MDRS 166
Journalist Report 22/03/2016
Sol 3.
The alarm rung, I got up first. Mathieu joined me because we had to
prepare breakfast. I took the cornflakes and he looked to make some
milk. Yes, cause we consume dehydrated food, and it does include
powder milk… The instructions weren’t really clear, and we still
trouble converting American units to the ones we’re used to : we still
find them kind of goofy.
Julie got out of her bedroom and made coffee, and I started to heat
some water for tea… Soon after, everything was cut! No more
electricity. Fortunately, coffee was done and the stove is powered
with propane gas.
We lunched in both the early morning light and the one emitted by the
lamp, the very lamp that should accompany us to the observatory,
should we have the opportunity to go there.
Today is a sad day, Shannon told us the news while we were getting
dressed for the EVA. Everyone turned on his PC and tried to join his
family and friends for news. The Mars Society arranged for us to have
more internet datas today to allow us to learn more about the event.
No crew member’s received any news that touches him personally so far,
we keep our fingers crossed for the future. We send our thoughts to
the victims and their families.
We saw calls for blood donations scroll, activities in
Louvain-la-Neuve, the city where we study, being cancelled. We feel
involved, yet so far...
We wanted to observe a minute of silence before dinner, and even light
a candle. It now seems kind of ironic, because three days ago, we were
looking for one, laughing because it was the one of our crewmember’s
birthday, and this morning during the blackout.
Still no candle in the Hab.
We decided to hang the Belgian flag outside, despite the blowing wind,
and we will leave during the three days of national mourning.
The EVA was quite short, I really thought our symbolic output with a
Belgian flag would happen in other circumstances...
We went on through the rest day, as normally as possible. We had no
time to test the basic 3D printer yesterday. That's now done. Gregory,
Mathieu and Bertrand are now launching a rocket to the moon with
Kerbal Space Program, it does not seem to work a lot, but still, it's
funny to hear them.
We did not get CapCom’s approval for the NorCal Rover to go along with
Gregory during his inspection tour, we shall then try again tomorrow.
"Brussels is now no more than a siren,
The sadness is infinite, it oozes from pavers, it trickles from sidewalks. "
-It was said in a press article-
Nadine Traufler, Crew Journalist MDRS 166