SOL 5
Journalist Report
Crew Journalist Adeniyi Adebayo
Hello Earthlings,
Mars is getting more exciting as we marked our fifth day on the Red Planet. The day started with team debrief and EVA preparation. All crew members have settled into the routine of waking early and the rigors of life on Mars. EVA #4 was the main activity for this SOL. Crew engineer, Comrade Lenin led a crew of three to explore possible locations for testing his robotic arm. He plans to probe soil with low shear capacitance and progressively move to harder places. His work will have diverse applications not only on Mars but possibly on Earth as well. Comrade Lenin says his work will make it easier to approach farther areas of Mars where it might be too risky to send EVA teams.
Lunch was chicken noodle soup and vegetarian spaghetti a-la-Mars for Commander Dee. Today, we discovered that we have run out of salt. We thought of different substitutes for salt including synthesizing sodium chloride from baking soda and some other ingredients. We settled for the less radical choice of waiting for more supplies from Mission Control.
Late afternoon was devoted to different research projects. Chemical analysis of the different soil samples have started in earnest with Commander Dee spending most of her evening in the lab. Crew biologist, Officer Natik, observed the progress of the radishes and bean sprouts. Crew astronomer, officer Marmot observed the moon and took some nice shots.
Enjoy the beautiful shots from today's SOL and a special astrophoto of the Moon.
Best regards