As I relayed before, this rotation is hosting a relatively heavy flow of visitors from academia and the media. Going into the mission, these visitors were scheduled so that they'd be spaced out a bit and we would be able to give them proper attention and focus.

Well, circumstances changed a little here, and a little there, and as things turned out, all these visitors ended up converging on Crew 61 TODAY! And for some crazy reason, we also had more un-planned visitors today than the rest of our rotation combined!

If we had a sign-in sheet here today, it would have read something like this:

• 1-3. Paulo, Anna, and THE FABULOUS F-A-B-I-O!!! -- NDX-1 team from Univ of North Dakota who started our day at 4:30 am.
• 4-5. Tom and Willy from ABC-TV/Houston
• 6. Richard from Switzerland (to research a documentary)
• 7-8. Desiree and her cameraman from Telemundo.
• 9. Don Foutz, who provides local support and escorted the media to the MDRS. AND he brought our water re-supply. Our hero!
• 10-16. The family of 5 we met earlier, who returned with their brother-in-law and his daughter in tow.
• 17-18. Two men in a truck, who were driving by and just stopped by out of curiosity. One used to live near NASA-JSC.
• 19-20. Myrnal and Amanda, from SUNY-Buffalo, who will by staying with us in the Hab til Sunday morning.
• 21. Melissa Battler, veteran of several MDRS missions, who dropped by and talked to us about local Geology.

Despite the revolving door, which was met with unfaultering good humor by all, it was a very productive day for the crew. We assisted the NDX-1 team (out of sim) with their pressurized demonstrations. We walked with the suited Fabio about 1 Km as the morning sun crested the horizon. The demonstration was off to an excellent start when the compressor blew a capacitor. We had to abort at that point, and the NDX-1 team drove 5 hours round-trip to track down a replacement part to try again tomorrow.

After rotating interviews with the media professionals (where Irene especially excels), the crew met to discuss and assess emergency air quantities and locations for the Hab. A portable breathing device was issued to each crewmember and resides in the crew quarters to be used in case of a (simulated) rapid decompression, toxic environment, or fire/smoke event.

And, late in the afternoon, we conducted our second EVA, a continuation of the Walkback Range Test; this time, three crew (Alex, Marcus, and Irene) participated, and it was well covered by the Press. And over dinner the crew received geology training.

Tomorrow is another early day, supporting NDX-1 and SUNY teams, and conducting our own EVA of Geology/Biology exploration (Elizabeth and PJ will be on that one). This is a strong team, capable of accomplishing a lot. I'm proud to be part of them.

Be Safe, Have Fun, Get It Done - CREW 61!

Chip Shepherd
Commander, MDRS Crew 61