Category: Journalist Report

Crew 219 Journalist Report, 12 JAN 2020

Author: Nathan Hadland

Sol 7

A DONSA To Remember

Ah, the DONSA. The day where you take a moment to breathe and recharge
your batteries. Indeed, today allowed our minds and bodies to recover
from a week of productive science and maintenance tasks. The crew
slept in this morning and woke up to the sound of reggae as well as
the ever-present water pump. As I climbed down from the loft, I saw
our commander in a bright yellow Hawaiian shirt making a breakfast of
bacon and eggs. The rest of the crew emerged in their own uniquely
colored Hawaiian shirts and I chuckled at the irony of a group of
scientists on Mars hanging out as if they were laying on the beach
back in Florida. After sweeping the tunnels of snow and cleaning the
lower deck, I challenged Robinson (ASTRO) and Alejandro (ENG) to an
epic game of Super Smash Bros Ultimate. The battle was intense,
exhilarating, and nerve-racking. Robinson joked that we smacked him
off of Mars back to Florida. For lunch, Hannah (LSO) and Cynthia (GHO)
harvested some greens from the GreenHab and made a delicious fresh
salad along with sliders and fresh bread. For the rest of the day,
Robinson and Abdul (GEO) worked in the Science Dome on their samples.
I got to witness Robinson simulate a Martian dust storm to investigate
the most effective dust mitigation methods for optical mirrors in
astronomical observations. He will be presenting this work at a
conference later this spring! He also got some awesome images last
night for his astronomy research.

After working in the lab, I spent the rest of the afternoon reading my
book and listening to the ambient noise of Alejandro, Cynthia, and
Dave playing cards. We also got to enjoy some delicious cookies made
by Hannah and heavenly Chai tea made by Abdul. Later tonight, we will
be making a dinner of blueberry pancakes and hash browns. Tomorrow we
will be back to work and continuing sample collection. I am both
excited and humbled at the opportunity to be working in an environment
as magnificent as this and am eager to see what this week on the Red
Planet will reveal.

Crew 219 Journalist Report 11 JAN 2020

Author: Alejandro Perez, Crew 219 Engineer

Sol 6

Taking a Moment

Sol 6 has been one of the most rewarding days this mission. The day started with a beeping radio that woke me from my slumber. However, this was fine as we had a lot of work to do throughout the day. First was checking readings around the Hab and testing the new heating

system for the loft water tank pump, which worked perfectly. I conducted rounds shortly after the first EVA team was out in the field. The sun made a front stage appearance in today’s activities; providing warmth to the Greenhab and the surrounding desert. Later in the day on my EVA, this source of energy loosened the dirt beneath my feet making it difficult to walk around where there was no snow. Despite the continuous shine of the sun, the temperature remained below freezing for most of the day.

The middle of the day was highlighted by Hannah’s (LSO) cooking of homemade cornbread and chili. The cornbread was as soft as freshly fallen snow and the chili as tasty as mom’s home cooking. This was a welcome preparation for the second EVA team before going out in the field. The second EVA was set to explore Tank Wash and the valley area near Murphy’s Canyon. Throughout the expedition, Abdul (GEO) and I found crystalline rocks that glistened in the sunlight catching our eyes like a minnow to a barracuda. Next to these clear rocks were tracks of what looked like an intense chase between a mountain lion and deer. At this time in the EVA, we were close to our sampling location where we found possible sources of lichen on the rock bed above the valley. Finally, we have found possible extraterrestrial life on this Red Planet. The team then climbed a short way to collect

additional samples higher up and the views were breathtaking. As far as the eye can see were rivers of snow and sediment washing through the canyon like a lost land locked in time. Each mountain seemed to be a smooth carving of what looked like giant pieces of chocolate and mousse cake. We took a couple minutes to enjoy the moment and ended the hike with awkward EVA suit hugs and laughs at the top of this climb.

The euphoria of this journey had the EVA team in a nice gallop on the way back to the rovers. At this point in the day, the sun had done its job of waking up the land surrounding us. Unfortunately, the camera the team had brought on the EVA had died just before the sampling site. I guess this will be a moment shared only with people standing next to me. For someone from the concrete jungle of the Northeast, this has to be the most rewarding and life-changing experiences I have ever been a part of.

Crew 219 Journalist Report 10 JAN 2020

Nathan Hadland, Crew 219 Executive Officer

Sol 5

A Tangy Day

The morning started out like any other; people started climbing out of their beds and making coffee and tea. However, the environment outside was anything but normal. A thick layer of icy fog stretched over the landscape. On the tunnels around the Hab, there was a coat of freezing fog which was really beautiful in the sunlight. Until about 1000 hours, visibility was extremely limited, so we decided to scrap our morning EVA. However, once the sun was higher in the sky, the fog disappeared in a span of 15 minutes! It was as if a vacuum had rolled over the land and sucked it all up! We were left with blue skies for the first time our entire mission. These clear skies have us hopeful that we will finally get some data for our astronomy research.

The scrapped EVA freed up our morning to catch up on work in the lab and some maintenance issues. I helped Alejandro (ENG) thaw the frozen pipes and fix some of the EVA suits. Meanwhile, Cynthia (GHO) and Abdul (GEO) worked in the lab on their samples. Unfortunately, it looks like our cyanobacteria have died due to the extreme temperature fluctuations they have been subjected to. However, we will continue to analyze our samples and their effect on the morphology and mineralogy of the regolith.

Due to the incredible change in weather in the morning, the second EVA was good to go. I led Alejandro (ENG), Abdul (GEO), and Robinson (ASTRO) up Hab Ridge and the views were breathtaking. We could clearly see Mt. Pennell, Skyline Rim, among other amazing geologic features. We made the long trek through the snow along Sagan Road to Mid Ridge Planitia to get samples for our mineralogy survey. Tomorrow, we will continue this survey by going all the way to Skyline Rim to take samples at the base of the mountain. Along the way, we will be keeping our eyes out for lichen or other microbiological samples for our astrobiology project.

Although previous journalist reports have commented on the excellency of Hannah’s (LSO) cooking, I feel it is necessary to continue these praises. Last night she made Tang-flavored teriyaki chicken and today she made Tang-flavored cinnamon rolls. Each bite I took, I felt like the universe was speaking to me through food and unlocking its mysteries.

Crew 219 08-Jan-2020 Journalist Report

Nathan Hadland, Crew 219 Executive Officer

Sol 3

Here Comes the Sun

White Mars is breathtakingly beautiful and continues to astonish us
with both its magnificent landscapes and interesting science. Today,
the Sun finally came out from behind the clouds briefly and greeted us
across the vast void of 93 million miles for the first time since we
arrived.

Alejandro (ENG) and I share the loft in the Hab, which we have dubbed
“The Penthouse.” We woke up early to treat our crew with blueberry
pancakes before the day’s activities. The rest of the morning was
spent helping with EVA prep. Our EVA’s have been running extremely
smoothly because of the implementation of the Standard Operating
Procedures (SOPs) developed by my last MDRS crew, the International
Emerging Space Leaders Crew 205. These are essentially checklists
designed to ensure that the appropriate equipment is operational,
everyone understands the route and purpose of the EVA, and everyone is
healthy and ready to go. Consequently, we never forget equipment and
generally the EVA accomplishes their tasks quicker and more
effectively.

The purpose of both EVAs today were to continue sampling for our
mineralogy survey and collecting data for our biometrics project. We
have been getting extremely interesting data and I am excited to
analyze what we have obtained so far post-mission. I will be taking
the samples we have been collecting to Florida Tech’s X-Ray
Diffractometer (XRD) and will work with the crew geologist to generate
a GIS map of the mineralogical and chemical composition of the MDRS
site.

The first EVA started out smoothly, but Dave’s (CO) helmet almost
immediately started fogging because the vents were not pointed
directly at the visor! Other personnel were having fogging issues too
because of the extreme cold so Dave decided to cancel the EVA and
return to the Hab after taking pictures of the optical mount we set
up. Upon arrival back at the Hab, the crew was warmly greeted with hot
chocolate. The rest of the morning was spent catching up on work in
the lab or laying on the couch and reading.

I was on the second EVA and wow, the landscape was astonishing. After
driving the rovers south, we walked along Kissing Camel towards Phobos
Peak. Along the way, the Sun came out and warmed our backs and started
freeing up additional sites for sampling. We also saw some mysterious
tracks… perhaps some Martian antelope? We got some interesting samples
along the base of the peak and returned back to the Hab. The EVA team
was greeted by cream of mushroom soup and fresh bread prepared by
Hannah, our Lead Science Officer (LSO). I have to commend her on the
food she has been making; every meal has been a treat!

Tomorrow, we are looking forward to continuing to explore this grand
and magnificent environment with two EVAs planned and further analysis
of our samples. Maybe we will see the Sun again tomorrow… 

Journalist Report

Robinson Raphael, Crew 219 Astronomer,

Sol 2,

The Two Tales of the EVA

We are slowly adapting to our new life on Mars! The morning was filled with quiet as we were all tired from the past few days of repairs and moving in but slowly, we gained our strength after some coffee and a pleasant breakfast. A big chunk of the day consisted of two EVA’s. Meanwhile, the rest of the day afterward consisted of catching up on work around the Hab and personal time.

The first EVA started at 8am and it consisted of our CO, HSO, LSO, and GHO. The final destination was North Ridge and if time permitted, they had plans to climb it. Given the weather conditions, the crew proceeded with their journey and all things seemed well, right? Nope. A couple of the crewmembers had to deal with a lot fog in the helmets because of the cold! In the end, the crew did reach North Ridge but did not climb because of the fogging and snow cover. Despite all of it, the first EVA crew was rewarded with hot chocolate when they came back!

The second EVA started at 1pm and it consisted of myself, the XO, the engineer, and our geologist. The final destination was Kissing Camel Ridge E and plans were also made to climb to collect samples at different stratifications, if time permitted. This time around, the fogging issue had been solved and the weather was much better. Prior to heading to Kissing Camels, we set up the optical mount setup that I brought with me to MDRS. It was placed between the Musk Observatory and Robotic Observatory and it is marked with a flag that the Geologist and I made. Speaking of our Geologist, he was able to take some sweet photos of the optics mount. You can also see the mount from the MDRS habitat! A beautiful sight to see when people wake up if I do say so myself! After the mount was setup, we proceeded to drive the rovers to Kissing Camels.

Near Kissing Camel, we were able to collect some cool samples, each with their own interesting features. After collecting the samples, we saw that Kissing Camel had lots of area untouched by snow, so we proceeded to climb up the side of the ridge to collect additional samples. The climb went a bit slower than anticipated since it was my first time doing an EVA of this magnitude, but overall, we did what we came to do. In the end, the second EVA crew was also rewarded with hot chocolate, coffee, and an excellent lunch of tuna salad and pasta prepared by our LSO!

Journalist Report

Hannah Blackburn, Crew 219 Lead Science Officer

Sol 1

Return to the Red Planet

The Martian landscape is cold, dusty, and rusty red. My new home is the polar opposite of the tropical and lushly vegetated campus of Florida Tech, and yet I feel just as at home. Waking up in my cozy bunk felt like I never left Mars at all. I almost expected to sit down for breakfast with the other members of Crew 205, but it has been a year since we were the only known inhabitants of the red planet. Now, my crew is number 219, and we have our own adventure to begin.

I am the Lead Science Officer of Crew 219, so my main responsibility is to help my crewmates with their research. Today we went on two EVAs to collect regolith samples for our biological remediation experiment. All eight of us now have boot prints on the surface of Mars, at least until the next dust storm wipes them away. So far the weather has been acceptable for EVAs, but the sky has not been clear enough to take astronomy data. We are all looking forward to seeing the stars above the Martian mountains.

As I am writing this, I am enjoying the sights and smells of the GreenHab. We picked some sage for dinner, and the scent alone is making me hungry. I can’t wait to share a pot of soup with my crew and relax together after our day of hard work. Maybe we’ll watch a movie to celebrate our first sol on the red planet. It’s a little on the nose, but I’m thinking The Martian.

Journalist Report

Robinson Raphael, Crew 219 Astronomer,

Sol 0,

The Beginning of New Potentials

Crew 219 has officially arrived on Mars! Upon arriving, we
familiarized ourselves with Crew 218 and overall had a joyous and
welcoming experience. Alongside me, the crew geologist, commander,
HSO, LSO all slept in the science dome. It was quite frightful to wake
up this morning as I was the only person in the science dome. At
first, I was so confused questioning. Did my crew leave me? Did I
oversleep?? Was I still in a dream??? After giving myself some time, I
arrived back at the Hab to see a long line to use the bathroom. Some
things never change….. I slowly found out that each crew member woke
up at different times and just left. Keith, our HSO, journeyed to the
GreenHab at 2am only to find out the heater stopped. Oh boy that story
made all of us laugh and was a wonderful way to the start the day. As
the morning progressed, we all said our goodbyes to Crew 218 and
wished them a safe journey back to Earth.

As each member of Crew 218 left, we were filled with sadness as their
company was well appreciated. At the same time, we were also filled
with motivation, as we reminisced on the research projects they were
working on. A little bit after, we all took a written quiz which both
filled our guts with anticipation and a bit of nervousness. One by one
we all handed our quizzes back to be graded and slowly waited for
results. After each quiz was graded, we let out a burst of excitement
to find out that the crew passed and was able to carry on with their
day.

The day was quite adventurous as it consisted of training with the
rovers and learning how to put on the flight suits. For the rover
training, I was paired with Alejandro and we drove all to the starting
point of Galileo Road. Man, oh man it was so cold; my face felt like a
brick. Definitely going to bring more layers next time! The scenery of
Mars was gorgeous and breathtaking that I couldn’t just help but stare
all around me. As Alejandro was driving for the first half of the
journey, we kept singing to help the time go by and it was a wonderful
moment. When it came to the flight suits, we all took pictures posing
for the camera and admiring the feel and look.

As the day began to grow darker, the whole Crew 219 spent a majority
of time doing their own thing and helping out with daily tasks such as
washing dishes, cleaning the rooms, cooking, etc. I can’t wait to wake
up to our first Sol on Mars tomorrow morning!

Journalist Report

Ben Durkee, Crew 218 Journalist

Sol 13

This morning started off soothing and somber. We crawled out of our sleeping bags to the gentle ukelele of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” Depleting our remaining hot chocolate supply, we watched the sun scale the hill east of the Hab. Without sharing any words, we lamented this being our last Martian sunrise together. Once we had fully woken up and sufficiently mellowed out, there was an immediate paradigm shift and we launched straight into our jam-packed itinerary.

First on the docket: Hab cleaning. Since we had done most of the cleaning yesterday, we knew exactly what still needed to be done and we each splintered off to tackle a different task. I took mop duty. Our pipes still hadn’t thawed, so mopping became a struggle between refreshing the water as little as possible without slathering the floor with a muddy sludge. I spent a period in a seemingly unending sine wave between cleaning a region and then painting it brown, back and forth ad infinitum. Eventually, we sent Jonathan outside with pots of hot water to pour on the pipes in an attempt to thaw them. In light of this effort and the many gallons of water we had remaining from the mission, we considered water conservation a bit less of a concern. As a result, we got our Martian housekeeping done just in time for our guests to arrive.

Our metaphorical doorbell (the Habitat radio) rang and we invited Crew 219 through the airlock. They are a squad assembled of Florida Tech students and alumni, 8 people strong. Considering there are only 6 state rooms and 1 loft, it’s going to be a bit of a cozy Hab. I get the impression they’ll handle it well, though. They seem like a very tight-knit group and more than ready to face this mission together. I have only good things to say about these guys and training them today has been an absolute pleasure.

It’s weird to be the jaded survivors tasked with passing down knowledge to our starry-eyed successors. I’m almost jealous they now get to live this incredible experience that we’ve just concluded. It’s like when you finish a great book or television show and wish you could just erase your memory of it and live it again. But we’ve had our fun and the time has come to pass the torch and hand these folks the keys to a shiny new Mars Habitat.

Tonight is going to be a bittersweet night, full of reminiscing about our time on the red planet and breaking bread with our new Floridian friends. All in all, this has been an unbelievably enriching experience.

Were we packed into tiny, overheated sleeping quarters like a can of sardines in an oven? Yes. Did I have to painstakingly scrape beans from all the dishes with my fingernails and a bean juice-soaked sponge? I’ll never be able to forget. Was I forced to put up with these 5 lovable scamps for two whole weeks? Yep. Would I do it again?

In a heartbeat.

 Journalist Report
Ben Durkee, Crew 218 Journalist

Sol 11

We're gonna be famous!

We had an extra sugary breakfast of cereal and cookies this morning while we waited for the film crew's spacecraft to arrive. The overload of carbohydrates in our bodies may have made us a little antsy as we marked time in the Hab. Our food supplies are beginning to run on empty, but we still have a surplus of flour and sugar, so Pat and I woke up at 6 AM Mars time to make our confectioneries. Hey, calories are calories. I'll get diabetes on Mars before I starve on Mars.

Our Earthling guests were a tad late - the entry, descent, and landing phase was a little rockier than they expected, I reckon. We in the Hab were worried about our potential acting careers falling through, but it was actually a blessing in disguise as it afforded us more time to prepare for our first EVA of the day. We got everything in order for Pat, Shefali, and Jonathan's excursion, and then our otherworldly visitors knocked at the airlock.

We discussed their desires and our own related to the filming, the most important thing being that the mission is priority one, cinematics are in the passenger seat. We hammered out both party's expectations for the day, and then the crew accompanied our three EVA musketeers to their nearby destination. Their EVA site was just within visual range of the Hab, and it was very entertaining to watch our astronauts walk up and down the same hill for the cameras. They got some footage of Jonathan's meteorological surveys and Pat's seismic tests, and then promptly returned to the Hab.

Since they consumed very little rover charge on their excursion, there was a quick turnaround between EVAs. Those three tagged in the other half of the crew - namely Cesare, LuzMa, and yours truly - and we set off to our new, considerably farther, goal. We had a good spot in mind that was both useful for data collection and photogenic for the cameras. It was the perfect spot, the only issue was the terrain being too harsh for the camera crew's Chevy Spaceship. They had to disembark their craft nearby and walk to the site.

Once we all convened at the picturesque bluff northeast of the Hab, we began analyzing and they began filming. I got some solid radiological data and some fun pictures of the filming crew in action. They were very appreciative of the photos, as they hardly get any shots of themselves behind the scenes. Photographers/videographers are this world's unsung heroes, that's for sure. By far the best thing to come of this EVA, though, is the drone footage of me wiping out in mud while carefully descending the hill. Don't tell the crew (because I am a broke college student), but I would pay good money for that video.

We returned to our rovers and they to their spacecraft. I was very impressed with how they were able to hold their breaths for the entire EVA. We complimented their lung capacity and proceeded back to the Hab for an end-of-day recap and very late lunch. Stories were shared between crews and before we knew it, the time had come for their orbital window back to Earth. We saw them off and lamented how we will be departing the same way soon.

I've started to get sentimental about this place. We've only been here sub-two weeks, but Mars has a way of sucking you in and making you wanna stay. And I'm not just talking about gravity. This mission seems like it has gone by quicker than it took for our dried mango supply to perish. That is to say: very fast.

I have a powerful cognitive weapon at my disposal, though. Any time I start reminiscing about the elements that make this place so grand, I just have to think about the beans. Oh, the notorious beans. We had beans and jambalaya for dinner last night and it was a delicious meal - we also cooked a large surplus of beans for future meals between now and our departure. All in all, a great time. The problems arose when I realized I was on dish duty that night. I looked at the culinary carnage around the table and my stomach dropped - both from the beans eaten and the beans uneaten.

See, beans have an uncanny ability to adhere to dishes. Not only that, but they spread to any dish they even remotely come in contact with. If you take some bean water (yum) and transfer it to other dishes, no matter how heavily you dilute it, the water will somehow always potently remember its bean history. It's like it has Post Traumatic Bean Disorder. It's a nightmare for dishwashing, especially when you are trying to conserve water to the best of your ability. Soon enough our whole kitchen reeked of bean. It propogates like the Bubeanic Plague. I spent multiple hours cleaning those dishes, and still had to call in backup to cleanse them of their blight. It was unbeanlievable. Not to mention our fridge full of leftover beans. Opening that thing is opening Beandora's Box. Don't do it.

I realize I have spent upwards of two paragraphs discussing beans and bean related anguish, but this is the only outlet myself and the rest of the crew have for our deep-seeded pain.

Tomorrow, we have one more EVA before beginning to wrap up.

Tonight, I count beans instead of sheep.

But, you know, other than that our time here has bean phenomenal.

Journalist Report
Ben Durkee, Crew 218 Journalist

Sol 10

The Roaring Twenties: Episode Two

Happy New Year, all! It will be very interesting to see what Earth is like in the new decade when we head back a few days from now. Are there flying cars? Jetpacks? Can we speak Dolphin yet? The
possibilities are endless!

Meanwhile, we are having a blast one planet farther from the sun! We hosted the two MDRS assistant directors and together indulged in a wonderful meal courtesy of Chef Cesare. Streamers were popped, games were played, raucous laughter was shared, but most importantly we partook in some juicy controversy.

Favorite movies were discussed (good and bad), alongside whether or not water is wet, which way the toilet paper roll should hang, how the “g” in “gif” is pronounced, and many more that got progressively stranger as midnight approached. As far as I’m concerned, nothing brings people together quite like witty banter and inconsequential conflict. We entered the new year with stronger friendships, streamer debris all over the Hab, mild headaches from the paper trumpets, and smiles on our faces.

The only downside of New Year’s Night is waking up at the regular time the next morning. Our wake-up train chugged a little slower today as Sol 10 came to fruition. Double digits! Two calendar-based milestones today; the stars truly aligned. We made up for our lack of energy with a breakfast of biscuits and gravy, the recipe for which was sent from Earth by a friendly Mars veteran.

After devouring the edible southern hospitality, our hive was back to full operational capacity and buzzing to prepare Pat and Cesare for our 8th EVA of the mission. They finagled their EVA suits into our loyal rovers and took them beyond range of the Hab’s communication capability. The sun crawled across the cloudy Martian sky and soon enough they were back with plentiful geological data and samples. We were gracious enough to let them and their new pet rocks back in the airlock, which proved to be a mistake as the coveted Nutella supply seemed to drastically deplete with their re-entry.

To recharge the rovers and ourselves, we all ate lunch and recapped the EVA. After a short break, it was time for the second EVA of the day, featuring LuzMa, Shefali, and yours truly. We strictly adhered to Shefali’s new EVA checklist (likely inspired by the infamous shoe incident) and were outside in record time. We saddled up our rovers only to find that they were still tired from lugging the other guys and their equipment.

Unfortunately the recent sustained Martian cold has been hugely detrimental to the rover batteries. They now discharge rapidly and inconsistently, and recharge at a snail’s pace. Too bad it couldn’t have been vice versa – I guess that old adage about batteries lasting longer after refrigeration might not be valid on Mars. Myth busted. We rolled with the punches and turned our roving EVA into a walking EVA around the Hab. We gathered what data we could (redundant data is far better than no data!) and enjoyed the snowy walk back home together. Although it was a bit disappointing, Mars is a fickle creature and we must do the best we can in spite of variables beyond our control.

Speaking of which, the consistent negative temperatures are still preventing our pipes from thawing. We now consider our water assembly line a charming team-building exercise, so we put on some tunes and got to bucketing. Faster than ever, we had the loft tank back to full. Plenty of water for drinking, dinner, dishes, and desperately – showers. We may or may not have a filming crew flying in from Earth tomorrow, and we gotta look (and smell) good for the cameras!

As crew journalist, these guys are kinda threatening my job security. But on the other hand, this could be my big break!