“
LOG ENTRY: SOL 118
My conversation with NASA about the water reclaimer was boring and riddled with technical details. So I'll paraphrase it for you:
Me: "This is obviously a clog. How about I take it apart and check the internal tubing?"
NASA: (after five hours of deliberation) "No. You'll fuck it up and die."
So I took it apart.
Yes, I know. NASA has a lot of ultra-smart people and I should really do what they say. And I'm being too adversarial, considering they spend all day working on how to save my life.
I just get sick of being told how to wipe my ass. Independence was one of the qualities they look for when choosing Ares astronauts. It's a thirteen-month mission, most of it spent light-minutes away from Earth. They wanted people who would act on their own initiative.
If Commander Lewis were here, I'd do whatever she said, no problem. But a committee of faceless bureaucrats back on Earth? Sorry, I'm just having a tough time with it.
I was really careful. I labeled every piece as I dismantled it, and laid everything out on a table. I have the schematics in the computer so nothing was a surprise.
And just as I'd suspected, there was a clogged tube. The water reclaimer was designed to purify urine and strain humidity out of the air ( you exhale almost as much water as you piss). I've mixed my water with soil making it mineral water. The minerals built up in the water reclaimer.
I cleaned out the tubing and put it all back together. I completely solved the problem. I'll have to do it again someday, but not for a hundred sols or so. No big deal.
I told NASA what I did. Our (paraphrased) conversation was:
Me: "I took it apart, found the problem, and fixed it."
NASA: "Dick.
”
”