Sol: 5
Summary Title: Data acquisition
Author’s name: Andrew Wheeler
Mission Status: Nominal
Sol Activity Summary: Sol 5 dawned bright clear and cold, perfect weather for EVAs. It was also Australia Day back on Earth and an opportunity for some Aussie delights. For us it was vegemite on toast with a tropical fruit platter as that was all we had. (The toast was actually bread and the fruit platter was dehydrated bananas, mango, apple and blueberries and the blueberries were actually in pancakes). Morning tea saw the unveiling of the TimTams® and, for afternoon tea, lamingtons. The hab received some tender loving care on both levels with sweeping up and vacuuming away the evidence of our external activities. The EVA for the day saw a return, along Cow Dung Road past Cowboy Corner, to the location of the spectral recordings of the previous day to collect further data and test the robot rover’s mobility on additional different slopes and surfaces. The evening meal was burgers and lamingtons. A productive day by all.
Look Ahead Plan: Weather dependent as always, tomorrow will see an EVA return to the Kissing Camel Ridge for investigation of the geological boundary between that and the Hab Ridge. This will be followed by an EVA to the Galileo Road in search of access into the Candor Chasma for geological samples and spectral targets.
Anomalies in work: Nothing to report.
Weather: Clear crisp morning at 0 Celcius rising to low teens during the day. Some minor clouds forming over the mountains during the day. No precipitation. Humidity dropping from near 80% to below 50%. The wind strengthened from gentle during the day.
Crew Physical Status: nominal
EVA: EVA 9 with Steve, Clare, and Rob to the Tharsis Montes area north of Cowboy Corner for robot rover testing.
Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Journalist Report, Greenhab Report, Operations Report, EVA report, EVA Request(s). No Astronomer report as yet.
Support Requested: Nothing to request.