This blog is courtesy of Haughton Mars Project (HMP)
For more information please visit www.marsonearth.org
We had the usual 10:30AM Sunday brunch, which allows the cook and kitchen help to rest. As usual, John Schutt (HMP camp manager) was up early taking care of the camp.
After brunch, Drs Robert Ferl and Anna-Lisa Paul (both faculty at the University of Florida) along with Kelsey Young and Byron Adams (both in the Geology Dept. at ASU), went to Drill Hill, Gemini Hills and Planet of the Apes Valley to conduct research, and were back in time for dinner. Their traverse was supported by Ben Audlaluk from Grise Fiord.
The Arthur Clarke Mars Greenhouse team will be in operational mode tonight, running a two day test of the system where they won’t touch anything and just let it run. The two day operational mode will test the changes implemented this year as they get ready for their departure in a few days.
Hamilton Sundstrand’s new suit port concepts will be interfaced into the Mars-1 HumVee Rover again this season and tested in the next few weeks. The idea of suit ports is that rather than going through an airlock, one can step into the spacesuit through the backpack and be outside within minutes.
Led by Dr Matt Deans, the NASA Ames K10 robot team had a productive day. Vinh To set up the computer, Susan Lee got the K10 robot set up with help from Dr Hans Utz, Dr Trey Smith did the software checkout and Eric Park set up networking for the robot. The team ran some tests, moved the robot around and surprised passers by with the robot’s Pac Man sound cues.
Dr Valerie Myers (NASA JSC) collected saliva samples this morning from some lucky volunteers. She is conducting a viral reaction study with the microbiology group at JSC. The idea is that during space flight an astronaut’s immune system is suppressed and the virus can be found being shed in the saliva. Outbreaks are rare, but it can be debilitating for long duration flights. The team wants to find out why it happens and learn how to keep it from happening.