Happy holidays to all people on old good Earth!
This year I am having a brand new experience here at MDRS. We had heavy snow precipitation today. Snow is not a first for me here on the polar cap of Mars, but the amount is something that I have never seen, and that caused us to be stuck in the habitat. This is a great new experience, getting to see the crew at a more relaxed pace after waking up a little later, to the notes of the song “Vienna”, picked by Ben. Following a Gemini, Apollo, and Space Shuttle tradition, still going on onboard the ISS, I use the crew’s favorite songs as a wake-up call!
After beginning the day with yoga and a pancake-based breakfast (yes, dehydrated eggs and milk worked perfectly), I introduced the crew to the geology of MDRS, and then we had a relaxed time building a puzzle and beginning a research project.
Meanwhile, the snow became to fall on our campus, and the hearts are warmed by a white Christmas which we will have here in isolation, far from our friends and families, but proud to be part of the endeavor to support the exploration of Mars.
A nice day awaits us tomorrow. Ad Astra.
Cesare Guariniello, Commander