1129-CommandersReport

Commander Report

11/29/2014

Prepared by Gregory Leonard

Since Thursday, November 27, crew members from across the globe began arriving in Grand Junction,

Colorado in great anticipation for their upcoming MDRS-144 rotation. Crew members Heidi Beemer (XO),

Victor Luo (Crew Engineer) and myself (Commander) arrived from points within the United States, with

Yasuke Murakami (Crew Biologist) arriving from Japan, Juho Vehviläinen (Crew Journalist) from

Finland, and Antonio Antonio de Morais (Crew Geologist) from Brazil. Our HSO, Susan Jewell drove

from Wyoming to the MDRS.

Last evening, November 28, all crew (sans Jewell) were finally together enjoyed a casual dinner /

desert icebreaker, a few of us managing to complete the Grand Junction restaurant trifecta, eating

at Sushi & Rok, Applebees, and Dennys. We all delighted in discussing our backgrounds, proposed

research, Mars. Considering the great distances traveled by many of us, all slept very last night

well .

After our breakfast at the Days Inn Grand Junction, we completed final pre-mission provisioning at

Lowes and Walmart, picking up a few field-support items in addition to a new multimeter to replace

the faulty tester in the MDRS instrument bench. We departed Grand Junction at ~11:00, arriving in

time in Green River for a gourmet Mexican food truck lunch. The remaining drive towards Hanksville

was spectacular, becoming increasingly more Mars-like every kilometer.

We arrived at the Hab at 14:00 and were warmly greeted by MDRS-143 commander Paul Knightly and his

excellent crew. Paul and his crew provided us with a general tour of the MDRS facilities and

systems, in addition to basic procedures, getting us ready for the transfer of crews to occur

tomorrow. All officers and specialists from the respective crews then paired off to receive more

detailed instructions and explanations regarding specific Hab systems and procedures. We benefited

tremendously from the experience of MDRS-143.

Late afternoon we enjoyed some photo taking with both crews outside the Hab, followed by a brisk

hike up the western mudstone slopes to glimpse the setting sun and mingle high above the MDRS site.

Now we all anticipate sharing a Hab-cooked meal, prepared jointly by both crews, whilst getting

further MDRS information, knowledge, and wisdom from MDRS Director, Shannon Rupert. It has been a

full day for MDRS Crew 144; we rest tonight in anticipation for the beginning of our crew rotation,

team-building, and our Mars analog and space science projects.