Lessons Learned:

1. Really green bananas from the store stay green, and oranges start to mold over… at least on Mars
2. Things rarely ever go according to plan (let's do the balloon launch… no, actually let's go on long range EVA… wait, do the balloon launch after all… now go on the long range EVA)
3. If your room starts smelling like the GreenHab, don't be afraid, it's probably the mushrooms
4. Eggs cannot be broken if loaded with uniform pressure

So we actually did it. This afternoon we launched our balloon. We actually intended to launch it after breakfast, but the wind speed picked up and we determined it was too dangerous. We trudged back inside, disappointed (and scared because Jan said if we didn't launch it this morning we would have to get up tomorrow at 4AM to do it).

Jan decided since Doug and I were already suited up that we should take John on a long range EVA and set up the APRS repeater at the top of a hill on the way to Family Crest. It sounded like fun, so we agreed and got started. Just as we were about to walk out the airlock to get on the ATVs there was a drop in wind speeds. We jumped at the opportunity. I've never seen the crew fly out of the Hab so fast…

We worked carefully, skillfully, and together. We had to move the tarp a few times so that it was positioned correctly, but we got it in place. All of us had to go out of sim to fill the balloon up with helium because the space suits had too many sharp points. It took ten minutes to fill up the balloon. When it was soaring in the sky it made all of our efforts of the past few days, and the past months, worth it.

On a side note, the balloon only took one helium tank to fill up. Some of the crewmembers thought that it looked like an 8-foot diameter balloon, not a 10-foot diameter. The next thing that tipped everyone off is that the balloon lift seemed less than 25 pounds. The box that the balloon was shipped in claims that the balloon is indeed a 10-foot balloon. We will measure the balloon while deflated tomorrow.

After the balloon was fully deployed John, Doug, and I re-suited up to get ready for our originally scheduled long range EVA. Just before we left, Kyle attached the first payload for our recently inflated balloon: the crossband radio and Buzz (our school mascot). Luckily there was enough lift to hold those items up. Now that the repeater was positioned on the balloon we decided to add its testing to the long range EVA objectives.

Our long range EVA was enjoyable even though the three of us missed lunch. We drove out to Mount Nutella and dropped off the APRS repeater box. When we arrived at Family Crest, Steve (the channel 11 reporter) took pictures and interviewed us. The wind picked up, and we started heading back to the Hab when we saw dark clouds looming in the distance.

John tried using his handheld ham radio, but we couldn't make contact. It took us until most of the drive home before we found out why. When we made it back into FRS range we found out that the other three crewmembers had taken the balloon down because the winds were too strong. However, until the balloon was taken down our ham radio communication worked really well. The APRS repeater was also very successful because Mount Nutella is at a relatively high elevation for its surrounding area. For further details, check out the science report. We will continue to test these systems before we go back to Atlanta.

After we got back to the Hab we had a snack and started working on reports. Dinner tonight was unique. Jan intended to sauté our Portobello mushrooms, but we waited too long to use them… and they had turned into something funky. Instead Doug made a carrot salad, Jan baked fresh bread, and the boys ate the leftover Easter eggs (it doesn't sound like much, but we're all stuffed!).

While eating eggs John brought up an interesting challenge… he said that it is not possible to break a raw egg when you apply uniform pressure. So we tried it. Each of us took the egg in the palm of our hand and squeezed as hard as humanly possible. John was right, and we have it documented on camera (soon to be posted under “Life at the Hab” at gtmars.com).

If Kyle and I finish our reports soon we will watch the last hour of Dune tonight before bed. Tomorrow is going to be a day of anticipation. We will be ready to go outside with our balloon equipment as soon as the wind and weather cooperate, but until then we will work on our make up homework for the week.

As for tonight, the crew is happy and relaxed. Today was a success because we finally deployed our balloon - the key part of our main research objective. We have a great feeling about the rest of the week, and we can't wait to start another crazy day at the MDRS :-)