A preserved expedition record. Dates, ages, roles and descriptions reflect the original account; references to live activities describe that period.
Date and time: 26 April 2012
Written by: Mike Bodnar, Crew 118, First Officer
Although possible thunderstorms and a 40% chance of rain were forecast we awoke to bright sunny weather with just a few clouds.
Following breakfast, four of the crew geared up in the spacesuits to EVA to the pressurised rover, ready to set off on a combined photographic, fossil and rock-gathering mission to a location about seven kilometres distant.
Health and Safety Office Bruce Ngataierua and I stayed back at the Hab, Bruce to catch up on communications with Earth, and me to compile a blog for the New Zealand KiwiSpace website covering the almost-first week of the mission, to take more photos, and to shoot more video footage for the documentary.
The weather deteriorated somewhat during the day with cooler temperatures, wind and the occasional spots of rain, but no thunderstorms. Somehow it doesn't spoil the illusion of Mars, although it almost certainly hasn't rained on the Red Planet itself for millions of years. The thing about Mars is that there's life, in the sense that Mars is an 'alive' planet. While our moon is barren, airless and virtually unchanging, Mars has an atmosphere, winds, dust devils, dust storms, clouds, ice, geysers and water vapour. There are landslides. Mars has plenty of activity, so to hear the wind blowing against the side of the Hab, and to watch the clouds scudding doesn't change a thing here.
Perhaps obligingly the temperature dropped enough to become chilly, a timely reminder that the real Mars is anything but hot!
About 1600 hours the EVA crew returned full of excitement about Lith Canyon, the petrified wood they had found (including a whole fossilised tree, which for some reason they failed to bring back!)' crystals, and bag-loads of rock samples.
Unfortunately the 360 degree camera refused to work properly so Ali had to abandon her panoramic photographic mission. However, the crew brought back dozens of photos so have a good record of the expedition.
The forecast is for the gloomy weather to clear tomorrow, with a return to higher temperatures.
ENDS.