(Launch Day -1) some history and a new friend

It's crazy to realize that in less than 24 hours I'll be further away from our planet than most had ever thought possible. Yet even knowing this I'm finding a strange sense of calm now. That this trip has taken on a sense of inevitably now that I'm so close.

The concept is relatively basic for all of the technical marvels involved in accomplishing it. They're sending hundreds, maybe thousands of us out into the vast reaches of the cosmos to attempt to discover what mysteries lie in the great beyond. Our ability to travel the stars has advanced dramatically and we hit the critical point a few years back where probes and surveys have given us all they're going to. It's now time (to coin an old phrase from the military of all places) to get boots on the ground. And they're doing it in the most straightforward manner possible, sending us out in all different directions and seeing what we're able to find.

I guess for most folks it would seem crazy to volunteer for such an undeniably dangerous journey. And to be certain out of the few folks I'd met directly during the training process most were young single men and women with little to no family they were leaving behind. But even still there were enough who wanted to go that some were turned away during the first round of screenings as there were only so many ships available for the initial launch.

Most of this is common knowledge and I'm becoming a little too reflective so I'll switch gears a bit. I'm excited that they finally uploaded my system AI today and I couldn't help but feel some nerd nostalgia at hearing it. While it doesn't have a true personality like in the old films and games it certainly hearkens back to them. She sounds like a cross between Hal from 2001 and GLaDOS from the Portal games. I think I'll call her Alice cause I'm certainly going to be diving down the mother of all rabbit holes.

I think I'll call it a day for now. I doubt I'll get much sleep tonight but there's not much more to do but wait. It's crazy to think that my next entry for this thing will occur while I'm standing on an alien world.

(Launch Day -7) Apprehensions.

It's one week till launch and the reality of things is setting in. I've cleared all the final physical and psychological tests. Barring any last minute issues the flight mission is a go. Leading up to this point it seemed like a whirlwind of activity and now almost nothing.

I've spent so much time prepping for what's to come that I guess it never set in exactly what it would mean. In a week's time I'll be setting off on an exploration few could have imagined. I can't help but think of the pioneers that paved the way before me, the shoulders I'll be standing on when I set out.

I think I'm getting a little too introspective now. It was recommended that those of us in the program record a journal of sorts. It's supposed to help us focus our minds and add some objectivity to our findings especially once we're faced with the unknown rigors of solo space exploration. I can't help but feel like I'm keeping my own Captain's Log like in Star Trek.

On a positive note the environmental suit is amazing! Knowing I would basically be living in this thing for an extended length of time I was a little skeptical at first. I'm on day 27 of wearing the thing and so far it's as fantastic a piece of tech as they claimed. All my biological needs are completely seen to, food and water handled via a complex mix of reclamation systems and environmental conversion tech. It even keeps me relatively clean with some kind of lab-grown bacterial second skin. That one was a bit disconcerting at first, it felt like dipping myself in a slick of oil the first time. But now I hardly notice and despite all the exertions of the training and tests I don't reek of sweat and foulness. Truly remarkable.

Well I guess that's it for now. I can't believe this time next week I'll be launching.