jburk

March 6, 2023March 13, 2023

GreenHab Report – March 3th

GreenHab Officer: Adrien Tison

Environmental control: Heater

Average Temperature: 71.1°F

Average humidity: 25%

Hours of supplemental light: 0 hour

Daily water usage for crops: 8.45 gallons

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 0 gallon

Water in the blue tank: 119.42 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 9:45

Changes to crops: I added sticks to support cucumbers, indeed, it was growing fast lately and taking too much space in the tank.

Narrative: As usual I went to maintain and water crops and plants in the morning.

Everything is looking good, greens I’ve planted a few days ago are starting to pop out of the dirt, and the beans I’ve also planted are looking good!

The GreenHab may be the most satisfying place in the station!

Surprisingly enough, cucumbers adapted quickly to this new positioning and their leaves are now facing the right way.

Harvest: 43g of spinach

Support/supplies needed: N/A

March 6, 2023March 13, 2023

Operations Report – March 3th

Crew 275 Operations Report 03Mar2023
SOL: 19

Name of person filing report: Quentin Royer
Non-nominal systems:
• Toilet
• Spacesuit n°9

Notes on non-nominal systems: None

ROVERS
Spirit rover used: No
• Hours: 209.9
• Beginning charge: 100%
• Ending charge: N/A
• Currently charging: Yes

Opportunity rover used: Yes
• Hours: 113.7
• Beginning charge: 100%
• Ending charge: 73%
• Currently charging: Yes

Curiosity rover used: No
• Hours: 221.7
• Beginning charge: 100%
• Ending charge: N/A
• Currently charging: Yes

Perseverance rover used: Yes
• Hours: 255.9
• Beginning charge: 100%
• Ending charge: 61%
• Currently charging: Yes

General notes on rovers: Nothing to report.

Summary of Hab operations: The Crew conducted routine operations. Journalists from the BBC filmed some operations.
• WATER USE: 13.90
• Water: 404.27 gallons
• Static tank pipe heater: On
• Static tank heater: On
• Toilet tank emptied: No

Summary of internet: Hughes Net was used during the day before the opening of COMMS for email purposes, and Starlink (MDRSCampus-Guest) is used during COMMS. MDRScampus is used for experimental purpose.

Summary of suits and radios: Nothing to report.

Summary of GreenHab operations: The Crew botanist conducted routine operations. An interview of the GreenHab Officer was performed by BBC journalists.
• WATER USE: 8.45 gallons
• Heater: On
• Supplemental light: No
• Harvest: 43 g of spinach

Summary of ScienceDome operations: The Crew Scientist conducted experiments on rock samples. Interviews of the Crew Scientist and of the Commander were performed by BBC journalists.
• Dual split: Heat / From 10 pm to 2 am

Summary of RAM operations: No operations were conducted in the RAM today. An interview of the Crew Engineer was performed by BBC journalists.

Summary of any observatory issues: Nothing to report.

Summary of health and safety issues: Nothing to report.

Questions, concerns, and requests to Mission Support: None

March 6, 2023March 13, 2023

Sol Summary Report – March 3th

Crew 275 Sol Summary Report 03Mar2023

Sol: 19

Summary Title: Under the spotlight

Author’s name: Jeremy Rabineau, Commander.

Mission Status: Nominal.

Sol Activity Summary:

Finally, a day when we wake up and don’t see the landscape covered with snow or mud! The flipside of this coin is that the temperature in the spacesuits got higher than usual and the EVA crew was very tired after their 4-hour EVA. We are no longer used to walk 10 000 steps a day, and even less in a spacesuit! An exhausting EVA, but a very fulfilling one, as all the objectives have been accomplished in perfect agreement with the planned timeline. The LOAC has been re-installed, while the batteries and the SD cards of all the other atmospheric instruments have been changed. All the checkpoints of the photogrammetry experiment have been identified by the subjects onsite at Candor Chasma, where the terrain was still slightly muddy.

The main event of the day was the presence of a journalist crew from BBC. They accompanied us during the first hour of our EVA. They then filmed the activities in the Upper Deck, the lunch, and finally they spent the whole afternoon interviewing us at our dedicated workplaces: the Science Dome, the GreenHab, etc. It was honestly a bit strange to see other people after three weeks just among us, but we are happy that they were very cooperative and respectful regarding the simulation. We are looking forward to seeing the output they can get out of their footage.

Look Ahead Plan:

Tomorrow (Sol 20), we would like to have our third EVA to Candor Chasma. The EVA crews will have to find specific checkpoints based on a 3D render. We would like to take the opportunity of this EVA to change the batteries of the atmospheric instruments, since they cannot last for more than two days, and we are not planning any EVA for Sunday.

Another media visit is planned for next Tuesday (Sol 23) with a crew from France Televisions. We will keep you updated as soon as we have more information regarding their planned arrival and departure.

Anomalies in work: None.

Weather: Cloudy, low -5°C/23°F, high 8°C/46°F.

Crew Physical Status: Optimal.

EVA: EVA # 15 was successful, both the main (photogrammetry) and secondary (atmospheric instruments) objectives have been fulfilled.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, EVA Report, EVA Request, Operations Report, Journalist Report, GreenHab Report, Astronomy Report.

Support Requested: None.

March 2, 2023March 3, 2023

Crew Photos – March 2th

March 2, 2023March 3, 2023

Journalist Report – March 2th

Sol 18 – When space exploration brings philosophy to the table

“It is good to renew one’s wonder,” said the philosopher. “Space travel has again made children of us all.”

– The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury

“Alexandre to the Hab, I have arrived at the Observatory.”

When I heard this message over the radio this morning, I instinctively wrote it down in my notebook, for no particular reason other than that I was happy for Alexandre. The Sun was shining, he would be able to spend time in the solar observatory to record footage of our star and program his nighttime observations.

I also felt happy for Alice and Quentin: the Sun was shining, the hills were drying, boding well for tomorrow’s scheduled EVA. As the exploration EVA using the 3D map ended up being rescheduled to Sol 20 due to the weather, tomorrow, Quentin, Jérémy, and Alexandre will be looking for the checkpoints using only the 2D map.

I started preparing lunch while Jérémy and Corentin debriefed the Sociomapping reports received after the first half of the mission. This technique allows to literally “map out” the relationship between crewmembers: Using a series of weekly queries we answer regularly, a 3D map is generated, illustrating how the crew is organized, and how efficient communications are between us.

While Alexandre and Jérémy were preparing their notes, and memorizing paths and caches for tomorrow, Quentin made a discovery: the damaged weather station screen was in fact not needed! By placing a receiver near the Hab window, he was able to “hear” the weather station’s transmissions directly from inside the Hab and receive them on his computer.

Gathered around the Hab table for lunch, as we were rereading some questions sent by journalists about our mission and Martian exploration, we quickly slipped into debate mode: Why go to space? Why explore Mars? Many answers arose. Most of us mentioned science: good use of orbital space can help solve the climate crisis, studying Mars helps us understand our own Earth, even pure scientific curiosity can be a powerful motivator. But some crewmembers also mentioned a reason more difficult to justify, abstract yet almost visceral, even artistic: the desire to explore. Which is why I chose this quote, instead of going through Bradbury’s 18th chronicle as usual:

“‘It is good to renew one’s wonder,’ said the philosopher. ‘Space travel has again made children of us all.’”

March 2, 2023March 3, 2023

Astronomy Report – March 2th

Astronomy Report

Name: Alexandre VINAS

Crew: 275
Date: 03/02/2023

MDRS ROBOTIC OBSERVATORY

Robotic Telescope Requested (choose one) MDRS-14 MDRS-WF

Objects Viewed: /

Problems Encountered: /

MUSK OBSERVATORY

Solar Features Observed: Sun 230302 sunspots

Problems Encountered: My prominence capture was not very satisfying. The surrounding of the Sun was not black but very bright (Does it depend on the hour of the day ? I made this photo at about 12:00 pm). There was no prominence during my observation so that was not a problem as I did not use the prominence capture for the photo, but I would like to understand why, in order to fix the problem for the next times.

March 2, 2023March 3, 2023

GreenHab Report – March 2th

GreenHab Officer: Adrien Tison

Environmental control: Heater

Average Temperature: 79.3°F

Average humidity: 26%

Hours of supplemental light: 0 hour

Daily water usage for crops: 10.30 gallons

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 0 gallons

Water in the blue tank: 127.87 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 9:35 & 17:35

Changes to crops: N/A

Narrative: Today was a pretty common day so I watered and took care of plants and crops.

However, as tomorrow is our media day, I made sure everything was into place, even though everything is always clean!

Apart from that, the aquaponics system is doing well, fish too, and all the plants as well.

Harvest: N/A

Support/supplies needed: N/A

March 2, 2023March 3, 2023

Operations Report – March 2th

Crew 275 Operations Report 02Mar2023
SOL: 18

Name of person filing report: Quentin Royer
Non-nominal systems:
• Toilet
• Spacesuit n°9

Notes on non-nominal systems: None

ROVERS
Spirit rover used: No
• Hours: 209.9
• Beginning charge: 100%
• Ending charge: N/A
• Currently charging: Yes

Opportunity rover used: No
• Hours: 113.5
• Beginning charge: 100%
• Ending charge: N/A
• Currently charging: Yes

Curiosity rover used: No
• Hours: 221.7
• Beginning charge: 100%
• Ending charge: N/A
• Currently charging: Yes

Perseverance rover used: No
• Hours: 255.9
• Beginning charge: 100%
• Ending charge: N/A
• Currently charging: Yes

General notes on rovers: Nothing to report.

Summary of Hab operations: The Crew conducted routine operations. The lights of the kitchen hood were replaced. The light in the oven is still missing.
• WATER USE: 10.30
• Water: 418.17 gallons
• Static tank pipe heater: On
• Static tank heater: On
• Toilet tank emptied: Yes

Summary of suits and radios: Nothing to report.

Summary of GreenHab operations: The Crew botanist conducted routine operations. The new CO alarm was placed in the GreenHab.
• WATER USE: 10.30 gallons
• Heater: On
• Supplemental light: No
• Harvest: No

Summary of ScienceDome operations: The Crew Scientist conducted experiments on rock samples.
• Dual split: Heat / From 10 pm to 2 am

Summary of RAM operations: No operations were conducted in the RAM today. We retrieved the CO alarm. The

Summary of any observatory issues: Nothing to report.

Summary of health and safety issues: Nothing to report.

Questions, concerns, and requests to Mission Support:
• There was a bigger leak in the roof of the RAM today, the window of the roof is slightly cracked, and drops of water came from this crack. I placed a bucket to collect the water underneath. The leak stopped in the evening.

March 2, 2023March 3, 2023

Sol Summary Report – March 2th

Crew 275 Sol Summary Report 02Mar2023

Sol: 18

Summary Title: When space exploration brings philosophy to the table

Author’s name: Jeremy Rabineau, Commander.

Mission Status: Nominal.

Sol Activity Summary:

With the precipitation of the last few days, we knew that the ground would be too muddy today to conduct EVAs, which is why we decided to wait a bit before performing our second EVA to Candor Chasma. It was apparently the right choice, as we can see from our windows that the mud is quickly drying out.

We conducted routine operations in the Hab, the GreenHab, and the Science Dome, finalizing most of the Human Factors experiments planned for Week 3. With the sunny weather, our Crew Astronomer was finally able to take his first pictures of the Sun. He has been waiting for this moment for so long and is very happy with the result!

The end of the afternoon was dedicated to cleaning the different modules, as we want to make a good impression on the BBC tomorrow. They have also sent us a list of questions that we have started to prepare for tomorrow’s interviews. Some of these questions were actually the topic of a very interesting discussion that we all had together after lunch.

Look Ahead Plan:

Tomorrow (Sol 19), we would like to have our second EVA to Candor Chasma. We then plan to go back there on Saturday (Sol 20). The EVA crews will have to find specific checkpoints based on a 2D map or a 3D render, respectively. We would like to take the opportunity of these EVAs to change the batteries of the weather instruments, since they cannot last for more than two days, especially in cold weather. In addition, since no precipitation is expected, we would like to re-install the LOAC next to the other atmospheric instruments.

The BBC is planned to arrive at the MDRS tomorrow (Sol 19) between 8:30 and 9:00. They will follow us on our EVA to Candor Chasma, then film inside the station in the afternoon, and leave at around 17:00.

Anomalies in work: None.

Weather: Sunny, low -1°C/30°F, high 7°C/44°F.

Crew Physical Status: Optimal.

EVA: None.

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, EVA Request, Operations Report, Journalist Report, GreenHab Report, Astronomy Report, HSO Report.

Support Requested: None.

March 1, 2023March 3, 2023