Mrs. Gamble's 2nd Grade Class
Baldwin Elementary School

"What is the temperature like out there?"

The temperature so far has been very nice, but can change quickly during the day. The daily temperatures are has High as 70° F and 30° F at night! The sky is normally blue and looks really big!!! The wind has really been blowing on Tuesday and Wednesday, reaching almost 40 miles per hour!!!!. We could see giant red dust storms in the distance from all the wind blowing the sandy material. We can wear shorts and t-shirts, but mostly we have to wear pants, jackets, hoods, and goggles, to protect ourselves from both sun and sand being blown around at high speeds. Sand blown in the wind can hurt like little bee stings on the skin, so protection is important.

"What is the ground like?"

Artistic ground formations on Mars

The ground is different all around us and forms many different shapes and designs. There are almost no plants or trees, so instead of green and brown, the colors of the ground are red, white, gray, and black. Some areas are sandy, like at a beach, and form little sand dunes. This material collects as the wind blow it around. Other areas of the ground are hard, solid, rock. We need to use our hammers to break pieces off. Most of the ground is sedimentary rocks, so they are composed of sand, clay, mud, and pebbles. Loose pebbles and blocks of rocks cover the ground in some areas and are easy to trip on. Water has eroded and shaped the rock formations we see. Some are really strange and look like mushrooms. On top of hills we can see a huge block of rock being held up by little pillar of rock. (Try balancing the flat side of a school book on a pencil eraser to get an image of what the rocks are doing).

Thank you for your great questions,
Mr. Garry

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Mrs. Kelly's 2nd Grade Class
Baldwin Elementary School

"What is it like to live in the small house "thing" for two weeks?"

In two words, living in the Mars Desert Research Station is "Totally Awesome!!!"

I love living in the Hab because it reminds me of summer camp. The fun part is pretending I live in a "Space Ship" that has landed on Mars for two weeks!! The curved walls and circle-shaped windows are really cool, since I do not have these at home. My new home is very spacious, and as long as I keep busy, I do not feel trapped like a sardine. Plus, living with new people is always an adventure in making new friends. It is not scary to live in the Hab, though the wind can make it sound scary sometimes. The location of the Hab is wonderful, because there are red rocks and hills that extend as far as the eye can see!! There are no houses, shopping malls, streets, stoplights, cars, or funny noises for miles and miles. When I am not looking at rocks, I have brought books to read or I go running outside. I can still communicate with my family and friends, so I do not feel lonely.

The big lesson about living in the Hab is sharing and working as a team. We take turns with chores such as cleaning dishes, baking bread, cleaning the bathroom, and taking out the trash.

On Mars we need to conserve our resources. Water is very precious and we only get to shower every three days, so we can get "stinky, stinky, stinky!" Every time we come inside the Hab, we take our shoes off so we do not track dust and dirt into our "home". Every day, we have to pump fresh water into a barrel. This water is used to drink, to wash dishes, shower, or brush our teeth. We can only flush the toilet three times a day. Trash is put into different trash bins for paper and non-paper. Food scraps go into a compost pile, a place for food to rot and turn into soil, which will later be used to help grow plants.

The house "thing" is supposed to resemble a spaceship or "house" that astronauts who will one day travel to Mars will live in. We refer to the "thing" as the Hab, which is short for the word "Habitat." Six people live in the Hab. The Hab has two floors. On the first floor is the science lab where we can study our rocks, the EVA room, where we get dressed in our space suits, and most importantly, the bathroom, where we…..well, never mind…The steps to the second floor are very steep and I wish we had a firemans' pole to slide down, instead climbing down steep steps. On the second floor is where we sleep, cook, eat, and work. My bedroom is 4 feet wide and 11 feet long, and I sleep on the top bunk in a sleeping bag. Measure the size of the room in your class to see how much space I have to myself.

If you would like to live on Mars one day, remember, you need to be able to work as team, share, conserve, and most of all have fun.

Thank you,
Mr. Garry