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.