Crew 310 Journalist Report 10Feb2025
Author: Jennifer García Carrizo, Crew Journalist
The crew woke up after a great birthday celebration of one of the crew members. They ate space cake, a fantastic pizza, and danced while enjoying a piñata. They started the day with some exercise before breakfast, and were enthusiastic about another exciting day of exploration.
Monica Roca i Aparici and Helena Arias embarked on an early morning EVA to move the antenna of the corner reflector to its final position that Hypatia II hasbeen setting up behind the MDRS station. Now it is finally finished!
Meanwhile, crew geologist Marina Martínez has been working hard all day in the Science Dome, analyzing samples from past EVAs. She is using two instruments that give chemical compositions of the collected samples: the VANTA Max, a portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzer provided by Evident Scientific, which today was fixed in a workstation in the lab, and the Spectroscout, a portable energy-dispersive XRF spectrometer provided by SPECTRO.
At the same time, Ariadna Farrés, Estel Blay, and Anna Bach took advantage of the station’s solar telescope to observe the Sun, while Jennifer García Carrizo continued her work on sustainability. Today she focused on what astronauts eat and how they dress in space. While clothing might not seem directly related to sustainability, raising awareness is crucial—after all, the textile industry is one of the most polluting on Earth.
To support this mission, Hypatia II has collaborated with the Spanish brand Sepiia, which has provided the crew with innovative clothing—t-shirts and pants that repel dirt, odors, and stains, and best of all, they don’t need ironing! A major advantage on a mission like this, where, of course, there is no washing machine.
Let’s continue the Hypatia II adventure, filled with science, discovery, and forward-thinking solutions for a sustainable future!