Commander Report
11/18/2014
Paul Knightly
Today was a very busy day of in-Hab activities as the crew made much needed preparations for their
field experiments at MDRS. Specific summaries of crew member activities can be found in their
individual reports, some of the highlights today were as follows:
- Executive Officer and Crew Engineer Alexandre Mangeot continued work on his health monitoring
equipment for crew members to wear while on EVA, making modifications so that operating the
equipment is easier during EVA. He also analyzed samples collected yesterday to feed into his Soil
Sampling Learning Program (SSLP).
- Health and Safety Officer and Crew Biologist Paul Sokoloff worked on preserving plant and lichen
samples that he collected during yesterday’s EVA. This afternoon, he led a health and safety meeting
covering a range of topics including first aid response and safe EVA protocols. He also conducted a
fire drill that the crew passed with flying colors.
- Crew Engineer Ian Silversides spent the day preparing his equipment for tomorrow’s EVA and read up
on the composite repairs he will be performing.
- Crew Journalist Anastasiya Stepanova continued her outreach program, writing articles and posts in
both Russian and English and documented today’s activities. As she works on building crew profiles,
she read up on each of the research programs being performed by the crew.
- Crew Scientist and GreenHab Officer Claude-Michel Laroche spent the day tending to the GreenHab
which included a harvest of wheat grass that was incorporated into a salad for dinner tonight.
We took time throughout the day to try out some Hab recreational activities which included a morning
workout circuit using resistance bands that I brought to MDRS and a yoga session in the afternoon
led by Paul Sokoloff. Such fitness activities will be crucial on a year-long stay on Mars and during
the MA 365 mission. We are looking to alternate and repeat these activities for the rest of our stay.
Ian built a how-to guide as a contributing part of Claude-Michel’s research program and had the crew
test it out this evening after dinner. It was titled “A Guide to Mastering the Nose Flute”. Needless
to say, it provided several minutes of laughter and was a lighthearted way to end the day. Tomorrow
we return to EVA and the crew is eager to continue with their field research.