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Sol Summary Report – January 9th

 

 

Crew 272 Sol Summary Report 09-01-2023

Sol: 8

Summary Title: Rendezvous with the Kissing Camel Ridge

Author’s name: Kshitij Mall

Mission Status: All nominal

Sol Activity Summary: After getting well rested and watching one-third of the Bollywood movie Lakshya (Objective), the crew woke up early to see a beautiful Martian sunrise. HSO Megan led the morning exercise session today for warming up the crew. The Mission Support approved of the EVA for the sol, so the crew was excited to explore another side of Mars: Kissing Camel Ridge. After a delicious Choco-chip pancake breakfast prepared by Crew Journalist Kenneth assisted by me, the crew was briefed on the EVA for the sol. The mission was simple yet important for the Crew Geologist Adriana to study paleo currents in the Martian world. Adriana was supported in this EVA by me, Crew Engineer Mason, and Kenneth. Mason and I also planned to use this EVA to scout sites at the Kissing Camel Ridge area where a Search and Rescue (SAR) operations can be safely and easily conducted. After being helped onsite by Hab crew comprising the Greenhab Officer Madelyn, XO Arly, and Megan. Oppy and Curie were our rovers for the beautiful expedition to the Kissing Camel Ridge.

Upon reaching the Kissing Camel Ridge, Adriana noted some sites for her research to be done in her upcoming EVAs. Mason and I conducted two brief scouting missions using Garud the drone, on the East side of the Kissing Camel Ridge, to identify areas of interest for Adriana and to also look for safe and simple locations to do a simple SAR activity in the upcoming EVA. Along with Kenneth, Mason and I were also asked some simple questions regarding geological activity around the west side of the Kissing Camel Ridge. Our answers as a non-geologist did satisfy the expert geologist on our crew. Adriana and the remaining crew also collected a lot of rock samples to bring back to the Hab. We return 30 minutes prior to our requested EVA return time. A big shoutout to the Mission Support for getting the crew new radio headsets shipped to us by interplanetary cargo ship.

After returning from the EVA, everyone had lunch and filled in the personal survey and completed the perception tests requested by Arly. The EVA crew also completed an additional survey requested by Arly pertaining to human performance during an EVA. Madelyn also tested the shelf-life and welting of the samples. Madelyn was kind to the team by getting some green beans and preparing Dill garlic bread for the crew. PIMA, our 3D printer, had a hiccup printing a big rock hammer for our future expedition. Megan is relooking in the 3D printing setup and got a rock hammer already ready for field testing. Adriana and I also shared with the crew about all the upcoming planned EVAs and took everyone’s opinions to finalize the remaining mission plan. Tomorrow, we plan to conduct our first SAR operation and run a comparison between the effectivity of humans vs. drones for such SAR operations. The dinner for tonight is mostly the leftovers and a pot of ramen prepared by Kenneth and assisted by Megan. Mason and I are also troubleshooting one-piece suit #7 tonight. We plan to get a good night rest and have a successful SAR activity tomorrow.

Look Ahead Plan: Conduct first simple Search and Rescue activity comprising human vs. drones south of Kissing Camel Ridge

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: Overcast, Winds Calm

Crew Physical Status: Good

EVA: One

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Operations Report, Journalist Report, EVA Report, EVA Request, Greenhab Report.

Support Requested: None

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Sol Summary – December 28th

Sol: 10

Summary Title: Down day

Author’s name: Marc Levesque, Commander

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: Because of uncertain Martian weather, the crew took a day off from its usual project activities to recoup and prepare for the end of the mission. Games, exercise, harvesting, and naps were among the various activities throughout the sol as we awaited a favorable weather report for tomorrow.

Look Ahead Plan: Two EVAs are planned. The morning will see a reconnaissance of the North Ridge to scout for a possible route up the ridge and site for relocating the radio repeater as part of Levesque’s project. A second afternoon EVA will explore the area around Summerville for Guariniello’s geology project.

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: Cloudy, damp, and cool

Crew Physical Status: Good

EVA: None

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Operations, Journalist, GreenHab, Astronomy, and EVA requests.

Support Requested: None

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GreenHab Report – December 28th

Crew 271 GreenHab Report 28-12-2022
GreenHab Officer: Alicyn Grete
Environmental control: heater
Average temperatures: 68 degrees F, about 20 degrees C
Hours of supplemental light: 4 hours
Daily water usage for crops: 13 gallons
Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 0 gallons
Water in Blue Tank 105 gallons
Time(s) of watering for crops: 1200, 1630
Changes to crops: Harvested 35g beans, 125g microgreens, 58g radishes, 65g dill, 110g carrots, 5g chives, 5g basil
Narrative: This morning I watered all plants and harvested many things. I harvested all the microgreens in the planter by the water tank, then replanted them with 2 packs of umami microgreens (picture attached). Next, I harvested radishes in the planter with the beans and replanted that area with more beans. Then, I harvested dill and carrots to thin those areas out, and harvested the tops of the chives. Later this evening, I harvested basil for our pizza and watered the new plots again.
Harvest: 35g beans, 125g microgreens, 58g radishes, 65g dill, 110g carrots, 5g chives, 5g basil
Support/supplies needed: If you have the time, please check the new things I planted to make sure they look good!

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Operations Report – December 28th

SOL: 10

Name of person filing report: Sergii Iakymov

Non-nominal systems: Kitchen sink cabinet hinge, RAM roof window
Notes on non-nominal systems: 1) previously suggested repair on the sink cabinet hinge did not work. It is possible that we must use fasteners to hold it in place. 2) RAM roof window leaked today when it rained/snowed.

ROVERS
Spirit rover used: No
Hours: 206.0
Beginning charge: Not measured
Ending charge: N/A
Currently charging: Yes

Opportunity rover used: No
Hours: 110.4
Beginning charge: Not measured
Ending charge: N/A
Currently charging: Yes

Curiosity rover used: No
Hours: 217.8
Beginning charge: Not measured
Ending charge: N/A
Currently charging: Yes

Perseverance rover used: No
Hours: 252.5
Beginning charge: Not measured
Ending charge: N/A
Currently charging: Yes

General notes on rovers: None

Summary of Hab operations:
WATER USE 19.61 gallons
Water (static tank): 282.07 gallons
Static tank pipe heater (on or off): On
Static tank heater (On or off): On
Toilet tank emptied: Yes
Summary of internet: Nominal
Summary of suits and radios: Hip belt buckle of suit #11 transferred to suit #5. Broken buckle marked and put away into the cabinet with EVA suits spare parts.

Summary of GreenHab operations:
WATER USE: 13 gal
Heater: On
Supplemental light: plugged
Harvest: Harvested 35g beans, 125g microgreens, 58g radishes, 65g dill, 110g carrots, 5g chives, 5g basil

Summary of ScienceDome operations: used for the Eifert project.
Dual split: On
Summary of RAM operations: N/A.
Summary of any observatory issues: N/A.
Summary of health and safety issues: None
Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: N/A.

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Journalist Report – December 28th

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.

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Sol Summary – December 29th

Sol: 11

Summary Title: End of sim

Author’s name: Marc Levesque, Commander

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: Our mission wound down today with one EVA in the afternoon after it was decided to postpone a morning one because of poor ground conditions from yesterday’s precipitation. In the afternoon with the ground firmer, an EVA team walked to Skyline Rim for Guariniellos’ geology project, concluding our planned EVAs for the mission. Tonight, our last dinner in sim was topped off with a Goodbye Mars cake for dessert.

Look Ahead Plan: Our crew will be going out of sim in the morning and start preparing for our return to Earth by packing, cleaning, and report writing. Depending on the weather in the morning, we’re planning a non-EVA reconnaissance of the North Ridge for a possible repeater relocation route.

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: Sunny and cool

Crew Physical Status: Good

EVA: One

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Operations, Journalist, GreenHab, Astronomy, and EVA report.

Support Requested: None

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EVA Report – December 29th

EVA #13

Author: Cesare Guariniello

Purpose of EVA: 1) Collecting rocks and clay samples above Hab ridge and at the foot of Skyline Rim. These samples are for analysis of properties for In-Situ Resource Utilization 2) Radio communication check.

Start time: 1230
End time: 1510

Narrative: The crew left the Hab area on foot, followed route 1103 up to Hab Ridge. Communication with the habitat was tested on top of the ridge with excellent results. During the walk, extensive videographic and photographic footage was collected. The crew sampled the soil along the way and walked about 4km, up to the bottom of Skyline Rim. Climbing in the middle of two alluvial fans, the crew found loose samples assumed to come from the layers above. In particular, one fan had boulders made of relatively large-grain sandstone. A secondary fan was strewn with large rectangular slabs of red shale. The whole EVA crew helped collect samples. Another radio communication check showed that the repeater installed on Hab Ridge allows for direct communication with the habitat from Skyline Rim. After a few minutes to rest and enjoy the beauty of the extensive view from Skyline Rim, the crew headed back to the hab.

Destination: Skyline Rim

Coordinates: 515430, 4251442

EVA Participants: Käosaar, Eifert, Iakymov, Guariniello

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Walked from the Hab to Hab Ridge along 1103 (Sagan Hwy), then followed 1103 to the foot of Skyline Rim

Mode of travel: Walking

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GreenHab Report – December 29th

Crew 271 GreenHab Report 29-12-2022
GreenHab Officer: Alicyn Grete
Environmental control: heater
Average temperatures: 70 degrees F, about 20 degrees C
Hours of supplemental light: 4 hours
Daily water usage for crops: 11 gallons
Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 0 gallons
Water in Blue Tank 94 gallons
Time(s) of watering for crops: 0930, 1730
Changes to crops: Harvested 13g beans, 30g microgreens
Narrative: Watered all the new plants in the morning, harvested beans and microgreens for salad at lunch, watered all plants in the afternoon
Harvest: 13g beans, 30g microgreens
Support/supplies needed: N/A