Crew 162 Journalist Report Sol 12
February 4, 2016
Carmen Felix
Today was a very cold day here on Mars. We woke to a beautiful sunrise and a chilly -12 Celcius outside. It has been snowing for the entire day, and we decided to have an indoor-day which we greatly enjoyed.
The only person that went out today was our crew Engineer, to do the daily engineering checks for our habitat. Every day we need to verify that our water tanks, gas, electricity generators and fuel are operating nominally and filled to adequate levels. If any anomaly is detected, we need to fix it or consult with mission control for advice. So far, everything has been running well, although we have had frozen water a couple of times due to the freezing temperatures.
Luckily for us, inside the hab the heater works perfectly and we are warm. We took this day to work inside on our personal projects, have some team building, cooking, and cleaning! Yes, cleaning is very important to keep our habitat up and running, and to feel comfortable during our stay here on Mars.
We also worked on better understanding 3D modeling software, as this technology is becoming more useful for the future of human space exploration, especially as we develop ways to incorporate raw surface materials and minerals into the printing material (plastic, metal, etc.)
The plants in the greenhab are doing great, and we just imagine how it will be in the future when we can grow food on Mars! Crew commander worked in the stardust experiment today, as it was too cold to use the observatory. We are also editing some of the videos that we have been filming during our stay, and we still have some filming to do tomorrow.
We only have 2 days more to finish our mission, and on Sunday we will go back home. We will definitely miss Mars, it has been an experience we will never forget.