March 2nd, 2020

Sol 1 – Crew 223 : Baby Steps

After years spent on Earth, with the comfort of modern technology and the plentiful Western lifestyle, seeing ourselves so limited is as refreshing as it is a shock. We’re like born again on Mars, having to re-learn everything as we move along in our new home. And, as newborns, even our first steps weren’t so easy. Today was EVA day, and it was time for four of us to step out into the (nearly) unknown, making our way into the hills after a first run to replace the batteries of our atmospheric experiments. Between the heat outside, the weight of the life support system and the little air we got from it, it was no walk in the park. Still, with every heavy step, we discovered beautiful features of the terrain, and it was like facing a brand-new landscape every few meters. Deserts are not boring, that’s for sure.

Like the explorers of old, we were on our own, too far away to communicate with help of any kind, and having to figure things out ourselves if anything went wrong. During the EVA, Blandine’s suit had issues with its ventilation systems – while she was perfectly safe in earth’s atmosphere, this could have proven problematic or even critical in real conditions. We had to react quickly, and solved the issue even with our unwieldy gloves. It’ll be up to Luc, the Crew Engineer, to figure out what is wrong and solve the issues.

While we were out, something possibly even more important was going on: Valentin, our botanist and resident cook for the day, was starting to get busy in the kitchen. For lunch, he was preparing homemade pasta with pesto, made from basil harvested this very morning in the GreenHab. As a side, zucchini flowers dipped in batter and shallow fried. An absolute success! And, as if that wasn’t enough, bread was rising for tonight’s dinner. Food: truly the best morale booster for an all-French crew!