Journalist Report – April 20th
After eating a Denny’s breakfast next to our Grand Junction hotel, our Crew Artist, Crew Health and Safety Officer, Crew Engineer, and Crew Journalist piled into the Chevy Suburban and started our journey to the MDRS. After a quick stop for Terran energy drinks for two crewmembers, we drove on and eventually made it to Utah—stopping to take some pictures of the Welcome to Utah sign at the suggestion of our Commander. The turn onto Cow Dung Road instantly nudged our perspective toward Mars: the vegetation seemed to fade, and the geological plane rose up, cut a new horizon, and faded into pale, sandy white and iron red.
We arrived at the MDRS and found our Crew Commander, who had arrived earlier in his RV, on the upper deck in his flight suit. After our first moment together in person, we used velcro to decorate our flight suits with the patches designed by our Crew Artist. Then we began our afternoon of training—a long stretch during a beautiful cloudless day, one in which the sun lit up the campus’s white buildings. We watered the GreenHab plants together and got familiar with the baffling acoustics of the Science Dome. Our practice EVA took us onto the rovers and out to the site we’ll visit tomorrow in-sim, and we stopped to look at a dramatic nearby dinosaur femur fossil. (And while one rover isn’t usable, the rest were smooth.) The practice EVA ended with an unexpected visit from a sprinter van driver named Bob who was visiting from Saint George. We took advantage of being able to talk to him before going into sim.
Our Crew Artist volunteered first for dinner. While he cooked farfalle with a spiced tomato sauce, our GreenHab officer (me) familiarized herself with the watering cans, and we experienced some power shutdowns and restarts, due the hab’s furnace not accepting the auxiliary generator’s power properly. We don’t know the nature of the furnace problem, though things should be alright in the balmy weather. Now, having written our bios and sent our first reports, we’ll head out to stargaze before crashing after a tiring day.
EVA Report – April 22nd
Crew 315 EVA Report 22-04-2025
EVA # 3
Author: Michael Andrews
Purpose of EVA: To collect 3-5 rock samples for the 3D Scanning project. We are to collect rocks no larger than 250 mm in any dimension in a variety of shapes, textures, and colors to return to the Hab. The Crew Artist will also be taking photos of the environment and EVA activities to convert into artwork or other mediums post-EVA.
Start time: 1005
End time: 1110
Narrative:
Crew Artist Gagnon and Engineer Andrews spent about 30 minutes of the EVA window trying out the two-piece spacesuits before entering the airlock. We found these to be preferable, but it was discovered at the end of the donning procedure that Suit 1’s neck ring was installed upside down – future work for the engineer. The pair began their EVA at 1005.
The EVA crew took Curiosity and Perseverance east to Cow Dung Road, and then proceeded south along it. Without a map, the crew tried to estimate where Robert’s Rock Garden was located, but stopped half a kilometer short of the destination after observing some notable collection of rocks on both sides of Cow Dung Road.
5 specimen canisters of various sizes were taken to the new EVA site, and 4 rocks of various sizes were collected. All specimens had to have no dimensions greater than 250 mm to comply with the scanner’s capabilities for Andrews’s project. On the other side of the road, the last rock sample was collected, and the large rock marker for the Hypatia satellite was discovered. Crew Artist Gagnon collected photos of the environment and activities throughout.
Once all rock samples were collected, the EVA crew returned to the Hab, plugged in Perseverance, and entered the airlock. The EVA ended at 1110.
Destination: Robert’s Rock Garden but EVA team stopped approximately 0.5 kilometers
Coordinates: Easting 518200, Northing 425000
Participants: Michael Andrews (Crew Engineer and EVA Lead) and Tim Gagnon (Crew Artist)
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: MDRS road, then Cow Dung Road
Mode of travel: Used two rovers to travel along Cow Dung Road until reaching Robert’s Rock Garden and parking on the road berm. The EVA team then traveled on foot, traveling no further than one kilometer from the rovers.
EVA Report – April 22nd
Crew 315 EVA Report 22-04-2025
EVA : #4
Author: David Laude
Purpose of EVA: Travel to Candor Chasma area to look for desiccated soil for Elena’s project, look for easy entrance into the Chasma without entering and survey for Koi’s 100cameras potential project location. Then travel up Cow Dong Rd about 2 KM further where the Commander has seen desiccated soil in two, within 1KM, walking distance locations from where rovers will park next to Cow Dung Rd.
Start time for EVA : 1:33 pm
End time for EVA: 4:16 pm
Narrative: We got suited up paying particular attention to radio transmit switch location for easier access. That paid off. We were all in one piece suits. Traveled to Compass rock and spent 20 minutes scouting a route to Somerville Overlook as I know from previous experience it can be difficult to know where to turn off of Galileo. Both Koi and Elena from this EVA will travel there tomorrow. We did find a reasonable turn off and further route. While there Elena took a desiccated soil sample. Next, we drove to the west end of Candor Chasma to look for easy entrance. On first try too steep and then success further up along it to the west where it begins. One would take Galileo road to its end just pack Compass Rock and there is a nice open parking area to the left. On foot, one heads SE staying on the flat, following an erosional path while staying close to the elevated area to the right. Follow that to where one can easily walk down some rocks to the sandy bottom. The descent is only a few meters. Then, we went to the Cowboy Corner area where we found plenty of desiccated soil where Dave said it would be. Next, we viewed an area for later investigation on the west side of Galileo with perhaps the best collection of such soil for KMs around. Finally headed back to hab, arriving several minutes before the deadline.
Coordinates (use UTM WSG 84):
- Candor Chasma: 4252000N, 520000W.
- Galileo Road (probably Cowboy Corner): 4253500N, 518500W.
EVA Participants : David Laude (Commander), Elena Saavedra Buckley (Journalist/Greenhab), Urban Koi (HSO)
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: The EVA will begin on Moonwalk Road, then proceed along Cow Dung Road 0110 to Galileo Road, parking the rovers near the west end of Candor Chasma as close as permitted. Then drive back to Cow Dung and north ~2KM. Return to MDRS via Cow Dung and Moonwalk.
Mode of travel: Driving and walking.
GreenHab Report – April 22nd
Crew 315 GreenHab Report 22-04-2025
GreenHab Officer: Elena Saavedra Buckley
Environmental control (fan & heater): On intermittently (see narrative)
Average temperatures (last 24h): 91 F
Maximum temperature (last 24h): 99.5 F
Minimum temperature (last 24h): 84.4 F
Hours of supplemental light: Now back on to 7-10pm
Daily water usage for crops: 10.4 gal
Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: ~½ cup for spritzing all plants and mushroom kit
Water in Blue Tank (200 gallon capacity): 169.8 gallons
Time(s) of watering for crops: 9:30 am / 6:45 pm
Changes to crops: None visible
Narrative: The GreenHab thermometer was at 100 degrees when I entered at 9:30am, due to the fan not working because of the Smart Home difficulties regarding the generators. I turned the fan on with backup power and left the door open until it reached 87 degrees, then switched it back to Smart Home power once notified to do so by Mission Support.
Harvest: Another very small herb harvest. The scale seems totally dead, but we’re going to try one of the ones in the RAM for larger harvests.
Support/supplies needed: None
EVA Report – April 21st
Crew 315 EVA Report 21-04-2025
EVA # 1
Author: Michael Andrews, Crew Engineer
Purpose of EVA: To familiarize the crew with EVA operations and perform the Marble Ritual: collecting a rock in the surrounding area and depositing it into one of the three baskets at the site.
Start time: 1300
End time: 1345
Narrative:
The EVA crew put on their space suits for the first time, quickly learning the difference in weight and comfort between the single-piece and two-piece suits. During our depressurization window, the Commander played us the main song from 2001: A Space Odyssey to get excited. We opened up the hatch and Crew Journalist Saavedra-Buckley set foot on the red planet first for our mission.
The team traveled via rovers (Saavedra-Buckley leading in Perseverance, Andrews and Koi in Curiosity) to Cow Dung Road and headed north approximately one kilometer. We attempted to communicate with CapCom via Channel 1, but we were too close to the station and opted for Channel 2 instead. The crew each found their own rocks and deposited them in the red, green, and blue baskets to complete the Marble Ritual.
The crew still had about 30 minutes left in the EVA window, so we continued east to get used to the terrain and take photos of the environment and crew. We returned to our rovers at 1335 and headed back to the Hab via Cow Dung Road. After a quick photo at the entrance to the Hab, the crew returned to repressurize. The EVA ended at 1345 with no issues or unaccomplished objectives.
Destination: Marble Ritual
Coordinates: Easting 518750, Northing 4251000
Participants: Michael Andrews (EVA Lead and Crew Engineer), Urban Koi (Health and Safety Officer), Elena Saavedra-Buckley (Crew Artist)
Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Traveled east to Cow Dung Road via rover, then north via Cow Dung Road via rover. The crew parked on the east half of the road and traveled to Marble Ritual on foot. After performing the ritual, the crew took a counterclockwise loop east of Marble Ritual to further explore the area and take photos.
Mode of travel: Rovers from Hab to Marble Ritual (Perseverance and Curiosity), followed by traveling on foot.
Operations Report – April 21st
Crew 315 Operations Report 21-04-2025
SOL: 1
Name of person filing report: Michael Andrews
Non-nominal systems: Furnace, Suit #7 Charger, Greenhouse Scale
Notes on non-nominal systems:
1. Oil leak on the main generator, which requires us to use the backup generator at night. This is being worked solely by Mission Support and does not require crew engineering.
2. It was noted that Suit #7 wasn’t charging, but further diagnosis from the Commander has isolated the issue to the #7 charger. Troubleshooting this will take place over the next day.
3. The greenhouse scale does not turn on, suspected batteries are dead and need to be replaced.
ROVERS
Spirit rover used: No
Hours: Not Used
Beginning charge: Not Used
Ending charge: Not Used
Currently charging: No
Opportunity rover used: Yes
Hours: 217.9 (0.2 hours used)
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 95%
Currently charging: No
Curiosity rover used: Yes
Hours: 311.5 (0.3 hours used)
Beginning charge: 99%
Ending charge: 94%
Currently charging: No
Perseverance rover used: Yes
Hours: 322.4 (0.2 hours used)
Beginning charge: 100%
Ending charge: 98%
Currently charging: No
General notes on rovers: None
Summary of Hab operations: The crew spent the morning trying out their project hardware (drones and Starlink mini) before starting simulation at noon. The crew split into two EVA teams and went to Marble Ridge as a MDRS tradition. Afterwards, we performed a 100cameras module with HSO Koi before dinner.
Water Use
Time of measurements: 2040
1) Per formula: 45.75 gallons
2) Smart Home Dashboard: Unable to calculate with main generator down
Water (static tank, remaining gallons): 461.78 gallons
Static tank pipe heater (on or off): No
Static tank heater (on or off): No
Toilet tank emptied (no or yes): No
Summary of internet: Used to complete reports, learn languages, share team photos via Google drive, streaming shows
Summary of suits and radios: Two EVAs were performed today, splitting the teams into two halves in order to complete the marble ritual.
· EVA 1: Suits 6, 8, 10 and Radios 1, 3, 4
· EVA 2: Suits 7, 9 and Radios 1, 2
Summary of GreenHab operations: Watered all plants and harvested some basil to go with olive oil for dipping with bread.
WATER USE: 10.8 gallons
Heater (On or Off): On
Supplemental light (hours of operation): 1900-2200
Harvest (name, weight in grams): Basil, Parsely, and Chives… all amounted to a handful but unable to weigh due to inoperable scale.
Summary of ScienceDome operations: Set up engineering project hardware (EVA Connectivity Kit and 3D Scanning Kit) and tested Starlink Mini outside at the observatory.
· EVA Connectivity Kit: Starlink took approximately 5 minutes to connect, and immediately uninstalled a software update. Crew Artist, Crew Journalist, Crew Engineer, and HSO were all able to connect successfully. Several speed tests were performed, with a maximum download of 186 Mbps and upload of 19.0 Mbps. 16% of the battery pack was consumed over 20 minutes.
Dual split (Heat or AC, On or Off): Off
Summary of RAM operations: (Tools used, work done)
· Leaking Sink: needle nose pliers, adjustable wrench, and plumber’s tape taken – all returned to the RAM. A little troubleshooting revealed that the stopper was clogged and needed to be removed, cleaned, and reinstalled. Plumber’s tape was added to the stopper’s side port to prevent leaking. Previously the stopper was wrapped externally with tape, but that was removed after the plumber’s tape solved the problem.
· Loose Staircase Mat: adjustable wrench, 3/8” deep socket, 2 nuts, and 2 washers were taken – nuts and washers were consumed, all other tools returned. The topmost staircase’s mats are loose, and it was discovered that no washer and nut was installed on the underside of the mat in two locations. A washer and nut was added, tightened, and now the stair provides less of a tripping hazard.
· Zip Ties: Only several open grommets were noted, mainly ones underneath other tarps. However, afternoon gusts liberated several zip ties that need replacing. I will make a routine of replacing the zip ties every morning before afternoon gusts arrive. In short, no zip ties were used today.
Summary of any observatory issues: None
Summary of health and safety issues: None
Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: None
GreenHab Report – April 21st
Crew 315 GreenHab Report 21-04-2025
GreenHab Officer: Elena Saavedra Buckley
Environmental control (fan & heater): Both on
Average temperatures (last 24h): Not visible (see below)
Maximum temperature (last 24h): Not visible
Minimum temperature (last 24h): Not visible
Hours of supplemental light: 7pm-10pm
Daily water usage for crops: 10.8 gal
Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: ~1 tsp for mushroom growth
Water in Blue Tank (200 gallon capacity): 180.2 gallons
Time(s) of watering for crops: 9am / 6pm
Changes to crops: Mushroom growth kit added
Narrative: Today I watered the crops as normal and the temperature seemed consistent. I also started my blue oyster mushroom growth kid, a very simple model that just requires me to open the side of a box and cut a slit in a bag of spores. I stuck it on the wooden bench, spritzed it with my own spray bottle, and put a trash bag with holes over it to encourage humidity. I sprayed it again at night and will do it twice daily.
Harvest: Today I harvested about 10 leaves of basil, ~15 shoots of thin chives, ~6 shoots of thicker chives, and a fingerful of parsley. See below…
Support/supplies needed: The scale didn’t turn on and might need a new battery, hence my lack of harvest grams! The Smart Home program wasn’t loading after we switched to the backup generator.
Sol Summary – April 21st
Crew 315 Sol Summary Report 21-04-2025
Sol: 1
Summary title: First Day on Mars
Author: Tim Gagnon
Mission status: ongoing
Sol activity summary:
Our day welcomed the rising Sun over the Mars landscape.
As we gathered for breakfast we were saddened to learn that Pope Francis had died.
We enjoyed pancakes prepared by the Crew Artist and discussed our upcoming EVAs.
Anomalies in work: Main generator still does not work, suit 7 doesn’t charge, the greenhab scale doesn’t work
Weather: Sunny with highs in the mid-70s
Crew physical status: We are in good health
EVA: The Engineer, Journalist and HSO conducted the first EVA and we all gathered on the first floor to assist with
suit-up and comm checks.
As this first team completed the pre-breathe our Commander sent them off with him playing the theme from “2001 A Space Odyssey.”
They went to the Marble Ritual and explored that area.
When they returned at 1400 hrs,we conducted an informal debrief and the Commander and Artist prepared for the second EVA.
It was not as smooth and seamless as EVA1 because the Artist struggled with comms and getting into the Curiosity Rover. They traveled to the Marble offering and had less time to explore.
The Commander graciously took photos of the Artist as gifts for friends. The EVA concluded on time at 1600 hrs.
As a child of Apollo during my EVA I was able to imagine what it was like for childhood heroes to walk on the Moon. I even photographed my boot print as Buzz Aldrin did on Apollo 11. It was a glorious experience which I will turn into a fine art post mission.
After the EVAs were completed we met upstairs for a 100cameras photography module conducted by our HSO. The goal of which was to give us a better understanding about composition and help us tell a clearer story with our photography. The class was made up of instruction and then a photo exploration of our campus illustrating key words.
Our HSO and journalist prepared a delicious dinner of potato and vegetable soup and homemade bread. Using freeze dried potatoes, broccoli, corn, cheese and herbs harvested from the Green Hab they created a delicious chowder. The homemade bread was made with white and wheat flour and yeast. A bread making machine will be a highly desired appliance on future Mars missions.
After dinner while waiting for the comms window to open, we enjoyed fellowship and spoke of past experiences that we bring to this analog mission. We also consulted the map and discussed possible future EVAs farther away from the Hab.
At this time we are completing our reports, editing photos and preparing to end our day. It was full, it was exciting and we look forward to a good night’s sleep and an interesting day tomorrow.
Look ahead plan: Two EVAs are planned for tomorrow to conduct Michael’s 3D imaging project and other experiments.
Reports to be filed: Sol (filed), journalist report, greenhab report, operations report, crew photos, mission plan (filed)
Support requested: None
Crew Photos – April 21st
You must be logged in to post a comment.