1209-CommandersReport
Commander Report
12/09//2013
Chelsea Iwig
Crew 131 made it through their first day of their regular schedule, though it was not completely smooth. A couple of problems did pop up, but the crew handled them in stride and was able to come up with a very creative solution to one of these problems. Overall, today was a very busy one for Crew 131, but they were able to complete every task they needed to and in the end accomplished a great deal.
The day began with the crew rising early to complete the high intensity workout for the Exercise study. For this study, the crew completed a mood survey before and after working out. It was definitely a very high intensity workout, but the crew did a great job of really pushing themselves throughout the entire 33 minute exercise protocol. Following the workout, the crew was given an hour to get cleaned up, relax, and eat breakfast before it was time to get started on the other projects that needed to be completed in the morning. The first of these projects was to put the plants for the aeroponics project in soil until the aeroponics device arrives. Before today, the plants were kept in water in hopes that this would be enough until we were able to start the actual usability study; however, the plants were beginning to look a little droopy, so we decided to go ahead and plant them in soil to hold them over until tomorrow. Once we finished with the plants, two crewmembers began the first day of data collection for the space suit glove usability analysis. During this time two other crewmembers attempted to get the GreenHab functional by lighting the pilot light for the heater. They were unsuccessful until our crew engineer was able to get some assistance from the Crew 121 Engineer, who was here last December and January. She provided our engineer with very detailed instructions of a process that is much more complex than we originally expected. Once the engineer had these instructions, she was able to successfully get the GreenHab heater running.
Meanwhile, it was realized that for our space suit arm band usability testing that would occur that afternoon during the first EVA would not be possible with our current EVA gloves as the armband GPS is touchscreen and none our gloves were meant for touch screens. We were worried that we would not be able to conduct our study at all, but Crew 131’s very creative journalist was able to modify two pairs of our gloves to be able to function successfully with a touchscreen.
Once the morning activities were complete, Crew 131 was able to sit down for lunch together and to relax a little before it was time to prepare for the first EVA. At 1230, EVA Team 1 began their EVA prep and left the hatch at 1314. The team definitely enjoyed their first EVA, but were completely exhausted and covered in mud when they returned. The armband and modified gloves worked, but were hard to use with all of the mud and also because of the fact that this EVA involved a lot of climbing. In the future, the armbands will only be used on walking EVAs that require little to no climbing and ATV EVAs.
Upon the return of EVA team 1, the crew got to work on their reports for COMMS and making dinner. After COMMS, the crew will complete seven questionnaires for the team function and cohesion assessment tool and then they will have the rest of the evening to relax and play games.
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CommanderCheckIn Report
12/09/2013
Chelsea Iwig
Crew Physical Health:
All are well except for two crewmembers with minor colds.
Eva Depart Time:
1314
Eva Return Time:
1445
Narrative Of Field Mission Results:
EVA team 1 tested out two arm band GPS devices for a space suit that students at ERAU are building. The armbands worked well aside from the fact that when the gloves got muddy, they were difficult to use. In the future, these armbands will only be used on ATV EVAs and those that do not require much climbing because the gloves get muddy when climbing.
The crew also very much enjoyed the view from the top of the ridge they climbed.
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Hab Maint:
The loft tank pump is turned on every 2 hours to ensure that the pipes don’t freeze
All EVA suits were tested and three were found to be not working optimally as they were only blowing out a very little amount of air. This is likely due to the filters needing to be replaced. The Engineer was unable to find any filters in the Hab and is waiting for advice on addressing this problem before opening up the packs. The new packs were also checked and none are performing optimally. One is not working at all as it is missing hoses.
It was also discovered that the helmet connections are not matching up with the right pack connections. It looks like the hoses may have been changed out previously. We can re-number the suits and helmets so that they match up, or we can change the hoses so that the helmets match up with the same pack number.
The GreenHab pilot light was lit and the heater is now on and set to 70-75 degrees
Rep Sched:
Commander’s Check-In, Commander’s Report, Engineering Report, Journalist Report, HSO Report, EVA Plan, EVA Report, Exercise Study Science Report, Daily Pictures
Tomorrow Plan:
Tomorrow Crew 131 will be able to sleep in a little as tomorrow is not a workout day for the exercise study. Once the crew has eaten breakfast and completed their daily preparations, two crew members will head out to Hanksville to get the Aeroponics device, which is scheduled to arrive tomorrow as well as the astronomy box so we can use the telescope. One of our crewmembers has completed the Telescope Training. While these two crewmembers are out, the rest of the crew will remain at the Hab to work on the glove study and complete regular Hab maintenance tasks. In the afternoon, EVA team 2 will venture out on their first EVA. This will be an ATV EVA lasting approximately 3 hours. While EVA team 2 is out, team 1 will clean dishes, prepare reports, and perform regular Hab maintenance tasks. Once EVA team 2 returns from their EVA they will finish up their reports and prepare for COMMS. Following COMMS, the crew will complete six questionnaires for the team function and cohesion assessment tool project. Once these surveys are complete, the crew will have free time for the rest of the evening.
Inventory:
None
Support Req:
Please advise on how we should go about fixing the EVA suits.
Miscelleneous: