Commander Report
11/28/2014
Paul Knightly
The crew exited Sim at midnight this morning and our first steps outside to fresh air without our spacesuit helmets came with mixed feelings of elation and sadness that our mission at MDRS is drawing to a close. We spent the day cleaning up the Hab and finishing some mission close out tasks as we prepare to hand over control to the incoming Crew 144.
We had a breakdown discussion led by Alexandre for a Habitability Study that he is participating in and it started a lively discussion on our time in the Hab and how our experience compares to those of astronauts traveling to Mars in the future. Following the discussion, we brainstormed some ideas for an ATV garage that has been proposed for along the tunnel to the Observatory and design work for the garage began this afternoon. Supplies arrived this evening after much anticipation, and among the new provisions are salt and the metal wire we need to complete tunnel construction tomorrow morning.
I conducted some follow-up soil core sampling for my geological work with limited success and will focus on closing out my field research in the coming days – a process mirrored by several other crew members as we prepare for our departure from MDRS. Soon we will all be on our way back home, ready to build on the work that has been conducted here over the last two weeks.