Crew 311 Journalist report 21Feb2025
SOL 5: Enjoying the Sweetness of Silence
Author: Isolde Louzier-Ricalens
2:10 PM: Today was the calm after the storm. The wind has subsided, and the morning was relatively quiet in the HAB. Célyan, Quentin, and Robin were making card signs in the RAM, which will be placed near the atmospheric instruments to keep “aliens” from getting too close and interfering with the measurements. Meanwhile, Meddi and Somaya launched the HUMANISE experiment in the Science Dome. Eventually, it was just Erin and I left in the HAB, and the calm was refreshing. When Somaya returned, Erin and her started writing a scientific article about our analogue mission. In the meantime, I sketched drawings of the station for an experiment in collaboration with an engineer architect from KTH University in Sweden. Then, as we finished installing the lamps for the LättaLL experiment, Célyan and Somaya measured the light intensity in different parts of the Upper Deck.
For lunch, we enjoyed the freshness of the parsley harvested at the GreenHab! Enjoying a bit of green on your plate isn’t unpleasant when no trees are visible for miles around.
The clouds also left us, and Quentin was able to make new observations of the sun at its zenith.
4:00 PM In the early afternoon, we started a recording session for the Evolsan lab. As I write my report, Meddi is teaching Somaya and Célyan how to use our drone loaned by Parrot to take our first aerial videos. On her side, Erin is assessing the water we have used this week. On Mars, water is a rare and precious resource, but let’s not forget that it is also on Earth. Keeping a very close eye on our water consumption allows us to realize how much we take this resource for granted, which is not the case everywhere on the blue planet. I challenge you to wash dishes for 7 with just 4 liters of water!