At our morning meeting, Commander Zubrin briefed the team on our EVA and science activities and objectives. Steve had many samples from previous EVAs to examine so it was decided to perform a 4-person EVA with Dr. Zubrin, Troy, Jennifer and Heather. Our EVA was aimed at trying to reach the Factory Butte area by heading North to the Coal Mine Wash (enroute to the Muddy Creek) while taking geological and biological sampling at interesting sites. With our newfound knowledge of an old miner's path through the nearby Hab ridge, (Frank Schubert returned and informed us of this discovery he found while flying over the site awhile back) we decided to take advantage of this Schubert Pass.

The February 10, 2002 EVA crew members started their motorized trek heading out NW from the Hab to the Schubert Pass. The goal of this mission was to provide ground reconnaissance and scientific analysis of the region northwest of our Hab ridge and enroute to another pass to the Factory Butte area. During our entire EVA we marked Waypoints on the GPS tracking system about every 1 km and also noted other sites for potential sample collection.

We traveled on the highlands of the large wash area of the Blue Hills. This type of travel, versus traveling in canyon wash areas, made it easier to navigate and it made our average traveling speed faster as well. Our first stop was another smaller field of fossilized shells. This site also provided a grand view of Factory Butte and the Henry Mountains. We traveled through a Cretaceous grey layered soil with vegetation for about 5 km (crossing the wash that leads to the Chluda Pass) and then began our descent down into a large canyon wash area. These sites were strong in geological interest, unfortunately not so much in the biological view. We sampled and pressed on through a maze of canyons until it widened to a large basin. From there we headed due West and found the pass over to Coal Mine wash. At this juncture (Waypoint 36) Troy and Jen began examining and sampling the surrounding areas. Heather and Robert set off on foot up the ATV path to confirm that it would provide us with a safe and manageable pass to the next wash area. It indeed did and our sampling was productive as well.

At 4:15pm we wrapped up our activities and set off for home. Our route from Waypoint 36 to the Hab was traced on the GPS. Our one-way trip length was 10.2 km that was accomplished in 1 hour with no stops for marking Waypoints or taking samples. The one-way trip's elevation change was ~300 feet.

It was noted from this EVA and EVA III that there is a descrepancy in the GPS tracking capabilities. Obviously, the GPS tracks better when it has a clear path to 3 or 4 satellites with strong signals. However, the GPS differs from the topographic map by approximately 100 meters E and 40 meters N.

• Waypoint 27: 4251.527 km N, 517.711 km E: Schubert Pass - to lower Blue Hills. Smaller fossil field of shells. Elevation: 4669 feet. This site is at the top of Schubert Pass to cross the red mounds between the Hab and the upper plain of Cretaceous deposits. Another fossil field (identical to Waypoint 23) was found here. Samples were not collected since the ground is the same gray soil collected at Waypoint 23. Rocks and boulders are absent on this open plain.
• Waypoint 28: 4251.457 km N, 516.734 km E: Observation at Grassland – Elevation: 4600 feet. This Waypoint is still on the wide gray soil plain. No significant geologic outcrops are visible, and the terrain contains grassland vegetation.
• Waypoint 29: 4253.624 km N, 516.904 km E: Observation point on 4WD road – near crossroads of 4WD road and wash to Chluda Pass. Elevation: 4611 feet. This Waypoint is along the 4WD road indicated on the topographic map. The terrain is gentle undulating hills composed of the gray soil but there are still no large rocks or boulders on the ground. Skyline Rim is seen to the west, the Henry Mountains are to the south. This site has less vegetation than Waypoint 28.
• Waypoint 30: 4254.050 km N, 516.727 km E: Fork in road - Elevation: 4660 feet. Here at the fork in the 4WD road, the gray hills are showing more topographic relief. Incised runoff channels are visible on the hills, and larger channels cut through between the hills. Vegetation is still sparse.
• Waypoint 31: 4254.306 km N, 516.861 km E: Observation of Future Exploration - Elevation: 4664 feet. Another fossil field was discovered at this site. There is an interesting geologic outcrop to the east which should be revisited and studied in detail. This outcrop is interesting because it is located at the boundary between the red Jurassic and gray Cretaceous material. Also, the outcrop appears to have some interesting rock types that should be examined more closely. Vegetation is sparse.
• Waypoint 32: 4254.766 km N, 517.020 km E: Observation Point - Elevation: 4685 feet. There is a distinct dichotomy between the red clay and gray soil terrains. The landscape is mainly rolling hills with gray soil to the south, red soil to the west, and interspersed deposits to the east and north. Up on this plain the incised canyons and channels are less visible than from previous Waypoints. Vegetation is sparse.
• Waypoint 33: 4254.551 km N, 516.074 km E: Observation Point - Elevation: 4775 feet. These undulating hills are composed of the gray soil and the red soil is no longer visible. This site is an open flat plain, but more relief is visible to the west. Mesa features and plateaus with gully erosion are situated before Skyline Rim. Vegetation is sparse.
• Waypoint 34: 4255.541 km N, 516.258 km E: Observation Point- Elevation: 4610 feet. This site is a canyon located between large mounds of mudstone. The mounds generally have a gray color but have a tinge of red in areas near the surface. An interesting layer of resistant white rock protrudes from the mudstone mounds. Samples of this white rock were collected. A rockslide of darker rock was also observed on the mound. Samples of this dark rock were collected. The outcrop (including the white rock layer and rockslide) were digitally imaged.
• Waypoint 35: 4256.338 km N, 516.867 km E: Large Rock Fall - Elevation: 4572 feet. This site showed several interesting geologic features. Odd-shaped white rocks at the top of large cliffs were digitally imaged. A sandstone rockfall was examined and sampled. This rockfall was composed of rock derived from the upper caprock outcrop and showed evidence of wind erosion (pitting in the rocks) and ripple marks were observed (although at a smaller scale than Waypoint 23).
• Waypoint 36: 4256.980 km N, 517.122 km E: Bottom of Canyon - near the Muddy Creek enroute to the Coal Miner's wash which is the decided fastest route to the Factory Butte area. Elevation: 4564 feet. This large outcrop of well-stratified sedimentary layers is composed of red mudstone and clays typically capped by sandstone. Smaller red mounds of the mudstone are littered with sandstone debris derived mainly from the caprocks. The red sandstone is much more fine-grained than the sandstone seen at previous Waypoints (mainly to the east of Waypoint 36). The boundaries between the layers of the outcrop are very distinct and sharp, and the layers themselves are horizontal with not much directional variation. Cross bedding was not observed at this outcrop. A conglomerate layer exists just below the sandstone caprock, but the layer is smaller than the layers seen at previous Waypoints, and also the clasts at Waypoint 36 are significantly smaller than those previously observed. Based on the above observations, one can infer that this outcrop was deposited in a calm water environment. Turbulence was absent, allowing the layers to deposit in their horizontal, well-defined fashion. There was not much water movement at significant velocities, and hence the larger clasts in the conglomerate are missing since bigger particles cannot be transported in slower flows. Because the water was not moving rapidly, finer particles could settle out of the solution and hence produce the finer grained sandstone. A sample of the fine-grained sandstone, green and red mudstone (from the outcrop layers), and digital images were obtained.