Crew 219 Journalist Report 10 JAN 2020
Nathan Hadland, Crew 219 Executive Officer
Sol 5
A Tangy Day
The morning started out like any other; people started climbing out of their beds and making coffee and tea. However, the environment outside was anything but normal. A thick layer of icy fog stretched over the landscape. On the tunnels around the Hab, there was a coat of freezing fog which was really beautiful in the sunlight. Until about 1000 hours, visibility was extremely limited, so we decided to scrap our morning EVA. However, once the sun was higher in the sky, the fog disappeared in a span of 15 minutes! It was as if a vacuum had rolled over the land and sucked it all up! We were left with blue skies for the first time our entire mission. These clear skies have us hopeful that we will finally get some data for our astronomy research.
The scrapped EVA freed up our morning to catch up on work in the lab and some maintenance issues. I helped Alejandro (ENG) thaw the frozen pipes and fix some of the EVA suits. Meanwhile, Cynthia (GHO) and Abdul (GEO) worked in the lab on their samples. Unfortunately, it looks like our cyanobacteria have died due to the extreme temperature fluctuations they have been subjected to. However, we will continue to analyze our samples and their effect on the morphology and mineralogy of the regolith.
Due to the incredible change in weather in the morning, the second EVA was good to go. I led Alejandro (ENG), Abdul (GEO), and Robinson (ASTRO) up Hab Ridge and the views were breathtaking. We could clearly see Mt. Pennell, Skyline Rim, among other amazing geologic features. We made the long trek through the snow along Sagan Road to Mid Ridge Planitia to get samples for our mineralogy survey. Tomorrow, we will continue this survey by going all the way to Skyline Rim to take samples at the base of the mountain. Along the way, we will be keeping our eyes out for lichen or other microbiological samples for our astrobiology project.
Although previous journalist reports have commented on the excellency of Hannah’s (LSO) cooking, I feel it is necessary to continue these praises. Last night she made Tang-flavored teriyaki chicken and today she made Tang-flavored cinnamon rolls. Each bite I took, I felt like the universe was speaking to me through food and unlocking its mysteries.