemic’s peak). The Monolith appeared in the distance from the Overlook. It appears even other worldly by Mar’s standards and is nothing like anything else yet seen here. Imagine a tall obelisk shape (with no text), all black with fins off of each side not too unlike a rocket ship standing vertical with its fins starting from one third up and flaring at the bottom. Who would not be curious? Some think it is made by intelligent creatures, while most are bewildered. Today the first set of compass headings was taken from the Overlook (335 degrees magnetic, 347 true north). An old school compass was unfolded from its rest and aimed at the Monolith, helping the process of unlocking the Monolith’s enigmatic nature. But, like the Monolith in Tyco Crater back in "2001" there may be no answer and perhaps they are of the same origin! If only one could get close enough to touch it. On a near future EVA one or two more azimuth readings will be taken from widely separated locations and then the Monolith’s location can be triangulated on a map of the local area. From that location it will be determined if a crew can drive a rover close enough to deploy a few people walking and carrying a drone to an area close enough for the drone to circumnavigate and video the Monolith. Along the way the Sea of Shells was located and some shells collected for our Engineer’s 3D scanning project. Our HSO brought her drone and acquired a video of the Commander walking to a rim at the Overlook and later made a stunning video of the EVA crew driving back to the Hab while the Commander drove at a moderate pace. Once we were stopped, she brought the drone to in front of us and landed in a glorious emerging cloud of Martian red dust. When back home on good ole Earth she will edit the video for her YouTube channel.

Our Artist took the day off from his everyday of tedious EVAs since Sol 1 and manned the Hab radio as Capcom while also performing his "chef of the day" cooking, preparing lunch from left overs and readying dinner for after the last EVA team’s return.

Crew Engineer Andrews and Crew Journalist Saavedra-Buckley departed from the station via Opportunity Rover at 1415 and headed north along Cow Dung Road. The terrain became more remote as they approached Green Mars View. Andrews found the highest local point and set up Starlink at 1451 while Saavedra-Buckley searched for desiccated soil samples. The area was rather green and as a result, had no cracked and dried soil. Starlink connected after 2 minutes and began consuming power. After a quick speed test, the pair walked to the nearby overlook to take photos for the 100cameras project and to see if the Monolith is visible from here for Commander Laude’s project . It is. Throughout the walk, Saavedra-Buckley interviewed Andrews for her article.

After an hour of power consumption, the Starlink terminal had consumed 35% of the battery pack and the crew packed up and powered up opportunity at 1400. On the way back, the error of the incorrect EVA request end time was realized when communicating with CapComm, and the crew ensured no stops or delays were made in order to return to the Hab as soon as possible. The team returned and entered the airlock at 1425, ending the EVA at 1430.
HSO, Koi was awarded a NASA grant today after being interviewed on line! Her proposal is a research project to explore the myriad uses of fungi (mush rooms) for use in space and on other worlds.

LOOK AHEAD PLAN:

EVA in morning to Lith Canyon, Green Overlook area to get compass bearing reading on the Monolith for Commander and look for desiccated soils for Journalist. Request to be filed this evening.

Short EVA (windy) to acquire more rock samples for Engineers 3D scanner. Request to be filed this evening.

To windy for Commander’s drone operational testing in EVA suit.

Artist will contribute to daily Hab activities.

More delicious food making.

Anomalies in Work: None

Weather: Temperature: 72º, 1500; Sky: Partly Cloudy, 1500; Gust: 22 mph; 1500; Wind: 11 mph; 1500

Crew Physical Status: All in Good Health + Spirits

EVAs Completed:

EVA 7: 0930-1300

Purpose: Travel to Overlook and then Sea of Shells area to sight a particular and unusual object, seen there in the past by the commander, for a future remote object observation close up view via some walking and then using drone per his project goals. This EVA will be to get a compass heading along with one from another location (future EVA) to triangulate its position to find on a map and determine feasibility of flying drone to it for close up photos. We will likely need to hike up small hills to see it. We may use a drone for areal views of it from a distance with high res cameras. We may also pick an additional object of interest in case the first is too far.

Destination: Overlook and then Sea of Shells area.

Coordinates (use UTM WSG 84) :

• First stop : Overlook, at the intersection of Brahe Hwy 1572 and Copernic US Hwy 1575 (4254500N, 516000W).
• Second Stop: Sea of Shells (4255500N, 516500W)

EVA Participants : David Laude (Commander), Urban Koi (HSO)

EVA 8: 1400-1600

Purpose: We plan to accomplish three project objectives on this EVA.

Destination: Green Mars View

· The Crew Journalist will take several more desiccated soil samples in the area for her experiment.

· The Crew Engineer will set up the EVA Connectivity Kit and drain it fully during the mission, testing power draw and speed testing throughout.

· The Crew Journalist will also interview the Crew Engineer for her article during the EVA.

Coordinates (use UTM WSG 84): Easting 527500, Northing 4256750

EVA Participants: Michael Andrews (Crew Engineer and EVA Lead) and Elena Saavedra-Buckley (Crew Journalist)

Reports to Be Filed: Sol Summary, Journalist Report, Crew Photos, Greenhab Report, Operations Report, EVA reports, EVA Request(s)

Support Requested: None at this time.

Crew 315 Sol Summary Report 23-04-2025

Sol: 3

Summary Title: Mars by the Numbers

Author’s name: Michael Andrews

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary:

Greetings from Mars! This is our third full day on the planet. As the crew engineer, I am normally not as skilled as my fellow crew members on written composition, so perhaps I can fill the day’s report with more quantitative information.

First off, the habitat. We are spending 12 sols in a habitat that is 8 meters in diameter. Coincidentally, this is 1 meter narrower than Starship’s fuselage. It’s nice to think that the first colonizers on Mars may live in quarters very similar to this one!

I was the last crew member to awaken today – which is normal as I was staying up late working on my 3D scanning project. However, with a Martian sol being 39 minutes longer than an Earth day, I would have actually woken up a few minutes early if it were the real thing! Breakfast was quick and informal… the crew tends to cook their more ambitious meals in the afternoon. We had a quick 100cameras module led by HSO Koi, which gave us the action to take photo later today on EVA that captured certain emotions. I will keep you posted as I learn what these emotions are and how they can be measured.

The morning EVA team traveled to Somerville Overlook to perform the first drone operations to view areas beyond what our rovers and feet could navigate. The afternoon EVA team returned to Somerville Overlook to collect rock samples and test Starlink connectivity. It was the first day where we really got to leave the area surrounding the station and feel far away from any other humans. It also gave me great data on rover usage and battery life performance, which is helping us determine which vehicles to use on future EVAs and which can be prioritized for maintenance by Mission Support.

On the afternoon EVA, we got our first glimpse of what Commander Laude calls the Monolith. It is a narrow and tall rock structure far from any of our approved routes. He has seen this Monolith from a distance on previous MDRS missions, and he intends to take various compass heading missions on upcoming EVAs to determine its true location so it can be visited with a drone. I have to admit: I felt the emotion of excitement when I saw this Monolith, our Commander’s white whale.

Meals were exceptionally good today. The team, with much encouragement and affirmation, helped me cook some basic white bread in our breadmaker to make PB&J sandwiches. And then Crew Journalist Saavedra-Buckley put me to shame with some homemade tortillas and burritos. We also kept hydrated, consuming about 40 gallons of water today between drinking, showers, and washing dishes. With a 500 gallon tank, we are on track to have this resource lasting the entire mission.

The comms window opened this evening at 7 PM, and the team dedicated the rest of the evening to daily reports and sharing photos amongst the crew. It’s interesting to know that the distance between Mars and Earth is only about 4 light minutes currently, so Earth seems much closer to us than normal (its distance ranges from 3 to 22 light minutes). However, as I drift off to sleep, it’s comforting to know Crew 315 is in a cozy habitat on another world, ready for Sol 4 after a few hours (and 39 minutes!) of sleep.

Look Ahead Plan: Tomorrow we will begin to perform more ambitious EVAs, traveling to Green Mars View and Sea of Shells. The Crew Artist will focus on sketches instead of participating in an EVA, and the HSO has a meeting with NASA in the afternoon for her projects outside of the analog. The soil desiccant and 3D scanning projects’ work will continue in the science dome, when those project owners are not out on EVA.

Anomalies in work: Rovers Perseverance and Curiosity needs work – detailed in the Operations report.

Weather: Weather has been similar all days so far, and today was no exception. Highs up to 80 degrees F, with lows in the 40s F. The morning is clear with low winds, and the afternoons become partly cloudy with winds around 15 mph and gusting up to 25 mph. The nights have been partly cloudy as well. This requires us to perform drone-based EVAs in the morning and other EVAs in the afternoon.

Crew Physical Status: All Crew Members Healthy

EVA:

· EVA 7: Commander Laude and HSO Koi will travel to Sea of Shells via Perseverance Rover to perform some drone tests and potentially take a measurement to determine the Monolith’s location.

· EVA 8: Engineer Andrews and Journalist Saavedra-Buckley will travel to Green Mars View via Opportunity Rover to test Starlink and take more soil samples.

Reports to be filed: 2 EVA Requests, 2 EVA Reports, GreenHab Report, Operations Report, Journalist Report, Crew Photos

Support Requested: We would like to have an earlier comms window tomorrow to support HSO Koi’s virtual meeting with NASA. Requesting to turn on station Starlink from 1500 to 2200 and keep the comms window at 1900 to 2200.