Tiriganiaq (CREW 19) Sol 9 Report 23-7-2026

Today was our last full day on sim, and while we are all really sad about it at least we can say we wrapped up on a very high note. Our schedule, as always, involved a mix of maintenance and science. On the maintenance side, we successfully resolved the multi-day saga of the wayward ATVs. In the morning, Trevor, Laura, and Rand made the trek into the crater center to rescue the rover whose tire went flat yesterday. Adrian and Anderson stayed behind at the hab to figure out how to retrieve the second broken down rover much nearer by. In the afternoon we switched off. Trevor and Laura stayed at the hab on comms and to work on concluding some remaining research projects while Adrian, Anderson, and Rand left on a final EVA so that Adrian could collect control samples to use in his evaluation of the rocks and minerals from the crater center. At the end of the day we all came together as a crew to finish rescuing the last rover. All rovers are now back safely in the hab, thanks to problem solving, creativity, elbow grease, and as always, lots of teamwork.

Like last night, we gathered around the table in the upstairs crew quarters and shared our petals and thorns for the day. At the end, we realized that all our thorns today were all but identical, and that those thorns are petals in disguise. We all wish we could stay here longer. This means that this experience has been valuable and worthwhile for every last one of us. So much so that despite being sleep deprived and maybe more than a little pungent, we all wish we could stay in this place longer, to strive and learn and accomplish even more together as a crew.

Trevor:

Petal: I really enjoyed the away mission this morning. It was special, everything felt really quiet and calm. This was a pretty abnormality-free away mission. Everything went really smoothly, free of stress. I felt relieved that our repair plan worked. And we got to go back to Fox Hill. Rand thanked me for bringing us there, and I realized Rand hadn’t seen it before! Last time I saw it I was waiting because I had to, and now I was choosing to be there and see it again. It’s a magical place, and I’m really glad I got to see it with Laura and Rand. There are magical places, and there are otherworldly places, and this particular area where three rivers meet and the sun never sets and you sit on top of a hill—and here’s the otherworldly part—you can’t feel the passage of time. It is like a deprivation chamber in all senses. You can sit there for 5 to 6 hours and you won’t be able to tell. That is otherworldly. I don’t think you will find many places that do not behave in a physical sense the way that most places do on the planet Earth. And this is one of them. It’s a place where the laws of nature seem to escape you. I’m grateful I got to see it and experience it one more time.

Thorn: Realizing that we have so little time left, less time than I thought we would have. We put out so many fires and achieved so many big objectives. If we had a few more days, we could find even more interesting things to do. We could overachieve. No more getting stuck in the mud or getting lost. We are at the point where we are operating smoothly, with room to be inspired to achieve something even better than our planned objectives.

Laura:

Petal: The thing I really loved about today, in addition to what Trevor said, happened when we were riding back to the hab from the crater center. I was in the back of the convoy, driving and filming, and riding in a way that felt really freeing. I got to breathe in the landscape and experience it in a way that I love to do when I am in these kinds of environments. Sights, sounds, smells, the feel of wind in your face – you get a raw connection to your environment that engages all the senses. I got that today especially on the way back. It felt really good to have that freedom, to have a moment of connection to nature.

Thorn: That this is the last time this mission that I’m going to get to have that experience. I would have loved to have more opportunities to be out in this world.

Adrian:

Petal: Getting most of my control sample collection done. I also appreciated being out with my crewmates on EVA and seeing how everybody has gotten significantly better at all the things needed for fieldwork and managing challenges well. I also enjoyed this conversation. I’ve done field work in the Arctic before but seeing how my crewmates are experiencing it is making me see it all in a very new light.

Thorn: Well, that we are leaving early. I really wanted to stay longer. [Editor’s note: Adrian’s birthday is coming up very soon and it would have been fun to celebrate it here together. We would have gotten him his favorite thing: rocks.]

Anderson:

Petal: Trevor stole my petal. But I’m glad that everyone got to experience Fox Hill, regardless of the reason for being there. I think it’s a really special place. It’s surreal. It’s a place that we’ve shared collectively now. Also, on the second EVA I served on bear watch, as I have a lot on this mission. I felt a lot of responsibility to protect my crew. I might not have looked at the individual rocks like my crewmates on the EVA did, but I got to scan the landscape, and be in the landscape, and gain some important perspective that way. I appreciated getting at everything from the macro level. I looked at the hills and slopes and valleys and rivers in a different way than I would have had I not taken that vantage point.

Thorn: That this was the last EVA we are doing. I didn’t really realize it until we were on the way back. I feel a bit bummed about that. It has to stop at some point, of course, so at least I got to do it one more time.

Rand:

Petal: I am thrilled that I got to do two EVAs today. The first one, in the morning, may have been for the primary objective of retrieving a broken piece of equipment, but what an exhilarating way to do it. Unlike Anderson, this was my first time on bear watch, and I realized as we climbed Fox Hill that in addition to the valuable research I’ve had the opportunity to conduct over the past nine days – including observing Adrian practice his expertise in situ on the afternoon EVA – I’ve also tried new things and developed new skills so far out of my comfort zone that they may as well have been on actual Mars. By the time we started on our way back to the hab it felt like a switch had flipped, a level up. With a little bravery, and the right crew, anything is possible.

Thorn: Remembering that at some point before arriving here I believed that ten days would probably be the sweet spot for this mission, no more, no less. I hope that wasn’t unintentional manifesting. Ten days are absolutely a bounty, but there really is so much more we could do if we had just a few more sols here together in this remarkable place.