This morning we woke up to dark mysterious skies and snow. So, this is what the martian poles look like in Spring. This morning the F.L.A.M.E. crew had a hearty breakfast and began their daily chores. Menkes was busy checking the status of Wendy and familiarizing himself with the systems of MDRS. The rest of the F.L.A.M.E. crew organized their crew quarters and helped clean out the MDRS Science Laboratory and went through a briefing of emergency egress procedures (since our Chief HSO has not arrived as of yet), what areas are considered restricted and what tasks will be expected of each during our crew rotation.

The crew then took an out of SIM EVA to discuss mission objectives pertaining to field investigations, local geology and importance of terrestrial analogs and preservation of geological finds. Field safety was another important issue that was discussed while out in the field. We also want to thank Crew 45 for the wonderful presents left behind in each of the crew quarters, especially the map of the moon that we received from them during breakfast on behalf of the Moon Society.

After breakfast Ben and Menkes went to check the GreenHab and turned off Wendy. Wendy ran smoothly through the night. She seems to be recovering from her irregular yo-yo behavior that she showed yesterday.

The CDR also an initiated TeleMedical Conference e-mail test in case an emergency or test arises. There were two tests for the TeleMedical Support Team this morning. They were unsuccessful. I collaborated with Dr. Tam Czarnick on this issue. It was determined that severe metrological conditions disrupted communications. We finally made contact and had a successful test at 1014 hrs. When Todd Romberger, our Chief HSO, arrives, I will have him initiate another TeleMedical Support Test.

The F.L.A.M.E. crew has also initiated communication with the general public by generating messages on their Blog entitled "F.L.A.M.E." at the following URL: www.flamestudy.blogspot.com All are welcome to visit the Blog and respond to our Crew's dialogs. Please allow 24 hours from arrival at MDRS for messages to be uploaded to the Blog.

The Change of Command Ceremony took place at 1130 hrs this morning. Our wonderful local support, Don Foust, came by to shuttle CDR Kokh and Ben Huset at 1400 hrs. We want to wish them God Speed! I personally thank CDR Peter Kokh and his crew for the thoughtful presents and hospitality. Peter's crew has done an excellent job in getting us to the Moon. We have learned a lot from them and appreciate all their hard work. To the Moon, Mars and Beyond!

Veronica Ann Zabala-Aliberto
Commander, MDRS Crew 46