SOL 9: Meddi, Tell Me a Story!
4:30 PM: The crew had a productive morning. Robin took his turn practicing the teleoperation of rovers using a PlayStation controller for the HUMANISE experiment. Soon, everyone on the crew will have enjoyed controlling the little robot this way. Célyan and I began testing the work done by ISAE-SUPAERO students who developed AMAIA, the CNES astronaut assistance AI. Meanwhile, Meddi did his daily visit of the micro-greens scattered throughout the station, between the Science Dome, GreenHab, and HAB, to water them. We then realized just how dry our environment is. With an average humidity in the HAB of around 20%, all living organisms in the station must contend with unusual dryness. The crew members are not exempt from this constraint; lip balm and moisturizing cream are our best friends. But the micro-greens suffer as well, and we’ve already noticed that those growing in agar-agar, a very humid substance Meddi prepared at the start of the mission, are thriving much better than those in the soil, which dries out very quickly.
6:20 PM: Today, Robin and Meddi also finished modeling 3D maps using photogrammetry software. Tonight, an experiment really begins. To compare our performances, two teams will compete in searching for beacons at Candor Chasma, a close canyon to the base. One team will use a 2D map, while the other will use the freshly modeled 3D map. Tonight, Somaya and I took notes on a 2D-created map; Meddi had prepared a small scenario to set the context for our expedition! We’ll set out tomorrow morning in search of them.