Journalist’s Report
Date 23 Dec 2012
Written By: Derek Pelland
“It is the greatest shot of adrenaline to be doing what you have wanted to do so badly. You almost feel like you could fly without the plane.”
-Charles Lindbergh
So if felt like a Superhero kind of day, everything was zooming…and still is at 04:01. I find comfort in the peacefulness of the night, well my Ipod’s on!
I woke abruptly by a roaring laughter this morning! WELCOME to MARS!
“I’m on Fire” by Ludacris. Looks I make my own decisions, learn from my own mistakes. You would have thought we were in a fire, because the hab seemed to transform into a firehouse as soon as we got word that we were sending a scouting EVA to perform reconnaissance on a route and surveillance of Teetering Rock and the adjacent butte and wash outs beyond the ridgeline. This was to determine if we were able to later deploy a long duty mission EVA. Speaking of the Firehouse Dash, 5yrs experience Firefighter Erick Tijerino maybe took one step to get down the flight of stairs to check his gear. He has tons of real life experience getting ready in a hurry; this is instinct and reflex for him. The rest of us moved at a slightly slower speed, but hurried through breakfast (mostly quick grabs: bread and Nutella/peanut butter, oatmeal, and even Erick managed to eat a dozen dehydrated strawberries which everyone enjoys) Coffee is not recommended when you plan on spending an extended amount of time in the space suits, they are not restroom equipped. “Ain’t nobody got time for that” –Sweet Brown (Some of you will get that one, haha)
“Light my Way” by Audioslave. the bullet is a man from time to time he strays I compare my life to theirs April and Erick were assigned to EVA Mission IV, designated scouting orders to commence a pedestrian extravehicular activity to a plateau region with clear view of Teetering Rock. The entire crew worked together to suit them up, always, this gives extra eyes to check equipment and fittings before sending out any mission. April and Erick used hand/toe warmers this morning to prevent their extremities from falling to the cold. By the time they returned, they were both warm as can be, Hello Sun! Welcome Back.
“Ziggy Stardust” performed by Mr. David Bowie. He may understand what I feel if I said we were smiling all day. Ziggy played guitar, jammin' good with Weird and Gilly. The spiders from Mars, he played it left hand.
EVA V was scheduled to commence a four person, pedestrian extravehicular activity to Teetering Rock, and circle the outlying rock shelf and canyon-like caverns. I led the expeditionary portion, April directed the science team and geological collection. Erick navigated while Diane recorded our observations and collected geologic samples to be analyzed later in the lab.
“Learning to Fly” By Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Well, I started out down a dirty road. I started out all alone; and the sun went down as I crossed the hill. And the town lit up, the world got still. I'm learning to fly but I ain't got wings; coming down is the hardest thing. I went up and got some hard to reach rocks for April, I’m not going to lie, I enjoy the challenge and appreciate being part of the excitement after we determine what exactly we found. We brought back two full canvas bags of soil, rock and earth specimens. Beautiful red rocks paling against each other, like shavings off of a purple pencil, rotating swirls of red and burgundy hues. If you want to change the channel, walk five minutes and there is another remarkable view, of muddy red canals flowing into the horizon.
“Maybe You Baby” by my man Stevie Wonder.
Nothing personally intended, hah, Merry Christmas Giulia! “Ti Amo” (My girlfriend in Milano Italy, Planet Earth.) We have our inflatable Christmas tree with solar powered lights, Santa hats, and I have a big menu planned to cook Christmas Dinner for the Campus Martius Crew and visiting European Boy Band mates and their Hollywood producer. It’s a good thing that these lads primary profession is film making, because singing is not their strong suit, even though Nico played in the Swiss Army Band. They are shooting on location, and are doing a truly stellar job capturing our EVA’s and Hablife.
Souling through the night on an adrenaline kick leftover from my killer EVA this morning/afternoon/evening. None of us wanted to go back, but one crew member had severe condensation in the mask, and we had to return to the hab. Safety first. But… put it this way, it almost took one of those fancy NASA tow winches, where they anchor pull you back to the capsule. Kinda like you mom pulling you off the playground before you finished playing. “Carolina Blues” by Blues Traveler. I am up all night here reminiscing about our full day of adventure. Trying to make a train by sunrise, gonna have to run a red light. Tangling with my Carolina, you know the girl kept me up all night. Maybe the coffee at 2200 is still active, or maybe its still the rush of what we are doing here, I would not trade this experience for anything.
“In the Evening” by Led Zeppelin. What is considered evening on Mars? 5 maybe… Well we were home in time for hot dinner. We had Chipotle Turkey Pasta with cheese, with vegetables and leftover chicken tuna noodle soup. Speaking of leftovers, we still have beef fajitas, potato soup, and pasta in the refrigerator.
“Lost” by Coldplay. You might be a big fish in a little pond but that doesn't mean you've won; 'Cause along may come a bigger one. There were footprints in the fresh in snow and fossils in the rocks. Who was here before us? This is why we are here, Geologist April Davis lead the research to collect fossilized rocks to determine what may have left a footprint weathered into the stones of the past. No getting lost today, I was on the radio. I operated Hab Com for EVA IV, and ran field communications for EVA V. We had excellent contact on both missions, relaying information to support the expedition and coordinate the locations of our research sites.
“Lucky Man” by the Verve. Happiness more or less, it's just a change in me something in my liberty. I sure felt free up on Teetering Rock, which is pretty accurate to its name, random scattering of previous fell rocks all around, with others towering above; waiting for their imminent descent. I love nothing more than to explore around the beautiful nature, appreciating the natural beauty and spectacular wonders that captivate the curiosity of Man and drive us to make way for the future.
“Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac playing now. “You say you want your freedom, well who am I to keep you down. I feel like I am in a dream today, especially earlier on our EVA as Erick and I traversed the rocky terrain of Teetering Rock. We helped each other around the tough spots and I found the best route up. We had a long coming mission to recognize an important portion of our goals. We have had extensive conversations about our individual crew perspective on the colonization and exploration of Mars. “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” By Tom Petty. Well, I don't know, but I've been told, you never slow down, you never grow old. I'm tired of screwin' up, tired of going down, tired of myself, tired of this town. Our Crew has been put together from talent pools around the Globe. We are from different backgrounds, different cultures, and varying motivations. We are here to lay groundwork for future missions to Mars, we want to get outa here.
“Brand New Day” By Sting. One thing that we all agree on is simple, that we must look past the individual nations that have been working for scientific space research. This mission has allowed Erick and I to work together on planning, projects, missions, and anything else you could imagine living in a space capsule. Erick represents his home country of Guatemala, and myself hail from Los Angeles, CA by way of Detroit, MI. Both of us are 28, from similar backgrounds 3000 miles away from each other. We are so proud to be representing our countries here on Mars, but more importantly are proud to represent the next stage of conscious people who believe in working together for the common good of science. Today we hoisted up two giant flags on Mars’ Teetering Rock. At 01:35 on 23 December, you could look up and see the Blue and White colors of Guatemala and the Stars and Stripes of the United States of America, flying equally high overlooking the valley below. Symbolic of future goals of our countries Erick and I stood tall saluting each others’ flag on the Field of Mars.
Everyone is sound asleep, me…..I’m jamming with my headphones, rockin out. Trying to sort out the fantastic memories from today, we did a lot.
“No sleep till Brooklyn” By the Beastie Boys. Engine running hotter than a boiling kettle. My job ain't a job; It's a damn good time. That’s how I feel being able to step off in a space suit, go explore the geologic sites and help facilitate live simulation of a Mars Expeditionary Team in the Desert for Christmas, sign me up twice!
Thanks Santa, I got exactly what I wanted for Christmas. Holiday on Mars!
Signing off from my bunk at 04:01
I will be up at 07:00 cooking breakfast, bacon and eggs, with onion focaccia, fresh coffee and hot tea. We don’t go hungry around here.