25 July 2000: Marc Boucher’s Personal Journal: Base Camp, Devon Island
Note: Information on the current field season, as well as past seasons can be found here.
And The Dome Goes Up
Today the construction team worked on the dome panels. The work is moving at a slower pace as it is much more difficult to get these
panels in place compared to the side panels. Safety as always is the number one issue. So a lot of time was spent determining
the best way to get the panels into place. By the end of the day though six panels were in place.
I spent the morning getting caught up on work then in the afternoon I went to the habitat and broadcast the construction
of the dome. Once again the weather was great. So warm in fact that you could walk around without a jacket. A sweater is still
needed though.
Habitat, First Impressions
Now that the habitat is up I can give you my first impressions. I am surprised at how big it is. However there are no furnishings
in it yet. There is less light on the first floor then I thought there would be. Depending on how the wall partitions go up we’ll
need a lot of lights. The acoustics may be a problem. Everything reverberates, but this will change once the partitions are up for
the crew quarters and workspace on the first floor. A very important feature is the windows. The views are incredible. Looking east
you see the slope going down from Haynes Ridge into the crater. The grey breccia hills in the crater really stand out. To the west you
see the prominence called the “Fortress”, “Von Braun Planitia” and parts of base camp.
Tomorrow the rest of the dome panels will be in place.
For daily updates on the NASA Haughton-Mars Project click here.
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