Operations Report – April 7th

Crew 314 Operations Report 04-07-2025

SOL : 1

Name of person filing report : Béatrice Hollander (Crew Commander)

Non-nominal systems :

Notes on non-nominal systems :

ROVERS:

Spirit rover used: EVA #1

Hours: 272.6 hours (with 0.1 used)

Beginning charge : 100%

Ending charge : 95%

Currently charging : No.

Opportunity rover used : EVA #1

Hours : 212.4 hours (with 0.2 used)

Beginning charge : 100%

Ending charge : 93%

Currently charging : No

Curiosity rover used: EVA #2

Hours: 306.1 hours (0.2 used)

Beginning charge: 100

Ending charge: 95

Currently charging: No

Perseverance rover used: EVA #2

Hours: 317.2 hours (0.2 used)

Beginning charge: 100

Ending charge: 95

Currently charging :No

General notes on rovers : Nothing special on EVA #1 and EVA #2

Summary of Hab operations :

WATER USE: 64.04 gallons

Water (static tank): 485.96 gallons

Static tank pipe heater (on or off): off

Static tank heater (On or off): off

Toilet tank emptied: no

Summary of internet: Used for music playing, mails, research for experiments, learning languages.

Summary of suits and radios:

Radios 1,2 and 5 were used on EVA #1

Light Suits 5, 6 and 9 were used on EVA #1

Radios 3,4,6 and 8 were used on EVA #2

Light Suits 2,4,5, and 6 were used on EVA #2

Summary of GreenHab operations: I watered all the plants (except dead plants) with the Miracle-Gro solution (1 cup for 2 gallons).

WATER USE: 4.8 gallons

Heater: Off

Supplemental light: N/A

Harvest: 3 g of mint and 5 g basilic

Summary of ScienceDome operations:

Dual split:

During the morning: preparation of all the materials (Spectral lamp, RPM (gravity), temperature sensor) for the stress experiment on arbuscular mycorhizal fungi.

During the afternoon: isolation of spores of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.

During the evening: end of isolation of spores and start of the experiment (stress application)

Milieu, petri dish preparations

Summary of RAM operations: (Tools used, work done)

A total of 24 zip ties were used to secure the tarps to the metal structure between each module. The ends of the zip ties were cut using a wire cutter. Additionally, duct tape was used to patch a large hole in the tarp near the Science Dome.

The crew engineer, Antoine, used a drill to attach the dust collector brackets to the stakes during the EVA (tools used: drill, mete r& 6 zip ties).

Summary of any observatory issues: Nothing as no observations done yet

Summary of health and safety issues : Our engineer was still a bit blurry this morning, but he was still able to participate in the daily tasks. We will take an eye on his health issue for the days to come, and keep you updated. The other members were feeling fine.
First Aid Kits : All medical supplies have been filled.

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support :

Request to Mission Support :

EXPERIMENT : The team has applied for support to collect a parcel containing important samples for our journalist’s experiment.

HSO :

As mentioned in the email’s response (HSO pre-mission checklist) : We have two issues with the walkie-talkies from SciDome: the one working on channel 10 is dead and doesn’t work on any other charging base. Unfortunately, the charging base for the SciDome is also no longer working.

As mentioned in the email’s response (HSO pre-mission checklist) : there’s no new alcaline battery left in the drawer (precicely : Alcaline Battery 9V 522-6LF22 -6AM6). We have received a response from Mission Support that batteries will be coming in the beginning of next week.

GreenHab Report – April 10th

Crew 314 GreenHab Report 10-04-2025
GreenHab Officer: Bérengère Bastogne
Environmental control (fan & heater):
Heater on (setup temperature = 72°F)
Fan on (to keep the temperature below 94°F)
Average temperatures (last 24h): 85.7 °F
Maximum temperature (last 24h): 98.8 °F
Minimum temperature (last 24h): 72.7 °F
Hours of supplemental light: 7-10 pm
Daily water usage for crops: 8 gallons
Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 1 gallon
Water in Blue Tank (200 gallons capacity): 164.6 gallons
Time(s) of watering for crops: 15 min
Changes to crops: Use of 300 plantain seedlings for an experiment
Narrative: I watered all the plants with water.
The door of the GreenHab was left open for 3 hours 35 minutes (2.10 pm to 5.45 pm) to reduce the temperature inside (maximum of 98.8 °F)
Harvest: (include which crop and mass in grams) 4 g of parsley and 6 g of basilic
Support/supplies needed: None

Journalist Report – April 3rd

Journalism Report
MDRS Crew 313
April 3, 2025
By Riley Nuttycombe

Crew 313 woke up back on earth today and it was snowing! We had planned a field trip to collect more rock samples but it was too muddy to make doing so safe. We stayed in the hab most of the day. We did some cleaning in preparation for our departure tomorrow. Emily Lehnardt and David Joy departed early in the day. By dinner time it had dried out enough for the remaining crew and Ben from mission support to drive to Hanksville for burgers for dinner.

Journalist Report – March 31st

Journalist Report Sol 0

31 March 2025

By Emily Lehnart

We are preparing for our exploration of Mars tomorrow. As we met for our inaugural breakfast as MDRS crew 313, we synergistically discussed goals and objectives for our upcoming EVAs tomorrow and Wednesday. MDSRS crew 313 eagerly anticipated the Mars spacesuit training, the Mars rover training and discussed what EVAs look like. Additionally, we created Mars rock kits. Commander Jen Carver shared her infinite wisdom regarding the geological history of Mars. The MDRS crew was in awe. Finally, we took a short walk to the education building to compare Earth rocks and Mars rocks and determine which Earth rocks were analogous on Mars. This will help us tomorrow as we embark on our first EVA to collect Mars rocks. Go MDRS 313 Crew!

Crew 313 Crew biographies, photos and mission patch 31Mar2025

[title Crew biographies, photos and mission patch – March 31st]

Crew 313 Bios

Jen Carver-Hunter

Jen Carver-Hunter is a 5th grade teacher at a Title 1 School in Salt Lake City, Utah. Carver-Hunter is the crew commander for the Spaceward Bound Utah program at the Mars Desert Research Station. She is also an alumni member of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Teacher Innovator Institute and a current member of Space Center Houston’s SEEC Crew.

Inline image

Emily Lehnardt

Emily Lehnardt first "gravitated" towards the exciting world of astronomy during a high school lecture about black holes. From that moment, she has actively pursued anything space related. She is the former director of the Utah Women Astronomical Society which focuses on STEM and astronomy outreach. Her love of knowledge, exploration, and space is contagious, and, for her indefatigable talent for teaching, Emily is a two-time-award winning educator. Currently, she is pursuing a PhD in science education with a research interest in astronomy and STEM. Additionally, she is collaborating with Clark Planetarium to create robust astronomy curriculum for rural communities. Emily loves to travel and share her passion about astronomy with others.

Becca Hodgkinson

Becca Hodgkinson is a National Board Certified Teacher who has worked at Escalante Elementary in Salt Lake City, UT since 2004. For the past three years, her sixth grade students have been maintaining a commercial hydroponics unit in order to study how matter cycles through the ecosystem and potential ways humans might be able to grow food on Mars. She is a three time graduate from the University of Utah and a proud mom of two young adults.

Samantha Reynolds

Samantha Reynolds is a homeschooling educator of 15 years, community organizer, and meditation instructor. She loves connecting people to resources and outlets for their passions, and looks forward to sharing the MDRS experience with others. In her free time she enjoys travel, reading, learning new things, and spending time with family.

Riley Nuttycombe

Riley Nuttycombe is a 17 year old high school student out of Boulder Colorado. She enjoys reading and writing science fiction, working on CAD projects, and playing ultimate frisbee. This is her third mission to MDRS where she is working on a project (the Mars Trek Project) to design and test her own EVA helmets.

David Joy

David Joy is a junior high school science teacher in Northern Utah. He is currently teaching physics and integrated science, but has also taught chemistry and Earth & Space science. In 2020 he earned a Ph.D. in outdoor education and social justice. This is his second Spaceward Bound mission at MDRS, and he is grateful to have these opportunities.

Journalist Report – April 2nd

Journalism Report
MDRS Crew 313
April 2, 2025
Sol 2
By Becca Hodgkinson

Crew 313 had two successful EVAs today. In the morning, the crew took rovers Curiosity, Perseverance, and Spirit to a site to the south to look for basalt and breccia analogs. They then traveled north to Kissing Camels to scout for petrified wood samples for their analog rock sample kits. All rovers worked well, and the crew was able to try out different helmet and backpack configurations.

In the afternoon, four members of the crew took a second walking EVA back to the Marble Ritual, gathering even more rock and mineral specimens to add to their collections. All EVA objectives were met, and EVAs were completed within the approved timeframe. Afterwards, the crew finished up their Martian geology experiments in the Science Dome.

EVA Report – April 2nd

Crew 313 EVA Report 02-04-2025

EVA # 3

Author: Jen Carver-Hunter

Purpose of EVA: Geologic sample collection

Start time: 10:00

End time: 12:00

Narrative: The crew was prepped and ready for their EVA shortly at 10:00. They traveled south on Cow Dung Road to the wash along the road to Barrainca Butte. At the wash, they walked west toward Barrainca Butte, collecting geologic specimens. After 20 minutes of specimen collection, the crew loaded up in the rovers to drive to their second collection site at Kissing Camel Ridge. The crew walked along the wash to the southwest of Kissing Camel Ridge, collecting geologic specimens before returning to the rovers to drive back along Cow Dung Rd to the Hab.

Destination: Road to Barrainca Butte and Southwest Kissing Camel Ridge

Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): 519700, 4247300 and 518200, 4249300

Participants: Jen Carver-Hunter, David Joy, Becca Hodgkinson, Emily Lehnardt, Riley Nuttycombe, and Samantha Reynolds

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Cow Dung Road south to 1101 (Rd to Barrainca Butte) and then returning North to Kissing Camel Ridge and the Hab

Mode of travel: Spirit, Curiosity, and Perseverance Rovers