#comms chatter commentary

[jackalgirl]

How Cute is That

Reid just called Houston and asked if they have a specific procedure for cleaning the windows because they’re currently covered with nose prints after their pre-TLI flyby of the Earth.

Of course they are, and of course there’s a procedure. : )

[jackalgirl]

It's a Real Place

Christina came over the comms after her most recent turn in the windows and described this momentary epiphany that she had, that it just really struck her that the moon is a real thing, a real entity in its own space. And that struck me, too, because we live in the time of the rapid advancement of tools for generating realistic images, sounds, and videos -- where we can't take for granted that the things we see are real. So for a moment I really could feel, in my chest, why that was such a powerful moment for her.

[jackalgirl]

They're Just Like Us

You know that bit when you're packing to move, where you spend maybe 40-60% of the time packing stuff and being super careful to organize it all, writing down what's in the box on the box, etc, and then at some point you just completely run out of spoons and start shoving all the small stuff into random boxes just to get it done?

The crew of Integrity is going through a very long activity where they have to pack stuff up for return. They're having to look up the proper stowage location for things to make sure they go in the right places. They've referred to this as "tedious" and have asked for permission to just stow things where it fits, rather than having to carefully look everything up. LOL, friends, I know exactly how you feel.

[jackalgirl]

Silver to Gold

The rest of the Integrity crew just presented Jeremy with his gold Astronaut wings (gold means "has been in space"). Gotta admit, got some tears in my eyes. : )

Also, apparently someone in the crew (Christina, maybe?) hid some scrambled egg packets around the cabin as an ersatz Easter egg hunt, which is cute.

And it's Victor's Dad's birthday. Happy birthday, Victor Glover Senior!

Lastly: Since the crew will be practicing emergency suit donning, Housing just reminded them "Slow is smooth, smooth is fast" - hah hah! I laugh because that is such a military cliche, something I heard a billion times, but it's a true statement (and that's why you repeatedly train).

[jackalgirl]

Small Items of Joy

Houston just asked the crew if they had found "...any small items of joy" in some specific bags. "I'm told these are specific items you might consume or wear".

They found some "...really cool socks", but haven't found the consumable which "we think is in A2 unless Reid has drunk all of them."

So, Houston did hide some goodies for them in the stowage. How delightful. : )

[jackalgirl]

Bubblewrap

Hah hah! So, the cabin was depressurized for the emergency suit testing, and the bubblewrap around a bunch of the as-of-this-point-not-unwrapped stuff expanded, so the crew couldn't get it back into its various storage places. Now that the cabin's back at normal pressure, so is the bubblewrap, and they're able to restow things properly.

Houson: Roger, bubblewrap nominal!

[jackalgirl]

Eye Adaptation

Christina just remarked that the crew is able to see the Earth and the moon in the same window, and the Earth seems so much brighter. Science has reminded them that if they look at bright stuff (viz., the Earth), it'll delay their eye adaption for looking at dimmer stuff (viz., the moon). They mentioned this during the initial flyby conference, but I just think it's sweet that they needed to be reminded (who wouldn't want to look at home?). But they've turned down the cabin lights and they're trying to let their eyes adjust in preparation for the flyby. There will be a whole lot of very deep discussions of things like color, brightness, differences, including negatives (things they don't see). Science is guiding them towards more specific descriptions (e.g., how are the colors appearing in relationship to one another, are they associated to features, are there relevant superlatives (e.g., "biggest, darkest"), etc.).

If you're a geologist, this might be your time to tune into the stream (if you're not already): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RwfNBtepa4

[jackalgirl]

Teamwork makes the dream work

The crew's been talking about the difficulty of looking at the moon, then having to look at stuff in the cabin (like their computers, even at their dimmest settings); they can feel their eyes constantly readjusting. So the science team offered to call up targets to them so that they don't have to look away from the windows. Great idea!