2022-2023 Field Season (#22)

Sol 15 – A new Era for geology

Author: Nicolas Wattelle

Today was a big day for the three adventurous martionauts that went on EVA. 5 hours was planned for Marine, Léa and Valentine. The longest so far!

To tell you more, they were even free of the usual sport session, in order to be in shape all morning long. And according to their sayings, and also their afternoon naps (not for all of them), it was useful! Especially since they reached the goal of the outing: finding sulphate deposit veins! If, like me, you did not know what it looks like, they brought you a picture of it present in the daily pictures!

They left the Hab an hour before the usual one: at 8 am, they first made some maintenance on our devices around the Hab, and then took two of the rovers (cleverly named Curiosity and Opportunity, two of the real Mars “geologists”), heading to North East. They stopped after half an hour driving, and then, searched for (not without any difficulty) the entrance of a place named Candor Chasma.

The EVA was planned in Candor Chasma because it is a place where we might easily observe Jurassic outcrops. It took place in the second part of the geology field study: now, the crew (to be honest, mainly Léa and Marine who are in charge of it) is focused on documenting the presence of Jurassic sulphate deposit in the region. We are not focused on the transition between the two geological eras anymore. It is good to see this experiment moving forward!

Hence, as planned, it was a sporty one, but it went well. They came back to the Hab with precious samples and a big hunger! Fortunately, Mathéo and I were expecting them with a huge dish of Bolognese pasta that we cooked! They told us the whole story, and we had a great lunch.

The afternoon was calmer than previous ones in the Hab, to allow the ones who needed it to rest a little. The “unlucky” ones had to perform human factors experiments, the others went through data analysis.

The event that woke up the atmosphere a little was a tasting of the famous “crêpes Bonne-Maman” made by Valentine. The crew enjoyed the acrobatic cooking as much as the tasting!

I asked my crewmates around me a new question:

What are your “small pleasures” here during this mission?

For Mathéo, cooking bread makes him proud each time he does it!

Léa appreciates very much eating his freshly cooked bread! Along with Cerise and Valentine, they pointed out the evenings after sending our reports, when we gather to discuss, to watch movies…

And, during our work, we all agreed with Cerise, on the fact that working in front of the desert in the Science Dome is something unique. We will miss seeing Mars through this window!

Sol 14 – Happy Birthday Commander

Author: Nicolas Wattelle

Do you know someone who has already celebrated a birthday twice in a MDRS mission? Personally, I do!

The first time, it was three years ago, in 2019. Back then, Cerise was the Health and Safety Officer for Crew 206, another Supaero crew. Apparently, she loved this experience, so she decided to become Commander for Crew 263: here she is!

Our commander is now 25 years old; hence, she is our dean here! But, no needs to say, she has not taken a single wrinkle, and keeps her vivacity in her functions!

You might ask yourself, what is the purpose of a MDRS commander? This is someone with experience in analogs, someone for whom living a simulation is not unknown. In our case, she was very useful since we prepared for this mission. From how to mentally prepare to live a MDRS mission, to very practical questions: how warm it is in the MDRS, what clothes to take in our suitcase, what is not to forget…?

Moreover, she is responsible for the entire mission. On one hand, she keeps an eye on everyone’s experiments and stays updated about eventual unforeseen. On the other hand, a bit like Valentine the HSO does, she takes care of the team spirit, and of how everyone individually feels during the mission. So, she is almost everywhere.

This is why it was a hassle for us to organise her a birthday surprise. But we succeeded doing it! It took place at noon for lunch, during the dessert, around a delicious chocolate cake. In order to find her gift, she had to solve enigmas, like in a treasure hunt! To be honest, it was funny seeing her struggling a bit to resolve the first problems. Do not tell her, I would be in trouble, she is my commander…

It was a good moment of cohesion!

During the morning, we went on EVA (yes, I was in again) with Cerise and Mathéo, to test Augmented Reality mapping in an unknown canyon, named White Rock Canyon. Technically speaking, it was not really a success: it is hard to use Augmented Reality in very bright environments. At least, the weather was good and the place we discovered was wonderful.

Valentine was supposed to continue the HF propagation wave study, which is currently really interesting to perform thanks to the Sun activity. But this study is victim of bad luck: in the same time, outside the Hab one of the antennas telescopic arms collapsed, and inside the electrical transformer stopped working correctly… So, we are quite frustrated. We hope to put it back in order before our mission ends!

Otherwise, the whole crew performed human factors test, the ones provided by Université de Lorraine. We feel like we are losing efficiency on it throughout the mission, our attention might decrease… But it is still enough not to forget Cerise’s birthday!