Greetings Mission Support,
Commander Report Crew 166:
Mathieu Roiseux
Sol 12
Earth date: 01/04/16
Today it’s my last report in SIM. Nadine and I made a lot of pancakes
for the crew this morning. I started the Mission Summary Report which
has been sent in a different mail earlier. The EVA had been planned
for the afternoon and I had a good intuition when I scheduled it. The
weather was probably the worst that we faced during our stay. It rained
a lot during the night and all the soil became mud.
During the EVA we saw small quantities of water on the Martian ground.
We now have the proof that it can be find at the surface of the red
planet. We proceeded the same way as yesterday. This time the antenna
stayed at the HAB and we used talkies to receive messages sent by
Bertrand at the HAB. We planned to be at different places at precise times.
We made the test twice and it worked well, we only were able to receive
the message when using the antenna. The first time we even were able to
have a conversation.
On the way, we found the compass that we lost the previous day. As we
made fewer experiments, we had more time and were able to go to the
last waypoint we planned. Unfortunately, one ATV lost pieces when we
turned to go back. We made one half miles when the person on the ATV
told that a strange noise was coming from the vehicle. After a short
check of the ATV, we determined that it was a back brake failure.
Arthur and Gregory used other ATVs to go back on our tracks and found
a piece that was lost. During this time Nadine and I were checking the
brake. We saw that one screw was missing and the other one that should
maintain the brake near the disk was oxidized and broken.
To come back, I took the first place with the damaged ATV and drove
more carefully that usual if possible. When we stopped during our way
back, I discovered that the handbrake did not work anymore. Back at the
HAB, I placed the ATV in a flat zone and I put some stones near the
tires to prevent it from moving.
As we will stop the SIM tomorrow at sunrise, we will organize
ourselves this evening to clean the HAB before the arrival of the next
crew. I hope that the stars will be with us this night.
From Crew 166; MDRS Martian Outpost
Crew Commander
Mathieu
Semper Altius