Last night another mouse was found in the Hab. Lealem was taking off his boots downstairs when he saw the mouse zip in and out of the pile of junk beneath the stairs. He jumped and screamed like a girl… not the proudest moment in his life. After Lealem recovered from his surprise, Jon and Lealem proceeded to capture the mouse using an ice cream bucket and a Tupperware container. This was not an easy task, as the mouse had found refuge behind the lab fridge and had to be coaxed out. This new mouse was put in the same steel bucket as the previously caught mouse, to be disposed of as soon as we could figure out what to do with them. But to our dismay, as we woke up this morning, the mice were gone from the bucket. So they're loose in the Hab again. Pest control is definitely not our calling.

The morning was spent preparing for an afternoon EVA to Candor Chasma and trying to figure out exactly what's wrong with all of our ATVs. At least one of the problems plaguing them was identified: the fuel sampled from the gas tanks of ATVs 1 & 2 was the filthiest thing you ever saw. It seemed to include dust and rust and various other things that were not completely identifiable. No wonder the ATVs weren't running too well. So all ATVs are now officially out of commission until all of the dirty parts can be cleaned out, which will be a really big job.

So Melissa, Olathe and Danielle headed out on a pedestrian EVA to Candor Chasma, which is actually fairly far away. Some scouting was done on the way there and some sampling was done for Olathe's research once we got to our destination. Then we had to turn around and go home as soon as the samples were taken because the sun was getting low on the horizon and we had a pretty long walk home. It was an arduous EVA, with the long walk and the fairly warm weather, and all participants returned tired and happy to be finally back at the Hab. We came back to a Hab that was in better shape than when we left, since the boys had spent the afternoon doing various engineering tasks, fighting the never-ending fight to keep the Hab habitable by the crew.

Tonight's plans include a presentation by Melissa on her research project for this rotation and a viewing of a documentary made on the rotation of MDRS crew 44, which we didn't have time to watch last night.