Last night I was exhausted from the EVA, a combination of being outdoors in the dry sun and heavy winds and hiking up and down the ravine (the fan needs a high-speed for pumping in more air on the uphills). But before sleep, Nancy and I had to refill the generator one last time. It was very cold, about 45 F. The weather is not too hard to figure out here, at least as it occurs. There are huge winds from the south, with dust. This goes on for six or more hours, then the cold front comes in from the northwest with ominous clouds. Of course, it doesn't rain much here. The temperature then drops, and the next day is crystal clear. That's happened twice in the past week.

0723 I'm awake, feeling somewhat rested, but ready for a vacation. Nancy and I refill the generator before breakfast. I don't think the Mars crew could keep up our pace for long. Every day is work, our life is work, life support is work. We never really have time to just relax, unless you count watching a film while you are just able to keep your eyes open.

Here are the temperatures for the past 24 hours:

Maximum outside 21.6 C (70.9 F); Maximum inside 22.1 C (71.8 F)
Minimum outside 5.7 C (42.3 F); Minimum inside 15.7 C (60.3 F)

Temperatures have been trending downwards. Unlike the past two crews, we haven't had problems with overheating in our suits. They feel great with just light pants and a long-sleeve t-shirt (and wool cap).

For breakfast we have Jan's Honey Grain Wheat bread, timer-baked to fill the upper deck with aromas at 0730. It has expanded to fill the entire cavity of the machine. Why? Perhaps too much water or yeast. But it is warm and tastes great.

0915-1023 Our morning planning meeting goes well. We are really filling in all the squares now. There are lists of things for everyone to do today and tomorrow. We review the Saturday Open House plan, trying to schedule the nine crews (TV and press) so they have exclusive time with me and someone else, and then are shepherded through the rest of the day. Vladimir will illustrate how to don the suit without help, which I call "the reverse Houdini."

The day hereafter falls into chunks--broad activities:

• Morning Individual Work (1030-1230) -- reports, photos, lab work, email, greenhouse, etc.
• Lunch (1230-1315) -- Nancy prepares soup, cheese, crackers, and pears with raisin sauce. Our conversations continue for quite a pace, suggesting to me that we really need some time to unwind.
• Afternoon Lab Tour (1315-1400) -- at my request, Andrea and Nancy give us a videotaped tour of the lab facilities and stored samples. My impression is that the geology area needs work, but biology is impressive. Andrea and Nancy will be submitting separate reports assessing what's here and making recommendations.
• Afternoon Individual Work (1400-dinner) -- more of the same, except Jan treats the hab to a sensory feast by doing something to the biolet, which I don't care to visualize. I'm sure he will tell us at dinner that it is better now. At 1630 Nancy and I refill the generator. At 1900 the power goes out because the DGO has turned on the crock pot and a burner when the breadmaker was going. Unfortunately, the breadmaker displays HHH and beeps when I return. I can't find what HHH means (but I'm guessing "HOT"). The instructions explain that power failure during baking is fatal, you must put the bread in an oven. We have no oven. I manage to put it on BAKE, but 1 hour is the only choice, and it only needs 45 minutes. I think that will work.
• Afternoon EVA (1559-1850) -- Jan and Vladimir head out to Skyline Ridge for adventure. I like to remind people that we are going to Mars not only for science, but to explore--like mountain climbers. That's my personal opinion, and I find it motivating. (When our crew returns they are content, but not happy. One ATV has a flat.)
• Early Evening Individual Work (1850-dinner) -- this is the gift of the day, when dinner is delayed and there is more time to get things done. Now is when I write these reports.
  • Dinner
  • Evening Individual Work
  • Evening Entertainment

How people perceive time is important in scheduling work. You may be busy all day and not get done what you set out to do, and say afterwards, "I got nothing done." Interruptions or unexpected problems can cause that. Weeks and months have rhythms, too. That's why we have persisted as a crew for almost two weeks on a schedule that could not continue. We know that Saturday will bring a change of pace, and Sunday most of us will be flying home.

Except for making bread, the video tours, the generator, and lunch, I have spent the entire day in my stateroom at my computer. Here is the day, not as exciting as yesterday, but productive:

1. Wrote EVA 72 report.
2. Put geology-related photos on compact flash card for Andrea.
3. Transferred, backed up, and cataloged photos from the past two days. Put photos from yesterday on compact flash card for Andrea. Then used a Photoshop custom action to prepare the photos for the web; wrote captions; and tried to email them on our slow line.
4. Completed designing a human factors survey for the crew and emailed it to them.
5. Processed a ton of email, moving most of the regular work items into my "TO PRINT" folder for consideration at home. Read all the MDRS-related mail carefully, including the crew's reports.
6. Wrote a handout for the Open House, including a detailed schedule and one page summary of our research themes and methods.

Maybe tomorrow I will read a book.

Bill Clancey
MDRS Rotation 5 Commander