Jan Osburg

Water Systems: Nothing to report, except that the outside water tank needs refilling. Water consumption in the past 24 hours: 160 l (43 gal), with two people taking showers.

Power and Fuel: Lamont brought 4 liters of oil for the generator and the ATVs.

EVA Equipment (including ATVs and PEV): Suit backpack 5 was checked and a blown fuse diagnosed. Mission Support was contacted to inquire about replacing fuse (2 A) with 2.5 A fuse.

Safety: (see "Health and Safety Report")

Computers and Communications: The battery of the existing Fluke 32 multimeter was exchanged (a 9V cell; we are out of these and need more); afterwards, it worked fine (but still for AC only). It was used to check out the new UPS, which was subsequently declared operational. The Hab computer, its monitor, and the Starband satellite terminal are now connected to its buffered output plugs, giving us 10 minutes of assured communications in case of generator failure or maintenance, and relieves us of the task of having to shutdown the computer every time the generator is refilled.

One problem with running any UPS in the hab is that anytime the generator reaches its performance limit, i.e. power demand is high, the voltage goes down to around 100 V. This seems to be the threshold for the UPS to switch from regular to battery mode. So, with the voltage oscillating around 100 V during high-load activities such as cooking, the UPS constantly changes modes, each change accompanied by a beep. This poses no short-term problem (apart from the annoying beep), but will surely ruin the UPS battery within a few weeks. Maybe this is what happened to the previous UPS.

After long e-mail conversations with her IT support, Andrea's computer was brought back to life and is now cooperating with the local MDRS network. Her productivity has already gone way up
;-)

General Maintenance & Waste Management: The Biolet was checked, as it seemed to get full. Both fluid check hoses were empty, which is nominal. The biomass in the receptacle was manually stirred (using a long stick…) to smoothen it and improve composting effectiveness. Disposable gloves were worn throughout the maintenance activity. The TYVEK suits requested yesterday would have come in handy for this task, too.

GreenHab: (see "Biology" report)