0129-CommanderReport

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.