Wendy got fixed again by Don Foutz and our Backup Flight Engineer Johannes Gross. The specific reason for the breakdown is not clear, but definitely the starter was broken (burnt). After replacing it with the starter of Casper (utilising some useful parts from Wendy) and powering the batteries, Wendy came alive again at 18:00. She is currently running to charge the Hab's batteries.

The Webcam "MDRS Hab Cam East" at the Musk observatory was fixed to avoid overexposure by making the opening smaller and hence reducing the incoming stray light.

While the backup-crew and the visitors had slept in the Habitat, four of the crew (CDR, XO, HSO and FE) moved overnight to the Whispering Sands Hotel in Hanksville. The two remaining crew members (MSP and MSL) drove to and slept in Salt Lake City to retrieve the AustroMars rover and buy additional supplies. This activity would take them the whole day, at the time that I write this report they are still on their way back to the Habitat (from SLC).

After a morning briefing, it was decided to adjust the flight plan to devote the day to our media representatives to make use of the likely great weather.

As such we adopted the EVA dress rehearsal to get the best out for the media representatives. After a one-hour donning of the space suits, we (CDR Frischauf, XO Soucek, FE Hutsteiner and HSO Groemer) stepped out of the Habitat and allowed for some film shooting by the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF).

Although we had full sunlight, the integrated brand new cooling vests (donated from Draeger system), let us live easier through the heat. The system is using phase shift materials, a fairly new technique which utilises crystals that melt above 36° Celsius and by doing so lower the body core temperature by a few degrees, therefore reducing the heat load significantly. The only minor downside is an extra weight of a few kilograms and a limited duty cycle of about 2-3 hours, but still we found it worth using it.

This dress rehearsal EVA took us close to Way point 324, about 5 minutes away by ATV, which is probably the most lifeless area really close to the Hab. The purpose of this pre-mission EVA was to get used to the flight hardware and especially our new medical monitoring equipment.

Our objective of giving the media teams a few good shots was accomplished, when we simulated a medical situation with an injured crew member, were we could also practise drag-techniques.

In the afternoon the AustroMars artist Helene Keller set up her experiment called "Fields of Mars". In a trench to the west of the MDRS something like 30 balloons were set-up to represent plants - a beautiful sight, not only for us, but also for three visitors with Jeeps, who just happened to pass by. We toured them through the surroundings and had them interface with our astronauts. The Austrian Broadcasting Cooperation (ORF) on their part interviewed them to also get an outsider view (which was very positive).

The late afternoon saw the repair of Wendy by Don Foutz and our Backup Flight Engineer Johannes Gross. After replacing Wendy's broken starter with the starter of Casper (utilising some still useful parts from Wendy) and powering the batteries, Wendy came alive again at 18:00. She is currently running to charge the Hab's batteries. We have fixed the Webcam MDRS Hab Cam East also, so it doesn't sends overexposed pictures, by adding some black tape to avoid excessive incoming stray light.

The day was completed with some interviews for the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) and our first experiment, related to stress monitoring via a web-based survey and saliva samples.

Norbert Frischauf
Commander, MDRS Crew 48 "AustroMars"