Today was the first day using our crew task assignment list. Unfortunately it fell to me to be the first one up to start the start the generator, which included refueling and checking the oil, then coming back in and preparing breakfast with Kim.

We had had enough maintenance and repair chores, so I decided it was time to do what we had come here for: put on spacesuits and go out. But before that could happen we had to learn how to put on and take off the suits. The fun part for me was giving them some sense of how NASA astronauts get into their gear. I had them pair off, with one "dresser" and one EVA person. The dresser follows the procedures, directing the other person as they helped them don the various bits and pieces of the suit. The EVA person stays pretty much passive. Not only does this allow the dresser to proceed more quickly, but also conserves energy for the EVA. Wearing a spacesuit requires more energy to move around in, even in microgravity, so it's important not to waste any.

After everyone had gone through the process of being both dresser and EVA, the three crew that were suited up went out the airlock. Again, procedures were followed, one person (not in a suit) reading the before-egress checklist, getting positive responses from each EVA. (One item that was not lifelike was the amount of time taken to reduce the amount of nitrogen in the bloodstream and other tissues. Assuming that a habitat would be maintained at Earth sea level pressure of 15 psi, and we have not been able to develop a suit that was capable of near sea level pressure, the nitrogen must be washed out before the person is subjected to pressures of 4 psi, which is the standard NASA EVA suit pressure. If this isn't done, anyone going immediately from 15 to 4 psi would suffer the bends, nitrogen bubble forming in many places in the body, which can cause severe pain and death. NASA astronauts going EVA go through a rigorous protocol of breathing pure oxygen to allow the nitrogen normally present in the tissues to be "washed out.")

After egress, each team of three went for a short excursion of about 180 meters. The teams practiced communication and coordination skills, as well as abrupt changes in mission plans and contingencies.

The only negative aspect of the exercise was the spotty performance of the radios. It appears that the headsets are suffering from overuse, resulting in broken wires and bad PTT buttons. While this gave the team an opportunity to learn hand signals and no-radio procedures, it is not conducive to full emersion into a simulation.

After the exercise, we debriefed, and made modifications to the EVA procedures that better suited our objectives.