Category: Journalist Report

Crew 192 Journalist Report 19 Apr 2018

Author: Victoria Varone

Today was a great example of teamwork by the crew, some of whom started the day with a WONDERFUL long hike on Hab Ridge Road, taking in some of the best views we’ve seen so far of the entire Martian desert.

There was also a combined effort of cleaning, organizing, and finishing up some tasks for the incoming crew, which is made up of our own fellow Citizen Scientist-Astronaut Candidates and friends.

We ended our day with a continued combined effort of cooking, attempting to make pizza and mozzarella sticks with the dehydrated “space food” supplies we had on hand. Believe it or not, it actually turned out delicious, and with everyone contributing to the effort, we both cooked and had everything cleaned in record time.

We’re capping off the night with a viewing of Thor: Ragnarok, and will continue prepping for our incoming crew tomorrow.

Victoria Varone

Crew 192 Journalist Report 17Apr2018

Author: Richard Blakeman

This outstanding crew of scientists has amazed me with their ability to constantly come up with new science experiments and projects in the wake of our original projects being lost.

Even when the weather is prohibitive for EVAs, they come up with ideas, experiments, educational discussions, and training sessions that we can perform in the confines of the hab, things like knot-tying lessons and other survival skills, tips on the use of social media in science outreach, insight into the psychology of astronaut group dynamics and crew selection, and more.

Very proud to be part of such a bright, dynamic and creative minds and I’m excited to continue working with them in the future.

Tomorrow we burn the dead horse…

In Navy tradition when a sailor was hired for a cruise the captain would pay him half of his wages upfront and tell him to go mind his p’s and q’s…. minding his p’s and q’s meant that he should pay his bar tab for his pints and his quarts.

As today is the start of our approximate midway point…tomorrow we are working for ” pay ” as opposed to worling for free…;*) We celebrate with festivities. In old days they would burn a wooden horse as a gesture of half way complete.

Today we had a great breakfast followed by exploration EVAs which further the science we continue to work. (Studies about weight loss, fogging and muscle loss)

The afternoon EVA had a 3 person party come across a cow in the road. The commander…in the face of a forced vegetarian life style… was caught salivating over the meat…but alas the cow moved on along with his hopes of a T-bone steak.

We had a terrific meal of spaghetti and each shared a tequila story…you all know you have one…;*).

The crew never went through the forming or storming stages since we are well versed and acquainted….we jumped right into norming and quicky progressed into PERFORMING. This well oiled machine is going to take a half day safety stand down and eat Chocolate and banana pancakes…then do a little medical training and then wrap up with a short ATV tow exercise. Shouls be back in the house at 3 pm and do a MOVIE night….Doc is going to try to pop dehydrated corn for popcorn….;*)

Warm Regards,

Joseph Dituri, PhD(c)
CDR, U.S. Navy Diving Officer (ret)

Director – IBUM

Crew 192 Journalist Report 13Apr2018

Author: Victoria Varone

Today was another mostly indoors day for the crew, as we ride out what is hopefully the end of a ~3-day streak of strong wind storms. We’ve been keeping busy with repairs around the hab, games and movies, and plans for EVAs.

The great thing about this group of scientists is that we can always find another thing to do, another problem to solve. And we’ve been making excellent use of our time so far. But we’re all excited to get back out and explore the Martian terrain as soon as we can.

Tonight, and hopefully for the rest of our mission, we’ll also head outside to do some stargazing, as the cloudless Martian skies present an amazing and inspiring view, and always refresh and renew the aspirations of space dreamers.

Per aspera ad astra
Through hardships to the stars

Victoria

Author: Victoria Varone

Today was one of those days that highlights just how passionate, adaptable, and hard-working space dreamers really are.

In the face of weather that disrupted our EVA plans, the whole crew stepped up to the plate, offering up an unbelievable variety of skills and ideas to make repairs and adjustments with a limited supply of tools and hardware. They pooled their backgrounds, areas of expertise, physical capabilities, and improvisation skills to come up with a solution to the problem at hand.

Nothing brings out the strength of such dreamers more than a problem that needs to be solved, be it an Earthly issue or a Mars mission. I’m incredibly proud of this crew today and never except anything less than amazing when we’re together.

In honor of Yuri’s Night: “When I orbited the Earth in a spaceship, I saw for the first time how beautiful our planet is. Mankind, let us preserve and increase this beauty, and not destroy it!”

Journalist Report – 11Apr2018

Author: Victoria Varone

Today was a quieter day for Blue Crew 192. We were a little tired from all the action of the last couple of days, so a short morning EVA was followed up by lunch and then a viewing of "The Martian," a movie that the whole crew enjoys that is surprisingly similar to our situation here at the hab.

Especially now since a crazy wind storm has been raging for the last couple of hours. A couple of the crew went out on an engineering EVA to check all around the hab site and secure anything that might blow away. They found a partially broken wooden railing that had broken off and become a stake, so that and the remaining shards were recovered and brought inside.

We’re planning an Italian-style meal tonight, pasta with garlic, olive oil, and cherry tomatoes from our own GreenHab. If the wind calms down and the skies are clear enough, we might cap the night off with some stargazing.

Journalist Report – 10 April 2018

Author: Richard Blakeman

We started this morning on a high note as I led crew members Ashok Narayanamoorthi and Victoria Varone out on our first Martian EVA. We specifically scheduled the day’s first EVA in the morning hours to avoid the strong afternoon sun, as crew members Joe Dituri and Andreaa Radulesco reported getting a little hot during their first EVA yesterday afternoon.

This allowed us to stay out a bit longer and explore further into the area, where we documented many different geologic formations, colors, and structures. We were very excited to come across erosion that was likely caused by liquid water flow, as well as some interesting animals tracks, both of which suggest possible life on Mars.

Our second EVA took place late in the afternoon, where crew members Joe Dituri and Andreaa Radulesco began by moving our third large water tank into the RAM for cleaning, which will be continued tomorrow. They locked up the RAM and headed out to explore under an overcast, cloudy sky.

Today was also our first day conducting two EVAs where we alternated crew members to allow for the best possible use of energy and time and to allow the whole crew enough time to explore the Red Planet.

Crew morale remains outstanding as we’ve been finding many ways to occupy our time, including minor fixes and adjustments around the hab, experimenting with cooking our dehydrated supply of food, brainstorming EVAs, and playing games. We also just found the hab’s stash of movies which will supply a wonderful additional dose of entertainment for our movie-loving crew.

Blue Crew 192 will continue their adventures on Mars tomorrow.

Richard Blakeman

Journalist Report

Author: Victoria Varone

Blue Crew 192’s first day of their mission was an exciting and hectic one. We started our mission taking a lot of photos and learning how to properly use our Martian vehicles and spacesuits. The crew got the hang of using the Martian vehicles quickly, including the two of our five crew members who had never previously driven ATVs.

The crew also continued experimenting with cooking the dehydrated food we were supplied for the mission, which turned out to be a bit more difficult than expected. But all the same, after some adjusting and improvisation with powdered butter, we enjoyed some pancakes for breakfast.

Being on a Martian mission has already proven to be a constant learning experience. Every action that we take, including seemingly simple tasks, usually ends with a group discussion about how the experience went, what worked and what didn’t, and what we should do differently next time.

We look forward to continuing our mission tomorrow.

チームAsiaの可能性に触れた日々

6th, April 2018 MDRS time

河村信(クルージャーナリスト) Makoto Kawamura – crew journalist

本日Sol 13の昼下がり、その時はやってきました。
ヘルメットを外すと視界に飛び込んできた、曇りのない視界。
その瞬間・「終わった」というよりも「戻って来た」と感じたこの２週間。
ここまでの解放感に包まれたのは、何とも不思議なものです。
重力が３分の１だった訳ではありません。
全ての食事が宇宙食だった訳でもありません。
それでも「火星」という空間が砂漠の真ん中に突如として出現したのは、
Crew191が、どこまでも真剣に「火星」に取り組んでいたからではないでしょうか。
生身の体で外に出てしまえば、水や食料や電気を普段のように使えば、
火星の「魔法」はたちどころに解けてしまいます。でもそれが２週間・解けなかった。
恐らく誰一人として、「でもここ地球だよね」と思う暇もなく、時間は過ぎていきました。
思い返せば、密度の濃い２週間だったと思います。
誤解を恐れずに言えば、MDRSでの時間は、火星という空間を目指す「練習」です。
しかし、スポーツに例えれば、「練習」に真剣に取り組み、結果を出せないチームが
「試合」で結果を出すことはあり得ません。
今回Crew191・チームアジアは、「試合」すなわち本当の火星でも結果を出すポテンシャルを秘めたチームだったのではないかと思うのです。
Sol8の夜、それは起こりました。
エンジニアチェックで発覚した、タンクの水の「汚れ」。
この問題を解決しなければ前に進めない状況に、私たちは陥りました。
汚れを承知でSIMを続けるか、安全を優先して一旦SIMを打ち切るか。
ここを火星だとするならば、地球の支援を長くは受けられないのだから、水質にこだわらずにSIMを続けようというクルーもいました。安全を最優先して、SIMを打ち切ろうというクルーもいました。どちらの意見も、正解だったと思います。そして、最終的には、SIMを続けながら水を綺麗にするという、もうひとつの正解をCrew全員で思案し、捻り出しました。これは、タンクの水の入れ替え時に気付いた僅かな変化を見逃さなかったことが、解決につながりました。
アジア人は、細かな部分に気付き、こだわり、突き詰め、そして解決します。
その一方で、相手への相互理解などでは、寛容さも持ち合わせます。
「みんな違ってみんないい」という言葉に代表されるように、
仲間への気遣いや手助けにおいては多様性を認め合いながらチームを作ることが出来ます。気が付けば、Crew191は自然にそれぞれの役割を持ったチームになっていました。
そしてシミュレーションに本気だったからこそ、真剣に話し合い、解決を導き出すというプロセスを踏むことが出来たのだと思います。今回示した、シミュレーションに妥協なく取り組める姿勢は、「本番」であっても力を発揮できるということだと思います。
このCrewの一員で良かった。
今回・Crew191が織りなすSIMを描くために沢山のカメラを用意しました。
２週間という期間中、その現場と格闘し、気が付くと写真や映像は膨大なものになっていました。地球に、日本に帰り、その記録ひとつひとつに向き合いながら、ジャーナリストが火星で果たす役割を探していきたいと思います。

29th March 2018
Journalist Report

Makoto Kawamura

Three days since door has been closed.
This means that it has been three days since I could see the outside world directly. In the habitat base, it is through the window and the view is from the helmet if I wear the EVA (extra-vehicular activity) suit.
Mars is not an environment which allows the human body to feel its atmosphere directly. When I go to EVA, I am unable to do everything I could do. First of all, I cannot touch my face. I cannot blow my nose while in EVA as well. Even if I have seen this graceful view of the scene, I do not have the full-option to explain about my feeling. I cannot see the display on the camera and I feel it is difficult to manipulate my camera. Before coming here, I tried to carefully select my instruments. However, the freedom of the real world is far away from what I thought.
Important life material such as electricity, water, garbage, communication, even some daily material can turn our life to be deadly such as passing to the tunnel to the dark world step by step. This time that I cannot see the outside of the world is enough to feel that I am living in the different world right now.
This is, at the same time, that our team, Crew191, is trying to simulate being on Mars right now. From waking up in the morning to going to bed, we are attempting to spend a day on Mars honestly. That is why we have actively discussed the mission with each other and sometimes we have impoliteness while in the discussion. Even myself, I am surprised that I am changed by only closing door and this environment in the center of a desert. When humans reach Mars, the situation faced by us is going to be happening and I am sure that there is a someone who would like to report life on Mars in the next several years or decades, could be several centuries later.
When a journalist gets to Mars, what is going to be asked? And what should record? Although it is about a week to be a crew 191 member as well as life at the MDRS, I think that I should get back to regular life which is not inside of a box as much as I can.
Winds with sand are hitting our white dome when I see the outside through the window.
I think that the view of red desert and rocks through the window is the space that reminded me the opinion as well.