Category: EVA Report

Crew 299 EVA 4 Report 5-15-2024

EVA #4

Author: Aravind Karthigeyan

Purpose of EVA: EVA to Kissing Camel Ridge and Robert’s Rock Garden in order to collect samples and test radioactivity of the environment.

Start Time: 4:09 PM

End Time: 5:20 PM

Narrative: The EVA team took Curiosity and Opportunity rovers down to Roberts Rock Garden. The crew took some fun pictures to be uploaded to social media and for the journalist. The crew walked around and hiked up a hill to find some interesting samples unique to Roberts Rock Garden and tested the radioactivity of the environment.

Destination: Roberts Rock Garden

Coordinates:

518500 4249500 (Roberts Rock Garden)

EVA Participants: Avery (XO/Astronomer), Kristina (HSO), Aravind (Chemist)

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Taking Cow Dung Road 0110 to Roberts Rock Garden

Mode of travel: Driving Opportunity + Walking

Crew 299 EVA 3 Report 5-15-2024

EVA #3

Author: Noah Mugan
Purpose of EVA: Visit Candor Chasma to test drone and obtain samples

Start Time: 8:55AM

End Time: 11:13AM

Narrative: The EVA team took rovers Spirit and Opportunity up to approximately 0.15 miles down Galileo Road. At that point, Spirit had reached a charge of 55% and they took the rest of the journey on foot. They walked down Galileo Road and past Compass point until they finally reached the closest section of Candor Chasma. There, the crew engineer piloted the drone to obtain pictures of the crew and the surrounding landscape, as well as test piloting and maneuverability. The EVA team also obtained several geological samples along the way, which were brought back for analysis. After a rest at Candor Chasma, the team walked back to the rovers and drove the rest of the way home. By the end of the trip, Spirit was left with a charge of 43% and Opportunity was left with a charge of 58%.

Destination: Candor Chasma

Coordinates: x = 520500, y = 4251250

EVA Participants: Rishabh (Engineer), Prakruti (Crew Commander & Journalist), Noah (Biologist and Greenhab Officer)

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Cow Dung Road, Galileo Road

Mode of travel: Drove Spirit and Opportunity+Walking

Crew 299 EVA 6 Report 5-17-2024

EVA #6

Author: Aravind Karthigeyan

Purpose of EVA: EVA to Zubrin’s Head in order to collect samples and test radioactivity of the environment.

Start Time: 11:24 AM

End Time: 1:02 PM

Narrative: The EVA team took Curiosity and Opportunity rovers down to Zubrin’s Head. The crew took some fun pictures to be uploaded to social media and for the journalist. The crew found some interesting petrified wood near the location. In addition we collected more samples such as a unique green pebble stuck to a crevice.

Destination: Zubrin’s Head

Coordinates:

519250, 4248500 (Zubrin’s Head)

EVA Participants: Pari (Commander), Kristina (HSO), Aravind (Chemist)

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Taking Cow Dung Road 0110 to Zubrin’s Head

Mode of travel: Driving Opportunity + Walking

Crew 299 EVA 5 Report 5-17-2024

EVA #5

Author: Noah Mugan

Purpose of EVA: Walking EVA around the hab to gather drone footage and survey the environment from the western hills.

Start Time: 8:35 AM

End Time: 9:10 AM

Narrative: The EVA team walked around the hab and piloted the drone around the surrounding airspace. Using the drone, they obtained footage for topography mapping and general photography. After landing the drone, they climbed the small slopes behind the hab to view and photograph the nearby terrain.

Destination: Hab

Coordinates: 518100, 4250900

EVA Participants: Noah (Biologist and Greenhab Officer), Rishabh (Engineer)

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: None

Mode of travel: Walking

Crew 299 EVA 2 Report 5-18-2024

EVA #7

Author: Rishabh Pandey

Purpose of EVA: To generate 3D model of the surrounding areas. Members will go on a driving EVA stopping every 100-200 meters to fly up the drone and get a quick video of the surrounding area. Remaining four members will stay back and monitor comms.

Start Time: 9:04AM

End Time: 10:30AM

Narrative: The EVA team took the rovers up North stopping every 300-400 meters in order to fly the drone up and capture a video of the surrounding area in order to generate a 3D model.

Destination: Cowboy Corner

Coordinates:
518750, 4253000

EVA Participants: Rishabh (Engineer), Noah (Biologist)

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Cow Dung Road

Mode of travel: Driving Opportunity + Walking

Crew 299 EVA 9 Report 5-19-2024

EVA #9

Author: Aravind Karthigeyan

Purpose of EVA: EVA slightly up the Hab Ridge to show the Fox 13 News journalist how walking in the EVA suit is like.

Start Time: 3:49 PM

End Time: 4:24 PM

Narrative: The EVA team took the Fox 13 News journalist to the hab ridge to show firsthand how walking in the EVA suit is like and how we collected samples and measured radiation data. We faced relatively heavy winds and though we did stumble a bit on the climb up, that did not stop us. We saw a beautiful view of the hab from part way up the ridge and the journalist recorded

Destination: MDRS

Coordinates:

518750, 4253000 (MDRS)

EVA Participants: Noah (Biologist), Kristina (HSO), Aravind (Chemist)

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: N/A

Mode of travel: Walking

Crew 299 EVA 8 Report 5-19-2024

EVA #8

Author: Noah Mugan

Purpose of EVA: Explore Camel Ridge and Marble Ritual to gather information for drone map, gather samples, and introduce the journalist to EVA activities.

Start Time: 11:10 AM

End Time: 12:03 PM

Narrative: On today’s EVA, Pari, Avery, and Rishabh drove Spencer out to Camel Ridge to map out more areas for the drone map. We also hiked up a few hills and got samples. Then we got the all clear from Noah on comms to drive to Marble ritual as well. There we got some more footage and got two more samples.

Destination: Camel Ridge and Marble Ritual

Coordinates:

4251000 5187500 (Marble Ritual), 518500 4249500 (Camel Ridge)

EVA Participants: Pari (Commander and Journalist), Avery (XO and Astronomer), and Rishabh (Engineer)

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Cow Dung Road

Mode of travel: Driving and walking

Crew 299 EVA 10 Report 5-21-2024

EVA #10

Author: Noah Mugan

Purpose of EVA: Travel to Marble Ritual and Pooh’s corner to pick up duplicates of previous samples.

Start Time: 10:00 AM

End Time: 10:55 AM

Narrative: EVA crew drove to Marble Ritual, where they collected several of the greenish-grey rocks from the ground. From there, they travelled to the white mound to the right of the road, just north of Pooh’s corner. They collected further samples there and tested the geiger counter to determine the level of radiation from the earth.

Destination: Marble Ritual and Pooh’s Corner

Coordinates:

4251000 5187500 (Marble Ritual), 519000, 4251250 (Pooh’s Corner)

EVA Participants: Noah (Biologist), Avery (XO and Astronomer), and Aravind (Chemist)

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Cow Dung Road

Mode of travel: Driving and walking

Crew 297 EVA 14 Report 24-4-2024

EVA #14

Author: Sarah Lamm

Purpose of EVA:To observe the orange region from orbit.

Start Time: 8:02 AM

End Time: 10:47 AM

Narrative: We arrived about 0.6 miles away from Somerville Overlook as Opportunity’s battery had dropped to 55%. From there we walked to Somerville Overlook to observe the orange region. It seems to have more silica present than previous locations. Seems to be chert that had been partially dyed orange. We also observed bedded layers of shale, silt, and what appeared to be chert. After we left Somerville Overlook, we went back to the intersection of Galileo Road and Watney Road to use the Case robot.

Destination: Somerville Overlook

Coordinates: 12S 521996 4253063

Participants:Pawel Sawicki (Commander) and Sarah Lamm (Geologist)

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map:Cow Dung Road, Galileo Road

Mode of travel: Opportunity

Crew 297 EVA 16 Report 25-4-2024

EVA #16

Author: Pawel Sawicki

Purpose of EVA: This EVA concludes the human-interaction study from CU Boulder, where two cremates will use the User Interface to monitor and interact with Case, as it traverses and records imagery of the points of interest (areas on the way and surrounding the destination).

Start Time: 8:50 AM

End Time: 11:21 AM

Narrative: Drs. Storch and Sawicki ventured out far north to the Gateway to Lith this morning to locate an area suitable for Case to drive around. Although they did not find anything in the vicinity of Gateway to Lith for this purpose, they admired the views of this area. On the way back, an adequate area was indeed discovered and utilized for the human-research interaction study. Case performed well in its given task, requiring minimal human intervention. The robot was then driven manually to test its steep hill-traversing abilities. The equipment was gathered up and the crew returned home to the Hab.

Destination: Gateway to Lith

Coordinates: 12S 518283 4255681

Participants: Pawel Sawicki (Commander) and Matthew Storch (XO)

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Cow Dung Road

Mode of travel: Opportunity