Commander, PHEnOM Gold Crew, MDRS #193
Mission Sol 4 (Earth Day April 26th, 2018)
Its a beautiful feeling to be on Mars. We have made a home away from home here and are starting to make a special bond with this red planet.
We have adapted to this new routine, with our Executive Officer and Health Science Officer setting of on their morning EVA, while Crew Engineer, Crew Geologist and Astronomer and me working around the hab in the greenhouse, musk observatory and on hab maintenance. The plants in the greenhouse are doing great, we harvested fresh greens today to make salad, soup and to add flavor to our pizzas. While our CE has been doing a great job of maintaining the hab and the vehicles, our CGA has been impressive with his work in the observatory.
The afternoon EVA turned into another adventure when we couldn’t find a road mapped by rovers and previous crews, as it was stormed out and there was no trace left of it. We resorted to the map and GPS coordinates, used our navigational skills and tracked it down. Our efforts were paid off when we reached the canyons at Candor Chasma and were treated to beautiful views. We scouted for emergency shelters, but all that terrain is really flat to have any possibility of emergency shelters, unless we hike down into the canyons. We have left signs to mark part of the road that was washed off, so that future crews are able to find it.
We have had a really busy week so far. Our research projects are coming along great and am happy with the progress we are making.
Planning on winding down the next couple of days as the weather is predicted to be extreme. Will spend time on some team trainings, hab projects and planning for the next week. The team is in great health and spirits and looking forward to the next few days of adventures, research and exploration. I am impressed with the camaraderie and team spirit each crew member has exhibited. Proud to be a part of this crew.