Commander's Report

March 14, 2008

Veronica Ann Zabala-Aliberto



Commander's Report

14 March 2008

Veronica Ann Zabala-Aliberto

As the martian sun sets I come to realize that these past two weeks
have gone by too quickly. Still too much research has to be conducted
at the Mars Desert Research Station but alas, that will have to be
passed down to another MDRS Crew.

Today the F.L.A.M.E. Crew stayed close to the home front and started to
pack up their belongings and cleaned the Hab for the next Crew. Toys
were packed away, school papers neatly tucked into their school
binders, power point presentations being created and the MDRS Science
Laboratory's counters being cleared away of field samples that have
been cleaned and classified. Some more has to be done tomorrow and
then we are on our way.

Some of the Crew has been a little uptight that we are leaving and the
look of tiredness dimly gleams in their eyes. The past two week's
accomplishments put a heavy toll on their spirit and body but I know
they will go home with a feeling of accomplishment for very few
individuals have had the opportunity that all MDRS Crews have...to make
a contribution to human space exploration.

Some people on Crew wonder who really watched us on the webcams. Does
any care to watch us? Does anyone read the reports? Are we just
playing "Martian Astronaut" out here? For those of us who live their
lives as if no one is watching, this does not concern us. We try to
excel in all things related to human space exploration and settlement
regardless if anyone is watching. I know there are our family, friends
and coworkers who watch everyday to ensure that we are safe and that we
are fulfilling our dreams. I know that Mission Support and other MDRS
Crews of the past are watching for they yearn for the time to go back
to the MDRS for they know so much more research has to be carried out.
I would like to think that there are those out there who are the
"Decision Makers" of space exploration are watching for they know
exactly who we are and what we are trying to accomplish in the short
amount of time that we are out here.

The New Frontier of human exploration is not on the Moon or Mars; it is
within our hearts and spirits. We must seek out our dreams and desires
and hone in on our own skills and talents to make human space
exploration and settlement a reality. We must fuse together science
and technology and increase the awareness of our goals to the next
generation of Explorers. We must strengthen our alliances and work
together, not just locally, but globally. We all must become an asset
to exploration.

I am proud of my Crews...past and current. We have been through a lot
together and have learned a great deal about ourselves. We have
learned first hand that this is hard work. That the Crews that reach
the Moon and Mars are going to become "Roughnecks". That they will do
without the basic essentials and pretty much make anything work that
falls apart. Oh yes, we are a band of brothers and sisters who have
struggled to keep a dream alive. Only a few of us may get to go while
the rest raise their glasses high and shout, "AD IN EXPLORATA" ("TOWARD
THE UNKNOWN")!

Eventually there will be children who will be born on these harsh
worlds. I am glad to have had the opportunity to introduce my own
children to the possibilities of exploration and show them how to
harvest their own dreams. I am privileged to have be capable of
showing them firsthand what they and their children would be doing
while living far from their own home world. They, too, have formed
bonds with past and current F.L.A.M.E. Crew Members. They have learned
much from each of them. Will my children follow me in my quest for
human space exploration? It is still too early to tell. I take
comfort in knowing that I did what I could to show them the wondrous
possibilities that await them and to let them know that they played a
part in something greater than you and I. They were the first children
EVER to live, work and play in an analogue regime. They helped create
to the protocols necessary for human space exploration and settlement.
Do they come to this realization now? No. But in years to come they
will and hopefully they will contribute to help change humanity's fate
and become contributors to future generations. For history remembers
those who have given all they had in ways that many would not dare even
imagine.