MDRS Crew 59
FLAME Expedition III
March 4 - 17, 2007

Name	Speciality
Veronica Ann Zabala-Aliberto	Commander
Stacy Sklar	Executive Officer
Angelina Amanda Zabala	13 Years Old
Madeline Marie Zabala	12 Years Old
Gino Vincenzo Zabala	9 Years Old
Jared M. Szymanoski	Educator
Artemis Westenberg	Crew Engineer
Iahu-Anat Westenberg	12 Years Old
Grant Waller	Crew Engineer

Veronica Ann Zabala-Aliberto	Veronica Ann Zabala-Aliberto is a veteran of the Mars Desert Research Station serving on Crew 36 as Crew Geologist on the first all-female crew to a Mars analogue station in Utah in March 2005 and Commander of a private F.L.A.M.E. mission in June 2005 and will be commanding the first international F.L.A.M.E. March 3-18, 2007. Zabala-Aliberto is currently a senior undergraduate student within the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University. She is the educational outreach coordinator for the Arizona State University NASA Space Photography laboratory and caters to educators, students and members of the general public providing educational outreach pertaining to human and robotic space exploration. She recently was assigned to work on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission which launches in October 2008. Zabala-Aliberto has presented at invited talks and gives lectures to schools and space related venues. She enjoys hiking, camping, aviation, and Clive Cussler's novels.
Stacy Sklar	Stacy Sklar is currently attending Northern Arizona University studying Geology with an emphasis in Paleontology. Stacy has been an active member of the Mars Society since the second convention in Denver (1999). She was apart of the scouting group looking for Mars analog sites for MDRS in the American Southwest. Stacy scouted locations in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah in 2000/2001. She has served as a MDRS crew member on the shakedown crew during the Christmas break 2001, Crew 3, and 36. She also served as an FMARS 10 crew member last summer. Stacy served as a backroom geologist for Expedition One Feb/March 2003 and Expedition Alpha Dec 2004. Stacy also served as the RST Geologist for various crews over the last two years including Crew 21, 25, Crew 29 and 38 (NASA Mobile Agents). Stacy's other interest include archeology, rock climbing, hiking, and spending time with her family and friends. Stacy is also a Star Trek and Harry Potter fan and in her spare time enjoys reading, writing, listening to music, watching movies, and is learning to play the guitar.
Angelina Amanda Zabala	Angelina Amanda Zabala served as HSO on F.L.A.M.E.'s first rotation to the Mars Desert Research Station in June 2005. Angelina is an alumnus of the NASA Summer Mars Academy for 2004 and 2005 working closely with Mission Specialists in the Academy to further understand martian planetary geology and engineering concepts related to a mission to Mars. Angelina's first rotation at the MDRS consisted of duties related to "Hab Communications Officer" and "HSO". She participated in four EVAs in search of concretion-bearing layers at/near MDRS in order to contribute to an ongoing study to determine the size distribution and frequency of concretions analogous to those found by the Mars Exploration Rovers (MER). Currently a 8th grader, Angelina focuses her studies towards math, science and history. Angelina participates in space-related events and will conduct educational outreach activities with educators and the general public when she takes up residence at MDRS again in March 2007. In her spare time Angelina focuses her attention on Egyptology, the moon Europa; drawing, playing her flute, and listening to classical music.
Madeline Marie Zabala	Madeline Marie Zabala's first duties at MDRS were that of journalist and "Hab Engineer." Madeline kept a daily log of activities that transpired and kept a photo journal of EVAs and daily life on Mars. She also maintained spacesuits for EVAs and ensured that communication devices were operational. Madeline assisted in measurement counts of concretions found at/near MDRS as well as taking samples from within the host rock and those that had weathered out. Madeline has plans on attending the NASA Summer Mars Academy in 2007 and hopes to understand the basic fundamentals of engineering. In her spare time Madeline plays her trumpet, enjoys reading her books, participates in her school's choir and enjoys listening to music. As a 6th grader she has high hopes of her school's drum line as well as spending time with her friends and family at home in Litchfield Park, Arizona.
Gino Vincenzo Zabala	Gino Vincenzo Zabala was born and raised in Arizona. Gino's prior experience at MDRS involved the tasks of Security Officer, Photographer and Sample Collector on EVAs. During future expeditions his tasks will include Security Officer, Crew Engineer and HVAC. These responsibilities will increase with increased experience in the field. Future challenges will include experimentation of habitat design with minimized dependency from Mission Support as well as meeting requirements of maintaining a crew of 4-6 for extended periods of time without re-supply. Systems engineering will be the main focus of Gino's research while taking up residence within analogue stations. Currently a 4rd grader, Gino enjoys video games and plays soccer and has hopes of becoming an F-16 Fighter Pilot or Navy Seal.
Jared M. Szymanoski	Jared M. Szymanoski is currently working as Para-Professional at Wigwam Creek Middle School in Arizona. As a Para-Professional, He is responsible for the reinforcement of learning of materials or skills initially utilized by the teacher in the classrooms. Mr. Szymanoski is responsible for devising special strategies for reinforcing materials or skills based on a sympathetic understanding of individual students, their needs, interests, and abilities. He monitors the students' ability and progress and updates the teachers and school administration throughout the academic year. Administration of tests and lessons with individuals as well as small groups of students is also initiated and supervised. At 15 Years Old, Mr. Szymanoski began to take college level classes majoring in Elementary Education. Currently he is also taking classes in Fire Science. He has always been interested in higher education and will continue his quest for the knowledge that he can teach to the younger generation. He would like to carry on NASA's goal of educating and inspiring the younger generation as well as to promote math, science and technology to ensure we have a productive future for our children and their children after them. By taking teaching outside of the classroom, students learn in an environment which is more hands-on and can apply what they learn with robust activities in an environment analogous to the Moon, Mars and Beyond. When not working, he enjoys endurance sports, and working on cars. Mr. Szymanoski's favorite endurance sport is cycling, but loves testing his skills in triathlons. In his last triathlon (Long Beach Triathlon) Jared placed 3rd in his age group. He also enjoys playing ice hockey, but his biggest pass time is spending time with is very loving family and friends!
Artemis Westenberg	Artemis Westenberg is an Alpha (meaning a linguist through and through) that went Beta. Or probably always was a lot more Beta than she herself and others thought. She has been reading, studying and enjoying beta subjects for years now. She is true citizen of Rotterdam and so a very practical person. Artemis has a masters degree in History from Leyden University. Ancient History, Islam and International Relations is what she studied for her degree and numerous other fields 'just for fun'. Having written her thesis on 'Alexander the Great' she can honestly say, that if Alexander would be ruling today, we would have been on Mars already. For he had the power, the funds and the vision to take humans to the ends of their sphere and Mars today is certainly that. Artemis has been working for the Mars Society in the Netherlands since 2000 in the capacity of PR & Communications manager and recently also as president. She is a veteran of MDRS who has participated in several crews in a variety of roles: XO, Crew Scientist, Refit assistant, Crew Journalist, and Crew Engineer and always as cook. Local Martians travel far to taste her Hab-baked Apple Pie and she is the 'Dutch' in the Dutch Bread Recipe. Since the start of 2005 she functions as CapCom in Mission Support for crews at the MDRS at least one day a week. She is very much looking forward to participate in FLAME with her youngest daughter Iahu-Anat.
Iahu-Anat Westenberg	Iahu-Anat Westenberg has been one of the tens of thousands of Dutch Children who participated in the 'Seeds in Space' experiment of the Dutch astronaut André Kuipers, when he went to the International Space Station for his DELTA mission in 2004. And she met André a few weeks later talking with him about human missions to Mars, of which André Kuipers is a staunch supporter. Iahu-Anat lives in a suburb of Rotterdam and is in her first year of comprehensive school. Iahu-Anat hopes to be a scientist and is willing to work hard to achieve her goal. Her mom would not be surprised if that Science turns out to be geology as she has been collecting stones, and cleaving them, from a very early age without any prompting from her parents. Recently she realised that she enjoys Biology a lot too. A killer combination when on Mars….. For the past 5 years Iahu-Anat has wanted to be a crewmember in one of the habitats, always being told that she had to wait until she was 18. Thus when Veronica Zabala, the commander of the F.L.A.M.E. crews, asked for a crew engineer she urged her mom to apply for the job as this was her chance, finally, to participate. Her hobbies are gymnastics and horse back riding. She loves to read 'horrible histories'. She is thrilled to be the first Dutch child to participate on a Mars Analogue Research station and she considers her participation in the 3rd FLAME crew a unique opportunity to further the human exploration of Mars for Europe. But she knows that she will miss her sisters Ishitar (16) and Jozefien (20 months) very much.
Grant Waller	Grant Waller, a retired Elevator repairman of 36 years, now putting my time into Massage Therapy, Metaphysics, spirituality and helping get Humanity out of the Cradle!! When he was about 5 or 6, his father took him to Lowell and saw Mars at one of It's closer approaches, circa 1951-52. Been hooked ever since. As a 12 yr old made his own 6" Newtonian, won a couple of Science Fairs with it. Also with a group of older boys made and Launched many rockets just like in the movie October Sky. Avid CLASSIC science-fiction reader, (Bob Heinlein is a god) Jr. College Grad, Electronics AND Microprocessor Technology, both now obsolete. Took his wife and two small children, in 1969 to watch Apollo 11 launch. Put in a few hours to help assemble and act as tour guide for Euro-Hab when it was in Chicago. Being at MDRS is a culmination of many synchronicity and side trips in life.