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MDRS Crew 79 Final Commander Report
Below is a brief summary of the results and findings of Crew 79 at the Mars Desert Research Station. Crew 79 was comprised entirely of students from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Please see http://www.gtmars.us for more information on the Georgia Tech program.
Crew 79 Mission Patch
ENGINEERING:
Maintained power to the Hab, all appliances functioning, and all materials in good condition. Repairs when necessary. Wendy, as well as heating in the downstairs, were not reliable and need to be looked into further.
RADIO:
During two EVAs, waypoints were recorded at locations where communication with the Hab was lost in order to create a radio coverage map. Initial transmissions were at 70cm. However, communication to the Hab was lost quickly (when line-of-sight was lost), so a 2 m band was then selected. Improved coverage was possible with this band. Tests were conducted in all directions from the Hab. The Skyline Rim repeater was powered using batteries left by previous crews. Unfortunately, the batteries were not in good enough condition to be charged with a solar panel. This will be taken into account for next year.
TURBINE:
Building on last year's work, most of this year's effort was focused on improving the wind turbine system. Last year's system needed more work on the dump load, which would absorb any power produced when the batteries were fully charged. The new dump load proved itself successful and the turbine performed very dependably, increasing confidence in the system's ability to operate without close supervision. The research plan was expanded based on this early success in hopes of determining what kind of parasitic load the batteries could support without becoming discharged. Unfortunately, a failure in the charge controller occurred before we could obtain any results. The controller is being replaced and the testing will be continued next year.
ROVER:
The rover research was intended to prepare the Georgia Tech University Rover Challenge team for this year's challenge with advanced system testing in three areas. First was a landscape survey, for the rover to determine the location of a survey marker based on images taken from the rover's known position. A sample marker was constructed and pictures taken from several distances, which will be used to determine the best method to complete necessary calculations. Second, the rover must be able to search for signs of life. Pictures were taken of several forms of life, including lichens, to be analyzed further upon return to Atlanta. Third, the rover must be able to navigate terrain. The initial plan was to drive a mock rover through the landscape to gather data from navigation sensors. Unfortunately, the sensors did not work properly, so this task was not completed.
XKCD MARS:
This project met with problems immediately; the location generating algorithm was buggy, the kite was not flying properly, and the camera was damaged. Although the algorithm was modified to work properly with UTM coordinates and the location of the Hab, efforts to repair the camera for aerial photography were unsuccessful. In addition, the wind was either not strong enough to lift the kite or too strong for the kite to fly safely. Fortunately, the location finding portion of the experiment was successful; the idea was to choose random points to visit. During the first EVA, the mission brought the crew through notable geographical features that probably would have been missed otherwise, including several impressive canyons, along the way to the point which was located at T-Rex Canyon, an interesting featured by itself. This EVA displayed the first issue with the idea of algorithmic exploration: the pathway to the point is not considered, merely the point itself. T-Rex Canyon blocked the way to the point itself, but the EVA could be considered a success due to the observations made along the way. The second EVA happened to be very accessible, but laid along the path to the first point, so no major new observations were made, revealing a second issue with the idea of algorithmic exploration. The third EVA was a complete failure in terms of reaching the desired point because the crew was unable to locate the point. This highlights the need for positional awareness on the part of astronauts and their base command, which can be (and was exactly in this case) a problem at MDRS. More EVAs would have been optimal, but the few taken displayed obvious issues and gains by performing algorithmic exploration. Whether it was a success based on its stated goals remains arguable.
SCIENCE:
During this rotation, three different experiments were conducted -- the continuation of the RSL experiment, testing sites for microbial life; the continuation of the Environmental Contamination Study; and the Exercises in Exploration and Telescience for Georgia Tech. For the RSL experiment, soil samples were collected from two predetermined sites assigned to the crew and two sites chosen by the crew, for a total of four sites. A dry river bed was chosen for one site and a dry shell bed for the other. Weather, primarily strong winds and the threat of rain, inhibited the crew's ability to make much progress in the Environmental Contamination Study. The soil compaction tester was opened and used, although not at the specified locations. For the Exercises in Exploration and Telescience work, sites were considered for their interest to a geologist or biologist and whether they could be similar to those of interest on Mars. Sites were located with rocks covered in what could be cryptobiotic crusts and some with extremophiles. Locations with water to be sampled and sent back to Atlanta for nutrient concentration tests were anticipated, but the reservoir was empty. However, since water had been present recently, soil and mud were taken from the bottom to test. All of these will be sent back to Atlanta to be analyzed in the Georgia Tech labs.
Maintained power to the Hab, all appliances functioning, and all materials in good condition. Repairs when necessary. Wendy, as well as heating in the downstairs, were not reliable and need to be looked into further.
RADIO:
During two EVAs, waypoints were recorded at locations where communication with the Hab was lost in order to create a radio coverage map. Initial transmissions were at 70cm. However, communication to the Hab was lost quickly (when line-of-sight was lost), so a 2 m band was then selected. Improved coverage was possible with this band. Tests were conducted in all directions from the Hab. The Skyline Rim repeater was powered using batteries left by previous crews. Unfortunately, the batteries were not in good enough condition to be charged with a solar panel. This will be taken into account for next year.
TURBINE:
Building on last year's work, most of this year's effort was focused on improving the wind turbine system. Last year's system needed more work on the dump load, which would absorb any power produced when the batteries were fully charged. The new dump load proved itself successful and the turbine performed very dependably, increasing confidence in the system's ability to operate without close supervision. The research plan was expanded based on this early success in hopes of determining what kind of parasitic load the batteries could support without becoming discharged. Unfortunately, a failure in the charge controller occurred before we could obtain any results. The controller is being replaced and the testing will be continued next year.
ROVER:
The rover research was intended to prepare the Georgia Tech University Rover Challenge team for this year's challenge with advanced system testing in three areas. First was a landscape survey, for the rover to determine the location of a survey marker based on images taken from the rover's known position. A sample marker was constructed and pictures taken from several distances, which will be used to determine the best method to complete necessary calculations. Second, the rover must be able to search for signs of life. Pictures were taken of several forms of life, including lichens, to be analyzed further upon return to Atlanta. Third, the rover must be able to navigate terrain. The initial plan was to drive a mock rover through the landscape to gather data from navigation sensors. Unfortunately, the sensors did not work properly, so this task was not completed.
XKCD MARS:
This project met with problems immediately; the location generating algorithm was buggy, the kite was not flying properly, and the camera was damaged. Although the algorithm was modified to work properly with UTM coordinates and the location of the Hab, efforts to repair the camera for aerial photography were unsuccessful. In addition, the wind was either not strong enough to lift the kite or too strong for the kite to fly safely. Fortunately, the location finding portion of the experiment was successful; the idea was to choose random points to visit. During the first EVA, the mission brought the crew through notable geographical features that probably would have been missed otherwise, including several impressive canyons, along the way to the point which was located at T-Rex Canyon, an interesting featured by itself. This EVA displayed the first issue with the idea of algorithmic exploration: the pathway to the point is not considered, merely the point itself. T-Rex Canyon blocked the way to the point itself, but the EVA could be considered a success due to the observations made along the way. The second EVA happened to be very accessible, but laid along the path to the first point, so no major new observations were made, revealing a second issue with the idea of algorithmic exploration. The third EVA was a complete failure in terms of reaching the desired point because the crew was unable to locate the point. This highlights the need for positional awareness on the part of astronauts and their base command, which can be (and was exactly in this case) a problem at MDRS. More EVAs would have been optimal, but the few taken displayed obvious issues and gains by performing algorithmic exploration. Whether it was a success based on its stated goals remains arguable.
SCIENCE:
During this rotation, three different experiments were conducted -- the continuation of the RSL experiment, testing sites for microbial life; the continuation of the Environmental Contamination Study; and the Exercises in Exploration and Telescience for Georgia Tech. For the RSL experiment, soil samples were collected from two predetermined sites assigned to the crew and two sites chosen by the crew, for a total of four sites. A dry river bed was chosen for one site and a dry shell bed for the other. Weather, primarily strong winds and the threat of rain, inhibited the crew's ability to make much progress in the Environmental Contamination Study. The soil compaction tester was opened and used, although not at the specified locations. For the Exercises in Exploration and Telescience work, sites were considered for their interest to a geologist or biologist and whether they could be similar to those of interest on Mars. Sites were located with rocks covered in what could be cryptobiotic crusts and some with extremophiles. Locations with water to be sampled and sent back to Atlanta for nutrient concentration tests were anticipated, but the reservoir was empty. However, since water had been present recently, soil and mud were taken from the bottom to test. All of these will be sent back to Atlanta to be analyzed in the Georgia Tech labs.
