Sol: Sol #3
Summary Title: A windy but productive day for Mangalyatri Crew 292.
Author’s name: Annalea Beattie
Mission Status: Nominal
Sol Activity Summary: The weather was extreme today. Even though the desert looked still, we could hear the wind howling around the hab when we woke. We correctly anticipated a delay in our fieldwork. Most of us spent the morning organizing field materials and doing research. Mid-morning Bharti and I assisted our engineer Rajvi to check the covers for the tunnels, directly addressing any issues. We made sure all our doors are well-secured and that we are keeping good radio contact in the different working zones of the hab. Mehnaz did her Green Hab chores early and then cooked aloo sandwiches (spicy potato) with Bharti. We made some yoghurt in the breadmaker, which is fantastic, and we cooked chick-peas in the slow cooker for tonight’s dinner. Late morning, yoga and we all had a late lunch. Straight after lunch, in a quick group meeting, Bharti demonstrated her idea for saving water while washing our dishes and we all agreed to change dish washing practices. Because of the high winds, as predicted, our EVA this afternoon was postponed. However, we made the best of our time inside. This afternoon everyone worked on their own projects. Aditya set up an observation in the robotic telescope and then did his analysis. Clare and I spent time in the science dome and set up a working table for drawing and painting samples, in this case, gypsum. Daniel extracted 0.3 grams of salt from a gypsum crystal to put into different media for his samples. Mehanz had a useful discussion with Rajvi and Aditya about her research and returned to the Green Hab to harvest radish, coriander and basil and check the moisture levels of the plants. Bharti read papers sent by Dr. Jon Clarke on slope analysis and basic planetary geology. Dinner tonight is chana masala cooked by me (chickpeas with tomatoes and onions) and paratha, (flat bread) freshly made by Clare. (BTW the Indian food cooked by everyone on this crew is excellent). Maybe another game of cards after Comms and fingers crossed again for good weather tomorrow. We are ready for fieldwork.
Look Ahead Plan: Today’s postponed EVA to Cowboy Corner requested for tomorrow.
Anomalies in work: None
Weather: Very windy with SSW gusts of 25mph. The forecast today was cool with high cloud cover, maximum temperature 50F, now dropping.
Crew Physical Status: Nominal
EVA: none
Reports to be filed: Sol Summary, Journalist Report, Greenhab Report, Operations Report, EVA report, Astronomy Report, EVA request.
Support Requested: None