Latest articles by Michaela Musilova
A sweet surprise and a bittersweet farewell — Commander's report: sol 14
Commander Musilova admits to being deeply moved by her crew when they prepare a surprise gift and celebration in her honor, commemorating their extraordinary time on Mars as well.
The curse and silver lining of Martian dust storms – Commander's report: sol 10
Valoria 3 crewmembers have been successfully dealing with the challenges bad weather has thrown at them during their mission, both inside and outside the HI-SEAS habitat.
Chocolate, music and research fuel Martian life at HI-SEAS – Commander's report: sol 6
The Valoria 3 crewmembers have embraced their new Martian life and created a home out of HI-SEAS filled with chocolate smells, rap music and research experiments.
A 'rogue asteroid field' almost delays the Valoria 3 analog Mars mission — Commander's Report: sol 2
Commander Musilova had to navigate through a 'rogue asteroid field' — aka a wildfire in Hawaii — to get her crew safely to the HI-SEAS analog space station for the start of their Martian simulation.
'Chestbursters' and the dark calling of the lunar underground — Commander's report: lunar day 14
Commander Musilova shares how she was tempted to continue exploring underground caves at her own risk, which echoed her fears of returning to "Earth" after many months of being on analog missions.
The Selene V crew hit the moonwalk jackpot — Commander's report: lunar day 10
Commander Musilova describes how the Selene V crew compensated for their confinement in the habitat by doing excessive amounts of moonwalks and research activities when the weather finally cleared.
Bad weather on the 'moon' puts the HI-SEAS crew into 'low power mode' — Commander's report: lunar day 6
Commander Musilova shares how the Selene V crew was able to vent their disappointment from their moonwalks being canceled, their confinement and their low power existence in the HI-SEAS habitat.
The commander pulls an April Fools' Day prank on the crew – Commander's Report: lunar day 2
Commander Musilova pranked the new Selene V crew with the help of a previous crew at the HI-SEAS habitat, as part of their initiation to surviving their analog lunar mission.
The great lunar 'bake off' of knots and moon rocks — Commander's report: lunar day 13
Commander Musilova reflects on how freshly baked and grown food can significantly affect a crew's motivation to persevere through hardships during an analog lunar mission.
HI-SEAS crew struggle to keep up hope as relentless storms foil their 'moonwalks' — Commander's report: lunar day 10
Trapped in a vicious cycle of hope and despair, the Selene IV crew clings on to all comforting and bonding moments on mission to break the unhealthy pattern they're stuck in.
Fighting aliens with 'Space Force' and clovers at HI-SEAS — Commander's report: lunar day 6
Commander Musilova describes how the Selene IV crew uses lots of imagination, involving aliens and a heroic Space Force, to fight frustrations from their confinement inside the HI-SEAS habitat.
Making hair fertilizer wraps up the Selene II lunar mission — Commander's report: lunar day 14
Commander Musilova reports about how the Selene II crew finished their mission successfully with a combination of lava tube exploration and donating body hair to make plant fertilizer.
The start of the Sensoria M3 lunar mission is like Groundhog Day — Commander's report: lunar day 2
Commander Musilova reports about how the start of the Sensoria M3 mission feels like Groundhog Day and the emotional whiplash she gets after leading several lunar analog missions back to back.
Powering through challenges of the Selene II lunar analog mission — Commander's report: lunar day 7
Analog astronauts are currently facing challenges during a simulated Moon mission at the HI-SEAS habitat. Commander Musilova reports about the sacrifices the crew is making to survive the mission.
Humor saved the day for the Selene II lunar analog mission — Commander's report: lunar day 11
Commander Musilova reports about how the Selene II crew employed humor and resourcefulness to preserve their sanity during a simulated Moon mission at the HI-SEAS habitat.
The Valoria 1 crew is fighting to survive the night — Commander's report: sol 8
Crewmembers sacrifice everything they can to save their simulated Martian mission at HI-SEAS
The Valoria 2 crew turns to the 'dark side,' changing HI-SEAS into Horror-SEAS — Commander's report: sol 10
While filming a mockumentary at HI-SEAS, the Valoria 2 captures how things could go very wrong on Mars.
Selene III: Starting off an analog lunar mission with exploding bombs — Commander's report: sol 3
The Selene III analog lunar mission started with a literal "bang" when the crew decided to disarm bombs in their spare time. Commander Musilova reflects on each crew's ways of bonding together.
Selene III commander's report: When all hope drains away from the crew on the 'moon' — Day 8
Confined to the inside of the HI-SEAS habitat, the Selene III crew is starting to succumb to despair and the "dark side" when they're repeatedly not able to go on a moonwalk.
Sunshine and 'moonwalks' heal the Selene III crew's dying optimism — Commander's report: lunar day 11
After many days of confinement and stress, the Selene III crew is able to experience their first moonwalks on their analog lunar mission and find new energy to complete their mission successfully.
Humans are both the weakest and the strongest link in the chain of space missions — Commander's report: lunar day 14
At the end of their lunar analog mission, the Selene III crew is full of conflicting feelings about returning to life on Earth and saying goodbye to their space family.
The purge of the HI-SEAS habitat — Commander's report: lunar day 2
Commander Musilova reflects on her inner battle to accept the Selene IV crew's dramatic new ways of life, which are full of both positive and surprising changes in the HI-SEAS lunar analog habitat.
