Today was the most productive day yet. It has taken several days to get up to speed but we are now working with full weight on all fronts. Science, music and human factors.

Penny is feeling much better now and was in the lab for several hours. The set-up is complete and all the samples were inspected. Steve spent the several hours in the lab too. The microscope had been partially disassembled and Steve put the UV fluorescence parts back on the scope. He then subjected the samples to the OPH assays. He was very happy with the samples that Sam and I collected on our EVA today.

The EVA that Sam and I went on was a long excursion north of the hab into the Tank Wash area. We were searching for a trail that will lead up the valley to Factory Butte. I had seen the trail from the air last year. This area has numerous shallow canyons, (approximately 1 meters) which outflow to the Muddy River. The sandstone channels in this area are part of the Bushy Basin Member of the Morrison Formation. Several of these channels were undercut by erosion and they had collapsed forming small caves, small boulder fields. In many of the smaller washes we found potholes. In these potholes we found evidence of biological material. After several tries and deadends we found an old mining trail. This trail looked to be about 25 years old and if not for our experience on ATVs we would not have attempted it. We pressed on and it was quite rewarding. At one stop we came across several specimens of desert varnish. We collected them in the bags that Penny had supplied us with and moved on. Later we found what appeared to be endolithic material in a rock we broke open. Steve confirmed this find. Several of these channels were undercut by erosion and they had collapsed forming small caves and small boulder fields. In many of the smaller washes we found potholes. In these potholes we found evidence of biological material. At this point we were out of sample bags so we plan to go back to the area with the next couple of days and bring back samples for Steve and Penny.

We were able to make it about 2/3s of the way up the valley before my ATV started running low on gas. This was not the place to run out of gas so we reluctantly turned back. Before turning back we came across the Muddy River. Of course we had to try to cross it. On the way back across the river both Sam and I became mired in the sand. We had visions of Devon Island.

Ephimia continues to collect valuable data on this crew's behavior. In fact she stated she feels overwhelmed by the amount of data she is getting. Our strict adherence to sim is producing some interesting results. We all feel that we have been here much longer than 6 days. We have had several heated discussions. The interesting part of these discussions is that there is never anyone to blame. The kids at heart in this crew are acting very mature. I have not laughed so much in years. Humor seems to permeate everything we do. Steve has instituted a joke session after dinner. So far he has the largest repertoire of jokes although Sam has quite a few zingers. Last night we had some of Steve's bean burritos.

Almost all the bugs have been worked out of the hab. After changing the breakers we have had no more blown fuses on the generator. Since we have to suit up to fix the breaker this is a real blessing.

Kelly gets the inspiration award for the day. It happened when Sam's brother Josh sent us a piece of music he wrote for us last night. Kelly was so impressed she stayed up all night adding parts to the music. This morning when we woke up we were treated to a beautiful piece of music. Our music experiment is going very well. We have several songs in the works and have connected with several studios back on Earth. It is amazing the connection we make with these musicians. Music is the universal language and we are connecting on a technical and emotional level with people we never see. The music has had a great effect on the crew morale. I was afraid that we would bother the other crewmembers by playing songs over and over but they seem genuinely happy to be part of it and are helping and adding parts every day.

The food experiment is going well. Last night we had some of Steve's bean burritos. They were great. Our health and energy is at a high level. The meals are really good and the social aspect of eating together at least twice a day has been very good for morale. We suspect that on a real Mars mission the crew would not have time to cook like this. Although the cooks, (not me, I do dishes), say that they are getting faster and faster every day. It would be good to send a trained cook on a Mars mission.

More later.