During the Transition Phase, we’ve been having daily “tag-up” telecons at 7:30 AM. (A telecon is a meeting held over the telephone.) It’s a chance for everyone to get on the same page, because it’s been an incredibly complicated and hectic time. We hear about any issues on the spacecraft and review past and upcoming activities. All the different teams give quick updates on their status (Navigation, Flight Engineering Team, all the instrument SOTs — Science Operations Teams — that’s us!). The telecons are usually very short and business-like, because everyone’s been so busy.

This morning, however, we got a break and didn’t have to call in until 9 AM (finally, I got to sleep in! ). When I dialed in, I thought I had called the wrong number! Everyone on the phone was laughing and joking around — very unlike any other tagup meeting I’ve attended. People were very happy and excited to finally see the data from all the instruments. Everyone has been working so hard, and this is the ultimate reward.

The teams all agreed that everything is going well. Congratulations were shared all around!

All of us at HiRISE are grateful for all the hard work the spacecraft teams have done to get us to Mars. We couldn’t do it without them!