Spruha worked late into the night installing the OS on her Raspberry Pi, so most of us didn’t stir until around 8:00 AM. By then, Monish had already made omelettes for everyone, customizing each just a bit—more veggies for some, extra cheese for others. We had three tracks playing quietly in the background, including that song Spruha, Monish, and Hunter all really like, which helped us start the day on a good note.
After breakfast, we reviewed our plans. Mission Support advised that the day would be cloudy, so we agreed to keep the Hab running in low power mode. Spruha’s code, which had reached 85% overnight, still had 15% to go. We were all hoping it would be done by 11:30 PM. Meanwhile, Rashi continued expanding her research document, now at four pages. Monish focused on sensor tests for his experiment. Peter tidied up the Hab and planned to send out exit surveys for the human factors study.
Before the EVA, Ian prepared a simple lunch of rice and chicken. On EVA, Ian and Hunter took stream measurements and collected paleosol samples, while Spruha scouted a site for rover tests and our upcoming media day. The good news came in while they were still outside: Spruha’s code finished uploading around 12:45 PM.
Back inside, Rashi kept working through her notes, and Peter did another round of dishes, occasionally glancing through the windows to check on the team. Monish set up the global dashboard. After the EVA crew returned at about 1:35 PM, they took out the rovers and headed over to Zubrin’s head. The comms team recorded the rover range and battery levels. Once everyone got back, we took a short break.
Later in the afternoon, Spruha returned to the rover, and Hunter slipped over to the GreenHab for his own research tasks. Ian and Rashi spent some time on their schoolwork. Spruha and Monish teamed up to inspect the rover’s wiring and may have pinpointed the source of a persistent issue. By 6:00 PM, it was time for reports and dinner. Rashi prepared black bean burger patties, and we settled in for a quiet evening, looking back on another busy day