Sol Summary – August 7th

Sol Summary
Jon Clarke
August 7, 2017

Sol 19 (or 99)

After sunshine yesterday afternoon, and warmer temperatures, including a warm night, woke this morning to the sound of rain on the hab. So EVA plans were temporarily put on hold until the situation stabilised. People worked on notes, labelled samples, did projects, and performed hab tasks such as cleaning, tidying, and burning rubbish. Anastasiya has being reorganising the loft and finally, after several week’s work, it is at last fit for habitation as an additional bedroom for a seventh crew member, should there be one on a future crew.

After lunch the weather had stabilised enough for un-unsuited EVA. Paul led the excursion, I assisted, and Yusuke was shot gun. We had two objectives, the first was trenching polygons for Paul, and the second was 3D imaging of slope features. Both were successful carried out and we were able to sample some thixotropic soils. Paul found a nice example of a solitary rugose coral. We also located a micro-oasis near the hab with a diverse flora, which gave us much to think about and discuss.

Thus ends another manic Monday on Mars!