MDRS 167A
Journalist Report 04 Apr 2016
Sol 02
The crew had an uneventful night and everyone was up by 0630 local time. Coffee and breakfast followed shortly thereafter.
EVA 3 consisting of Sansom, Beechner, and Clayton departed mid-morning to conduct geology experiments. Remaining crew members stayed in the Hab and conducted microbiology experiments in their absence.
A hot lunch of chili and fresh bread took the edge off the cool morning temperatures.
EVA 4 consisted of Overman, Andreas, and Stanford. These crew members continued to conduct geology experiments. Crew members from EVA 3 continued the microbiology experiments from the morning.
The geology experiments conducted today consisted of assessing many different regolith characteristics in the area around the Hab. Regolith is defined as any loose transported rock cover, soils, and rock material on the Martian surface. Understanding what this material is made out of helps to determine what resources could be available.
The microbiology experiments conducted today were to test the Hab for the presence of Gram negative enteric bacteria and Gram positive staph bacteria. Both can have serious health implications and the samples are being cultured now for evidence of potential contamination.
Half of the radishes cultivated by MDRS 166 are still doing well. Dakota Clayton, crew Green Hab Keeper has planted two new trays of tomatoes.
Clark Overman, Crew Journalist, MDRS 167A