Crew 265 Journalist Report, May 4, 2022
Sol: 10
Summary Title: The End is Nigh…
Author: Sarah Treadwell, Crew Journalist
Sol 10. Two EVAs today, with myself and Executive Officer Dave in the morning and Engineer Sergii and Mapping Texas Twins Benny and Isai in the afternoon. We all sense the end of the mission drawing close, with one final EVA set for tomorrow. Overall, our mission seems to have been a success, but I will certainly let our crew commander do a final briefing on that.
This morning Dave and I attempted to summit nearby Phobos Peak. Unfortunately, there was no easy way to ascend as the ground was far too loose. After we went as high as we could go, we took some time to just sit and really soak in the environment around us. Those who know me well know that I can cry at a drop of a dime; however, today felt quite different. There was more of a sense of reverence that I carried with me, rather than overwhelming emotion.
The other EVA crew did some comms checking in a different direction from the station than we have normally been wandering. The radios seemed to perform well. They returned for us to all enjoy an early dinner and we parted ways into our sequestered quiet spaces to do homework and reports.
Generally, I think we all are just tired and ready to return to our normal lives… and even more importantly, return to non-dehydrated food. Personally, I am extremely excited about this and have been fantasizing about what to eat when we are done.
Something I want to coyly touch on that I will talk about more once I get home is one of my biggest mental challenges I have had while here. I think everyone can understand how not being able to call or video chat with our loved ones can be a challenge. While here I missed my daughter losing her first tooth, my boyfriend’s birthday, and my son getting to experience very sweet firsts at his preschool. While not ideal, these are all things that any astronaut or explorer has to accept they may miss when taking on a mission.
Something I did not anticipate though was receiving really, really big news and dealing with that in this environment where I couldn’t use my usual coping techniques to deal with my myriad of emotions. Normally I go for walks, drive to loud music, call my closest loved ones, and go to a restaurant to check out for an evening in a situation like this. None of those were options here.
This is something I will need time to reflect on because this is an important part of what we do here and what I also came to do, which is to look at the psychological and sociological effects of our time here.
But I will process that later… because all I can think about right now is having a burger and Coke. And so to end this, a quote for my son, whom we nickname Moo:
“Fix your little problem and light this candle” – Alan Shepherd