Log Book for January 3, 2011
Commander's Report
Judah Epstein Reporting
Tonight the crew has began the journey of entering the Mars Simulation.
In preparation for Simulation, the crew conducted final preparations and training. The morning began at 07:30 with breakfast, followed by morning exercise in the Hab. Engineering check-ups were performed before several members of the crew made a stop in Hanksville to acquire final supplies of drinking water, honey, ATV oil from DG, delivered package of bacteria test strips for water filter study, and last ice cream bars until after Sim!
The crew also trained in EVAs and practiced going outside of the Hab in the EVA suits.
Experiment preparation was also conducted for final preparations before entering Sim. One crewmember has been working diligently on planning of her physiological study. Commander's water filtration study has begun with greywater influent; and the filter creating effluent of clear water. Water testing is taking place to determine the properties of the filtered water and the amount of success of the sedimentary filtration system.
Our Engineer has been busy with many engineering tasks and repairs such as water systems, ATVs, determining functionality of the radios, and learning the responsibilities regarding EVA suit maintenance. The water systems are not yet functional, but with the slightly warmer weather perhaps better success will be encountered with less freezing of plumbing lines. One ATV is successfully operating, thus more maintenance will continue on the remaining 3 EVA vehicles.
Tomorrow will consist of the first full day in Simulation. Two EVAs are planned for tomorrow, consisting of collecting fine sand and pebbles from the MDRS local area for the purpose of creating a third sedimentary filtration system consisting of locally found materials.