Mars Desert Research Station

Science Report – February 17th

Crew 175 Science Report 17Feb2017

Science Report SOL 5

Experiment: Seismometer
Person filling in the report: Mouadh Bouayad

We could deploy the seismometer this morning, during the EVA. It was quite hard to do, with the gloves, especially to put the seismometer correctly. It was nevertheless a success. We decided to put the Stanéo digitizer in a box in order to protect it, and we covered it with a piece of plastic. We have then tried to immobilize everything by putting stones here and there.
The weather on the rest of the sol was worrying: there was a lot of wind (impossible thing on Mars because of the low pressure on its surface). I fear that the structure might crumble. Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait until tomorrow to check this out, during the next EVA.

Experiment: Balloon
Person filling in the report: Simon Bouriat

We were first supposed to use the balloon during the EVA this morning. Unfortunately, the weather was not on our side. We still don’t have enough results to make any conclusions. We hope to use it again next week.
The crew engineer and I started working on our new project about emergency procedures. There are three main points in that study. First, we will study the emergency procedures observed during scuba diving. One of the big step in this study is the comparison between this sport’s dangers and EVA’s ones. Secondly, we will try to set up different emergency procedures depending on the issues and brief the rest of the crew about it. Finally, we will simulate unexpected health or material issues during EVAs and try to apply these procedures.

Simon Bouriat – HSO Crew 175

Commander Report – February 17th

Crew 175 Commander Report 17Feb2017

Dear Earth,

Sol 5: back to normal after yesterday’s festivities.

Mouâdh, Victoria, Simon and I went on EVA this morning to install the
seismometer in the hole we dug close to the Main Road, South of the
Hab. We had also planned to deploy the balloon for the second time,
but the wind was too strong. The exploration we did afterward led us
to the top of the Ridge, where we discovered a stunning panorama: in
front of us the red plain enclosed in mud hills, behind us the
colossal mesas of Skyline Ridge. Our hike offered us an unusual sight
on the MDRS from above. We should definitely come back up here on a
later EVA!

A very strong wind rose after lunch, blowing away all the outside
stuff that was not attached (typically: the unused cardboard we stored
yesterday). In order to avoid further mess and to take a look at the
potential damages around the station, Louis Maller and Xavier went out
for a short EVA. In the end, no hurt was noted on the different
facilities, but Louis and Xavier preventively fixed a water tank on
the rear of a rover. We were glad to see that our upgrade on the
tunnel stood still (we call it “The Wall”). This storm reminded us of
the non-realistic beginning of Andy Weir’s novel “The Martian”, with a
minor difference though: the terrestrial wind is strong enough to blow
away heavier things than sand… So better stay aware, even if this
situation is totally impossible under Mars thin atmosphere.

Otherwise, there is nothing to worry about. The crew stays in a good
mood, science goes on and we have plenty of food left (at least for
the moment).

Ad Astra!

Sol Summary – February 17th

Crew 175 Sol Summary 17Feb2017

SOL SUMMARY REPORT SOL 5

SOL: 5

Person filling out Report: Louis MALLER, XO
Summary Title: Gone with the wind
Mission Status: Successful EVA, all systems go, work on experiments ongoing

Sol Activity Summary: sport, science work on different experiments, nominal EVA and short unscheduled EVA.
Look Ahead Plan: Tomorrow will see another EVA, and we are looking forwards for the wind to calm down in order to be able to use the balloon again.
Anomalies in work: /
Weather: a bit cloudy, cooler than usual, very windy in the afternoon
Crew Physical Status: Crew feeling well
EVA: EVA #3 successfully deployed the seismometer experiment, and then explored the area around the deployment zone, and realized some tests with talkie range. EVA #4 realized its task and then checked the hab because of the wind, everything was normal except some trash that had flown away.

Reports to be filed:
– Commander report
– Operations report
– Journalist report
– GreenHab Report
– EVA #5 request
– EVA #3 report
– EVA #4 report
– Science report

EVA Report – February 17th

Crew 175 EVA #4 Report 17Feb2017

EVA Report:

EVA #4

Crew members (2 crewmembers): Xavier Rixhon, Louis Maller

Location: Immediate vicinity of the hab
Vehicles used: /

Departure time: 15:54
Return time: 16:06
Duration: 12min

Summary:

We exited the airlock under some quite heavy wind. We put the water tank on the rover, which was more difficult than expected as it was heavier than we had thought, difficult to grab and handle, especially wearing spacesuits.

We then described a circle around the hab, got a few trash items that had flown away, checked that everything seemed okay. We put the tunnel extension back in place at the end point which had moved slightly. We didn’t notice any damage anywhere on the MDRS

EVA Report – February 17th

Crew 175 EVA Report 17Feb2017

EVA #3

Crew members: Arthur Lillo (EVA leader), Mouâdh Bouayad, Simon Bouriat
et Victoria Da-Poian (EVA buddies)

Location:
• South of the Hab to bury the seismometer (12N 518500, 4250000)
• Hab Ridge Road, South of the Hab (12N 518000, 4250100)
• East of the Hab (12N 518700, 4250700)

Vehicles used: Phobos and Deimos

Departure time: 9:03 AM
Return time: 11:38 AM
Duration: 2h35

Purposes:

• Around the Hab exploration
• EVA training for newcomers
• Seismology experiment: dig a deeper hole and bury the seismometer,
the acquisition system and the battery

Summary:

The Engineering Check was quick today, no refill was needed. We did
not take the balloon because of the risk of wind. We took the rovers
to go to the plain just North of Camel Ridge, where we dug a hole two
Sols ago. At 9:25 we installed the car battery, the acquisition system
and the seismometer, and covered them with dirt and plastic planks to
protect them from the bad weather. At 9:50 we began our exploration:
we left the seismometer to walk West of its location, where we found
an access to the top of Hab Ridge. The view was absolutely stunning
despite the cloudy sky. We found Hab Ridge Road up there and followed
it until we could see the Hab and establish radio contact with HabCom.
At 10:30, we headed back to the rovers on the same path and lose
contact again. We went back to the Hab’s crossroad and left the rovers
there to explore the Eastern area. We discovered the intriguing site
called Marble Ritual, and enjoyed the view on Pooh’s Corner from the
top of a small hill. After that, we returned to the Hab earlier than
planned.

Science Report – February 16th

Science report

Experiment: Balloon
Person filling in the report: Simon Bouriat
The balloon went on the EVA yesterday. It worked really well even if the weather was a bit windy. Unfortunately, the platform broke when we stored it. Today, during the afternoon, I fixed it and I recoded the Arduino. The idea is to record pressure and temperature in the hab during the whole day tomorrow and to compare the results with the ones we got from the balloon flight (here after). It will give us the average characteristics on the ground. We also want to calculate the height of the balloon thanks to our results. Tomorrow, during the EVA, we will try to tether the balloon with two ropes to avoid any rotation of the new platform.
I also tried to figure out how to build a radio relay. The main way in my opinion is to use one of the broken walkie-talkies.

Experiment: Seismometer
Person filling in the report: Mouâdh Bouayad
Today the battery was wrapped in an emergency blanket in order for it to be protected, especially from water. The assembly of the science equipment (ISAE-SUPAERO Seismometer and Staneo acquisition system) was assembled with the gloves in order to train for tomorrow’s EVA.

Experiment: Aquapad
Person filling in the report Arthur: Lillo
The Aquapad (CNES) experiment has started today, with water samples having been prepared for testing, it has been put in the science oven, the first results will be available tomorrow!

Experiment: EMUI
Person filling in the report: Louis Maller
During the EVA I wore the glasses to test different issues. Comfort: they are lighter and a lot less trying to wear than the previous version, this is a true improvement. The right branch of the glasses still hurt a bit, at the end of the EVA I was glad to take them off, maybe because of the cable attached to the external battery pulling down?
The glasses were attached to an external battery and I went through the entire EVA without any problems.
I was able to see the screen only if I managed to make some shade on the glasses, or if I was in a dark place, like in the shadows. The time widget was very visible.
Screencasting is still an issue for now as the available software either require internet to work, or require a cable…

Crew Photos – February 16th

Journalist Report – February 16th

Journalist report, 02/16/17 – Sol 4: Martian birthday.

I woke up today with a strident but nice “happy birthday” from Victoria, late for the awakening as usual. It is a bit special to celebrate your birthday so far from home. I wouldn’t be able to gather a lot of friends, or to phone anybody for a long time, just a couple of mails from well informed relatives, who knew how to contact me. But anyway, everybody here was happy to wish me a happy birthday, and it was a pleasure to spend it on Mars, going around for my second EVA. I didn’t regret at any time being here instead of being at home.

Our preparation was more efficient than yesterday, everybody knowing what to do, so that we left on time. We were going to explore a canyon called Candor chasma, and left the base by pairs in our electrical rovers. After twenty minutes, we reached the entry of it. The place was absolutely stunning. Along with my crewmates, Louis, Xavier and Victoria, we walked in the bottom of it, for about an hour and back, in a beautiful landscape. Sadly, I had a lot of trouble with fog during this time. Because of the heat, and the sweat, it accumulated on the helmet, forcing me to shoot most of my photos blind at the time.

Hopefully, back on the rover, it went better. We climbed a hill, giving us a nice view on the surroundings and the MDRS, got lost, travelled a bit on the rovers, and finally had a little time left to shoot photos and videos. Then, we went back to the hab, to have lunch, and eat the beautiful birthday cake Simon had cooked for me.

The afternoon was more quiet. Everybody working on his own. Mouâdh prepared for the deployment of the seismometer, planned for tomorrow. Simon repaired the balloon, Arthur launched the first water analysis with aquapad… And to make this day happier, Mouâdh just learned he was accepted in CalTech for next year!

Next day, I will not be part of the third EVA, which goal is to bury the seismometer in the hole we dig yesterday.

Astronomy Report – February 16th

ASTRONOMY REPORT
SOL 3

NAME: Mouadh Bouayad CREW: 175
DATE: 02/15/2017

SKY CONDITIONS: clear.

WIND CONDITIONS: no wind

OBSERVATION START TIME: 10:30 pm

OBSERVATION END TIME: 11:00 pm

SUMMARY: I went to the observatory tonight, but the battery of the rotation motor was not charged enough. So it worked for few minutes and then stopped. I hope tonight it’ll be fully charged, and we’ll do observations (I plan first on observing Mars and Venus).

OBJECTS VIEWED: few stars naked eye again.

PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED: The battery was still not charged enough.

GreenHab Report – February 16th

Green Hab Report – Sol 4
Report written by: Victoria DA-POIAN (Crew Biologist)

Date : 02/16/2017

Functionality: The heater in the green hab is working well. Today was a very sunny day again ! As I was in EVA this morning, Mouadh has checked the temperature in the GreenHab this morning. It was around 40 Celsius degrees around 10 :20 AM while the temperature in the tunnel was around 12.3 Celsius degrees. He switched on the cooler (on step 2) and the GreenHab temperature was brought down to 26 Celsius degrees at 4:00PM while it was 16 Celsius degrees in the tunnel. I kept the cooler on (at the first step). Mouadh watered the seedlings this morning, and I did this afternoon too.

Status: The existing seedlings in the green hab are continuing to grow well. There are spinach, lettuce, radish, and beans growing very well in the small pots.

The lettuces are growing well too.

We had a small issue with the Vegidair yesterday so I had to des-install it and I have tried again today.

Planned activity: As I wrote yesterday, I decided to take the natural fertilizer and the seeds sent for the Vegidair and to plant it in plastic pots I have in the greenhab, and to compare the growth of each pots (in the Vegidair in the Hab, and in the greenhab). It was done this afternoon, I will compare each growth.