Journalist's Report

March 27, 2008

Sean Blackman



Ladies and gentlemen, when you wake tomorrow morn, look to the sky, take a breath of fresh air, and say, “I love Earth.” Crew 69 rejoices with you because when you utter these words we will be officially out of sim. Sim City will be no more; we will be Earth-dwellers once again.

But not yet: No, today we made the most of our last sunrise of sim. And we were not alone, as two journalists from The Daily Mirror in the United Kingdom came to report on this oh-so momentous occasion. We even let one of them go out in a space suit, just to give him the full experience. He liked it – for about 10 minutes. Then I believe he used the term, “a bloody bubble” to describe the experience. But they got the full tour of the Hab and asked some very knowledgeable and in depth questions about our goal of achieving a manned mission to Mars. So it was a pleasure to show them around. We liked their accents.

Then the real fun came: One more blowout Mars Exploration EVA to a location called Lithe Canyon -- a fitting venture for our last day in Mars-sim. A canyon full of petrified wood welcomed the explorers, who conducted their mission right before sunset. If you have time, we highly recommend viewing the pictures from today to get an inkling of appreciation for the terrain here: One word – otherworldly.

If only we had more time on this other world. Oh the things we would accomplish, the improvements we could make. Just now, the crew is getting a true appreciation of the projects we would undertake. But we can make some significant boasts; including a new source of power for the Hab that harnesses the (very intense) power of the wind, a GreenHab that is now continuously filtering water and has the potential to be expended in its uses; a functional Mars Rover that is ready for the next round of development; and some of the most advanced Radio testing conducted at MDRS thus far. Not bad for a bunch of college kids, eh? A few more days to finish improving, and then we leave. But not before some very intense Earth Exploration EVAs. After over a week in sim, I’m pretty sure that all of us will refuse to have a roof covering our heads while the sun is shining for the next two days. And this is how it should be, as, indeed, “we love Earth.” Fresh air….

Crew 69 out!
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