Journalist Report 21 May 2017
Prepared by Juan Jose Garcia
Images courtesy of Janet and Juan
Sol 8
Janet is the inventor of Tuna melt quesadillas on Mars. So we’ve named a mountain range after her in homage.
The morning EVA was an adventure to a spectacular area called Galileo Road according to the crew that went. So spectacular, that Avishek was invested in going back for his final EVA this afternoon.
The inside of the GreenHAB was 188° Fahrenheit. I immediately rushed to tell the crew, where several of us rushed into the GreenHAB to experience the surface of Mars without a space suit. Janet, Cassie, and I turned it into an artist sauna. 188° feels like a pressing yet comfortable heat. It makes one feel sleepy. One could fall asleep and stay asleep permanently in the GreenHAB. One is slowly roasted in the soothing warmth of the concentrated desert sun.
We have rescheduled the evening EVA because a riveting thunderstorm rolled up on the HAB leaving muddy ground not apt for astronaut ATV rides. The sky was invaded by dark gray clouds. The mountains vanished vanished from the sky. The back airlock door became nearly impossible to open with the winds. We certainly became concerned, if Charlie rushes out concerned, then we take the trouble seriously. The wind pummeled the East side of the HAB, where a panel started making a horrible noise because it had become loose. The tunnels and observatory dome swayed in the wind. The weather is back and forth today, beautiful morning, cloudy 188° in the GreenHAB weather at midday, followed by thunderstorm and howling winds, and now we’re back to beautiful skies in the evening.
The meat of the day was in a 6-hour long marathon of the land building game CATAN. It’s essentially monopoly and Risk combined, but better than both. So invigorating was the game that as soon as we ended the first one, we immediately started a new one. Charlie won both times. After the first game, an alliance was formed between Janet, Cassie and myself to put an end to his tyrannical expansion. At a decisive moment in the game, Cassie laid down roads in a key location on the game board, forever more after that moment the history of the game was split into pre-Cassie and post-Cassie’s colonization.
Janet is the expert on Musk observatory domes on the entire planet. She has been troubleshooting the telescope for days now, with the help of Dave from ground control. Charlie has been troubleshooting the water heater with the greatest effort as well. Fortunately, he did have the pleasure of winning two games of CATAN in a row.