MDRS Crew 24
February 14 - 28, 2004

During the active field season, the crew of the Mars Desert Research Station rotates every 2 weeks. These are the scientists and engineers who live and work on site within the MDRS. They explore all of the facets of human exploration in a simulated Mars environment. The MDRS will be active for a 7 month period.

Name	Speciality
Digby Tarvin	Commander
Diego Casa	Physicist & Electronics Specialist
Celeste Gale	Microbiologist & Geologist
Bob McNally	Biochemist & Biologist
Louise Wynn	Crew PhotoJournalist
Kyoichi Sasazawa	Media Journalist & Geologist

Digby Tarvin	Digby Tarvin is a software engineer specializing in real-time and embedded control systems and operating systems. He was born in Australia, studied Computer Science at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. He moved to the UK in 1993 and is currently studying for a second degree in Physics, Astronomy and Planetary Science at the Open University. Digby has a long-time interest in space exploration and in addition to Mars Society Conventions, he has participated in three Planetary Society expeditions, including Italy, Antarctica and Belize, attended several events organized by the International Research School of Planetary Sciences, and was a a crewmember of the Mars Society's Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station in 2003. He enjoys skiing and other adventure sports, travel, reading, and pretty much anything else that involves learning something interesting.
Diego Casa	Diego Casa was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and pretty much since then he was fascinated with spaceflight in general and the Red Planet in particular. After studying Electronic Engineering and Physics in Argentina, he came to the US in 1996 and in 2001 he earned a PhD in Physics from Princeton, NJ. He is a Beamline Scientist at the Advanced Photon Source Synchrotron (Argonne, IL) as a staff member of the Complex Material Consortium. His research includes using x-rays to study colossal magnetoresistance, biomineralization, photolithographic structures and protein folding. Among his interests are flying single-engine airplanes, martial arts, photography, astronomy, and travel.
Celeste Gale	Celeste Gale: I am a Navy Brat, i.e. I grew up all over the US. I spent a lot of time in Colorado and Idaho. I have always been fascinated by what life was, and consequently that is why I got a biochemistry degree. I can not think of a better way to answer what is really necessary for life, than to start looking at other planets. I am upstream research chemist at Procter & Gamble currently doing organic synthesis of dye precursors. I completed a degree in Chemistry and another in Biochemistry at Colorado State University. I have a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, and am currently studying Tai Chi. I play the viola in a local orchestra (Cincinnati Community Orchestra), I am a member of the Cincinnati Linux Group, and I like working with my hands (wood working, chain mail, drawing, etc...). Of course we need to go to Mars, and of course this is a very challenging goal, this is why we need to troubleshoot and find the problems we can at our home planet before we venture to other planets. The opportunity to contribute to space exploration while exploring in one's spare time is simply, awesome. I am looking forward to this experience.
Bob McNally	Bob McNally is a musical instrument maker, craft artist, and recording musician residing in New Jersey, USA. Originally a plastics engineer (Lowell Tech 1970), he developed a career as a luthier and began designing his own instruments in 1978. The Backpacker Guitar® (mfg. by C F Martin) and The Strumstick® are two of his noted designs, and his work has been honored by inclusion at Museum shows such as the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and the Museum of American Crafts. He is a long time member of the American Craft Council and a founding member of the Folk Project; a member of Ripple Effect (a recycled resources design organization), and a member of the Mars Society. Bob has a long time interest in space exploration and science, had the pleasure of designing and building the Space Guitar which rode the Shuttle in 1994, and has continued reading and interest in the areas of Astronomy, Space Science, Oceanography, Geology, Philosophy, and Biology. He has a particular interest in creative work and the Art/Science interface, and in communicating the wonder and excitement of scientific discovery in everday life. His hobbies include sailing (sailboat owner for 20 years), surfing, watercolors, writing, photography, and astronomy.
Louise Wynn	Louise Wynn is a U.S. Geological Survey volunteer who has worked in southeastern Alaska and northern Mexico. She has an MA in English/Linguistics and has been a teacher, reporter, technical writer and editor, and photojournalist. She is reporting on Crew 24's experience for The Arab News. Born into a pioneering family in Arizona, she has always been eager to visit new places and discover new experiences. She has lived in Venezuela and Saudi Arabia and all over the U.S. She is fascinated with how people get along in new situations. Learning a new language is one thing; fitting into a new culture, or a very small Hab, is another. She has wanted to go to Mars ever since she was a little kid and is excited about working at the MDRS. She's looking toward Mars and beyond for her own children and grandchildren.
Kyoichi Sasazawa	Kyoichi Sasazawa is a Washington science correspondent for one of Japan's most influential newspapers, the Yomiuri Shimbun. In addition to writing feature articles and in-depth stories on various topics ranging from Space exploration to Dinosaur fossils on a daily basis, Sasazawa has authored several acclaimed books on Computational Paleontology, Computer Graphics, and general science in Japan. He has been interested in the MDRS project since it started in 2002 and is honored to be chosen as a participant. His goal is to provide stories of his MDRS experience that will not only fascinate and intrigue Japanese readers, but will also pique their interest in space development and future human flights to Mars. Sasazawa holds a B.S. degree in Geology and Paleontology at the Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan, where he analyzed the history of reef limestones using biostratigraphical methods. He also plays a mean drum and percussion.