Using Twin-Otter aircraft equipped with skis to land on the snow-packed FMARS airstrip, the Engineering team first touched down on Wednesday, April 18, and after unfreezing the station doors, did a preliminary inspection to make sure that the station was intact after two years dormancy. They also unloaded about 2,000 lbs of supplies, and then, taking the station power generators with them, returned to Resolute Bay to conduct necessary maintenance upgrades on the generators.

With the generators restored to good operating condition, the team returned to Devon today, and unloaded 2,000 lbs of additional supplies which were delivered by another Twin Otter flight later in the day.

The Advance Engineering Team (AET) is led by Paul Graham, of Hanksville, Utah, and also includes James Harris, of Austin, Texas, and James Hunter and Stevie Amarualik of Resolute Bay. The team will remain on the island working on upgrades to the Flashline Station until the FMARS 2007 crew arrives in about 10 days, after which most of the AET members will leave. Harris, however, will stay on, and serve as Chief Engineer for the FMARS 2007 crew.

Then, commencing in early May and running through the end of August, the 7-person FMARS 2007 crew will conduct a sustained program of geology and microbiology field exploration of Devon Island while operating under many of the same constraints as a group of astronauts would during an expedition to Mars. By doing so, they will be able to
test various field exploration techniques, tactics, and organizational strategies, thereby learning what will work best when humans reach the Red Planet.

At the end of August, the crew will return and give a full report of their activities at the 10th International Mars Society Convention, which will be held August 30-September 2, 2007 at UCLA. Registration for the conference is now open at www.marssociety.org.

Congratulations to the AET for their successful put-in operation!

Further updates on the progress of the mission will be posted regularly at www.marssociety.org, as well as the FMARS 2007 site, www.fmars2007.org.