Time: 20:02

Weather: low 28.4F (-2C); high 65.8F (18.8C)

Crew Physical Status: Ready for a break, but energized by our accomplishments

Narrative of Field Mission Results: At the 9am briefing the commander presented a written plan for the second scenario called "Pedestrian." We fine-tuned the script, including an ERA (robot) interaction. We planned to start the EVA at 14:00. The actual timings were:

• 14:30: Start assembling materials and perform system uploads (with the morning's revisions)
• 15:00: Begin donning the biovest & suit (with boots, gaiters, radios, headsets)
• 15:30: Start the Minibook computers (mounted on the backpacks, placed outside in the shade of Everest, so they always have a good GPS signal)
• 16:00: Astronauts give the voice command to start tracking their location, and begin walking from the hab.

The EVA to "Fork," "Nodules," and "Dry Wash" (predetermined waypoints entered into the activity plan) then ran over two hours, with considerable success in the science logging (naming locations, taking samples, making voice annotations, taking photos). Looking back on our trials and tribulations a week ago, our progress is incredible. The computers did not overheat in the 70F sun, the start up went smoothly, we always had GPS signals, biosensors were working, all of the basic commands were recognized and executed, and the system was relatively snappy in responding.

The EVA path (heading south) was chosen because it requires a repeater to reach the hab. The Mobile Agents system proved to be relatively robust as the network failed for over a half hour during this time. The cause was later determined to be the operation of the Cisco Aironet-when three repeaters are active, one is arbitrarily knocked off, and not allowed to interact with the network until it is powered down. As luck would have it, the "odd man out" was the repeater placed on the hill, and the ERA started acting as one of the repeaters. However, its signal was not adequate for a stable network, as it was not planned to carry out this role. We recovered the network for the test by shutting down the ERA and moving the two ATV stations to sustain a line of sight with the hab.

Because of a variety of newly uncovered problems, the system didn't recognize the activity locations, email was (still!) not sent out (although tested with three addresses, we were now attempting to email to five), FTP operations lost during network outages were not repeated, voice notes weren't queued up for emailing, etc.

The geologist-astronauts received warnings about deviations in distance and schedule from the plan; we need to determine whether these messages were correct.

Biosensor data processing was kept off until the walk back began; it was successfully turned on and produced appropriate warnings (e.g., that the astronauts were warm). At this point GPS tracking was successfully changed from 5 minutes to every 1 minute by voice command. No increased load was observed from either change.

Successes for the day include: We completed our first EVA out of line of sight of the hab in a complex radio frequency domain (huge hills forming an obstacle course). Testing has shifted to details, such as verifying and improving accuracy of the system's operations. Improvements to the HabCom model over the past few days have made the system much faster and more robust.

We met for about 45 minutes at 18:10, to discuss the day's accomplishments and to plan the rest of the week.

Plans for Tomorrow: We will repeat scenario #2 in shirt sleeves (backpack & helmet) tomorrow morning, so we can test ERA functionality at the dry wash. With the repeater puzzle solved, we expect full network connectivity, and hence will be able to measure system response time. Updates to voice commanding will enable activities to be announced properly and hence tracked correctly. In the afternoon, a scouting party will determine whether we can reach Lith Canyon via two repeaters, with adequate radio contact. We hope to do this long-anticipated test on Thursday.

Report Transmission Schedule: Photos will be uploaded this evening or tomorrow afternoon.

Maintenance: Nothing to report.

EVA Narrative/Data/Interpretations: We realized last week that every test would involve at least 20% failures because we are always pushing the system's envelope. But capability builds, so despite a handful of hard failures today, we were elated by what worked. We are also learning how to distribute functionality to improve robustness; faster computers will be essential, especially for the backpacks (though the Minibooks are 1.2 GHz). Names used by the two astronauts need to be shared. The group now has a firm sense that what we have accomplished could not have been done anywhere else, and that MDRS serves as a quite solid and even convenient research and development "retreat."

Inventory: The amount of food continues to diminish.

Miscellaneous: Several non-crew members who are part of the Mobile Agent team have asked to eat some food or have a drink in MDRS. I insist that they first join the Mars Society. So far I have convinced two people to pay their dues, in return for a slice of hab-made bread and a coke.