Category: Journalist Report

Crew 311 Journalist Report 20Feb2025
SOL 3 : A break to freshly restart the day
Author: Isolde Louzier-Ricalens

13:26PM: At the time I am writing this report, the schedule indicates that I should be on an EVA (Extra-Vehicular Activity), installing atmospheric instruments. However, Quentin, Robin, and I have finished our little expedition early! This was our first EVA of this length, and we immediately feel the intensity of these outings. Indeed, the suits are heavy, and the longest EVAs, which are planned for 4 hours, are supposed to be tiring. Once back inside, a pleasant surprise: Célyan had prepared delicious little snacks that were not refused!

In the meantime, Somaya was the first to participate in Humanise, our tele-operation experience. She has worked tirelessly with researchers over the past few days to ensure its smooth operation, and it is a great relief and joy to see it working today, especially since it appears to be very entertaining.

16:42PM: The crew took a short break this early afternoon. Everyone has been working intensely since the start of the mission; it was an opportunity to recharge, especially since Erin has been sick since the beginning of the mission, which must have made these first days even more challenging for her. I personally took advantage of it to build a small cardboard shelf and tidy up some of the equipment that had been lying around in the HAB since SOL 0, with the help of crew members waking up from their nap. Now, Robin is modeling another small storage unit in 3D to organize the batteries and phones necessary for certain experiments.

The GreenHab was also lively today. Yesterday, we discovered that the greenhouse did not contain any potting soil, and even after searching the station from top to bottom, we only found some at the base of already potted plants. Mission Support confirmed during the evening that there wasn’t any more, so Meddi had to dig up the useless plants in the GreenHab to recover their soil—a vigorous task to start the day, but it allowed him to finally plant the microgreens.

Crew 310 Journalist Report 13Feb2025
Author: Jennifer García Carrizo, Crew Journalist

The crew begins the next to last Sol excitedly, hoping to wrap up their research projects and conduct two special EVAs.
In the morning, half of the crew embarked on an EVA along the main road, Cow Dung Road 0110, and stopped at a series of different locations. They enjoyed documenting and collecting the last geological samples along the breathtaking Martian landscape.
Meanwhile, Anna Bach, the crew’s artist, worked on adding color to the children’s book she has been developing. Engineer Helena Arias Casals finished printing her latest designs on the 3D printer, while journalist Jennifer García Carrizo and scientist Estel Blay recorded the greenhouse experiment on tomatoes. Estel confirmed that the tomato seeds that thrived the most were the ones that had been watered with filtered water.
In the afternoon, the other part of the crew headed out to North Ridge, where they took the opportunity to document this stunning Martian-like environment. Meanwhile, Marina Martínez, Mónica Roca i Aparici, and Ariadna Farrés spent the last hours of the evening finalizing their respective research projects.
Tomorrow is the crew’s final Sol, and they are busy finishing their scientific project before the end of the mission.

Crew 310 Journalist Report 14Feb2025
Author: Jennifer García Carrizo, Crew Journalist
The crew of Hypatia II woke up to an astonishing surprise—the words “Ha nevat” ("It has snowed") echoed through the station. Commander Ariadna Farrés was the first to witness the unbelievable: against all odds, snow had fallen overnight in the middle of the desert! Once in a life time experience, as if Mars had gifted them a magical farewell.
With hearts full of wonder, the crew captured and immortalized this extraordinary experience before fueling up with breakfast. There was still one final adventure ahead—their last EVA, the 22nd of this unforgettable mission. They stepped outside one last time, determined to finish documenting their journey and research projects.
Inside the station, the remaining crew members wrapped up their projects and checked off the last items on their to-do lists. Meanwhile, Marina Martínez, the GreenHab Officer, tenderly prepared the plants, ensuring everything was ready to pass the torch to the next crew.
Then came the moment of closure. Over a delicious curry, they shared reflections on this life-changing expedition. As a final, they ended their mission with a powerful song—Quan tot s’enlaira by Txarango. Voices rose together, full of emotion, as the lyrics echoed their journey:
"When everything takes off, I tiptoe to my dreams. Together we can go further. A long journey, illusions in the suitcases. Together we can go further."
With eyes shining, they bid farewell to their Martian home. Till the next stop, Hypatia!

Crew 310 Journalist Report 09Feb2025
Author: Jennifer García Carrizo, Crew Journalist
The crew started the day at the station with a sports session and a good breakfast: pancakes and fruit. Today was the crew engineer’s birthday: Helena Arias Casals. It was worth celebrating!
In the morning, part of the crew performed an EVA near the station. While Monica Roca i Aparici and Helena Arias worked on the corner reflector, Estel Blay dedicated her time to checking her solar panels and recorded 360 videos of the exterior of the station assisted by the crew journalist Jennifer Garcia Carrizo from the inside. Thanks to their joined efforts, the objectives of the EVA were achieved on time!
Back at the base, the crew ate delicious pasta with basil, tuna, and cheese. For dessert, Helena gave the crew a surprise that she had prepared: ice cream for astronauts provided by Super Garden! They were delicious and a nice dessert to celebrate this special day!
After lunch, the other crew members went outside to collect geological samples from Green Mars View. However, this EVA was not as successful as the morning one. They returned to base without completing the full task and they will try to accomplish the goal another day.
But the day is not over yet! Now it’s time to celebrate Helena’s birthday as she deserves. Not every day we get to celebrate a birthday on Mars! And, although candles cannot be blown at the MDRS, the crew has prepared something special for her. Happy Birthday, Helena! Hypatia wishes you to always continue with the positive energy that characterizes you!

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!

Crew 310 Journalist Report 11Feb2025
Author: Jennifer García Carrizo, Crew Journalist

The Hypatia II crew started the day with an EVA at Barrainca Butte, where the geologist Marina Martinez had the opportunity to collect geologic samples using her VANTA Max portable X-ray fluorescence gun. With this instrument, she aims to apply geoconservacy on Mars by doing in situ analyses to discern between high scientific value samples from samples that would not be collected. The Scientist and Health Safety officer, Estel Blay, and the journalist, Jennifer García Carrizo, accompanied her to document her work in the field. They returned safely to the base after a walk in the spectacular Martian landscape.
To honor the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, the crew made public their scientific and artistic project, which they have been working through several EVAs. A 40×40 meter cross was created in the martian landscape, to be captured by satellites in low Earth orbit.
Pythagoras and the method used by the ancient Egyptians to measure agricultural fields when the Nile River flooded, helped the crew to mark the region to deploy the macro-piece of art. The deployment was physically very demanding due to a tight timeline, as a consequence of adverse weather conditions during the first week on Mars. Moreover, the astronaut equipment, which weighs approximately 15 kilos, including gloves and other elements that hinder mobility, did not facilitate the task. The crew has undoubtedly done a great job. This action was part of an awareness online campaign #WomenLeaveTheirMark, which seeks to highlight the research of women scientists in the progress of science and knowledge.

Crew 310 Journalist Report 12Feb2025
Author: Jennifer García Carrizo, Crew Journalist
The crew of Hypatia II started a new Sol at the MDRS with great excitement! While part of the crew headed out for an EVA to film the Martian landscape with a drone, journalist Jennifer García Carrizo and Commander Ariadna Farrès remained at the station. They discussed sustainable water-saving practices at the MDRS’s. For instance, how to wash dishes, clean the surfaces, and shower effectively to consume as less water as possible. It is key to turn off the faucets when not in use, use minimum water flow, and only shower when necessary—no more than once every three days.
At lunchtime, Marina Martínez explained the female cyclicity with its different phases to the crew, having a moment of connection. After that, the crew returned to their tasks. They are near the end of the mission and need to focus on documenting all the experiments and results.
However, the most magical and unforgettable moment of the day was when the whole crew gathered together to watch the full moon rise from the Musk observatory. This was a perfect moment to step away from their work at the MDRS and truly connect as a crew.

Scouting (Day 1)

We spent the day scouting out the EVA sites we’d like to use for our experiments. We decided on 8 sites north and south of the habitat. The weather was warmer than expected (a brisk 20ish degrees F) but the wind while driving was pretty rough. We tested some technology today as well. For example, we need really precise GPS tracker and found great success using a Garmin dog tracking collar! We also put together a little remote control rover to try out tomorrow. Fingers crossed its all terrain as advertised! We had a great meal of tortellini, chicken sausage, broccoli and carrots and a great convo about board games with Mission Support to close out the night.

Best,

Aaron

Today we spent a lot of time covering various logistics: what’s a day in the life of an MDRS sim, what will our experiment operations look like as researchers and participants, and things like where will we stay. We also tested some new sensors in the transitions between indoors and outdoors. We found what we expected for our eye tracking glasses – facing the sun is a bad idea. Our second crew arrived today so we helped them unpack and get them trained. They’ll be our participants for our experiment tomorrow. As part of their initiation, we had them cook dinner using a recipe from the MDRS cookbook and pantry ingredients. They chose wisely and made a great chicken fried rice. Following that we had brownies, discussed our Hogwarts houses, and did some more planning.

Today was filled with putting our scouting, navigation and tracking equipment, and experimental procedures that we generated over the course of the week to work. We conducted a total of three EVAs using both maps and a handheld Garmin tracker device, which functioned as both an ammonia and rare mineral detector within the sim. These three EVAs dictated constant crew personnel resources, and we had Mission Support be a pilot participant in our navigation tasks for added assistance and task naivety. Following a long day piloting our tasks at Cowboy Corner, Pooh’s Corner, and Kissing Camel, we began scripting our data analysis in python during dinner, which consisted of frozen pizzas.Following dinner, we prepared our equipment, personal items, and the habitat for an early morning departure.