by Anastasiya Stepanova – Crew Journalist

We had a dinner: Jambalaya mix with dehydrated sausage crumbles and monetary jack cheese. The recipe of Jambalaya came from New Orleans and it is a mix of rice, bell pepper and spices. Everyone were full and happy, clueless that the coming night will be special.

Lights are out, water pump is off and doors are closed. I roll over from one side to another in my bed. One hour after and yet no sleep. A strange feeling was getting under my skin, but as I thought, it is all that chili pepper at the dinner, which made me anxious.  Dry and warm air, thirstiness and insomnia.

Wind, wind and more wind. I could feel my bunk was shaking, I could feel all habitat was screaming with the voice of metal and wood. Suddenly we heard a swat. Yusuke and Jon ran downstairs and saw that the exterior door of the airlock got loose. The wind was strong enough to wreck it. The inner door was intact and the habitat atmosphere unchanged. If it was a real Mars, we would be safe, but not for long. The crew would put on the space suits and go outside from the engineering lock, since by the using main one we could depressurize the whole station. The door was not as damaged as we were scared of, but it would take an hour to fix it well enough to last until the next supply from Earth. One of the latches had a crack then with the strong wind, it tore apart and that caused the damage to the airlock door. We checked all systems once again and went back to our beds, but nobody slept well that night.

In the morning, all crew members looked tired listening to that music of the desert wind. The storm continued its way during the day. It ripped of small part of the tunnel tarpaulin cover and filled with dust our solar panels. Next couple of EVA’s (extra vehicle activity) we will have a lot of maintenance work to do. Mars does not give us a break, Mars warns us to stand always in the wings.

Note: This report should be read while playing this audio file: wind-sound-from-inside-the-hab

This Creative report was submitted by Claude-Michel Laroche – crew engineer:

What is this whisper in my ears.? It is getting louder and louder.
I have to discover where is it from.
This nightmarish sound can only heard when sailing with Neptune, they told me. I thought Neptune was a planet, this doesn’t make any sense.
I can’t figure it out. Ever since I was born in the plains of Cydonia I never heard a sound like this. This sounds like it is coming from a place where no one should go.
Time is running out, I am sure I am capable of this.
The second hint they gave me is that it is a force of nature, capable of destroying mountains. This is not the sound of a nuclear blast.
Only a strong force is capable of such a destructive power. Let me think. A powerful force or a smaller one on a long period of time.
On Mars, mountain are almost eternal, only us, humans can change the landscape.
Back on Earth, tsunamis can have devastating destructive effect on the landmass. Tidal waves, large masses of water moving toward the land. Sometimes they can even be moved by the wind.
That’s it, Eureka, as my teacher always saying, whatever that means, this is it. This is the sound of the wind. A powerful gust of wind.

Phrase of the day:

This report was submitted by Claude-Michel Laroche – Crew engineeer

Breakfast rolls: (for 10 rolls)

Ingredients:
–    128g of powdered eggs ( or 12 eggs).
–    2 cup of water.
–    10 yellow corn tortillas.
–    10g dehydrated diced tomato.
–    10g dehydrated chopped onions.
–    10g dehydrated parsley flakes.

Possible variation: Add some cheddar cheese in the eggs mixture. To add consistency to the mix.

Note: You can add the diced tomato, chopped onions and parsley as much or as little as you want. up to personal taste.

Step 1: Hydrate the dehydrated tomatoes, onions and parsley.

Step 2: Heat a pan on medium low heat.

Step 3: Mix the powdered eggs and water in a bowl, until homogeneous.

Step 4: Incorporate the hydrate vegetable of step 1 into the egg mixtures of step 3.

Step 5: Cook, while steering, the eggs mixture in the pan until the texture of the mix is reach.
Note: We suggest that the eggs mixture should start holding in small chunks but should stay moist for better taste.

Step 6: Separate the cooked egg mixture in ten equals portions.

Step 7: Heat the tortilla bread in a microwave for thirty seconds.

Step 8:  Fill the middle of a tortilla with a portion of egg mixture.

Step 9: Roll two opposites side of the tortilla bread until they reach each other, leaving the end of the roll open.

Step 10: Eat and Enjoy with friends.