Commander Report Crew 177:
Otsmar Villarroel, Commander
Sol 2
Earth date: 3/27/2017
Today the crew awoke around 7:00 am and enjoyed the morning playlist courtesy of Caleb. Lead Engineer, Elijah Espinoza, took care of filling the water tanks for our future water consumption in the HAB.  We are very glad that water issue was solved.

After breakfast, the morning EVA left the hab at 9:11 am for Candor Chasma to complete the first Chemistry EVA.  Commander Otsmar, Engineer Elijah, Chemist Joseph, Biologist Pitchayapa, and I spent most of the morning in the canyon trying to find water.  On Earth, this molecule, made up of three atoms, is many times associated with life. While expeditioners could not find the presence of this vital molecule in its more stable state, under normal conditions, it was evident that water was part of that beautiful scene some time ago.  The existence of beautiful geological structures, presumably sculpted by the power of water, were observed along with the presence of gypsum, CaSO4*2H2O, which support our ideas.  Some unidentified animals’ (we hope) footprints were observed as well as some plants, trees, flowers, and cacti. We also discovered an interesting cave that showed signs of nesting by some unknown creature.  Crew returned safely at approximately 11:31 am.  Right after arriving, Elijah checked the ATVs gas level and then proceeds to fill them.

After taking lunch together, the crew spent the afternoon doing individual research and reviewing our media training in preparation for the NPR reporter that will be spending part of the day with us tomorrow.  We all are very excited about that visit and ready to share our experiences here at MDRS as well as talk about our mission and projects.

Engineer, Elijah, went out to complete his daily routine, making sure everything is working as expected.

After dinner, crew discussed about tomorrow’s plan.

Otsmar Villarroel
177 Crew Commander