Posted on

Journalist Report – April 23rd

Journalist report Sol 3

We report to you having just consumed, among the five of us, 7.5 bean and beef burritos with tomatoes and herbs from the GreenHab. Spirits are fairly high in the Hab this evening, with light pouring in from the Commander’s room window and two fun EVAs accomplished. Our daily rhythms seem more customizable, and little problems seemed easy to solve via ingenuity.

Last night some crew members stayed up late working on projects while the GreenHab—erroneously—continuously glowed pink with supplemental light. In the groggy morning, we did another short 100cameras module for our HSO’s project over breakfast—we’re all now fully aware of how much our Engineer likes photos of cats. We then discussed lowering our paper towel consumption and the water we use to wash dishes, and our HSO and Journalist got ready for their EVA out to Somerville Overlook. While some human error on the Journalist’s part led to minor radio issues, the two made it over the bumpy road like Martian monster truckers. The view poured out in front of them when they arrived. HSO took some drone footage, and looking skyward toward the device returning, while wearing a one-piece suit, proved so awkward that she fell over a bush. Immediately after the drone landed back at HSO’s feet, five Martian pronghorn sprinted right past the EVA crew. The rest of the outing included some soil sampling and more drone practice on Cow Dung Road.

The second EVA took our Commander, Artist, and Engineer out to the same location, where our Engineer made some progress on his Starlink project and collected more rocks for 3D scanning. Our Commander made visual contact with one of his favorite geological formations on Mars—the Monolith—and took coordinates so he could get closer with either drone or foot on another EVA during our mission. Wind and dust devils shooed them back to the Hab.

Our Journalist prepared fresh tortillas for those burritos (which used leftover chili made by our Artist). She entered her first flow state on Mars while making them. She is realizing that she needs to do a second mission entirely devoted to Martian culinary arts.

Posted on

GreenHab Report – April 23rd

Crew 315 GreenHab Report 23-04-2025

GreenHab Officer: Elena Saavedra Buckley

Environmental control (fan & heater): On

Average temperatures (last 24h): ~87-90

Maximum temperature (last 24h): 101.3 F

Minimum temperature (last 24h): 72.7

Hours of supplemental light: Unknown (see below)

Daily water usage for crops: 11 gal

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: Some mists for mushroom kit

Water in Blue Tank (200 gallon capacity): 158.8 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 8:30 am / 6:45 pm

Changes to crops: None

Narrative: The supplemental light system seemed to be on all night, likely due to a snag with the Smart Home system and power; we noticed it as we went to bed, and I wasn’t sure whether that was normal. It was on when I went in the morning, so Mission Support rebooted the system and they turned off. It was again very hot in the afternoon, 102 degrees, so I left the door open until it cooled down. We also harvested some produce for burritos.

Harvest: 66g tomatoes / 8g chives / 5g parsley

Support/supplies needed: None

Posted on

EVA Report – April 23rd

Crew 315 EVA 6 Report Date: 23 APRIL 2025

Sol: 3

Summary title: EVA 6 Overview

Author: Tim Gagnon

Purpose of EVA: Starlink Test and collect rock samples for 3D scan experiment.

Start time: 1330 hours

End time: 1625 hours

Narrative:

The Commander, Engineer, and Artist departed the Hab at 1330 hours on an EVA to Somerville Overlook. Utilizing Rovers Perseverance and Curiosity, the drive took about 45 minutes. When we arrived and parked, we set off on foot to the edge. The artist concerned about making the return trip to the rover stopped after 30 yards and turned around. He then did a photo survey of the landscape and photographed the Commander and Engineer proceeded to the edge so the engineer could deploy his portable Starlink system. It acquired a signal within three minutes of deployment. The Engineer then surveyed the area for interesting looking rocks for his 3D experiment. At about 1540, we began our drive back to the Hab. On Galileo Rd, the commander noticed the structure he calls “the Monolith” to our north so he stopped and with the Engineer tried to determine coordinates of its location. Once we got back to driving, the Commander pointed to a “dust devil” and the artist took photos as it crossed the road.

We arrived back at the Hab at 1625 hours.

Destination: Somerville Overlook

Coordinates: 4253000N, 522150W

Participants: CDR: David Laude, ENG: Michael Andrews, Artist: Tim Gagnon

Route: Moonwalk Road, Cow Dung Rd, Galileo Rd.

Mode of travel: Rovers Perseverance and Curiosity.

Posted on

EVA Report – April 25th

Crew 315 EVA Report 25-04-2025

EVA # 9

Author: Elena Saavedra Buckley

Purpose of EVA: To better view the Monolith and (for the Journalist’s purposes) to get one-on-one time with Commander

Start time: 0940

End time: 1252

Narrative: The Commander and Journalist took Perseverance up toward Green Mars View, where they walked around the rim of the canyon, took in the view, and talked. They trekked slightly north to get a better view of the Commander’s area of interest, but compass readings indicated that something the Journalist saw a previous day, with the Engineer, probably wasn’t it. They then went slightly west, dodging cacti, to get a better view and stopped a few times along the way. We considered going to Lith Canyon, but there wasn’t enough time. On the way back down Cow Dung, we stopped briefly for the Journalist to collect a soil sample.

Destination: Green Mars View

Coordinates: Green Mars View, 4257000N, 520500W

Participants: David Laude (Commander) and Elena Saavedra Buckley (Journalist)

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Went from Moonwalk to Cow Dung Road, then took a left and headed toward Green Mars View, where we parked the rover. Walked approximately 10 minutes north to get a better view of the Monolith.

Mode of travel: Perseverance and foot.

Posted on

Journalist Report – April 25th

Journalist report sol 5

After a few days on Mars, people get comfortable, start to stare into the middle distance, and have interesting discussions over homemade Hab pizza. Today was productive and exploratory for the crew.

Wakeups are a bit more automatic now—this Crew Journalist rose and watched her phone clock turn from 6:59 to 7:00—and this morning flowed fairly seamlessly into our crew meeting, which had to do with lowering our water consumption along with planning EVAs and a few goal happenings for next week. Our Commander and Journalist left on the first EVA toward Green Mars View (which the Journalist realized she and the Engineer had not quite reached last time), where they took in the view at the canyon ridge for a meditative stretch before walking toward a nearby elevated area to look for the Monolith. A few things poked out of the distant rocks, but nothing definitive; on the drive back, the two stared at a column-like rock formation many miles away, waiting for the shifting light to reveal its identity, before deciding they had probably failed. Fortunately, this only makes things more interesting.

The wind picked up in the afternoon, so our Engineer and HSO went on a short, one-hour EVA to release the rocks the Engineer had 3D scan back into the wild, and to test the drone in windy conditions.

Of course, the food: from-scratch corn muffins with cheddar cheese and chives on top, and a couple pizzas using a variety of pantry and GreenHab ingredients (photos attached). The Journalist enjoyed listening to music from the Commander’s digitized ’60s tape collection while kneading the dough. Now that suiting up, report writing, and scaling the Hab’s steep stairs are familiar, we can spend our cognitive energy on other pursuits—our pre-report evening has ended with a varied discussion on bigger questions around Martian exploration.

Posted on

EVA Report – April 25th

Crew 315 EVA Report 25-04-2025

EVA # 10

Author: Michael Andrews

Purpose of EVA: We planned to first visit the site from EVA #3 in order to return the 5 rock samples that were collected to as close to their original location as possible. Then we intend to proceed to the true location of Robert’s Rock Garden and collect 1-2 more specimens for 3D scanning. Simultaneously, HSO Koi was planning on performing some drone testing in these high winds conditions to prepare for any contingencies in future EVAs with gusts of winds.

Start time: 1510

End time: 1610

Narrative: The HSO and Engineer departed the station slightly after 1400, entering a significantly windier environment than normal. We plugged in Perseverance before departing via Curiosity. The trip to EVA Site #3 only took about 5 minutes, and took another 10 minutes to return rock samples as close to their original locations as possible.

The EVA Crew then traveled approximately 5 minutes south further along Cow Dung Road until we believed we were at Robert’s Rock Garden. We radio’ed in with CapComm to have them check our EVA Link location, and CapComm rep Gagnon confirmed we had indeed arrived at the Rock Garden.

Andrews walked around the area looking for rock samples to take back to the ScienceDome for 3D scanning, while Koi tested drone operations in windy conditions. Andrews was able to recover 1 sample, and Koi’s drone did throw some wind alerts and required some compensation when flying.

Once all objectives were complete, the team returned to the station in about 10 minutes and began repressurization.

Destination: Robert’s Rock Garden and rock sample collection point from EVA #3

Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): Easting: 518250, Northing: 4249000 (Robert’s Rock Garden) and Easting: 518250, Northing: 42450000 (EVA #3 site)

Participants: Michael Andrews (Crew Engineer and EVA Lead) and Urban Koi (Health and Safety Officer)

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Used one rover to travel along Cow Dung Road until reaching Robert’s Rock Garden and parked on the road berm. The EVA team then traveled on foot, traveling no further than one mile from the rover.

Mode of travel: Used Curiosity rover to travel to the coordinates above. The EVA team then traveled on foot, traveling no further than one mile from the rover.

Posted on

Operations Report – April 25th

Crew 315 Operations Report 25-04-2025

SOL: 5

Name of person filing report: Michael Andrews

Non-nominal systems: Suit Charger #7, Catalytic Heater, ScienceDome Radio Charger

Notes on non-nominal systems:

· (Unresolved from yesterday) It was noted that Suit #7 wasn’t charging, but further diagnosis from the Commander has isolated the issue to the #7 charger. I was able to observe that all chargers appear to work, so more formal diagnoses are required.

· (Unresolved from yesterday) The catalytic heater near the exercise bike in the habitat does not work. It’s an engineering project to see if this can get properly started during this mission.

· The ScienceDome radio chargers do not work. There seems to be a loose component internally, because the radios will flicker on and off between charging. Furthermore, docking the ScienceDome radios in the GreenHab hold a charge nominally. Radios were swapped between the two structures, and I will disassemble the charger tomorrow.

ROVERS

Spirit rover used: No

Hours: N/A

Beginning charge: N/A

Ending charge: N/A

Currently charging: No

Opportunity rover used: No

Hours: N/A

Beginning charge: N/A

Ending charge: N/A

Currently charging: N/A

Curiosity rover used: Yes

Hours: 313.8 hours (0.3 hours used)

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 93%

Currently charging: No

Perseverance rover used: Yes

Hours: 328.5 hours (1.5 hours used)

Beginning charge: 100%

Ending charge: 55%

Currently charging: Yes

General notes on rovers: None

Summary of Hab operations: We performed two EVAs, made corn muffins with cheese and herbs, and pizza for dinner. The team also had a discussion about water conservation so we can ensure we complete the mission with our allotted 500 gallons. I also collected trash and replaced trash liners. Winds were very high in the afternoon, gusting above 30 mph. We also completed the 500 piece puzzle yesterday and have progressed to the 1000 piece puzzle.

Water Use

Time of measurements: 1910
1) Per formula: 22.87 gallons
2) Smart Home Dashboard: 25.5 gallons

Water (static tank, remaining gallons): 327.31 gallons

Static tank pipe heater: Off

Static tank heater: Off

Toilet tank emptied: No

Summary of internet: Used to complete reports, learn languages, share team photos via Google drive, researching projects

Summary of suits and radios:

· EVA 9: Suits 7,8 and Radios 2,3

· EVA 10: Suits 1, 9 and Radios 1, 2

Summary of GreenHab operations: Watered plants, harvested vegetables and herbs for lunch and dinner, and watered fungi project.

WATER USE: 10 gallons

Heater (On or Off): On

Supplemental light (hours of operation): 1900-2200

Harvest (name, weight in grams): 16 tomatoes, 32g basil, 2g parsley, 22g green onion

Summary of ScienceDome operations: Used the ScienceDome for additional rock scanning, including a multi-scan project for a shell collected from Sea of Shells. Noticed that the radio charger in the ScienceDome is not charging radios and needs troubleshooting.

Dual split (Heat or AC, On or Off): Off

Summary of RAM operations: No significant work in the RAM today – only grabbed one zip tie for the tunnel repair and loaded 1 bag of burn trash and 1 bag of no-burn trash in the RAM airlock for Mission Support to pick up.

Summary of any observatory issues: None

Summary of health and safety issues: None

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: One of the space suit helmets for the two-piece suits has a cracked neck ring. I discovered this helmet on the top shelf so it appears to have cracked a while ago. Do we have an extra red neck ring for the helmet that I can swap out?

Posted on

Sol Summary – April 25th

Crew 315 Sol Summary Report Date: 25 APRIL 2025

Sol: 5

Summary title: “Pizza is the reward for a job well done.”

Author: Tim Gagnon

Mission status: ongoing

As in previous days, it begins with the Commander who awakens first hydrating fruit and making coffee. As the saying goes, “The best part of waking up…”

He was soon joined by the Crew Artist who opened the book of recipes to plan our dinner tonight. Per the Commander’s request, it’s pizza night!

When everyone gathered around the table, the discussion turns to music and the Commander opens his laptop to play a concerto he wrote. It was said that during the Apollo Program NASA should have sent artists, poets, and musicians to the Moon. It is our consensus that on future Mars missions it should be a requirement.

After breakfast, the Commander and the Journalist prepared for their EVA to Lith Canyon Overlook. It has become custom for the EVA crew to pre-breathe and exit the airlock to various appropriate musical selections. Today the HSO played: Cave In by Owl City. Details of the EVA to come in the EVA report.

After they departed, the Artist and the HSO began cooking the spaghetti sauce for the pizza. (Note a good sauce needs to cook for five or more hours.) Our Engineer served as CapCom and also removed the weeks trash to the rear airlock. As a surprise for our intrepid Mars walkers, the HSO and Artist prepared corn muffins with cheddar cheese and green onions.

In the afternoon, the 10th EVA was crewed by the HSO and the Engineer. The goal was to return the rocks gathered on EVA 3 and flight test the drone in higher wind conditions. The flight test was successful in that the limits of the drone technology were defined. The Artist served as CapCom.

As a reward for two successful EVAs the Artist, Journalist and HSO prepared two delicious pizzas. Can an MDRS Pizza Shop be far behind? One pizza was with red sauce, and ½ beef and ½ cheese. The other was a white pizza with pesto sauce, ½ chicken and ½ mushroom.

As we finished dinner and waited for the comm window to open, the Journalist opened a discussion about the future of Mars exploration. Topics included the cost, the participants, the schedule, and the possibilities of crew makeup.

Once all the reports and EVA request(s) are submitted, we will again gather to share music that the others are unfamiliar with. The Commander and I want our younger crew mates to hear “Classical Gas” by Mason Williams. They in turn will share music from their favorite artists. We are really “gelling” as a crew and working together to make sure all goals are met.

In many respects, today was our best day.

Posted on

GreenHab Report – April 25th

Crew 315 GreenHab Report 25-04-2025

GreenHab Officer: Elena Saavedra Buckley

Environmental control (fan & heater): On

Average temperatures (last 24h): 88.05

Maximum temperature (last 24h): 103.8

Minimum temperature (last 24h): 72.3

Hours of supplemental light: 7-10pm

Daily water usage for crops: 10 gal

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: Misting for mushrooms

Water in Blue Tank (200 gallon capacity): 138.3 gallons

Time(s) of watering for crops: 8:30 am / 7:25 pm

Changes to crops: None

Narrative: Not much to note in the GreenHab today other than another heat spike and door-left-open session.

Harvest: 32 g basil

Support/supplies needed: None