Mission Day 1: Splash Down!

“Since we said goodbye outside the hab (which was more emotional than I expected!), we have been incredibly busy. I am always amazed how frustrating yet exhilarating it is to experience a completely new environment. This feels very similar to Day 1 on the space station. There are so many incredible views outside I can’t decide between working and taking it all in.

After coming into the hab, we had a quick safety briefing from Sean and Hank. Emergency procedures are simple but critical. Fire and contaminated air are the biggies. Loss of power is not as critical, but it starts the clock on our resources. It took about 20 minutes to go through the specifics.

After that, Marc and I rehydrated some Mountain House food. Chicken and rice as well as good old chili mac. The four of us split those two as a trial. Delicious! No doubt I can live off that for as long as needed.

Soon after lunch, the Hololenses came down from topside. Megan and I donned them and began the tedious chore of unpacking. Initially we were frustrated with the gear but we soon learned the nuances and it became an effieicnt system. One humorous thing – in the tiny habitat, any time Megan would make a Hololense gesture to close a window or complete an activity, it would execute her gesture in my Hololens as well. I learned to adapt to this but it made for some funny first moments!

Sean and Hank prepped the helmets for our first dives. We did quick 40 minute excursions in 2-man teams to learn how to exit and enter the hab as well as umbilical management. The time outside was spectacular. We all were able identify the four primary corals we are looking for this mission. Very easy to spot the Agaricia humilis. Following the first excursion with Matthias, we watched as Megan and Marc went out, which allowed us to learn the radios and laptops that we will use to guide them on their ‘space walks’ in the coming days. Overall, the operations went far smoother than expected.

Another round of Mountain House for dinner. We were all extremely hungry and you could hear a pin drop during dinner… No witty banter, just food consumption. After dinner, most of us called home to say hi to our families. Hank turned the outside lights on after sunset and the world outside came alive. We had huge fish, tiny fish, and unidentifiable fish all coming to say hello. It was impossible to pull oneself away from the view ports to head to bed. I’m sure this will all become the norm soon, but for now it is sensory overload and it is awesome!”

Day 2 kicks off research for NEEMO 21, and a fun surprise for the entire crew! Updates to follow as we plan to blog each mission day moving forward.