E-Logbook

MIT Haughton Mars Expedition 2005

 

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July 24, 2005

Written by: Matthew Silver

 

It was a busy Sunday at camp, with a surprise ending. A helicopter arrived in the mid morning to take Oz and Fez and Patrick out to some canyons near Thomas Lee Inlet on the North Side of Devon Island, where they spent the day collecting gypsum along the cliffs in the area. Gypsum can be found around camp but nearly all of it here was unearthed by the meteor that created Haughton Crater and it is therefore impact-fractured. Oz hopes to compare the spectrum of the non-impacted-fractured gypsum to the gypsum around here. This has implications for Mars exploration because most rock found on the Martian surface is impacted in some way shape or form. Understanding the similarities and differences between the spectrum of impacted and non-impacted gypsum can help rovers and eventually humans more accurately identify impacted rock on Mars.

 

It is now 8pm as I write this and the helicopter is preparing to fly the Discovery Canada film crew around the area to get video footage for their documentary.  The weather could not be better for filming—no wind, sunny and warm. The documentary crew arrived by twin otter soon after the helicopter arrived. The helicopter pilot and mechanic will camp out on the airstrip and return to Resolute tomorrow.

 

Amidst this action, Sarah and Jaemyung continued the previously started inventory by labeling and tagging all the items in the MIT tent. Mike and Matt put the finishing touches on the RFID experiments to ensure that they will collect data through the end of camp. This included setting up the antennas permanently on Airport road and at the entrance to the MIT tent, tagging and recording all the ATVs and checking the applications for bugs.

 

Near the end of the day Pascal offered two flights on the helicopter to Mike and Matt when it went to pick up Fez and Oz. Needless to say we were both really excited by the chance to take an hour long ride over the barren arctic island. The flight was truly amazing. The pilot flew low through deep canyons, pointing out waterfalls, grey-colored breccia rock caused by the meteor impact and other interesting landforms. Oz and Fez were waiting for the helicopter on the top of a small mountain because Fog had accumulated in the valley below. While waiting, they built a large Inukshuk on the mountain. Needless to say it was an incredible opportunity, and we thanked Pascal for thinking of us. We trust that Sarah and Jaemyung, who graciously let us take the spots, will come upon similar opportunities as the good weather continues. Sarah is currently on an ATV traverse to the Georgia Tech mars-drill sites.

 

Below are four pictures of the helicopter ride:

 

    

                                    Heli on the HMP Airstrip                                                                             Waterfall in the Canyons

 

Figure 1: Canyons near the shore

 

Figure 2 : Waiting for a Ride