Category: Sol Summary

Crew IKEA Sol Summary 16 Feb 2018

SOL 6:

Summary Title: Finally… Adventure Time

Author’s name: Atila Meszaros

Mission Status: All nominal

Sol Activity Summary:

I feel like I haven’t been in the Hab all day. The weather looked friendly and allowed us to make our first day of expedition. We spent most of the morning doing the growth mediums for our extremophiles, defining the microbiological points of interest and planning the activities for the arrival of the next crew.

The contractor already has almost the entire ladder of the lower deck made. Tomorrow they will come to finish it. It looks amazing. Tomorrow we will be sending some pics! While the guys worked, we managed to turn on Shannon’s car, apparently, it will not need a new battery. However, we shouldn’t take your eyes off and go carefully in case this event repeats. We picked up a package that contains equipment to record some footage at MDRS and we filled the aquaponics with water to have it almost ready by the time the next crew arrives. By the way, the Green Hab plants are looking amazing.

On our first day of adventure, we entered the Valley of the Stars in search of gypsum that may contain halophiles. Looking in any direction was simply spectacular. It is one of the most majestic places I’ve ever seen. We collected 5 different samples of vein, soil, and eruption. In a few days, we will be sending a Science Report with the findings of our first search.

It has been a very hectic day. But I am happy with everything we have achieved today. Now, I have to clean the Hab for the next crew and move to RAM (I’m going to be the first person to live there, I’m kind of excited).

Thanks for joining us tonight, Veronica!

How are you doing?

Atila

Look Ahead Plan: Recieve Supaero crew. I’m looking forward to meeting them!

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: Temperature: °6C

Crew Physical Status: Healthy

Reports to be filed:

Sol Summary

Operations Report

Science/Intern Report

Support Requested: None

Crew IKEA Sol Summary 15 Feb 2018

SOL 5:

Summary Title: Shelter from the Storm

Author’s name: Atila Meszaros

Mission Status: All nominal

Sol Activity Summary:

Another slow and very windy day. The ladders installations and the mud have kept us inside most of the day. However, we managed to go out and we drive Opportunity, Spirit, and Deimos. Due to the new ladder installation, I’ve been trapped in the upper deck almost all day and we had to postpone our adventures until (I hope) tomorrow. All the Hab is screaming because of the winds. It sounds pretty awesome. but I hope I can get some sleep

Thank you very much for being with us tonight!

Atila

Look Ahead Plan:
Getting a new battery for Shannon’s car, taking Rovers out and I’m rooting for finally some field work and exploration!

Anomalies in work:
Installation of brand new ladders for the lower deck

Weather: Temperature: 5°C

Crew Physical Status: Healthy

Reports to be filed:

Sol Summary
Operations Report

Support Requested: None

Crew IKEA Sol Summary 14 Feb 2018

SOL 4:

Summary Title: Here comes the sun
Author’s name: Atila Meszaros

Mission Status: All nominal

Sol Activity Summary:

Busy day for everyone. The contractor came and installed the new ladders for the upper deck and just before the end of the week the new lower deck ladder is going to be installed. They look fantastic! I’ll love to be here whit the Ikea project will be complete.

Sadly, the mud persisted due to the lack of wind and warmer weather, so we couldn’t get out and do some field work, tomorrow I bet will be luckier. Instead of going out, I worked all day on the Green Hab on the aquaponics, doing some harvest and organizing everything.

Everything is looking good on Mars, but the wind is sometimes scary, inside the Green Hab, you can almost feel the wind screaming. It’s pretty amazing, though.

Thank you for being with us tonight, Sylvain!

Atila

Look Ahead Plan:

Getting a new battery for Shannon’s car, taking Rovers out and I’m rooting for finally some field work and exploration!

Anomalies in work:

Installation of brand new ladders for the upper deck
Shannon’s car battery died

Weather: Temperature: 6°C

Crew Physical Status: Healthy

Reports to be filed:

Sol Summary
Operations Report

Support Requested: None

Crew IKEA Sol Summary 13 Feb 2018

SOL 3:

Summary Title: Ikea and a sea of mud

Author’s name: Atila Meszaros

Mission Status: All nominal

Sol Activity Summary:

The terrible rain of yesterday, which almost left me trapped in the GreenHab last night, continued almost all night. I was waiting for some snow in the morning, but as Shannon predicted, we only had mud. I’ve only been out a couple of times and I no longer have clean shoes.

We have worked all day and we finished all the measurements and selections of the Ikea project, they have been sent to the responsible designer and we will be waiting for their response and feedback. It was more difficult than I would have imagined, but we are proud of the work.

We could not take the Rovers out to consume their batteries due the bad condition of the ground, it would have been very difficult to drive and I had to clean them after that, so we will just way until tomorrow The weather forecast is much better and will give us the opportunity to start some field work.

Look Ahead Plan:

Finally some field work and exploration!

Anomalies in work:

Mud, just hideous mud

Weather: Temperature: 4°C

Crew Physical Status: Healthy

Reports to be filed:

Sol Summary
Operations Report

Support Requested: None

Crew IKEA Sol Summary 12 Feb 2018

SOL 2:

Summary Title: Time to come

Author’s name: Atila Meszaros

Mission Status: All nominal

Sol Activity Summary:

After the active day of yesterday and the night of work in the GreenHab, the morning started a little late. All morning and part of the afternoon, Shannon and I were working on the final ideas of the Ikea project and tomorrow morning we will finish it. I never thought it would be so rough. Never underestimate anything.

Today I took Opportunity and Curiosity to consume their batteries to complete their charging cycles. Opportunity’s battery dropped 9 times faster than Curiosity’s, both have almost the same number of hours of use. We have theorized that the fact of having been constantly connected had a great influence. During Crew 188 rotation, Opportunity was disconnected most of the time. We will verify this theory during the following days. In any case, within this week it is planned to get all the extensions to plug every Rover.

Today I had planned to send a GreenHab Report, but I’m just going to start working in the Green Hab, I plan to send it out tonight, but I do not think I can send it in time. I’ll send it after Coms.

Thank you very much for being with us tonight.

How are you doing, Graeme?

Atila

Look Ahead Plan:

Finishing Ikea plans, keep using the Rovers and starting some field work!

Anomalies in work:

None

Weather: Temperature: 5°C

Crew Physical Status: Healthy

Reports to be filed:

Sol Summary
Operations Report

Support Requested: None

Crew IKEA Sol Summary 11 Feb 2018

SOL 1:

Summary Title: Bringing It All Back Home

Author’s name: Atila Meszaros

Mission Status: All nominal

Sol Activity Summary:

Finally, I’m back. After a few days in the snow-capped mountains of
Colorado, you don’t have any idea how much I missed the Hab. I try not
to think about the time I have left. There is a lot of work to do and
I’m very excited about this.

The 188 crew left during the first hours of the morning, I chose my
room, I unpacked my bags and with Shannon, we planned all the
activities that we are going to carry out during this week and we went
ahead with some goals of the internship. We were working on the Ikea
project, we have already chosen several items for the kitchen and the
upper deck rooms, and we have big plans for the EVA room and the
Science Dome.

The rest of the day I’ve been working in the GreenHab. A very
difficult task. Most of the plants were completely dry, apparently
they have not been watered for at least a couple of days and others
are drowning. I will try to rescue most of them, especially the
cucumbers, which were the most damaged. As Shannon mentioned, we are
going to be keep just a few plants. Tomorrow I will be sending a
complete GreenHab Report with aquaponics status information.

Thank you very much for being with us tonight. I hope you’re having an
amazing time!

Atila

Look Ahead Plan:

Finish organizing the Green Hab, take out the Rovers and consume their
batteries to complete their cycles and finish selecting Ikea items.

Anomalies in work:

None

Weather: Temperature: 1°C

Crew Physical Status: Healthy

Reports to be filed:

Sol Summary
Operations Report

Support Requested: None

Sol 13

Summary Title: Mars-2-Mars and Breaking Sim
Author’s name: Ryan L. Kobrick, Ph.D., MDRS Crew 188 Commander
Mission Status: The mission is complete and the floors are mopped.

Sol Activity Summary:

The simulation came to a close with a Mars-2-Mars hangout on WebEx where crewmembers form MDRS Crew 188 and Kepler Station AMADEE-18. It was a lively chat about life on Mars as our crew ends our mission and their crew begins theirs. The conversation was recorded with several different cameras and a video will be spliced together with field footage.

Soon after our final task, the crew ended our mission at 10:02 am local time bursting from the Hab front airlock with 5 cameras rolling. The blast of fresh air was refreshing but instantly followed by an intense day of cleaning the entire campus from top to bottom. We helped resupply some of the water tanks and removed garbage.

The crew will enjoy relaxing on their last evening at MDRS. Thank you everyone for your support and for following our mission! I hope you enjoyed our diverse reports and photos. Please check out the photos and videos we have tagged with #MDRS188 on social media and check out our online team accounts:

Website: https://isuonmars.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TeamISUonMars
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ISUonMars

Spacesuit Up!
Ryan L. Kobrick, Ph.D.
MDRS Crew 188 Commander

Look Ahead Plan:
We depart MDRS tomorrow morning after our 8 am check-out.

Anomalies in work:
None.

Weather:
Calm winds and hazy skies with warm dropping all day.

Crew Physical Status:
There is a mixture of anxiety to get work completed, excitement to return home to loved ones, and sadness to be separating from our Martian family.

EVA:
15 EVAs were completed during our mission.

Reports to file:
1. Ops Report
2. Sol Summary

Support Requested:
None.

Crew 188 Sol 12 Summary Report 9FEB2018

Sol 12

Summary Title: One more round then it’s [oxygen] bottles to the ground

Author’s name: Ryan L. Kobrick, Ph.D., MDRS Crew 188 Commander

Mission Status: EVAs are complete, it’s the final crunch.

Sol Activity Summary:

As the Olympic flame is lit back on Earth, our physical challenges in the field come to a close. With two final EVAs, the crew is dusting off the suits and preparing them for the next crew who will start a week later. The morning EVA hiked up to the Hab Ridge for some final 360 filming, chlorophyll sampling and scenic views. The afternoon EVA had a few samples along the way to Toothy Ridge to the North. Final working photos were snapped with a few last planned for tomorrow during our campus cleanup.

As with any online event on Earth, our Mars-2-Mars event will have a slight change of plans with the session being recorded on WebEx and shared immediately afterwards by the Austrian Space Forum (Österreichisches Weltraum Forum, OeWF). Q&A can be submitted to reddit and the crews will address them during the hangout or afterwards as an ongoing discussion.

10Feb2018, 17:00 CET = 09:00 MDRS time (Sol 13) = 20:00 Oman time [16:00 GMT]

reddit Q&A: https://www.reddit.com/r/Mars/comments/7s23yz/mdrs_crew_188_ama

Spacesuit Up!

Ryan L. Kobrick, Ph.D.

MDRS Crew 188 Commander

Look Ahead Plan:

A hangout with #SimulateMars in Oman, the AMADEE-18 mission at Kepler Station. Then we will end the MDRS Crew 188 simulation mid-day as we continue to clean all areas. With our continuous Hab-chores cleaning schedule we should be on track for an early Sunday morning departure.

Anomalies in work:

None.

Weather:

Calm winds and hazy skies with warm dropping all day.

Crew Physical Status:

There is a mixed of anxiety to get work completed, excitement to return home to loved ones, and sadness to be separating form our Martian family.

EVA:

15 EVAs were completed during our mission.

Reports to file:

1. Ops Report

2. Sol Summary

3. Journalist Report

4. Green Hab Report

5. EVA #14 and #15 report

6. Daily Photos

7. Health & Safety Officer Report

8. Mission Summary

Support Requested (same as previous three reports):

– Heater for science dome requested. A purchase order request was made.

– FYI for mission support to be aware of for systems to track and safe operations.

– There are potentially two packages at Hollow Mountain that we would love to have picked up.

– We will pick them up post-sim

– Vegetables were requested due to the insufficient supply for six crewmembers. Non-vegetarians have cut their personal rations to help stretch the supplies for the two vegetarians. We have two celiac members who cannot eat the starches provided. These diets were all communicated before our arrival. In order to feed crewmembers over the next 4 days, 2-3 cans of dried vegetables were requested (or fresh) with the missing items from the original food supply. We were informed today that we will not be getting any form of resupply. Susan Holden Martin suggested we reiterate this request to mission support since it remains open.

Crew 188 Sol 10 Summary Report 7FEB2018

Sol 10

Summary Title: Game On!
Author’s name: Ryan L. Kobrick, Ph.D., MDRS Crew 188 Commander Mission Status: Crew feeling good after a full day.

Sol Activity Summary:
Even with one EVA, the crew had a very busy and productive day. The EVA challenged the crew to a new slew of Martian Olympiad events counting down to the Winter Olympic Games back on Earth. An opening ceremony occurred and the crew hopes to share this artistic footage in high resolution 360 views. There are sure to be phots posted across social media, just look for #MDRS188. Meanwhile in the Hab, the NASA Glenn dust load experiment continued and air filtration dust samples were obtained from the EVA crew returning into the airlock. The afternoon was highlighted with staring at the Sun with a Hydrogen-alpha filter seeing sunspots, flares and even an airplane captured on camera passing in front of the Sun! The crew was busy digitally capturing video footage and audio for podcasts, school groups and for a mission documentary. After sunset the crew enjoyed watching the International Space Station pass-by briefly and an Iridium satellite. Who knows what space infrastructure Mars inhabitants will be able to watch from their homes, but they will need some form of planetary connectivity.

Spacesuit Up!
Ryan L. Kobrick, Ph.D.
MDRS Crew 188 Commander

Look Ahead Plan:
Two EVAs are panned that will fill most of the operational day. Afterwards the third and final human factors group chat will occur.

Anomalies in work:
Propane was detected in the afternoon. The crew is carefully monitoring and performing basic bubble testing on pipes. Currently no leaks are detected.

Weather:
Calm winds and clear skies with temperatures dropping rapidly at sunset.

Crew Physical Status:
One crewmember has cold symptoms, which may be due to fatigue but health status is nominal.

EVA:
Two are planned for tomorrow.

Reports to file:
1. Ops Report
2. Sol Summary
3. Journalist Report (combined Sol 9 and 10)
4. Green Hab Report
5. EVA #13 and #14 request
6. EVA #12 Reports
7. Daily Photos

Support Requested (same as previous report):
– Heater for science dome requested. A purchase order request was made.
– There are potentially two packages at Hollow Mountain that we would love to have picked up.
– Vegetables were requested due to the insufficient supply for six crewmembers. Non-vegetarians have cut their personal rations to help stretch the supplies for the two vegetarians. We have two celiac members who cannot eat the starches provided. These diets were all communicated before our arrival. In order to feed crewmembers over the next 4 days, 2-3 cans of dried vegetables were requested (or fresh) with the missing items from the original food supply. We were informed today that we will not be getting any form of resupply. Susan Holden Martin suggested we reiterate this request to mission support since it remains open. [end]

Crew 188 Sol 9 Summary Report 6FEB2018

Sol 9

Summary Title: Sacrifice
Author’s name: Ryan L. Kobrick, Ph.D., MDRS Crew 188 Commander Mission Status: Crew is well.

Sol Activity Summary:

I think it goes without saying that our crew made many sacrifices to be a part of this two-week experience (finances, family, work, and much more). One that may not be obvious, and would have been impossible to time, was missing the Falcon Heavy historic launch. The unquestionable highlight for today was SpaceX’s success launch and landings, and what that may mean for future human spaceflight exploration. Today was packed with exploration. Two EVAs including a beautifully choreographed performance optimizing a 360 camera, and a driving excursion to uncharted territory. The crew was able to watch the launch and twin landings in a video later in the evening. Wow. Even watching the launch delayed had a similar impact to being there with family and friends in Florida. It was rocket-eye-candy-overload. Who knows when the next FH launch will be, or where any of us may be located, but we do know that these are the ingredients needed to make a mission to Mars feasible.

Spacesuit Up!
Ryan L. Kobrick, Ph.D.
MDRS Crew 188 Commander

Look Ahead Plan:
Tomorrow solar observations will continue in the morning hoping for calmer weather. An afternoon EVA will celebrate our international diversity and the upcoming Olympic Games with our own Martian Olympiad.

Anomalies in work:
None.

Weather:
The temperatures are cooling off and the winds remain high.

Crew Physical Status:
The crew has been burning on full throttle from 8am until 11pm and pushing hard to the finish line to be fully successful in their scientific and artistic investigations at MDRS.

EVA:
One is planned for tomorrow.

Reports to file:
1. Ops Report
2. Sol Summary
3. Journalist Report
4. Green Hab Report
5. EVA #12 request
6. EVA #10 and #11 Reports
7. Daily Photos

Support Requested:
– Heater for science dome requested. A purchase order request was made.
– There are potentially two packages at Hollow Mountain that we would love to have picked up.
– Vegetables were requested due to the insufficient supply for six crewmembers. Non-vegetarians have cut their personal rations to help stretch the supplies for the two vegetarians. We have two celiac members who cannot eat the starches provided. These diets were all communicated before our arrival. In order to feed crewmembers over the next 4 days, 2-3 cans of dried vegetables were requested (or fresh) with the missing items from the original food supply. We were informed today that we will not be getting any form of resupply. Susan Holden Martin suggested we reiterate this request to mission support since it remains open.
– Our reports have not been posted to the MDRS website since Saturday Feb 3rd. Please check the status of these documents for dissemination. We did see some photos on Facebook.