SOL: 1
Name of person filing report: Jas Purewal
Non-nominal systems: EVA comms unit 3 sub-optimal; power point in lower hab wasn’t working where Sergii was plugging in the Mac.
Notes on non-nominal systems: N/A
ROVERS
Spirit rover used: Yes
Hours: (before EVA) 190.3
Beginning charge: (Before EVA) 100%
Ending charge: (On return from EVA, before recharging) 84%
Currently charging: No
Opportunity rover used: Yes
Hours: 102
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 77%
Currently charging: No
Curiosity rover used: No
Hours: 209.5
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 89%
Currently charging: N/A
Perseverance rover used: No
Hours: N/A
Beginning charge: N/A
Ending charge: N/A
Currently charging: N/A
General notes and comments: N/A
Summary of Hab operations:
WATER USE:
Water (static tank): 500 gallons
Water (loft tank): N/A gallons
Water Meter: N/A units
Static to Loft Pump used – Unknown
Static tank pipe heater (on or off): Off
Static tank heater (On or off): Off
Toilet tank emptied: no
Summary of internet: Good
Summary of suits and radios: EVA comms unit 3 sub-optimal
Summary of GreenHab operations:
WATER USE: 2 gallons
Heater: On
Supplemental light: Off
Harvest: No
Summary of ScienceDome operations:
Dual split: Unknown
Summary of RAM operations: N/A
Summary of any observatory issues: N/A
Summary of health and safety issues: N/A
Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: More trash bags please for toilet bins and for general bins; more Clorox cleaning wipes; pillows please.
GreenHab Report – November 14th
Sol 1
GreenHab Officer: Caitlyn Hubric
Environmental control: 20% humidity
Average temperatures: 43.3ºC/13.5ºC
Hours of supplemental light: N/A
Daily water usage for crops: 7.6 L ≈ 2 gal
Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 0 gal
Water in Blue Tank: 298 gallons
Time(s) of watering for crops: 5 PM
Changes to crops: N/A
Narrative:
-Radish microgreens near harvest, ready in maybe another day or two.
-Assumed the water tank was full and at 300 gallons to begin. Please correct me if this assumption was incorrect, there is no meter for me to take a quantitative measurement from.
-Soil sufficiently wet in most plants prior to watering. Watered all plants but gave more water to those with drier soil.
Harvest: N/A
Support/supplies needed: N/A
Commander Report – November 14th
Sol: 1
Summary Title: Landing on Mars
Author’s name: Dr. Jenni Hesterman, Commander
Mission Status: Nominal
Commander Report: After a busy day of settling into the station, the crew enjoyed a good night’s rest and were up this morning at 0730. Some crew members went for a last walk without spacesuits before the mission started. After a hearty breakfast of pancakes, dried fruit and reconstituted eggs, the crew met with Dr. Rupert to discuss the mission. Topics included simulation rules, building a successful crew, common pitfalls to avoid and map reading.
We enjoyed a loaf of fresh, warm bread, cheese and ham for lunch, then met Dr. Rupert on the lower deck for training on Extravehicular Activity (EVA) communication equipment and for spacesuit fitting. Next, we hit the road to test drive the rovers and learn how to properly and carefully navigate the Martian landscape.
Once back in the Hab, the crew said goodbye to Dr. Rupert, closed the airlock and officially started the simulation at 1600. After a short break, we met to finalize the next day’s schedule and write our daily reports. We enjoyed a pasta dinner with homemade sauce and garlic bread. We will enjoy a relaxing night before tackling two EVAs tomorrow.
Operations Report – November 13th
SOL: 0
Name of person filing report: Jas Purewal and Judith Marcos
Non-nominal systems: N/A
Notes on non-nominal systems: N/A
ROVERS
Spirit rover used: No
Hours: (before EVA) N/A
Beginning charge: (Before EVA) N/A
Ending charge: (On return from EVA, before recharging) N/A
Currently charging:
Opportunity rover used: No
Hours: N/A
Beginning charge: N/A
Ending charge: N/A
Currently charging: N/A
Curiosity rover used: No
Hours: N/A
Beginning charge: N/A
Ending charge: N/A
Currently charging: N/A
Perseverance rover used: No
Hours: N/A
Beginning charge: N/A
Ending charge: N/A
Currently charging: N/A
General notes and comments: N/A
Summary of Hab operations:
WATER USE:
Water (static tank): N/A gallons
Water (loft tank): N/A gallons
Water Meter: N/A units
Static to Loft Pump used – Unknown
Static tank pipe heater (on or off): Unknown
Static tank heater (On or off): Unknown
Toilet tank emptied: No
Summary of internet: Good
Summary of suits and radios: N/A
Summary of GreenHab operations:
WATER USE: N/A gallons
Heater: On
Supplemental light: Off
Harvest: N/A
Summary of ScienceDome operations:
Dual split: Unknown
Summary of RAM operations: N/A
Summary of any observatory issues: N/A
Summary of health and safety issues: N/A
Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: N/A
Mission Plan – November 13th
November 13-26, 2022
Crew Commander: Jenni Hesterman (United States)
Executive Officer/Crew Scientist: Jas Purewal (United Kingdom)
Health and Safety Officer: Elizabeth Balga (United States)
Crew Biologist & Crew Greenhab Officer : Caitlyn Hubric (United States)
Crew Engineer: Judith Marcos (United States)
Crew Journalist: Izabela Shopova (Bulgaria)
MDRS Crew 268 is an all-woman crew from three countries. All crewmembers will be at MDRS for the first time.
Below is a detailed summary of planned projects during the mission.
Jenni Hesterman
Crew education regarding strategies to enhance knowledge of self and maximize success working in diverse groups in a remote, austere environment. Training topics include how to take and use the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, VARK Learning Preference Tool, and the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument. Training sessions will also cover dynamic subordinancy, the gifts of fear and intuition, and how to survive the unthinkable. Also will assist in the greenhab.
Jas Purewal
Quality improvement for future research to investigate using the PARO therapeutic robot to mitigate crew stress and feelings of isolation during analog space missions. Educational First aid training using VR. Emotion study of crew in collaboration with Alex Hoffman.
Elizabeth Balga
Gather knowledge on nominal and off-nominal crew operations during Mars habitat stay and surface EVAs. Plan and execute EVAs to support the crew’s science, engineering, exploration, and training objectives. Support Crew Biologist in field and Greenhab experiments. Post-mission, gather knowledge on medical infrastructure needs by assessing crewmember biometrics during habitat and EVA operations. As the HSO, provide real-time support and oversight to the crew throughout the simulation to ensure crewmember physical and mental health, as well as environmental and operational safety.
Caitlyn Hubric
Looking for microorganisms on EVA growing on roots and/or leaves of plants in desert conditions in search for a microorganism that helps with water stress/growing in regolith-like conditions . Also looking into the application of using edible decomposers to break down organic material while generating food for the crew.
Judith Marcos
My team participated in the 2022 NASA MINDS and submitted a 3D anchor prototype. I will be testing Anchor Atlas in various ways in order to find failure in material, design or in its limits/goals. From limited access while using it, its carry capacity and UV radiation effects on a variety of 3D filaments.
Izabela Shopova
Benefits of introducing probiotics and microgreens in the crew’s menu by the means of making yogurt from powdered milk and live lactobacteria Bacilicus Bulgaricus, and growing microgreens from seeds. Developing pre-mission and mission induction training for analog astronauts. A crew journalist will be responsible for the communication with mission support and develop video for the media.
Sol Summary – November 11th
Sol: 12
Summary Title: Last day on Mars
Author’s Name: Laurène Delsupexhe
Mission Status: Nominal
Sol Activity Summary: Today marked the end of our simulation. As usual, Paula went to water the plants. Cristina had baked a nice piece of bread. The Morning was mainly dedicated to cleaning the station. Laurène had an LGM session with a friend and then went on a final engineering EVA. Meanwhile, Marta prepared lunch. At 2pm, the simulation came to an end. Sergii kindly took us to the overlook for a last Mars exploration : the views were spectacular.
Look ahead plan: N/A
Anomalies at work: N/A
Weather: Sunny, 5°C
Crew Physical Status: Good
EVA: 1
Reports to be filed: Sol Summary Report, Commander Report, GreenHab Report, Operations Report, EVA Request
Support Requested: None, thank you Mission Support!
Operations Report – November 11th
SOL: 12
Name of person filing report: Laurène Delsupexhe
Non-nominal systems: N/A
Notes on non-nominal systems: N/A
ROVERS
Spirit rover used: No
Hours: (before EVA) N/A
Beginning charge: (Before EVA) N/A
Ending charge: (On return from EVA, before recharging) N/A
Currently charging: N/A
Opportunity rover used: No
Hours: N/A
Beginning charge: N/A
Ending charge: N/A
Currently charging: N/A
Curiosity rover used: No
Hours: N/A
Beginning charge: N/A
Ending charge: N/A
Currently charging: N/A
Perseverance rover used: No
Hours: N/A
Beginning charge: N/A
Ending charge: N/A
Currently charging: N/A
General notes and comments: N/A
Summary of Hab operations:
WATER USE:
Water (static tank): 350.0 gallons
Water (loft tank): N/A
Water Meter: N/A
Static to Loft Pump used – no
Static tank pipe heater (on or off): off
Static tank heater (On or off): off
Toilet tank emptied: yes
Summary of internet: Nothing to report
Summary of suits and radios: Nothing to report
Summary of GreenHab operations:
WATER USE: 7.2 gallons
Heater: on
Supplemental light: off
Harvest: yes
Summary of Science Dome operations:
Dual split: Heat or AC, Off
Summary of RAM operations: N/A
Summary of any observatory issues: N/A
Summary of health and safety issues: N/A
Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: N/A
Mission Summary – November 11th
To summarize this mission is not an easy task : 3 years in the making, 2 times delayed and a last-minute change of crew. After finally making it to the MDRS, WoMars was so thrilled to finally get to work. It was a privilege to be able to test the robot from the Dronomy company : we look forward to seeing the data. We also tested an amazing deep space communication tool that brought us closer to Earth thanks to Braided Communications Ltd. And we self-reflected and shared our daily emotions as part of a sociology research led by Dr. Popovite.
Some mistakes were made, some paths were difficult to find, but finding ourselves surrounded by these red valleys, with nothing else around us but the station in the distance was an absolutely unique, and dare we say, out of this world experience. Our first meal compared to our last clearly demonstrates our ability to learn and adapt to new ways of feeding our bodies : never would we have thought we could enjoy so much freeze-dried food ! The perfect addition to those meals were the occasional harvest our Crew Biologist brought in from the Green Hab. We much appreciated the fresh microgreens and look forward to eating fresh food soon.
The bond we developed, the work we achieved, the regions we explored made this experience worth every hour of work we put in before coming.
GreenHab Report – November 11th
GreenHab Officer: Paula Peixoto Moledo
Environmental control: 16% Humidity
Average temperatures: 28ºC/24,6ºC
Hours of supplemental light: N/A
Daily water usage for crops: 27L ≈ 7.2 Gallons
Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: None
Water in Blue Tank 28. 6 gallons
Time(s) of watering for crops: 9:00 am – 7:00 pm
Changes to crops:
Narrative: Today is the last day with my dear plants! I am kind of sad that I am leaving them but I am sure the next crew will take care of them even better than me !
Harvest:
Support/supplies needed: –
EVA Report – November 11th
EVA # 15
Author: Laurène Delsupexhe
Purpose of EVA: End of mission engineering EVA
Start time: 12:10am
End time: 12:30 pm
Narrative: The Crew Engineer did a final Engineering EVA to report if there had been any change to the exterior of the station: there are no updates to bring since the previous engineering EVA. After leaving the hab, Laurène went around it, then around the Green Hab, behind the Science Dome, around the solar panels and the observatory and behind the station before finally going around the RAM and heading back.
Destination: MDRS
Coordinates (use UTM NAD27 CONUS): 4251000-518000
Participants: Laurène Delsupexhe
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: N/A
Mode of travel: Walking