Day 1

It is Midnight, and not all is well.

Opening the Habitat and welcoming the scientists went fine. There was the usual confusion while trying to find and fit all the bits and pieces that is needed for this mission. Food goes overhead, personal gear in your bunk, and science gear all over the wet porch and entry lock and science computer section.

After packing, there is time to eat and plan first dives. Ken and Greg want to look over the area. Mineo-san and Satoshi-san want to start setting their experiments up. I accompany Ken and Greg to the Pinnacle, and then we all return and help set out cables.

There are lots of cables and we are happy to get them out off the wet porch and performing their functions. I have the grave Electronic Tech responsibility of matching cables labeled ‘A’ or ‘B’ with plugs labeled ‘A’ or ‘B’. All the hard work was done by Mike and Mike who prewired and potted all the connectors. I make it look as difficult as possible, as per our union regs: ‘Ah, ‘F’, were shall I put this????? ‘Me thinks I will try this socket marked ‘F.’ The National Geographic Film crew swims in for a close up.

Everything is set up for calibration, which will take place tonight. After about four hours in the water, I am ready to get out.

A little dinner, fill out a few checklists, plan tomorrow’s dives. Everything is going swimmingly (to coin a phrase), but things are getting warmer. And warmer. One might even say hot.

The air conditioning has quit. In the habitat, this means 95 degrees and 95 % humidity. We troubleshoot, but can not find a solution. Jim and the night crew have some ideas. They are loading our fast response boat. Until they arrive, we sweat.

Day 2

We sleep late.

That we can sleep at all means our air conditioning problem is fixed. An air bubble in our cooling loop is fixed by the surface support crew coming out, diving down, attaching hoses, and adding extra glycol. All at 2:00 o’clock in the morning. The physics of even normal operations become convoluted when you deal with systems at different ambient pressures.

There is a little reminder there. The Aquarius we show our visitors usually runs pretty smoothly. They swim down sixty feet, shower, dry off. The room is lit, the air conditioning works, and they can cook lunch in the microwave. Just like home - except for the food.

But it is not home. It is a specialized bit of complicated machinery bathed in a corrosive liquid that is miles off shore. Every system in it is necessary for effective operations. Keeping them all running is a challenge. Every mission is an accomplishment. It is a skilled, intelligent, and creative crew that supports this habitat.

You can see a little sleep does wonders for my mood.

Morning dive, lunch, afternoon dive. Six hours in the water. Lots of time to look around.

The scientists are excited and focused on their tasks. I worry a little that they will forget to breathe, and “where did your dive buddy go?” seems to be the only question they have not studied.

The JAMSTEC set up is complicated, but it seems to be slowly coming together. Each piece needs to be tested and deployed. Video cameras, sensors, pumps, and clear plastic domes all must work together.

Then at the end of the night dive, after plugging in the final set of pumps, Mineo-san says, “Everything is going well!”

A normal busy day. Just like home, ……but not.