Journalist's Report
22 Dec 2012
Derek Pelland
“Mars, Your as cold as ice. I’m starting to feel like a Foreigner.”
Our morning routine was slightly different today because half of us were up burning the midnight oil. Nora and Diane were up at 0400 to monitor the sky in the Musk Observatory. Erick and I were up until past 0100 writing our social media updates and enjoying the silence that night offers. Of course there was music, there is always music here, (Thank God) allowing us to make that stretch from good to greatness!
Currently I am listening to Ludacris “save it for another day” & Lil Wayne’s “ G’d Up” (most of the crew does not like rap, so I have to wait until they are asleep or outside, not a bad compromise considering) I also love all the other types of music, but there is something about hip hop and rap that makes me pumped up and full of creative energy. I grew up in Detroit and make my home in Los Angeles, music is very important to me. My buddy in L.A. Jeremy Berry is a phenomenal rapper/musician with the Smokehouse Project. Boy what I wouldn’t do for his CD right now! Instant mood brightener and overall feel good beat.
Erick and I have been working on establishing an International following, hosting our blogs on multiple social media platforms that broadcast our mission in three languages. I have been translating our reports into Italian, and Erick writing to address our Spanish speaking audience. We agree that this project is far too important to limit knowledge with language barriers, and that any future Mars exploration and settling will certainly require a Worldview and International collaborations.
The Campus Martius Crew had a much needed dialogue this afternoon, as we sat family style around the command table. Commander Reynolds led the planning session after establishing the necessity of having a detailed EVA expedition. The weather has left us grounded the past four day, and we have to consider that future weather may prevent us from getting out in the field.
We spent the morning with a notion of maximizing our time to be efficient in relation to the scientific component. This specifically transpires to geology, and the potential research sites that we can reach initially by pedestrian EVA. We did decide that we want to execute a mobile EVA in the next days, but need to wait and see what the temperature and precipitation does. Commander Reynolds had topography maps along with US Coast Guard detail charts of the area. We were going off Crew 119’s scouting reports and charted routes to get a feel for the area.
We concluded that we would be focusing on visiting Teetering Rock, previously visited by 119 who found a fossilized tree stump. This is only about 500 meters North of our location, and good place to test sending out an EVA in current weather conditions. This will also allow us to easily transport a large amount of data collected because of the close proximity. Other sites what we would like to explore include Kissing Camel Ridge, and through the wash outs to the lower basin and ridgeline to the South. Erick and I are dying to get a quick march EVA to explore future research sites, photo document and brief report back to our science team. Erick has been able to track our movements with the mobile GPS system, and I am able to land navigate with spatial relationships and determine terrain changes. This place has spectacular physical features with crevassing canyons and ravines that seem endless in their twists and divots. There is so much to see beyond each ridgeline that makes even short treks worthwhile! I am most curious to get to the riverbed and scout for signs of wildlife and look at the natural erosion patterns.
We got into a great conversation about our personal thoughts about Mars colonization and the factors that would play essential to the support of general public. Erick may have said it best when he talked about the stepping stone concept, of which future space exploration linking syncing beyond borders and nationalities to be commensurate in the agenda of colonization.
John, Erick and I prepared beef tacos, broccoli, steamed spinach, grilled onions, homemade table top sour cream sauce, cheddar cheese topping, sundried tomatoes, homemade white bread, with flour and sundried tomato tortilla shells. Nothing special, you know….the usual ☺
Report in by 1900, guess this is where the story ends.
…Tune in tomorrow for more of your favorite soaps!