Day 6 Mission Report
EVA Operations
The ILMAH ARG-2I crew successfully completed two EVA’s and livestreams! One in the morning and one in the evening.
In the morning, MS Pierce and MS Guthrie performed her emergency procedures while live-streaming the event through Google Meets and Zoom. The emergency procedures were successful (nobody died), and MS Guthrie got some good notes out of it. They worked on different strap configurations to both optimize maneuverability and move more weight in differing terrains.
During the day, the crew continued to participate in MS Lojek’s stress study and MS Pierce said it was “getting easier.” MS Lojek also continued gathering and transcribing data in regards to the study.
Plant Module Operations
We had a brilliant day. The plant module started out very cold and the humidity was in the high 20’s.
As the day progressed, the module increased in temperature, making it tedious to maintain plant hydration. The NASA pods were stressed and MC Trevino noticed the stalks weakened and dropped, but they have since recovered.
Interestingly, the seeds in the hyper low nM light wave experiment grew out from the soil and are really doing well. As a result, MC Trevino is convinced the hab is saving significant energy at these wavelengths despite not being able to quantify that but knowing that it’s exponentially lower. MC Trevino is hoping for good growth as the stalks and canopy load up with new leaves.
MC Trevino also cared for the pods using the sphagnum moss, and the 85% MGS-1s in combination with the bonsai soil. Based on a study out of India, MC Trevino had the idea a few months back to start feeding these pods with a mixture of water and dried Spirulina mix and did so today because the A. Platensis adds considerable nutrients to the soil. MC Trevino is expecting to see results, per the previously mentioned study, and is expecting a 30% increase in yield despite a possible issue that would require offsetting the increase in the olfactory issues of using the micro algae.
Evening Operations
One of researcher Van Hoy’s CO2 sensors was moved today from the living quarters in the hab to the exercise module tonight at 2347 local.
In the Evening, MC Trevino and MS Lojek conducted an EVA to check the hab for any wind and hail damage and to take out the space trash. This EVA was also live-streamed to great success!
Finally, tomorrow the team will hit their halfway point in the hab. The crew seem to be getting along well and have bonded over the course of the past several days. With luck that can continue and they can also keep getting some great science done!