MARS DESERT RESEARCH STATION

Astronomy Report – April 16th

Astronomy Report

Name: Quentin Thomas, Mathieu Vander Donckt      Crew: 178
date: 14 April 2017

Sky Conditions: clear

Wind Conditions: windy, we closed the lower part of the shutter because it was shivering.

Observation Start Time: 1am

Observation End Time: 2am

Summary: The first goal was to set up the telescope for the first time. We couldn’t make any photography due to the problems described below.

Objects Viewed: Arcturus, Jupiter

Problems Encountered: impossible to focus. For each viewed star, what should have been a single point was stretched out. Jupiter was fuzzy. We guess this is due to the alignment of the primary mirror. Can you send us the procedure to follow? Thank you.

Also, we didn’t dare to open the lower part of the shutter because of the wind. It was shivering. We let the upper part open to set up the telescope for next nights. After encountering the focusing problem, we closed everything.

 

Best regards,

Quentin “Dips” Thomas, Crew Astronomer,

Mathieu “Mitch” Vander Donckt, Crew Scientist and Journalist.

 

Crew Photos – April 16th

Just out of the station

 

Coach and hoover

 

Experimenting

 

Quad squad

 

The Station

 

EVA Team

Sol Summary – April 16th

Crew 178 Daily Summary Report 16APR2017

MDRS Daily Summary Report for sol 6

Summary Title: Sixth EVA

Mission Status:  Good

Sol Activity Summary:

Hab
8.30:   Breakfast
13.00: Lunch
16.00: Muscle wasting experiment: cardio exercise session
18:30: Daily group meeting
19:00: CapCom
20:30: Dinner

GreenHab
/

ScienceDome
/

EVA
10.30 UTM NAD27 12S 4255500-518500
Media: pictures and videos of north area
Telecommunication relays experiment

Weather:
Sunny

Crew Physical Status
Everyone is fine

Look Ahead Plan:
EVA + Experiments

Reports to be file: Operations Report, Daily Summary Report, Commander Report, EVA #6 report

Support Requested:
/

EVA Report – April 15th

Crew 178 EVA #5 report 15 APR 2017

Weather: sunny, dry and hot
Temperature: around 30°C
Location: 12 S 0519938 4247631
Elevation: 1333 m
Duration: 120 min
Team: Damien Mertens (crew engineer), Elke Mergny (crew geologist), Quentin Thomas (crew astronomer)
Purpose:
–       Geophysical survey of the area with a ground penetrating radar
–       Telecommunication: installation of marking devices that use tools to cartography the sound beacons placed next to dangerous reliefs and hence, to construct a map of risk areas.
Outputs:
–       Ground penetrating radar: 7 geophysical profiles collected (area of the survey=10000m²). 3D mapping will be established
–       The installation of the marking device succeeded but the localisation system needs still to be adapted (see tomorrow’s EVA)

Crew Photos – April 15th

Careful driver

 

Checking the zone

 

Spacesuit room

 

Stay serious

 

This is the hab

 

Bread or pizza

Journalist Report – April 15th

Crew 178 Journalist report Sol 5  15April2017
Prepared by: Mathieu « Mitch » Vander Donckt, Crew 178 Journalist and Scientist
Crew 178 – UCL to Mars
It is astonishing how the situation can deteriorate in a few hours. Being isolated, we cannot depend on external assistance. We need to rely on our own skills and training and have a blind trust in the abilities of our crewmates. That was proved during last day’s incidents, that we afterward named “the cowboy crisis”.
Sol 3 ended with the disappearance of two crew members. The dust storm that raged that night made any expedition to lead an emergency rescue, impossible. Besides, protocol forbids to go outside of the base at night, whatever happens. It is of course for our own safety, the lives of all the crew cannot be put at risk for an operation with such uncertain outcomes. However, it was thwarting to stay inside in such a time. We defined an area of search near the sector they were surveying the last time we had contact with them and decided to send one of Tarzan’s probes with an infrared camera. Due to the storm, it crashed into the Northern Rim, a mountain range north of the station. It was a risk to take, and worth it! On the last images send by the probe, we could see our two fellows sheltered at the base of the Rim.
A few hours and some minor incidents later, they were in the hands of “Coach”, which is not only our persecutor – I often hear cries of pain from the first floor when she “wants to make us more fit and healthy than when we were on Earth” with her workout – but is also our Health and Safety Officer. Tonight, we will use our only rations of fresh food to celebrate their return and the halfway through our stay on Mars. Tarzan and Patch told us how, after a weary night without sleep, they encountered cowboys. As you know, that’s impossible on Mars. I guess it was tiredness, the low visibility, and queer-shaped rocks. Or maybe they have gone crazy… We will see that in the following days.

Sol Summary – April 15th

Crew 178 Daily Summary Report 15APR2017

 

MDRS Daily Summary Report for sol 5

 

Summary Title: Fifth EVA

 

Mission Status:  Good

 

Sol Activity Summary:

 

Hab

8.30:   Breakfast

11.00: Muscle wasting experiment: exercise session

12.30: Lunch

 

GreenHab

/

 

ScienceDome

14.00: End setup recycling experiment. 

 

EVA

14.00 UTM NAD27 12S 4247631-519930

Ground penetrating radar experiment : data collection

Topography Geomatic study: fixing probe

Mapping of dangerous areas with the use of probes

 

Weather:

Sunny

 

Crew Physical Status:

Everyone is fine

 

Look Ahead Plan:

EVA + Experiments

 

 

Reports to be file: Operation Report , Daily Summary Report, HSO Report, Journalist Report

 

Support Requested:

Information about water consumption

Bottom part of the hab outside repair

What sould we do with the inside toilet ?

Sol Summary – April 14th

Crew 178 Daily Summary Report 14APR2017

 

MDRS Daily Summary Report for sol 4

 

Summary Title: Setups for several experiments and fourth EVA

 

Mission Status:  Good

 

Sol Activity Summary:

 

Hab

8.30 : Breakfast at 8.30

10.00: Muscle wasting experiment: exercise session

12.30: Lunch

 

GreenHab

9.30: Watering rice plants for recycling experiment

 

ScienceDome

10.30: Setup recycling experiment : hydroponic solution with different urea concentrations and plants setting in the incubator.  

 

EVA

16.30 UTM NAD27 12S 4251500/518500

Ground penetrating radar experiment : data collection

Topography Geomatic study : data collection

Omnidirectional telecommunication relays : installation of a first relay

Media: pictures and videos of the different activities

Issues : ATV (out of gas) and faulty probe

 

Weather:

Sunny and slightly windy

 

Crew Physical Status

Everyone is fine

 

Look Ahead Plan:

EVA + Experiments

 

 

Reports to be file: Operation Report , Daily Summary Report, HSO Report, Astronomy Report, Journalist Report

 

Support Requested:

Musk Observatory : procedure to align mirrors

EVA Report – April 14th

Crew 178 EVA #4 report 14 APR 2017

Weather: sunny and windy
Temperature: around 25°C
Location: 12 S 4251500 518500
Duration: 140 min
Team: Aurian d’Avernas (crew commander), Nathalie Dupont (health and safety officer), Elke Mergny (crew geologist), Calogero Montedoro (crew biologist)
Purpose:
1. Geophysical survey of the area with a ground penetrating radar
2. Mapping of the area with a drone
3. Test of an omnidirectional telecommunication relay
Outputs:
1. Ground penetrating radar: 6 geophysical profiles collected (area of the survey=15000m²), a second layer of soil was discovered. 3D mapping will be established
2. Fail of the mapping: technical problem with the drone. One of the motor was faulty.
3. Successful identification of limit points at which a talkie walkie can not communicate directly with the Hab in comparison of the irregular relief of the ground. Need to adjust the telecommunication relay parameters.

Journalist Report – April 13th

Crew 178 Journalist report 13 APR 2017

Journalist report Sol 3 – 170413
Mathieu « Mitch » Vander Donckt
Crew Journalist and Scientist
Crew 178 – UCL to Mars

A new day begins on Mars. I can see the sun rise from the Science Dome, where the windows are the largest of the station. We have more of them in the Habitation Module, looking like boat portholes, giving a nice view of the vicinity of the base but incomparable to the Dome’s 180° panorama. The sunrise in the morning is a predictable event, witnessed hundreds of times by the majority of human beings. Nevertheless, I never came across someone who couldn’t find beauty in it.

It is a bit different on Mars. Same Sun, same phenomenon, but a different impression. We orbit further away from the centre of our solar system than our neighbour the Earth, which makes the Sun look smaller. The composition of the atmosphere is different, and it is disturbing to see how the colour of the sky can change. At the horizon, we can see a violet radiance on top of a red stony landscape. Even with those unusual details, the slow rise of the Sun still somehow feels like a familiar vision, that makes me peaceful.

After the first expedition of yesterday, it is good to have a day in the station. It was an uncommon experience that we will repeat later during our stay on Mars, but we have to prepare more the next time. We were surprised that the spacesuits brought so much restrictions, it wasn’t the same version with which we trained on Earth. Furthermore, the experiment was a failure: the radar malfunctioned when we got to the area of interest. Patch tried to identify and solve the problem when we were in the field to avoid wasting the precious time that was allowed to our expedition, without any success. In the end, we had to get back to the station exhausted and without any results. After working on it for several hours, Patch found a solution and wishes to go out again.

At midday, it was decided that she would go, with Calogero, aka “Tarzan”, Second in Command and Crew Biologist. He wants to make 3D maps of different zones of interest, using very precise probes. Beneficial to everyone, those probes will be more accurate than satellites, and we know for sure that it is hazardous to go outside without a good knowledge of our environment.

They have departed for several hours now. The wind blows harder and harder, we can feel the walls of the base shivering. No new of “Tarzan” and “Patch”. The anxiety rises in the station, as one of the major natural danger during our missions outside are the dust storms. Winds of high speed and no visibility are real life-threatening hazards. Our medium-range communication system is deficient and we lost contact with them. It will be the job of “Boss” to improve our communications by the use of relays, but he still needs to put together the devices and place them.

Still no news. We can just wait and hope for the best.
Moon rising

 

Dehydrated cake

 

Night at MDRS

 

A good physical shape is mandatory

 

Astronaute photo shooting

 

Miner of liberty