Today I welcomed my Crew to their first morning on Mars. We had breakfast and then afterwards we had an MDRS Science Laboratory introduction which was given to the F.L.A.M.E. students. The students will be using the MDRS Science Laboratory for their experiments and academic coursework. Everyone then went to do what each were slated to do for this morning until we had our ATV training around 1500hrs. The children had "class" in the galley and had snack breaks in between. There was resistance in the younger students in which they did not want to do their work but they finally did. Some of the students are mainly doing most of their research on their laptops and the youngest has been spending most of his freetime with his GameBoy which was taken away so he can participate in other productive activities. Once lunch was cleaned up, everyone went outside for some physical education and played soccer and football before we go into full simulation tomorrow at 1700hrs.

Living and working on Mars is hard work. Most people ask us if we are on "vacation". To some this may look like the case but for those who actively participate in these simulations, fund the missions out of their own pockets and conduct field investigations in order to advance their degrees or their understandings of Mars know very well that this is hard work. By maintaining proper protocols, communication with Mission Support and with Crew Members, learning and maintaining the Hab is something that takes skill and patience. Researchers have investigated Human Factors Studies on ISS astronauts but not on children under the age of 14 who will, without a doubt, live and play on the surface of Mars. Many human behaviors attribute to the productivity of "Hab Life" especially when a family environment is involved and so much depends on cooperation amongst the Crew Members.

Most people take for granted the technology that surrounds them in their home, car or place of employment. Some are even afraid of what surrounds them during a hospital visit not exactly knowing what all the machinery is used to treat their illness but have full faith in those who understand it. This holds true at the Mars Desert Research Station. The children of the Primary F.L.A.M.E. crew have stated that they are very appreciative of the learning experience they have been given for they know what it is like to have no worries when they get back home with running water, or the generator going out or possibly their ATV being stuck in the middle of the desert after a 4-hour EVA. They know that during a two-week mission, they cannot eat all the junk food within an afternoon watching their favorite DVD movie. And they know very well, that no matter where they go, they will still need to keep to their studies in order to learn how to live in any type of harsh regime. If they can appreciate the above said from a mission at the Mars Desert Research Station, then they are better prepared than most children their age for what lies ahead when space settlement finally takes old.

We live in uncertain times when dealing with human space exploration. There are so many people who have participated at the Mars Desert Research Station not because it is something new and cool to do but because it is something that they believe in...something that they will spend their own personal finances on in order to fully comprehend what it is like to explore an environment geologically beautiful and similiar to what our robotic geologists, the Mars Exploration Rovers have shown us.

It is very sad to hear people say that it is "not going to happen in my lifetime"...seeing people land on the surface of Mars. I say to them that they must fully believe and actively participate in organizations like The Mars Society who are trying to do all they can to make the dream a reality. For the next two weeks the F.L.A.M.E. Crew will indeed be one step closer to that dream. We hope that others will not only learn from our experience but someday find their own path to ensure that human space exploration to Mars becomes a reality.

Veronica Ann Zabala-Aliberto
Commander, MDRS Crew 59