1101-JournalistsReport

MDRS CREW 155 - SOL 9

1 NOV 2015

Cassandra Klos

Crew Journalist/Artist-in-Residence

Hello Mission Support! We have officially reached the half way point of our rotation. This comes with mixed feelings, as I have both immensely enjoyed everything I have experienced and learned here but also miss the comforts of home and the people I left back on Earth.

To back up to our evening Halloween plans, we mingled with local Martians and gave out Earth candy to the Martian youth. We enjoyed a home cooked Martian meal made by the local community. Some of the younglings looked up to our spacesuits in complete awe — others were much more focused on Halloween candy (I don’t blame them!) Then we returned to the Hab where we realized just how beautiful the night sky is. Without question, we all returned outside to stargaze and take photographs. When we came inside, Commander Paul remarked how The Great Pumpkin visited the Hab while we were out! Each of us was greeted by an assortment of candy from our countries - candy from the United States (Paul, myself), Vietnam (Hung), United Kingdom (Sam), Peru (Jacky), and even Cyprus (Stergio)!

But we woke up today in a different light. Our rotation has gone by in a flash! The crew finished assembling the tunnel to the GreenHab. I meandered around the area and continued to document geological formations. Lunch was a combination of different leftover dishes that had accumulated the entire first week. In the afternoon, Hung and Sam took the rovers on a long expedition to get GPS coordinates for some locations along the Mars rover road.

We’re now awaiting dinner — Hung is making us sushi. This shall probably be one of the most interesting dishes I will have here, as I usually don’t eat sushi on Earth! Alas, moving to a new planet makes you more adventurous!

Until tomorrow, Mission Support!

Cassie