Commander Report Crew 165:
Pamela Nicoletatos
Sol 3
Earth date: 09/03/16
Humming of the environmental systems and life support are the only sounds which can be heard as the crew quietly tends to tasks such as reports, repairs and inventory of the Hab today. The silence is both refreshing and energizing after a late night. With both the brilliance and determination of our Crew Astronomer and XO, we were able to gaze upon the stars in the night sky from the Musk observatory. The clear forecast on Mars gave us the opportunity to observe Jupiter and four of her satellites; each crew member took turns cramming in to have a sneak peek!
Lying in my stateroom I was able to continue watching the stars, listen to the silence of the Hab and dream of scrummy carbs, with the aroma of the fresh bread that baked after dinner and the images of Earth it conjured up… feta cheese, kalamata olives, tomatoes and olive oil… and just the chance to consume carbs, which left me mouth watering and eager for the morning light!
The crew continues to swap stories of our adventures from Earth and share in cultural diversity with laughter and jokes fueling most of our mealtime together. The XO and myself are endeavoring to learn some traditional Japanese customs for meals such as saying “Ita da ki ma su” before and “Go chi sou sa ma de shi ta” at the end. Counting to four and that the number four itself is considered bad luck within the Japanese culture. Always add one more or one less!
We received transmissions from Earth with instructions and protocol for a new project, which half of the crew will be participating in for the remainder of our rotation here. It will aid a previous MDRS member and her continued studies back on Earth, we wish her great success and are happy to add our contributions. EVA requests for further soil collections, Journalist media for both our mid rotation video and outreach projects as well as my determination to continue testing the Nor Cal rover (which conjures images of Wall-e every time I see him) will be tomorrows schedule if confirmed during our CapCom window this evening. I look forward to being a master of the Martian terrain from within the confines of the Hab! As Master Yoda once said, Do or Do Not, there is no try.
Additional Crew reports to follow, much appreciation to mission support back on Earth.
From Crew 165,
Crew Commander signing off