Europa

March 1, 2054

Tomorrow we will be landing on the surface of Europa. I think other than being able to see her in person after years of research I am most excited to experience gravity again, even if it isn't anything close to the same levels of Earth gravity I am used to.

Zero gravity makes even the most basic task incredibly frustrating. Especially now that I'm trying to build my strength back up it will be helpful to have gravity to allow me to push myself. Commander Hunt has also mentioned that there are other food options available once we land, as there is less need to worry about crumbs and liquid floating into small books and crannies. He says back on Mars his personal favorite was the sloppy joe. Any food we are served on Europa must be seven years old and loaded with preservatives so my hopes aren't too high; but anything different would be nice.

Now that I am in better spirits Commander Hunt also took the time to talk about some serious business about the mission. On this Mission me and Richard were the mission specialists. We knew the most about life and where to find it on Europa, and we were the ones who had selected this region to search. The original plan was for us to split duties; but now that he was gone all that pressure had been put upon me. Commander Hunt emphasized that he didn't want to overwhelm me, and instead he hoped that the extra responsibility would help motivate my recovery.

At one point he even said "if this mission is going to succeed this team needs you, Maria. You won't let us down."

It was really helpful to hear, and to be honest it inspired me to push my way past thirty minutes on the treadmill today. Don't get me wrong I wanted to quit after minute ten, but I kept fighting forward. A little bit of that motivation I'd been missing for the past month was back, I could feel it. I didn't even have to force myself to eat my dinner. I was honestly a bit hungry by the time it was passed to me.

I could feel positive changes, and I could tell by the way they looked at me that the rest of the group noticed.

I couldn't get over the fact that Commander Hunt had actually inspired me. Not only had he inspired me, but the way he'd done it actually felt like it had come from a caring place within him. Based on the way our relationship had started with him constantly yelling at me during training camp, I didn't expect motivation like this from him. Maybe the angry exterior had been a part of his leadership strategy. He'd been in charge of three other missions already, he had to know a thing or two about leadership. Whatever it was, it was working for me right now and I was not going to question it.