Commander's Report
09 March 2008
Veronica Ann Zabala-Aliberto

Where do I begin to describe today? We were able to get up when we
were suppose to this morning. Today was the CDR's day, along with our
Executive Officer in Training, to do the dishes and clean up. So,
that's what I did before everyone woke up. Then we had our morning
briefing and everyone went their own ways getting their Sunday chores
done.
We did some basic housekeeping today and prepared for an EVA later on
in the afternoon. Our COMMS Link is still very slow so our reports
will be coming in late tonight. We had some issues with our life
support system(s) but now they are operational. Our power supply went
dead twice but our Chief Engineer and HSO figured the problem out and
we are now back on full power.

Our Assistant HSO got hurt by the GreenHab as she tried to get me a new
COMM Link so I can communicate to the Crew inside the MDRS. She had
slipped and twisted her ankle but she is now in good spirits and is
doing fine with the help of our Chief HSO.

All day our Chief HSO was cooking a special dinner and so the Hab
smelled like an Italian restruarant. We had spaghetti, fresh oven
baked bread and salad. An Italian's dream! I was quite pleased. Our
Executive Officer was catching up on e-mails and paperwork and prepared
for an EVA to Hab Ridge. Today she took along our Executive Officer in
Training to show her the research she has been conducting for the past
several years.

As for the GreenHab, I was able to harvest cilantro, carrots, onions
and radishes. I placed new potting soil in the pots and planted some
seeds in them to replace the vegetables that I harvested. Each plant
received two cups of water today. All the vegetation is looking
healthy and with some TLC the next Crew coming in should have the
opportunity to harvest some more radishes, lettuce, and even tomatoes.
The corn will need another month or so before it can be harvested.

The children occupied themselves on their computers and played games.
They have also been sending e-mails to their friends and family back on
Earth. It is definitely obvious that the children are technology-dependent when it comes to entertaining themselves. I have noticed that the children are not mentioning that they cannot wait to go home. They are always looking forward to suiting up and going on EVA.
Tomorrow they have class but it will be cut into two sessions so they can participate in an EVA that our Executive Officer will be heading up at Hab Ridge. I will be staying behind with our Assistant HSO and Security Officer. Later on, after their second school session they will have their PEV Fun Time and go to the training ground.

Last night we were able to watch "Naked Gun". Tonight we are planning
to watch "Airplane". Even though we have gained 39 minutes extra a day
living on Mars, we are losing an hour and have to catch up with our
Mission Reports because we have to stay on the same time frame as
Mission Support.

So, thanks to an excellent Crew, we have "survived" another day on
Mars. There is some great teamwork being shown everyday and everyone
is learning new lessons with respect to their jobs at the Mars
Desert Research Station.