Journalist Report – January 16th

SOL 4, we do not know whether to say: "… it’s already sun 4!" or "… it’s barely sun 4". We have a great physical and mental burden on our shoulders, tiredness overwhelms us and makes us think that we have been here much longer than what it has actually been, it is a common feeling among most members of the crew. The night was cold and the season dawned covered by a white layer of snow. Contrasting with the red of the desert, Mars surprises us with a deep mist that mixes with the ground and makes us lose sight of the horizon, the image is shocking, simply unforgettable.

Last night I slept more than usual, I succumbed to the powers of Morpheus, I believe that the distance between planets is not an impediment for him. We all get up, our commander prepares a delicious breakfast and when we get ready to work on our science projects the technical problems appear, the bathroom plays a trick on us but the team meets and faces the situation, problem solved; back to the projects.

The day, which dawned cold, became sunny. The temperature has been higher today than the previous days, once again lunch brings us all together in the habitat, delicious rice with tofu, vegetarian style for all today in honor of our XO, food without suffering! Digestion is not our strength, it conspires with fatigue and affects us all, my partners lose the fight, for the next 15 minutes I do not know anything about them, they are not here, they returned to earth in their dreams, the best way to travel when distance and time is an impediment.

The day is over and it is inevitable for me to think of home, nostalgia comes back to take over me as it happens every time the sun goes down, more and more suns away from what I love the most, my family. Far from my Tontina and Lalita, they do not know how much I miss them. A special greeting from Mars to Mrs. Geo and to all my family. Alejo, Liz, and Pablo … how much I miss to embrace them. I will see you all again, but not yet 😉

P.S. A "ñero" spirit goes around in the environment.

Freddy Castaneda.

SOL 4, no sabemos si decir: "… ya es el sol 4!" ó "… apenas es el sol 4". Tenemos sobre nuestros hombros una gran carga física y mental, el cansancio nos abruma y nos hace pensar que llevamos mucho más tiempo aquí del que en realidad ha pasado, es un sentimiento común dentro de la mayoría de los miembros de la tripulación. La noche fue fría y la estación amaneció cubierta por una capa blanca de nieve. Contrastando con el rojo del desierto, Marte nos sorprende con una profunda bruma que se mezcla con el suelo y nos hace perder de vista el horizonte, la imagen es impactante, simplemente inolvidable.

Anoche dormí más de lo habitual, sucumbí ante los poderes de Morfeo, creo que la distancia entre planetas no es un impedimento para él. Nos levantamos todos, nuestro comandante prepara un rico desayuno y cuando nos disponemos a trabajar en nuestros proyectos de ciencia los inconvenientes técnicos aparecen, el baño nos juega una mala pasada pero el equipo se reúne y hace frente a la situación, problema resuelto…de vuelta a los proyectos.

El día, que amaneció frío, se tornó soleado. La temperatura ha sido más alta hoy que los días anteriores, una vez más el almuerzo nos reúne a todos en el habitat, un delicioso arroz con tofu, estilo vegetariano para todos hoy en honor a nuestro XO, comida sin sufrimiento!. La digestión no es nuestro fuerte, conspira con el cansancio y nos afecta a todos, mis compañeros pierden la pelea, Por los siguientes 15 minutos no sé nada sobre ellos, no están aquí, regresaron a la tierra en sus sueños, la mejor manera de viajar cuando la distancia y el tiempo es un impedimento.

El día se termina y me es inevitable pensar en casa, la nostalgia se vuelve a apoderar de mi como sucede cada vez que el sol se oculta, más y más soles lejos de lo que más amo, mi familia. Lejos de mi tontina y de Lolita, no saben cuanto las extraño. Un saludo especial desde Marte a doña Geo y a toda mi familia. Alejo, Liz y Pablo… como extraño abrazarlos. Los veré a todos de nuevo, pero no aún!

P.D. Un espíritu ñero ronda el ambiente.

Freddy Castañeda.

Journalist Report – January 16th

Freddy Alexander Castaneda Latorre 16Jan2019

SOL 4, we do not know whether to say: "… it’s already sun 4!" or "… it’s barely sun 4". We have a great physical and mental burden on our shoulders, tiredness overwhelms us and makes us think that we have been here much longer than what it has actually been, it is a common feeling among most members of the crew. The night was cold and the season dawned covered by a white layer of snow. Contrasting with the red of the desert, Mars surprises us with a deep mist that mixes with the ground and makes us lose sight of the horizon, the image is shocking, simply unforgettable.

Last night I slept more than usual, I succumbed to the powers of Morpheus, I believe that the distance between planets is not an impediment for him. We all get up, our commander prepares a delicious breakfast and when we get ready to work on our science projects the technical problems appear, the bathroom plays a trick on us but the team meets and faces the situation, problem solved; back to the projects.

The day, which dawned cold, became sunny. The temperature has been higher today than the previous days, once again lunch brings us all together in the habitat, delicious rice with tofu, vegetarian style for all today in honor of our XO, food without suffering! Digestion is not our strength, it conspires with fatigue and affects us all, my partners lose the fight, for the next 15 minutes I do not know anything about them, they are not here, they returned to earth in their dreams, the best way to travel when distance and time is an impediment.

The day is over and it is inevitable for me to think of home, nostalgia comes back to take over me as it happens every time the sun goes down, more and more suns away from what I love the most, my family. Far from my Tontina and Lalita, they do not know how much I miss them. A special greeting from Mars to Mrs. Geo and to all my family. Alejo, Liz, and Pablo … how much I miss to embrace them. I will see you all again, but not yet 😉

P.S. A "ñero" spirit goes around in the environment.

Greenhab Report – January 16th

Crew 203 Greenhab Report 16-Jan-2019

Greenhab Officer: Hermes Bolivar

Environmental Control:

Heating

Cooling w/ ambient air (1 hr)

40% Shade Cloth on

80% Shade Cloth on

Average Temperatures:

Low: 17°C

High: 29.3°C

Hours of Supplemental Light: 5

Daily Water Usage of Crops: 9 gallons

Water in Blue Tank (gallons): 80.6%, 242 Gallons.

Times of Watering for Crops:

9:57

13:20

15:58

18:03

Changes to crops:

* Change position of sunflowers and cress to the wooden bench.

* There were put 4 new twist ties.

Narrative:

The Sunflowers are very good, I had to change from current position to a wooden bench because it’s very tall, the cress was changed too. I believe that more light could help them to recover. I started to prepare the soil with Martian regolith for the research projects.

Harvest: 40g of Baby Greens.

Support/Supplies Needed:

Seeds of: romaine lettuce (1 bag)

Sol Summary – January 16th

Crew 203 Sol Summary Report 16-Jan-2019

Sol: 4

Summary Title: White Mars, Red Mars, muddy Mars

Author’s name: Oscar Ojeda

Mission Status: Nominal

Sol Activity Summary: I’m starting a routine of a morning complete inspection of the facilities; this lets me plan the day better. We woke up to a layer of snow outside the Hab, after breakfast, and a small workout session of three crewmembers, we proceeded to remove the snow from the Hab areas covered by it.

After that, each crewmember started working on their respective projects, getting everything ready for an exciting rest of mission filled with science, and probably also a little bit of fun. We had a vegetarian lunch, a nod to our XO, and kept working. We’ve still had time to laugh and bond.

A light dinner and an early sleep will close the day, and be the preamble for what’s to come.

Look Ahead Plan: Science is looking good. Specific and realistic goals for each project have been set. We’ll have our first scientific EVA.

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: Very cloudy in the morning (Stratocumulus), Stratos in the afternoon, and cirrus in the early evening, with a sunny sunset. No snow nor precipitations, and low to no wind.

Crew Physical Status: In good health…! (and well fed)

EVA: none

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Operations Report, Greenhab Report, Journalist Report, HSO report, EVA Request.

Support Requested: If you can adjust the settings for time to pass slower so we can stay on Mars forever, it would be awesome…!

[end]

Greenhab Report – January 15th

Crew 203 Greenhab Report 15-Jan-2019
Greenhab Officer:
Hermes Bolivar

Environmental Control:
Heating
Cooling w/ ambient air (0 hrs)

40% Shade Cloth on
80% Shade Cloth on

Average Temperatures:
Low: 16.7°C
High: 26°C

Hours of Supplemental Light:
5

Daily Water Usage of Crops:
11 gallons

Water in Blue Tank (gallons):
83.6%, 251 Gallons.

Times of Watering for Crops:
9:13
12:10
14:37
17:05
19:06

Changes to crops:

* Today were planted on 8 trays; spinach, lettuce encore mix, cliantro, micro greens savory mix, fennel florence, lettuce leaf, mesclun mixed salad greens, mustard, perpetual spinach.

* The lettuce rommane planted 6 days ago by 202 crew has begun to emerged.

Narrative:
The max temperature of the greenhab was reduced to 26°C, the cold day helped in the reduce of temperature. this is great for the current crops in rehabilitation. For example, the sugar beens looking very good. the same answer has been looked in crops of microgreens an baby greens. In the morning, I can see some plants of lettuce rommane planted for previous crew. I hope see new plants tomorrow.

Harvest: 2g Cilantro

Support/Supplies Needed:

Seeds of:
*spinach
*lettuce
*cliantro
*fennel florence
*lettuce leaf
*mesclun mixed salad greens
*mustard
*perpetual spinach

Potting soil.

Sol Summary – January 15th

Crew 203 Sol Summary Report 15-Jan-2019

Sol: 3

Summary Title: Changua

Author’s name: Oscar Ojeda

Mission Status: Nominal (and relaxing)

Sol Activity Summary: It was a wonderful morning, with some of the fresh cilantro from the greenhab, and also doing our best with the dehydrated ingredients, we prepared a traditional breakfast from Bogotá, Changua. Afterwards, we had a conversation with director Shannon about yesterday’s EVA, and after she departed we started to work in our respective projects. The day was calm and relaxing, we were able to keep in each other’s company while working, sharing, talking, laughing, and realizing that going to Mars is not about regolith, screws, and dehydrated food, it is about learning to be human.

Look Ahead Plan: Tomorrow we will continue the work inside the habitat, in preparation for the expected first science EVA on Sol 5. We are also getting a lot of new ideas about what should we cook, and on some outreach material…!

Anomalies in work: None

Weather: Very cloudy (Stratocumulus), with low intensity snow in the early afternoon, getting heavier towards the evening.

Crew Physical Status: In good health…!

EVA: none

Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Operations Report, Greenhab Report, Journalist Report.

Support Requested: Send lots of hugs and good vives…! ~[°-°]~

Journalist Report – January 15th

Sol 3

Title: Yo también soy un boyaco (Colombian song)

Mars may seem a desolate place but since we met on this planet, laughter, camaraderie and complicity took over the place. Here we are a family and we are happy to belong to it.

202 crews have passed in front of us but it is the first time that someone has prepared “changua” at the station, a typical breakfast of cundiboyacense plateau of Colombia, where most of the crew members are from. When we arrived at Mars we thought that one of the great limitations was going to be the food, the commander and I have made sure that the culinary experience is a delight for the palate, who said that dehydrated food has to taste bad?.

Today has been quite cold, it is even snowing, that has not been an impediment to continue with the activities. Within the Hab each one was working on their science projects. We hope to leave on January 17 to our next EVA, our second encounter with the inclement Martian environment.

MARStha Leticia, our mascot, has been bored today but we have told her that she can get sick if she goes for a walk because she comes from a tropical area
and is not used to snow. She, without a doubt, wants to go out and has spent all day in the window.

The greenhab keeps reborning, the romanticism of breathing fresh air and seeing the green color of the plants makes us feel close to home. We all return from our activities, we will have movie night, the commander and the XO said that we are going to eat “canchita”, what is “canchita” ?, we do not know yet.

Today at the end of the day we realized that if this if the space exploration does not work for us, we have the potential to become youtubers.

Sol 3:

Título: Yo también soy un boyaco (Canción colombiana)

Marte puede parecer un lugar desolado pero desde que nos encontramos en este planeta, las risas, la camaradería y la complicidad se apoderaron del lugar. Aquí somos una familia y estamos felices de pertenecer a ella.

Han pasado 202 tripulaciones por delante de nosotros pero es la primera vez que en la estación alguien ha preparado “changua”, un desayuno del altiplano cundiboyacense de Colombia, de donde somos los tripulantes. Cuando llegamos a Marte pensamos que una de las grandes limitaciones iba a ser la comida, el comandante y yo, nos hemos encargado de que la experiencia culinaria sea todo un deleite para el paladar, quien dijo que la comida deshidratada tiene que saber mal?

El sol de hoy ha sido bastante frío, inclusive está nevando, eso no ha sido impedimento para continuar con las actividades. Dentro del Hab cada uno estuvo trabajando en sus proyectos de ciencia. Esperamos salir el 17 de enero a nuestro próximo EVA, nuestro segundo encuentro con el inclemente ambiente marciano.

MARStha Leticia, nuestra mascota, ha estado aburrida hoy pero nosotros le hemos dicho que se puede enfermar si sale a dar un paseo porque ella viene de una zona tropical y no está acostumbada a la nieve. Ella, sin duda, quiere salir y se la ha pasado todo el día en la ventana.

El greenhab sigue renaciendo, el romanticismo de respirar aire fresco y ver el color verde de las plantas nos hace sentir cerca de casa. Todos regresamos de nuestras actividades, tendremos noche de peliculas, el comandante y el XO dijeron que vamos a comer “canchita”, que rayos es “canchita”?, aún no lo sabemos.

Hoy al final del día nos dimos cuenta que si esto de la exploración espacial no funciona, tenemos potencial de youtubers.

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