Category: Journalist Report

Crew 319

Position: Crew Journalist

Report prepared by: Mackenzie Calle

Date: 13-10-2025

Sol: 2

Crew had a successful evening of Sol 1 and Sol 2! Highlighted by Shriya cooking a magnificent one pot egg pulao, a classic that she makes for herself and her family, and now us here at MDRS! We are starting to adapt to life on the red planet, beginning the mornings with crew meetings that delve into the day’s plans and the necessary experiments. We then drink as much coffee as we feel comfortable rationing at this point (except Ricardo who is going caffeine free!), do some stretching, and eat light breakfasts.

We are missing Elias, our Health & Safety Officer, who was not ultimately able to make the mission. He is absolutely with us in spirit as well as in the form of an incredible green squishy duck that we picked up on our way from Salt Lake City to MDRS. Duck Elias is a very calming presence for the crew and so beloved, as is real Elias. In his absence, Crew Scientist Shriya has stepped up and broadly taken on the role, alongside our Commander Rym Chaid.

The entire crew helped set up Spaceseed today, one of the World’s Biggest Analog (WBA) experiments. It has been a true labor of love and took up most of the day to get it up and running. Well, as I write this it is almost set up and will be completed tonight. Excited to begin collecting this data tomorrow.

Crew Engineer Ricardo J. Gonzalez is now approved to operate the telescopes and our crew is planning astronomy proposals to capture celestial images. We are also planning our first EVA for tomorrow and the crew is excited to begin exploring and familiarizing ourselves with the spacesuits and the Martian terrain!

Journalist Report
Crew 319
Position: Crew Journalist
Report prepared by: Mackenzie Calle
Date: 15-10-2025
Sol: 3

Report from Sol 3

Slightly belated but the crew celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving last night! We delved into our first freeze dried food and made mashed potatoes from a box with freeze dried powdered butter. Crew Journalist Mackenzie Calle then introduced everyone to her new favorite game, Rummukib, and Commander Rym Chaid impressively won both games.

The start of Sol 3 was productive with a crew meeting to set our daily tasks and prepare for our first EVAs. Crew Scientist Shriya and Mackenzie spent the morning working in the Science Dome on Spaceseed and the structure is now complete! Crew Engineer Ricardo spent the morning in the RAM preparing for the EVA and building our preparation checklist.

Rym and Ricardo then embarked on Crew 319’s first EVA! They took Perseverance Rover to Marble Ridge for the training EVA to familiarize themselves with the spacesuits and vehicles. Shriya and Mackenzie then followed later in the afternoon with our crew’s second EVA, following the same mission plan to Marble Ridge. Along the way they discovered a Martian shell fossil specimen and brought it back to the hab for examination.

Training EVAs are now officially complete!

Journalist Report
Crew 319
Position: Crew Journalist
Report prepared by: Mackenzie Calle
Date: 16-10-2025
Sol: 4

Report from Sol 4

I want to start off today’s report with a quote that perfectly encapsulates the day from Crew Engineer Ricardo J. Gonzalez, “We explored from the micro to the macro and looked at everything from the cells to the sun.”

Crew Scientist Shriya Musuku spent the morning in the Science Dome, working on a lot of the equipment, including our microscope! We did a few sample collections around the base and were able to look at the Martian regolith at 100x magnification. The crew is now incredibly excited about what we will be able to sample for our geology experiments, which will begin on tomorrow’s EVA.

Crew Engineer Ricardo successfully began operation of the Solar Observatory and the crew is thrilled to have this space (forgive the pun). We all took turns looking at the sun through the telescope and visualized the cool spots, also known as sunspots. We’re looking forward to imaging solar flares and combining that with the photos of the cool spots to create a full image of the sun through the telescope software.

Spaceseed is now fully operational and we are now on Sol 2 of this experiment. The microgreens experiment that compares vermiculite and a paper towel as a base for broccoli, radish, mung bean, and alfalfa sprouts. Stay tuned for our results.

Crew also spent time on media today with both Commander Rym Chaid and Crew Journalist Mackenzie Calle documenting different aspects of our mission and the base through photo and video.

All crew are really looking forward to our EVA tomorrow morning and being able to freely explore more of the Martian terrain!

Journalist Report
Crew 319
Position: Crew Journalist
Report prepared by: Mackenzie Calle
Date: 17-10-2025
Sol: 5

Report from Sol 5

Reporting from Sol 5 10.17.25 5:59PM. The theme of the day was two – two EVAs, with two crew each, for 2.5 hours each. Crew Scientist Shriya Musuku and Crew Journalist Mackenzie Calle embarked on the first EVA this morning, departing in Spirit Rover. Crew was inspired by the landscape as this was the farthest we have ventured since being on Mars. After passing Galileo Road however, crew lost comms with Habcom and spent most of the EVA trying to reestablish communication and understand where we were losing signal. Crew eventually needed to abort mission and make their way back to the hab.

EVA Crew 2 today with Commander Rym Chaid and Crew Engineer Ricardo J. Gonzalez found significantly more success with radio communication. We established that the comms were significantly better when facing in the direction of North Ridge. Crew made their way to a different destination than intended but walked to the beautiful North Ridge hills to begin geological sampling.

Overall crew is feeling good about the EVAs and learned a lot of lessons that we can carry forward for the rest of the mission.

Journalist Report
Crew 319
Position: Crew Journalist
Report prepared by: Mackenzie Calle
Date: 18-10-2025
Sol: 6

Report from Sol 6

Reporting from Sol 6 10.18.25 6:57PM. We are at the midpoint of our mission! The time flew by and we are planning to have a movie night tonight with popcorn and watch The Martian to celebrate, plus Ricardo is going to cook some plantains. The crew is also celebrating by having our first showers since mission start, much needed and much appreciated.

The theme of the day has again been two – two EVAs, with two crew, for 2.5 hours each. Crew Scientist Shriya Musuku and Crew Engineer Ricardo J. Gonzalez embarked on the first EVA this morning, departing in Curiosity Rover. The crew has experienced some navigation questions so we decided to explore up to Galileo Road and beyond to Cowboy Corner. They then returned closer to MDRS at Pooh’s Corner, collecting geological samples to bring back to the Science Dome for analysis. They experienced a few aliens along the way but did not make contact.

EVA Crew 2 today with Commander Rym Chaid and Crew Journalist Mackenzie Calle made their way on foot to Pooh’s Corner. Under the heat of the afternoon they proceeded from the station towards Pooh’s Corner, collecting geological samples along the way and capturing media needs. They also encountered what those on Earth would describe as an ant hill during their EVA. Crew then returned to the hab.

Journalist Report
Crew 319
Position: Crew Journalist
Report prepared by: Mackenzie Calle
Date: 19-10-2025
Sol: 7

Report from Sol 7

Reporting from Sol 7 10.19.25 19:12PM. Crew had our most impactful night of the mission. Perhaps because it was mid-mission, or perhaps because we finally had showers, but we had a burst of energy to go stargazing by the Solar Observatory until the early hours of the morning. We gazed at the stars through Crew Engineer Ricardo J. Gonzalez’s binoculars and got a closer look at Jupiter, which at first appeared to be a campfire on the horizon. A few of us remarked that we had never seen that many stars and the Milky Way so clear. It formed a perfect half circle over our heads and we discussed everything from heliocentrism to pondering the edges of the universe.

We then had a ‘lazy’ Sunday and I only use that term in the sense that we did not have any EVAs. Instead, the crew caught up on some rest, position duties, and spent the afternoon participating in media for both the Crew Journalist Mackenzie Calle and the Commander Rym Chaid. Safe to say there has to be at least one good photo in the bunch.

We are planning EVAs for tomorrow and looking forward to Ricardo’s plantains and a postponed movie night from last night to watch The Martian.

Journalist Report
Crew 319
Position: Crew Journalist
Report prepared by: Mackenzie Calle
Date: 20-10-2025
Sol: 8

Report from Sol 8

Reporting from Sol 8 10.20.25 17:50PM

Crew 319 enjoyed a more restful Sunday evening and caught up on some sleep before heading out on two, three-hour EVAs today, the longest we have achieved so far. EVA Crew 1 with Commander Rym Chaid and Crew Scientist Shriya Musuku took Perseverance Rover to the dinosaur quarry at the Gateway to Lith to explore the terrain before collecting mineral samples at Cowboy Corner, including some surprise pieces of what appears to be quartz. EVA Crew 2 with Crew Engineer Ricardo J. Gonzalez and Crew Journalist Mackenzie Calle took Opportunity Rover for its first EVA of our mission and headed to Somerville Overlook and were astounded at the views of the canyons and plateaus that we could see for miles. They also collected many geological samples, especially those that had crystalline and botryoidal structures. We noticed a strong sprinkling of red rock amongst the soft clay. The marbling in the canyon plateaus was also very strong.

The two EVAs were very productive and encouraging for both crews.

Journalist Report
Crew 319
Position: Crew Journalist
Report prepared by: Mackenzie Calle
Date: 21-10-2025
Sol: 9
Report from Sol 9

Reporting from Sol 9 10.21.25 19:22PM

Crew 319 experienced their first three-person EVAs today. With one in the morning and one in the afternoon, both crews undertook emergency response training and were prepped by Crew Scientist Shriya Musuku and Commander Rym Chaid on procedures for splinting, assessing a scene, and ensuring crew safety while on an EVA in spacesuits.

On the first EVA, Crew Scientist Shriya, who is a trained first responder, guided Crew Journalist Mackenzie Calle through procedures and practice with prepping broken arms, the questions to ask at every stage, and how to make sure you do not cause any further damage. Following the training, the crew explored our own backyard. The hills behind MDRS are stunning with their sedimentary banding, valleys, and rocks. The crew felt the most tested with their endurance since beginning the mission.

For lunch, the crew tried our first freeze dried meat! But getting it out of the can was an adventure. With no can opener, Crew Engineer Ricardo J. Gonzalez headed to the RAM to explore what tools are available. In the end, a chisel with a hammer and then shears were able to open the dried can of chicken. Future crews, be careful when opening this can, the edges are now sharp. But turns out, the chicken was surprisingly worth it.

EVA crew two then headed out for more emergency response. Commander Rym was training Crew Engineer Ricardo and took him through multiple emergency scenarios and how to best prepare a broken limb while making it to a medical facility. The crew then headed to the top of the ridge above MDRS where we found some beautiful crystals and were surprised at how far the flat plateau stretched in front of us. We enjoyed the views from the top with full eyes on the station before heading back for an evening of surveys and reports.

Journalist Report
Crew 319
Position: Crew Journalist
Report prepared by: Mackenzie Calle
Date: 22-10-2025
Sol: 10

Report from Sol 10

Reporting from Sol 10 10.22.25 17:27

TODAY WAS OUR LAST DAY OF EVAs!! It’s also the first day that we’ve had clouds in over 1.5 weeks! Hard to believe that our mission is coming close to the end. It simultaneously feels like we just began and like we have lived here forever. I think I speak for the whole crew when I say we are going to miss the landscapes and the clarity of the Milky Way at night. But also I think a few of us are looking forward to regular showers and coffee again.

We saved our farthest EVA journeys for today. EVA Crew 1 with Commander Rym Chaid and Crew Engineer Ricardo J. Gonzalez ventured to Green Mars Overlook. They have now set the Crew 319 record for the farthest distance from the Hab. They were met there with a huge canyon and soaring vistas.

EVA Crew 2 with Crew Scientist Shriya Musuku and Crew Journalist Mackenzie Calle made their way to the Sea of Shells. After a few wrong turns on mismarked Mars pathways, they made it to their destination. Turns out there are no shells at the Sea of Shells but there are monumental plateaus, gray rolling hills, and a lot of sparkling crystal rock. Shriya also maneuvered some expert 3-point turns.

Last night, Shriya also showed the crew a few slide samples of local tiny creatures that made their way into the hab. Pretty cool to see some of the tiny aliens at 100x magnification.

Journalist Report
Crew 319
Position: Crew Journalist
Report prepared by: Mackenzie Calle
Date: 23-10-2025
Sol: 11

Report from Sol 11

Reporting from Sol 11 10.23.25 20:21

Today was our last full Sol on Mars! It’s hard to believe that our mission is almost over. Crew 319 is feeling nostalgic more than anything. This mission with the WBA has been over a year in the making and the constant on all of our horizons. It’s bittersweet that it is coming to an end but we are all so grateful to have been a part of this journey and this historic mission.

While we have been on Mars, we have only had real time communication with Martian Mission Support. But that changed this morning when we were able to speak live to another Martian crew at Monsaraz Mars Analog Station. It was so exciting to hear about their past two weeks and being the first ever mission at their habitat. What they have created in such a short period of time is inspiring. They took us on a virtual tour of their hab and then we showed them around MDRS. We saw their superhero-like black spacesuits, a drone video of a night EVA, and got to put faces to many familiar names.

The rest of our day has been busy with getting the station in order before our simulation ends, capturing final media, doing surveys and reports, and reflecting about our experiences.

Signing off from Crew 319. Ad astra.