The morning was slow and enjoyable with the rain and decreased temperatures. The crew enjoyed coffee together and members split to work on experiments and master’s degree homework. The cancellation of the EVA and shift to Rover event stirred new training between the crew, and CO Turner led the crew in a quick Rover SOP (Standard Operating Procedures) meeting. The Rover excursion was riddled with learning opportunities, and the crew remains enthusiastic about reattempting Rover operations. The evening was routine, so MS Gonzalez and CO Turner snatched the opportunity to work out. After a delicious dinner the crew worked participated in repairs to the Rover tunnel before finishing the movie Moonfall.
The Crew again experienced an overflow from AC units draining because of their nonstop run time. Draining the AC systems is a team effort. Trial and error has shown that the units must be drained earlier in the day to prevent overflowing water around important systems.
Rover Excursion
Commander Turner monitored the mission and MS Gonzalez manned the systems. MS Cecil and MS DeJan piloted the rover vehicle. Comms checks went uneventfully, and the EVA team departed at 1532 prepared to conduct multiple research tasks. The rover excursion began by staying close to base and continuing in a circular pattern while radio contact was established at short distance. Once radio contact was established the rover crew began to venture outward toward the tree line and started a wider loop making sure to avoid any external debris. At 1541, the IVA team experienced loss of communications with the Rover. Shortly thereafter, communications were regained and navigation was once more conducted accurately. The IVA team directed the EVA crew to explore that area again to see if it was an anomaly or if there was a radio blackout area. Two more attempts were made at 1553 and 1558. While driving near local communication services the rover crew experienced a pocket where radio contact was lost before reestablishing contact closer to the west tree line. When heading back to base from the south corner they were able to reestablish contact 100 meters from base. Troubleshooting analysis led to the determination that issues were caused by user error. Once systems were properly set docking was mostly uneventful.
The heating plate cannot warm skillets, only deep pots. This makes cooking pancakes challenging, therefore most meals are soupy.
MS Gonzalez and CO Turner hit the gym pumping weights and put some miles in on the treadmill and fan bike.
Measuring EVA Performance
MS Gonzalez is off to a good start with performance measurements. Currently the psychomotor vigilance reaction tests do not have enough variety yet to show a decay in cognitive performance. Sleep performance however is starting to produce interesting metrics. The last two days have had different sleep events with a one hour sleep in on MD2 and normal sleep schedule on MD3. Members show healthy amounts of sleep and the proprietary Garmin app shows high body batteries, however members verbally report feeling less enthusiastic about waking up. A decrease in sleep performance is a common symptom of confinement and isolation, and MS Gonzalez is considering starting to track bedtimes versus just total sleep hours.
Martian Soil
MS Cecil started the day by digging in the dirt. She used a tiny spoon to dig down to right above the sand layer in each soil bin. This action allowed for a more precise temperature reading moving forward. MS Cecil proceeded to gage the temperature of each soil noting two key differences. Bins M2 and B2 read at 83 degrees while bin B1 read in at 74 and M1 read at 76. It was noticed that as the soil started to settle it took on a nice earthy smell. This made working in the green habitat more enjoyable. The covers were removed to help with soil moisture levels. After working with her soil MS Cecil started getting glimpse of how her project would move forward and is excited for the upcoming results as her project continues and plants start to grow.
Neutrally Sustained Systems for Space Flight
Interesting results were noted today for the CO2 infusion project. Apparently the plants produce a substantial quantity of CO2 while enclosed. Peak production of CO2 wasn’t obtained due to an early battery discharge on the CO2 meter, but the indication was climbing. Tonight, the CO2 will be measured prior to shut down, then in the morning a total obtained. This will determine if a useable amount of O2 will be produced.
Image of Lunar Regolith under blue spectrum lights
Green Study
CO Turner is thrilled to report that both the test and control groups of Lunar Regolith and Earth Soil have produced seedlings. Nothing as of yet in the Martian Regolith. She has noted the green habitat holds more moisture which may be due to the hydroponic setup. She is trying to air out the habitat without disrupting the other green-studies. CO Turner is excited to see growth on day two and looking forward to the outcome of this project.
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