March 5th, 2019
Sol 9: Martian Wildlife
It’s the second day of our second week here in the MDRS, and also the return of our routine! We began the day with our sports session, and yesterday and today we broke all our records of the previous week. We are on the way to the top of the Olympus (Mons).
After climbing the slopes of the area west of the Hab, the EVA team of the day walked along Hab Ridge. Aurélien, Norbert and Jérémy were the last crewmembers to go there, after Cerise, Gaspard and I explored this zone last week. On their walk around the area, they spotted three strange animals. Surprised by this dicovery, they didn’t manage to identify the species. Every member of the crew had their own theory, ranging from “some sort of antelope” or “some kind of hare”, to “a big rat” being the favourites. Jérémy took advantage of the view up there to shoot the whole landscape in order to create a panoramic view from the ridge. Such places are perfect for those passionate about photography like him, the colors and the ladnscape on this day and the clear and pure sky of the night are beautiful to capture. The result is wonderful, a large picture of the Hab and the landscape around it: 170 MB of red dust and blue sky.
After three days of hard work trying to finish the Mars jigsaw puzzle, Cerise, Gaspard and I finally managed to assemble the thousand pieces and we wrote our crew name with Crews 198, 203 and 205 at the back of the puzzle. When we added the last piece to it, a joyful exclamation echoed in the Hab. Crew 207 and following crews, we challenge you to assemble the puzzle during your rotation!
In the afternoon, the Green-Hab was alive with the sound of music! Indeed, Norbert continued his experiment on the influence of music and frequencies on plants resistance under radiation. We’re waiting for his first results that will certainly arrive during the last days of the mission.
This night will mark the mid-mission milestone for us. As we turn in the second part of this extraordinary adventure, the crew is still holding strong together, and seeing the end of this journey coming both excites and frightens us.
Author: Benjamin Auzou, Journalist
