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.