Commander Report
01/08/2013
Chelsea Iwig
Today was another early morning for Crew 121. The crew members were all up by 7:30 to get
ready and begin cooking breakfast before our guests, the Chinese film crew, arrived. Carolyn began
playing rap music for her study at 9 today to leave plenty of time to work with the film crew. Once
the film crew arrived, most of the day was dedicated to being interviewed and taking them out on an
EVA. Today’s EVA was shorter than most to accommodate the schedule of the film crew, but the EVA
team was able to collect a variety of mud and rock samples for further analysis. Once the EVA team
returned, the film crew continued to film some outside while the crew began working on reports. Noah
went out to the observatory to fix the alignment problems that he had been having since arriving on
Mars. Also, Gisela was able to make some progress on determining what is wrong with each ATV and was
able to fix one of them (refer to the Commander’s Check-In for more details on this). When the film
crew returned from being outside, they began chatting and a few of the crew members even began
dancing to Gangham style with the film crew reporter, Shirley. With smiles and well wishes, the film
crew left for their hotel at 5:30. They hope to return tomorrow morning because they were unable to
get all of the footage they needed today.
Currently, the crew members are listening to more rap music for Carolyn’s study for the next two
hours and then Noah will begin leading the crew in multi-player electronic games for his study. Once
the crew finishes playing the games for Noah’s study, the plan is to go back out to the observatory
to test the alignment and hopefully be able to view some of the objects that the crew was unable to
find last night due to the alignment issues. Tomorrow Crew 121 will be busy with data collection in
the morning until the early afternoon. Since the film crew is also hoping to return tomorrow to get
more footage, much of the afternoon will most likely be spent working with the film crew until it is
time to begin the data collection planned for the evening. Also, now that the crew has all received
their polo shirts, the film crew has generously offered to take the crew’s picture while wearing
their awesome polos. This photo will be submitted to the Daytona News Journal for an article that
will be written on Crew 121.
As the time remaining for Crew 121’s mission begins to wind down, many of the crew members
have expressed sadness that they will have to leave this incredible planet soon. However, the crew
plans to make the most of the time they have remaining on Mars by continuing to work hard on their
research and by exploring the planet as much as possible over these last few days.
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Commander Check-in Report
01/08/2013
Chelsea Iwig
Crew Physical Health:
All crew members are feeling much better today. The crew member with
the worst cold still has a minor cold, but all of the other crew
members are well aside from slight coughs.
Eva Depart Time:
1159
Eva Return Time:
1310
Narrative Of Field Mission Results:
The crew led the Chinese film crew on an EVA out to Location 1, which is at UTM 12S 0518182 E 4249400 N. Mud and rock samples were collected and then the EVA team returned to the Hab. This was a walking EVA.
Hab Maint:
The crew engineer had a very busy day today. First she worked on ATV #2 and found that the battery will not hold the charge. It was charged this morning but after it was re-installed it began to lose its charge. She also cleaned the gap on the spark plug as well. See DG’s comments below. Next she found that ATV#4 also has a low charge on the battery; therefore, she will charge it tonight and see if it will hold its charge tomorrow. She also checked the coolant level and found that it is just above LOW, is there coolant available? There is none in the ATV box in the EVA room. Later, the crew engineer installed the re-charged battery for ATV#3, which is now working normally again. ATV #1 is working normally and ATV #5 starts, but stalls after releasing the choke. The tires on the Honda ATV need replacement. See DG’s comments below. DG returned the trailer tank today and the engineer refilled the static tank. DG also refilled the gas cans for the ATVs and confirmed that the elevated tank is not to be used and is empty. Therefore, the engineer has adjusted the gasoline level in today’s report to empty rather than full as was stated in previous reports. Previous reports listed the level as being full because the previous crew had reported that the tank was full. Later, DG and the crew engineer looked over the ATVs and determined that the battery on #2 needs replacement. He will acquire a replacement but will probably not return with it before the end of our mission. There are no replacement batteries in the EVA airlock. DG mentioned that the Honda could have carburetor issues and he will look into it when he returns. DG also recommends frequent filter replacement for the heating system. The crew engineer will check the filter before Crew 121 leaves and will change it if necessary. In reference to the toilet/septic system, DG agrees at least during the colder months to place toilet tissue waste in a separate bag. Crew 121 has been doing this and will continue to until further notice.
Rep Sched:
Tonight’s reports include the Commander’s daily report, the Journalist’s report, the EVA report, and the Engineering reports.
Tomorrow Plan:
Tomorrow we will have a busy morning of data collection starting with Carlos’ exercise, followed by Amy’s plant study, and then moving on to Carolyn’s music study. Eric will also be collecting data in the morning. Chelsea will be collecting data in the evening and Carolyn will collect more data in the evening. The film crew hopes to be able to return tomorrow to do some more filming throughout the day. There will be no EVA tomorrow as it will be a busy data collection day.
Inventory:
None
Support Req:
None
Miscelleneous: