Day Eight

I awoke around 9 this morning to raucous laughter in the hab. Clearly, I forgot to set my alarm! I pulled on a second layer of clothes to go into the main room and soon heard discussions of an EVA. This was great news because we've been snowed in for days now, I'm not sure how many. It was quickly decided that Erick and I should go on a one hour scouting EVA to determine the slipperiness of the remaining ice and snow. I scarfed down a bowl of cereal and half a cup of coffee. We suited up and got out of the airlock by 9:45.

We found four different terrains between the hab and Teetering Rock, the hopeful location of the next full EVA. Snow and dry ground were completely fine to walk on (green light). There was bumpy ice which was okay but not ideal (yellow warning). The bumpy ice looked really cool and seemed to be formed by wind. In low areas, there were small streams of ice. They were very slick but not very wide (caution needed).

We turned around near the 30 minute mark and headed back to the hab. We briefed the rest of the crew on the conditions and suggested they walk slowly and go single file across the bad patches.

The crew fixed soup for lunch while Erick and I were gone. I didn't think tuna in chicken noodle soup would be good, but it was! After lunch, we sent EVA 005 out and then I caught my breath. It was a hectic morning!

Here are some pictures:

 Erick on a hill top near Teetering Rock.

Me waving, "Hi Earth!" with the hab in the background.