Crew 193 Journalism Reports
POSTED ONMAY 2, 2018 Journalist Report May 2nd Journalist Report – Earth-Date 02May2018 / Sol 10
Author: Eric Shear
This has been a day of cleaning and humor. In light of both EVAs being cancelled today due to extreme muddy conditions, we have made the best of a bad situation and channeled our energies into preparations for the school field trip tomorrow. We have cleaned the hab to the best of our ability, kept up with our experiments, and made plans for receiving the kids.
Our astronomer took advantage of a brief peek of the sun through the clouds to photograph one small prominence on the solar limb. The general conclusion he reached from these observations is that the sun is undergoing a quiescent period of activity, which is extremely fortunate for our mission.
We learned some more ASL from our deaf crew member. Some of us managed to guess the signs correctly before he taught them to us!
We are looking forward to the end of our rotation, and have begun our final reports in anticipation of that big day.
POSTED ONMAY 1, 2018 Journalist Report – May 1st Journalist Report – Earth-Date 1 May 2018/ Mars Sol 9
Author: Doug Campbell
Crew 193 has rounded the halfway point and can see the finish line of their mission on Mars!
The last two days have included four EVAs to different location of the MDRS campus. Unfortunately, inclement weather has forced the shortening of most recent EVAs. Good judgement by each team has seen them stay out of harm’s way in case of flash flooding caused by a hard downpour in the desert.
Despite the shortened length of the EVAs, each team has explored vast distances and taken incredible photography of the varied landscape surrounding their home base. Mountains have been climbed, valleys have been explored, rocks have been kicked and dunes have been slid down.
Inside the hab, the work continues. Many research projects are wrapping up as the mission nears its end. The water-less dishwasher is showing early promise when compared to standard dish washing methods that consume large amounts of water. The green hab is still living up to its name despite the hot weather and the astronomer is having success finding different elements of the sun to photograph.
As a team, Crew 193 is continuing to grow and learn how to work together to achieve their mission goals. The team remains well fed and in good spirits. They have no doubt that this will be both a successful mission and a valuable learning experience!
POSTED ONAPRIL 29, 2018 Journalist Report – April 29th Journalist Report – Earth-Date 29APR2018 / Mars Sol 7
Author: Eric Shear
This weekend, we took a much-needed rest day on Sol 6. That doesn’t mean we lounged around all day – we made outreach videos with a combination of spoken and signed language.
Today (Sol 7) began the first of our switched EVAs. Team Canada had previously done morning EVAs, and is now doing EVAs in the afternoon, and vice versa for the Americans.
On Sol 6, our geologist/astronomer finally caught a prominence on the Sun, much to the excitement of the astronomers at Mission Support. Then he did it again on Sol 7, getting three solar features despite heavy cloud cover. We are glad to see him sharpen his already considerable telescope and image processing skills.
The morning of Sol 7, Team America went on EVA to Zubrin’s Head, White Rock Canyon, and Kissing Camel. Team Canada explored Toothy Ridge and Copernicus Highway. During one of these EVAs, a crewmember injured her knee by falling down a hill.
The afternoon was spent recuperating, working on projects and furthering our research. A quiet evening of eating good food and low-key recreation is anticipated. Our XO is anxious for a rematch in cards…
POSTED ONAPRIL 27, 2018 Journalist Report – April 27th Journalist Report – Earth-Date 27APR2018 / Mars Sol 5 Author: Doug Campbell
It’s been a tale of two Sols over the last 48 hours for MDRS Crew 193. Sol 4 was packed with two extensive exploration EVAs, a delicious meal and a hard fought battle at the card table.
On Sol 4, Team Canada (EVA Team 1) left the vast expanses of the Martian desert to explore the moon. The soft, powdery, grey dirt enabled the team to travel vast distances and climb tall mountains with the ease of Alan Shepard hitting a golf ball in 1/6 gravity. They walked over 9 kilometres (5.5 miles for our imperial friends) and documented the unique landscape with their strong photographic skills. EVA Team 2 explored deep into Candor Chasma and marveled at the beauty of the valley. Unfortunately, due to a framing error, the breathtaking pictures that were anticipated did not turn out.
In the evening, the crew astronomer/geologist introduced his colleagues to a card game called “Shanghai”. The rest of the crew is figuring out the rules as they play, but they are beginning to wonder if the astronomer is trying to hustle them for extra dessert rations!
Sol 5 was supposed to be a relaxing day for crew bonding and skill building. However, things to not always go as planned! The day began with training on emergency triage procedures. This would enable the crew to care for their colleagues should an accident occur on an EVA. The newly learned techniques were then practiced during an EVA outside of the hab.
Two teams practiced triaging patients and moving unconscious astronauts into safer positions when they are trapped in an EVA vehicle. Unexpectedly, these skills were put into immediate real usage as one crew member reported they were feeling dizzy during the EVA. The other crew members responded immediately and brought the crew member safely inside the hab for treatment. We are happy to report the crew member is doing well and that the training their teammates received this morning enabled them to act quickly and decisively to avoid further issues.
The afternoon was spent recuperating, working on projects and furthering our research. It was not exactly the day the crew had planned; however, it showed the strength and adaptability of the crew to deal with issues as they arise.
A quiet evening of eating good food and watching a movie is anticipated. Perhaps the cards will also be broken out again…
POSTED ONAPRIL 25, 2018 Journalist Report April 25th Journalist Report – Earth-Date 25APR2018 / Sol 3 Author: Shawna Pandya
Never a dull moment on Mars! Over the past 24 hours, this intrepid and resilient crew has bonded over learning the basics of American Sign Language (fun fact: you can actually count to 999 on one hand) and sharing stories of diving with sharks, meetings astronauts, driving in Europe, chasing typhoons in Guam and scaling peaks in the Rockies (told you we weren’t dull!).
Our day today started with a rude wake-up at 0300 local time as the Commander and HSO went to investigate a persistent banging in the rear airlock (and the HSO learned a valuable life-lesson about double-checking the security of the bolt on the outer airlock door in future instances).
The day continued with a set of adventures, as EVA Team 1 (Team Canada!) overshot their intended scouting site, landing in Lith Canyon instead of the Moon – luckily some good scientific data was still accrued, and the Team will attempt to shoot for the Moon again tomorrow. EVA Team 2 furthered their progress with the MDRS sign project in the RAM during their mid-day EVA, but responsibly chose to cut their EVA short some time later, realizing the real risk of heat stroke from working in the hot RAM at mid-Sol.
Science, GreenHab and Hab operations continued on as usual, and Gold Crew will cap the Sol off with an evening of R&R that includes a movie, some more team-bonding through shared adventures and ASL lessons, and a delicious Martian spread of spaghetti alfredo, spaghetti with Martian tomato sauce, and some good ol’ fashioned Hab-made cornbread.
Gold Crew 193 looks forward to greeting Sol 4 with enthusiasm, and facing any challenges the Martian winds bring the same way we always have – as a team, and with enthusiasm!
