Day 1 Mission Report
Morning Operations
Ingress proceeded at 11:00 CST, and the crew began AARG 2I/ILMAH at the University of North Dakota. The day was full of activity, setting up experiments, performing an EVA and outreach with students from a local school.
The team set up their research stations and also participated in round one of cognition tests and video logs.
Plant Module Operations
Mission Commander Trevino planted 10 micro basil seeds in a substrate mix of Exolith Lab’s MGS-1S and organic soil made up of composted leaves and forest fodder, including stoney material. There was of course research performed by the astrobiology team and Trevino can’t really tell you more. 😅🌱
EVA Operations
Shortly after ingress to the habitat this morning, Mission Specialist Sarah Guthrie and Mission Specialist Lex Lojek conducted the first Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) of ARG-2I. This EVA was designed to interact with local school children, and was well received. In addition to the community engagement, the crew also learned a lot and identified several areas of improvement that included; communication, weight and balance, and ergonomics.
To address the ergonomics issue, Mission Specialist Pierce replaced several of the screws in the entry of the NDX-2 space suit. This modification removed a snag hazard that damaged the Analog Astronauts undergarments earlier in the day. Pierce is also working on an adjustable load bearing harness system inside the suit that is intended to improve the load distribution and overall sizing of the NDX-2 suit.
To improve communications, Mission Specialist Lojek has developed a communication system that utilizes personal electronic devices for real time audio and video for communication between the EVA Analog Astronauts and the IVA Analog Astronauts. This system will be fielded on the next EVA, with the goals of improving communication timeliness, accuracy and overall effectiveness.
Evening Operation
The crew developed the first EVA tests based on lessons learned and scheduled those out over the next 6 days.
The first is Medical emergency evacuations, known as MED 1-6, a mobility study, using the University of North Dakota’s Analog Space Suits, studying form and function. The study lead has named this, MOB 1-4.
Dinner was a typico comida mexicana, where the crew also took the time to debrief the day’s rigorous activities. And catch an episode of For All Mankind.
Lights out at 11 pm CST.