FMARS Sponsors	Dispatch from FMARS Robert Zubrin - Wednesday, July 17, 2002 EVA-6 Report | EVA-7 Report | Photo Gallery Robert and Frank departing the station. We had a productive day today. The primary EVA (EVA-6) was a long distance motorized excursion consisting of Frank and I, with out-of-sim escort provided by K. Mark. We did a wide circuit, first to the west, then 6 km to the north, then about 2 .5 km east, producing 15 waypoints for the data base, with emphasis on rough terrain we believe will correspond to dark spots on the Landsat images. Because we were aiming for irregular ground, we found it, and a lot of this EVA involved tough travel over fields of boulders and broken rocks. Fortunately, since there were only three of us on this excursion, we all were equipped with the larger ATVs, which are much better able to handle this sort of terrain. The worse ground of all occurred near higher elevations, which we had to deal with since a secondary goal of this excursion was to find hilltops for possible repeater use. Two of those we tested turned out to be excellent spots, located roughly 6 km north of the Hab with commanding views and fine radio reception from the FMARS. But it was a lot of work reaching the summit, especially since in one case the ATVs couldn't make it and we had to hike the last 200 meters to the top. On one of the hillsides leading to a possible repeater spot, we found several anomalous rocks in close proximity to each other. Situated in the middle of a vast field of broken gray limestone, there was a yellow rock with quartz crystals in it, as well as a limestone rock with an inclusion in it that looked like a stromatolite. There were also some small pieces of a brown mineral that the geologists here have been unable to identify but which Nell, who examined it after we returned samples to the hab, believes to be probably the product of some kind of hydrothermal activity. How these items got to that hillside, and why they are all together in the midst of an otherwise undifferentiated limestone field, remains a mystery. The other EVA (EVA-7) was a single person excursion done by Emily with the JPL sun photometer during a Terra satellite overpass at 1 PM. As I mentioned in my previous dispatch, she was able to get good data last night, but the last minute arrival of clouds killed her opportunity for more data today. Nell spent the day working on the waypoint database and served as capcom for the EVAs. Shannon worked in the lab, and Markus worked on the documentation of his MASSE sample collection mission. Markus also worked, unsuccessfully, on trying to get the Stratos Inmarsat link to work. We currently have a major problem with the Inmarsat link. Starting two days ago it has been down for up to 12 hours at a time, and it went out again today. We don't know if the problem is with our equipment, the Inmarsat satellite, or ionospheric conditions influenced by solar flares. We have an Iridium phone and an MSAT phone, but currently we have no estimate on when or if the Inmarsat Internet link will become operational. Until it does, we will use the Iridium as our backup link. This has voice only capability, so we may not be able to send photographs for a while. Video watching in the Hab. The ATVs operated today without stalling. The incinolet operation is irregular, so we have begun using the backup camp toilet. Everyone is healthy and morale is high. The crew got together last night to watch "Capricorn One," the O.J. Simpson movie about NASA faking the first landing on Mars. The decision to watch Capricorn One came after a dispute which had to be resolved by a close vote, since a substantial minority of the crew (including yours truly) agitated for "Monty Python and the Holy Grail." Unfortunately, Capricorn One prevailed. The reviews are now in. Some crewmembers claim, that like "Plan 9 from Outer Space," the film is so bad that it is good. However most now agree that it is just bad. The weather was sunny today, with mostly clear skies. However towards late afternoon clouds rolled in. It is now overcast, windy, and beginning to rain. We have drawn up a plan to insure that all EVAs essential between now and the end of the mission are accomplished. The outline includes; July 18; Biology EVA for Shannon, with one MASSE sample taken by Markus as well. July 19; Field spectrometry EVA for Emily July 20; Breccia exploration and biology EVA July 21; All day MASSE EVA for Markus July 22; Field Spectrometry EVA for Emily July 23: open July 24; open July 25; Possible short EVA. Begin packing July 26: Withdraw to Resolute July 27: Fly south. The Field Spectrometry EVAs are inflexible, as for optimal value they require coordination with Terra Satellite overpasses. The other activities are flexible in time, so if there is bad weather we can postpone them to our currently open days. That's all for now.
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