Snowy success, need bags
Jul. 24th, 2002 10:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jayThe snow has continued for almost 24 hours, but it is hovering just above freezing (so it isn't accumulating). The wind varies from 10-30 knots...
But, these conditions were better for tests (snow bounces off of our electronics, but rain would soak in). So we went ahead.... VR and our camp guide went ahead to align the repeater around 10:30am, then AR and I followed after a telecon with the FFC folks. We made it the 7km all right... I only got us off-track once, and quickly figured out my mistake. Despite the biting horizontal snow blasting into my face...
We got started around lunchtime (skipped it). This time, our initial placement was better, and a learning curve was evident in the frequency and kinds of commands being sent to the "rover" from FFC. It seemed productive... even the images looked OK, despite the driving snow showers. Three hours in simulation, then back to base camp. The science team has discovered that they need a marker to give them both depth perspective (without plants or other life, distances are hard to gauge) and the bearing of the rover.
We returned wet, cold, hungry (no lunch) but mildly pleased. Another successful run. Weather is degrading tonight, so I decided to not try another simulation run tonight -- we'll try to do two tomorrow if weather permits. Then one Friday morning, given OK weather, and the remote-science simulation will be done for this campaign.
Saturday, I'm planning to take a day off, catch up on laundry (hand washed), and maybe even a sponge bath or micro-shower. Mmmm. The layers of sunscreen, interspersed with daily dust, probably resemble sediment.
Finally, a camp crisis has erupted (so to speak).... we're running out of kitchen trash bags for the latrine tents. All of the wastes here are collected and incinerated (solids) or collected in drums and hauled out by air (liquids, in old 55 gal fuel drums... *reeeall* popular with the charter pilots ;-) Not just to be environmentally responsible, but keep in mind that permafrost lies only a foot or two down (so burying stuff doesn't work). Unless a plane can get in, we will be reduced by Thursday to squatting over large Ziplock bags...
But, these conditions were better for tests (snow bounces off of our electronics, but rain would soak in). So we went ahead.... VR and our camp guide went ahead to align the repeater around 10:30am, then AR and I followed after a telecon with the FFC folks. We made it the 7km all right... I only got us off-track once, and quickly figured out my mistake. Despite the biting horizontal snow blasting into my face...
We got started around lunchtime (skipped it). This time, our initial placement was better, and a learning curve was evident in the frequency and kinds of commands being sent to the "rover" from FFC. It seemed productive... even the images looked OK, despite the driving snow showers. Three hours in simulation, then back to base camp. The science team has discovered that they need a marker to give them both depth perspective (without plants or other life, distances are hard to gauge) and the bearing of the rover.
We returned wet, cold, hungry (no lunch) but mildly pleased. Another successful run. Weather is degrading tonight, so I decided to not try another simulation run tonight -- we'll try to do two tomorrow if weather permits. Then one Friday morning, given OK weather, and the remote-science simulation will be done for this campaign.
Saturday, I'm planning to take a day off, catch up on laundry (hand washed), and maybe even a sponge bath or micro-shower. Mmmm. The layers of sunscreen, interspersed with daily dust, probably resemble sediment.
Finally, a camp crisis has erupted (so to speak).... we're running out of kitchen trash bags for the latrine tents. All of the wastes here are collected and incinerated (solids) or collected in drums and hauled out by air (liquids, in old 55 gal fuel drums... *reeeall* popular with the charter pilots ;-) Not just to be environmentally responsible, but keep in mind that permafrost lies only a foot or two down (so burying stuff doesn't work). Unless a plane can get in, we will be reduced by Thursday to squatting over large Ziplock bags...
