Crew Commander Daily Report
Sol 06
Crew 162
Crew Commander: Renee Garifi
When operating at a remote base, whether in the High Arctic or South
American Desert, maintenance of your habitat is can take up to 50% of
your daily operating task schedule. Should something go wrong,
maintenance due to contingency can dominate the mission timeline. Here
on Mars, we take hab maintenance very seriously. After all, the hab is
our shelter from the harsh environment outside and our oasis in the
desert. Daily maintenance tasks, including engineering checks of water,
fuels, medical supplies and food, allow us to anticipate shortages and
plan for contingencies if our preventative maintenance fails. So far,
Crew 162 has had nominal operations requiring standard maintenance and
prevention tasks of the habitat life support and resources. I am proud
to report that my crew has taken on the responsibility of ensuring our
hab as a fully functional outpost. When going to Mars, it's important to
bring a team with a diverse skill set. In addition to scientists and
thinkers, you really need someone who can work a screw driver and some
duct tape as well as someone who is methodical and organized and can
quickly sort supplies in a manner that's most efficient.
Today, we focused on two kinds of maintenance: that of the hab and that
of ourselves. When participating in long-duration missions that involve
daily physical demands, upkeep of the human body is equally as vital as
upkeep of your space vehicle, laboratory or outpost. Following our
engineering checks and internal maintenance tasks, we took time to
recharge our human batteries. Food, camaraderie, catching up on sleep,
and allowing time for independent research to-do lists filled the second
half of Sol 06. As we had a long visit from the crew at Fox news on Sol
05, I authorized a catch-up day to maintain crew health and efficiency.
As our Health & Safety Officer reminds us daily, we must work to
maintain our mental and physical well-being during the mission as
equally as we maintain the physical and operational well-being of our
habitat. Sol 07 will be another busy day so, until tomorrow, Crew 162
Commander Garifi, signing off.