Commander Report
11/16/2014
Paul Knightly
Crew 143 had a very productive day. Everyone from Crew 142 and 143 was up around 0730 and after
having breakfast and packing up, we saw off Crew 142 as they departed the Habitat around 1030 for
their return home by way of Grand Junction. We established an itinerary for the day shortly after
their departure and set about our preparations to enter into Sim.
Our crew member who’s passport went missing received an email overnight that informed them that
their passport had been found at the airport in Grand Junction. In order to call up the airport, it
was necessary for three of our crew members to drive into town to get adequate cell phone reception.
An initial determination was made that the passport can be held in safe keeping for the duration of our
mission, however further clarification to this end is desired. The remainder of the crew busied ourselves
by cleaning the Hab and moving our gear in and making it our home.
At 1300, we held a meeting to discuss what information was passed on by Crew 142 and to make
tentative plans for our EVA requirements during the mission. In addition, each crew member made
clear their research expectations and we began to coordinate our activities to best suit everyone’s
needs.
Following the meeting, an inventory was made of our food supplies and then divided up into
breakfast, lunch, and dinner items to help in rationing. Rodents continue to be problematic in the
Hab and while one was successfully trapped last night, we will keep most of the food items in the
plastic bins they arrived in to add extra protection from any hungry critters.
We received two additional briefings over the health and safety systems of the Hab, including the
location of all first aid kits and fire extinguishers and their general useage. A detailed
engineering briefing identified how to monitor external systems during EVA’s, including monitoring
the amount of drinking water available, fuel for the generator, and fuel for the propane tank.
After such a busy day, we are planning to enter into Sim tomorrow and are eager to begin our work at
MDRS!