Archive for January 8th, 2010

What would you do if you knew it was your last day on Earth?

Well, here’s my to-do list for the day before my departure for Mars:

  • Deal with all mail (not done)
  • Do dishes
  • Get money
  • Buy wool pants, sweater
  • Call hotel for airport shuttle
  • Read The Real Mars, return to library
  • Turn on international roaming for Kate’s phone (not done)
  • Yoga (skipped class)
  • Resubmit latest rejected story (not done)
  • Make appointment for furnace tune-up
  • Clear camera memory card (not done)
  • See China Design exhibit at art museum (museum closed by power outage)
  • Fold laundry
  • Pick up comics from Excalibur (not done)

Kate and I also had a nice Indian dinner and watched Shaun of the Dead. And now to bed… early early flight tomorrow.

OMG I’M GOING TO MARS!!

Bags are packed, I’m ready to go

Well, I think that's everything... now to see if it'll fit in... on Twitpic

Well, that’s just about everything I’m taking with me. It all made it into the bag, just barely, and the bag is just barely under the airline’s size and weight limits (assuming I can trust my yardstick and bathroom scale). I still need to buy a few things — I wore my wool tux pants the last time I did cold-weather travel but for Mars I think I want someting a little less formal — and the computer and other tech gear aren’t packed yet, but basically I’m set for my early-Friday departure.

I got some good news and some bad news from Mars today. The good news is that I will be allowed to post using Twitter from MDRS, both as myself (@daviddlevine) and as @MDRSupdates. The bad news is that the hab’s telescope has broken and most likely won’t be fixed until after our rotation. This is a disappointment — though it’s definitely in keeping with the history of Mars exploration, which includes as many failed as successful robot probes — and we’re trying to find out if there’s any other equipment we can use in its place.

One more day!