MDRS 165 Journalist Report Tomoya Mori
Sol 5
Earth date: 03/11/2016
--
Our existence is irrelevant. To nature, we are just minuscule silhouettes. We are mere puppets in hands on nature, albeit we try to convince ourselves that we matter. Whether on the Earth or on Mars, the ecosystem will remain in cycle even without our existence. Looking at the vast horizon that surrounds the tiny white can that we live in, we begin to feel powerless. So we shift our focus to the inner selves, forcing us to forge meaning of our existence. But what we find is not our strengths.
Mr.Yusuke Murakami, one of the members of Crew 144, once said in an interview that “our personality is built upon the accumulation of our indifference.” Until the rotation began, his message remained unclear.
Engulfed by the sheer scale of nature, we have begun to expose our true selves. Attributes like strong leadership or communication skills turn out to be nothing more than mere decorations. In extreme environments, things you haven’t been paying attention to, or activities you had no interest doing begins to govern our viability. The effect becomes clearer in
longer missions. It is still Sol5, but I have already begun to notice my indifference: lack of interest in careful planning
due to my infamous “I’ll figure something out” mentality. This factor has led to various inconvenience in the last few days.
It’ll take time until I completely understand Mr. Murakami’s message. But one thing has become clear: our experience in MDRS is revealing our true selves, whether we like it or not.
--
Tomoya MoriCrew
Journalist MDRS 165