Month: February 2026

Journalist Report
Crew #: 328
Position: Crew Journalist, Comms Officer & Astronomer
Report prepared by: Tom Bickmore
Date: 30-01-2026
Sol: 5

Journalist Report Title: Sol 5

Hello from the Hab on Sol 5. A big day here at the Mars Desert Research Station: Our first live-delayed outreach session and a solid EVA, plus some nice progress inside.

Last night (Sol 4 evening) we had a movie night. It took surprisingly long to find a sci-fi film none of us had seen. We thought we had one, but halfway through two crew members realized they’d watched it years ago. Fun to see how the group reacted to the movie crew’s actions and reactions and to discuss what we’d handle differently in a similar scenario.

Today we ran our first Live-but-delayed outreach event: about a dozen kids from 4 countries joined us for a continuous conversation with the ~10-minute interplanetary comms delay simulated (constant video feeds both ways, delayed between parties). This was a rehearsal with our co-host students to test the full setup before the larger-audience version. We were all impressed by the kids’ questions, the depth of their knowledge, and how well they answered each other. Their variety of knowledge and their enthusiasm were incredible. The delay felt real and impactful: watching Earth respond to our "past" selves, then seeing our own delayed feed return. It made the interaction feel connected rather than isolated. Everyone had a great time.

We also had an EVA: Commander Mariló Torres and I went to the northern limit of our range, an area reported for signs of ancient life (it’s an active dinosaur quarry). No fossils or ancient traces found, but we did spot a very small live "dinosaur" (a lizard). Active dig sites had protective covers in place. The geology was striking. We saw distinct layers of rock with varied erosion patterns. On the drive to and from, we noticed crystalline patterns in the dirt where water gathers, looking a lot like the growths in Jahnavi’s soil experiments and similar to road-salt crystallization during Canadian thaws. Since it’s a desert dirt road with no added salt, these must be natural salts efflorescing from the soil. We plan to look more closely and sample these locations on a future EVA.

Commander Mariló Torres and HSO Aaron Tenner gave us a thorough safety briefing on additional Hab emergency procedures—good refresh and details.

A previously "delayed in orbit" supply drop arrived today with key chemicals and additives for Jahnavi’s soil experiments (to mix into local regolith for bricks and materials). This unblocks the main Science Dome work that was waiting on these items. Very exciting!

In the GreenHab, radish seeds are already germinating in the hydroponics setup. The other experiments (radish microgreens across four conditions, tomatoes in lab-regolith with 10% organic) continue progressing well.

Another day of progress with personal experiments planned for Sol 6!

Journalist Report
Crew #: 328
Position: Crew Journalist, Comms Officer, & Astronomer
Report prepared by: Tom Bickmore
Date: 29-01-2026
Sol: 4

Journalist Report Title: Sol 4

Hello from the Hab on Sol 4. Another focused inside day at the Mars Desert Research Station—no EVAs, but steady progress on experiments and prep for tomorrow’s big activities.

I started early before sunrise, spotting the Chinese Space Station passing overhead (a nice real-world reminder of orbital activity), then captured a longer sunrise timelapse plus some pre-dawn shots with stars still visible—great light for photos.

We continued working on personal experiments throughout the day.

Crew Scientist Jahnavi Dangeti saw interesting developments in her soil testing: mineral crystals appear to be growing out of the brick samples she formed.
GreenHab Officer Rebeca Gonçalves finished testing her hydroponics setup and planted the radish seeds in it. The radishes are being grown as microgreens across four conditions for comparison: hydroponics, lab-certified regolith sim, locally collected regolith, and organic potting soil. Tomatoes are in the lab-regolith sim. All regolith-based setups include 10% organic potting soil by volume to support growth.
Engineer/Safety Officer Aaron Tenner worked on paperwork for his project, along with outreach tasks and planning.

I posted more of our daily reports and photos for outreach, got the Mars topography model (created and donated by Casey Handmer) running on my laptop after testing, and we’re awaiting confirmation to install it on the main Hab iMac. I also started setting up the Solar Telescope and preparing the Robotic Observatory for use—expanding my hands-on contributions beyond journaling.

Rebeca was assisted by Commander Mariló Torres on some of the GreenHab tending and planting work today.

This evening, with very clear skies, we watched the ISS (or our "Martian Space Station" equivalent) pass overhead—bright, steady, and a great view. I captured a Martian sunset timelapse to close out the day.

We’re gearing up for two key activities tomorrow: a longer EVA to the north, and our first Live-but-delayed session with kids on Earth. This one is a rehearsal with the same ~10-minute comms delay setup, constant video feeds (delayed between parties), and the same co-host students who will run the larger-audience event next time. It’s a chance to test the flow and tech before the full version.

Daily routines are settling in well, and the crew is staying productive.

More on how Sol 5 goes.