Flashline-16 Daily Report 01-07-2024

Author: Michael Andrews – Crew Logistics

Happy Canada Day from the FMARS-16 crew! After quickly learning that we would be able to depart to Devon Island today, the team took the rest of our time off as a general relaxation day. The crew is fatigued from the constant alertness and delays in starting our activities. Unfortunately, the weather isn’t expected to improve until Thursday, July 4th. As a result, we didn’t have any clear objectives, but we still had some accomplishments to report.

After a quick breakfast, the team packed up their belongings and readied themselves in case a window opened.  When the last possible flight window closed around 3:00 PM, we began to focus on replacement ATV wheels. 

The FMARS-15 crew reported a flat tire on one of their ATVs last year, and we were not able to find a suitable replacement locally in Resolute.  Fortunately, Executive Officer Trevino was able to negotiate letting us borrow two similar tires and rims from a local contact so we could replace the entire axle.  The tires would then be returned at the end of the mission, but this would gain us an extra vehicle for EVAs.  The tires were removed with some quick work by Mission Specialist Woods and Crew Engineer Robbins, and the tires were dropped off with our other supplies at the airplane hangar. 

On the way back from the hangar, we visited a local plane wreck that was a small detour off the main road.  This plane had originally crashed during World War II operations in the area, so it was a fascinating artifact of a time long ago, quite literally frozen in time.

Other than that, the team took it easy!  We took some well-deserved naps, put in some gym time, did laundry, and enjoyed some cake in the kitchen for Canada Day.  The evening concluded with the team watching “The Thing from Outer Space”, a request from Health and Safety Officer Swarmer’s co-workers.

Tomorrow will mark our fourth day at Resolute Bay, but team morale is high as we continue to find good uses of our time in preparation for the final leg of our trip!