SOL 2 : A Storm in Mars
The Crew woke up this morning well-rested. Yesterday was quite an intensive day, with a lot of new discoveries and the first obstacles. After the communication
window, we were all exhausted, so Adèle prepared a meditation session for us. We felt completely relaxed. This session was a psychophysical training aiming to calm our spirits and train our attention by concentrating on our breathing and the present moment. It reduced our stress and anxiety, while improving our emotional and physical well-being. We went to bed feeling truly relieved.
When we woke up at 7.15, we did our daily sport session organized and led by Adèle, our Health and Safety Officer. It is crucial to maintain physical activity on Mars, as the transit occurs in microgravity makes the muscles suffer from atrophy.
Sport is therefore the only way to counter this phenomenon.
The wind was too strong to go out this morning, and it’s not getting any better as the predictions for the next few days are poor. The EVA planned for Célia, Lou, and me to install the LOAC and the Field Mill experiments had to be canceled due to the weather. Those are two atmospheric experiments. The LOAC experiment
measures the density of particles in the air depending on the speed of the wind, with many uses in the study of particles and their dispersion. The Field Mill aims to study the electrical field in the air. The storm is getting stronger by the day, therefore, we might have to wait until the day after tomorrow to install it. During this newly available time, Célia and Lou installed the Field Mill on its support in the RAM, and I continued installing AMAIA in the HAB.
In the meantime, Félix went through the GreenHab inventory and checked the status of the plants which were already growing when we arrived at the station. He started to prepare some radish seeds so that he can plant them tomorrow.
Adèle made the food inventory so that we know what we have at our disposal, before getting the Orbital Architecture experiment ready with Félix. They set up all the phones by connecting them to the GPS and physiological sensors configured yesterday. She also wrote positive thoughts for each one of us. Julien and Gaspard went through the planning and adapted it based on what everyone has been able to complete so far. After lunch, we gathered in the upper deck of the HAB for a brainstorming session aiming to discuss the main technical difficulties we have been facing so far.
This allowed us to identify potential solutions to implement. Afterwards, everyone spread across the station to continue their tasks. Gaspard, Julien, Adèle, and I went to the Science Dome where several sessions of the neuroergonomics experiment were scheduled.
Félix, Célia, and Lou headed to the RAM to start installing the Lab’Ex experiment, the pieces of which have been previously 3D printed. We are now completing our daily asks while waiting for the communication window to Open. We are listening to the wind blowing against the walls of the HAB, the sign of an incoming storm.
