Sol Journal – October 18th

The Little Things

Mars Desert Research Station sounds grand. The view of the whole habitat structure: the greenhouse, science laboratory, observatory and ATV’s, with red alien looking hills behind it – astounds you. But when you start to live at the station long enough and stay mostly inside, the little things make the crew happy. We are lucky to be here when the station undergoes the changes. Today is one of those special days – we received the new furniture. Our living and dining room had only one big table and eight chairs. Now there are four comfortable sofas, big white dining table. The colors of the sofas are mint with black and white prints. They are so comfortable, that once you lay down there, it becomes a black hole with super gravity, which doesn’t let you get up. The wooden light brown coffee table is right next to them with little tree on it, that was presented by Mars One volunteers. The whole corner reminds us of Earth, of our cozy homes. We call it recreational zone or the corner of inspirations. Some might say “tuff it up guys, you are on Mars, not in the 5 star hotel”, but as habitability studies have shown, it is important to have recreational zones for the crew and an overall level of comfort, therefore their work will be more efficient.

There many other little things which reminds us of Earth, warmth and comfort. Some of them freshly baked bread in the morning, short but still a shower, a movie night once a week, creative cooking together and a good laugh.

For my perfect day on Mars I will just add that it started with a kind, supportive message from a Russian cosmonaut Oleg Blinov with the wishes: “To live each day, that by the end of it, you have a feeling of the great victory over yourself”. “Head over hills” – that is exactly how I feel every time I speak to cosmonauts. Seems like they have this magic power and strike you with their light, strength and wisdom.

And when you think it can’t be better, I received a song “Curiosity”, written by a Russian rock band which was inspired by our mission.

Credit – Yusuke Murakami