Category: Journalist Report

Journalist Report Sol 0

31 March 2025

By Emily Lehnart

We are preparing for our exploration of Mars tomorrow. As we met for our inaugural breakfast as MDRS crew 313, we synergistically discussed goals and objectives for our upcoming EVAs tomorrow and Wednesday. MDSRS crew 313 eagerly anticipated the Mars spacesuit training, the Mars rover training and discussed what EVAs look like. Additionally, we created Mars rock kits. Commander Jen Carver shared her infinite wisdom regarding the geological history of Mars. The MDRS crew was in awe. Finally, we took a short walk to the education building to compare Earth rocks and Mars rocks and determine which Earth rocks were analogous on Mars. This will help us tomorrow as we embark on our first EVA to collect Mars rocks. Go MDRS 313 Crew!

Journalism Report
MDRS Crew 313
April 3, 2025
By Riley Nuttycombe

Crew 313 woke up back on earth today and it was snowing! We had planned a field trip to collect more rock samples but it was too muddy to make doing so safe. We stayed in the hab most of the day. We did some cleaning in preparation for our departure tomorrow. Emily Lehnardt and David Joy departed early in the day. By dinner time it had dried out enough for the remaining crew and Ben from mission support to drive to Hanksville for burgers for dinner.

Journalism Report

After a late night of transit and training the crew awoke on Mars ready to try our best to complete our mission. When we signed up for this Mars mission, we were excited about all of the possibilities and today those possibilities began to unfold – good and bad. Today we all successfully completed our first set of paired EVAs and got to know the exhilaration of exploring the unknown; the wonder of Martian vistas; and accomplishment of completing a mission. We also got to know the challenge that comes with being encumbered by a space suit; the frustration of not being able to talk to the person next to you without hopping on the comm system; the insane appetite that accompanies the end of a spacewalk; and unique to our mission, navigating the secrecy of the social-behavioral experiment that is our purpose here on Mars this week.

Journalism Report for Sol 2
Red Mars, Green Mars
Mars is known for its reddish color in the night sky and this crew can confirm that the dirt out here is quite red. Each EVA tracks in some dust and this morning’s crew brought in a whole beach’s worth of sand which we had to sweep up afterwards. The red of the Martian terrain is a unique sort of beautiful, but it’s nothing compared to the wonderful green in our GreenHab. This module might be the best in the whole complex. The GreenHab has lots of tomatoes, onions, and basil which we used to make a tasty spaghetti dinner tonight. Not only is it full of plants and veggies to eat, but it’s always warm – and Mars is very cold. Especially today. The GreenHab was a true oasis of warmth today while our main hab heater struggled to keep up with the wind and cold and our crew engineer tried to fix it.

Martian Eats
With all the EVA’s this crew has been completing, the amount of calories we’re consuming is monstrous. To satisfy our appetite we’ve been cooking lots of different foods. The Mars Home Cooking recipe book created by crews 110B, 128A and 128B has provided tasty inspiration for dinner. On Sols 1 and 2 we followed their chicken fried rice and Martian Marinara recipes, making appropriate modifications so that both the meat eaters and vegetarians in our crew could enjoy. While we were able to bring some fresh food with us to Mars, the bulk of our meals utilize the large selection of freeze-dried fruits, vegetables, and protein in our crew pantry. While these items cook quite well – the biggest challenge has been accounting for the time it will take to re-hydrate our dinner before cooking it. Outside of dinner one of our co-commanders has been baking to boost crew morale. Her cookies on Sol 1 and Funfetti cupcakes today were a major highlight for the crew.

Journalist Report
Sol 4: Observations from the Observed
Throughout the week we’ve been monitored by a variety of sensors and surveys as part of the research study we’ve agreed to be the “pilot” crew for. Our role is to help the research team discover any oversights or logistical challenges in their experimental plan so that the first real test crew has a smoother experience – because our experience has been bumpy to say the least. We can’t say much about the surveys, but we can talk about the sensors. Our only constant sensor is a Garmin watch to record our heart rate and sleep quality – we only take them off to charge during dinner. There are few other sensors we only use during EVAs. The first is just a simple audio recorder which we clip to the collar of our flight suit so that the researchers can understand how we’re communicating when we plan and conduct our EVA. Next, we have a tracking device so that the researchers can see where we’re going and a secondary MDRS tracker required for crew safety. Lastly, we have eye tracking glasses that video what we see and identify exactly what our eyes are focusing on – this again allows the researchers to understand what information we’re taking in and using to build our decisions on EVA. Not only are we responsible for donning these sensors each day, but our crew scientist and engineer have sunk several hours into debugging them, especially the glasses. As of today, we have solved multiple problems with the glasses only to find more. The latest discovery is a settings change that requires an ethernet cable that does not exist on Mars. Who puts an ethernet cable on their packing list anyways?

Here is our Journalism report for today.
Strangers to Martians
When we started the Mars mission just a few Sols ago each of us was almost a complete stranger to rest with almost no idea of what we had really signed ourselves up for and now after 5 days in each other’s constant company we have become a true Mars crew. Our crew bonded through the endless training on Sol 0 and then sorting through that same information to determine our crew responsibilities on Sol 1. We got to work with each other to solve problems on EVAs, learning more about each other each time we were paired with someone new. We did daily activities together and exchanged ideas on life habits like how we each like to exercise or how our crew scientist likes to eat random handfuls of spinach to hit her daily veggie count (it’s honestly better than one might expect). We had casual conversations about our lives and our individual research and played games like Pictionary that resulted in an abundance of laughs. We vlogged our Martian cooking, including a few mishaps, and tried lots of dehydrated food for the first time. We gazed up at the stars and wondered whether we could ever explore the entirety of our vast universe. And now on Sol 5 as we approach the end of our mission, we’re conducting our final EVA’s; cleaning the hab; and savoring our last moments on Mars.

Sol 1: « It’s a small step for me, a bigger one for Quentin » –

Author – Isolde Louzier-Ricalens

6:30AM: First awakening in the station. After getting out of bed, the crew already get busy, checking their daily morning tasks. We measure our physiological data for the Core Data experiment, that will allow us to transfer data to the researchers needing them. After that, it’s time to follow our first sport session, animated by Célyan. No time to lose for Crew 311: as soon as finished, we clean ourselves (but with wipes, like in the ISS!), we dress up, and we finally close the door of the station. Let’s go for a busy day!

11:19AM: I just came back from my first EVA, an ExtraVehicular Activity. Meddi, Quentin, Robin and I did our first training. We found the perfect place for the atmospheric instruments: Marble Rituals. We will set them up later during the week. The analog Martian desert looked very vast, such as the sky that overlooked it. I had the honour to step on its ground first, and to pronounce our first words: « it’s a small step for me, a bigger one for Quentin ».

During this time, the rest of the crew did our food inventory.

3:00PM: During the beginning of the afternoon, every crew member goes to their business. Meddi waters the plants, Robin takes inventory of the RAM, whereas Somaya takes the Science Dome’s one, and Quentin takes charge of the solar observatory. Everyone got together then, to setup Somaya, Erin and Célyan for their EVA training.

6:50PM: The afternoon was productive. While some of us were preparing Orbital Architecture experiment, some other were managing the building of supports for our atmospheric instruments. The communication window is approaching, and now the whole crew answer their daily questionnaires.

Crew 311 Journalist Report 19Feb2025
SOL 2: “Why do astronauts have laundry problems? Because they are always in space!”
Author – Isolde Louzier-Ricalens

10:06AM: Second day at the station. This day seems more usual; no extravehicular activity is planned. The crew focuses on assembling various experiments that need to be installed throughout the station, and each member attends to their daily tasks. Quentin, Robin, and I assembled and tested the atmospheric instruments. We were very efficient and plan to install them outside tomorrow. Meanwhile, Célyan and Somaya are setting up the Orbital Architecture experiment, which will track our position within the station. Meddi organized the greenhouse to set up Micropouss’, an experiment in collaboration with the startup Neopouss’, which allows us to grow microgreens that will enhance our meals. So far, we have only eaten meals prepared from lyophilized ingredients or long-lasting ones. These plants will have a significant impact on our well-being.

4:18PM: Finally, we got to taste the products from the greenhouse! At lunch, Meddi brought us a little surprise: small tomatoes and radishes collected in the GreenHab. The evening promises to be delicious as well, since Somaya prepared the dough for Moroccan bread that we are eager to cook and taste tonight! The afternoon was productive: our progress on the atmospheric instruments allowed Robin and me to set up AMAIA’s servers, the AI assistant of Spaceship FR. Everything is not yet perfect, but this standalone AI, meaning it works without the internet, could be very useful! However, its humor is unique… The title of the report bears witness to that. In parallel, Erin works on the crew schedules, and Quentin is already developing his first photos of the sun taken in the observatory!

5:27PM: I finished my first cognitive assessment in the HAB, our main habitat. It was pretty difficult to focus among the very animated crew members around. While some of them have already set up the lights or LättaLL experiment in the core habitat, Somaya has cooked her little breads. They are delicious!

SOL 23: The rover has landed

04:17 PM: This morning was a bit different from the others. We struggled to create the map of Kissing Camel Ridge yesterday, despite the 800 photos that Somaya had taken. The schedule was rearranged at the last minute because Robin and Quentin were unable to study the 2D map last night. Everyone was also very tired, so this morning, the crew woke up a bit later than usual, and Robin and Quentin studied the map during the 45 minutes preceding their EVA. They then left with Célyan, who was in charge of observing their performance, and Somaya, who took more drone photos of the area. EVAs with four crew members are rare, and the HAB was quite calm in the morning. Meddi and Erin took advantage of this to plan the organization of our bags to lose as little time as possible on the last day of the mission when we will leave.

At the end of their exit, the EVA crew members returned to the base to take out the rover from SUPAEROMOON, which was ready for this moment. The ISAE-SUPAERO club could not provide us with a robotic arm for the rover, so we won’t be able to test it fully, but this mechanism leaves a perfectly adapted space for… Didier, our mascot!

After taking refuge in the station and taking a well-deserved break, Quentin went to the observatory. I then heard from my room a message coming from the mission support walkie-talkie. It informs us that one of our rovers, which we use to move during EVAs, is no longer operational for the rest of the mission. This rover was really useful as its battery allowed us to reach distant regions of the station, like the Sea of Shells area. Fortunately, this week, we will stay in spaces near the base, and the remaining three rovers will be more than enough. Suddenly, Quentin also called the HAB from a walkie-talkie and informed us that the tunnels are being damaged again. Meddi and Robin went to rescue our movement spaces to prevent their condition from deteriorating, which would cause another emergency EVA rather unwelcome at this busy time.