SOL 11: Finding North without a magnetic field
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.
This morning, Adèle organized a cardio session. Afterward, it was time for the orienteering EVA for the 2D map team: Adèle and Gaspard. I accompanied them to organize the race and capture photos and videos with the drone. Before departing, they spent time previewing the beacon positions on the 2D map.
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.
Meanwhile, Julien, Célia, and Félix worked on writing abstracts and a research article. An abstract is a summary used to propose a scientific publication or presentation for a conference. Célia and Félix started drafting an abstract on the Lab’Ex experiment for the IAC (International Astronautical Congress). Julien nearly finished his article regarding our scientific outreach activities, which he will present at the SSEA conference in Munich this April.
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.
Gaspard, Lou, and Célia continued repairing the observatory’s opening mechanism and began building a new limit switch system. They are nearly finished with the installation, and Célia should be able to resume solar observations tomorrow!
