407-CommandersReport

Commander’s Report 7 April 2015

Today we woke up to Crystal’s music and ate a breakfast of cereal and peanut butter and toast. We discussed the schedule for the day. We also talked about the foundation of the Mars Society and MDRS. Arwhil made engineering rounds and the crew tidied up/organized the Hab.

Arwhil checked his solar panels by the Hab, during his engineering rounds. Crystal evaluated her rock samples using the Munsell Color Chart, the scratch test, the hardness test and writing results in her field notebook. Hannah worked on her videos documenting the daily functions inside the Hab. Melody worked on her instructional video, specifically focusing on the engineer. We ate a lunch of leftovers to be resourceful.

After lunch, Arwhil, Crystal and David went on an EVA to test Dave’s rover and for Crystal to get some core samples of the soil. This was a walking EVA to the Geocache summit by the Hab. Hannah worked on her project in the Hab.

Around 3:30 a media crew of two arrived from KSNV Channel 3, an NBC affiliate, from Las Vegas, Nevada. They toured the Hab and surroundings, interviewed the Crew, and took video of the simulation process. They also accompanied Arwhil on his engineering rounds. It was a treat to have visitors from Earth.

We are eating a delicious “breakfast for dinner” meal tonight prepared by our resident chef, Melody. It has been another full day here on Mars. The student’s projects are progressing well. We are experiencing great team unity and have adjusted to the Martian schedule.

Quote of the Day: “My mission in life is to not merely survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.” ---Maya Angelou

Liz Painter, RN, BSN

LVN/CNA Simulation Lab Instructor

McLennan Community College

Waco, Texas