NASA Human Space Exploration Research Training Week Two

There has been so much to learn to complete the mission. I am ecstatic to be participating and am eagerly awaiting our ingress into the habitat on the 27th of October. As the training has progressed, I have been preparing myself for going in. There will be four of us living and working in a space that is 148.1 meters cubed. We will be very busy with experiments and mission related items. Research are looking at everything from our sleeping, health, diet, crew dynamics and everything else. The fun part is that some of the experiments are the same as those conducted on the International Space Station.

The crew set up is a lot like the space shuttle crew. We only have four crew members and three positions: one commander, one flight engineer and two mission specialists. I'm one of the two mission specialists, and for the past two weeks, I've been learning what my specialty for the mission is. Of course, that's why we have training. Looking forward to completing the mission. I think I'm ready for this. Or will be by Thursday!

While a lot of time will be dedicated to the mission, humans need off time, hobbies, etc. With going into isolation we need to bring those supplies in with us. Anyone who knows me well knows I love art. While I cannot use my Apple pencil to do digital drawing, (Bluetooth issues) I can bring art supplies. So, I'll be bringing a full assortment of artistic materials.

A few things to note, if you have suggestions for what I should draw/paint during the mission, use the contact form on this page to submit your suggestions - no guarantees that it will get done. Dragons and other mythical creatures are already on the list. You can bet there will be a painting of a dragon landing on Mars (I may even paint it red, we'll see).