Category: Journalist Report

 

 

Crew 272 Journalist Report 1-9-2023 Sol: 8
Author: Kenny Pritchard, Crew Journalist
Title: Gift Camel

Rejuvenated and well-rested from the previous sol, we began this morning observing a serene, colorful sunrise from the wide window in the Science Dome. Actually, I began the morning by slamming my head into the ceiling while trying to turn off the alarm in my space-conscious room, but that doesn’t sound as good. I threw together some chocolate chip pancakes for the crew after our regular stretching session, and we were all set to go. Adriana covered a brief overview of the EVA as usual, which was planned to be a simple trip to Kissing Camel Ridge to collect geologic samples, observe ancient flow regimes, and test out some more drone scouting.

Kshitij, Mason, Adriana, and I started suiting up for our EVA about a half hour before the planned departure time. Typically, the whole crew heads down to the lower deck to help prepare. The suits are bulky and much easier to don with a helping hand. We gathered all of the equipment we needed, performed radio checks to make sure we’d be able to communicate clearly, adjusted our suit straps as necessary, and stepped into the airlock to prebreathe. Mission Support has presented us with new headsets courtesy of a recent interplanetary cargo shipment, and they worked great! A brief rover drive led us to Kissing Camel Ridge, where we found a surplus of interesting rocks, minerals, fossils, and paleoflow indicators, but a shocking lack of kissing camels. We’re pretty sure we know which formations earned it that name, but it’s still hard to see… Maybe if you squint… Mason did his usual business with the drone and scouted out locations for search & rescue tests he’ll attempt to run in the coming sols. Adriana collected more samples and found some useful info for her research. Kshitij supported Mason’s drone efforts, and I picked up an oversized pocketful of the petrified wood chunks that littered the ground in that area. We finished our objectives and made it back to the Hab with time to spare!

In the GreenHab, Madelyn is in an important phase of her research. She’s pulled some samples of her sprouts to analyze how quickly they’ll wilt after being harvested – part of her investigation is to test claims that the fertilizer she uses will promote longevity and better shelf-life in the plants. She’s also planning for her ultimate harvest on Sol 11 when she will conclude her data collection here at MDRS. Megan was unfortunately forced to scrap a failed hammer print (Pima the 3d printer is a fickle contraption), but luckily, she has already finished printing two others that will be sufficient for the field-testing in a few sols. Lastly, Arly introduced a mid-mission component of her cognitive survey which identifies major contributors to workload on EVA. Because my making breakfast this morning was a schedule adjustment, I also happen to be on dinner tonight, but the crew is generously sparing me from double duty by taking a chunk out of our leftovers instead. Or maybe they just don’t want to eat more of my food? I won’t look a gift horse in the mouth! Or… a gift camel?

Sol: 10

Author’s name: Helen Eifert, Crew Geologist

Title: Pie in the Sky

This evening, we were graced with our first bit of snow on Mars. A martian snowfall consists of carbon dioxide rather than water and the flakes are cubical! This snow only occurs at the poles, where human presence would be difficult, so how we managed to wind up here is a gosh dang mystery. Hopefully we find our way back towards the equator by the morning to squeeze in our final space walks on the red planet.

I am happy to report that Crew 271 has made it one full day without any injuries. A true feat with the IMARS team apparently, particularly in the lower leg region. At this point in the mission, we’ve all found our comfortable routines in close quarters with each other. Today was largely uneventful due to poor weather in the forecast and no scheduled EVAs as a result. In space we always prefer safe over sorry. A productive start to the mission afforded us this leisure as we wrapped up many of our research projects indoors.

Grete started building her amateur movie making career in putting together the feature length film titled “Pain! Pain! Pain!: An Astronomical Accident.” Eifert took the excitement of watching dirt dry indoors, this time baking it an oven. This ordeal is 100% less fun than baking cookies because despite the geologist inclination to taste samples, there’s no sweet treat to eat at the end. Levesque and Guariniello took to writing today. Marc tell me edting is keY. Iakymov ensured the Hab stayed standing and everything was operational. Meanwhile Kaosaar set up cameras around the Hab to observe us all day.

It’s wild that we are almost ready to return to Earth, just in time for the new year. Cesare treated us to pizza for dinner tonight. We literally enjoyed pie in the sky. We’ll be returning to Mars in 2023 to start an interplanetary franchise of planetary pizza parlors. Cesare will be the chef, Alicyn will source the greens and run marketing, Sergii will maintain the appliances, Andres will be our designated fly on the wall, and Marc will get stuck doing the dishes again as usual. As for me, I guess I will just watch the pizzas bake in the oven and jot some things down.

Sol: 11

Author’s name: Helen Eifert, Crew Geologist

Title: Clayke

CONTENT WARNING: Dad jokes ahead. 11 days is a lot of days to come up with witty food puns and similes. I refuse to discard this bit, so buckle up for all the creative juice I have left.

Today was our last day on Mars! Crew 271 enjoyed a slow morning while all the dirt outside dried. Naturally, I watched the whole ordeal from one of the small windows in the Hab. By 1200, Guariniello, Iakymov, Kaosaar, and Eifert suited up one more time for the last EVA on Mars. We took a pleasant 8 km stroll from the Hab to Skyline Rim for spectacular views. Here, we gathered Mancos shale samples for Cesare’s research.

As we ascended towards Skyline Rim, we encountered thin beds of white sandstones like frosting between layers of cake. In this case the proverbial cake is clay. Clayke. Here we see more influence of water in the form of potholes where groundwater makes its way through cracks in the clay, creating vertical channels. A hazard for astronauts, but if you think of it in the clayke context, that light fluffy texture would impress the likes of Paul Hollywood. Once we topped Hab Ridge (Amazonis Planitia), Skyline Ridge ahead displayed magnificent mass wastings, which could also be used to describe the activity of Crew 271 devouring cake. Along with large colluvial fans, there were gullies, and thin layers of shale towering above us. Source shale we shall.

All the while, Andres filmed us, not for studying our behavior, but this time for Estonian TV. Just to paint the picture fully, this involved him scuttling ahead in the bulky EVA suit, plopping down the tripod, filming us walk by, and then scurrying ahead again for another shot. We look forward to our inevitable rise to super stardom in Estonia.

Upon return, Levesque and Grete had baked goods waiting for the four hungry astronauts. There was bread, obviously, but also cake to celebrate our last day on Mars. We completed one final jigsaw puzzle and reflected on the successful mission behind us. Tonight we will go to sleep on Mars and wake up back on Earth, where I am positive my jokes will be significantly less funny. To those who aren’t slap happy from living in a tin can on Mars for two weeks I say, let them eat clayke.

Crew 272 Journalist Report 1-8-2023

Sol: 7

Author: Kenny Pritchard, Crew Journalist

Title: Give us a Break!

Although every minute counts on an extraterrestrial surface mission, our time is not devoted entirely to work. In the evenings and during downtime, we often read books, play games, or communicate with our friends and family to pass the time. Currently, we’re taking an entire sol off to do so! This kind of recreation time is important to preserve the mental and social health of astronauts, especially on longer missions. Mars has plenty enough sun and sand to resemble a vacation destination, sans the water, and also the breathable atmosphere. Kshitij kicked off our sol-off with a lovingly made Poha and Tapri chai breakfast. This was a unique and delicious treat for our crew, and I seriously doubt any of our other breakfasts will beat the effort involved. Lacking an appropriately sized colander to drain the chai, we thought like Martians and improvised a tedious yet effective solution: pouring the chai through one half of a metal tea ball.

The rest of the sol was spent exerting ourselves on books, naps, and word puzzle games around the upper deck of the hab. Madelyn caught up on journaling and watered her plants as usual (they’re sprouting nicely!), Adriana cleaned off her desk and read several maps of various locations, Megan collected her finished rock hammer 3d-print, Arly finished her book (Brandon Sanderson – The Way of Kings – she does recommend it to fans of fantasy), Kshitij partook in a photo-op in the commander’s bedroom, Mason organized his room and took out the trash, and I reached some chilling revelations about the Dark Lord Voldemort in my Harry Potter read-through. After all these exhausting activities, we took turns ferrying geologic samples over to the Science Dome for cleaning and expert analysis: another rock party. A few of us took turns swinging the hammer to crack rocks. Everyone celebrates when a sample is identified as petrified wood or an interesting mineral, and laments when it’s something more common. Poor feldspar…

We’ve named just about every inanimate object in the Hab – psychologists need not comment. The radio transmitter is BTS, the drone is Garud, the 3d printer is Pima, our 3d-printed rabbit is named Linus, the geology hammer is Little Rocky, and Adriana’s giant petrified wood chunk is Petri. We’re only missing Wilson the volleyball. Megan put together some chili mac for a relatively early dinner, and we’re 2 for 2 on banger meals for the sol. I can’t believe this didn’t win the recent chili contest she entered it in! Over dinner, we’re writing our sol-ly reports as usual, and planning out EVAs for the coming week. Afterwards, we’ll continue our recreation by playing some Monikers and watching the movie ‘Lakshya’ per Kshitij’s glowing recommendation. Though it still feels like we’ve only just arrived, we’re now just about halfway through the rotation. It’s go-time for the rest of the mission!

Sol: 12

Author’s name: Helen Eifert, Crew Geologist

Title: Bob’s Burgers

Often in confined environments, groups find some type of unifying inside joke. It’s usually some reference that comes up during the time together that gets funnier the more time spent together. I’m going to use a reference to call this the “hi bob” tendency. In a TV series called “For All Mankind,” an astronaut crew of three spends three months on the moon. Throughout their isolation, they start greeting each other with “hi bob.” An inside joke that spawned from only having access to three episodes of the Bob Newhart show on station. We weren’t in short supply of movie references with the likes of Marc Levesque as commander; and luckily, MDRS had much more than 3 episodes available. We had quite a few movie nights as a result. One of which was Galaxy Quest, a parody of the Star Trek franchise. Shortly after, we found our own “hi bob” in a rendition of the thermian alien’s way of clapping. Visual provided below.

Crew 271 completed a successful mission to Mars, conducting important work, exciting research, and truly enjoying each other’s company. Despite the risk of throwing that all to the wind, this evening we made an ill advised attempt to beat the space snake game, Space Escape. I am happy to report that with the addition Guariniello, we did indeed manage to escape the scary snakes! Perfect timing as we “touched down” on Earth this morning, concluding our simulation on Mars. We had one last stroll up to North Ridge this morning, still continuing Levesque’s radio communication work beyond our formal mission close. With most of our gear packed and the station nearly cleaned and ready for departure, we enjoyed one final meal together at Stan’s (not Bob’s) Burger Shack in the nearest town of Hanksville, UT. One more sleep in home sweet hab and these six astronauts will head their separate ways.

A big thermian round of applause for MDRS Crew 271, the International Mars Analog Research Simulation (IMARS) mission, and our mission support on the ground. Eifert signing off, Happy New Year and Ad Ares.

Sol: 6
Author: Kenny Pritchard, Crew Journalist
Title: Candor Chasma 3: The Return of Candor Chasma
A clear sky last evening allowed us the opportunity to stargaze from the Musk Observatory in MDRS, affording bright glimpses of twittering constellations through the thin, dry Martian atmosphere. The views were incredible, save for the full spectrum of stars being obscured by light pollution from the full-phase Martian moons. We’re hoping for another go towards the end of our rotation! This morning, Adriana made the crew oatmeal, and Kshitij continued (trying) to teach me Bollywood dance moves.
For the EVA of the sol, Megan, Adriana, Arly, and Mason made a return journey to Candor Chasma. It started off with some communication issues that had to be fixed before departure – even slightly sub nominal equipment is plenty enough reason to take precautions in this harsh environment. We’re starting to run out of good dad-jokes to pass the 5-minute required suit prebreath and depressurization time spent idly in the airlock, so if you’re reading this, please send ideas via the appropriate channels. We’re begging you, spare us from more of our sorry attempts. After those communication problems were fixed, the crew set out for their destination. They took the same route as our previous EVA but traversed deeper and more deliberately into Candor Chasma. Mason had another chance to show off his piloting skills, flying his drone through the canyon like Luke Skywalker’s X-Wing down the Death Star’s meridian trench, only with more video navigation and fewer proton torpedoes. This EVA was geology-heavy, to say the least – each crew member collected a small hoard of interesting rocks and minerals, and Adriana hauled in a behemoth of a petrified wood sample, citing an emotional attachment she’d developed to it on the way back.
A mostly uneventful sol at the Hab, Madelyn continued to treat her plants against the high temperatures the GreenHab is experiencing. Kshitij and I were excited to flip the script on Arly and remind her to start her cognitive performance tests immediately upon her return from EVA. Ha! The joke’s on us, I’m pretty sure she achieved her best scores yet. One notable detail is that this sol marks the crew’s first showers since arriving at MDRS. We’ve been subsisting on wet wipes and dry shampoo thus far, but our recent efforts to conserve water supply have earned us this luxury. Finally, I can take off this clothespin I’ve been pinching my nose shut with! Madelyn will take the lead on bread and quinoa power bowls for dinner to restore the crew’s spent energy. Tomorrow, we rest!

Crew 272 Journalist Report 06-01-2023

Sol: 5

Author: Kenny Pritchard, Crew Journalist

Title: On the Road Again

In contrast to the previous, we started off this sol with our regular exercises (cricket-focused stretches led by Kshitij) and the promise of an approved EVA plan! This forms an air of excitement for those of us who are lucky enough to be on the EVA crew (or an air of dread if they’re still sore from the previous EVA). Arly made us egg casserole a la a recipe generously left in the Hab by Crew 89 — it was delicious, and we ate the exact amount that was cooked. It was just an oeuf.

Kshitij, Mason, Adriana, and I drove out for the EVA and monitored the battery of our electric transport rovers (Spirit and Opportunity) as we travelled. Rover battery is an important resource out away from the Hab – we monitor our speed to conserve charge and stop immediately if we reach 60%. It’s fairly easy to find a parking space out here, and once we had taken the rovers to the right location, we proceeded on foot. Our trek took us up and down the topography around MDRS to find the previously visited location of the Boiler Transmission Station and turn it on for Kshitij’s research. Sufficiently tired from the hike already, we then proceeded back down to the rovers and set off for our next destination: Candor Chasma, via the walking route Gateway to Candor. Candor Chasma is a river-forged canyon exemplary of the unique Martian stratigraphy near MDRS. There, Mason piloted his drone once again, capturing awesome orbital videos of the crew and scouting ahead beyond the end of our route. While Kshitij climbed up one side of the canyon to get a good signal to his antenna, Adriana searched for paleoflow indicators and quizzed me, a ‘non-geologist’ on geological fundamentals to observe my ‘behavior’ for her research. Everyone completed their objectives with flying colors (I’ll resist the urge to make a drone joke), except I got most of the geology questions wrong. The way back proved to be a bit of a fiasco because we had to stop at the Boiler Transmission Station to turn it off before returning to the Hab. Kshitij, experiencing slight communication issues, completely fogging up his visor, and moving as fast as his suit permitted, was a sight to behold as he rushed ahead to reach the Station. We all hurried back to our rovers together and arrived back at the Hab about 7 minutes over schedule – something we’ll have to fix for next time. More data for me!

Back in the Hab, Megan began printing a rock hammer to replace Adriana’s if it just so happens to be unavailable at some point during our mission. Madelyn tended lovingly to the vegetation in the GreenHab, battling abnormally high temperatures to keep the plants healthy. She loves them so much that a portion of her research microgreens are treated with the crew’s own toilet water! I guess everyone shows affection in different ways. Arly waited, poised upon the EVA crew’s return, to have us take our cognitive performance assessments and surveys as soon as possible. The results are more pronounced if we’re still coming down from the physical and mental exertion of the EVA. Always a warm welcome! Kshitij is on duty tonight, having recovered from his earlier state, and will be putting together a ramen dinner. Good luck to us all.

Crew 272 Journalist Report 1-5-2023

Sol: 4

Author: Kenny Pritchard, Crew Journalist

Title: Chert

Our morning exercise session today was overridden by the more important task of completing the EVA request/planning process that carried over from the previous evening’s comms window. Unfortunately, due to a few miscommunications and the necessity for absolute certainty in plans here, our EVA for this sol was cancelled. The mission on Mars is not accomplished by astronauts alone – our crew depends on both our Purdue Mission Control team back home and the on-site MDRS Mission Support. Given the remoteness of Mars and the communication delay from Earth, the traditional-space-mission involvement of a full-scale mission control team is not so practical, forcing our crew to operate semi-autonomously. My own research is to document disruptions to the schedules we set and better qualify the unique challenges of Martian surface operations. In a way, my data depend on the others achieving their objectives – so stop reading this and get back to work, Crew 272!

Regardless of the lack of EVA, the crew had a productive day accomplishing tasks within the cozy boundaries of the Hab. Madelyn served up a pancake breakfast and tried out a new bread recipe. In the GreenHab, she distributed the substrate from yesterday’s EVA into containers and planted some new seeds. We might get to see the beginnings of some of the ‘black nebula’ carrots she planted in a few sols. Adriana hosted a rock party in the Science Dome, teaching the crew about the various kinds of samples we thought looked shiny enough to bring back from EVAs. Mostly, it was chert. Megan ironed out some technical difficulties with the 3d printer, Mason worked on a preflight checklist for flying the drone, and Kshitij led the entire crew in reviewing EVA/mission protocols in hopes of a smoother tomorrow (or rockier, depending on how you look at it).

When she’s not adding more music to our crew’s joint playlist, Arly spends much of her time documenting behavioral observations and preparing to analyze the ongoing results of her research (pending IRB approval). Members of the crew have been taking cognitive performance tests and completing personal surveys each sol, typically immediately after returning from EVA. The results of these tests, along with air quality sensors in the Hab, will help clarify the cognitive and mental effects of highly regimented sol-to-sol life in an enclosed space.

We’re all looking forward to trying out Mason’s cheese raviolis tonight. Sure he’s handy with a wrench, but how about a spoon? Time will tell. Lastly, as I write this report, other members of the crew have adorned the upper deck of the Hab with many colorful balloons and an inflatable Baby Yoda/Grogu left to us by Crew 271. They’re whispering (well within earshot) about cake and plans to celebrate the occasion of my birth-sol. I couldn’t ask for a more unique place to enjoy it, nor a cooler Martian crew to spend it with. Thanks, team!

Crew 272 Journalist Report 1-4-2023

Sol: 3

Author: Kenny Pritchard, Crew Journalist

Title: BTS

On the third sol of our stay at MDRS and the second of our simulation, we’re really breaking into our routine. Here at the Hab, everyone has their clear roles and responsibilities for the day, and everything gets done in a timely manner. It’s a simple lifestyle of chores, work, and relaxation that I think we could all get used to! I continued in my showcase of New Jersey cuisine this morning by following up last night’s pizzas with bagel/egg sandwiches for breakfast. Much of the crew elected to pass on the dehydrated eggs after their previous experience, but I’ll hold that they’re delicious with a healthy supplement of dehydrated cheese.

Adriana, Kshitij, Madelyn and Mason ventured out for a longer EVA today while the other three of us held down the Hab. This trip to the regions of Compass Rock and Candor Chasma was multi-faceted. The plan was for Mason to test scouting with his drone, Kshitij to set up a radio transmitter for his low-visibility navigation research, Madelyn to collect gypsum and regolith samples, and Adriana to fawn over seemingly ordinary rocks (and minerals!) as usual. According to our post-EVA debriefing session, it was a resoundingly partial success! Really though, the team did a good job adapting to the situation and accomplishing goals while the rest of us sat on our Martian behinds. Hiking around in EVA-attire, though fashionable, can be very tiring.

After nearly getting lost on the untamed roads around the Hab (seriously, Mars needs a transit administration), the EVA crew found their way and began their work. Kshitij was able to set up a beacon (the Boiler Transmission Station, or BTS) on a ledge overlooking Compass Rock. With the signal from this station and a nearly identical transmitter at the Hab, an astronaut could use a handheld ‘Yagi-Uda’ antenna to locate themselves without needing a visual. This might be important for a crew caught in one of those bothersome Martian dust storms I mentioned on Sol 1. Meanwhile, Mason was setting up a long-range beacon and piloting Garud the drone to scout ahead for the next destination of the EVA. Despite difficulties maintaining a solid connection at range, he was able to get some good views and an orbital video of the crew. Madelyn collected two containers of sand samples, which she will use as substrate for her plant growth experiments. The crew was ultimately unable to continue to Candor Chasma due to a combination of rover-battery and time concerns, but they pushed ahead to Compass Rock proper. There, Madelyn collected some good powdery sulfates, and Adriana some sandstone, petrified wood, and invertebrate fossils. Life on Mars! Somebody tell David Bowie.

Dinner was prefaced by a pungent odor emanating from the bathroom on the lower deck. Fear not, Mason suited up and fixed the problem, which required flushing out our septic system. Thanks Mason! It pays to have a good engineer out here. This time, he didn’t even die after making the repair. For dinner, Arly is cheffing up some cauliflower and sweet potato tacos, and we’ll celebrate our lack of sim-deaths this sol (so far…).

Sol: 2
Author: Kenny Pritchard, Crew Journalist
Title: Crash Course
This morning began the same as every other so far, with a toothbrush party on the Hab’s lower deck and an exercise/meditation session on the upper deck, this time led by Kshitij. Along with the dehydrated eggs Megan cooked for the crew, we enjoyed some powdered orange juice (which mysteriously seemed to be neither orange nor juice). Breakfast was followed by our final educational session with Mission Support: rover training. A few K-turns (or W-turns) later, we were ready to go and officially enter simulation before noon! Mason set us off on the right foot when he mended a shelf for a fellow crewmate (who will remain unnamed). In his own words, Mason really went out on a high note with this repair – he unfortunately experienced sim-death shortly thereafter, by entering an open-air compartment of the Hab without protection. Simulation has been a figurative crash course in the constant battle against Martian inhospitality. It’s also been a crash course in the literal sense, as we continue to accidentally bump helmets in the tight enclosure of the airlock.
Taking the crew’s first small steps and giant leaps into the Martian wilderness, Adriana, Arly, and Madelyn drove out to Marble Ritual, a geological hotspot not far from the habitat. Although Madelyn suffered our crew’s second sim-death experience when she inadvertently switched off her EVA-suit, the three were still able to collect a plethora of rocks and minerals for Adriana to analyze. Kshitij, Mason, Megan, and I took the next EVA. We followed in the earlier group’s bootprints and tire tracks, which were easy to spot in the pristine rusty sands that cover the surface here. The landscape’s primitive beauty pierced effortlessly through the fog-misted visors of our heavy helmets.
In other news, Megan has set up the 3d printer she’ll be using for her study into additive manufacturing. It will soon build a rock hammer and other tools for research, but currently the machine is toiling away to make a scoop for the coffee grounds that fuel us through every sol. For dinner, Kshitij and I will impose upon the crew our best impression of pizza, complete with fresh herbs from the GreenHab. Our recipe (and the recipe for the bread Madelyn has made daily) is courtesy of MDRS veteran and Crew 272 advisor Dr. Cesare Guariniello. The inclusion of Martian water really takes it to the next level!