Category: Greenhab Report

GreenHab Officer: Scott Dorrington
Environmental control: heater off (broken), fan off, door closed
Average temperatures:
10:02: 57.6 F, 75%
13:00: 71.4 F, 65%
16:27: 60.6 F, 54%
17:00: 56.7 F, 62%
18:22: 49.5 F, 77% (space heater turned on)
19:07: 51.1 F, 84%
Hours of supplemental light: 0 hrs (inside hab previous night)
Daily water usage for crops: 5 gallons
Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 0 gallons
Water in Blue Tank (200 gallon capacity): 180 gallons (starting from ~185 gallons)
Time(s) of watering for crops: 12:00 mist, 16:30 water + mist
Changes to crops: None
Narrative:
Today was the first official sol as greenhab officer, however duties started the previous day during our induction. Prior to our arrival during the changeover from previous crew, we learned that the greenhab heater is non-operational. The majority of plants were moved into the first level of the hab, taking up space around the engineering airlock and next to the EVA comms. The plants spent the whole night and next sol (sol 0) in the hab, with artificial light. I gave my first watering in the evening of sol 0, using 2 gallons. I tried to minimize water leakage onto the floor of the hab, cleaning up any puddles with paper towels. At midday on sol 1, I commenced the migration of plants back to the greenhab. I aimed to judge how long it would take, so as to decide if I want to continue to move them back and forth from greenhab to hab every sol until the heater is fixed. I started with the tomatoes, moving 6 plants into the engineering airlock, out into the tunnels before sealing the airlock. I then shuttled the plants to the greenhab door, then inside. This was followed by a second trip to move the remaining 6 tomato plants. Transporting the tomatoes took around 30 minutes. Once all in, I gave the tomatoes a good misting and inspection. Tomato #9 was looking a little sadder than the rest, with smaller leaves and not so many fruits. I noticed this plant was close to the hab gas heater the first night, so may have had some heat stress.
The Great Plant Migration was interrupted by our scheduled training EVA to Marble Ritual, and was recommenced at 4:30 pm with cucumbers and remaining plants. This was done in one trip through the airlock. I then did my first watering, giving 5 gallons between all the plants. I experimented with several of the watering cans to find one that I liked. In the evening, I visited the greenhab a few times to log temperatures, and turned on the floor space heater around 6pm. I checked an hour later and the temperature had gone up slightly. I will keep monitoring temperatures this evening and might migrate the plants back into the hab if the temperature is too cold. During some quick research during comms window, I found advise to keep tomatoes above 55 F to avoid blossom drop. Back in the hab while writing reports, I found a little spider crawling around in the games cupboard. After discussing with crew how we would respond on Mars, it was decided to relocate the “Spider on Mars” to the greenhab. He is now enjoying his new environment amongst the red cabbages.
Harvest: None
Support/supplies needed: Advice on status of the hab heater. Also, any recommendations re daily migrating plants between greenhab and hab until the heater is fixed.

Crew 290 GreenHab Report 15-01-2024 (Sol 8)

Greenhab Officer: Ben Kazimer

Heater off (not by choice), fan off, door closed

Average temperatures: 0956: 74.8⁰F, 22%, 1623: 75.9⁰F, 15%, 1955: 51.4⁰F, 20%

Hours of supplemental light: nominal 4 hours overnight

Daily water usage for crops: 4 gallons

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

Water in Blue Tank 147.05 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops:

0956: 3 gallons watering, ½ gallon misting, 1623: ½ gallon misting

Changes to crops: rearranged tomatoes again, harvested some dill for dinner

Narrative:

Turns out it isn’t always sunshine and rainbows in a Martian Greenhouse (especially the former) as the tomato plants are showing conflicting signs of stress and the heater system is currently on the fritz. I individually inspected every tomato and cucumber plant today on the examination table (my newly acquired sitting stool which has already been sacrificed to my plants) and found that some plants had curling leaves that might indicate heat stress while others had browning leaves with small holes that could be from frostbite. It is quite puzzling so I trimmed most of the stressed leaves and gave them some fresh water and mist. They were all moved further away from the greenhab wall as these showed the greatest stress so I was hoping to see at least some improvements right before I started this report but instead I was faced with disaster! The heater is repeatedly clicking on without providing heat to the now 51⁰F habitat so I am trouble shooting with Mission Support on solutions as trivial power cycling did not change the heater status… updates to follow. In better news, I had a bountiful harvest of the rapidly growing dill which was immediately incorporated into a compound butter that was a tasty topping for our dinner of black bean burgers, cheddar biscuits, and mashed potatoes! Finally, today I spun some classic rap for the plants, ranging from A Tribe Called Quest to MF Doom.

Harvest: 33 grams dill

Support/supplies needed: Heater Repair (In Progress)

Crew 290 GreenHab Report 16-01-2024 (Sol 9)

Greenhab Officer: Ben Kazimer

Heater on, fan off, door closed

Average temperatures: 1012: 75.7⁰F, 12%, 1421: 81.0⁰F, 15%, 1623: 78.6⁰F, 15%

Hours of supplemental light: nominal 4 hours overnight

Daily water usage for crops: 7 ¾ gallons

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 2 gallons

Water in Blue Tank 137.3 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops:

1012: 5 gallons watering, ½ gallon misting, 1421: ½ gallon watering, ½ gallon misting, 1623: 1 gallon watering, ¼ gallon misting

Changes to crops: harvested cilantro

Narrative:

It has been a riveting match of tug-of-war between the tomatoes and me. I’m doing my best to keep the climate constant inside the greenhouse but these warm days and cold nights lead to great temperature swings and frequent monitoring. Everyone is still alive but they oscillate between stressed and thriving throughout the day. It is an emotional rollercoaster out in this little green patch of the desert, but I’m sticking with it for these plants! I’m upping the water dosages as that always seems to help, whether direct to the soil or in the general vicinity for misting. The tomatoes are still showing an ever-increasing number and volume of fruit, I’m still hopeful Crew 290 will be able to split at least one cherry tomato before our time at MDRS concludes. Other positive news is that the herbs are thriving and I was able to trim back the cilantro a decent bit, a fitting garnish for our big Taco Tuesday feast tonight! The dill from yesterday is the gift that keeps on giving, today in the form of compound butter to top my fresh whole wheat honey bread! (Note: Heater is operating at nominal status, thank you for support last night!)

Harvest: 33 grams cilantro

Support/supplies needed: None!

Crew 290 GreenHab Report 17-01-2024 (Sol 10)

Greenhab Officer: Ben Kazimer

Heater on (set to 72⁰F), fan off, door closed

Average temperatures: 0815: 77.0⁰F, 15%, 1505: 86.4⁰F, 15%

Hours of supplemental light: nominal 4 hours overnight

Daily water usage for crops: 5 ½ gallons

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: N/A

Water in Blue Tank 131.8 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops:

0815: 4 gallons watering, ½ gallon misting, 1432: ½ gallon watering, ½ gallon misting

Changes to crops: None

Narrative:

This sol’s narrative starts on the eve of sol 9, immediately after our taco Tuesday feast ended. I went to check on my plants before I settled in for the night, and upon entering the greenhab I knew I was in for a trip. It was about 20⁰F outside and 41⁰F inside the greenhouse… The heater was not running and the plants clearly wore upset emotions on their yellowing and flaking leaves. After a quick chat with Mission Support, I got the greenlight to open up the heater to see what was going on along with the help of Engineer Roots. We took the side panels off to expose the electrical components to clean things out and check a few connections. After some resets and reassembly, the heater was back to keeping the greenhouse at a pseudo-summer like status. Mission Support informed me that this issue could have been occurring the past few nights during the coldest point (they are still testing out experimental remote monitoring systems that are not fully integrated to the habitat). While the greenhouse was warming, I wasn’t convinced it was stable. I stayed up relatively late and checked on the heater throughout the night. I did not actually visit the facility as that would require waking another crewmate for comms check-ins, but instead gauged the heater status by the motion of Riya’s inventory list which was taped to the water tank, right in the flow field of the heater’s hot output. Fast forward to today, the plants have been happy throughout the sol and I’m hoping the heater can continue nominal operations until it is further diagnosed before Crew 291 comes in.

Harvest: None

Support/supplies needed: None!

Crew 290 GreenHab Report 18-01-2024 (Sol 11)

Greenhab Officer: Ben Kazimer

Heater on (set to 65⁰F), fan off, door closed

Average temperatures: 0829: 80.8⁰F, 15%, 1545: 76.8⁰F, 25%, 1750: 70.2⁰F, 29%

Hours of supplemental light: nominal 4 hours overnight

Daily water usage for crops: 6 ½ gallons

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: N/A

Water in Blue Tank 125.3 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops:

0829: 6 gallons watering, 1545: ½ gallon misting

Changes to crops: Big harvest of leafy greens and trimming of some dead leaves on herbs.

Narrative:

A rather chill sol in the wonderful world of the greenhab affairs. All system and plant health statuses are nominal, which was quite welcome with other duties occupying most of my time today. The plants have been riding out the early morning watering, with an afternoon pick-up misting, and will hopefully get a post-sunset misting and light watering (if I don’t fall asleep on the bean bag chair after I submit this report). I’ve been letting a bunch of greens grow out to stockpile a fresh salad, hence tonight’s bountiful harvest. I’m holding off on a few miscellaneous veggies for a sampling harvest tomorrow that should contain one pea pod, 3 tomatoes, and an assortment of herbs. Tomorrow, I’ll also update the inventory list and leave a few (optional) recommendations to 291! Last but not least, I forgot to report on yesterday’s music choice ☹ Despite previous trends with disaster, I let out some more rap but this time a bit newer with a curated rotation of Mac Miller. Today, the plants got a pretty wide range of tunes, most notably the long-awaited Dave Matthews Band #41 Live in Rio. I think it’s quite obvious, but everyone in the greenhouse enjoyed that one.

Harvest: 13 grams Cilantro, 47 grams Kale, 47 grams Red Cabbage, 32 grams Arugula, 20 grams Lettuce

Support/supplies needed: None!

Crew 290 GreenHab Report 14-01-2024 (Sol 7)

Greenhab Officer: Ben Kazimer

Heater cycled throughout day due to warm weather but is currently on, fan off, door closed

Average temperatures: 0925: 77.4⁰F, 25%, 1648: 63.5⁰F, 28%

Hours of supplemental light: 4.5 (4 overnight and ½ from watering after sunset)

Daily water usage for crops: 7 gallons

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

Water in Blue Tank 151.05 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops:

0925: 5 gallons watering, ½ gallon misting, 1257: ¼ gallon misting, 1648: ¼ gallon misting, 1833: 1 gallon watering

Changes to crops: rearranged tomatoes and cucumbers for more separation on main planter table, also trimmed their leaves

Narrative:

Woahhhhhhh we’re halfway there! While the plants did not listen to any Bon Jovi this sol, Crew 290 is halfway through our rotation. The plants seemed a bit melancholic with stressed leaves, but the fruit looked great so I’m chalking that up to yestersols dosage of Rat Pack (+ Louis Prima) vocals. To remedy the leaves, the cucumbers and tomatoes did another Martian shuffle today, this time to increase separation between pots as branches and leaves were getting a little too close for everyone’s comfort. This did come with the price of my observation bench as I needed more planter real estate, but I am willing to make such sacrifices for the increased health of these plants. During the afternoon check-in, I noticed Tomato No.4 is really excelling after previous struggles! They are the Sol 7 rising star, winning the title “Comeback Kid”. I also made sure all the herbs were staying in their designated growing regions and did my best to reduce any physical altercations. Finally, I added a little compost to Riya’s spinach, mint, and onion to encourage growth (the onions are doing great!).

Harvest: None :/

Support/supplies needed: None!

Crew 290 GreenHab Report 10-01-2024 (Sol 3)

Greenhab Officer: Ben Kazimer, Callsign “Funk”

Heater on, fan off, door closed

Average temperatures: 0955: 61.2⁰F & 22%, 1222: 77.2⁰F & 22%, 1721: 69.6⁰F & 51%

Hours of supplemental light: Nominal 4 hours overnight

Daily water usage for crops: 5 gallons

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 0.5 gallons

Water in Blue Tank 176.3 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 1133: 3 gallon watering and 32 oz misting, 1705: 1 gallon watering and 32 oz misting

Changes to crops: pruned some dead flowers off the cucumbers in the large blue planter. Added two Earth-based potato chunks on toothpicks to beakers with water to promote sprouting.

Narrative:

I was able to spend a good amount of time in the greenhab today, it was fantastic! I checked in at 0955 to see a relatively cold environment of 61.2⁰F. I had a chat with Mission Support on nominal greenhab status, to which he sent me some words of wisdom from Crew 289’s GHO (Thanks Riya 😊). Going forward, I’m going to mist the green guys a few times while maintaining 3-5 gallons of direct watering. For most of the morning, Engineer Anna and I measured soil salinity levels of many plants to have as reference for any future changes (fertilizer, repotting, etc.). We were able to setup a makeshift laboratory in the greenhab with my plant-viewing benches and it worked quite well! I even found a tiny pot full of unused potting soil that I plan to use for Earth-grown potato sproutings. I suspended two potato chunks for sprouting over separate beakers full of water, fingers crossed we see some roots! Last note is the now regular music rundown of the day: I downloaded the highlight release of Live in Europe ’72 from the GD and I certainly enjoyed it so hopefully the plants did too. I was apprehensive to expose our crops to rap music, but I felt like a little switch up during the pre-dinner checkup wouldn’t hurt… Sol 4 will tell us all if the greenhouse inhabitants are welcoming of OVO music.

Harvest: N/A

Support/supplies needed: None!

Crew 290 GreenHab Report 11-01-2024 (Sol 4)

Greenhab Officer: Ben Kazimer

Heater on (Shifted to 70⁰F, fan off, door closed

Average temperatures: 0748: 62.2⁰F, 19%, Sensor then moved to middle of greenhab away from door, 1410: 86.7⁰F 15%, 1703: 71.2⁰F, 19%

Hours of supplemental light: Nominal 4 hours overnight

Daily water usage for crops: 6.5 gallons

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 1.2 gallons

Water in Blue Tank 168.6 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops:

1/10 2211: ½ gallon misting;

Today’s watering0929: 4.5 gallons with 4 tablespoons fertilizer, ½ gallon misting, 1410: ¾ gallon misting, 1658: ¼ gallon misting

Changes to crops: Trimmed flowering pieces of dill, cleaned up dead leaves from tomatoes and cucumbers. Big harvest! Details below.

Narrative:

Last night after comms closed, I checked on the greenhab as the automatic lights didn’t click on. Now I don’t easily scare, but walking through the abyss (pressurized tunnels) from the hab to greenhouse at 2230 in whipping winds and no light, I was on edge. Mission support helped me troubleshoot the lights and cleared me to rev the heater up to max power. Doing this slightly worried me but I was more worried about the cold shocking the crops than overheating causing a bit drier environment. To that end, I checked in on our green neighbors at 0748 today and was greeted by many happy faces! Everyone got a good fertilizing and misting, along with some trimmings and a massive harvest. The crew is currently grazing on the deconstructed salad as we write up reports and all three greens are getting great reviews; the arugula has to be the spiciest and most flavorful I’ve ever had! Operationally, Roots (Anna) hung out in the greenhab for a bit while I harvested and trimmed, starting up a fun clay experiment in the warm environment. When I stopped by the greenhab at 1410 right before science training, I read out a tepid 87⁰F. This prompted me to set the heater to a Goldilocks 70⁰F. I’m still struggling to keep the humidity up despite 3-4 mistings a day, so I’m considering bringing our hab humidifier to the greenhab to see if it makes a significant difference. The rest of the crew may revolt against this as the humidifier is the only remedy we have to perpetual bloody noses. Updates tomorrow will follow on whether or not I am mutinied and thrown out the airlock. Music update: Fred again… great dance party with my captive audience of plants.

Harvest: 80 grams Red Cabbage, 56 grams Kale, 19 grams Arugula

Support/supplies needed: None!

Crew 290 GreenHab Report 12-01-2024 (Sol 5)

Greenhab Officer: Ben Kazimer

Heater on (Shifted to 65⁰F), fan off, door closed

Average temperatures: 0845: 70.7⁰F, 15%, 1158: 86.7⁰F, 10%, 1655: 68.7⁰F, 44%

Hours of supplemental light: Nominal 4 hours overnight

Daily water usage for crops: 5.25 gallons

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

Water in Blue Tank 163.3 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops:

0845: 3 gallons watering, ¾ gallon misting, 1158: ½ gallon misting, 1639: ½ gallon watering, ½ gal misting

Changes to crops: Rearranged positioning of tomatoes and moved them slightly away from the greenhab wall. Pruned all stressed/discoloring leaves on tomatoes and cucumbers

Narrative:

Today was a good sol in the world of the greenhouse. The plants got a healthy dose of water for breakfast and several mistings throughout the day. I noticed the tomatoes on the back of the main platform, closest to the outside wall, were slightly wilting and looking rather somber. I took matters into my own hands (even though I guess they’re the only hands available) and rearranged the positioning of all the tomato plants, to be further away from the wall and swapped the arrangement to alternate who’s getting the cold side of the bed (Tomato No. 9 stayed put mainly as I didn’t want to interrupt his flow and partially due to favorite child actions). If it’s not the cold, it could also be over exposure to the sun as they are closely in line with the sun’s trajectory. While the plants were doing the Martian Shuffle, I also trimmed off all the dead leaves. They received a good diversity of sonic vibrations today, the highlight being a double dose of Billy Strings! In preparation for the long-awaited Chana Aloo dinner, I was able to harvest some fresh cilantro for garnish. I clipped the herbs radially working inward as to prevent overlap with other herbs in the garden, the neighboring kale and dill appreciated this. I’m not sure if it’s because our Martian kitchen is devoid of fresh spices, but this cilantro tasted just as great as the arugula did yestersol. The rest of the crew shared this sentiment as the curry with garnish was a hit!

Harvest: 29 grams cilantro

Support/supplies needed: Just food for thought in terms of future greenhab upgrades, an automatic misting system or at least electrically driven handheld device would be great! It is tedious to deliver the misting (for managing humidity levels) with a spray bottle, but still manageable. Also, an upgrade to the environmental sensor would make a big difference, for more accurate data and possibly even a timelog. Knowing what’s going on overnight would be great!

Crew 290 GreenHab Report 13-01-2024 (Sol 6)

Greenhab Officer: Ben Kazimer

Heater on, fan off, door closed

Average temperatures: 0925: 71.2⁰F, 17%, 1729: 75.4⁰F, 20%

Hours of supplemental light: 4.5 (4 overnight and ½ from misting after sunset)

Daily water usage for crops: 5.25 gallons

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

Water in Blue Tank 158.05 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops:

0925: 3 gallons watering, ½ gallon misting, 1729: 1.5 gallon watering, ¼ gal misting

Changes to crops: Harvested a fair bit a greens for salad tonight, paid extra attention to moisture levels in tomato plant soil

Narrative:

Today was a bit lighter on Greenhab operations due to preparing, executing, and unloading from a 4-hour EVA to Candor Chasma (see other crew member reports for details!) I was still able to get all the watering and misting in, and I even swapped the environmental sensors between the Science Dome and Greenhab. Chopper had been harboring a more capable sensor that displays the current status, as well as the 24-hour max and min reading, so I took that and gave her my plain sensor. I cleaned up some dead pieces of plant throughout the growing areas and made sure that all sprouting plants were not choking out their neighbors (the pea shoots put up a good fight against the cilantro). In Tomatoes news, Tomato number 4 now has 2 yellowing fruit! I’m hopeful Crew 290 will experience some ripe tomatoes by the end of our mission (291 is going to have enough to make a whole pot of Sunday sauce!). Tomorrow is our rest day so I’m looking forward to spending some time going through all the plants in detail to trim unhealthy branches and rearrange crops as needed. Lastly, if you have ever wondered how a plant’s growth rate would respond to about half an hour of Louis Prima, Dean Martin, and Frank Sinatra, then tune into my sol 7 report!

Harvest: 73 g Kale, 51 g Red Cabbage, 11 g Parsley

Support/supplies needed: Another idea for future greenhouse upgrades, a nice stereo system with surround sound would be cool. The plants seem to love the music as much as I do 😊