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Supplemental Operations Report – December 28th

Date: 12/28/2024
Name of person filing report: Sergii Iakymov
Reason for Report: Routine
Non-Nominal Systems: Power system battery, Curiosity rover.

Power system:
Solar: The battery bank does not hold charge when the sun is down and low on the horizon. Main generator has been monitored for oil leaks; none or extremely minor leaks observed.
Main generator:
1) Oil, oil filter and air filter changed on 12/22/2024. Generator hours – 7517.3.
2) Oil, oil filter and on 12/28/2024. Generator hours – 7629.0.
2) Current hours – 7629.0.

Propane Readings:
Refilled on 12/17/2024
Station Tank: 72%
Director Tank: 72%
Intern Tank: 75%
Generator Tank: 38%

Water:
Hab Static Tank – 305 gallons
GreenHab – 153 gallons
Outpost tank – 400 gallons

Rovers:
Sojourner rover used: Yes
Hours: 208.1
Beginning Charge: 100 %
Ending Charge: 94 %
Currently Charging: Yes
Notes on Rovers: Curiosity left rear tire is airing out and need to be taken to a shop.

Cars:
Hab Car used and why, where: To Hanksville for supplies.
Crew Car used and why, where: From Grand Junction by crew.
General notes and comments: N/A

Summary of Internet: Outpost WiFi is currently stable, a new spot with better signal was found.
EVA suits and radios:
Suits: All nominal.
Comms: All nominal.

Campus wide inspection, if action taken, what and why: All nominal.
Summary of Hab Operations: All nominal.
Summary of GreenHab Operations: All nominal.
Summary of SciDome Operations: All nominal.
Summary of Observatories Operations: All nominal.
Summary of RAM Operations: All nominal.
Summary of Outpost Operations: All nominal.
Summary of Health and Safety Issues: All nominal.

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Operations Report – December 28th

Crew 306 Operations Report 28-12-2024
SOL: 06
Name of person filing report: Keegan Chavez

Non-nominal systems: None
Notes on non-nominal systems: None

ROVERS
Spirit rover used: No
Hours: (before EVA):
Beginning charge: (Before EVA):
Ending charge: (On return from EVA, before recharging):
Currently Charging: Yes

Opportunity rover used: Yes
Hours: (before EVA): 199.6
Beginning charge: (Before EVA): 100
Ending charge: (On return from EVA, before recharging): 51
Currently Charging: Yes

Curiosity rover used: No
Hours: (before EVA):
Beginning charge: (Before EVA):
Ending charge: (On return from EVA, before recharging):
Currently Charging: Yes

Perseverance rover used: Yes
Hours: (before EVA): 298.0
Beginning charge: (Before EVA): 100
Ending charge: (On return from EVA, before recharging): 69
Currently Charging: Yes
General notes on rovers: Opportunity “Forward” indicator light is out

Summary of Hab operations: crew performed group puzzle activity under supervision of HSO
Water Use (please use both methods to estimate water usage)
Time of measurements: 12/26/2024 1700 – 12/27/2024 1700
1) Per formula: 32.84 gal
2) Smart Home Dashboard: 32.675 gal
Water (static tank, remaining gallons): 304.9375 gal (per formula)
Static tank pipe heater (on or off): On
Static tank heater (on or off): On
Toilet tank emptied (no or yes): no

Summary of internet: nominal internet usage

Summary of suits and radios: suits 1,2,5 were used for EVA, radios were all operational and are fully charged

Summary of GreenHab operations: GreenHab Officer: watered plants, replaced pot of arugula with peas, harvested cucumbers and Chinese rose radish, observed mushrooms growing in herb planter; Engineer/Geologist: played a riveting game of chess among the plants
WATER USE: 4 gal
Heater (On or Off): On, automatic
Supplemental light (hours of operation): 1700 – 2200
Harvest (name, weight in grams): cucumber: 144g, Chinese rose radish:186

Summary of Science Dome operations: GreenHab Officer: finished setting up CO2 chambers, refilled mushroom feeding syringes, fed mushrooms; Journalist: worked on drone operating script
Dual split (Heat or AC, On or Off): On, automatic

Summary of RAM operations: Engineer laid out plans for prototype suit biometric sensor system; GreenHab Officer: moved wrench to Science Dome

Summary of any observatory issues: No issues
Summary of health and safety issues: No issues

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: requesting trash pick up from the RAM airlock

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GreenHab Report – December 28th

Crew 306 GreenHab Report 28Dec2024
GreenHab Officer: Adriana Sanchez
Environmental control (fan & heater): Heater and fan on automatic at 94 and off at 82
Average temperatures (last 24h): 81.95
Maximum temperature (last 24h): 94.8
Minimum temperature (last 24h): 69.1
Hours of supplemental light: 1700 – 2200
Daily water usage for crops: 4 gallon
Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: None
Water in Blue Tank (200-gallon capacity): 153.74 gallons
Time(s) of watering for crops: 10:40am, 6:10pm
Changes to crops: Cleared one pot of Arugula for Pea Shoots
Narrative: Sunflower two is getting ready to bloom! I harvested two cucumbers for snacking and some chinese rose radish to clear some space in the pot. We have 7 tomatoes coming in. I replanted 10 pea plants into one pot in the arugula. I am going to figure out how to set up a climbing net for the peas.
Harvest: 144g of Cucumber, 186g Chinese Rose Radish
Support/supplies needed: None

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Sol Summary – December 28th

Crew 306 Sol Summary Report 28-12-2024
Sol: 06
Summary Title: Half-way there.
Author’s name: Jesus Meza
Mission Status: Active. All systems are nominal.
Sol Activity Summary:
The morning started at 07:00 with a “free-range” breakfast where everyone picked whatever they wanted. Most people had cereal or oats… but one crew member had chocolate chip cookies… and another had a can of tuna. At 09:00 the crew observed our morning meditation and stretching session. At 09:30 preparations started for EVA 07 to Eos Chasm. Jesus, Ryan, and Keegan made up the EVA team while Elizabeth ran coms. The EVA team departed the HAB at 10:00 and drove Perseverance and Opportunity north along cow dung road, stopping at the stream beds east of Eos Casma. The team then followed the streams to the entrance of the chasm and walked more than half-way of the way to the end where the chasm meets the Riverbed. Soil samples and rocks were collected along the way to analyze their iron content for the in-situ photo-voltaic project. Meanwhile at the HAB, Rod and Adriana stayed behind to work on their research and tend to the station. Rod ran a mid-mission inventory on our food stock. Despite our constant bread addiction, it appears we have plenty of food to last the rest of the mission. The EVA team returned to the HAB at around 13:46. Rod and Adriana prepared a delicious Brazilian Stroganoff for lunch. At 15:00 the crew then split off to rest and do research. Rod went to seek inspiration in the science dome. While Keegan and Elizabeth set up a competitive game of chess in the GreenHAB. In the late evening the crew completed their second team puzzle task for Ryan’s human factors research. Some of us love the puzzle… some of us hate the puzzle… but we are all obsessed with the puzzle. The team then finished off the day with mid-mission research reports.
Look Ahead Plan:
Keegan will lead Rod and Elizabeth back to Eos Chasma on EVA 08. The EVA team will perform EMF measurements of the area and perform Li-DAR scans of the riverbed. At the HAB, Adriana will continue to tend to her mushrooms and monitor her newly made CO2 chambers; Jesus will attempt to make his first Martian solar cell using hematite collected from HAB ridge; and Ryan will run coms for the EVA team.
Anomalies in work: None.
Weather: Skys were clear with morning temperatures near 32 degrees F. The day warmed significantly with a high of 50 degrees F.
Crew Physical Status: Crew is happy and well.
EVA:
Jesus, Keegan, and Ryan completed EVA 07 to Eos Chasma. The objectives of this EVA were to collect samples from the riverbed to analyze their iron content, and to scout for launch sites for DRONE Li-DAR scans. A few potential hematite samples were collected from the riverbed, as well as two soil samples for iron extraction. The soil samples were collected from two spots, one at the entrance and one near the middle of the chasma. The team also found several spots within the chasm that can serve as DRONE launch sites. The launch sites were marked on the map and will be the target sites for EVA 08. Although we did not reach the end of the Eos Chasma, all objectives of EVA 07 were met.
Reports to be filed:
Sol Summary, Journalist Report, Greenhab Report, Operations Report, Crew Photos, EVA Report. EVA request. Mid-Mission Report.
Support Requested: None.

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EVA Report – December 28th

Crew 306 EVA Report 28-12-2024

EVA # 07

Author: Ryan Villarreal

Purpose of EVA: Search for iron in the Eos Chasma for Crew Commander Jesus Meza’s project, as well as scout potential drone launch sites for EVA #08 on 29/12/2024.

Start time: 10:00

End time: 13:46

Narrative: The EVA Crew stepped into the airlock at exactly 10:00 and proceeded to drive Perseverance and Opportunity North along Cow Dung Road until reaching the starting location just north of Cowboy Corner. The crew dismounted the rovers and began traversing through the long and winding ravine for approximately 2.5 miles. During this trek, the crew continuously scanned for potential iron-containing rocks along the waterway and marked coordinates of feasible drone launch locations to be used in EVA #08. The crew managed to hike 3/4 of the way to the destination before turning around due to time constraints. The crew returned to the parked rovers and drove back to MDRS, arriving prior to the requested time. From this EVA, multiple drone sites were marked for EVA #08. Further, 10 hematite-type samples were collected for evaluation back at the science dome to determine the feasibility of extracting iron from the iron oxide within them, and soil samples from the rich riverbed were collected to extract raw iron.

Destination: Eos Chasma at (521750E, 4256000N), however, turned around at (520712E, 4255411N) due to time.

Coordinates (use UTM WGS 84): Rovers were parked at (518250E, 4253750N), and the crew hiked to (520712E, 4255411N) before turning around due to time constraints.

Participants: Crew Commander Jesus Meza, Crew Engineer Keegan Chavez, and Health and Safety Officer Ryan Villarreal

Road(s) and routes per MDRS Map: Cow Dung Road taken North past Cowboy Corner. Rovers were parked on the road at (518250E, 4253750N) and the crew proceeded on foot Northeast through a riverbed to the chasma at (519500, 4254000).

Mode of travel: Rovers along Cow Dung Road from the MDRS campus until disembarking at (518250E, 4253750N) and proceeding on foot.

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Journalist Report – December 27th

A Three-Dimensional Future in Space

“Don’t ask for a lighter load, ask for a stronger back.”

Yesterday, we talked about the motivation behind climbing the highest mountain. From a personal perspective, climbing the mountain of Mars colonization might be a valuable endeavor for us from Crew Montes, however exploring space is more often than not dealt with public criticism. Why take the risk? And why spend millions of taxpayer dollars in space exploration? My favorite response to that is a short story from astronaut Soichi Noguchi:
I want you to imagine that you are an ant, and you are following a line on the ground. First, imagine that you are a one-dimensional ant who can only walk forward and backward on the line. Now, imagine that I put a stone there. Then, even if the one-dimensional ant wants to go forward, the one-dimensional ant can’t go forward because of the pebble. In other words, it’s the end of their world.
Then a 2D ant, who can go forward, backward, left and right, comes along. "No, you can’t go out", the one-dimensional ant tells them.
"Who decided that?" 2D ant looks at the pebble and says, "Just go sideways, it’s fine, see?" And the 2D Ant is able to go beyond the pebble and continue on. As he continues to walk, he comes across a stone wall. The ant is in trouble again. No matter how far he goes, forward, backward, left and right, he can’t get to the other side of the wall. For the 2D ant, it’s the end of their world. He doesn’t know what to do. Now, a 3D ant who can go forward, backward, left and right, and up and down arrives. Then 3D-ant looks at the wall and says, "No, that’s fine." Then the 3D-ant can overcome the walls that are connected horizontally and proceed to a new world.
On Sol 5, our crew explored the second and third dimensions in multiple ways. During our EVA today, Genie, Spy and I set out to Skyline Ridge, for all purposes an infinite wall of over 1,000 ft blocking our way forward. After a strenuous hike under a load that pounded our shoulders like ground beef, we arrived at Skyline Ridge’s intimidating beauty ready to face up. We successfully launched our DRONE to the third-dimension multiple times, allowing us to remotely explore the badlands covering its base to collect LIDAR measurements on its terrain. Spy also tested a remote hotspot connection to the DRONE that allowed us to collect data from the Raspberry Pi using our phones, making the process much more streamlined within the context of an EVA. This remarkable spot also graced us with rich data in its depths, where Genie explored the underworld’s magnetic properties by digging her instruments for data collection. This new understanding of the magnetic properties of soil can be used to counteract the effect of solar storms, for example, on the electrical grid of not only Mars, but also on Earth.
In the meantime, Messiah, Mr. Fix and Murph crafted their own version of the layers of Skyline Ridge by cooking a Montes Casserole that would leave any geologist digging for more. Murph also continued to explore the depths of the third dimension by optimizing the growth of mushrooms that thrive in the underground. This experiment promises to change the way we recycle materials in space and on Earth using the Mycoponics technology developed by her lab at Purdue.
After lunch, Messiah worked on the samples we collected from Skyline Ridge towards extracting iron and hematite content from the metal-rich soil. Our EVA led us to an astounding 100 grams of hematite, which can be refined together with the iron towards the creation of a 2D thin-film of semiconducting material. The final goal of this research is to prove the use of in-situ resources in solar panels, which are a clean source of energy that has been revolutionizing the way we obtain electricity.
Going back to Noguchi’s story, the moral is very simple. Going to the third dimension and achieving a different perspective, such as looking from above or below, allows us to come up with new solutions. Going into space doesn’t just mean going to a distant planet, but it also means we can look at the problems we’re currently facing on Earth from a new perspective and solve them. Hopefully, what we are doing here as Crew Montes will be remembered and used in the future for all mankind, in space and on Earth.
Hermit out.

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Sol Summary – December 27th

Crew 306 Sol Summary Report 27-12-2024
Sol: 05
Summary Title: Shower Day!
Author’s name: Jesus Meza
Mission Status: Active. All systems are nominal.
Sol Activity Summary:
The crew woke up at 07:00. At 08:00 we had cereal for breakfast and a quick stretching session before EVA prep at 09:00. EVA 06 to Skyline Rim was scheduled for 09:30 so that the EVA team could make it in time to catch low winds for DRONE flights, as higher winds were expected in the afternoon. Elizabeth led Rod and Ryan on the EVA Team. While Jesus and Keegan ran coms. The EVA team had time to perform five flights in the Amazonis Planitia. Elizabeth collected EMF of the area and collected two soil samples from the base of HAB ridge for Jesus to analyze at the HAB. The EVA team made it back to HAB at 13:00. For lunch, the HAB team made a mac-and-cheese casserole with a side of crispy potatoes. The crew then split off for research and work tasks. Adriana harvested some over-ripe arugula and herbs to make a pesto. Ryan worked on getting everyone through VR test. Jesus worked on processing samples collected on EVA 5 and EVA 6 in the science dome. The crew took showers throughout the day and is now happy and clean.
Look Ahead Plan:
Jesus, Keegan, and Ryan will head to Eos Chasma on EVA 07 to analyze the Iron content of the soil and look for hematite. Meanwhile the HAB team will take turns providing coms while working on their research and mid-mission report.
Anomalies in work: None.
Weather: Morning was cloudy and cold with temperatures around 32 degrees F. The temperature increased to 48 degrees F by midday. Skies remained cloudy for most of the day with light rain at approximately 17:00.
Crew Physical Status: Crew is happy and clean.
EVA:
Elizabeth, Rod, and Ryan completed EVA 06 to Skyline Rim. The team performed 5 DORNE flights and took Li-DAR scans of the Amazonis Planitia. Elizabeth was able to collect two soil samples from the base of the rim and took ambient magnetic data of the area. All objectives of EVA 06 were met.
Reports to be filed:
Sol Summary, Journalist Report, Greenhab Report, Operations Report, Crew Photos, EVA Report. EVA request.
Support Requested: None.

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Operations Report – December 27th

Crew 306 Operations Report 27-12-2024
SOL: 05
Name of person filing report: Keegan Chavez

Non-nominal systems: None
Notes on non-nominal systems: None

ROVERS
Spirit rover used: No
Hours: (before EVA):
Beginning charge: (Before EVA):
Ending charge: (On return from EVA, before recharging):
Currently Charging: Yes

Opportunity rover used: No
Hours: (before EVA):
Beginning charge: (Before EVA):
Ending charge: (On return from EVA, before recharging):
Currently Charging: Yes

Curiosity rover used: No
Hours: (before EVA):
Beginning charge: (Before EVA):
Ending charge: (On return from EVA, before recharging):
Currently Charging: Yes

Perseverance rover used: No
Hours: (before EVA):
Beginning charge: (Before EVA):
Ending charge: (On return from EVA, before recharging):
Currently Charging: Yes
General notes on rovers: None

Summary of Hab operations: crew performed VR cognitive tests under supervision of HSO, shower day!
Water Use (please use both methods to estimate water usage)
Time of measurements: 12/26/2024 1700 – 12/27/2024 1700
1) Per formula: 42.4775 gal
2) Smart Home Dashboard: 46.7 gal
Water (static tank, remaining gallons): 337.6125 gal (per formula)
Static tank pipe heater (on or off): On
Static tank heater (on or off): On
Toilet tank emptied (no or yes): yes

Summary of internet: nominal internet usage

Summary of suits and radios: suits 1,4,6 were used for EVA, radios were all operational and are fully charged

Summary of GreenHab operations: GreenHab Officer: pruned cucumber leaves, removed tomatoes side shoots, watered plants and floor to increase humidity, harvested arugula and basil; Commander: took water to Science Dome to wash rocks
WATER USE: 4.26 gal
Heater (On or Off): On, automatic
Supplemental light (hours of operation): 1700 – 2200
Harvest (name, weight in grams): Arugula 189g, Basil 24g

Summary of Science Dome operations: GreenHab Officer: sealed leaks in mushroom feeding apparatus, cleaned mushrooms under fume hood using hydrogen peroxide, began sealing CO2 containers to attaching tubes and silicon epoxy; Commander: analyzed rock and dirt samples from EVA 06, processed samples from EVA 05 using water, rock hammer and mortar and pestle
Dual split (Heat or AC, On or Off): On, automatic

Summary of RAM operations: GreenHab Officer: moved clamp to Science Dome, clamp was returned; Commander: moved rock hammer to Science Dome to grind rock samples

Summary of any observatory issues: No issues.
Summary of health and safety issues: GreenHab Officer: used 1 disposable face mask to use during mushroom handling in Science Dome

Questions, concerns and requests to Mission Support: none