Crew 208 Journalist Report
April 5, 2019
Author: Erika Rydberg
The End is Near: Just for our Journey On Mars
Today was a day about completion. With much of our equipment departing tomorrow, we finished our 3D prints (including pieces to build your own mini-MDRS) and completed other projects. With the completion of many projects, we had a bit of time to experience the joy of some games we have around the Hab.
Whilst Dean and Julielynn finished their rides on our bicycle battery charging system, Amanda and David played a game of space chess, and it turns out at 12 years old, David was an provincial winning chess player in Canada (we’re still trying to figure out what he can’t do – not only is he an emergency room doctor, he plays the drums, taught us some dance moves today, just finished a masters in the UK, and performed some magic tricks while at the Hab – he is the exact kind of person you want on your trip to Mars). He came out the winner today in chess, but Amanda was ready for another challenge.
We completed some additional training and testing on our thoracentesis trainer. I think for us practicing the procedure with the trainer, we’re getting more and more familiar with this life-saving procedure. I admired the growth in the Greenhab today thinking of how amazing it can be to grow so many plants in such a harsh environment, where not much is growing beyond our little green space on Mars.
We were able to fit in some additional projects including, some brief fun filming in our electric vehicle today; with our time on Mars running out we’re trying to experiment as much as possible before we go. David and Amanda had a brief trip out to the reservoir at the end of the day.
We’ve become so familiar with the Hab and our landscape, it will be sad to leave, but we rest assured that the next crew will have important research ahead of them and make more important discoveries on the Red Planet.