1129-JournalistsReport

Journalist Report

11/29/2014

Prepared by Juho Vehviläinen

MDRS Crew 144 Journalist report

After a short sleep the most of the Crew 144 (6 out of 7) headed towards the MDRS in the morning, even after late night

shampoo catastrophe. The white speedy shuttle leaving from Grand Junction was quite packed with several kinds of

instruments and loads of survival gear for the two-week mission. We had a break at Green River’s burrito stand and even

managed to get some stationary from the same quality establishment.

Closing on the MDRS site – on not so crowded roads – the scenery got more and more Martian. For me it looked a bit like

Nordenskiöldlandet in Svalbard just without the snow and the glaciers. The MDRS hab came around the corner and the first

impression was that it’s much bigger than in the pictures. The weather has been superb, thou it looks much warmer than it

actually is. And I reckon that is one of the warmer days.

We were greeted by the Crew 143 and got instructions how to proceed. We are going to spend the next night with the

departing crew, so we’ll have 13 persons in a structure designed for six persons. However, expeditions are about flexibility, so

we’ll make it work.

This evening and night is going to be a crash course for Mars simulations at least for half of our crew. Many things to go

through such as how to use the toilet, what to drink, when to file a report, and where’s the best place for watching sunset.

We’re trying to enter the simulation mode as soon as possible.