jburk

January 7, 2018January 8, 2018

GreenHab Report – January 7th

GreenHab Report
Mark Gee
07Jan2018

Environmental control:
Cooling with vent open

Heating

Shade cloth on

Working Hour: 05:45PM
Inside temp at working hour: 18 C
Outside temp during working hours: 2 C
Inside temperature high: 31 C
Inside temperature low: 15 C
Inside humidity: 24 %RH
Inside humidity high: 36 %RH
Inside humidity low: 16 %RH

Hours of supplemental light:
For the crops 05:00 to 11:59 PM

Changes to crops: Radish sprouts are growing quickly. Spinach survived transplanting.

Daily water usage for crops: 8 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 09:30AM, 05:00PM

Research observations: The microgreens seem to have poor emergence relative to the microgreens in the crop section of the Greenhab. This could be attributed to the better environment in the crop section or the surface sterilization treatment the research seeds received.

Changes to research plants: None

Aquaponics: Not in use

Narrative: Not much happened today. The plants are slow and take time to grow. The old Green Hab used to have a “Zen Garden” to help crew members relax, but the current crop production system seems to be serving a similar purpose. Justin, the crew journalist, stopped by to enjoy the plants, warm air, and humidity. There is something about being surrounded by green that is reassuring, and the flowers on the crops are especially beautiful because they hold the promise of treasure not yet tasted.

Support/supplies needed: None.

January 6, 2018

Astronomy Report – January 6th

(This is not a formal MDRS report, just a summary of astronomy activities for the first week that were performed with my personal 6” Newtonian that I’ve set up next to the dome. No use of the MDRS observatories has taken place yet.)

Name: Max Fagin

Crew: 186

date: 01JAN2018-04JAN2018

Sky Conditions: Hazy for the first few evenings, but cleared up on Thursday and Friday

Wind Conditions: Calm

Observation Start Time: N/A

Observation End Time: N/A

Summary: The only scheduled observing was an attempt to photograph the entire crew on a distant mesa in front of the rising supermoon, but there were clouds to the east that prevented it. I have managed to catch a few photos of the sun and moon (attached). Also included is a photo of the crew on new years night (before entering simulation) standing on a (much nearer) mesa and looking at the full moon. The sky cleared up 2 nights ago, but has now gone back to cloudy, will do more astrophotography as the schedule and weather permits.

Objects Viewed: Sun, moon, M42 (not imaged)

Problems Encountered: None

Attached images:

Crew 186 and Supermoon 01012018.jpg

Moonrise 01042018.jpg

Sun and Supermoon.jpg

Supermoon 01012018.jpg

January 6, 2018

Greenhab Report – January 6th

GreenHab Report

Mark Gee

06Jan2018

Environmental control:

Heating

Shade cloth on

Working Hour: 05:40 PM
Inside temp at working hour: 20 C
Outside temp during working hours: -3 C
Inside temperature high: 22 C
Inside temperature low: 15 C
Inside humidity: 25 %RH

Inside humidity high: 32 %RH
Inside humidity low: 16 %RH

Hours of supplemental light:

For the crops 05:00 to 11:59 PM

Changes to crops: There have been two cloudy days in a row, so the crops did not require much water. Used all of the remaining tomato cages to support the larger tomato plants. Seeded several crops. Used the old seed to see what will grow. If there is no germination, newer seed packs will be used.

Below is an updated inventory of all of the crops, quantity, growth stage, actions taken, and notes.

Name	Quantity	Growth Stage	Action	Notes
Dill Weed	2ft row, ~40 plants	Seedling, 5 true leaves		Quick growing. Needs thinning.
Rosemary	2ft row, ~20 plants	Seedling, 1 true leaf		Slow growing.
Parsley	2ft row, ~50 plants	Seedling, 1 true leaf		Moderate growth. Needs thinning.
Cilantro	2ft row, ~40 plants	Seedling, 2 true leafs		Moderate growth
Oregano	2ft row, ~100 plants	Seedling, cotyledon	Spaced seedlings.	Slow growth.
Sage	2ft row, ~10 plants	Seedling, 1 true leaf		Moderate growth.
Basil	2ft row, ~40 plants	Seedling, 1 true leaf		Moderate growth. Needs thinning.
Thyme	2ft row, ~30 plants	Seedling, 2 true leafs		Slow growth.
Chives	2ft row, ~20 plants	Seedling, 1 leaf		Slow growth
Lavender	2ft row	Seeds, not emerged	Seeded plants.	Previous planting did not grow.
Spinach, Bloomsdale	3 pots, 16 plants.	Seedling, one true leaf.	Transplanted 06Jan2018
Spinach, Bloomsdale	4ft row	Seeds, not emerged	Planted 06Jan2018
Kale, Blue Curled Scotch	5 pots, ~50 plants	Seedling, one true leaf	Transplanted 06Jan2018
Cabbage, Golden Acre	1 seedling tray, ~20 plants	Seedlings, cotyledons		Need transplanting
Moringa Olifera	14 plots	Seeds, no emergence		These are trees. Should they be grown in the small Greenhab?
Paperwhites	3 pots, seven plants	Various, sprouted to flowering		Smell fragrant
Beans, Pole	27 plants	3ft vines, producing flowers and pods		Harvest at end of rotation.
Cucumber	23 plants, 7 pots	3ft vines, producing flowers and fruit
Melon	8 plants	2ft vines, no flowers		Slow growth.
Peppers	9 pots, 23 plants	8 inches, vegetative		Slow growth
Tomatoes	39 pots, 57 plants	6in-48in tall, some flowering	Transplanted 05Jan2018	Do we need this many tomato plants?
Radish	1 pot, three plants	Vegetative, 1ft tall
Radish sprouts	6 sq ft	Seedling, cotyledons	Planted 04Jan2018	Seedlings should be harvested around 17Jan2018.
Swiss Chard	1 starter container	Seeds, no emergence	Planted 06Jan2018
Scallions	5 starter containers	Seeds, no emergence	Planted 06Jan2018
Onion	8 starter containers	Seeds, no emergence	Planted 06Jan2018
Broccoli	1 starter container	Seeds, no emergence	Planted 06Jan2018
Carrot	6 starter containers, 4 pots	Seeds, no emergence	Planted 06Jan2018
Lettuce, Romaine	1 starter container, 1 ft row	Seeds, no emergence	Planted 06Jan2018
Lettuce, Red Leaf	1 starter container, 1 ft row	Seeds, no emergence	Planted 06Jan2018
Lettuce, Black Seeded Simpson	2 starter containers, 1 ft row	Seeds, no emergence	Planted 06Jan2018
Lettuce, sprouts misc.	2 sq ft	Seeds, no emergence	Planted 06Jan2018
Lettuce, Bibb	1 sq ft	Seeds, no emergence	Planted 06Jan2018
Mustard	1 pot	Seeds, no emergence	Planted 06Jan2018
Quinoa, Red Sprouting	2 sq ft	Seeds, no emergence	Planted 06Jan2018
Zennia	1 pot	Seeds, no emergence	Planted 06Jan2018
Arugula	2 starter containers, 2 ft row	Seeds, no emergence	Planted 04Jan2018

Daily water usage for crops: 5 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 05:30PM

Research observations: Sprayed moringa experiment with moringa extract as directed. Microgreen sprouts are growing well.

Changes to research plants: None.

Aquaponics: Not in use.

Narrative: The larger tomato plants were starting to lean over, so I used all of the cages available to support as many plants as possible. The rest of the tomatoes will need cages soon, as will the vining cucumbers. The cucumber plants have already started climbing the shade cloth and lighting cables in their quest to take over.

To maximize the efficiency of the Green Hab, it is important to select crops that are suited to greenhouse production and to space out plantings of crops to ensure steady yields. For future Green Hab officers, I would recommend against planting things like melons that can require up to 75 sq ft per plant and have a 10 ft long tap root that is not easily accommodated in a pot. The 50+ tomato plants seem to have been planted at the same time, which means that they will start yielding at the same time. Hopefully the crew on rotation can freeze some tomato sauce for future crews to use.

To bring more crop variety to the Green Hab, I planted carrots, onions, broccoli, scallion, three varieties of lettuce, Swiss chard, arugula, quinoa, and mustard. These were the seeds available, but many are also fast growing crops that have high yields in a greenhouse environment. I used the oldest seed packets, and will replant with newer seed if nothing grows. If future officers continue plantings every two weeks, then there should be a bountiful and regular harvest for every crew.

Support/supplies needed: 50 more tomato cages will be needed to support all of the tomatoes and cucumbers currently growing in the greenhouse. All of the cages we have are in use.

January 6, 2018

Sol Summary – January 6th

Crew 186 Sol 6 Summary Report 06JAN2018

Sol 6

Summary Title: The Shared Mythos of Mars

Author’s name: Max Fagin

Mission Status: Enjoying our first day of light duty and the chance to catch up on our individual work.

Sol Activity Summary: As grad students, soon to be grad students or recently escaped grad students, one of our greatest pleasures is to sleep in. And today we did just that, in celebration of reaching the midpoint of our 13 sol mission. We woke on our own schedule, and enjoyed a brunch of scrambled eggs and french toast. We recommend a new standing policy be implemented on Mars missions: AHTBMR, aka, “Always Have The Bread Maker Running”.

A passing comment about Game of Thrones (which GreenHab officer Mark Gee had finished reading that morning) became an engaging discussion about authorial intent and the discernment of canon in fictional universes, over the course of 2 hours spanned such topics as the Star Wars Holiday Special, Ender’s Game, the Bible, and literary theorist Roland Barthes’ essay “Death of the Author”. In the course of the discussion, I was reminded of a remarkable question that only future Mars colonization will answer: How will future Martians view our current stories about Mars and the people who live there? Will characters like John Carter, Sax Russell, Rebecca Sherman, Mark Watney and Bobbie Draper become modern myths to the new Martians? The exploration of Mars is the first instance of humans building a culture on top of a preexisting shared mythology in fiction. Will future Martians adopt that existing mythology as their own, or will they decide to make unto themselves a new one?

We spent the rest of day relaxing around the hab, tending to our own experiments in the science dome and in GreenHab, and driving the NorCal Mars Society Rover around the hab (the rover was confronted by a 4 legged alien that retreated as soon as the rover advanced towards them. Photo of it is in the journalist report, awaiting identification). After sunset, sleet started to fall, and we settled in for a nice dinner and game night, featuring a custom card game designed for our mission by our Crew Journalist, Justin Mansell. The rules of “Mars Quest” are coming in a separate email if you want to follow along at home!

Look Ahead Plan: The sleet has made the ground icy around the hab, and even though the weather for tomorrow is forecasted to be clear, we won’t do an EVA if the ground is icy. But if conditions permit, we plan to revisit the region North East of Maxwell Montes that we visited on EVA 3, as we believe we have found a walking route on the topo maps that would allow us to enter the mouth of the canyon from the south, and access the stratified layers we could previously only photograph from the canyon’s west rim.

Anomalies in work: None (generator and water consumption issues believed to be resolved).

Weather: 2C, light sleet, overcast

Crew Physical Status: Healthy

EVA: None.

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

Support Requested: None

January 6, 2018January 6, 2018

Journalist Report – January 6th

[Sol 6] [Astronaut’s Day Off]

Today was a cold and gloomy day. Even if this wasn’t our day off, I reckon that the crew would have been less than enthusiastic about any EVAs. But the weather has been a perfect excuse for a slow day around the hab.

Our commander, Max Fagin, allowed the crew to sleep in past the usual wake-up time of 7:30 am. Instead of an early breakfast, he cooked us a brunch of French toast and scrambled eggs. The crew was skeptical of the powdered and freeze-dried eggs at first, but warmed up to the taste after a few bites.

Members of the team have since spent the day tending to odds and ends for our various experiments. A sprinkling of tenuous Martian snow dusted the landscape in the late afternoon and has served to make the metallic bulkheads and thick pressure doors of our habitat feel almost cozy. Tonight our executive officer, Kshitij Mall, will treat the crew to a dinner of noodles and fish. Afterwards the crew will relax over a cooperative Mars-themed card game written by myself during today’s free time.

All in all, though the day has been slow, it is a welcome break before we continue with our second EVA to the distant Maxwell Montes tomorrow.

Justin Mansell, MDRS Crew 186 Journalist

January 5, 2018January 6, 2018

Operations Report – January 5th

Crew 186 Operations Report 05JAN2018

SOL:05

Name of person filing report: M. Grande

Non-nominal systems: Generator power system

Notes on non-nominal systems: Generator has failed a couple times at start-up (today and yesterday) and reads “under speed” or “under voltage”. I think this might be the cold, as I continue to charge the batteries all day (or all night). The generator will run on the new 9/17 battery tonight, which was charging all day, but it took 4 attempts to start it.

Generator

(hours run): 15.8h

Battery

switched from old (10/17) to new (9/17) at 8:45am

Generator

turned off, charging battery at 12:30pm

Generator

turned on at 6:00pm

Solar—

SOC

8:45am : 68%

12:30pm : 100%

6:00pm : 65%

Diesel:

55%

Propane:

34%

Ethanol

Free Gasoline (5 Gallon containers for ATV): 8.65 Gallons

Water

(trailer): 10 Gallons

Water

(static): 318 Gallons

Trailer

to Static Pump used: No

Water

(loft) – Static to Loft Pump used: Yes

Water

Meter: 129097.7 Gallons

Toilet

tank emptied: No

ATVs

Used: 350.2

Oil

Added? No

ATV

Fuel Used: 0.1 Gallons

Hours the ATVs were used today: 00:40 hours

Notes

on ATVs: ATVs were nominal.

Deimos

rover used: No

Hours:

97.4

Beginning

charge: 100%

Ending

charge:

Currently

charging: Yes

Sojourner

rover used: Assigned to director only.

Hours:

Director discretional hours

Beginning

charge:

Ending

charge:

Currently

charging: Maybe

Spirit

rover used: Yes

Hours:

9.3

Beginning

charge: 100%

Ending

charge: 87%

Currently

charging: No

Opportunity

rover used: Yes

Hours:

4.9

Beginning

charge: 100%

Ending

charge: 66%

Currently

charging: Yes

Curiosity

rover used: No

Hours:

3.1

Beginning

charge: 100%

Ending

charge:

Currently

charging: No

HabCar

used and why, where? No

General notes and comments: No EVA for me today, but I served as HabCom running the airlock depressurization/ repressurization cycles, writing down times, and sending Morse Code transmissions to our NAV, Justin, through his homemade Yagi antenna. It was my intent to hop on the stationary bike left by Crew 184 and get some exercise, but instead I spent most of the day writing up some reports and scripts for my virtual reality (VR) experiment… and enjoying some fresh, warm herb bread made in the bread maker by GEO Cesare! Yum!

Summary of internet: All nominal

Summary of suits and radios: All nominal

Summary of Hab operations: All nominal

Summary of GreenHab operations: All nominal

Summary of ScienceDome operations: All nominal

Summary of RAM operations: Not Operational

Summary of health and safety issues: Crew is Healthy

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: None

Regards,

Melanie Grande, Crew 186 Engineer

January 5, 2018January 6, 2018

Journalist Report – January 5th

[Sol 5]

Temperatures have plummeted and the night left a thin dusting of frost that lingered in the shadows throughout the day. Last night the team planned one of our most complex EVAs yet. One that would require the maximum compliment of 5 crewmembers on EVA at once. The goal: locate elusive hematite “blueberries” (named for their rounded shape and color) that could indicate the presence of liquid surface water in the distant Martian past.

The convoy travelled south to revisit areas explored on EVA #2. This time the team focused our search around a possible ancient stream bed. But alas, the search was unsuccessful. Still, the EVA traversed a variety of terrain and allowed all members of the EVA to gain experience identifying the different geologic formations. Back at the hab, our health and safety officer, Sam Albert, has begun cataloguing microbial samples from around the hab to better understand the microbial environment.

I am also happy to report that last night’s pizza was a hit, if not only due to Cesare’s magic touch that saved the dough. The crew was able to fit in some astronomical observations of the double Martian moonrise before relaxing over a television show. Tomorrow we will continue these leisure activities and have dedicated the day to relaxation to mark the halfway point of our mission.

Justin Mansell, MDRS Crew 186 Journalist

P.S. Photos attached. Photo of the day: 05Jan2018 Building a microbe catalogue.jpg

January 5, 2018January 6, 2018

Science Report – January 5th

Science: Geology

EVA #5 revisited the location to the East of Greenstone Rd, in search of the elusive hematite-coated “blueberries”. Unfortunately, though spectra showed traces of hematite mixed with clay, no spherules were located. Nonetheless, the long EVA was satisfactory since it went through a variety of terrains, including stream beds, dunes, and various layers of sandstone and conglomerate formations. On the way back, the crew stopped at the Kissing Camel Ridge, where -among the sandstone and mudstone layers of the Morrison formation- the crew found boulders collapsed from the Dakota sandstone and conglomerates that top the Morrison formation.

Cesare Guariniello, PhD

January 5, 2018January 6, 2018

EVA Report – January 5th

Author: Max Fagin

Purpose of EVA: Geological sampling of the Greenstone Rd. area and continuing the search for hematite blueberries

Destination: South of Greenstone Rd

UDM27 Coordinates:

520000 E: 424850 N

Participants: Max Fagin (Commander), Kshitij Mall (Executive Officer), Cesare Guariniello (Geologist), Justin Mansell (Journalist), Mark Gee (GreenHab Officer).

Narrative: We reformatted the EVA after suiting up and a radio conversation with Shannon to be an exclusively geological EVA, and delay the navigation component to a later EVA (we previously misunderstood the EVA rules about crew members separating into teams after departing the hab, and how this would technically constitute two separate EVAs). We departed the Hab at 11:10 and arrived on site at 11:48. We walked a long counterclockwise loop around the area searching the ground and occasionally stopping for spectral samples with Cesar’s portable spectrometer, and for the first time, with the portable laser spectrometer that had been generously lent to us by NASA Ames. Despite spending 3 hours on site and seeing many interesting geologic features, we did not find any of the hematite blueberry deposits that are reported to be in this area. We stopped at the Kissing Camels feature on the way back to sample a layer of Dakota Sandstone from the Cretaceous period and returned to the Hab at 14:30.

I expected a 5 person EVA to only be ~20% harder than our more typical 4 person EVA, but in reality, my impression is that they are ~50% harder. In addition to requiring multiple press/depress cycles, the 5th crew member requires an extra vehicle and more room than is easily available in the suit up area. We will probably stick to the conventional 4 crew EVAs in the future. That really does seem to be the perfect number.

January 5, 2018January 14, 2018

Sol Summary Report – January 5th

Crew 186 Sol 5 Summary Report 05JAN2018

Sol 5

Summary Title: The Hunt for Blueberries and Microbial DNA

Author’s name: Max Fagin

Mission Status: Excited for our first scheduled R&R

Sol Activity Summary: We awoke today to Hans Zimmer’s “Elysium” from the movie Gladiator. Clouds had rolled in as forecasted, preventing the solar panels from being used for daytime power. The generator had failed during the night, and while it was easy to restart, it took a few attempts before it kept running for more than ~10 seconds. We suspect it simply had to warm up, but our reducing the hab power load before turning on the generator may have also helped. After breakfast, we prepared for our first 5 crew EVA to Greenstone Rd to continue the hunt for the hematite blueberries that had eluded us on our first and second EVA. After suit up and a brief radio discussion with Shannon, we decided to drop the navigation component of the EVA and focus on pure geology. Unfortunately, although we spent almost 3 hours on site with 5 pairs of eyes, and obtained multiple geological samples and spectra from around the area (including from the laser spectrometer generously lent to us by NASA Ames) we were not able to find any Hematite Blueberry formations. This evening, we got our first positive results from Sam’s microbe DNA experiment after swabbing around the hab. The PCR machine will continue to run throughout the night, and we eagerly await tomorrow’s results!

Look Ahead Plan: To commemorate reaching the midpoint of our mission, tomorrow will be a light duty day of Hab upkeep and catching up on photo/video uploads and emails, followed by some R&R. No EVAs are planned for tomorrow.

Anomalies in work: Generator failures

Weather: -2C, Winds E at 5 MPH, visibility 10 miles,

Crew Physical Status: Healthy

EVA: Greenstone Rd, 3.0 hrs, Geological sampling and search for hematite blueberries

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Journalist Report, Operations Report, Science Report (Geology), Greenhab Report, EVA Report

Support Requested: The generator failures are concerning, as we have no way to detect them unless someone is outside or in the science dome to hear the generator turn off. We can schedule a round of hourly checks, but it would interfere with our sleep schedule. Any recommendations on ways to prevent/detect the generator failures?

Our water conservation efforts are probably not going to be sufficient, as we are projecting a ~1 sol deficit in our initial allotment of 550 gallons. Of this, 40% is going to Hab usage for drinking, washing and hygiene, 7% is watering our crop experiments, and 53% to watering the crops that were present in GreenHab at handoff. Would it be possible to schedule a water resupply so that we can ensure no interruption to the crops?

Tomorrow we plan to catch up on the photo/video backlog that we have developed. We have heard conflicting reports on upload limits during regular hours. Is it truly unlimited, or is that a mistake?