Journalist Report – November 13th

Wed 13 Nov Sol 3
by Guy Murphy
Today was Jennifer Lane’s birthday on Mars. While she was out on EVA during the afternoon with Andrew and Shane, the upper level of the Hab was decorated with balloons and streamers. Larissa baked a sponge cake with cherry cream, with Jennifers name spelt on the top in coloured icing balls. For main course, a large focaccia bread topped with olives was also created to have with soup. Our festive dinner was celebrated with a toast of bubbly (carbonated water).
Celebrating special occasions such as this on long duration missions is a tradition in places such as Antarctica. They offer an opportunity to vary an otherwise repetitive weekly schedule, when harsh weather conditions confine crew indoors. Crew may pack special foods, drink and amusements ahead of time to surprise the other team members on the day, as we did this evening. They can also help bring together international crew, where special events can bring together the whole crew, providing an opportunity to share national cuisines. The only non-Australian in Crew 215 is Larissa Wilson, who is from New Zealand. She had already tried Vegemite.
Tomato, spinach and rocket seedlings were planted in the Greenhab today, hopefully to gift fresh green garden salads to future crew.

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