0118-JournalistReport

SOL 9

Journalist Report

Crew Journalist Adeniyi Adebayo

SOL-9 started actively with team debrief. Captain Marmot (Veronika Shtyengardt) intimated the team of her night-out at the observatory. She has been trying for a while to get a good shot of Catalina. So far, this has eluded her. She invited all interested to watch the ISS on SOL 11 when the ISS is expected to be closest to our region. I am looking forward to this. Commander Dee briefed the team on SOL-9 activities: EVA #7, video editing and personal research projects.

Commander Dee led a team of four towards the Lower Blue Hills. It was a strenuous walk but luckily crew HSO, Officer Natik was on the team to constantly remind everyone on tips to avoid exhaustion: regular breathing, slowing down when feeling short of breath etc. Commander Dee collected her soil samples while also taking notes on the physical properties of the soil in the area. One of the unraveling facts of her observations include the variation of soil pH according to altitude and depth across the Martian landscape. Commander Dee spent the evening working on her analyses. Officer Natik, analyzing the effect of different soils on plant growth, has seen positive changes with her plants: the radishes are doing well and the beans are coming along as well.

Looking ahead, Comrade Lenin will lead an EVA crew tomorrow to test his robot. He has spent the last two days working on the issues that arose during the last unsuccessful trial. We hope for a successful test tomorrow.