SOL 9 : Cowboy Corner
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.
They walked one kilometer, and the terrain was more difficult than in the other EVAs. The spacesuits were cumbersome, and long walks were exhausting with all the equipment to carry. But it offered an awesome view of this new planet where, every day, we are taking a step forward and getting to know it better!
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.
This afternoon, we took a little break because the morning was quite intense. Afterwards, we had an HSO briefing from Adèle to discuss all together how we felt during the first week of the mission. We then went back to our respective daily tasks. Adèle and I also had a NeuroErgonomics session.
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.
Félix and Célia planted the broccoli microgreens that they prepared together last week. Microgreens are seeds that grow very rapidly, and we will eat the leaves and the remains of the seeds. They have a strong taste and will nicely enhance our meals. Our mission lasts a full month, and we will be able to follow the full life cycle of the sprouts.
Tonight, we will plant the flower seeds that Félix prepared for us!
