Time: started 19:08, completed 20:08

Weather: low 8.1c (46.6F) high of 27.3c (81.1F), hot and dry with late afternoon high clouds in the west

Crew Physical Status: Quite warm and sometimes testy; tired from the long hikes yesterday.

Brief Narrative of Field Mission Results: The day really began for me last night when the NASA Video group informed me that the lengthy interview they shot Saturday had great content, but the lighting was too harsh. Could we redo it from scratch this morning? I rushed through breakfast and joined them outside at 8:15 AM. We were wrapping up just as the last SUV arrived from Hanksville.

We planned at the meeting the day's activities: Walking through the Lith Canyon EVAs, including definition of waypoints and the activity model. Set up Lith farpoint repeater and determine best locations for ATV relays. Test GPS satellite coverage and wireless communications throughout the canyon. We also agreed to reschedule the morning briefing to 8 AM starting tomorrow, so we could begin the two planned EVAs at Lith Canyon by 930 AM.

As it turned out, we needed nearly five hours to walk through the EVA paths taking waypoints and testing communications. We added great content to the three planned segments and worked out many logistics, such as where to set up canopies and arranging drinks and rests. We realized in particular we want to set up the Mobile Agents backpacks on direct power (using a generator brought to Lith), so we won't switch to battery until the astronauts "egress" the canopy to begin their walk. Everyone was hungering for shade by 2 PM, forcing careful thought about the EVA timings for the rest of the week.

Meanwhile, Rick Alena was moving his ATV to various high spots to locate the best position for relaying the computer network to the various areas of the canyon. By mid-afternoon we were content that all of the canyon could be covered. As the photos show, this preparation took a full team. At least a dozen people were at Lith, and yet we felt short-handed. We also decided that every team member needed a radio or walkie-talkie. Although the quiet desert made conversation possible over long distances, we often couldn't see each other.

During this time, the ERA team planned the robot's path into the canyon for segment three of the EVA.

The three segments are: #1. Astronauts work in the head of Lith Canyon while the ERA relays computer network and transmits live B&W video back to the hab. We chose three waypoints for the ERA just above the dry fall where the canyon begins in the south. The astronauts will command the ERA to move to the appropriate spot as the move from the east to the west wall and then down the center (until they reach the impassable ledge). This area provides a few important challenges to the ERA, not the least of which is turning around at the east point to move to the center--without sliding down into the canyon two feet away.

#2. The next day, preferably by 10 AM, the astronauts head due north down the cattle path, then move to the impassable ledge from the other direction. We selected three waypoints (a boulder area, a column on the northwest wall and the ledge) which will constitute activities in the EVA plan. They will report when they reach each area and stay as long as they wish, with the option of sampling and so on between these selected areas. We want the team to go to the ledge first, then work their way back to the cattle path. They must complete this segment within the limits of the batteries (about 1.5 hours with the intense CPU load). The Mobile Agents system will provide warnings at 20% and 5% of battery power remaining. By changing the battery before the system crashes, we will retain the memory of segment two of the EVA during segment three.

#3. After a lunch break of an hour or so under a second canopy in the canyon, near the cow path, the astronauts will now join the ERA to head north for open-ended exploration. One of the MEX ATVs will move into a third position, and ultimately the ERA will be commanded by the astronauts to stop following them, so it can serve as a relay as they walk around the bend. We will change batteries during this walk, and proceed as long as the astronauts' energy and communications permit.

I had planned these segments last fall and distributed written scenarios to the group. But here on spot we worked out the timing, logistics, and resource placement. During this time we discovered some improvements to what the Mobile Agents system might do, such as preventing the ERA from being accidentally commanded to move off the cliff and providing walk-back alerts based on average walking speed during the EVA itself.

Maarten took notes during this walkthrough, so he could create the activity plan that will be stored in the Mobile Agents computers. We used the JSC InfoPack to mark these waypoints and verify that the signal that will be sent back, even in the alcoves and against the walls, will be adequate. Meanwhile, Rick verified that the relay ATV from its various positions would be providing full coverage. Obviously, on Mars people cannot be doing an EVA like this to prepare for an EVA. We have our work cut out for us in automating everything we did during the five hours at Lith Canyon today.

We returned to the hab for a late lunch. I then spent over two hours downloading images from my two digital cameras, creating appropriate names and icons (automated by two utilities), backing up the images on CD, cataloging the images, selecting eight images for the web page, scaling them (again by a simple utility), marking a few images with arrows, writing captions, and then uploading the caption and image files to the web server used by the Mars Society. I then sent an email to the mission support team to tell them that all this was ready for their review. Finally, I spent about a half hour reviewing the day's email.

About 630 PM Rick came into my stateroom saying, "Tomorrow's EVA has been scrubbed" (a good way to get my attention). We called a quick all-hands briefing. Rick explained that the UHF repeater system was intermittent; the GRC-NREN group agreed to help Rick by reviewing the situation. Rick then said that despite heroic efforts by everyone, the full Cisco backbone from the hab to Lith had not been aligned or tested, and he wanted three hours to complete this.

Given that I had just received some email requiring me to write a five page white paper for future funding (due Wednesday), this was a blessing in disguise. As I have said, our schedule is deliberately aggressive, with slack days at the end to get everything done. So I told everyone to spend the morning handling personal top priorities--and I would work on getting funding for our future efforts. We planned a briefing for when the network is ready, at which time we will decide when exactly to do the (segment #1) EVA (with the option of delaying until after the heat of day).

About 7 PM I returned to the upper deck, realizing I now had to do two things urgently: prepare dinner as promised and write this report. I found a way to delegate the dinner, and thus gave Brent the experience of cooking pork chops for the first time. I showed him how I wanted the potatoes and onions sliced. Abby prepared the salad. Rick returned about 730 PM saying he had to go off to the nearest repeater to turn it off for the night and would return by 8 PM, when we planned to eat.

Mission accomplished: I can now eat and the report is done.

(I proofread this report after dinner, and uploaded it for mission support at 9 PM, officially ending my day's work. The emails from home will wait for tomorrow.)

Plans for Tomorrow: Complete network testing to Lith; do EVA segment #1.

Report Transmission Schedule: Saturday and today's GreenHab reports are pending. Rick is too busy to write his engineering report.

Maintenance: None.

EVA Narrative/Data/Interpretations: NA

Inventory: Tossed some vegetable items that were in a cooler; need a larger refrigerator.

Miscellaneous: Never react to the announcement of an imposed impossible task. Wait until the moment for action arrives.