MARS DESERT RESEARCH STATION

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It looks like we are on Mars again! The snow that kept us around the MDRS campus for the last four days finally melted. Instead of a winter wonderland, the landscape is now reddish/brown for as far as the eye can see. (Except for the top of Olympus Mons aka Mt. Hunter in UT which is perpetually snowed in)

Today we woke up as a crew and had our normal breakfast of cereal (as well as: dehydrated fruit – Apples, Strawberries, and Blueberries mixed in powdered milk mix) and oatmeal. Along with coffee and Tang to wash it all down. Due to the weather over the last few days we scheduled our EVA in the afternoon, so the crew worked on projects, read, and fixed things around the HAB.

The Frenchmen’s research unit has had many electronic failures due to the cold, harsh environment, so we all got to play “Macgyver” in trying to fix the issues with the limited resources available here on Mars. Their HUD micro-controller blew, but was brought back to life after some soldering and TLC – good thing they brought extras for this exact reason. The batteries that power the unit have been losing their charge quicker than expected due to the cold, so some bubble wrap and aluminum foil were used to insulate. And finally, their battery charger stopped working due to the harsh climate, and it had to be replaced. Great lessons in always being ready to adapt in a foreign environment and using whatever you have you around to get the job done. The Frenchies finally prevailed!

After lunch and our daily space nap, Gwendal led Pierrick and Patrick to test their improvements in the muddy landscape using Deimos (Rover) and one of the ATVs. Success! Their equipment worked great, and communicated all the necessary data back to the HAB without issue. Hopefully tomorrow the terrain will have dried enough for them to take their full scientific suite including GPR(Ground Penetrating Radar), terminal, and controller. They have been itching to get out there and utilize their equipment, as we now only have three days left for scheduled EVAs (Wed, Thurs, Fri). I think we may do a chant to the weather gods tonight to increase their chances.

After the EVA was completed, the crew filled out our daily reports and scheduled tomorrow’s day. Hard to believe that tomorrow it will be ten sols since arriving on Mars. As the absolutely cliché saying goes – Time flies when you are having fun…Maybe too much fun? Never. We are killing it as a crew, and could for sure stay here for a little while longer if we needed/wanted to.

Dinner and CAPCOM are coming up and Pierrick is trying to translate his electronic Macgyvering skills into the kitchen by cooking a French specialty – CREPES! Let’s just say the crew is pumped to try. Now just what to put into these crepes: Nutella? Definitely. Honey? Absolutely. Peanut Butter? Yes, Yes, Yes. Or for me: all of the above! I can almost taste the fluffiness. I hope you can too back on Earth. Crew 172 signing off.

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Hello again Earth! Today’s guest writer for the Sol 8 Summary is Patrick Gray, our crew’s Green Hab Officer. Take it away Patrick!

We woke up as a team today and it truly feels like we’re settling into the Martian routine. We had a quick breakfast and debriefing about today’s research and engineering objectives before everyone jumped into their work. Our EVA was scheduled for 10AM and just before suiting up mission support notified us that they would require a third crew member to join the EVA team for safety given the icy conditions. Having slightly fewer obligations today I volunteered and had one of my most epic ventures yet into the Martian hinterland.

Our objective was to the test the Frenchmen’s heads up display (HUD) – an augmented reality instrument that allows you to read GPS, elevation, and other important information just above your line of sight – like a scientific version of Google Glass. Today’s test was to establish the HUD’s accuracy in determining elevation – which meant some mountain climbing. We set out and shortly after mounting our first hill we lost sight of the Hab and radio contact with our crew – this was my first expedition that felt like true exploration. Visibility is incredible out here in the desert; from the mesa we summited you could see for dozens of miles in every direction and it was all barren, without a sign of life – human or otherwise. Two hours later we returned with the test data in hand and photos to document our route. After the EVA we melted back into what has become our daily routine, a shift to cook lunch, dive into our space nap (part of Commander Ilaria’s sleep study), and then spend the afternoon working on our individual research.

This afternoon’s various scientific investigations were interrupted by a welcome sight. After four days of water shortage, which has significantly impacted life in the HAB, our resupply probe is back with 1100 gallons of potable H2O. This resupply will last beyond our mission and well into the next crew. When in short supply it really makes one recognize how often we run through careless amounts of water for daily tasks, as simple as flushing the toilet and as seemingly innocuous as watering the garden. Our crew has proved surprisingly resilient to limited water rations but the inconvenience is constant, and running out completely has been a dark cloud over our heads for half of the mission. Another typically limitless resource that is severely constricted here is Internet. While “overuse” of Internet in the modern world doesn’t have the same environmental implications as the rash waste of water, 500 megabytes between seven crewmembers still does a good job of reminding us of the infrastructure and convenience we rely on daily for communication, productivity, and entertainment.

Thanks to Anushree, Troy, and Ilaria’s efforts and exertions (in the rain and cold) we are now fully resupplied on water and look forward to flushing the toilet and our, now luxurious sounding, three-minute showers. The team is well into the groove of Martian life, we’ve overcome a number of obstacles thrown at us by the close quarters, language barriers, andconstrained resources, and our work is progressing as planned. Mars is no joke, but we’re all looking forward to the remainder of our time exploring this unique environment.

Patrick Gray

Crew 172 – GreenHab Officer

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Today we are officially halfway through our two week analog mission, and Houston we have a BIG problem. Of course this happens on our one “off day” during the mission. On Mars you never have a real day off, but we did take advantage of staying up late last night to watch the classic Apollo 13 and sleeping in late the morning.

When we woke up we were greeted with the sign: “Do Not Flush. Use Plastic Bag.” The nightmare I hinted at yesterday came to fruition. I will spare you the details, but Number 1 in the toilet and Number 2 in a bag.

The piping from outside the HAB to inside froze again, and we were subjected to strict water conservation levels. Troy led the Commander and Patrick on the daily engineering check of all of our systems, and everything was reported as nominal. That is, other than the water situation. We were able to unfreeze the pipe connections outside and fill the loft tank up to capacity, but we have to assume that this is all the water we have for the foreseeable future. We have been waiting for a water replenishment the last few days, but in these harsh conditions our resupply probe has stayed in orbit waiting for the weather to clear. Fingers crossed for a delivery tomorrow, as it is supposed to be up to 45-50 degrees.

Another problem that was solved  later in the day was, at first, looking like an unsolvable problem (at least until after we completed our SIM). The sleep study computer which has all of our sleep data on it bit the dust in the morning. This is less than ideal for Commander Ilaria, as that data is THE key in her sleep study and we have collected it every day since we arrived seven sols ago. After a few hours of working on it, along with some choice words of encouragement, the computer was brought back to life. The immediate next step was to back everything up just in case it died again. A sigh of relief for the Commander and crew.

Everyone took advantage of the extra off time today to catch up/get ahead on their projects, read, and lounge around. CAPCOM and chowtime are on the horizon and the crew is eager to relax later in the evening. I believe that after tonight the crew will have finally got back to equilibrium after a hectic/stressful schedule the last four days. But then again, tomorrow is a brand new week and the craziness will start right back up again at 7am. (Who am I kidding…Has it ever stopped since our arrival? NOPE ha) Here is to wishful thinking! Crew 172, over and out!

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The word of the day is: Teamwork. As you may of guessed from back on Earth, everything doesn’t exactly go as planned on Mars, and you have to be able to adapt to any circumstances. I shouldn’t have to reiterate that we are currently living in a hostile, and most of the time dangerous, environment, but I will let that though marinate for a second before I continue…

We started the day bright and early after the crew woke up from our best (I say that loosely, we all crashed hard when yesterday’s CAPCOM window closed – two days of alien TV crew will do that to you) night’s sleep in a few sols. We were warm and toasty inside the Hab, but outside was not the same. It got down to a bitter low of 12 degrees last night. Long story short, the pipes between our static water tank (outside) and our loft tank (inside and the primary h2o reservoir used for toilet flushes, cleaning dishes in sink, and any other use other than drinking). We were running desperately low in our loft tank around mid-day, and when we tried pumping water from outside to in like normal – no dice.

Troy, Partick, and Anushree suited up for our daily engineering check with identifying and fixing the water problem as the primary objective of the EVA. Propane, Diesel, and Rover checks were reported nominal. The water issue was saved for last, as it eventually took the scheduled 15 minute EVA to the 90 minute mark. Warm water with salt & baking soda, with a the help of a screw driver, were the first option. This helped minimally, so hotter water was the request to the HAB. We boiled another pot of water inside, and the second option was to pour the water over the frozen pipes in hopes that hitting the problem from both inside and outside would give us a better chance for success. That did the trick and we were back in business! After our loft tank was full again, the crew were able to exhale.

Water conservation is one of the central tenets of analog mission simulations, as it mimics what actual human spaceflight missions will face when traveling through the solar system. Every drop will be recycled and reused multiple times over, just like on the International Space Station right now as it travels overhead…I will spare you what would of needed to happen if we didn’t fix the pump, but lets just say it involved bags. YAAAACK ha. Good thing we had our trusty engineer, Troy, with the rest of the crew ready to WORK THE PROBLEM.

Hot tea and grub were waiting for the EVA team when they were finally back inside. (That has become our one-two punch to get anyone back to equilibrium after being in the cold with only a few layers on.) The crew worked on their own projects and daily duties for the next couple hours – still on a high from the earlier accomplishment. A relaxing evening will be our reward. CAPCOM and dinner are coming with the knowledge that tomorrow (Sunday) will be our first “day off” since we have arrived on Mars. That means sleeping in and not “having to” work on our projects. We will be taking full advantage of that off time, and we will be busting the VR headsets out to “get away” from the Red Planet. (Thanks to Experience 360 in LA!)

Today was tough, but we got through it as a crew. This is a perfect example that shows the importance of working together. If we fail, we fail together, and damnit if we succeed – we succeed TOGETHER. In the words of THE Martian – Mark Watney: “Fuck You Mars.” Crew 172 out.

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