Postcards from Mars

March 13, 2024 – 18:15
Greetings Imagination 1,

I bet today’s EVAs were exciting! I look forward to hearing about them.

Tonight, the desert will cool down to 42F (5.6C). And as you’ve probably already noticed from your vantage, the Earth is becoming less illuminated in your sky, while the moon grows in ours every evening.

I hope you’re all finding the space to become immersed in your creative flows while away.

I’ll be around if you need me,
Mikayla Mace Kelley, CapCom

March 13, 2024 – 18:36

Pressure: 1.49 inches of water with blower at 25.50 Hz
Lung height: 55 inches
CO2: nominal [~2500 ppm] throughout the day
Water tank level: 39 gallons
Hydroponics: 6.8 pH, 2.0 EC

Woke up in good spirits. See our morning report. Settled into more housekeeping and work. Julie put the projector for lunar imagery in the lung as by evening we are finding that we are too focused on work/getting rest to watch the imagery or even a show in the TM. That said, all but Chris have used the VR for watching lunar imagery. Chris plans on doing it interactively later today or tomorrow after the EVA. Ivy has perfected the multiple stirring of rehydrated eggs in the microwave, which Chris put to use with eggs twice today. Systems are running nominally throughout the day. To minimize distractions we are keeping the airlock curtain closed, and Ivy has placed some dark cloth on the CQ hatch window and a sheer-ish tapestry over the lung window.

Mid-morning excitement mounted for EVAs…

After lunch—leftover southwestern rice and beans—Liz got ready for her EVA. Julie and Ivy assisted with the suit while I stayed on com till moving to the compressor. After pumping too much air into the pressure suit, with Trent’s expert guidance, I think my touch got more subtle. The procedures went well, and Liz was in good shape and spirits, happy to have done one move in particular. She did say that she might have need a bit more counterweight. Then Ivy was next after swabbing out the not-very-sweaty suit. I think we did a good job on the suit checklist, coms and compressor. Ivy came back in good shape and good spirts. Both post-EVA astronauts had welcome sponge baths. Both artonauts (couldn’t resist) went back to work, Liz on visuals and Ivy on sewing. She reported needing Trent’s assistance with the first stich outside and did three of her own.

Both Liz and Ivy have EVA reports and visuals, which I will forward separately as they are ample. Meanwhile, Julie reprinted an aphorism stamp with better results while Chris focused on photographs, soaking up the experience of being in the hab (being-mode as pre-writing) and reading some of Al Worden’s last book. Apollo 15 has been on our minds, and Ivy suggested watching a show to unwind this afternoon. We watched “Galileo was Right,” the Apollo 15 episode of From Earth to the Moon. It does a compelling job, with some historical compression, of showing how Apollo geology training evolved over time. Worth remembering that in the early planning stages of Apollo there were some who questioned the value of even picking up Moon rocks! William Phinney’s history of Apollo science training is full of such information. The enthusiasm of the Apollo 15 crew, under the guidance of Farouk El-Baz and Lee Silver, was the perfect foundation for the geology training given by those mentors.

Imagination 1 loved the dramatic portrayal of the Apollo 15 mission.

Here in SAM-world, Julie and Chris drank condensate filter water for the first time in the hab’s history, so, YAY.

If we were at Shackleton Base for real, perhaps we be looking at solar panel arrays along lit crater rims or on the peaks of eternal light. We might be powered by a nuclear reactor as well, of course. We’d see slant light and shadows darker than closed eyes in a cave. Perhaps Ivy would be repairing a colorful spacesuit representing her Kenyan heritage, while Liz demonstrated a dance move to help with removing a core sample. Meanwhile, Chris would be writing a daily mission report, like this, perhaps with some new lunar poetry from Julie, who also would be tinkering with some equipment.

Imagination 1 appreciated hearing the relayed voices from Earth as Mission Control assisted the crew with lunar tasks. As ever, we appreciate the Earth reports from Mikayla and her help.

We are wrapping the mission report up a bit earlier tonight, for everyone’s ease, as we continue to imagine, in the words of the 19th century selenographer James Nasmyth, “to be in thought lunar beings.”

March 12, 2024, 18:24
Good evening from Earth, Imagination 1 crew!

I’m looking forward to your daily report. This desert evening, temperatures will dip to 44F (6.7C) and the moon will set for us at 8:21 pm. Here if and when you need me, as always!

Looking up from Earth,
Mikayla Mace Kelley, CapCom

March 12, 2024, 18:25

Pressure: 1.5 inches water across the board
Lung height: 68 inches with blower at 25.45 Hz
CO2: All below 2500
Water tank level: 45 gallons
Hydroponics at 14:00: 6.6 pH, 2.0 EC

Note: We have recycled condensate for the first time! It’s in the bucket in the TM waiting to be added to the main water tank.

Ivy has spread her sewing and tapestry in the TM, turning it into the theater of all sewing possibilities. Julie’s aphorism stamp is printing. Liz has been lunging in the lung, preparing possible moves for tomorrow’s EVA. Chris’s Esquire article is already over word count. He continues to take instant photos of the mission. Julie has been singing “sacred heart” hymns in the lung. They echo beautifully, like Gregorian chants.

All systems are nominal. We did more housekeeping. Vac, food scraps and so on, keeping the hab our cozy desert-sun/lunar home. As ever, we feel the most on the Moon after dark, when images are projected on the TM west wall. During the day, we feel connected to all the SAM systems keeping us well. We are treading lightly, to invoke the poet Gray Snyder.

We opened up a package from a German antiques dealer, revealing two pipe connectors built by the slave laborers who assembled the V2, the world’s first modern rocket and basis for the Saturn V. We do so to honor the victims of the V2, both the concentration camp slaves and the civilians killed by the missile. We cannot forget those origins of the technology that allows us to explore space, this time in peace and with justice and vibrant hope. Ivy will include them on her Imagination 1 mission tapestry.

Speaking of hope, this morning Chris found the cress leaves have unfurled in not only the lunar regolith simulant but also in the ground fines of the actual lunar meteorite NWA 10822, which, while having some terrestrial materials given its tenure on Earth, is largely composed of hydrophobic lunar feldspathic basalt. A tiny bit of the Earth but mostly Moon: And the cress seeds for this project have grown! (So far as I know this is the first time plants have been grown in lunar meteorite powder, but I could be wrong.) Regardless, it is very moving to see the green world in the gray Moondust.

Huge thanks to Anna-Lisa Paul and Rob Fehrl at the University of Florida, whose team was the first to grow plants in Apollo regolith samples. They provided the Imagination 1 plant-growth project with materials, enthusiasm and guidance.

Late in the day, we assisted Liz in the blue pressure suit. She danced in the lung. Turning this over to Julie now so all crew voices are heard in these reports over the next three nights. –Commander Christopher Cokinos

Greetings from the Moon! We finally felt settled in today. By 11 a.m. we were each at work on our creative projects. Ivy’s scissors and Chris’s keyboard chimed in the TM, and occasional hints of movement drifted up the Lung, where Liz was dancing on moonlight. We were so focused that we ate lunch late, true sign that we were invested in our work! Yesterday and Sunday, I wrote little to nothing, but the experience of simply being here–crawling through the lung tunnel, monitoring the hydroponics, cooking with dehydrated ingredients–came through in a poem draft. I was thinking about Howard Nemerov’s poem Witnessing the Launch of the Shuttle Atlantis which starts, “So much of life in the world is waiting.” So much of life is simply living the slow moments–doing chores, going to sleep, getting dressed for the day–and that’s true wherever one is, even on the Moon. In the mundane details, we’re alive.

Signing off from Shackleton Base –Julie

March 11, 2024, 18:01
Greetings, Imagination 1 crew!

I’m eager to hear about your mission’s first full day … From here on Earth, only 2% of the Moon will appear illuminated this evening, producing a thin waxing crescent. That means that to you, the Earth appears mostly illuminated.

Overnight temperatures here will dip to 46F (7.7C), obviously significantly warmer than the -262F (-163C) highs of Shackleton Crater. I hope you are all warmer tonight.

Please let me know if I can assist you with anything this evening.

Looking up from Earth,
Mikayla Mace Kelley, CapCom

March 11, 2024, 18:07

Pressure: 1.5 inches of water
Lung height: 76 inches with blower at 25.5 Hz
CO2 Lung: holding steady at ~500 ppm
CO2 TM: 2305 ppm
CO2 Eng Bay: 2469 ppm
CO2 Crew Quarters: 2583
Water tank level: 53 gallons
Hydroponics: 6.4 pH, 2.0 EC

Note: Levels of CO2 dropped when we opened the [second] air vent baffle in the CQ. Consistently 2500, then dropping to ~2400, but I can see the increased activity in the areas—cooking, moving things, talking—is increasing the [CO2] gas. The mini-split running [appears to] lower the levels [TBD].

We have had a productive day. Ivy has sewn a pouch for use during the EVAs for us to place materials, such as Julie’s 3D printed aphorism stamp. Testing the 3D printer, Julie successfully made a carabiner for the pouch. Liz continues to spend time in the lung developing choreography, taking film and photos. Chris has been working on the opening section of his article and includes a passage or two below, along with experimenting with multiple exposures of plants and the MiG-29 helmet that Liz and Ivy will use on the EVA.

We have been house-keeping (dishes, vacuuming, etc.) and monitoring systems. As Kai at Mission Control knows, we had a misunderstanding regarding pressure gauge setting and lung height (see below). All working now. Kai provided a physics lesson on Boyle’s Law, which we appreciated. We suspect this is what The Clash had in mind with their song, “I Fought the Law and the Law Won.” Boyle for the gooooaaalllll!

Throughout the day, Chris tries to sprinkle in more Moon information in order to convey the alien wonder of that world as [we] work individually and take our meals collectively. Ivy set a high standard with yesterday’s dinner! We are aiming to make enough at dinner each night to have, as we did today, leftovers at lunch to save time and energy.

We plan on more imagery and video projection tonight when the desert hides in the darkness and we feel more lunar than not –Commander Christopher Cokinos

March 10, 2024, 18:11
Good evening, crew! This is CapCom checking in.

It was a delight to see you all off on your mission this morning. I hope your first eight hours in SAM have gone smoothly. The rest of the day was sunny and warm for all of us still here at Mission Control. This evening we’ll see a low of 48F (8.9C). It’s a new moon tonight, a fitting start to the mission, I’d say!

Ad lunam cum arte,
Mikayla Mace Kelley, CapCom

March 10, 2024, 18:40

Pressure: 1.3 inches
Lung height 21 inches with blower at 24 Hz and stable for 6+ hours
CO2 Lung: 774 ppm
CO2 TM: 2167 ppm
CO2 Eng Bay: 2046 ppm
CO2 Crew Quarters: 1726 ppm
Water tank level: ~60 gallons
Hydroponics: 6.3 ph, 2.1 EC

Imagination 1 entered Shackleton Base a few minutes after 10 following a lovely send-off. The base is named for Shackleton Crater in the lunar south pole region—and, of course, Shackleton Crater is named for the great Antarctic explorer. Following a team hug, we entered the Lung and spent a couple of hours perfecting the art of lung height, blower speed and maintaining internal pressure to spec. As we did, we worked up some instant poetry with the wall-mounted poetry kit. So art and air co-exist.

We were grateful for the bread (thank you) which we ate with reconstituted dehy eggs (the secret is to microwave the egg slurry for a few seconds, stir, repeat ’till it looks like scrambled eggs, not (as some did) like a strange foam weather-sealant. We [held] a mission meeting afterwards, discussing monitoring the lung (credit to Julie for taking the lead on trouble-shooting), reviewed house-keeping and safety and plans for the rest of the day.

First order of business was much-needed rest. The later afternoon has been a mixture of setting up equipment, figuring out our personal space, personal tech, where we want this or that on this or that shelf, and some creative work for us.

We are getting used to the whir and trickle of the hydroponics, which for a moment caused the crew commander to jump up to see if a leak had sprung in the TM. We are getting used to the water pump thumping—and we are paying attention to using very little water for dish clean up. –Commander Christopher Cokinos

The third crew to enter the Space Analog for the Moon and Mars sealed the outer airlock hatch today, March 10, 2024 at 10 AM. Friends, family, and colleagues were welcomed to tour the SAM facility as the crew prepared for their six days and five nights journey to the South Pole of the Moon. Christopher Cokinos, Liz George, Julie Swarstad Johnson, and Ivy Wahome entered SAM carrying their personal bins. They left their street shoes on the airlock landing and donned hab shoes provided by Astral Designs.

This professional and artistic, all-University of Arizona mission crew is comprised of non-fiction writer Christopher Cokinos and professor emeritus of English; dancer/choreographer Elizabeth George, associate professor at the School of Dance; poet Julie Swarstad Johnson, Poetry Center archivist and librarian; and textile artist Ivy Wahome, MFA candidate in costume design and production at the School of Theatre, Film & Television.

Learn more about Imagination I …

Crew members will engage in individual and collaborative projects ranging from choreography for a solo dancer in a pressure suit to poetic exploration of the outdoor surface as an imaginary lunar landscape. As they live and create at SAM, the crew of Imagination 1 aims to help establish the foundational value of the arts in space exploration as humans consider how to cultivate ethical, sustainable and flourishing communities beyond Earth.

The Mission Objectives for Imagination I are as follows:

Christopher Cokinos, “There are ethical questions we must raise about diversity and access to space, even as we celebrate human curiosity and endeavors. The artists on Imagination 1 have a range of viewpoints. We need those to inform everything from public interest to hard policy. It’s an amazing crew. I can’t wait to see what we accomplish.”

Elizabeth George, “I will explore exterior surface dance/body work while in a pressure suit aimed both at expressing body movement on a non-terrestrial surface with different gravity conditions and maximizing the ability to move with grace in a confined suit with limited consumables. This research and creative activity will be used as a pilot that could potentially benefit astronaut training for interior habitat dance exercise routines and for exterior movement on the moon, potentially using dance as a way to train for ease of lunar EVAs.”

Julie Swarstad Johnson, “Understanding place, from the local to the galactic, is vital for respectful relationships between humans and our Earth. This mission offers a unique opportunity to test out how we can engage with the moon as a place.”

Ivy Wahome, “My goal is to recycle, repurpose, reuse all the fabric scraps I have accumulated over the years. The message I want send home is for humanity to be mindful of our carbon footprint because sustainability and space travel are intertwined. I will attempt to capture scenes of our mission through the art of appliqué, embroidery, and patch work with this message in mind.”

Imagination I will be operating SAM in Mode 2 (pressurized, flow-through) for the duration of their mission while monitoring the carbon dioxide (CO2), relative humidity, temperature, and pressure. The crew will enjoy an all vegetarian diet of dehydrated and freeze-dried foods, with a variety of grains and legumes, pasta, and spices, and opportunity to make home made bread. Unique from the first two crews at SAM in April and May of 2023 respectively, this crew will enjoy the addition of dehydrated milk, dehydrated eggs, and brewer’s yeast.

Crew Imagination I was sent off by friends, family, the Director of Research for SAM Kai Staats and his staff, and an original Biospherian Linda Leigh (Mission I, 1991-93).