Desert RATS Mission Day 1: Crew Blog

By Chris Looper
Chris Looper is Chief Engineer of the EVA Branch of the Astronaut Office, and is splitting time as a test subject and as Traverse Director of Desert RATS 2010.

We got an early start trying to get things situated in the rover before time to depart on the first traverse. The beginning of the test day in a field test is always very hectic. It is a large operation with many things going on that has to converge at 0800 (or as close as possible) so wheels can roll. We started 30 minutes late, but made that time up with a shorter lunch.

From our perspective inside rover A, all objectives for the day were accomplished. We performed four spacewalks at the four prescribed locations and ended the day at the planned camp one at the desired time. Total Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) time was 2.47 hours and total distance traveled by our rover was 7.8 km. We are now 5.7 km from base camp.

We kept track of Stan and Jake’s progress in rover B, mostly by checking with Mission Control. During parts of the day, we could see rover B and at times were close enough to talk. They also had an excellent day with all objectives met. Both rovers experienced some malfunctions which the rover chase team repaired quickly and efficiently. It is a big relief to know we have a good start.

Jim and I spent a couple of hours this evening getting things arranged in the rover and finding out the details of what was packed in each of the bags. We didn’t have time to do a very good job of this first thing this morning. The videos below are of the inside of the rover after we did some unpacking and while we crossed Highway 89 with State Trooper assistance.

Chris Looper narrates the trek from rover A, and offers a brief comment about crossing the highway before reaching their destination:

Chris describes arrival at the site – you’ll see the Tri-ATHLETE rover moving across the terrain:

Chris gives a brief tour of the inside of the rover at the end of Mission Day 1, showing the food, water supply and other items:

3 thoughts on “Desert RATS Mission Day 1: Crew Blog”

  1. To simulate that we are in the middle of …

    the Universe and the world, it’s a place where vibrations music are colors of frequencies.

    It is not exist frequency, that is why we are superior in this mechanics…

    Only exists the meaning of the aroma of the nose instinct.

    Which aroma have the planets, that is not a simulation, rather stimulates…?

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