Day 129
Mood:  chillin'
We're at an almost perfect time here on the ICSE. We haven't had a technical problem since the MEM broke down on Mars. We're still getting telemetry from the Phobos probe at Deimos and the probes we sent to Mars. And of course we are still on course for Earth. Because the fuel processing part of the mission went so well, we have extra fuel for initiating artifical gravity rotation. And as long as the control-moment gyros function properly, we'll have gravity for the entire trip to Earth. Also, Melody and Taira continued studying some of the Martian samples on board. As for simulation training, these days it's not as extensive as before. The sims primarily involve practice runs for our aerocapture with Earth. Going through aerocapture was definitely scary the first time, but I don't think I'll be as scared when we do it the second time. I guess it's because even if aerocapture at Earth fails, at least we'll have finished 99 percent of the mission.

Day 123
Mood:  party time!
After we began the launch back to Earth, we partied like it was 2099. The complications and stress of interplanetary travel were completely gone for us at that point in time. I think I can say that going back to Earth will very likely be the easiest part of the mission. Even so, I stll think landing on Mars was the high-point of my life -- at least so far.

120
Mood:  energetic
Tiara and I were on Mars a little longer than planned today. As Keith advised us from the ICSE on how to repair the MEM's ignition system, Melody and Sumire loaded up the backup MEM that was still docked with the ICSE with extra food and supplies in case the MEM couldn't be repaired in time. But after a few hours of work, we got the MEM to launch. Meanwhile, the extra food and supplies that were put on board the backup MEM were brought back on board the ICSE. less than three hours later, Tiaria and I and the Martian samples we brought boarded the ICSE. From there, we remotely landed both MEMs onto the surface of Phobos so they can be used for future Mars missions and to save weight for our trip back to Earth.

Yes! we almost didn't make it. But things worked out anyway.

Day 119
Mood:  vegas lucky
Yup! Today's the day we officially become a multi-planet species. The launch of the MEM worked quite well. and after the three-hour flight from Phobos to the Martian surface, we finally did it. Taira Singh and I became the first humans to set foot on Mars. Kick ass!

My first words on the Red Planet: "I love this place!" And Taira loved it too. All our surface activies were done on time and on schedule. (Is that reduntant?) Planting the ICSA flag, collecting rock and soil smaples, all that good stuff was effectively accomplished. After three hours on Mars, we prepared to leave. Unforunately, a malfunction in the ignition system might end up keeping Taira and I on Mars longer than we planned.

Day 117
Mood:  energetic
The Phobos probe made it to Deimos right on time. While certain other crew members study the Deimos data, Taira and I are rapidly preparing for the Mars landing Wednesday.

Day 115
Mood:  a-ok
Another good news, bad news deal here. The good news is that we got the Phobos probe working. The bad news is that Leonid broke his arm while trying to dislodge the probe from Phobosian surface. But despite that letdown, Melody was able to set Leonid broken arm with little difficulty. Later on, the Phobos probe was launched to Deimos where it will enter orbit tomorrow. Meanwhile, I have to prepare for Wednesday when I take Leonid's place on the Mars landing part of the mission.

Day 113
Mood:  chillin'
Did I mention that Keith and Sumire found a piece of the Mars Observer on Phobos? Well, they did. Meanwhile, Leonid and Taira spent much of the day in one of the MEMs prepping for the Mars landing next week.

Day 111
Mood:  party time!

Fuel processing on Phobos was finished over the weekend - about a week ahead of schedule. The help I gave Keith and Sumire on the project did contribute to its completion. As such, we spent a good deal of time working on the long-nonfunctional Phobos probe. So far, the probe looks reparable. But despite that, certain components that we didn't have spare parts for needed replacing. But thanks to Keith's genius, he was able to McGuyver some spare parts we had on the ICSE for the Phobos probe repair. In addition to that, we fueled up one of the MEM's with the fuel processed from Phobos. We got more interesting images of the Martian surface from the probes we sent there. And we got transmissions from Earth from certain world leaders congratulating our continued success at exploring Mars.

Day 105
Mood:  bright
It was another very busy day for us in Mars orbit. The samples from the sample return craft were brought on board the ICSE and then stored to be studied later. We got more images from the Mars rovers and related craft on and just above the Martian surface. And Keith and Sumire found a way to speed up the fuel processing. If they can get that done sufficiently ahead of schedule, we might have time to repair the Phobos probe. Sure, a lot of folks would say that repairing the probe would be a long-shot. But to that I say they said the same thing about sending people to Mars.

Day 103
Mood:  energetic
The sample return craft came back with a small sample of Martian soil today. Keith and Sumire spent most of the day on Phobos studying the returned samples. And at the end of the day, they found no evidence of microbial life. Just as I and certain other experts predicted. Nevertheless, there might still be life on Mars (though I am pretty much skeptical of that). So unless we find that life via the rover probes that are currently using on Mars, we’ll have to wait until the human Mars landing at the end of the month.