Commander Report Crew 167B:
Karen Rucker
Sol 6
Earth date: 04/14/16
This morning the crew had cereal and granola to a carefully curated playlist of alternative music by myself, including Bush and Imagine Dragons. Victoria led Otsmar and Beechner on a morning EVA to test her EMSR, which seems to have had mixed results. Apparently the softer Martian terrain is not as compatible with the EMSR’s wheels, but Victoria believes she can remedy the problem before attempting it again tomorrow.
During the morning EVA, the crew remaining in the hab worked on individual projects and I made spicy jambalaya with sausage for lunch. Drew’s individual project may or may not have been watching Casino Royale.
During the afternoon Drew, Jaxom and I went on the Geology EVA, encountering friendly Earthlings that looked a lot like farmers on the way. This area has much more interesting geological formations than flat ol’ central Texas, and it was enjoyable to get out of the hab, explore and play with my new toy, the Brunton compass. The suits seem fairly comfortable, but from what I understand, this may be in part due to my “larger” size. For such a thin Martian atmosphere, the high winds really packed a punch today. Perhaps the dust storm in The Martian wasn’t so far from the truth.
Tomorrow, pending approval, will consist of a morning EVA with Drew, Victoria, and Jaxom to test Victoria’s rover again, and then finishing the Geology EVA in the afternoon with Victoria, Otsmar and Beechner.
From Crew 167B; MDRS Martian Outpost
Crew Commander
Karen
Ex Astris Scientia