Category: Journalist Report

Sara Paule, Crew 289 Journalist & Executive Officer
12.26.2023
Sol 2
Today marks our first full day on Mars. Now it feels like we are really living here since familiarity and the beginnings of routine are setting in. People are establishing themselves in their Hab niches such that if someone is not in your visual field, you still *know* where they are, and that sense of surety is supplemented by comms throughout the Hab which allow us to report in and, perhaps most importantly, easily call everyone to meals. We also have established our communal meal table as a place to gather and share joy. The seven of us regularly gather around it to eat, converse, plan, troubleshoot, and philosophize. Early celebrations of Christmas on Mars and tasty meals have helped cement crew camaraderie and firmly established our dining table as a central gathering area.
On the topic of food, let me tempt you, dear reader, with a brief diary of our meals for the day. Breakfast, supplied by Gabe (HSO) was blueberry pancakes. They were a triumph for his first-time cooking pancakes and everyone remarked on the excitement of the very, very blue pancakes. (Reconstituting freeze-dried blueberries via a soak and the need to be water savvy meant that both blueberries and water went into the batter!) Lunch was a huge pan full of veggie-filled fried rice prepared by Adriana (CO) with an assist from Nathan (ENG) and supplemented by fresh greenhouse herbs. Everyone commented on the amazing aroma as they drifted up the stairs. For dinner, Eshaana (GEO) and Aditya (SCI) cooked a Thai curry, Korean Barbeque Chicken, and supplemented it all with a mango salad. We decided to skip fresh-made dessert tonight in favor of treats brought from Earth after already having gone through a number of rounds of dish washing. (Whether on Mars or Earth-bound, who does not want a break from dish washing?)
Eating is not the only high point of living on Mars! Today the crew accomplished two EVAs in beautiful, if chilly conditions.
The morning EVA crew, who completed their training EVA, went out with the Hab weather station declaring the external temperature as -9C. Thankfully, suiting up plus sunshine is enough to keep explorers warm with the right equipment. Adriana, Nathan, and Riya rolled out to Marble Ritual and secured more rocks for admiring. (Rocks are a primary past-time of Martian explorers.) Commander Adriana, supplied a brief geology lesson that those on comms back on station tuned into eagerly despite the lack of visuals on our end.
After their return and just before noon, Riya (GH) suited up for her second EVA of the day! Aditya, Gabe, and I joined her for a multi-priority mission at Pooh’s Corner. (We encountered no cartoons but did see a few aliens and their transports.) A ton was accomplished on our first research EVA! First up, Aditya flew a drone test flight to ascertain whether Garud, the Purdue drone, could assist E.L.F. with locomotion in the field. Pre-EVA, Aditya fashioned a basket that we could load up with rocks to measure the max weight the drone could lift. Lego-friend Jarold (Jerry) accompanied the rocks on the test flight and suffered a number of fatalities throughout EVA such that he made it back to Hab in pieces, but, thankfully, no more than those he was originally assembled from! Garud was then decoupled from his basket and sent off to Scout Candor Chasma, an important task for planning for future EVAs to test out the mobility of E.L.F. and also a great way to get some amazing footage. In the two-hour EVA window, Riya was also able to complete LIDAR scanning of rock feature in the landscape. Her scans are helping us to better understand the landscape and potential areas for expansion of our Mars base.
The day was filled with other research tasks as well as general maintenance tasks like resecuring mission patches on flight suits, re-sewing EVA harness straps to ensure secure radios, servicing packs, and cleaning. It was a good Sol 2.

Sara Paule, Crew 289 Journalist
12.25.2023
Sol 1
It’s Sol 1 and Christmas on Mars! Crew 289 greeted the day with a surprise Christmas tree and Milky Way candy bars supplied by Commander Adriana Brown which sweetened the chorus of Merry Christmases as the crew kicked off the day. Breakfast was fried potato crisps and scrambled eggs. If you are wondering, dehydrated eggs do kick up into a reasonably normal consistency, at least in the hands of skilled Martian cooks. Many thanks to Eshaana and Nathan for a great meal to start the day.

After some training, to familiarize ourselves with our new home for the next two weeks, we squinted against the surprisingly bright Martian sunlight to capture some crew photos. Then we officially started simulation at 14:00 and got in our first EVA to Marble Ridge. Geologist Eshaana Aurora led Astronomer Gabriel Skowronek, Crew Scientist Aditya Anibha, and XO and Crew Journalist Sara Paule (me) on our explorations for our first training EVA. The day was beautiful – bright blue skies and warm sunshine offset the Martian topography stunningly. We collected assorted rock samples to familiarize ourselves with the terrain and to share with our crewmates back at the Hab who greeted us with a delightful pasta salad with fresh picked kale. Capturing the experience in photo and video proved a fun challenge with the necessary safety of gloves and the complexity of a stunning lack of shoulders for my shoulder camera bag. I need to sprout more arms or design a better way to be camera bag free.

Post-EVA, we did a quick bit of cleaning and as the sunlight faded, the crew turned their attention to kicking off their various maintenance tasks and research projects. On the fresh food front, Greenhab Officer Riya Raj replanted some radishes, broccoli, and carrots all while capturing some beautiful photos. For her research, she got her self-contained hydroponics system unpacked in the Science Dome and ready for planting tomorrow. Geologist Eshaana Aurora assembled her mini-agrovoltaic farm in the Greenhab. As a self-professed night owl, she plans to continue her work post-dinner by securing the brackets.

Focused on the electronics functioning of the Hab and surface exploration, Crew Engineer Nathan Bitner assisted Crew Scientist Aditya Anibha with some troubleshooting to get the origami drone Aditya designed and assembled at Purdue ready for tomorrow’s test EVA. The robot, dubbed by the crew the E.L.F. or Electronic Leaping Frog, unfortunately is currently not operational due to the turbulence associated with travel to Mars. Aditya was able to ascertain E.L.F. is getting power and receiving commands but he will further troubleshoot the unresolved issue tomorrow. We are all excited to see it in operation. Meanwhile, Nathan was able to verify the sensors that Crew 288 placed are indeed working and set up connection to the Adafruit dashboard with Purdue mission control. We expect he will have it fully operational tomorrow. Great progress!

Christmas dinner is on the stove – a risotto and an apple pie. I am hopeful the crew will forgive me for any sins with the risotto – alternating stirring and report writing kept me on my toes. I trust the pie baked by Adriana will be absolutely delish, especially since in a holiday spirit, she made it C-shaped for baking. We will toast Christmas with some sparkling cider. Holidays are joyful workdays on Mars!

Lipi Roy, Crew 288 Journalist
12.21.2023
Sol 11
It’s not the destination, it’s the journey. The breathtaking beauty of the Martian landscape, the unintended rock sample collections, unexpected alien creatures, and surprise drone gifts. Crew 288 appreciated these simple joys one last time as they went on their last EVA of the mission…
Today, the crew woke up to an excited Ryan preparing breakfast. Ryan, I know you’ve been eager to make your special peanut-butter and banana pancakes but isn’t 7 AM a bit too early? Just kidding, I know it takes time, and we all appreciate you for doing a great job with that!
After the filling breakfast, Cesare (commander), Hunter (Crew Geologist), Ryan, and Jilian (HSO) prepped for what was going to be the last EVA of Crew 288. Walking along the Galileo Road, they enjoyed breathtaking views and collected rock samples.
Let me quote the EVA lead, Hunter, on his special request to talk about the journey in detail – “we continued uninterrupted until reaching Somerville Overlook (yeah, who’s the one interrupting, Hunter?), where we spooked some (alien) pronghorns. There were approximately nine of them, and one had a glowing red nose which the crew didn’t second guess given the season. At the Overlook, we established a station on a small hill covered in a thin layer of grey, silt-sized regolith like material.” Sorry, Hunter, that’s all the footage you’ll get for today. But I’m sure the crew had a great time and collected some interesting samples and photos!
Back at the Hab, Riley worked on documentation of her research, Ryan harvested some fresh Parsley for dinner, while Hunter worked on characterizing his rock samples. Meanwhile, Cesare and Jesus made amazing whole-wheat bread. I tried preparing Chocolate brownies, but due to the absence of eggs, it turned out to be what the crew has named – ‘choc slop’ (thankfully, they did not call it choc flop). I better not make fun of Ryan’s baking anymore, after that.
Our last dinner in the Hab comprised of the GEO-special Tuna tomato sauce pasta and a well-concluded discussion on our spacecraft back to Earth. It’s going to be quite a day tomorrow- sending back samples, preparing the Hab for the next crew, and acquiring logistics to ensure our safe journey back home.

Lipi Roy, Crew 288 Journalist
12.22.2023
Sol 12

One last look at the exquisite Utah landscape, one last day of work, one last dinner together. As we return to Earth on our last day of mission, we reflect on the deeply enriching experience each one of us had…

Our final day began with another round of spam fried rice – driven by Crew demand (and the need to finish leftovers) and supplied by Hunter (Crew Geologist/ on-demand chef). Fueled by this ‘meal of the mission’, Jesus (Crew Engineer) and Hunter proceeded to go all the way to Grand Junction to rent a car (our spacecraft back to Earth) while the rest of the crew stayed back and cleaned the Hab. The successful end to the mission was celebrated with a dinner at Burger Shak (where Hunter undid his spam-fried-rice respect by not living up to the expectation of finishing leftover fries).

It feels like it was just yesterday we stepped into the Hab, excited for our first EVA. Hidden behind the shared EVAs, board games, dinners, and laughs, was a tapestry of diverse experiences, tapping into a shared purpose, and fostering a deep sense of camaraderie. As much as seeing our families and friends for the holidays (and getting human showers everyday) is enticing, I am positive we will all miss the usual sight of Baby Yoda, the Christmas-tree-card unfolding ritual during every dinner and sharing a good meal after wonderful EVAs.

With that, I officially sign off as crew journalist of crew 288. Until next time!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Lipi Roy, Crew 288 Journalist
12.20.2023
Sol 10
Gazing from the Hab Ridge, we marvel at the grandeur of nature, exquisite patterns of red, white, and purple for miles and miles and miles. Among these patterns, we spot our tiny Hab. Our eyes wide with anticipation, we await the special drone delivery from our friends. Our tiny Christmas gift!
The day began with Hunter’s (Crew Geologist) delicious spam fried rice, preparing us for another four-hour walking EVA. Flight suit, comms, EVA suit, and five minutes of depressurization later, we were ready to hike up to Hab Ridge. Treated to a diverse array of stunning landscapes, our journey led us to a lookout point where we caught sight of our Hab in the distance. Finally, it was time for the long-awaited drone experiment.
As Cesare (Commander) sent the drone to us, we successfully received secret messages and a surprise piece of Jilian’s coffee cake! This wasn’t just a proof of concept, it was a connection to our Hab, an emotion, that brought a smile to all our faces. It made us reminisce for an instant, all the great times we shared, an experience which will soon come to an end…
Jesus then took charge of the drone and skillfully captured the moments of rock sample collection and Riley’s GPR grid. Great job, Jesus! Since we are on the topic of Jesus, let me report that last night, he successfully captured the image of a calibration pattern onto the photoresist using silicon sample, a template, UV light and a photo developer. This is proof of concept to one of the many steps that would help humans build Solar Panels and semiconductor devices from regolith on Mars!
The EVA crew came back to Ryan’s amazing freshly cooked whole wheat bread (which I’m guessing was supervised by the commander because, um, sugar) which we all enjoyed with different toppings. After a relaxing afternoon of ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’, I cooked ‘Rajma’, an Indian kidney-beans curry for dinner. Hoping everyone enjoyed it!

Lipi Roy, Crew 288 Journalist
12.18.2023
Sol 08
In a quest to simulate life on Mars, analog astronauts face the absence of fresh food, adding another layer of challenge to the isolation simulation. But guess what? crew 288 knows how to turn lemons into lemonade! Using just shelf stable food and microgreens from the Greenhab, we (Riley) managed just perfect burgers tonight!
The crew woke up to a beautiful crimson sunrise and enjoyed a filling oatmeal breakfast by Ryan. I can’t speak for desserts, but oatmeal breakfasts are totally his thing!
Filled to the brim, Hunter (Geo), Jesus (Eng), Ryan (GHO) and Jilian (HSO) went on their first ‘unsupervised’ EVA, since the command deck was not involved. Did the command deck make a good choice trusting Hunter as the EVA lead? Well, the crew enjoyed beautiful landscapes of Candor Chasma, collected interesting rock samples, and made it well in time (almost too well). So, I guess it would be a yes? But I’ll let Cesare and Riley answer that one.
Back at the Hab, Riley (with Cesare’s help) prepared cute little buns for upcoming burgers. But since they were supposed to be for dinner, you can guess the biggest challenge that the hungry, just-returned EVA crew faced! But they did get to enjoy Cesare’s ramen, and hot showers, so hopefully that made up for the previous torture…
In the evening, thanks to Ryan (and me of course, because I helped Ryan), a fresh harvest of kale, lettuce, arugula, and red cabbage was used in the scrumptious burger/salad dinner, a courtesy of our XO, Riley. It’s a multi-talented crew out here!
Let’s just call it a day because I want to enjoy the strawberry shortcake that Cesare and Ryan have prepared. I’m skeptical, (cus’ Ryan and sugar remember?) but I’m too addicted to sweets now to leave it.

Lipi Roy, Crew 288 Journalist
12.19.2023
Sol 09
Ever wonder what first astronauts actually ate during Space Missions? Our Commander, today, surprised us with tubed space food which was consumed by Russian Cosmonauts in the past. As we tried the ‘slops’ of French fries, chicken nuggets, and Texas burger, we realized it was far less delightful than even the canned food we have here…
The crew woke up to another beautiful Martian sunrise and enjoyed Cesare’s delicious crepes for breakfast. Ready for another geology EVA, Riley (XO), Hunter (Crew Geologist), Ryan (GHO), and I proceeded towards the Brahe Highway. As our Crew Geologist soaked in the geologically exquisite landscape (and wrote what looked like a love letter to rocks in his small notebook), I and Ryan helped Riley collect 3D GPR data in the 100ft x 100ft grid. Followed by what was sample collection, rock distraction, sample collection, rock distraction turned sample collection, we began our journey back.
Meanwhile, at the Science Dome, Jesus, our crew engineer, had been busy trying to anneal silicon for his research. He tried heating it at 2500C with moisture, in an oven. Hopefully, he doesn’t get any surprises from the ‘science’ oven as Ryan got from his.
It was wonderful to come back to a savory garlic and herb bread wonderfully prepared by our Commander! We then tried out the tubed space food, which then required Jilian’s coffee cake to get over. (But in all honesty, the chicken nugget slop wasn’t too bad. I can FEEL Jilian disagreeing).
For dinner, we had Riley’s and Hunter’s amazing tacos for Taco Tuesday! Rice and meat garnished with corn , onion, salsa, tomato, cheese, and fresh cilantro from the Greenhab – can you see a better end to the day?

Lipi Roy, Crew 288 Journalist
12.16.2023
Sol 06
Driving through the vast expanse of the red desert on our way back, we spot our tiny habitat from miles away. We wonder what it would feel like as a Martian to finally get the sight of their safe abode, while on a perilous mission…
The crew woke up to a spectacular Martian sunrise and to the tunes of ‘The Moon is calling‘. Then, with the help of our crew engineer (and potato expert) Jesus, I quicky whipped up an assortment of fried potato crisps and mushroom-chicken-spam-scrambled eggs. In case you’re wondering about the variety of ingredients, it was all a courtesy of our commander, whose “precise calculations” yesterday resulted in more leftovers than dinner itself.
Ready for the day, Cesare (commander), Riley (XO), Hunter (Crew Geologist), and I commenced on our bumpy drive to Compass rock for some GPR measurements and sample collection. It was a nice learning experience to see how easily the GPR data could be collected using Riley’s magic tool; though I am not sure how much our today’s GPR dragger (Hunter) would agree with that. We then went on to collect rock samples from the area to make the day worthwhile for the crew geologist. In case the mission control is wondering why we request 4.5-hour EVAs every day, it is to factor in the time spent by our geologist getting distracted by rocks. I do hope he is proud of me for correctly identifying petrified wood today!
The EVA crew came back to Jilian’s (HSO) delicious pasta and Ryan’s (GHO) amazing cornbread. It seems Ryan has moved on from following recipes exactly and following his instinct. Great going, Ryan! As a cherry on top to the spectacular day, Jesus (crew engineer) surprised us by reviving the Baby Yoda. Thank you, Jesus! Seems like the crew that stayed behind has been equally productive!
The evening saw some interesting conversations with Ryan trying to prove why Harry Potter is overrated. But seems like he was singled out six to one. Sorry, Ryan. You may be right, but we are too attached to it to agree with you! For dinner, Jesus prepared yummy Spanish rice and fried veggies, which we all had with a side of report writing.
The crew is now waiting eagerly for today’s movie night and a relaxing Sunday!

Lipi Roy, Crew 288 Journalist
12.17.2023
Sol 07
Boardgames, delicacies, and naps. Doesn’t that sound like the perfect Sunday? Crew 288 took time off from work today to relax and recharge (and eat…a lot!). After all, as Isaac Mizrahi said, “the more relaxed you can get, the better you’ll do”.
The day began on a ‘sweet’ note with Jilian’s (HSO) and Riley’s (XO) banana muffins. Yum! The muffins were a perfect combination to go with the strategic boardgame, ‘Trails’, which occupied most of mine, Ryan’s (GHO), and Jesus’s(ENG) morning. Meanwhile, Riley and Jilian found their peace in reading, as Hunter graded assignments and could only dream of relaxing. In the meantime, our Commander, Cesare, prepared a scrumptious baked Ziti for lunch, making the day even better!
Having said that, it was no less a day of learning! I learnt the process of ‘hand pollination’ from Ryan as he let me pollinate the cucumber plants, while our XO and Crew Engineer soaked up ‘drone flying’ wisdom from Cesare.
Afternoon naps ended with a cutthroat competition in ‘Bananagrams’. Actually, not really. It’s barely a competition when Riley is playing. At least let somebody else win for once, Riley!
The evening was bound to be eventful as Ryan took the lead on baking once again. It so happens to be that Ryan and ‘sugar’ just don’t go well together. But in all honesty, it wasn’t too bad. We can work with sugar ‘dip’ instead of sugar ‘frosting’! But thanks to him, we enjoyed a group activity of carving out ‘Mars’ and ‘Christmas’ themed cookies! Thanks, Ryan, for taking the initiative!
As we enjoy the sugar cookies with the sugar/chocolate dip, we await a fun night of stargazing!

Lipi Roy, Crew 288 Journalist
12.13.2023
Sol 03

“The Earth is the cradle of humanity, but mankind cannot stay in the cradle forever.” Today, in what marked our first actual EVA, our crew tried to play a small part in understanding what lies beyond this cradle.
The crew woke up to the refreshing beats of ‘Captain Fantastic by Elton John’ and a breakfast of freshly cooked biscuits and creamy mashed potatoes – a courtesy of our commander. Excited for the first major mission, we listened intently to Hunter (Crew Geologist) and Riley (XO) as they explained how geological sampling and GPR acquisition is done.
Following the debrief, we bade goodbye to Hunter, Riley, Jilian (HSO), and Ryan (GHO) who commenced their four-and-a-half hour-long EVA to Watney Road. The data that they collect would be extremely useful in the geological mapping of the area, in hopes of proving that these techniques could be used by future Martian astronauts. Doesn’t it feel great to be a part of something much larger than yourself?
Back at the Hab, we were up to another adventure of freshly preparing bread and mayo from scratch. Free time demands creativity! Our commander also cooked spaghetti and tuna-based tomato sauce to support our crew who would come back exhausted from the EVA. We continued our hab adventure in the solar observatory, where we learnt about setting up the telescope and focusing on the Sun, thanks to our commander. Sadly, the clouds disrupted our session in-between, but I’m positive Cesare won’t say no to another class!
The evening paced down, as the successful EVA crew relaxed a bit (except for Ryan who relaxed a lot). I prepared a protein-rich chickpea curry in hopes of rejuvenating them; I hope they liked it as much as they said they did!