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Journalist Report – May 1st

Crew 265 Journalist Report, April 30, 2022

Sol: 07

Summary Title: A Day of Rest

Author: Sarah Treadwell, Crew Journalist

Today was our first day where all the crew stayed hab bound for the entire day. Personally, even though the day was filled with less activity, it still seemed to pass by quickly. Most of us slept in and then took showers, a luxury around these parts in order to conserve water.

We spent our day cleaning and sharing videos and memories from other experiences. Commander Marc spent some time at a research base in the South Pole and shared photos from that expedition. It is obvious this was a significant experience for him and he does not tire of sharing the stories of his time spent there. If you ever get a chance to meet him, ask him about the 300 club.

We are now prepping for dinner and a movie, a meal that is nicknamed “The Watney ” which is baked potatoes that Commander Marc brought with him. I suppose you can take a wild guess at what movie we are watching while we eat it. Executive Officer Dave shared a favorite show and an antique radio that he collected while we waited for them to bake.

Everyone else continued with their own projects and personal studies today. I was able to capture some extra interview questions with the Commander, one of which is a simple explanation of the radio system and how it is being upgraded. We then had a chance to have a one on one talk for a bit about lessons learned from the past and how to apply it into the future.

He asked me what I have noticed about myself in this experience thus far, and it made me want to end this report by sharing what I personally have noticed. I have learned that in an environment such as this, my insecurities and imposter syndrome feelings become a bit more amplified. I know so many others struggle with this and I wanted to share that I feel it often as well. But instead of believing that little voice that tells me I’m not enough, I think about the challenges I have overcome, the amount of work I have put into myself, and the example I am setting for my children. They will likely never read this report, but I hope I will make them proud.

“Every one of us is, in the cosmic perspective, precious. If a human disagrees with you, let him live. In a hundred billion galaxies, you will not find another.“ – Carl Sagan

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Supplemental Operations Report – May 1st

Supplemental Operations Report 1 May 2022

Name of person filing report: Shannon Rupert

Reason for Report: Routine

Non-nominal systems: Nothing to report

Action taken for non-nominal systems: nothing to report

Generator: Still being manually run at night

ScienceDome Dual Split: Off

Solar—Charge controllers off at night

Solar— Nominal

Notes on power system: Nothing to report

Propane Reading, station tank – 75 %

Propane Reading, director tank— 82 %

Propane Reading, intern tank— 70 %

Propane Reading, generator—70 %

Ethanol Free Gasoline – 0 gallons.

Water (Outpost tank) – 500 gallons

Sojourner rover used: yes

Hours: 168.8

Beginning charge: 100

Ending charge: 88, now 100

Currently charging: yes

Notes on rovers: Nothing to report

ATV’s Used: (Honda, 350.1, 350.2, 300): none

Reason for use: n/a

Oil Added? No.

ATV Fuel Used: 0 gallons

# Hours the ATVs were Used: 0 hours

Notes on ATVs: Nothing to report

HabCar used and why, where? No

CrewCar used and why, where? Yes, to town. The car has power steering fluid above the fill line but I don’t know what the other marks are on the dipstick so I haven’t added any. Car continues to intermittently lose power steering and still has the noise in what I think is the front driver’s side.

Luna used and why, where? No, waiting until next weekend to work on tire pressure due to crew in sim

Campus wide inspection, if action taken, what and why? Nothing to report

General notes and comments: Nothing to report

Summary of general operations: Nothing to report

Summary of internet: Nothing to report

Summary of suits and radios: This season, due to COVID, we gave each crewmember a Ziploc baggie with a cleaning cloth and headset for the radios and throughout the season we only lost two older headsets due to non-function. In past years, when the crew used whatever headset they wanted, we replaced at least a dozen headsets each season. In addition, we also had to replace radios and this season, even though none of them were new, we have not had to replace a single radio!

Summary of Hab operations: Nothing to report

Summary of Outpost operations: I have the new pump and hose and I will install it in the water tank sometime this week. Currently I am pumping water directly out of the HabCar tank. I replaced some of the fence but am still working on it. I would like to find a better way to hold the fence up where the hardpan stops the t-posts before they are sturdy enough for the panels.

Summary of GreenHab operations: Nothing to report

Summary of ScienceDome operations: Nothing to report

Summary of RAM operations: Nothing to report

Summary of any observatory issues: Nothing to report

Summary of health and safety issues: Nothing to report

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EVA Report – April 29th

Crew 265 EVA Report 29-04-2022

EVA # 5

Author: Levesque

Purpose of EVA: Communications testing and road condition evaluation.

Start time: 0930

End time: 1345

Narrative: The EVA team drove along Cow Dung Road testing radio communications along the way using the project radios via the repeater on North Ridge and a simplex MDRS channel. Upon parking the rovers at the entrance to the dinosaur quarry, the team proceeded on foot down into Lith Canyon. During their trek along the canyon floor and its south rim, several communication checks were made with the Hab to test the project repeater and the MDRS radio channel. Radio contacts continued on the project radios via the repeater, but none were achieved on the simplex MDRS channel because of the terrain. It wasn’t until the team reached a high point on the south rim that contact was re-established on the MDRS channel, where line of sight communications could be obtained. After completing the testing, the team returned to the rovers and traveled back to the Hab. About a mile from the Hab, the Opportunity rover overheated and had to stop for 10 minutes before proceeding. It did so again just short of its parking space in front of the station and had to be pushed to its recharge station.

Destination: Lith Canyon

Coordinates: UTM NAD27 CONUS 0518270 4256052

EVA Participants: Levesque, Iakymov, Blanco

Road(s) and Routes per MDRS map: Cow Dung Road to Quarry Road and return.

Mode of Travel: Opportunity and Perseverance and on foot.

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Operations Report – April 29th

Crew 265 Operations Report Sol 5 29-04-2022

SOL: 5

Name of person filing report: Dave Laude/Sergii Iakymov

Non-nominal systems: Furnace. Room#2 door knob. Percy’s left rear tail light is non-functional, but the brake light is working. Upper deck clock hour hand offset and one can be confused on the hour reading.

Notes on non-nominal systems: Furnace is functional and we remain cautious over limiting to early morning only. Infrequently used now. Door knob feels like it’s about to fail. Clock hour hand has been adjusted.

ROVERS

Spirit rover used: No

Hours: 176.2

Beginning charge: 100

Ending charge: 100

Currently charging: Yes

Opportunity rover used: Yes

Hours: 96.1

Beginning charge: 100

Ending charge: 69

Currently charging: Yes

Curiosity rover used: No

Hours: 187.3

Beginning charge: 100

Ending charge: 100

Currently charging: Yes

Perseverance rover used: Yes

Hours: 238.0

Beginning charge: 100

Ending charge: 59

Currently charging: Yes

General notes and comments: Oppy overheated about 1.5Km north of MDRS on return EVA leg. A 10 minute cool down allowed it to reach within 50m of its parking place before overheating again.

Summary of Hab operations:

WATER USE:

Water (static tank): Not full. ~342 gallons.

Water (loft tank): 55 gallons

Water Meter: 158169.2 units

Static to Loft Pump used – Yes

Static tank pipe heater (on or off): Off

Static tank heater (On or off): Off

Toilet tank emptied: Yes

Summary of internet: Nominal

Summary of suits and radios: Batteries charging. Six radio batteries have now been tested. Three are very good, one fair and the others only about 60% of full new capacity (still usable, but could deplete on long EVAs). It may be that some failed suit batteries that are accumulating are a result of over-discharge that could ruin standard SLA batteries. This could happen if the suit hasn’t been charged then used or the fan is not turned off upon returning from EVA. It might be helpful if the charger doesn’t get switched off from the battery when the fan is running. The charger could then supply the current needed to run the fan. There is a class of batteries called "deep discharge" that could better handle over-discharge if that is happening.

Summary of GreenHab operations: NA

WATERUSE: N/A

Heater: N/A

Supplemental light: N/A

Harvest: None

Summary of ScienceDome operations: Not used.

Dual split: Heat or AC, On or Off

Summary of RAM operations: None

Summary of any observatory issues: NA

Summary of health and safety issues: Per HSO report all crew members are feeling good and can participate in EVA.

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: n/a

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Journalist Report – April 29th

Sol: 05
Summary Title: Sweet Emotions
Author: Sarah Treadwell, Crew Journalist

Today is Sol 05 here at the Mars Desert Research Station. It was another day with an EVA consisting of Commander Marc, Mapping Tech Benny, and Engineer Sergii. This was one of the longer and further tests of the new radio system thus far, and we are pleased to report that it is working in even the most challenging of areas.

With challenges comes rewards and for our EVA team today they certainly had that. To say the views they were treated to were stunning may be an understatement. The landscape here is dramatic and the emotions and reactions the crew returned with was that of awe and gratitude. Upon return, commander Marc removed his helmet and reported that he now could die a happy man.

Back at the station, the rest of us took turns operating as Capcom and preparing lunch. We also watched the maps and tracked the direction our EVA crew was heading. Mapping tech Isai flexed his culinary skills and made tortillas from scratch for lunch, which we made into chicken quesadillas. Needless to say, now no one is very hungry for dinner.

I’m noticing that this time is causing many of us to have time to reflect on where we currently are in our lives professionally, and where we would like to direct that going forward. It’s a familiar feeling for me and I often find that experiences like this give me some breathing room to process a wide range of ideas and emotions.

This experience has certainly for me highlighted how spotlight our emotions can be here as there is no place to completely bury them. We are all surrounded by people whom we haven’t ever met in person before arriving. Personally, I started this mission with some pretty low moments and now came back up with some pretty high moments. It’s unusual to have so much vulnerability without much rapport, which really is a challenge that really any randomly selected collaborative group must overcome.

Humans are undeniably sloppy, emotional, and prone to making mistakes. But we are also cognitive, intelligent, and inquisitive. All the puzzle pieces that make us who we are don’t have to be perfect. We simply must strive to do our best, help others, and enjoy our brief blip of moment of being alive.

“The cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself.”

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Supplemental Operations Report – April 27th

Supplemental Operations Report 27 April 2022

Name of person filing report: Shannon Rupert

Reason for Report: Routine

Non-nominal systems: HabCar rear window fell out. The hinges broke and no one reported it.

Action taken for non-nominal systems: I removed the window completely. It will need new hinges to remount the window.

Generator: Still being manually run at night

ScienceDome Dual Split: Off

Solar—Charge controllers off at night

Solar— Nominal

Notes on power system: Nothing to report

Propane Reading, station tank – 75 %

Propane Reading, director tank— 82 %

Propane Reading, intern tank— 70 %

Propane Reading, generator—82 %

Ethanol Free Gasoline – 0 gallons.

Water (Outpost tank) – 500 gallons

Sojourner rover used: yes

Hours: 168.8

Beginning charge: 100

Ending charge: 88, now 100

Currently charging: yes

Notes on rovers: Nothing to report

ATV’s Used: (Honda, 350.1, 350.2, 300): none

Reason for use: n/a

Oil Added? No.

ATV Fuel Used: 0 gallons

# Hours the ATVs were Used: 0 hours

Notes on ATVs: Nothing to report

HabCar used and why, where? Yes, to town for garbage and water. I was extremely disappointed to discover that the rear window hinges had broken and no one told me. I saw that it was broken but had no idea as to when so I drove with it broken and the window fell out. It did not break as it was being held in place by one of the side rods. I was able to get it inside and drove back to the station and popped the other rod out with a crowbar. I will need to order new hinges and then the window can be remounted, but until then the back window will be missing. I stored it in the RAM.

CrewCar used and why, where? The noise I was hearing from the front of the car continues as well as the occasional loss of power steering. I ordered power steering fluid, even though when I had the car serviced they reported all fluids nominal. I’ll see if that helps, if not we will need to take it in to see what is wrong either during the Work Party this spring or next fall.

Luna used and why, where? Yes, to town, but now parked until I can look at the tire pressure.

Campus-wide inspection, if action taken, what and why? Nothing to report

General notes and comments: Nothing to report

Summary of general operations: Nothing to report

Summary of internet: Nothing to report

Summary of suits and radios: Nothing to report

Summary of Hab operations: Nothing to report

Summary of Outpost operations: I opened the box with the new pump to find it was a resold return. Since you can use a submersible pump in all kinds of water, I did not open it up but rather opted to return it. I can’t risk contamination of our drinking water again. This means that I still don’t have a way to get water out of the storage tank and so made an emergency trip to town for water I could pump into my trailer from the HabCar tank. I ordered another pump.

I removed the fence on the east side of the yard so that the propane truck can make it. Propane was delivered today and now that I know how much space he will need, I will rebuild the fence. This will also allow us to park a vehicle closer to the trailer, which will be helpful at times.

Summary of GreenHab operations: Nothing to report

Summary of ScienceDome operations: Nothing to report

Summary of RAM operations: Nothing to report

Summary of any observatory issues: Nothing to report

Summary of health and safety issues: Nothing to report

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Operations Report – April 27th

Crew 265 Operations Report Sol 3 27-04-2022

SOL:3

Name of person filing report: Dave Laude/Sergii Iakymov

Non-nominal systems: Furnace, Suit #8. Percy’s left rear tail light is non-functional, but the brake light is working.

Notes on non-nominal systems: Furnace is functional and we remain cautious over limiting to early morning only. Infrequently used now. Suit #8 has blown a fuse during our mission while on the table.

ROVERS
Spirit rover used: Yes

Hours: 174.3
Beginning charge: 100
Ending charge: 100!
Currently charging: Yes

Opportunity rover used: No
Hours:
Beginning charge:
Ending charge:
Currently charging:

Curiosity rover used: No
Hours:
Beginning charge:
Ending charge:
Currently charging:

Perseverance rover used: Yes
Hours: 236.5
Beginning charge: 100
Ending charge: 89
Currently charging: Yes

General notes and comments:

Summary of Hab operations:

WATER USE:
Water (static tank): Not full. ~410 gallons.
Water (loft tank): 30 gallons
Water Meter: 158117.6 units

Static to Loft Pump used – Yes
Static tank pipe heater (on or off): Off
Static tank heater (On or off): Off
Toilet tank emptied: Yes

Summary of internet: Nominal

Summary of suits and radios: Batteries charging.
Suite #8 has been repaired (blown fuse has been replaced; loose wires soldered and isolated with electrical tape ). Additionally, we discovered a loose charging port in the same suite. After some adjustments and repairs the suit is functional again. The receiving connectors on the suit were slightly expanded open by repetitive insertions and removals of the charger plug making the charging dependent upon adjusting the plug to just the correct position for proper contact. Now just plug in and charge without fussing with it, for now. There are two other one-piece suits that require attention that we plan to get at soon.

Summary of GreenHab operations: NA

WATER USE: gallons

Heater: On or Off

Supplemental light: On or Off

Harvest:

Summary of ScienceDome operations: NA

Dual split: Heat or AC, On or Off

Summary of RAM operations: Used soldering iron, solder and tape to repair suit #8.

Summary of any observatory issues: NA

Summary of health and safety issues: Per HSO report one person is prohibited from EVA due to high blood pressure and another is being monitored for bp and heart rate a few times a day.

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: (note trash pickup)

Getting hot in hab upper deck. What is the status of the swamp cooler water supply and any idea how much water it could consume?

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EVA Report – April 27th

Crew 265 EVA Report 27Apr2022

EVA # 3

Author: Levesque

Purpose of EVA: Conduct communications testing to the south of the Hab.

Start time: 0930
End time: 1145

Narrative: The team proceeded south from the Hab on Spirit and Perseverance to Kissing Camel Ridge, where it conducted its first radio check. From there, the crew split into two teams on foot, with two members proceeding on the south side of the West Ridge, and two headings on the south side of the East Ridge. While on foot, the teams conducted radio checks on both the repeater frequency and on a Hab frequency to test the ability of both to contact the Hab. GPS locations of these checks were captured by the HabCom in a log for later mapping. Both teams then returned to their rovers and continued south to Zubrin’s Head as the final check of the communications test before returning to the Hab.

Destination: Kissing Camel Ridge East and West and Zubrin’s Head

Coordinates: UTM NAD27 CONUS 0518292 4249252 (Kissing Camel Ridge); 519533 4248058 (Zubrin’s Head)

Participants: Levesque, Laude, Blanco, Licea

Road(s) and Routes per MDRS map: Cow Dung Road and return

Mode of Travel: Spirit and Perseverance and on foot