Journalist’s Report
1/7/2013
Eric Watkins
The Life of Crew 121: An Ordinary Day
The astronauts of Crew 121 have finally come to the halfway mark with their time on Mars. Everyone has been working extremely diligently for the past week in order to keep the Hab in tip-top shape. Despite the fact that the crew has been craving real food from earth, the freeze dried food holds the crew down just fine. Nevertheless, being on Mars has been a great experience for these astronauts, and has given them a first-class bonding experience. Whether it’s cooking, cleaning, writing reports, conducting repairs, or assisting with each other’s studies, everyone works well together to not only keep the Hab but the team together as well.
As the crew wakes up, it’s early in the morning and as always the most beautiful sunrise can be seen through the center Hab window. This morning’s schedule for Crew 121 begins with a physical fitness study conducted by the crew’s Health and Safety Officer (HSO). The purpose of this study is to determine if conducting exercises within an isolated and confined environment affects the mood of crewmembers. The study consists of two workouts with different levels of difficulty, a moderate and an advanced workout. Today’s study requires that the crew complete the advanced portion of the workout. For most crewmembers, this was most definitely a challenge to face. The HSO started everyone off easy with a few stretches to open up the workout. Once the stretches were over, it was time to get down to work. From one exercise to the next the crew worked on chest, back, arms, and legs. With the help of encouraging words for motivation, everyone pushed as hard as they could and finished with sore legs and a stronger upper body.
After everyone freshened up after a long morning workout, it was time for a couple of the crewmembers to go out to the Green Hab for the next study. Once the crewmembers got out to the Hab, they were amazed at the diverse plants that were sent by Mission Control. For the past few days, the crewmembers have been striving to rejuvenate the plants they started out with. Having the new plants in the Green Hab created a feeling of peace and comfort. It gave the Green Hab a fresh and natural look, especially after seeing the dead-like plants they’ve been working on for so long.
Later today, the crewmembers will be expecting some visitors that are being sent from Mission Control to conduct interviews on the Mars Hab and Crew 121. To prepare for this occasion, the crewmembers have to roll up those sleeves and clean the Hab from top to bottom. Since the dining station was previously cleaned, the only thing that needed to be cleaned was the EVA room, bathroom, and downstairs Lab; however it was time for the next study of the day. Before everyone started cleaning, it was decided that the music study be conducted; that way two birds would be knocked out with one stone. As everyone was cleaning, the sounds of Frank Sinatra could be heard all throughout the Hab. Since the HSO finished his cleaning duties early, he decided to whip up something good for lunch. By the time everyone finished their individual chores, lunch was done and on the table. The crew always has something different and this time it was burritos for lunch, which was made out of rice, cheese, and a big pot of chili. Some of the crewmembers wanted to add some flavor to their burritos and added either ranch, soy sauce, Sriracha (hot chili sauce), or Frank’s hot sauce.
A few hours later, the crew’s visitors were already at the front door ready to be greeted. Though it is rare to have visitors transport to Mars, the visitors were from a Chinese news company from Earth. As smiles were shared and handshakes were exchanged, the visitors brought a surprise gift for the crew. Something the crew hasn’t had for a while, a bag of fruit that was made up of bananas, oranges, kiwi, and apples, was given as a gift for their involvement. The crew’s visitors were given the grand tour of the Hab. Questions were being thrown left and right, but there was always an answer. They were very fascinated with the dehydrated food in the dining station, as well as the studies each crewmember is conducting. As the news reporters were finishing up for the day, dinner was served before the night was over. Today was a busy day like any other, but was no match for Crew 121.
Until Next Time. . . .