Category: Journalist Report

Journalist Report #6by: Felipe Torres – Crew Scientist

Sol 6

Today’s morning started a little earlier than usual… We were expecting some visit from Earth, specifically from Japan, from a journalist and a photographer who were interested in coming to MDRS to have a close approach to the Martian experience.

As per crew policies, the first crew member to wake up starts cooking breakfast. So, I started cooking some scrambled eggs for the crew. At the beginning this was a not so easy task as we were learning how to use our dehydrated ingredients, but at this point, it is our go to breakfast for the mornings, along with some oatmeal and some fruit. Could it even get healthier?

Last night, we had all decided that this morning we would empty the toilet tank since it was already getting full and it was starting to smell bad. So right after breakfast our crew engineer and HSO went to the Hab’s lower deck to get that figured out. While they were doing this, the rest of the crew members were cleaning and disinfecting all common spaces of the Hab.

Right when we were finishing our cleaning duties, at around 8:50am we received a communication from Atila, letting us know that our visitors had arrived.

After pressurization for five minutes, the Japanese journalists came into the Hab. We gave them a tour of all the facilities, Hab, Green Hab, Science Dome and RAM. We came upstairs and we all introduced ourselves and told them a little of our backgrounds.

At around 10:20 am we started getting ready for our EVA, checking radios, GPS, jumping in our spacesuits and making sure we had everything ready for our EVA.

It was a long walk and hike to Hab Ridge, but it was really satisfying. Along with Maria and Yael, we were surprised by the small invertebrate fossils we found. There were just so many of them and that made us think about the marine life that took place here many ages ago, and for a couple seconds we felt that we were in the middle of the ocean bottom.

The Japanese journalists were following us all the time while taking pictures of us. I think we did a great job as models; they were really happy with the pictures they took and were very grateful.

By 1:15pm it was time to finish our EVA and to head back home. We were really hungry and contacted our crew at the Hab and asked them to please have some spaghetti with Bolognese sauce ready for us. And guess what, we were all on the same page because without even telling them they had already cooked lunch and it was exactly what we were asking for.

We got to the Hab right on time for lunch. We were all exhausted from carrying the suits on our backs for almost three hours, so as quickly as we could, we took our spacesuits off, cleaned our helmets and plugged in the suits to their corresponding chargers.

After lunch, we all sat down with the Japanese journalists and during an hour, we were part of a fascinating interview; we answered some questions and had a great time talking about space travel, space industry, our dreams and our purposes in life.

The journalists left the Hab at 4:00pm and we were all really happy from having that visit, as it demonstrated the interest they had for our Colombian crew and in general, for the Colombian space industry.

To end the day, we baked a delicious tray of Space Brownies! It’s never too much when it comes to some chocolate. It was the reward for such a long and productive day.

Great day on Mars. We are really happy and excited for what is to come…

Journal Report Sol 5 – 22Jan2022

Maria Paula Bustos Moreno – Crew Geologist/ Green-Hab Officer Crew 226

DAY 04 OF SIMULATION

Dear Martian Diary,

Being far away from home has never been easy, I miss my hometown Bogotá, and my new home in Berlin (where I currently live). Those gigantic green mountains and rivers, everything full of life. What is the thing I miss the most? My private space. I’ve always loved to be alone, sit down in my room, listen to music, look through the window, and meditate about how grateful I am to be alive at this moment of human history, at which dreaming about becoming an astronaut is not unrealistic anymore. As I was telling you, I was not able to find this lonely place in the hab and I shared this concern with my crew members who told me that the place I was looking for was the science dom. The science dom? Of course! How could I not think about it before? Thank you Crew Scientist Felipe for the advice, here I go …..

I am heading to the Science Dom… These tunnels are cold, it is a complete experience to walk on them, the cold air, the rocks on my feet and the view, this view from the corner of the hab….” the camera shutter makes a sound”. Wow, look at this picture! It’s impossible to resist not taking a picture from here every day.

I just arrived in the Science Dom, this place is breathtaking, I come close to the rectangular window in front of the desk, and this view… The view from this window is making me feel an electric shock that comes out of my heart and flows to the rest of my body, suddenly my heart starts beating faster. “Boom, boom, boom”. I could stare here for hours looking at those red and brownish sedimentary rocks. Which forms of past life could have lived there some millions of years ago? It’s still a mystery… Can you imagine the first E-U-R-E-K-A! of the first scientist or group of scientists who discover the first sign of past life on Mars? I hope we unveil this enigma very soon.

Undoubtedly the science Dom was the place I was looking for. The smell of wet rock here makes this place such a perfect environment to study, to reflect, and have the boost of energy I was looking forward to having. …” Maria, Maria, are you there?” – the radio makes some noises

“Yes, here I am! Do you need something?” – I answer

“Can you please bring some Cilantro, Pepper, Onion, and Lettuce?” – Felipe asks

I’m the Green-hab officer of the crew. I take care of harvesting everything that we need, I spend an hour every morning in the hab, watering the plants, cropping, singing, and telling sweet words to them.

“Sure! Give me some minutes, I’ll be right there with the veggies” – I answer Felipe

“By the way, that sounds like you are preparing some tacos?” – I ask him in a very excited manner

I love tacos, I used to eat them a lot on Earth.

“You got it! Come with the veggies and let’s enjoy our Tacos lunch.” – He replies

The green-hab is our most “Earth-like” place here in the station. It’s so hot, that I feel I am in the middle of the Amazonas Rainforest as soon as I cross the door. Everything smells wet and fresh around here, my favorite plants are the cherry tomatoes. They are so sweet and grow very fast, I harvest them every day. I am starving and can’t wait to eat tacos!

“…Und egal was kommt, wer geht und bleibt, ich weiss. Du hältst mit mir Schritt..” – a german song wakes me up from a short sleep I took after lunch.

I take my headphones off. I still feel the delicious flavors of the lunch we cooked in my mouth: pico de gallo, ají, and chili with meat. Was the best Mexican lunch on Mars… obviously because it’s the only one hahaha.

I forgot to tell you that last night we had our first dance night in the hab. We listened to Colombian music for hours and danced like we were at a real party, it was very funny. Carlos is the funniest one around here, his dance moves were from another planet, we all laughed so much. What I love the most about this crew is that no one judges anyone, each one has its own personality and I feel we complement each other very well.

Well, it’s getting late here and I have some tasks to do. See you tomorrow again!

Journalist Report Sol 4 21Jan2022Yael Méndez- Commander Crew 226

Life on Mars has many details to take into account, thus a mistake can cost us our lives. That’s a thought the Crew came up with on Night of the Sol 3. Sol 4 began with a Crew full of energy to continue, it has been the best mission of their lives so far. Every single experience is an opportunity to learn from, every single decision is a new challenge. We had a snowfall in the morning and it was necessary to clear the tunnels to prevent accidents from happening.

Today has been a day where the Crew has gotten closer, the communication is getting better and the atmosphere is very similar to a home. Here we all care about the well-being of the other, seeking to create the best environment for everyone.

Cooking has been a great activity to maintain positive energy. Also, the time of making our meals has allowed us to enjoy a good conversation, to get to know each other more and to laugh. Today we prepared the best choclo arepa on Mars, based on corn and cheese. The crew has already adapted really well to the routines of the station. Everyone already knows their responsibilities and the importance of fulfilling them.

The teamwork has been really top class and I couldn’t be happier as a commander. We really are a good match for Mars.

Good evening CAPCOM,

The following is is the journalist report for Sol 3.

Best regards,

Cristian Acosta, HSO

Trouble Navigating on Mars

Today the crew woke up to a delightful breakfast made by our commander Yael, crew geologist Maria Paula, and crew scientist Felipe. It was egg and cheese with hydrated fruit and almonds on the side. The crews` spirits were lifted not only by the wonderful meal but also by the very engaging and hilarious morning conversations. Very entertaining these conversations were, that they even made us a bit late for our scheduled EVA at 9am. As a result, everyone seemed to be in a rush to save as much time as possible for the EVA that the chit chat ended abruptly. As Felipe and Cristian were in their crew quarters putting on their attire, Yael and Maria Paula went to the green hab to water the crops. Crew Engineer Carlos stayed on the upper deck to wash the dishes. Once all 3 EVA crew members were in the suiting room on the lower deck, it seemed like an eternity to get into the airlock as we were eager to get on our way as quickly as possible as we were already eating up 20 minutes of our EVA time in the suiting room. It did not help that multiple issues arised during the suiting up of the astronauts. For one, Cristian´s earpiece mic, was not working properly in the airlock and secondly no one on the EVA team had prepared to bring with them a time keeping device. Because of this, the EVA team had to depressurize twice in the airlock. Not a great start to the day. After pressurization, the EVA team, who comprised of Felipe, Cristian, and led by Maria Paula went to their respective rovers along with an additional companion. This companion was very small and surprisingly resistant to the harsh Martian surface environment. The crew was definitely not expecting this cute ratatouille (that had been baited with Nutella and captured the previous night) to survive in its unpressurized cage on Mars. The crew did not think much of it and continued on with the EVA. Both Cristian and Maria Paula got in and took off with rover Spirit, while Felipe took rover Percy. As the rovers made their way to the exploration site of "Moon Overlook" the cold martian air started to feel even colder with the relative wind. The team eventually reached a point on the main road that appeared to be the location to turn off of the main road leading to the exploration site. It also became a stopping point as Percy had reached a battery level of 63% and hence the crew no longer felt comfortable proceeding down the main road from that point. As the team left the vehicles to identify exactly the road upon which to further traverse the surface to the exploration site, it became clear that there were no obvious roads anywhere to be found. It was also at this point that the team unloaded the additional companion of the drive and set it free from its cage never to be seen again. Once freeing the little guy, the team set out to scout the area by walking West. As the team continued walking, they eventually stumbled upon a downward sloped feature that was a part of a network of small canyons. The crew seemed lost. They were not expecting this at all. Pictures were taken at this site not with wonder but with questions about the exact location of where they were. No help could come from the Hab as they were way beyond the range of the 2 way radios and as such, they were left to figure it out on there own. Fortunately, the crew had at there disposal a GPS which created even more confusion as they were reading on the map that they had arrived at the correct coordinates for the branch road that would lead them to the exploration site. The crew then started to observe the great amount of erosion that had occured on the land they were standing on. This led to thoughts about the road possibly having been erased. It was not all a lost cause as the crew did retrieve pieces of gypsum laying out on top of the surface. The radiated heat of the sun and the cold temperatures were definitely taking a toll on the crew and without much success in finding the road to the exploration site, the hope in doing so was rapidly diminishing. It was also getting late and after spending lots of time trying to find the road, the team decided on heading back. This time Cristian got in Percy while Maria Paula and Felipe got in Spirit. On their way back, the EVA team kept tabs on their respective battery levels by relaying that information over the 2 way radios between both rovers. The team also started to address the HAB in their radio callouts to determine when they were back within range. At last, comms between the rovers and the HAB were restored. What a relief it was to arrive back at the HAB with Percy at 50% and Spirit at 67%. Cristian thinking he had driven Spirit back, parked Percy in Spirit’s spot which left Spirit parking in Percy’s spot. To their great realization, the EVA team entered the airlock surprised on how quickly they had returned from the site compared to how long it took them to drive out to the site. Of course it could also be a matter of perception on time. After pressurization was completed in the airlock, the EVA team proceeded to takeoff their spacesuits and perform a debrief in the upper deck at he dinner table while having lunch. One thing to note is that while the expedition crew members were on their EVA, the mission commander Yael and crew engineer Carlos, were busy with performing chores in the HAB such as cleaning the lower deck. All in all, there were many lessons learned from performing this EVA and the crew all agreed on making changes to the daily schedule routine and be more prepared next time in order to reduce the risk of EVA mishaps. Lunch was Colombian-style beans with ground beef and rice with veggies. Without a doubt a very pleasing lunch. The crew’s cuisine is hands down one of the best and always is a boost to morale. Later in the afternoon, different crew members took naps and even started writing their respective reports. As the afternoon progressed and evening came, the crew got to work on both making a pizza and finishing up the required reports.

The best cake on Mars!

Today we decided to do some Mars Home Cooking! The selected recipe: Banana cake :D, we started our cooking at 12:00pm and the idea was to get the cake ready before EVA#2 but after checking the required cooking time, it was not possible. Commander Yael, Green Hab Officer Maria Paula Bustos and Crew Scientist Felipe Torres left for EVA#2 while the cake was baking. When they returned, the cake was ready! And we were happy to have some sweet cake after today’s EVAs when we had the first bite. Oh no! D: it was salty, what a letdown! :c Maria Paula then told us that large amounts of cinnamon actually make food salty and that when she had tried a dish like that before, she got a similar result. The dish she made that time was banana cupcakes actually :O so it was like having a flashback for her. After a while, some questions aroused. Did the cookbook say it would be sweet? The answer was… no.

Alright, did the cookbook says it would taste good? The answer was… no. Alright, did the cookbook say it was a cake? The answer was… no! hahaha xD it was actually bread! Even though you can expect the banana bread to be sweet, it is likely to be salty or with very little taste being bread. The whole experience was a funny moment and we had a great laugh. Although it has its salty flavor, I think you can figure out why this is the best cake on mars. If not, think about this, what other cake is on mars right now?

Other activities done today

I got up today and I made eggs for breakfast and for all the crew, Commander Yael and I were prepared for the EVA, we did the depressurization procedure and got out, the EVA was great! I had a little problem with my earpiece, but the rest was awesome, you can see some pictures taken by us in the daily photos we walked around Marble Ritual and saw the hab from far away! When we got back we noticed that one of the ventilation ducts was loose, we’re expecting further instructions about it. And finally, I can also say that the Toilet tank is now empty, hopefully, the experience was not as terrible as I expected it to be!

Journalist Report for SOL2.

Submitted by Carlos Salazar, Crew 226 Journalist

The best cake on Mars!

Today we decided to do some Mars Home Cooking! The selected recipe: Banana cake :D, we started our cooking at 12:00 pm and the idea was to get the cake ready before EVA#2 but after checking the required cooking time, it was not possible. Commander Yael, Green Hab Officer Maria Paula Bustos, and Crew Scientist Felipe Torres left for EVA#2 while the cake was baking. When they returned, the cake was ready! And we were happy to have some sweet cake after today’s EVAs when we had the first bite.

Oh no! D: it was salty, what a letdown! :c Maria Paula then told us that large amounts of cinnamon actually make food salty and that when she had tried a dish like that before, she got a similar result. The dish she made that time was banana cupcakes actually :O so it was like having a flashback for her. After a while, some questions arose. Did the cookbook say it would be sweet? The answer was… no. Alright, did the cookbook says it would taste good? The answer was… no.

Alright, did the cookbook say it was a cake? The answer was… no! hahaha; it was actually bread!

Even though you can expect the banana bread to be sweet, it is likely to be salty or with very little taste being bread. The whole experience was a funny moment and we had a great laugh. Despite its salty flavor, I think you can figure out why this is the best cake on mars. If not, think about this, what other cake is on mars right now?

Journalist Report
January 18, 2022
Felipe Torres, Crew Scientist

We have successfully landed on Mars!

Landing was safe, though a little rough. The crew is excited and some are a little nervous; our Commander had a few tears of joy from having arrived to the red planet. We are all proud of each other and of our mission support team on Earth for helping us get here safe.

It’s amazing the resemblance it has with our planet Earth. Some things look familiar, it even feels like home! We are all eager to start populating this planet.

Most things are still new for us, so today we started our training led by Atila; we started getting familiarized with the different systems on our Hab, RAM, Green Hab, and Science Dome. It’s a shame our Crew Astronomist couldn’t come with us we won’t be able to use our Observatories, fortunately, we’ll still be able to get telescopic images remotely from the Earth.

Time for a break! We had our first lunch together as Martians. Never thought that our crew had such talented cooks; definitely cooking won’t be an issue during our Mission.

We all helped each other jump inside our Spacesuits. We had done it before on Earth, but doing it here in Mars is actually way different. The feeling of being far from home starts kicking in. Spacesuits are on, we turn on and make sure all the systems are operating nominally.

Now the moment to explore has arrived. Let’s go outside! Said Atila. Our first exploration of Mars soil has been thrilling. We traveled a few miles in our Rovers (Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity) just enough distance to be safe and sound during our first EVA; we reached the Route 1104, also known as Galileo Road and then headed back to our Hab as the sun was falling down and the temperature was getting lower.

To end the day, we all studied the Mars map and discussed different zones of interest, which according to our Mission plan will be the best places to explore on our next EVA’s.

Good night.

JOURNALIST REPORTS 14 JAN 2022
PEDRO JOSÉ-MARCELLINO, XO/CJ CREW 238

MDRS — Crew 238 — Sol 12 14 Jan 2022

We Are All Made of Stars

The end is nigh. During comms window last night, we suddenly found out that our sim is cut short at 12-noon on Friday. Our plan had been to proceed till Friday evening, but alas that is not to be. So, we go to bed on what will be our last few hours in-sim.

Once again, I stay up very late getting all my admin together, although HSO Turner was a close second, completing his Mars surface puzzle. I eventually close my eyes at 4 AM and wake up at 6:55 AM with knocks on my door and the hideous fire alarm Werner had downloaded for his exercises. “Fire!”, I am told. I get dressed in the dark and run out and downstairs, where I don my EVA suit alongside Turner, as I hear Pokrywka cough through the radio. We get there fairly fast, and she is presumed alive. I think we are getting better at this. Practice makes perfect, and Werner has us on this routine much like Arkady
Bogdanov had the First 100.

People try to talk to me after the drill, but I go back to bed grumpy. I need some more sleep.

After breakfast, a few of us proceed with our Braided Communications sessions, and get down to our many reports due, while others clean the Hab. We have been cleaning as we go for the whole two weeks, and it
looks shinier than we found it.

So, the day has suddenly opened up from a busy research schedule to an off-sim walk to Hab Ridge, where some of us will get the last bit of footage for our documentaries and art projects. Sadly, we will also have to walk to Dr. Sandor’s Mars labyrinth, 100 m north of the hab, and delicately give it back to the red dirt of Mars.
This is rotation life.
It starts, and it ends. We Are All Made of Stars — as Moby once said.

JOURNALIST REPORTS 11-13 JAN 2022

PEDRO JOSÉ-MARCELLINO, XO/CJ CREW 238

MDRS — Crew 238 — Sol 09 11 Jan 2022

The Tasmanian devil, the devil’s toenails, and the solar flares

Yesterday, not for the first time, I was up into the wee hours, trying to catch up on all the admin due at MDRS, and with my reporting duties outside of the station. Planning, logistics, domestic labour, reports, reportages, and collective projects have all taken a toll on my sleep hours. Read: I haven’t had many.

Mind you, as a tv producer, the overloaded schedule is nothing new. But I confess the utter exhaustion caused by the intensity of life at MDRS, the lack of time and space to rest, and even the lack of privacy, which has clear impacts on personal well-being, did catch me off guard. As a crew with a core focus on mental health, we took note of this.

As an XO and Crew Journalist on crew 238, you’d reckon I know everything that is going on. Turns out, that’s not true. The morning of Sol 9 was a perfect example. As I left my stateroom still rubbing my eyes, I grab a coffee and suddenly hear this German accent coming through the radios: “Commander! Commande! We’ve received a notification of a solar flare. ETA is 20 minutes. I repeat: ETA is 20 minutes. Seek shelter!”.

We all look at each other, roll our eyes, and then dutifully march down the stairs, slowly and in a controlled manner. Eng. Werner reminds us of the need to carry supplies, notably water and some easy-opening food. We do. Some of us also grab their spirulina tubes. Not all. As we are sheltering and Werner goes through whatever supplies we collectively selected, we do notice we have twelve radios and one space novella, and five spirulina tubes. Prokywka, the mother of the spirulina, has forgotten her tube at the Hab, to die of intense solar radiation. Sad.

When the exercise is done, we resume our life at the station. Some have admin, others have domestic tasks, others have Braided Communications sessions with our off-site communications and systems engineer, Bhargav Patel, the newspaper we’re reporting to, or our loved ones (part of the mental health study at City – University of London).

In the PM, the crew splits, and for the first time, the boys go out on an EVA together, to Barainca Butte. A long drive, but it’s an incredibly beautiful site with a handful of geological features we can’t get over. On the way back, Eng. Werner happens upon a treasure trove of devil’s toenails, and you suddenly see the decades of amateur geology and paleontology knowledge shine through on his face — “how did these get here!?” The landscape carved by water streams provides useful clues. On the way back we stop at Kissing Camel to admire a few incredible features, upon which the sunset is bestowing a golden glory. We park the rovers just on time.

At the dinner table, the conversation is lighthearted, and given our cultural and geographical diversity, we try to explain the difference between Tasmanian devils, North American wolverines, gophers marmots, prairie
dogs, martens, minks, weasels, and so on. Someone mentions all these critters are cousins of Alice-the-desert-mouse. And suddenly, our commander screams, then I scream, Pokrywka laughs to the point of crying, and Werner thinks it’s all a practical joke. But it’s not. Our commander swears she saw a large beast. Pokrywka believes it’s little Alice again. Every time we mention her, she surfaces.

Over dinner, the commander takes a different seat so she won’t unwittingly see this monster again. It’s dessert time when another scream scares all of us again. This time we know it’s Alice, coming out of Eng. Werner’s stateroom. She was caught there once before. The live traps come back out.

These Martian rodents are too much.

MDRS — Crew 238 — Sol 10 12 Jan 2022
Going to The Moon to find Gypsum as in Mars

Dr. Sandor gifted us with an after-dinner chamomile infusion last night, and we all slept in. It’s 9 AM when we all show up for breakfast, after a relaxing night. The next two days have been planned as slightly more low-key events, with half the crew resting in each of them. It’s been intense to this point.

On my end, I am putting my logistical and journalistic duties aside for a couple of days, and setting up a temporary studio at the RAM, to record one-on-one interviews with our incredible, multi-hyphenate
crew. Our diversity of cultures, geographies, professional backgrounds, experiences, opinions, and philosophies make this the most interesting groups of individuals I’ve ever gone to Mars with.

A group that can both accomplish unique, ground-breaking, challenging research, but also philosophically question and defend interplanetary expansion, structures of power, and the public narratives that surround it. But even this stellar crew needs a day off. So: slow day.

Some of us head over to our last rover-based EVA to The Moon area, which provides a spectacular backdrop to our geological observation and documentary captures. The commander finds the dark gray landscape menacing and observes Pokrywka and me as we venture through the myriad of flood channels. Werner had returned from this location with plenty of surface gypsum, a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, which some scientists believe to be a core indicator of historic running water on parts of Mars identified by Opportunity.

On our analog Mars, gypsum glitters at sunset, and I happened upon a little deposit at the top of the hill we climbed back on.

The return to the Hab is rough. It’s a long drive, the path is bumpy, and all our six radios fail, leaving us to communicate by sign language when we are utterly exhausted. Not fun. But this evening we get to kick back. It’s my turn cooking, and it’s do-it-yourself burrito night. We also bring out a geological map of Mars puzzle
(hard), and the Oculus Quest 2 of our partners Stardust Technologies, a Canadian startup working on improving the mental health of astronauts. Dr. Sandor and our commander explore meditation and go to bed as if they had chamomile tea. Eng. Werner explores the award-winning ISS walk and is animated. I feel dizzy after 2 minutes.

MDRS — Crew 238 — Sol 11 13 Jan 2022

The Spirulina Harvest and Alice’s (Re)Capture

I have been visiting Dr. Sandor at the GreenHab over the last few days, early in the morning. The smell of the GreenHab (and frankly, Dr. Sandor herself) reminds me of my grandmother, and the love she has for the plants in there shows through. The GreenHab is looking gorgeous after two weeks in her hands, playing them music — folk music one day, Albinioni the next, jazz the next one. As I’m there, I noticed Pokrywka’s spirulina bubbling on the shelf. We call her on the radio and ask for instructions. We hear giggling on the other side, and she says, seriously enough: “please evacuate the GreenHab immediately! It’s an invasion!” We keep our humour.

Today was a second quiet day, with half the crew staying in on R&R. I filmed the last of my three interviews in my impromptu RAM studio, and as I was wrapping my self-interview, I see the last rover EVA leave to Candor Chasma. They return with spectacular footage and photos. But while they are away, Commander Robinson informs me that we are having one more emergency drill organized by Eng. Werner. This time, a tunnel depressurization was caused by debris impacts. He expects one breach.

I see an opportunity to get him back and apply 7 impact sites with blue paper tape. When they are back, Werner and Turner are rushed to the tunnels to fix the breaches. They are spread all over, and the alerts keep coming. One is bigger than he thought and threatens the collapse of this section of the station. Werner fixes it in the nick of time and looks happy. “Cool”, he says. Werner is happy, I’m happy.

Before dinner, Pokrywka decides is time to harvest the spirulina tubes. Some are healthier than others, laying bare the different parenting methods. The commander readily wins with her spirulina called The Borg. She has been referring to herself and the spirulina as “we” for days now. A few died undignified deaths. We ate the rest.
We admit that our giving names to these test tubes and a desert mouse indicate that isolation has affected us.

Speaking of Alice: she was recaptured in the live-trap, and we will let her go on Sol 12.

2022.01.10

PEDRO JOSÉ-MARCELLINO
XO/CJ, MDRS CREW #238

The life of a Mars First Responder

Mars Desert Research Station, Utah (USA) — Typically, Crew #238’s breakfasts are relaxed affairs. We start our day sitting under the golden streaks of light popping in through the round windows, and with space-themed music from my own playlist — today it was Aimee Mann’s "It’s Not", and Beach House’s "Space Song".

This morning, there were twelve (or more) of us at the table: our six crew members, four test tubes with spirulina, and two test tubes that commander Robinson and I are treating like collective entities (pronouns: they/them). We are all extremely mindful of the task given to us by Aga Pokrywka, our artist in residence and scientist-extraordinaire: take care of your own tube of spirulina, and in 72 hours we’ll see how it’s doing and if we can consume them. Plenty of protein in spirulina, she tells us.

Except, if we are to care for this spirulina as bacterial pets, can I actually eat it? I think not. (Although, if Alice-the-desert-mouse were to return, I might be distracted by her cuteness.)

Some of us are carrying our tamagochis, er, spirulinas, around our necks, the perfect combo of subtle movement, warmth, and light. Others have placed them on the Hab windows, sunbathing for a few hours, and they seem to be happy there, and doing well. Engineer Werner found a kindergarten for his tube – a surrogate if you will.

This morning, however, breakfast was not all sun, music, and spirulina. Yesterday was the halfway point in our mission, an important landmark. It was Sunday, we had a friendly visitor, and it was all great. But it’s also true that some of the anxieties of returning home, on planet Earth, are starting to seep through.

Now, perhaps that’s also related to the realization that, with only 4 more days of our rotation to go, Eng. Werner and HSO Turner had only done one emergency drill of the half a dozen they promised us. The fact that for a few days we’ve been sitting with both for emergency protocol briefings has hinted that something was incoming.

From fighting fires to EVA rescues (like yesterday’s) to a possible tunnel puncture/breach, to solar radiation, it is essential that protocols are tested in analog situations, to simulate and automate response mechanisms, to systematize and optimize protocols, and to identify human, logistical, communication, and equipment failures.

Our debriefing sessions have been precious, and we are lucky to have a veteran firefighter and an experienced paramedic among our crew. These are skills that have come in handy, and that will be crucial training for the first astronauts going there. In Cuba, every life you’ve saved as an emergency worker tops up your pension; at MDRS 238, we pay them in dehydrated mango crumble. It’s a good deal for everybody!

Anyway: back to breakfast. With a week gone and no emergency procedures to speak of, the rest of us were starting to get suspicious. So much so that, after a successful EVA rescue during The Guardian journalist’s visit, we were positive the day was not over for Werner, Turner… and certainly not for the rest of us.

On that first rescue, for the matter, artist-in-residence Pokrywka felt “ill” and passed out dramatically while walking back from the stunning labyrinth we’ve drawn in the red dirt just north of the Hab – the first labyrinth on Mars, we believe.

Upon commander Robinson’s radio prompt, a rescue party was quickly sent out and retrieved Pokrywka safe and sound. And by quickly, I do mean as quickly as you can feasibly get suited-up, open an airlock, wait five minutes, and get out into the Mars terrain. We were back to the Hab in no time, although a surprise EVA suit malfunction meant that I nearly didn’t make it “alive” (fret not: I survived. Just.). We debriefed and brainstormed solutions to the issues we spotted, particularly the possible need for more sizeable airlocks on Mars habs, and certainly the size of a rescue party. With only four of us allowed out, the exertion of three people carrying a human while wearing EVA suits is simply too much. Lesson learned.

Late at night, the commander spotted HSO Turner and Eng. Werner suddenly closed in one of the staterooms and whispering. We suspected another incoming emergency and fretted the dreaded nighttime drill we’d heard about, and the horrid fire alarm we had been briefed on.

We now have Werner down as a very credible Mars Trilogy’s Arkady Bogdanov (in Red Mars, Arkady throws these drills at the first 100 all the time, annoying 99 of them). But the reality is, whether no drill was planned at all, or whether it was aborted following our protests, it never happened. Until this morning, that is.

We had just finished breakfast. I was on my daily Braided session, part of our latency communication study, and had just typed about these annoying emergency drills, which could come anytime when the HSO announced on the walkie: "Outpost, come in. Outpost, come in. This is Hab. Please be advised the following is a Crew 238 scheduled emergency drill. I repeat: be advised that the following is Crew 238 scheduled emergency drill. Please acknowledge" [pause] "Hab, Hab!!!" [breaks] "Hab, this is HSO Turner!" [breaks, cough] "Hab, Come in!" [pause, then silence].

Kay Sandor had just gone into the restroom. Turner was in distress, or so it seemed. Werner was MIA. Upstairs, sockless Pokrywka, the commander, and I (still in my pajamas) looked at each other, rolled our eyes, and it’s possible – not confirming, nor denying – that a couple of curse words might have been uttered by one or two of us.

But we all rushed to our posts, gathering between the two airlocks. The commander kept communicating with Turner and asking Werner to come in (there was no answer). Pokrywka and I were quickly donning our exterior suits and firefighting equipment and were ordered in the tunnels – she was sockless and I, with a fire extinguisher in hand, was limping after pulling a muscle while reaching up for my suit. Turns out those hooks in the EVA room are not apt for 5’7 analog astronauts. We put the fire out with ease, though… or so I thought.

But Werner, hiding in a corner, was ready to tell us we had panicked and put out the smoke, not the fire itself. “Look for the fire”, he said. We found the artificial lamp inside the RAM, whence HSO Turner called it in: “Outpost, be advised Crew 238’s fire drill is now complete. Over.” Less than ideal, but no casualties, luckily. We’ll refresh and repeat. But gladly my pulled muscle bought the entire crew a 24-hour respite from Arkady Bogdanov over here.