218-CommandersReport

Commander’s Report

2/18/2015

Paul Bakken

1 – Cross crew support

2 – Writing and pre-packing

3 – Food inventory

4 – Mid-rotation video

5 – Hab PMCS

6 – Delayed EVA

Greetings Mission Support!

1 – We continue to support the two projects initiated by previous crews. We are collecting the requested data and will forward the results to the principal investigator for each study.

2 – The members of Crew 149 collectively decided to make this a “research report” and “move out day” prep day. The crew worked on individual reports for their projects, while I cleared all of Crew 149’s stored materials out of the GreenHab. We pre-packed many of our other items to help make the transition to Crew 150 go more smoothly.

3 – We completed the Hab food inventory requested by Dr. Hunter. Hopefully, this will help mission support track these resources for the benefit of follow-on crews.

4 – Crew member Sullivan completed the “mid rotation” crew video today. If we figure out a way to push it through our very narrow data pipe, we will do so.

5 – I performed a general walk around of the exterior of the Hab and GreenHab while on engineering EVA, and inspected the interior of both structures, too. I noted a few Preventative Maintenance and Corrective Service items that require attention. I have a forwarded these items to mission support under separate cover.

6 – We delayed our follow up Geological resource survey EVA until tomorrow. We will most likely go out on EVA in the morning, before the mid-day heat, to accomplish this task.

It seems odd that, now that Crew 149 has finally found its stride, it is almost time to depart. We have learned a lot about the basic everyday requirements of living in an Isolated, Confined, and Extreme environment. Perhaps we may have the opportunity to return to Mars someday and continue the work that we started during this rotation.

Respectfully submitted,

Paul Bakken

Commander, MDRS Crew 149