EVA Number: 03

Objectives: Test synchronous APRS transmissions from three beacons; test range of voice comms with and without repeater in the area northwest of the hab; find viable route to waypoints northwest of hab; familiarize the remaining crewmembers with EVA equipment and procedures.

EVA Commander: Jan Osburg
EVA Navigator: Emily Colvin
EVA Crew: Meryl Mims
Hab Comm: Jason Sherwin

Planned Route: MDRS - Tech T - Copernicus-Brahe Junction - Copernicus-Ptolemy Junction - MDRS (GPS tracklog of actual route will be sent to MSC Atlanta)

Timeline: Don Suits: 1450h MST
Enter Airlock: 1525h MST
Egress: 1530h MST
Tech T: 1623h MST
Copernicus-Brahe Junction: 1640h MST
Brand Bend: 1700h MST
Ingress: 1732h MST
Enter Hab: 1734h MST

New Waypoints Established: (Details See Excel Database)
Brand Bend (WPT 360) UTM Zone 12 - 516313.4 E - 4255175.6 N - Elev 1370.5 m

Narrative (Jan): Our third EVA during the Crew 47 mission went to the Copernicus badlands northwest of the hab. First we pulled down the balloon with the repeater and exchanged the battery pack on it. Then, after following Lowell Highway north for about 3.5 km, we turned west at the "Tech T" junction (WPT 229) and took Brahe Highway to where it meets the northern part of Copernicus Highway (WPT 232). We had successful radio contact (via our ham radio transceivers) up to that waypoint, and could actually see the balloons carrying the IC-W32A crossband repeater from several points along Brahe Highway. Turning north again, Copernicus Highway took us through surreal desolation into a serene valley, where we named a waypoint in honor of one of our sponsors, who is donating a cutting-edge, custom-made power meter to install at the hab. We would have loved to explore further north, but time was running out and so we left surveying the final kilometers to Muddy River to another EVA. We have identified waypoint 23 2 as a suitable location for our ground-based crossband repeater, and "Heidi's Hill" (waypoint 141) for our APRS digipeater.

Narrative (Meryl): Even with all of the aspects of life in the Hab that mimic life on the first Mars base, the EVA experience has been the most enlightening part of the mission. After seven days in the Hab, I saw today's EVA as a welcome escape into the wild and desolate desert landscape. What I found was that the EVA was not so much an escape as just a different form of confinement. The suit was hot, uncomfortable, imposing, and limiting. After an hour of suiting up, checking equipment, gathering gear, and finally making it out to the ATVs, I was out of breath before we even got started. The warm afternoon was already posing challenges when I began having problems disengaging the parking brake on my ATV. Once I finally got my ATV rolling, I was hot and sweaty and was ready to take my gloves and my helmet off to get a few big breaths. The biggest challenge of the EVA was being outside on such a beautiful day but not being able to feel the breeze - being out of the Hab yet still feeling completely constrained!

But I found that the ATV ride was beautiful, and it did not take long to get used to the bulky suit. The LiftPort balloons were a welcome sign of the Hab from as far as two miles away. Barring the scarce plant life and blue sky, the landscape could have easily passed as a stretch of unexplored Martian terrain. The helmet muffled the sounds of the ATV, and it was hard to differentiate sounds from the passing air and the airflow in the helmet. As we hit the long uninterrupted sections of the drive where no radio communications were necessary, I forgot the physical constraints as I got lost in the red hills and far reaching horizons.

Narrative (Emily): Today was my first in-sim EVA. It was awesome. And I definitely have much more appreciation for how hard it is to function in a full suit. You don't realize how much you rely on being able to turn your head and look at something until you can't. I tried out the new suit, which is much better adapted o the vertically challenged. The suit was awesome (once I got into it), but the backpack straps were definitely not made for little people.

I even got to name my first waypoint! Named in honor of the father of the guy getting us hooked up with the totally awesome power meter. That area (and many others) were amazingly Mars-like (well, except for the deer and dirt bike tracks). We even drove through one area that was almost completely red. Very cool, and I can't wait for my next EVA!