Crew 203 Sol Summaries
JANUARY 13, 2019 Sol Summary – January 13th Crew 203 Sol Summary Report 13-Jan-2019
Sol: 1
Summary Title: Country Roads, take me home…
Author’s name: Oscar Ojeda
Mission Status: Nominal, Starting simulation tonight.
Sol Activity Summary: We woke up at 7, along with the departing Purdue crew (Boiler up guys…!). We had our pictures taken, did a small change of command "ceremony", and then departed to a dinosaur walk, guided by director Shannon. We waved goodbye as the crew departed, and then started organizing groceries and rooms.
Today we finished the water runs, and should be ready for the entire length of the mission. We started our training with Atila, being it the first time it’s done in Spanish. We also were able to share breakfast and lunch, which I was able to cook (I love cooking on Mars). Finally, our remote astronomer did an amazing observation of M31, which we will share.
Look Ahead Plan: Tomorrow crew 203 will send the Mission Plan, along with the initial HSO report, and biographies with official pictures. We will start our EVA plans with the first runs and to get to know better our routines within the station, planning to start later on our research projects.
Anomalies in work: None
Weather: Sunny and warm, low to no wind, disperse clouds.
Crew Physical Status: In good health
EVA: none
Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Operations Report, Greenhab Report, Astronomy Report, Journalist Report, EVA Request.
Support Requested: None
[end]
JANUARY 14, 2019
Sol Summary – January 14th
Sol: 2
Summary Title: Settling in
Author’s name: Oscar Ojeda
Mission Status: Nominal
Sol Activity Summary: We’re getting comfortable in the station, we woke up, shared breakfast and talked about some details on the activity we would have today. Time flew as we had 2 EVAs scheduled, the first group left, made an exploration of the region close to campus, and returned to a hot lunch. Afterwards, the second EVA group left and repeated a similar exploration to group 1, consisting mainly of an on-suit performance assessment, and sample collection. The rest of the day was used to keep the station and rest a little.
Look Ahead Plan: Tomorrow the science begins…! the crew will stay at the hab to begin the work on the research, with some of the samples that were taken today.
Anomalies in work: None
Weather: Mostly cloudy (Cumulus), partially sunny at the afternoon. Temperature similar to yesterday.
Crew Physical Status: In good health, however, we’ve had 3 crewmembers with "more-than-normal" sneezing.
EVA: 2, Space suit performance asessment, and sample collection.
Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Operations Report, Greenhab Report, Journalist Report, EVA Report, Mission Plan, HSO Report.
Support Requested: We don’t have much salt left in the kitchen.
JANUARY 15, 2019
Sol Summary – January 15th
Crew 203 Sol Summary Report 15-Jan-2019
Sol: 3
Summary Title: Changua
Author’s name: Oscar Ojeda
Mission Status: Nominal (and relaxing)
Sol Activity Summary: It was a wonderful morning, with some of the fresh cilantro from the greenhab, and also doing our best with the dehydrated ingredients, we prepared a traditional breakfast from Bogotá, Changua. Afterwards, we had a conversation with director Shannon about yesterday’s EVA, and after she departed we started to work in our respective projects. The day was calm and relaxing, we were able to keep in each other’s company while working, sharing, talking, laughing, and realizing that going to Mars is not about regolith, screws, and dehydrated food, it is about learning to be human.
Look Ahead Plan: Tomorrow we will continue the work inside the habitat, in preparation for the expected first science EVA on Sol 5. We are also getting a lot of new ideas about what should we cook, and on some outreach material…!
Anomalies in work: None
Weather: Very cloudy (Stratocumulus), with low intensity snow in the early afternoon, getting heavier towards the evening.
Crew Physical Status: In good health…!
EVA: none
Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Operations Report, Greenhab Report, Journalist Report.
Support Requested: Send lots of hugs and good vives…! ~[°-°]~
JANUARY 16, 2019
Sol Summary – January 16th
Crew 203 Sol Summary Report 16-Jan-2019
Sol: 4
Summary Title: White Mars, Red Mars, muddy Mars
Author’s name: Oscar Ojeda
Mission Status: Nominal
Sol Activity Summary: I’m starting a routine of a morning complete inspection of the facilities; this lets me plan the day better. We woke up to a layer of snow outside the Hab, after breakfast, and a small workout session of three crewmembers, we proceeded to remove the snow from the Hab areas covered by it.
After that, each crewmember started working on their respective projects, getting everything ready for an exciting rest of mission filled with science, and probably also a little bit of fun. We had a vegetarian lunch, a nod to our XO, and kept working. We’ve still had time to laugh and bond.
A light dinner and an early sleep will close the day, and be the preamble for what’s to come.
Look Ahead Plan: Science is looking good. Specific and realistic goals for each project have been set. We’ll have our first scientific EVA.
Anomalies in work: None
Weather: Very cloudy in the morning (Stratocumulus), Stratos in the afternoon, and cirrus in the early evening, with a sunny sunset. No snow nor precipitations, and low to no wind.
Crew Physical Status: In good health…! (and well fed)
EVA: none
Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Operations Report, Greenhab Report, Journalist Report, HSO report, EVA Request.
Support Requested: If you can adjust the settings for time to pass slower so we can stay on Mars forever, it would be awesome…!
[end]
JANUARY 17, 2019
Sol Summary – January 17th
Crew 203 Sol Summary Report 17-Jan-2019
Sol: 5
Summary Title: Magnificent Desolation
Author’s name: Oscar Ojeda
Mission Status: Nominal
Sol Activity Summary: We entered the second quarter of our mission, a time where routine kicks in (if there is such a thing as routine on Mars). Everyone seemed a little bit tired this morning, but nothing some food and a conversation couldn’t fix. Everyone reviewed their respective projects and systems, had lunch, and then the EVA team started to prepare for our afternoon on the beautiful plains of Mars. The work was amazing, a lot of geology was done, a little sightseeing too. Sometimes inside the hab it’s easy to forget how beautiful Mars is. We were received by some delicious eggs and Tang, talked about the future, and now we’re waiting for another night of laughter, fun, and some sleep. The thought of just having heard the team voices for a few days now just came to our minds, and it’s somehow mindblowing.
Look Ahead Plan: Keep the hard work going…! the nice food being prepared…! the laughter and the bonding…! and make it so that this is just the first step in a long way to go…!
Anomalies in work: None
Weather: Cloudy in the morning (Cumulus), with the presence of Nimbostratus, but no precipitation, near the sunset it was less cloudy. Low to no wind in the morning, in the late afternoon wind speed increased.
Crew Physical Status: In good health…! (and with a cool attitude)
EVA: 1, a team of 4 went to the Kissing Camel ridge (yay, about time)
Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Operations Report, Greenhab Report, Journalist Report, EVA Report.
Support Requested: None, unless you can send us an autonomous robot that does the chores and takes away the mud 🙂
JANUARY 18, 2019
Sol Summary Report Jan 18th
Crew 203 Sol Summary Report 18-Jan-2019
Sol: 6
Summary Title: “For here are we sitting in a Tin Can”
Author’s name: Oscar Ojeda
Mission Status: Nominal, with an anomalous functioning of the diesel generator during the night.
Sol Activity Summary: It was a late start of the day. As if we had agreed on it, all the crew went up at almost exactly the same time. Last night we had an anomaly with the diesel generator which forced us to enter low consumption mode, and to start the morning in the same way. We had our breakfast, then each one was headed for their respective zone, it’s curious how now everyone has their own spot they can feel as their own. We had a tropical lunch based on coconut and pineapple, and kept working on keeping the station and projects. The sunset brought everyone back to the hab, we shared freshly baked oatmeal cookies, and are headed to a pizza once the capcom window is closed. (how curious, the narrative line was all about food)
Look Ahead Plan: We’re close to the middle of our mission, we want to keep working on each project, and to do some more EVAs.
Anomalies in work: We went on low consumption mode during the night and morning due to a malfunction of the diesel generator.
Weather: Clear skies all day long, with moderate winds.
Crew Physical Status: In good health, although tiredness is starting to catch up.
EVA: None
Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Operations Report, Greenhab Report, Journalist Report, EVA Request, Astronomy Report.
Support Requested: None
JANUARY 20, 2019
Sol Summary – January 19th
Crew 203 Sol Summary Report 19-Jan-2019
Sol: 7
Summary Title: Lost in space
Author’s name: Oscar Ojeda
Mission Status: Nominal
Sol Activity Summary: The day started with some exercise from 4 crewmembers. We then went to the upper deck and had breakfast, and then a team of 4 prepared for their EVA. They went to Tank Wash to perform more geology and microbiology. They returned to the hab to a cup of hot chocolate, rested a bit, and started to work on their respective reports. We plan to have another night talking about our plans for the future.
Look Ahead Plan: having passed the first half of our rotation, we expect to start to finalize each project. We’ve made plans for the food of the rest of the rotation, and are planning to spend the night watching a movie.
Anomalies in work: None
Weather: Clear skies all day long, very sunny. Moderate presence of cirrus.
Crew Physical Status: In good health. With some headaches
EVA: 1, a team of 4 went to Tank Wash for scientific survey.
Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Operations Report, Greenhab Report, Journalist Report, EVA Report, HSO Report.
Support Requested: None
JANUARY 20, 2019
Sol Summary – January 20th
Crew 203 Sol Summary Report 20-Jan-2019
Sol: 8
Summary Title: Puzzle
Author’s name: Oscar Ojeda
Mission Status: Nominal
Sol Activity Summary: Today we partly let some leisure activities take some of our time. Resting is important to keep the creativity up…! Although we are physically a bit tired, our mood is still up. We had a bean lunch, cooked as traditionally as possible with what’s available. After lunch, I gave the crew members some letters from their families I had brought with me from Earth, there was a lot of emotion and happiness. We spent the afternoon listening to some music, solving a puzzle, talking, and also preparing some reports. We’ll have dinner and then we’ll try to watch the eclipse, if clouds have mercy on us.
Look Ahead Plan: We’ll have a week full of EVAs, as well as the first results from the projects.
Anomalies in work: None
Weather: Partly cloudy skies, cirrus and cirrostratus.
Crew Physical Status: In good health.
EVA: none
Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Operations Report, Greenhab Report, Journalist Report, EVA Request, Science Report.
Support Requested: None, Unless you can take away the clouds from above us.
JANUARY 21, 2019
Sol Summary – January 21st
Crew 203 Sol Summary Report 21-Jan-2019
Sol: 9
Summary Title: Aeolus Clash
Author’s name: Oscar Ojeda
Mission Status: Nominal
Sol Activity Summary: We woke up to check the SOC of the generator, given it’s anomalous functioning. We had a Colombian breakfast, and then worked for a while in our respective projects, before getting ready for the EVA. It was very windy outside, and during the EVA one of the suits shut off. We returned to the hab had lunch and rested a little, before starting to work on the reports. We expect to have a hot dinner to help with the cold night.
Look Ahead Plan: We’ll keep the EVAs going, and processing the results of the science projects.
Anomalies in work: The diesel generator was turned off during the night. During the EVA, one of the suits shut down.
Weather: WINDY, very windy, cloudy (nimbus and cumulonimbus) and with sporadic rain.
Crew Physical Status: In good health.
EVA: 1, a team of 4 went to the beige moon region.
Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Operations Report, Greenhab Report, Journalist Report, EVA Request, EVA Report.
Support Requested: None
JANUARY 22, 2019
Sol Summary – January 22nd
Sol: 10 (I can´t believe how fast time passes)
Summary Title: Greetings Martians, we come in peace
Author’s name: Oscar Ojeda
Mission Status: Nominal
Sol Activity Summary: The day began with the long expected visit of Sole Moller and Noel Spirandelli, Journalist and Photographer respectively, who came to document our life on the red planet. We had breakfast before they arrived, greeted them with some coffee and then we began a tour of the station. We then got ready for a short EVA, that took us to a wonderful location, really close to the hab, the Hab Ridge, (So, if you are reading this, I STRONGLY recommend to go there in one of the EVAs). We spend our time doing some recognition of the zone, telling them about the science that is done, and keeping up with our lives on the station. We had a martian lunch with them, and after finishing what was left of the station to be seen, they returned to Earth, and we returned to our mission. We’ll hopefully have at last the movie night Morpheus hasn’t let us have.
Look Ahead Plan: We’re expecting to review some unexpected results on some experiments, to continue with the science, and to do more EVAs to the amazing places we are surrounded by. Entering the 4th quart of the mission, our minds are starting to return home, just a bit ahead of us.
Anomalies in work: None
Weather: Clear skies all day long, low to moderate intensity winds.
Crew Physical Status: In good health.
EVA: 1, a team of 4 + 2 journalists went to the Hab Ridge and Pooh’s Corner
Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Operations Report, Greenhab Report, Journalist Report, EVA Request, EVA Report.
Support Requested: None
JANUARY 23, 2019
Sol Summary – January 23rd
Crew 203 Sol Summary Report 23-Jan-2019
Sol: 11
Summary Title: Don’t stop me now, (’cause I’m having such a good time)
Author’s name: Oscar Ojeda
Mission Status: Nominal
Sol Activity Summary: We started our day as usual with a big breakfast, pancakes, and coffee. Some of our crewmembers, who were scheduled to go on EVA reported not so optimal health status, so we shifted the EVA team. The team got ready and went to the south of the hab, to find a zone filled with evidence of ancient life. While the team that remained in the hab performed some station keeping labors, as well as science. The crew rested in the afternoon after lunch and got ready for reporting. We’ll most likely go early to bed.
Look Ahead Plan: We’re planning for a couple more EVAs during the mission, and to review some of the results on the research.
Anomalies in work: None
Weather: Clear skies all day long, low-intensity winds.
Crew Physical Status: One crewmember might have had a fever due to a cold, other reported a headache, and another, muscular pain. Other than that, everyone is in good health.
EVA: 1, a team of 3 went to the area West of North Pinto Hills.
Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Operations Report, Greenhab Report, Journalist Report, EVA Request, EVA Report, HSO Report Astronomy Report.
Support Requested: HSO suggests Alka-Seltzer type medicine for indigestion. We’d also like to request more tissue paper for the crew members with a cold.
[end]
JANUARY 24, 2019
Sol Summary – January 24th
Sol: 12
Summary Title: Europa VII
Author’s name: Oscar Ojeda
Mission Status: Nominal
Sol Activity Summary: Today was a fine day, we have already spent 12 days on Mars, and although we are exhausted, laughter and good mood is everywhere (The auto-corrector suggests me to change it to "Good Food", which is also true). As always, we started the day with a big breakfast, those powdered eggs are starting to taste good, and supplies will last perfectly until our last meal on Mars. We got ready for our last EVA of the mission, and while we traversed the hab ridge, the crewmembers on the station were working on the final touches of their research. We came back to a plentiful lunch, and the afternoon was spent in more research. We expect to watch the sky tonight, as we get ready to say goodbye to the pale red dot, our home, our present, and hopefully, our future.
Look Ahead Plan: We have two days left here on Mars. After almost two wonderful and demanding weeks, we’re almost ready to come back to Earth. There are some final results to take from the research, finalize the global reports, and bring the mission to a close.
Anomalies in work: None
Weather: Clear skies all day long, low to moderate intensity winds.
Crew Physical Status: In good health, in better shape than yesterday…!
EVA: 1, a team of 4 went to the Hab Ridge.
Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Operations Report, Greenhab Report, Journalist Report, EVA Report, HSO Report, Astronomy Report.
Support Requested: Can you send us some more news from Colombia?
JANUARY 25, 2019
Sol Summary – January 25th
Crew 203 Sol Summary Report 25-Jan-2019
Sol: 13
Summary Title: Knights of Cydonia
Author’s name: Oscar Ojeda
Mission Status: Nominal, broke sim today.
Sol Activity Summary: We woke up knowing that it was going to be a special day. Our last day on Mars. Some results from the research were still to be taken, so after breakfast (some leftovers from yesterday’s dinner), everyone took off to work. We had lunch together and decided to break sim just after it. We went to the airlock, went out together, and with that, finished our simulation.
The crew took a small stroll around the hab, feeling the air again. Two crewmembers went then to Hanksville for a water run, while the rest stayed in the station to keep working on the projects. I prepared an "Arroz Chaufa" (the Martian version of it), which is a Peruvian dish, for Atila, who will share dinner with us tonight.
Look Ahead Plan: We expect to finish up the activities tomorrow morning, get the hab ready for the checkout, and get ready to receive crew 204. Looking forward to the traditional hamburger in Hanksville, Earth.
Anomalies in work: None
Weather: Sunny with some clouds, low intensity to no winds.
Crew Physical Status: In good health.
EVA: None.
Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Operations Report, Greenhab Report, Journalist Report.
Support Requested: None.
JANUARY 26, 2019
Sol Summary Report – January 26th
Crew 203 Sol Summary Report 26-Jan-2019
Sol: 14
Summary Title: First burger on Earth, last night on Mars
Author’s name: Oscar Ojeda
Mission Status: Nominal, out of sim.
Sol Activity Summary: Our last day on the station began by a simple cereal breakfast. Then everyone took off to finish some of the experiments, and also to start organizing the station for the next crew to take over it. We had lunch, and a much-desired bath, then we headed for Hanksville for our first dinner on Earth. We can’t believe how fast time passed. We’ll probably go to bed early, leave everything as packed as possible, and get ready for our return to Earth. As of Comms window, we’re still waiting for crew 204 to arrive.
Look Ahead Plan: We’re leaving the station tomorrow morning.
Anomalies in work: None
Weather: Sunny with some clouds, low intensity to no winds.
Crew Physical Status: In good health.
EVA: None.
Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Operations Report, Greenhab Report, Journalist Report, Science Report, HSO Report, Mission Summary.
Support Requested: None.
