FMARS-15 Engineering Report 26-07-2023

By Caleb Pool

Both engineers remained in the hab today while the other 3 crew members were on EVA. The gasoline generator, Rachel, was filled with a 50/50 mix of old and new fuel and operated correctly to run the incinerator. We will keep an eye on both generators as time goes on, since old fuel is more likely to slowly clog the fuel feed system.

A total of 3 full barrels of trash have been incinerated today.

The engineering shop and surrounding area continues to improve as items are removed from their boxes and placed on shelves. Damaged boxes are incinerated, whole boxes are saved for removing items on the Twin Otter off the island. Batteries for tools and EVA suits continue to get charged.

The hab exhaust fan ran on a 12 volt deep cycle marine battery for almost 12 hours with no noticeable loss in flow rate. It is currently running on generator power while the battery charges. It will run all night tonight to continue moving air.

In the morning, some culinary engineering (and empirical science) resulted in a successful cheese simulant that was used to round out two pizzas. The cheese substitute consisted of coconut milk, powdered milk, crystalized egg, powdered potato, and trace amounts of olive oil and salt, reduced under careful application of heat and hand mixing. The imitation cheese was applied to the pizza in sheet form above tomato sauce using cling plastic and cardboard transfer.

Some progress was made toward the goal of installing LED lighting in the main living area of the hab 2nd floor. Existing fluorescent shop-style light fixtures were removed from the hanging chains and a heavy layer (~0.2” thick) of greasy dust was removed from the upper surfaces of the fixtures. Fluorescent tubes were also removed. Most necessary components for the new lighting power run have been identified, but the installation (and fixture modification) will continue over future sols.

Future plans include burning off the remaining propane.