jburk

March 21, 2024

EVA Report – March 13th

Crew 293 EVA Report 13Mar2024

EVA #016

Author: Erin Pougheon (Leader)

Purpose of EVA: Changing batteries of atmospheric instruments and retrieving data, go to Kissing Camel Ridge to search checkpoints with a 3D map, generated with photogrammetry. Pictures will be taken from a drone, put outside by the EVA team

Start time: 8:50

End time: 12:30

Narrative: The EVA started well with the change of batteries at the atmospheric instruments. Meanwhile, a drone pilot took drone pictures of the EVA team and of the station during the first 30 minutes of the EVA, from inside. The EVA team then went to Kissing Camel Ridge and started to search for the checkpoints. One hour into the EVA, one crewmember had a problem with their suit (Suit 5), it turned off. The problem was not identified during the EVA, it seemed to be a circuit issue, not a battery one. The EVA team chose to go on with the EVA with the suit on, but without the helmet, for said crewmember. The EVA team chose to put safety and science first and go on with the photogrammetry experiment, because either way, the helmet had to be taken off to come back to campus, thus simulation was already broken. The EVA team continued to search for checkpoints and came back alright to campus.

Once the EVA Crew was back at the Hab, the Crew Engineer could figure out what the problem was. See Operations report for details.

8:50: Start depressurization

8:55: Exiting airlock

8:58: Drone taking off

Opportunity

167.5H, 100% charge

Curiosity

271.5H, 100% charge

9:00: Rovers leaving campus

9:03: EVA Crew arrives at atmospheric instruments site

9:10: Retrieving data from Field mill, data from MegaAres and LOAC secured.

9:17: Leaving atmospheric instruments site, taking pictures with drone at the intersection near the Hab

9:26: Switching to channel 1, heading to Kissing Camel Ridge

9:33: Rovers parked near Kissing Camel Ridge, site exploration begins

9:48: Looking for checkpoints, everything ok

9:59: 4 checkpoints reached; Problem with Leo’s suit; Sim broken to fix the issue

10:03: Suit not operational; decision to continue the EVA, one crewmember not in sim (wearing EVA suit without the helmet).

10:14: 7 checkpoints reached out of 12

10:33: Still looking for checkpoints

10:54: 8 checkpoints reached

11:05: 10 checkpoints reached

11:25: Everything OK

11:45: 1 checkpoint left

12:10: Still exploring

12:22: Back at Rovers, leaving Kissing Camel

12:30: Back at Hab

Opportunity: 50%

Curiosity: 47%

Destination: Kissing Camel Ridge
Coordinates (use UTM WSG 84): 518000,4249500

Participants: Erin Pougheon (leader), Leo Tokaryev, Yves Bejach

Road(s) and routes per MDRS map: rover on Cow Dung Road, South direction

Additional notes: See Operations report for information on the suit.

March 21, 2024

Astronomy Report – March 13th

[category astronomy-report]

Astronomy Report

Name: Bourgély Léa
Crew: 293

Date: 13March2024

Sky Conditions: 60% of cloud cover
Wind Conditions: 20 km/h
Observation Start Time: 8:30 am
Observation End Time: 12:30 pm
Summary:
Tracking of sunspots
Looking for solar prominence/solar flares
Observations were conducted every hour
Objects Viewed:
Sun

Telescope used :

Musk observatory
Picture attached to this e-mail :

1_ 11:13 Sunspots with a little bit of "granularity" of the sun and a prominence
2_ 11:22 Prominence formation

3_ 11:23 Prominence development
4_ 11:25 Prominence disappearing
Problems Encountered:

Lower shutter of the dome is still not functional
It seems that the astronomer laptop is not charging anymore. Any info about that ? It works while plugged but stays stuck at 8%

March 21, 2024

Operations Report – March 13th

Crew 293 Operations Report 13-03-2024

SOL: 24

Name of person filing report: Leo Tokaryev

Non-nominal systems: Suit 5, but it’s fixed now.

Notes on non-nominal systems: During the EVA, the suit suddenly stopped working. We tried firstly not to break the sim, and open the suit to see if the battery was correctly connected, it was. Then, it was clear that repairs needed more time, so we were forced to take the suit out and inspect it. We couldn’t identify the problem because I wasn’t used to this kind of problem. See HSO report for the decision we took.

After the EVA, I had more time to look into it and test it, the problem was in the red cable, which didn’t seem to work properly. I replaced the orange connector (a small one, with 2 teeth) that was in the red cable, and the suit worked fine. The problem was not the battery.

ROVERS

Spirit rover used:no

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Opportunity rover used:yes

Hours: 167.5

Beginning charge:100

Ending charge:50

Currently charging:yes

Curiosity rover used: yes

Hours: 271.5

Beginning charge:100

Ending charge:47

Currently charging:yes

Perseverance rover used: no

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

General notes on rovers:

Summary of Hab operations: put notes here

WATER USE: 14.07 gallons

Water (static tank): 137.6 gallons

Static tank pipe heater (on or off):On

Static tank heater (On or off)On

Toilet tank emptied: yes

Summary of internet: none

Summary of suits and radios:

Summary of GreenHab operations: put notes here

WATER USE: 8 gallons

Heater: On

Supplemental light: 22h-2h automatic

Harvest: none

Summary of ScienceDome operations: none

Dual split: Heat or AC, On

Summary of RAM operations: none

Summary of any observatory issues: none

Summary of health and safety issues: none

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support:

During the emergency EVA, we didn’t find a metal wire, we have looked for it previously, but didn’t find it either. Thus, it could be a good idea to have in the RAM for different repairs.

Also, there’s lots of zip ties in the RAM, but they’re all too thin, I saw one or two zip ties that broke on the tarp leading to the science dome, and I couldn’t replace it because I didn’t have the same, thick zip ties that were used previously.

Also, regarding the suit problem, it could be useful to tell the future crews about it, since it is a problem that could be easily solved during an EVA, without breaking sim. I was lucky to have the needed part taped inside the suit, but I believe it is not the case for all the suits( I didn’t have time to look into every suit, but suit 8 for example didn’t have this replacement part taped). I could only thank the person that taped it inside the suit and suggest buying some replacement parts (I don’t know if there’s already some replacement parts of this type in the HAB), and tape them in every suit.

March 21, 2024

GreenHab Report – March 13th

Crew 293 GreenHab Report 13-03-2024

GreenHab Officer: Mathurin FRANCK

Environmental control: (heater, fan, door open?) Heater/fan turning on automatically

Average temperatures: between 70°F- 85°F

Hours of supplemental light: 10pm-2am

Daily water usage for crops: 8G

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: None

Water in Blue Tank (200 gallon capacity): 132 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 10:30 am 8:00pm

Changes to crops:

I have replanted red cabbage, lettuce and onions to give them more space to grow.

Narrative: /

Harvest: (include which crop and mass in grams): /

Support/supplies needed: /

March 21, 2024

Crew Photos – March 12th

March 21, 2024

Journalist Report – March 12th

SOL 23: The calm before the storm

“As each day passed I would learn, in our talk, something about the little prince’s planet, his departure from it, his journey. The information would come very slowly, as it might chance to fall from his thoughts.” – The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Today was our last day of mission without performing an EVA! Indeed, from tomorrow to Friday, we planned one EVA per day, for the last week of photogrammetry or to retrieve the atmospheric instruments before the end of the mission. No EVA means a lot of work inside for the Crew, whether on our computers or on equipment for experiment inside the station. For example, this morning, after a magnificent sunrise, Mathurin and I tried to find a solution to a problem we have with our outreach experiment, built with high-school students, to grow plants in Martian soil. Indeed, we noticed yesterday some mold on the red planet’s soil, and even after observing it with the microscope, we can’t understand where the problem comes from! Talking about experiments, Léa continued working on her informatic code which enables her to analyze sunspots on Sun’s pictures taken thanks to the Solar Observatory. Yves and Lise finished preparing the Kissing Camel Ridge 3D map made thanks to photogrammetry during yesterday’s EVA. They located all the checkpoints on the map, for us to find them during our next EVAs! A day inside also means maintaining the station. Leo solved in a few minutes the problem we had with our kitchen sink. Indeed, for a few days, the water was hardly draining. It was becoming complicated to wash dishes : we are using 4 liters of water only each time we wash the dishes for a 7 person meal, so the water becomes dirty really quickly. We are really grateful to our Crew Engineer because thanks to him, we have our functional sink back.

At the end of the morning, Marie and Leo were cooking for us for the last MELiSSA meal of the mission. The recipe was the one with the vegetable gnocchi that we already tested and liked, even though it is not very fast to prepare for a Crew! The end of this experiment made us realize the amount of data we produced during four weeks of mission, and how much productive we were! We can’t wait to give feedback to the researchers about the experiment we conducted, and especially we can’t wait to see the results provided to science thanks to our mission!

At the end of the day, Leo and I prepared our EVA for tomorrow, during which we’ll have to reach checkpoints placed at Kissing Camel Ridge. We relied on the 3D map of the area, and we took notes and drew to be able to find each checkpoint once on site! It will be the first time for Leo to perform an EVA in which he’ll have to search for checkpoints and not to place them! Meanwhile, other Crew members were working on other subjects that are keeping us busy for more than three weeks! Being seven in the Crew enables us to split the tasks and to be efficient on each experiment we brought with us to the station.

March 21, 2024

Sol Summary – March 12th

Crew 293 Sol Summary Report 12-03-2024

Sol: 23

Summary Title: The Calm before the Storm

Author’s name: Marie Delaroche, Crew Commander

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary:

Today was our last Sol with no EVA planned, before the final sprint. The Crew is starting to plan for post-mission data collection and analysis, as well as logistical considerations. We spent the day continuing to run experiments, and most notably preparing the last MELiSSA meal. We are looking forward to sharing our results with all of the researchers who are counting on us!

In the afternoon, more coding, more data handling, more work… A routine is definitely established, and it’s almost frustrating to see that we are going to have to leave Mars soon after having found a stable rhythm. But the next three Sols will be far from a smooth ride: all of our studies need to be wrapped up, the last bits of data collected, and preparations for our trip to Earth made.

Look Ahead Plan:

The two exploration EVAs at Kissing Camel Ridge (involving a 2D team and a 3D team) are scheduled on Sol 24 and Sol 25. We aim to dismantle and retrieve all atmospheric instruments on Sol 26 (morning), and to break sim at 6 PM.

Anomalies in work: EVA suits 7 and 9

Weather: Cloudy, low 0°C, high 12°C

Crew Physical Status: Nominal

EVA: NA

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Journalist’s Report, GreenHab Report, Operations Report, Photos (6-8 pics), EVA Request

Support Requested: NA

March 21, 2024

GreenHab Report – March 12th

Crew 293 GreenHab Report 12-03-2024

GreenHab Officer: Mathurin FRANCK

Environmental control: (heater, fan, door open?) Heater/fan turning on automatically

Average temperatures: between 70°F- 85°F

Hours of supplemental light: 10pm-2am

Daily water usage for crops: 8G

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: None

Water in Blue Tank (200 gallon capacity): 140 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 9:00 am 7:00pm

Changes to crops: /

Narrative: /

Harvest: (include which crop and mass in grams): /

Support/supplies needed: /

March 21, 2024

Operations Report – March 12th

Crew 293 Operations Report 12-03-2024

SOL: 23

Name of person filing report: Leo Tokaryev

Non-nominal systems:

Notes on non-nominal systems:

ROVERS

Spirit rover used:no

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Opportunity rover used:

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Curiosity rover used: no

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

Perseverance rover used: no

Hours:

Beginning charge:

Ending charge:

Currently charging:

General notes on rovers:

Summary of Hab operations: put notes here

WATER USE: 9.32 gallons

Water (static tank): 151.7 gallons

Static tank pipe heater (on or off):On

Static tank heater (On or off)On

Toilet tank emptied: no

Summary of internet: none

Summary of suits and radios:

Summary of GreenHab operations: put notes here

WATER USE: 8 gallons

Heater: On

Supplemental light: 22h-2h automatic

Harvest: none

Summary of ScienceDome operations: none

Dual split: Heat or AC, On

Summary of RAM operations: none

Summary of any observatory issues: none

Summary of health and safety issues: none

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: we have left 2 trash bags in the rear airlock, could you please take it out?

March 19, 2024

COMMS closed 19Mar2024

Mission support is signing off.Please see below received reports status:

Journalist Report	Received
Operations Report	Received
EVA Report	Received
Photos (6-8 pics)	Received
EVA Request	Approved

________________________
Sergii Iakymov – Director Mars Desert Research Station