Alone on the red planet, we feel the effects of confinement. It is important to spend time together and enjoy every moment. Even a simple sunrise is a source of comfort and reassurance. We are becoming more and more aware that we are in a new world.
Our mission support has provided us with food rations for the second part of our adventure, and we had pasta with bolognaise sauce, Parmesan cheese, and basil from Félix. Just enough to end a full day well.

Célia and Félix started the stratigraphy experiment. They were able to draw the profile of a geological strat. They then collected samples to observe them at the Geol’Ex. It is a spectroscope that will allow us to study the composition of rocks by reflectance. Adèle did CapCom and supported the EVA from the station.

Gaspard organized small mid-mission sessions to ask us where we are and what we expect for the next two weeks.

With Adèle, we continued the editing of the mid-mission video all afternoon.
Tomorrow morning, we will explore even further Mars!

In the early afternoon, we built necklaces with wire, rope, and rocks that we collected during the EVA. Adèle and Lou then did a session of pilates to strengthen their lower body and abdominal muscles. Felix went to the GreenHab to continue installing his botanical project and was joined by Adèle and Gaspard. He was able to launch his Raspberry Pi, which will automatically monitor different measurements to track the growth of his micro-lettuce sprouts in different environments.

With Célia and Lou, we did video editing all afternoon. And we will do more tomorrow.
Lou also printed the beginning of a chess game that high school students from Prades in the modeling and 3D prototyping stream modeled. During a scientific mediation intervention, Lou and Julien had proposed to them to create game designs that we print in the station.

SOL 13 was a rest day for us. Every week, Saturday is free, and we can rest before starting a new week. Everyone did activities to relax. Some read or wrote, and others did sports.

After that, Gaspard prepared some bread for burgers that we will eat tonight. Gaspard, Lou, Célia, and Félix played a board game with several enigmas accessible after completing a puzzle.

Last night, Adèle organized a meditation session. Once seated in the mezzanine of the HAB, she guided us through what is called a body scan, which allows us to become aware and relax the entire body. Gaspard first gave us a quick briefing on the last day before the weekend. We then had a session of muscle strengthening to start the day.

Since she couldn’t open the observatory since the beginning of the mission, Célia was happy to observe solar activity. When the sun becomes active, solar flares appear. One of her goals is the automatic identification of these flares because there is a hypothesis that they would be correlated with solar eruptions. Astronauts heading to Mars, having left the Earth’s magnetic field, would no longer be protected from radiation, so it is important to predict solar activity to ensure their safety.

Last night, Félix organized an activity in the GreenHab. Everyone was able to plant flower seeds in their own pots. If all goes well, they should sprout within two days and reach full growth in about fifteen days.

We then traveled by rover to Compass Rock and reached the starting point on foot. Once the stopwatch started, Gaspard and Adèle began the race. In 30 minutes, they found five out of eight beacons, giving them five letters that formed a word, which they successfully guessed. The outing was physically demanding and very hot; we returned to the station exhausted. Tomorrow, the 3D map team will run the same race, and we will compare the results.

This afternoon, Félix focused on his botany project. He prepared the pots for the watercress microgreens. His Raspberry Pi is programmed to automatically record temperature, humidity, and light measurements.

We woke up with a dance session prepared by Adèle and Lou. We started with 20 minutes of Just Dance and then we followed a Bachata class from Lou.

Meanwhile, Julien went to the Science Dome to perform an Orbital Architecture session and Félix planted the radishes and worked on his RaspBerry Pi. Adèle prepared her next HSO briefs: we will keep on practicing with the tools that can help and guide us for our introspection and relationship with others. In the context of isolation, our social interactions are limited to those we have inside the crew. It is very important to keep working and informing ourselves on Non Violent Communication. Whether it is in our everyday life, but even more while we are on a mission like this one, having tools that allow us to learn more about ourselves strengthens our connexion with others. This guarantees a healthy climate in the station, where the needs and limits of everyone are fully respected.

Adèle then went to the Science Dome to install the NeuroErgo experiment, so that Julien and Gaspard could then perform their sessions. With Célia, we went to the observatory to identify why the roof refuses to open, preventing any solar observation for the last 3 sols. After testing the voltage of the batteries, we detected an issue on a mechanical stop for the opening mechanism.

Today, the goal was to explore this new planet! Félix, Adèle, and Julien conducted an EVA at Cowboy Corner towards Tharsis Montes. Before that, they stopped by Marble Ritual to change the batteries of the atmospheric instruments. This is a task that we have to perform every two days. After a 15-minute drive with the rovers, they were able to explore new landscapes.

Meanwhile, Gaspard, Lou, and I started to create the 3D map for the photogrammetry experiment. Yesterday, we took photos of the area, and today we created a first map which will be used this week for the orienteering races. Célia was CapCom for the EVA, but for the solar observations, there were some issues with the opening of the dome. We hope that we will fix this in the following days! Instead, she processed some data for her nocturnal observations.

Lou kept working on her Airlock project to enhance the fidelity of our simulation. For now, the countdown for the decompression starts when we leave the station, but not when we come back because the sensors were only installed on the inside door of the airlock. This afternoon, she assembled the sensors for the outside door.

Soon after waking up, we started the day with an upper-body strengthening session organized by Adèle. Then, it was time for Célia, Lou, and me to leave for a photogrammetry EVA. The objective was to head to Compass Rock to set up waypoints and take pictures with the ANAFI AI drone from Parrot. These pictures will allow us to create a 3D map of the site.

During this time, Félix acted as CapCom for the EVA and continued working on his botany project with Gaspard. He set up the webcam and prepared the Python script for the Raspberry Pi. Julien is working on a paper for the SSEA conference in Munich this April. It covers the scientific outreach we conducted in primary, middle, and high schools during our year of preparation and our mission.

This afternoon, Gaspard tried to produce distilled water for the GreenHab, but the equipment was not suitable. Célia went to the observatory, but the dome had a technical issue and would no longer open.

Finally, Félix, Célia, and Lou had a session for the NeuroErgonomics experiment, while Adèle and I participated in Orbital Architecture. These are two human factors experiments involving similar tasks. In both cases, the objective is to study how confinement impacts our cognitive skills, making them particularly interesting to conduct during analog missions.

Today’s program: Two Extravehicular Activities (EVA). This morning, Julien, Adèle, and I conducted an EVA, with Lou serving as CapCom. Our primary objectives were to replace the batteries of the atmospheric instruments and to explore “Compass Rock,” a site located further from the station.

The experience of putting on the spacesuit remains a powerful reminder of the Martian environment. Looking through the visor, with restricted movement and total silence broken only by radio transmissions, the immersion is absolute. Upon exiting the station, we immediately experience “tunnel vision,” requiring heightened vigilance as this is when operational errors are most likely to occur. On the Red Planet, far from the station, the radio is our only lifeline; when it breaks down, the sense of isolation is particularly profound.

This afternoon, Gaspard, Félix, and Lou performed a second EVA to relocate the atmospheric instruments west of Marble Ritual to a more sheltered area. Adèle served as CapCom. This sortie allowed us to test a new EVA protocol that we wrote immediately after the morning’s radio incidents. The team was able to exit and enter the station again without any problem.

We are currently completing our daily logs and physiological questionnaires while awaiting the communication window. Tomorrow, weather permitting, we will use the Parrot drone to start building a 3D map of the Red Planet.

Since yesterday evening, it’s the weekend at MDRS !
Even on Mars, it’s very important to rest and take time to relax. Staying in shape to
carry out experiments, go on EVA and support the confinement passes through
moments like these. Last night, we arranged the mezzanine of the HAB with cushions
and Lou’s projector, and we watched a movie.

In the afternoon, everyone did activities to relax. Felix drew, and Gaspard played
« Oxygen Not Included » on his computer. He recreated the MDRS, and we all had
avatars on his game. Julien made a training plan for a marathon in June. To stay in
shape, he often wakes up earlier than the rest of the crew and does physical training.
Lou and Celia did crocheting, Adèle colored a mandala, and I did video editing. While
we were doing our activities, we also watched another movie.