EVA Number: 04

Objectives: Start work on Anne's composite tool research and on Jason's radiation shielding and in-situ resource utilization research.

EVA Commander: Meryl Mims
EVA Navigator: Anne Campeau
EVA Crew: Jason Sherwin
Hab Comm: Jan Osburg

Planned Route: MDRS - Lowell Highway South - radiation/ISRU/shovel research site - MDRS

Timeline:
Don Suits: 1510h MST
Enter Airlock: 1540h MST
Egress: 1545h MST
Research Site: 1630h MST
Ingress: 1735h MST
Enter Hab: 1737h MST

New Waypoints Established (Details See Excel Database):
Gamma Scout Radiation Research Site (WPT 361)
UTM Zone 12 - 519220 E - 4248196 N - Elev 1358m

Narrative (Anne): Although today was filled with water pump issues, generator problems, wrestling down a balloon that is 12 feet in diameter, the in-sim EVA to test my composite shovel went smoothly. Jason, Meryl, and I drove south on Lowell Highway to find the perfect patch of regolith to test my different shovels. We stopped at a few hills about 3km southeast of the HAB and I started digging. I had three shovels to test: a flat carbon fiber blade, a curved carbon fiber blade, and a small commercially available camping shovel (the former two custom-built before the misison). I used all three to fill sand bags while Meryl took pictures and Jason used the sandbags for his research project on ISRU and radiation shielding. While Jason's project was processing, we explored the surrounding area on foot. Jason and I found neat geographical features and rocks. Upon returning to our test site, we learned how easy it is to get lost in the hills of Mars. Even though each ridge and hill is neat has its own shape, they can all easily blur together, and without a unique directional reference like the Henry Mountains to the South, this day could have gone from crazy to just plain bad. So after we found our test site, we packed up and sped home, with a few stops for pictures, of course.

Narrative (Jason): The radiation shielding was one of the main foci of the EVA today. The procedure established in the 3/21 Science Report was performed for the one layer shielding. While the data analysis has yet to be done, the logistic features of the shielding construction are worthy of comment.

Due to the excessive winds today, it was realized that climate conditions must be taken into account when preparing to construct shielding structures built from sand bags filled with in-Situ resources. It was rather fortuitous that today's weather had high winds because once turning the bag in the proper direction it was possible to shovel in dirt without actively holding it open.

There was a slight learning curve of the bag filling: the first three bags took 4 minutes to fill where as the latter two took 2-3 minutes each. The physical issues were the bulky suits of those involved in the shoveling and bagging (Campeau and Sherwin), though these were sidestepped as the expertise with the procedure increased with experience.

It was observed during EVA that if the data we collected proves the benefit of radiation shielding using in-Situ resources then it would be best if a machine were designed to perform the tasks without the human in the loop. Due to the repetitive nature of the manual labor, it would be an ideal task for a machine, though the climatic conditions could require the goal-oriented thought process of a human.

After the shielding procedure was completed we returned on the ATVs to MDRS.