The aggressive operational tempo of our mission has finally taken its toll: Emily's computer hard drive had a near-death experience tonight, likely from overload since it has been running our file server. We are keeping our fingers crossed - replacement drives are impossible to come by both on real and on simulated Mars.

Her machine had barely rebooted when the inverter that supplies the hab with power froze up and required extensive troubleshooting. Now, with the Mars Society engineering task force providing off-site support via telemetry and telecommand over the satlink, we are on standby to send our engineers back out into the night to manually reset the generator before the battery bank is drained and the hab is left completely without power. What a way to end an otherwise successful day!

My favorite activity was without doubt the EVA. In addition to enjoying another ride through the amazingly Mars-like landscape around the hab, we proved the value of our improved communications and automated position reporting systems, and laid the groundwork for a more extensive exploration of the area around the northern end of Copernicus Highway. The route we found today will also provide us with access to the sweeping plains at the foot of Skyline Rim, now that Sagan Street has been closed. But maybe the most rewarding aspect for me was to let our final two crewmembers experience the excitement of their first EVA in some of the most beautiful and varied terrain that our area of operations has to offer.

In spite of the magnificent views and the satisfaction of working on accomplishing our objectives, we were glad to return to the hab where our crewmates were preparing yet another excellent dinner. After almost one week of living and working at MDRS, the hab has become our home-away-from-home, already filled with memories of good times and of jointly-mastered crises. Today had plenty of both.

Signing off,

Jan Osburg
Commander, MDRS Crew 47