0228-JournalistReport

MDRS 164 Journalist Report 27/02/2016

Sol 7. Today we kept on exploring the vicinity of the Hab using the

ATVs. We rode 2km south to find a canyon where to test the CRV. We

couldn’t find the interesting place we spotted the night before on the

map of the area, but it anyway gave us the opportunity to test the

ATVs (the clutch of ATV n°4 is obviously broken, but it is still nice

to ride) and to take beautiful pictures of the Martian landscape.

Today we worn space suits. Some improvements are still to be made (the

problem on the backpack n°1 was not due to the battery, but I will try

to change the fans tomorrow), but we are still wearing them with a mix

of pride, dignity and scientific application. The weight we feel on

our shoulders is not only the backpack’s batteries, but also the

feeling that we have so much left to do, so much data to analyze by

the end of the mission.

Today we held our mid-rotation scientific meeting. We all had to

describe the experiment we are responsible for to the others, and

explain what we have done so far and what remains to do. My crewmates

are indeed ugly and stinky, but it is a real pleasure to work with

them and to see that we are making useful progresses for space

exploration.

At this very moment I am cooking pizza with my friends. There is no

best way to end a hard day’s work than breaking an egg on the head of

your commander or putting rotten pepperoni slices in the boots of your

Safety Officer.

Tonight we will be exploring the sky in the Musk Observatory.

Calibration is not perfect yet, but we still get to see amazing

pictures of the Moon, Jupiter and its satellites, and Sirius, making

us think of where space exploration will bring us next.

Today I felt like the 8-years old me would have been proud of me. And

there is no better proof that the mission is going well, and no better

proof that we are on our way towards a great achievement.

Camille Gontier, Crew Journalist MDRS 164