Category: Journalist Report

Crew 204 Journalist Report 05-FEB-2019

Title: The Friendship Algorithm

Author: Sonal Baberwal

Good Morning from Mars! Hello Earthlings. So how does our day starts? The very first thing we do is go to the window and observe the beauty of this place. Seems like the mountains have covered themselves by a red blanket.

This complete isolation is helping ourself to learn more about self. To make us aware of our weaknesses and overcome them with lot of courage. I have been learning many soft skills from the crew. When you observe someone for a lot of time, you eventually start becoming like them. I couldn’t stop sanitizing my hands before everything because of cleanliness habits of Space Bot. I couldn’t work hard all day and wait for the evening for mind refreshing games and movies that had been eventually taking place because of Cosmos. Nothing ever taught me to be such a brave heart and good sense of humor like the Commander of the crew. I am thankful to Mars Desert Research Station for this opportunity to get oneself analyzed.

Today had been really an interesting day. Space Bot had successfully assembled and tested the rover inside the RAMM and further did a demonstration to test remotely which was operated by Harish Ajankar of Sipna College of Engineering and Technology, India.

Commander Avishek Ghosh had interesting results in his composition of soils that he had been analyzing along with continuing his research in 3D printing.

Our GreenHab officer Cosmos had been welcoming the new sprouts that have spread their leaves in this soil. He had been engaged in taking care of the GreenHab with regular activities.

Followed by the delicious lunch cooked by the Commander, Rice and Lentils are just the Martian thing. Myself and Space Bot performed a short walking EVA around the Hab. Our main objective was to capture images via rover and operate it outdoor. This was a total new experience where we walked in strong winds and felt like a plastic bag drifting throughout the wind wanted to start again (Katty Perry, Fireworks). We had been on the top of the mountain where it was beautiful to observe our Hab from the top waving to the commander. It had been difficult to believe that we climbed the top of the mountain and observing the new perspective of nature. I wish I had words to describe about the view.

The day had been really interesting in terms of the activities we have been performing. Looking forward to a new sunrise with a hope in better weather conditions to support the EVA. This is Sonal Baberwal, HSO and Crew Journalist reporting live from the upper deck of the Habitat! Stay connected to know more about the application of our results.

Crew 204 Journalist Report 05-FEB-2019

Title: The Friendship Algorithm

Author: Sonal Baberwal

Good Morning from Mars! Hello Earthlings. So how does our day starts? The very first thing we do is go to the window and observe the beauty of this place. Seems like the mountains have covered themselves by a red blanket.

This complete isolation is helping ourself to learn more about self. To make us aware of our weaknesses and overcome them with lot of courage. I have been learning many soft skills from the crew. When you observe someone for a lot of time, you eventually start becoming like them. I couldn’t stop sanitizing my hands before everything because of cleanliness habits of Space Bot. I couldn’t work hard all day and wait for the evening for mind refreshing games and movies that had been eventually taking place because of Cosmos. Nothing ever taught me to be such a brave heart and good sense of humor like the Commander of the crew. I am thankful to Mars Desert Research Station for this opportunity to get oneself analyzed.

Today had been really an interesting day. Space Bot had successfully assembled and tested the rover inside the RAMM and further did a demonstration to test remotely which was operated by Harish Ajankar of Sipna College of Engineering and Technology, India.

Commander Avishek Ghosh had interesting results in his composition of soils that he had been analyzing along with continuing his research in 3D printing.

Our GreenHab officer Cosmos had been welcoming the new sprouts that have spread their leaves in this soil. He had been engaged in taking care of the GreenHab with regular activities.

Followed by the delicious lunch cooked by the Commander, Rice and Lentils are just the Martian thing. Myself and Space Bot performed a short walking EVA around the Hab. Our main objective was to capture images via rover and operate it outdoor. This was a total new experience where we walked in strong winds and felt like a plastic bag drifting throughout the wind wanted to start again (Katty Perry, Fireworks). We had been on the top of the mountain where it was beautiful to observe our Hab from the top waving to the commander. It had been difficult to believe that we climbed the top of the mountain and observing the new perspective of nature. I wish I had words to describe about the view.

The day had been really interesting in terms of the activities we have been performing. Looking forward to a new sunrise with a hope in better weather conditions to support the EVA. This is Sonal Baberwal, HSO and Crew Journalist reporting live from the upper deck of the Habitat! Stay connected to know more about the application of our results.

Crew 204 Journalist Report 06-FEB-2019

Title: Eat to live or live to eat?

Author: Sonal Baberwal (HSO and Crew Journalist)

Good Morning Earthlings! Have you ever lived on a salad for a month and missed all exotic food? This is exactly opposite to what we are feeling! We miss fresh salad! I wish salad could be available on Mars! But it will surely as soon as our plants grow older! Meanwhile, let’s experiment with different powders and make good food!

Another day starts with a lot of discussions on the table served with hot chocolate and experimental brunch! The day further continued with a regular routine and research everyone have been doing and short EVA performed by Commander and GreenHab Officer. Dear weather, please get well soon! Because we really miss long EVAs with rover!

It was really a great experience to 3D print the bricks with the Martian clay and help Commander, Avishek Ghosh. Who knows maybe Commander is planning to make a mini Habitat? And then he might use magnifying energy just like superheroes and magicians and make it large! I never know what exactly goes in his mind! Let me share with you, my area of interest lies in Human-Machine Interaction and Brain Waves. I wish I can make a mind-reading technology pretty soon and read what exactly goes into his mind.

Our GreenHab officer Cosmos Patil has been involved in taking care of the plants as we have been facing lack of sunlight and cold weather. I believe after returning back home definitely he is going to miss the GreenHab and would be making a kitchen garden as he has started making plants as his friends! After lunch, he goes to the GreenHab to have a walk and music with his friends!

You will find our Crew Engineer Space Bot taking readings for his reports, filling up the water tank and similar things! Sometimes it becomes difficult to know exactly where he belongs to! Sometimes you will find him sitting up the deck to fill the water and sometimes setting temperature of the Upper deck. Sometimes in the Engineering Lab and sometimes smiling and talking with the rover!

You might be thinking what exactly I do? Well let me tell you, whether it might be the crew using sanitizer on their hand after using the toilet or washing their hand with water and handwash, I observe all of them minutely and share their deep secrets with all of you every day! I help the crew whenever and wherever they need assistance. Sometimes you will find me plugging earphones and listening to music, sometimes observing this world from the little window and sometimes putting loud Bollywood music and dancing by myself!

This is Sonal Baberwal, Health and Safety Officer and Crew Journalist reporting live from the Upper deck of the habitat just before the communication with the mission support. Stay tuned for the next sunrise and our bunch of stories!

Crew 204 Journalist Report 04 FEB 2019.

Title: Are We Alone?

Author: Sonal Baberwal.

Good morning from Mars. Last night has been a noisy night as we could sense the winds trying to say us something by knocking the doors throughout the night! The feel of isolation was at its best as all we could hear was the noise of the wind which leaves us with a question, are we alone out here in the middle of nowhere? Perhaps nature won’t ever leave you alone. Another day started with looking out from the window and observing the beautiful view of the clouds and the mountains.

The day continues with yummy brunch cooked by Kunal Naik and Avishek Ghosh. We were actually discussing how much we are missing the EVAs due to unsupported weather conditions. The day had been engaged in working on the usual routines where our GreenHab officer had been working on regular care of the GreenHab.

Kunal Naik and Avishek Ghosh had been working on their projects related to the rover and the 3D printing. The day had been an ordinary day just like the others, but the best part of this ordinary day was the extra-ordinary outputs everyone had received.

Very firstly, heartiest congratulations to our baby plant from the sprouts that have grown one day old and he is observing Mars with us! All the fruitful efforts and care of our GreenHab Officer Patil (Cosmos) have turned to be worthy. The new soil compositions prepared by our commander looks promising with some reasonable or unexpected results.

The rover is finally assembled where it can crawl on the Martian terrains and capture its unforgettable moments. The commander has prepared the clay mixture which is ready to be molded into pots from this soil.

The day had been really interesting in terms of the activities we have been performing. Looking forward to a new sunrise with a hope in better weather conditions to support the EVA. This is Sonal Baberwal, HSO and Crew Journalist reporting live from the upper deck of the Habitat! Stay connected to know more about the application of our results.

Title: The total detox

Author: Sonal Baberwal

Good Morning from Mars!

Have you ever spent a day without internet? If yes how was your experience?

Today had been an awesome weather! All we could hear is winds! Feels like we are all alone on Mars as the silence was roaring with the sound of he winds. It has been a cloudy day today with a shower of rains!

Today was a long day as we did not have an EVA due to unsupported weather conditions! The morning started with breakfast and the crew had been working on various things. The crew initially cleaned the upper deck and cooked lunch. This was followed by work in REM and GreenHab. Where Patil (Cosmos) had been taking care of the plants and showering them the daily necessary water as per scheduled! Kunal and Avishek had been working in the REM on the 3D printer setup and assembling and testing of the child rover.

Today we had a detox day without any availability of internet due to weather conditions. I could see sleeping beauties all around (including me) as we had no EVA and internet! This was followed by some games and watching movie which was really fun! Sometimes being away from internet is really healthy for our inner peace.

I feel blessed to be a part of this crew as this crew is not about just being professional. The crew is made up of people who take care of each other and spend quality time together enjoying every moment! Whether it might be working together in lab, or planting new seeds in GreenHab or having food together or getting prepared for the EVA. I believe every moment blessed one! Life is truly about enjoying the present moment with the people who deserve your presence!

This is Sonal Baberwal, HSO and Crew journalist reporting live from the upper deck of the Hab. Looking forward for the next day with lot of hope and enthusiasm.

Crew204 Journalist Report 02-FEB-2019

Title: Robotic Manipulation
Author: Sonal Baberwal

In today’s world, robots seem to play an important role in our day to day life but the true fact is, for future Space exploration, the robotic technology will play a crucial role for enhancing the overall performance of the respective mission. The combined efforts of human-robot interaction is the new future! Robots are not living things but perform better than living beings in terms of precision and accuracy. We have already noticed the marvels of Space Robotics in the International Space Station or Planetary exploration in our solar system like rovers on Moon and Mars.

It has been a busy day where everyone had been involved in their individual research and responsibilities. From morning the crew had been working in different labs to collaborate their work like the Science, Engineering and the GreenHab.

Kunal Naik (Space Bot) had been busy disassembling and assembling the parts of the child rover to get it ready and operational for the EVA. The rover seems to be ready to crawl on the Martian terrains.

Commander was able to set up the Arduino system for the 3D printer in the morning. He has been experimenting with different soil samples while preparing different compositions from red soil, Hab garden soil and some Martian soil along with charcoal. His objective is to investigate the capacity of various soil combination that can possibly bring life in the new soil. He had also been busy working on setting up 3D printer’s mechanical assembly for his experiments.

Cosmos Patil had been working for continuous scheduled watering on grenhab plants and the sprouts he had planted.

This was followed by the EVA. the participants of the EVA today are Cosmos Patil and Kunal Naik. The had explored the white moon. They had an amazing experience while climbing white moon. A quick test of the child rover had been done and the major purpose was to take photos from child rover but had a system failure.

Kunal Naik has been working over the troubleshooting with the help of Sipna College of Engineering and Technology, India. Tomorrow will be a new day with the hope that our rover crawls one again!

30th January, 2019.
Sol 2:

Good Morning from Mars!

The Morning had never been so fascinating when you get an opportunity to observe a completely new horizon from a tiny window. It looks like the sun has spread his arms to hug the mountains and the mountains blush and become red! This is the Crew Journalist and Health and Safety Officer(HSO) Sonal Baberwal reporting live from the lower deck of the habitat observing the beauty of nature.

Preparing and serving powdered food in breakfast, are we really on Mars or on the preparation to be on Mars? What do you think does the powdered food taste like? Well, let me tell you there is an advancement. From the time where there was no flavour in the paste food served to astronauts till the time powdered food had got a great taste.

By the way, did I mention about preparation? Yes, we are preparing for bringing new life here on Mars. The tiny seeds are getting prepared for germination and see the Martian world around them. Looking forward to seeing the GreenHab officer and the crew trying some experiments with the soil in hope for the leaves of the plant to rise over this soil.

And the most awaiting moment comes here. The very first EVA experience, the very first experience to wear the spacesuit. I feel the words are becoming less to describe the emotions of having this experience and getting dressed. It feels more exciting than a bride getting dressed for her wedding!

We had 2 EVAs. Wait a minute, we had only one EVA planned, so where did a sudden EVA come from? Don’t you think it’s like a fairytale that you have been invited for an EVA on a special authorization by Mission Support for a special guest and photographer Mr. Jad Davenport. The first one was performed by Kunal (Space Bot) and Avishek (carbon flight) to an opportunity to participate in the photography session. This was followed by the EVA by Patil (cosmos) and Sonal (Mars bag) to collect soil samples.

The day went busy but awesome and with a lot of exciting activities. Looking forward to the new day with new hope! Stay connected with the Crew204 and we invite you to be the part of the mission towards the destination!

Sonal Baberwal, Crew 204 Journalist

Journalist Report

Author: Sonal Baberwal

Hello from Mars!

Have you ever traveled to an unknown destiny? Yes, maybe or no! Our life is a journey to another unknown destiny in cosmos! isn’t it?

Then why not start with some small steps towards exploration? Like how we landed on Moon and this time on Mars. Crew 204 (Nix Olympica) is stepping towards future Mars settlement with following the footprint of analogue simulation organized by the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS).

The journey has never been easy! But it’s worth pursuing a simulation mission that teaches discipline with an interdisciplinary aspect. Yes, that’s what we’ve thought and found in MDRS.

Well, let’s come to the actual journey that brought us to the destiny that we’ve always been dreaming of. Yes this day was well deserved after huge efforts to reach the destination. We invite you to join our journey and to get to know about our experiences. We really miss our crews as they couldn’t make it due to diplomatic complications, however after great efforts we four could make it out of eight!

This was a really interesting journey. Like someone said, ‘One never gets the desired destination without having obstacles’. Myself, Sonal Baberwal traveled from India to France followed by San Diego, USA and an on-road journey towards Utah. Kunal traveled from Italy to New York to Salt Lake city Utah, where I met him and we left towards Grand Junction where we met Avishek who traveled from United Kingdom to Las Vegas and further Grand Junction. However, after confirmation, we all traveled from Grand Junction towards Mars Desert Research Station. Our crewmate Cosmos Patil had arrived today that made it more valuable.

The biggest challenge was to receive the lost baggage that had valuable research things like the rover. After efforts of 6 days, the bag was received at the Hollow Mountain.

The Crew had a very warm welcome by the mission support members Atalia and David and the Martian Dog Pub. What if we could take these lovely animals (dogs) with us to Mars? The day had been exciting as we had the training for the simulation.

Note: Photos will be sent through separate email.

Title: Across the Universe
Author: David Mateus

With the last days full of Latin American music it is evident that we miss our home, the green of the Colombian mountains, the taste of our fruits, the voice of our relatives and dance with the rhythm of salsa brava.

By getting involved in a trip to other worlds we do not stop being human, we will always need a hug and it will be inevitable to shed some tears from time to time. Mars teaches us that difficulties on land were only part of a training, that we always have something more to learn and that we do not advance just by ourselves.

I will never forget his great sense of humor, your ability to cook exquisite dishes with dehydrated food, your disposition in the maintenance of the habitat systems, your resistance in the EVAs, your professionalism, your companionship, your tolerance, your happiness. I hope to see you soon and to continue working for this beautiful dream. I still have a lot to do on Mars, a lot to learn and I’m happy to stay a little longer, but I’m sad that I will not be with you tomorrow enjoying the beautiful scenery on the way to Grand Junction.

The 204 crew receives the immaculate RAM and science dome, a greener Greenhab, an observatory where our remote astronomer followed the most amazing images and a cozy main Hab where for two weeks our laughers were heard. We hope you have an excellent stay in this that was our home and be aware of the great responsibility that remains in your hands.