Expedition Epsilon (MDRS Crew 67) Final Report
February 16 - March 2, 2008

Randall Shelaga - Commander
Cassandra Marion - Executive Officer and Geologist
Chris Ostafew - Chief Engineer
Aravind Seeni - Field Engineering Systems Engineer
Guy de Carufel - Surface Exploration Systems Engineer and Researcher
Heather Allaway - Biologist
Phillip Cunio - Open-ended Researcher
Zahra Khan - Surface Exploration Systems Engineer (02/16-02/21)

Introduction
Cassandra Marion

Expedition Epsilon; Mars Desert Research Station's 67th crew was the fifth mission in the Expedition Mars Analogue Research Training Series (ExMATS) which immediately followed ExMATS's fourth training expedition: Expedition Delta. This mission was designed to train and cross-train a 6-man crew for future participation in the Expedition Mars Analogue Research Series (ExMARS) missions. Two ExMATS alumni: Commander Randall Shelaga (ExAlpha, ExThree) and Executive Officer Cassandra Marion (ExGamma) conducted a vigorous training program which included the proper function of all the Hab's systems, extra vehicular activities (EVA) and cross-training in every field. This international crew consists of three engineers, a biologist and two open-ended researchers. Once the engineers felt at home, they taught the scientists about how the Habitat (MDRS) systems function and the scientists in turn, taught the crew about their research projects and were assisted at every opportunity. As geology is an important factor on Mars and in the MDRS area, the ExO was also entrusted with the duty of geology cross-training. The engineering team excelled in their new found positions as many problems were troubleshot and solved and the scientists concentrated on their own projects.

Engineering Summary
Chris Ostafew

The engineering crew had no sooner familiarized themselves with most of the systems when they prematurely ran out of diesel. It was eventually determined that a stuck fuel cut-off solenoid was the cause of the unusually quick diesel burn rate. With a slight expansion of scope, the Crew 67 engineering team decided to overhaul the entire diesel supply setup from tank to generator - a plan that had been in the works with mission support for some time. In the process of gathering the necessary equipment for the overhaul, Crew 67 ended up unearthing a plethora of additional beneficial items:

• Replacement valve for the leaky potable water system,
• Plumbing to prevent the potable water from back-draining,
• Wiring to monitor the Xantrex inverter from the comfort of the crew area,
• Power cable for the Hab ACER laptop,
• Plumbing snake,
• Fish tape,
• Wiring replacements for the EVA pack charge cables, and
• Numerous abandoned but good rechargeable AA's.

The found items were either cycled into rotation or installed, further building on the efficiency of Hab systems and engineering efforts.

The Eng Crew, Aravind in particular, wrestled with the GreenHab for the entirety of the rotation. While there were no substantial overflows or toilet water droughts, the crew worked hard to try and bring the system back to a younger and less offensive state, within some focus being placed on providing non-smelly toilet water. While not entirely well-versed in psychological aspects of human factors, the Eng Crew is almost certain there will be lasting memories linking hand sanitizer to an indescribable smell that seems to emanate from the flushing water.

As Expedition Epsilon got into the full swing of EVAs, our FES engineer, Zahra Khan, received word that she'd been short-listed for a position with the European Space Agency and was requested to be in Amsterdam by the following Monday. Sharing Zahra's reaction of excitement for the offer and disappointment with the timing, we all agreed she had to leave to catch the first flight to her first potential career job. In Zahra's absence, Guy, our navigation researcher, volunteered to pick up the slack and jumped right into EVA suit and pack repairs, battery charging, ATV maintenance, and of course GPS data management. Heather, who was consistently found wearing PLSS 1 and who was also consistently found peeking under her condensation-prone helmet, was delighted to find that Guy had cleaned and revived her air supply system. Other crew members would find re-attached and polished domes, replaced pack charging cables, and a further improved green monster (ATV) transmission, among other things.

As the rotation progressed and with the Hab functioning reasonably reliably, the Engineering Crew was fortunate and proud to have the time to actively participate in the gathering of data and troubleshooting of scientific equipment for the scientists' experiments. After all, that's what we're all here for! The engineering team of crew 67 looks forward to hearing of the adventures of the Hab to come.

GreenHab Systems
Aravind Seeni

During Crew 67 rotation, I was responsible for the overall function of the GreenHab. The Water Hyacinth plants in the first aquatic tank required to be transplanted to the next tank due to non-availability of adequate sunlight. Secondly, lettuce and corn planted by earlier crews were transplanted. New carrots were planted with 100% commercial soil, marked and dated and observed budding. Some lettuce was harvested and served as a delicious supplementary food.

Little was it realized during the later stages of the mission that the two parts of the GreenHab were called the "green" side and the "grey-water" side. The installation of the new macerator pump to pump grey water automatically into the first reservoir still remains to be addressed, although we managed to pull wires from the Hab to power the pump. What remains to be done is plumbing works with a bigger inlet pipe than the present one and subsequent installation of the pump.

During the rotation, no temperature differences were observed inside the GreenHab. A few simple experiments with the amount of water required for the plants were conducted. It was found that watering outside of the nominal three days cycle would maintain adequate soil moisture.

A few suggestions for the next crew rotations: It was observed that unwanted air is settling within the water pipes from the potable water tank to the Hab. Air pumped along with water causes airlock, if the potable pump is lifted above water level. Therefore it is always desired that the pump remains below water while functioning.

The crew observed high levels of unpleasant smells in the GreenHab as well as from the toilet. This is attributed to inadequacies in the grey water treatment system. Experiments with Typha, Spirulina and Sulphur detoxifying bacteria in the aquatic tanks have proved they are effective in removing odour-producing bacteria and heavy metals. This could be a solution to be implemented by subsequent crews.

The Search for Microbial Life in the Martian Environment: Protection by the Regolith
Heather Allaway

The harsh environment on Mars provides a daunting task in the search for life. This requires that our search efforts are limited to areas that would provide the maximum potential to yield discoveries. The evidence of ancient hypersaline environments on Mars and the knowledge of the existence of halophilic micro-organisms on Earth suggest the possibility of finding such organisms on Mars. This research proposal seeks to use a field setting to help determine the depth at which microbial viability is greatest in a Martian type environment. A second goal was to determine if any of the samples contained halophiles that had the ability to grow anaerobically.

This project got off to a rough start with the soil in the area being quite wet and the coring equipment used initially was not developed for wet clay soils. After the first sample EVA the crew was Hab locked for a couple days with threats of rain and snow. During one of these down days it was discovered that something was wrong with the autoclave. It would not heat up to the required temperature quick enough for the autoclave cycle to initiate. With the autoclave possibly requiring shipping out I tentatively collected 2 samples at the base of Skyline Rim with a different soil auger. This second auger worked perfectly for the wet clay soil. Due to the difficulty of communications between all involved an exploratory look at the equipment by the chief engineer resolved the problem. The resolution of the autoclave problem took too long for a full run of experiments to be completed. The 2 samples collected at Skyline Rim have been plated on two types of agar. Agar one is LB + NaCl+ Agar, the second is Agar + 2M NaCl + Yeast Extract. The LB Agar did not set properly most likely due to the inexperience of the researcher with the LB medium. The 2M NaCl Agar did set properly. Both agar types were plated and put into the incubator. Six petri dishes were placed into the incubator as aerobic growth, four were placed in a GasPak chamber with a candle to remove the oxygen and four were placed in a second GasPak chamber with the GasPak CO2 generating package. Due to the problems encountered there is no data to be analyzed.

Extremophile Sample Collection Project
Heather Allaway

In cooperation with Shannon Rupert and her collaborators, ExEpsilon continued collecting rock and soil samples from the MDRS area for a project that aims to identify extremophiles. These extremophiles include halophiles, endoliths, and desert varnishes. During ExEpsilon 23 samples were collected from evaporite deposits that form as surface water evaporates and leave behind the dissolved salts such as gypsum or calcite which are prime locations for locating salt loving organisms. The areas sampled included Lith Canyon, Candor Chasma, Skyline Rim, Brahe Highway, Copernicus Highway, and Muddy Creek. The samples will be shipped back to Earth and analyzed for the presence of halophilic organisms.

Preliminary Study on Navigating Using Biased Intermittent Position
Guy de Carufel

The objective of this research was to study the effectiveness of navigation efforts under different positioning constraints. These constraints included providing the navigator with a biased position (20, 40, 60 and 80m of error) at a certain frequency of availability (every 1 or 2 minutes). This is analogous to demonstrating the requirements and procedures for pedestrian navigation on Mars where intermittent coarse positioning would be available. A total of 6 waypoints about 500m apart were marked with stone markers.

A total of seven EVAs were conducted for a preliminary study on navigation with biased position where the first 4 missions were scouting missions. Two different crewmembers navigated to the waypoints from provided biased position, distance traveled, distance to target, current heading, bearing to target, and the expected error of the bearing. This information was produced and recorded with a programmed graphing calculator and provided verbally to the navigator. The navigator then made use of landmarks to help with orientation. A third crewmember also navigated to the same points with the same frequency of availability of positioning information but with no bias in the position in order to use as a comparative reference.

The results demonstrated that there is an optimal frequency of availability for a certain position bias and speed of travel for which the heading provided is sufficiently accurate to be relevant. It was also observed that finding the stone marker was very difficult without visual references. For example, when a panoramic picture over the waypoint was provided, the marker was found with much greater ease, demonstrating the effectiveness of the Field Documentation Methodology (FDM) developed by Stacy Sklar.

The next step will be to use the data collected to produce a preliminary positioning requirement with its ideal frequency of acquisition, as well as the navigation methodology required to effectively navigate in this situation. A longer duration mission could further refine these requirements and navigation techniques. Expanding the study to include the effectiveness of the FDM methodology in these conditions would also be explored further.

Smart Small Logistics Container
Phillip Cunio

The SSLC (Smart Small Logistics Container) research project, run on-site by Arthur Guest (Crew 66) and Phillip Cunio (Crew 67) and sponsored through MIT's Space Logistics Project (spacelogistics.mit.edu), started Crew 67's rotation after having troubleshooting and setup done by Arthur Guest. Phillip attempted to begin testing immediately, but ran into unexpected networking errors. After consultation with Jim Francis and Joe Zapetis of Aurora Flight Systems, a partner in the project, the local networking error (Bluetooth network not recognizing the SSLC as a connection point) was solved, although the error in the broader network (the researcher's laptop not functioning properly as a bridge from the Bluetooth network to the remote server via the internet) remained. A workaround was developed, and testing of various configurations of items, RFID tagging schemes, and antennas proceeded, with over fifty separate test runs being completed.

Other tests carried out on the SSLC included transportability tests, wherein the SSLC was carried outside through the airlock on EVA and then transported by hand through the offices of two crewmembers. The first such test carried the empty SSLC through the airlock, out 90 meters, and back. The second test used the SSLC with about 3 crew-days of consumables (consisting of about two 7-day boxes of Mountain House freeze-dried food) inside, and carried the SSLC out approximately 100 meters three times, in two separate directions. Crewmembers involved were debriefed after the experiment.

Initial results gathered included confirmation of previously-identified issues in tagging, namely that metallic items are very difficult to read, and suggestion of new issues, such as the point that smaller numbers of antennas sometimes read larger numbers of non-metallic items more clearly. Initial future design considerations identified include a need for more comfortable gripping handles for EVA transportation and a need for internal container structure to organize items.

Conclusion
Randall Shelaga

The international nature of this crew was a welcome experience. Crew dynamics was excellent with all participants being self-directed, undertaking any task required to ensure the success of our mission. It was noted that regardless of background, all crewmembers easily adapted to the group dynamic. While initially, it was observed that the crew was atypically quiet and reserved, this evolved into a solid respectful working relationship. The crew selection process used by MSC has proven its validity and no changes need be made.

From a science standpoint, Expedition Epsilon is considered a qualified success. A majority of our research goals were achieved; however, due to logistics problems not all the required equipment was available for the biological studies.

With regard to engineering, the Hab was well maintained by the Engineering team to a safe and fully habitable status and improvements made to the Generator Fuel and Potable Water Systems, which will help future crews.

A standardised ExMATS on-line training package, addressing the methods and background knowledge necessary to work at any of the MARS sites was trialed with success. Initial crew feedback has been positive.

All crewmembers that completed this rotation have satisfied the requirements of the ExMATS program and are recommended for consideration on future ExMARS and Mars Society missions. Congratulations to the entire crew, for making this a successful mission.

Ut Mars per erudio!