Mars Desert Research Station

EVA Report – March 28th

Crew 177 Microbiology EVA

Dear Mars Society,

My name is Pitchayapa Jingjit (Pitch-cha-ya-pa Jing-jit). I am part of the crew 177 from McLennan Community College, Waco, Texas. I am a biologist and a photographer for this mission.

Aside from performing my microbiology EVA, I will also be collecting soil samples and bring those samples back to McLennan Community College in Waco, Texas. I will be performing soil dilution processes in order to extract bacteria, grow them in Petri dishes, and find their zone of inhibition. This will indicate the presence of bacteria producing antibiotics. The goal of my research is to find bacteria that produce unique and effective antibiotics.

Today, I began my microbiology EVA inside the HAB. I swabbed the HAB for the presence of Gram negative enteric bacteria and Gram positive staph bacteria. Enteric bacteria are related to diarrheal diseases. Staph bacteria are related to skin infections and pneumonia. Both bacteria cause diseases and illnesses.

I will be expecting to find both Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria growing on the tryptic soil agar (TSA) after incubating the samples. I will wait at least 24 to 48 hours for bacteria to grow in order to identify types of bacteria.

After I see that bacteria grow adequately on Petri dishes, I will start the gram staining process to identify the presence of both enteric and staph bacteria.

Please feel free to ask any questions, I will be happy to answer them for you.

Thank you for the facility.

Sincerely,
Pitchayapa Jingjit

Journalist Report – March 27th

Victoria LaBarre, XO and Chemist for Crew 177, on March 27.2017

Today four crew members went out on EVA to Candor Chasm and collected five rock samples to conduct chemistry experiments on, later this week in the lab. The most significant geological feature noted on this EVA was the large strata of Gypsum at the bottom of Candor.

While four members were out on EVA, the rest of the crew spent their time delegating tasks. Caleb swept the floor and cleaned the kitchen to provide more useable counter space. Estaban set up his manual bike generator in preparation for testing and hung up the McLennan Community College flag.

After receiving a radio message from the four crew members out on EVA that they were on their way back to the Hab, the rest of the crew began cooking lunch together. Hot bread, beef stew and a strawberry-jam crumble were served still-steaming as soon at the four crew members were helped out of their space suits.

After lunch, the five rock samples were taken to the lab and prepared for testing later this week by breaking them down into 2 gram samples. Estaban then had Pitchayapa test out his generator by having her petal on the bike to produce enough voltage to recharge a battery, which was measured with a multimeter. Elijah and I then took some time to reassemble our robot and solder together wires. I later gave other members of the crew who were interested a tutorial on how to properly use a soldering iron.

Joseph our cook, decided to delegate cooking duties in a rotation in to promote fairness when assigning who cleans the dishes and kitchen afterwards. Today, Pitchayapa and Caleb cooked a potato casserole and chicken fried rice. This was a new experience for Caleb, who has trouble reading in English (his second language) and cooking American food, instead of Chinese. Overall, Caleb mentioned that he genuinely enjoyed cooking American style food and that he was very proud that everyone enjoyed his cooking.

During cooking, a storm started with 20 mile and hour winds. The roof cap blew off and Elijah, our engineer, was kept busy pulling it back down into place, securing it and then going outside to adjust the satellite when we all noticed that the lights on the wi-fi had gone out.

After dinner, the crew sat down to brainstorm solutions for fixing the toilet and how to remove waste in the meantime after some crew members discovered that it was near to overflowing and would not go down. A report on the situation has been sent to CapCom, but due to the internet cutting in and out, we are still waiting for directions.

Note: pictures are by our photographer and microbiologist, Pitchayapa Jingjit.

Trying figured out the best way to Candor Chasma.

Sol Summary – March 27th

Person filling out Report:
Elijah Espinoza

Summary Title:
First full day on Mars

Mission Status:
Troubleshooting Research Projects

SOL Activity Summary:
Rover related tasks, charging bike tasks, EVA, Settling in

Look ahead Plan:
EVA, Reporter coming tomorrow

Anomalies in Progress:
None

Weather:
Cloudy and a little rain in the morning, sunny and partly cloudy after noon

Crew Physical Status:
Everyone is healthy and feels great! Morale is high!

Reports to be Filled:

-Operations Report

-Commanders Report

-EVA Report

-EVA Request

EVA Report – March 27th

EVA SUMMARY REPORT
EVA #3

Crew members: Elijah Espinoza, Joseph Quass, Pitchayapa Jingjit, Otsmar Villarroel

Location:
12 N 518277 4249548
12 N 520446 4251115 (Candor Chasma)

Time: departure at 9:00 am. Estimated return at 11:30 am

Duration: 2 hours and 30 minutes approximately
Vehicles: 2 ATV’s and 1 Rover

Purposes:

Chemistry EVA. Teach students about using the Geiger counter to identify background radiation. Also have students collect a water sample for analysis back at the hab.

Goal: Complete the Chemistry EVA.

Summary:
Unfortunately, due to technical difficulty with the Geiger counter the identification backgroupd radiation part of the mission was not completed successfully. A second group will be send later this week to complete the task. Next we went to the Candor Chasma to collect water samples. Water was not located in this area although several moist areas were identified under rocks. Gypsum was evaluated and the students discussed that you can make water from gypsum if needed. Some samples were brought back for future composition evaluation. An important amount of green vegetation and colorful were observed down in the canyon. We observed birds, and found evidence of nesting by some unknown creatures.

Commander REport – March 27th

Commander Report Crew 177:
Otsmar Villarroel, Commander
Sol 2
Earth date: 3/27/2017
Today the crew awoke around 7:00 am and enjoyed the morning playlist courtesy of Caleb. Lead Engineer, Elijah Espinoza, took care of filling the water tanks for our future water consumption in the HAB. We are very glad that water issue was solved.

After breakfast, the morning EVA left the hab at 9:11 am for Candor Chasma to complete the first Chemistry EVA. Commander Otsmar, Engineer Elijah, Chemist Joseph, Biologist Pitchayapa, and I spent most of the morning in the canyon trying to find water. On Earth, this molecule, made up of three atoms, is many times associated with life. While expeditioners could not find the presence of this vital molecule in its more stable state, under normal conditions, it was evident that water was part of that beautiful scene some time ago. The existence of beautiful geological structures, presumably sculpted by the power of water, were observed along with the presence of gypsum, CaSO4*2H2O, which support our ideas. Some unidentified animals’ (we hope) footprints were observed as well as some plants, trees, flowers, and cacti. We also discovered an interesting cave that showed signs of nesting by some unknown creature. Crew returned safely at approximately 11:31 am. Right after arriving, Elijah checked the ATVs gas level and then proceeds to fill them.

After taking lunch together, the crew spent the afternoon doing individual research and reviewing our media training in preparation for the NPR reporter that will be spending part of the day with us tomorrow. We all are very excited about that visit and ready to share our experiences here at MDRS as well as talk about our mission and projects.

Engineer, Elijah, went out to complete his daily routine, making sure everything is working as expected.

After dinner, crew discussed about tomorrow’s plan.

Otsmar Villarroel
177 Crew Commander

Science Report – March 27th

Science Report
Crew 177
Filled by Esteban Ramirez, Elijah Espinoza, Victoria LaBarre, Joseph Quaas.

Today, crew 177 spent the day working on a Chemistry EVA as well as working on their independent projects. Unfortunately one of the goal of the chemistry EVA could be completed due technical difficulty with the Geiger counter. Crew member will work on trying to solve the problem as a secong group will be send later this week to complete the task. Next, crew went to the Candor Chasma to collect water samples. Water was not located in this area although several moist areas were identified under rocks. Gypsum was evaluated and the students discussed that you can make water from gypsum if needed. Some samples were brought back for future composition evaluation. An important amount of green vegetation and colorful were observed down in the canyon. We observed birds, and found evidence of nesting by some unknown creatures.

Esteban Espinoza, spent part of the afternoon working on his project. The generator bike was unpacked and partially assembled during SOL 1. During SOL 2, the final components to the bike were attached and we began test trials. Crew member, Pitchayapa Jingjit began the first test trial. There were a few complications with the readings from her heartrate sensor initially, but these were later solved. The bike generator was also initially unable to generate power due to weak initially battery levels, but this issue was solved using a larger battery to charge the generator’s batteries. In Pitchayapa’s second trials, we could obtain constant heartrate measurements, and there was a significant increase in the battery’s voltage. We plan to begin official trials in the coming days wherever possible.
Caleb Li spent part of his afternoon working on a LED digital clock in the air lock, since there is not a clock in the air lock so far; he came up the idea that make a digital clock by using FPGAs and the Basys 2 board. This clock could optimize the crew member’s experience when they wait in the air lock and go out do the simulation. He is currently working on the alarm function on the Basys 2 board, he found some issues related with the alarm codes and he is working on solve them. He is planning to continue troubleshooting for the alarm function tomorrow. Hope it will work out.

Joseph Quass, in addition to led the chemistry’s EVA during the morning, he spent his afternoon working on a virtual reality training simulator. This specific simulation is based on MDRS, so the sim would train incoming crews of the basic layout of the HAB, as well as important surrounding locations. Today, he worked on editing textures in order to fix some clipping issues that were occurring prior to my arrival at MDRS. The rest of his time at MDRS will be devoted to making the simulation as accurate as possible to the real deal in order to immerse users. The goal of the simulation is to train participants in the layout and through certain situations, such as rescue emergencies, that can occur on-site. Tomorrow, he will continue with bug-fixes and terrain creation.

Elijah and Victoria are doing joint research about robotic. First the robot was unpacked and parts were checked for damage. They proceeded to assemble the robot, starting with the frame, circuitry, wheels and then finally the motors and gearboxes. Once fully assembled, Victoria taught Elijah how to use a soldering iron so that we could connect motor wires to motor controller wires, which went into the brain. This ended up becoming larger tutorial for other members of the crew who were in tested in learning how to solder wire. After connecting the wires, they switched on the robot. They noted that although the robot turned on, the wireless communication between the remote control and the brain seemed to have trouble connecting. They plan to try solving this problem by cutting up two USB cables that they brought to solder together a USB to USB cable that will connect the brain and the remote control.

Geologist Report – March 26th

Crew 177 Geologist & HSO Report

My name is Caleb Li and my roles in Crew 177 are the geologist and Health Safety Officer. Today is our first day to have EVA, and we did EVA orientation with four crew members in the morning and the other four members in the afternoon. We learned how to operate the radio and GPS connection, drive ATVs safely, observe the variation of the rock and landscape, collect the rock samples, and take pictures. It is fun and very interesting to put on the space suit and experience the astronaut’s feelings.

Caleb Li

Sol Summary – March 26th

MDRS Daily Summary Report for SOL 1

Person filing out Report: Esteban Ramirez

Summary Title: Crew 177 Enters Mars

Mission Status: Hard at work

Sol Activity Summary: Unpacking, organizing supplies, EVA, generator related tasks, rover related tasks

Look Ahead Plan: EVA, handle water issue

Anomalies in work: Nothing out of the ordinary

Weather: Sunny, clear skies

Crew Physical Status: Crew is healthy

Reports to be filled:

-Operations Report

-Commanders Report

-EVA Report

-EVA Request

EVA Report – March 26th

Crew 177 EVA#1 Report 26Mar2017

Filled by: Otsmar Villarroel, Commander.

Crew members: Commander Otsmar Villarroel, Astronomer and Green Hab Keeper Esteban Ramirez, Biologist and Photographer Pitchayapa Jingjit, Geologist and HSO Caleb Li
Location:
12 N 518172 4250624
12 N 518832 4251144
12 N 518911 4251602
12 N 518535 4253343
12 N 518158 4253775
12 N 517738 4254864
Time: departure at 11:15 pm. Estimated return at 1:45 pm

Duration: 2 hours and 30 Approximately
Vehicles: 2 ATV’s and 1 Rover

Purposes:
Orientation EVA: Teach students about sample collecting, navigation, and communication. Also identify major landmarks to get bearings and provide some geological background about the area.

Goal: Complete the Orientation EVA.

Summary:

We started the EVA a little late than planned due some delays while getting ready and the presence of Crew 176. Not a big deal however. We went to locations to specifically look at ancient sand dunes, mass wasting, desert pavement, a hoodoo, an active creek bed, and gypsum fields. We were able to see some fossilized bivalves in the creek bed, and were delighted at the numerous amounts of gypsum at the gypsum fields.

—————————————–

Report filled by Otsmar Villarroel

Crew 177 EVA#2 Report March 26, 2017

Crew members: Co-Commander and Astronomer Becky Parker, Geologist and Engineer Elijah Espinoza, Chemist and XO Victoria LaBarre, Chemist Joseph Quaas.

Locations:
12 N 518172 4250624 (sand dunes)
12 N 518832 4251144 (mass wasting)
12 N 518911 4251602 (desert pavement)
12 N 518535 4253343 (hoodoo)
12 N 518158 4253775 (creek bed)
12 N 517738 4254864 (gypsum fields)

Duration: 2 hours and 30 Approximately
Vehicles: 2 ATV’s and 1 Rover
Purpose: Orientation EVA. Teach students about sample collecting, navigation, and communication. Also identify major landmarks to get bearings and provide some geological background about the area.

Summary:

We started the EVA a little late than planned due group 1 EVA delay. We went to locations to specifically look at ancient sand dunes, mass wasting, desert pavement, a hoodoo, an active creek bed, and gypsum fields. We were able to see some fossilized bivalves in the creek bed, and were delighted at the numerous amounts of gypsum at the gypsum fields.

Commander Report – March 26th

Crew 177 Commander’s Report 26 March 2017 Otsmar Villarroel Commander Report

26 March 2017 Sol 1

Today we officially entered sim at approximately 10:40 am after saying goodbye to the Poland Crew 176. After getting the space suits on and following the pressurization protocols, at about 1115 local time first EVA group left the HAB to complete their day’s EVA 1 duties. We conducted two orientation EVAs. First group was led by Otsmar Villarroel while second group by Becky Parker. Both EVA groups (morning and afternoon) gained experience driving ATVs as well as using GPS navigation while staying in sim. Also both EVAs focus on helping orient crew members to their surroundings, learn major landmarks along the main ATV road Besides discovering the presence of another form of life other than us on this planet- Martian cows- crew members observed:

Ancient sand dunes
• Caprock erosion from wind and water (mass wasting)
• A mushroom shaped hoodoo
• A creek bed exhibiting signs of efflorescence
• A field of gypsum bordering a substantial quantity of bivalve fossils

During EVA 1, the crew remaining in the hab cleaned and organized the hab, completed and updated the food inventory and took care of lunch. Also, both Elijah and Victoria started assembling their rover after taking it apart for travel. The crew came together for lunch.

Second group left the HAB at 1510 local time. During EVA 2, the crew remaining inside the hab worked on reports, research, updated the first aid kit inventory and made some bread. Esteban spent part of the afternoon re-assembling his power generator after taking it apart for travel. After arriving from second EVA, Engineer Elijah Espinoza completed his routine engineering round.

Dinner menu includes macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, and broccoli prepared by Head Chef Quaas with the assistance of Victoria LaBarre. Our plan for tomorrow includes media training, independent research, and, pending approval, a Chemistry EVA in the morning to Candor Chasma.

Crew members feel motivated and ready to face more challenges here on Mars. However, the lack of water in the HAB has become a big issue keeping the whole crew worry. Crew members requested more water and we expect this issue get solved anytime soon. We are doing our best to save as much water as we can, but it is not an easy task for a crew of 8 people.
Crew 177
Crew Commander
Otsmar Villarroel