06-DEC-2018
Shannon told us at the beginning of the mission to notice the moment
where we felt like we were truly living on Mars. For me, I experienced
this moment. On EVA, as I followed behind my strong fellow crew
members across the snowy red hills around the MDRS, I took a deep
breath inside my spacesuit helmet. We were returning to the Hab after
a difficult hike through the hills to collect soil samples. One crew
member helped another across a small stream. As we helped each other
trek across the landscape indicating the best places to step and
lending a hand when needed, I truly felt a part of a crew on Mars.
Meanwhile, while the women of the crew went on EVA, the men were in
the Hab continuing their experiments in the lab and in the kitchen.
Lunch was fantastic (the first bread we’ve had since the mission
began). And dinner was superb! We had baked tuna melt. Although, it
was more like baked tuna crisp since we forgot to rehydrate the cheese
before putting it in the oven. Delicious all the same – we ate every
bite of the huge pan. Thanks to our Crew Astronomer (it’s been cloudy
out so now he is the Crew Chef).
Today we also had guests. We answered all their questions and showed
them around the Hab.
Oakley Jennings-Fast