Astronomy (Jenny): Today's primary astronomy objective was to familiarize ourselves with the CCD camera. We mounted the CCD to the telescope and connected it to the Musk computer using a spare USB cable found in the computer parts bin. We were able to successfully select different filters on the color filter wheel using the CCDOPS software, but focusing the camera and taking practice shots (in preparation for the eclipse of RS CVn this Friday) will have to wait until after dark. The sky is completely overcast right now, but as soon as we have clear weather we will give the CCD a try.

Biology (Meryl): Today we continued organizing gear in the GreenHab. Pictures of GreenHab before and after work done today are posted on WebDAV in the Crew 47 GreenHab folder by date (20060321 has photos of the work done today). Tomatoes, beans, flowers and mint were planted in new pots (see photos "MDRS day 5 014" and "MDRS day 5 016"). Tomorrow we will make labels to identify the plants. We hope that the seeds planted today will sprout before the end of our stay at MDRS; the germination time for most of them is 7 to 10 days. We are continuing the amount of water the plants are given.

In addition to the plant photos, there are also photos of the emergency eyewash station in the GreenHab folder in the 2006031 group (See photos "MDRS day 5 017", "MDRS day 5 018", and "MDRS day 5 019"). The eyewash station is in poor condition, and the emergency eyewash bottle with the fluid appears to be leaking. The station is unsafe to use in its current state and should most likely be discarded. We will await instructions on how to deal with the station. If discarded, we recommend that the next crew bring a replacement eyewash station for the GreenHab.

Celestial Navigation (Jenny): Our first noon sights with the sextant will take place during tomorrow's EVA. The artificial horizon was prepped this afternoon to make it EVA-compatible (i.e. easy to handle in bulky gloves).

Communication and Navigation (Jan): The GPS receivers and the handheld radios were assembled and are currently being charged to ready them for testing during the first EVA tomorrow. This test will only involve the EVA-to-Hab part of the communications link.

The balloon sponsor arrived in Hanksville this afternoon, and the Helium is supposed to be delivered tonight. Balloon assembly and test have therefore been moved again and are currently scheduled for tomorrow morning.

Human Factors (Jan): Given the demanding scientific and engineering responsibilities of exploration crews, one of the leading indicators of overall crew performance is cognitive performance, which affects short-term memory, pattern recognition, basic computational skills, concentration, verbal learning, and related brain functions.

Part of Crew 47's Human Factors research effort is therefore to track crewmembers' cognitive performance along with potential factors of influence through the Mars Analog Station Cognitive Testing (MASCOT) project. This will continue an effort that has been in place for several past expeditions to MDRS and FMARS.

MASCOT provides insight into the quantitative development of test participants' cognitive performance over time, while a variety of external and internal stressors caused by simulated exploration mission activities, station systems operation and group interaction affects the crew. The software being used is the Spaceflight Cognitive Assessment Tool for Windows (WinSCAT®). WinSCAT is a participant-administered, self-contained computer-based battery of four neuro-cognitive assessment tests that allow participants to objectively evaluate brain functions. It is currently used on board the International Space Station by US astronauts as a medical requirement taken every thirty days. It also can help an astronaut manage work and rest times, especially when preparing for high-risk activities.

Radiation (Jason): A procedure was written for testing the In-Situ shielding abilities. As a first test, one layer of sand bags will be used for shielding, though the average energy of the gamma rays is unknown; therefore it is impossible to predict the required thickness of necessary material. A second layer will be attempted on a subsequent EVA. The one-layer shielding test shall be conducted as follows:

Materials:

1. 7 sand bags
2. Two Shovels
3. Gamma Scout
4. GPS (for time recording)

Pre-EVA Procedure:

1. Make sure time and date is synchronized on Gamma Scout and GPS.

One-layer Shielding EVA Procedure:

1. Pick location for radiation shielding test and place Gamma Scout on ground facing in any direction (set measurements to be taken every minute). Note the time.
2. While Gamma Scout collects unshielded radiation data, dig dirt/rocks and fill 6 sand bags.
3. Arrange 4 filled sand bags on their sides in a square around the Gamma Scout, noting the time at which the Geiger Counter on the Gamma Scout is enclosed from its surroundings.
4. Lie 2 sand bags along the top of the square sand bag structure, completely enclosing the Gamma Scout and note the time.
5. Allow as much time for the Gamma Scout to record data once completely (i.e. through Step 4) enclosed as it had had when it was not.
6. Once sufficient data has been collected remove one of the sand bags from the top of the structure and remove the Gamma Scout. Replace the sand bag in its former position so that it can be used for the N-layer test.

Nth-layer Extension EVA Procedure (for adding the Nth layer):

1. Continue (N-1)th-layer Procedure from Step 5 and repeat Step 3 around the (N-1)th layer.
2. Repeat Step 4.

Note: Since Gamma Scout detector is unidirectional, layers of sand bags shall be used in another procedure and compared.

Jenny Rome
MDRS Crew 47