Today we had the first MDRS Open House from 900-1600. It was a full success. We were visited by crews from ARD TV and RTL TV (German), TechTV (San Francisco), Fox-10 TV (Phoenix), Der Spiegel (German magazine), FACTS (Swiss magazine), Dagbladet Daily (Norwegian), and the Sunday Telegraph of London. Most stayed for the entire day. The schedule included private interviews (often focusing on Jan Osburg from Germany) and a group photo shoot as Jan and Vladimir Pletser donned suits and went on a simulated EVA. We served a buffet spread of tuna, cheese, salads, pickles, soup, and crackers, thoughtfully prepared by Vladimir.

Everyone was in good spirits, and Rotation 5 unanimously agreed that this approach was far preferable to being interrupted during our "sim," when we were busy working. Having everyone visit together allowed us to prepare the hab for visitors, including signs and a handout. Also, by scheduling this day for the end of our rotation, we were able to describe what we accomplished in a coherent, complete way.

Having so many visitors at one time was not a problem. First, we gave each team an hour or half-hour on the upper deck for a quiet interview. During the photo shoot on the lower deck, we noticed that the writers, still and video photographers sorted into groups, and found ways to stand out of each other's way. In particular, Vladimir suited up in the EVA prep room while Jan was in the lab area. Video photographers stood at the bottom of the stairs, with writers arrayed around the perimeter of the lab. Still photographers looked in from the main hatch, taking turns to make photos through the airlock. (I assured them that although the light was better on the "front porch" it would be meaningless to show someone suiting up outside the hab. Some things just need to be explained.)

As we anticipated, there was a general circus outside, as Jan and Vladimir rode around, providing photo opportunities from the surrounding hills. Andrea stood outside, acting as "capcom," using the radio to good effect to relay the reporters' desires. Everyone appeared to be having a good time.

The reporters left by 1600, as we had asked, and we were once again alone in the hab.

We strongly recommend the "Open House" approach to future crews, especially when a closed simulation is desirable for human factors and operations research.

Bill Clancey
MDRS Rotation 5 Commander