2022-2023 Field Season (#22)

Sol: 11
Title: Adjourning

Author: Izabela Shopova, Crew Journalist

Life on Mars is so fast-paced, we didn’t notice how the days have passed and we are already planning our end of sim.

Sol 11 begins with another long EVA – the Commander and XO are out on an EVA together – for the first and last time. Back in the Hab we provide HabCom support, water plants, sort photos, write in our emotion study journals, clean the kitchen and make plans for our last day here.

Commander and XO return on time, tired from the long walk to the Special region, with additional rock samples and stories about the incredible views they found there. Our scheduled crew training in the afternoon is on the topic of Group development phases. After the Forming, storming, norming and performing stages, inevitably comes the adjourning phase when the crew members feel tired, the momentum of the group slows down, some individuals feel sad, others – relieved and there is a change in the air. We talk in length about the adjourning of our team, acknowledge and celebrate our achievements in this mission, talk about our future plans. To finish the sessions we all take a test on our type of business chemistry and discuss our individual traits and how to use our strengths in business interactions.

As we opted to have Thanksgiving earlier, today is all about snacking on the leftovers from yesterday’s feast, sharing thoughts on what we are grateful for and thinking of the loved ones we miss.

Thank you Mission support and Happy Thanksgiving.

Sol: 10
Title: M is for Mars, M is for Magic

Author: Izabela Shopova, Crew Journalist

We start the Sol an hour later than usual – everyone is tired after the busy day yesterday and we need to catch up on our sleep. Jennie whips up chocolate pancakes and an amazing quinoa, blueberries and coconut meal (from the space nutrition app we are testing) for breakfast.

Our daily operations meeting is short – we have two major tasks planned for sol 10 – a 4-hour-long EVA to the Special region in the morning and preparations for Thanksgiving dinner in the afternoon.

We are confident and calm as our crewmates are getting ready for the EVA, test the life support systems, enter the airlock and 8 minutes later leave the station with two of the rovers. Halfway through their EVA the weather suddenly changes, and the wind picks up – it appears that the weather forecast has changed dramatically since last night. The tunnels’ tarpaulin and the external doors start flapping and trembling, reminding us every minute of the potential danger that is brewing out there in the stark landscape. We wait anxiously for the radio to come alive again. And exhale with relief. when we finally hear the loud and clear voice of our crew biologists: “HabCom, com check”. The EVA goes well, without a hitch. The EVA crew is tired but happy and satisfied with their last EVA for the season, rich with experience and incredible photos.

Their return triggers the beginning of the long-anticipated food preparations for our Thanksgiving dinner.
And they are epic!

3 hours later the Hub is filled with mouthwatering flavors, cozy warmth, and Thanksgiving homemade magic, while our American crewmates are playing hosts and setting up an amazingly beautiful table with Thanksgiving napkins, paper plates, tablecloth, orange cutlery (all of which were delivered and stored secretly in the Commander’s room before the beginning of the sim) and a multitude of irresistible traditional dishes. Each one more tempting and better looking than the last.

Mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, sweet potato casserole with … wait for it! … marshmallows!, cranberry sauce (disguised like slices of beetroot), sweet corn, turkey, actual cranberries, green beans casserole with cream of mushroom soup and crunchy onion rings on top, Did I mention marshmallows?

If anyone thought that this was all of the food on our table, they know nothing about Thanksgiving. There is always desert! Even on Mars.

And, no, it’s not the marshmallows (they were just a side dish for the turkey, kind of veggies). Just before the opening of the comms window, a sumptuous, crunchy, juicy, full of flavor, decadence and temptation apple pie emerged from the oven.

On Thanksgiving Mars is magic.