Journalist Report
04/10/2013
Bao Pham
A Report of Ice and Fire
Last night we unwound by playing a rousing game of Spades. Being the
fantastic players we were I
didn’t think it would be too hard to play to 200 points, but our
current scores are -120 and -10.
We stayed up until 11:00 before we started heading off to bed.
The next morning we woke up to the music of Train and chilly temps.
We were hoping there would be
snow on the ground because there were flurries last night, but we
didn’t have such luck. We had
eggs, bacon and cinnamon raisin bread for breakfast. We cleaned up
after breakfast and talked about
various subjects. We’re a chatty bunch. We milled around for a bit
before getting ready for the
Chemistry EVA we had scheduled for 10:00.
The first group of Larry, Aly, and Randy left for their EVA at 10:00
AM. They did a radiation check
to search for potential power sources. The first group also collected
light mineral deposits and
water samples. It was 2:00 PM before they returned to the hab. We
decided to save the second
Chemistry EVA for tomorrow.
Back at the hab, Paulina and I worked on my individual project. I
marked out distances and ran
tests near the hab to get data on exertion with just the MDRS suits.
When the other half of the
team returned, Marianna made rice with tuna and vegetables for lunch.
It was getting pretty hot in
the hab until we realized that the heater was still on. Three of the
crew took naps at various
times during the afternoon.
Paulina and I took a swing at fixing the railing. We made
measurements, gathered the materials, and
started putting it together. It was running late in the day so Randy
and I both went out to areas
around the hab helped each other with our respective experiments.
Randy was taking soil samples and
leaving soda lime for soil respiration tests. I made Randy walk
around for my experiment and he
paid me back in kind by making me try and open plastic bags with
gloves on. Larry helped Paulina to
finish up the railing during this time.
For dinner, Aly made mac and cheese with reconstituted egg, evaporated
milk, Velveeta, noodles and
some of the freeze dried cheese. Marianna made a chili composed of
sausage, gravy mix, salt, and
pepper to go on the mac and cheese.
The plan for tonight is to finally use the observatory since the
weather is cooperating with us today.
--
- Bao Pham