0126-JournalistReport

Crew 162 Journalist Report Sol 03

January 26, 2016

Carmen Felix

This is our third day on Mars, and we wanted to take advantage of the

clear skies early in the morning to do some stargazing. We woke up at

5:30a.m. and went to the observatory tunnel to look at the stars and

planets alignment. It was lovely but very cold. Our astronomer did not

have time to set up the telescope for imaging so we used the crew Nikon

digital camera to capture the moon, Venus and the first hints of the

orange and pink sunrise here on Mars.

Unfortunately our camera’s tripod broke in one degree of freedom so we

took only few shots. Looking at the sky always makes me happy, as it was

looking at the stars when I was 5 that my passion for space ignited.

After a while we came back to the hab, and quickly ate some cereal for

breakfast so we could get ready for our morning planning meeting.

During our meeting, we talked about our daily schedule and the

activities that we have to do during this week. We took note of the

actions we need to take in order to perform well during the next 4-5

days. We are trying to be efficient and at the same time, we are trying

to not stress and to have fun during the process. We all rely on each

other to do it in this way.

Around 09:00, the Crew Engineer and myself prepared for engineering

daily checks. Everything was in order, so we proceeded to verify the

ATVs that are in use right now: ATV #1, 3 and 5.

The Crew Commander and HSO also performed the scheduled EVA for the day.

We collected some samples of sand to later analyze in search for

micrometeorites. It has been fun to be outside using the suit, and

realize how different is to do simple tasks with the weight and

stiffness of a spacesuit.

After this, we all dedicated our time to do some research and work on

our experiments. While reading about health in space, I found a fun fact

about space toilets. Apparently, ensuring an all-time-working toilet for

a human mission to Mars, it is a top priority. It seems that when a

toilet in space is not working, nothing else matters! I guess they are

right. We are lucky we haven’t had any problem ourselves with our

Martian toilet during our stay.

For lunch, I prepared some potato with cheese and beef. The

Commander/Green Hab Officer spent the afternoon working on the two-plant

growth habitats- watering, measuring and photographing- while the Crew

Engineer studied schematics and worked on the engineering blog.

Interstellar was the movie of choice for today and two of our

crewmembers watched it in the background downstairs while working on

research. We really hope that Cooper reaches Dr. Brand!

Before the sunset, we came together and did some yoga to relax and

exercise. We worked on our reports, blogs, and social media at the end

of the day.