August 1999 Mission - Day one

The NURC crew was off early today to complete preparation of the Aquarius habitat and to "pot" down the last of our research and personal items to make our 10-day stay as comfortable and productive as possible.

Once they had things under control, we followed by fast boat to make our entry dive into the habitat and START TO WORK!

Two crew members (Nadav and Tom) immediately set about preparing various imaging targets for work throughout the mission. We will use these to tell us about water quality, underwater light, and the factors that influence how images are degraded as light rays travel from a viewed object to an imaging system such as an eye or a camera. Roy and Justin, on the other hand, set out on an excursion of discovery to locate potential study sites for the investigation of coral coloration, disease, and bleaching, and to select future locations for collection of research animals (we are particularly interested in mantis shrimps - stomatopod crustaceans - and reef fishes). They found a number of mantis shrimp burrows and some very promising reef research sites. The rest of the day has been spent sorting out equipment for the mission and preparing the lab. We have had one problem that plagues Aquarius scientists - the hard drive of one computer has locked up, as it is incapable of operating in the high-pressure environment of the habitat (2.5 atm total air pressure). We will have to initiate "Plan B" and use our backup computers to carry out the work. We humans also are adjusting to the new environment, and are trying to get used to our new voices (which sound a lot more like Donald Duck than we used to)! So, as the day comes to a close we will button up the habitat and get a good rest to prepare for a long and busy day tomorrow. Stay tuned.