The space flight analog is so powerful that, for the first time, I have a clear understanding of how I will feel during my first flight. A big part of this is related to being isolated and living in a small volume. Email messages from friends and family have meant the world to me today. Not that I'm feeling lonely after just 3 days, but email is my connection to the outside world. It's also great to know that friends and family are out there, being supportive, and following along with enthusiasm and interest.

Our lives on Aquarius are driven by the timeline, and we are highly motivated to succeed at all of the objectives that the mission control center (MCC) has given us. From doing numerous International Space Station (ISS) simulations, I'm very familiar with the ISS approach for handling schedules, daily summaries, tasks, updates, and so on. What I didn't expect was the thrill that I got when first seeing such documents, exactly how I expected them, but with a difference. These were real, and their contents were related to things that we were to actually carry out. I can now imagine arriving on the Space Station, after so many years of training, and then, for the first time, taking all too familiar actions, but on the actual vehicle.

Although our interfaces are not identical to the Space Station, our Mission Control team members, (including two Astronaut Instructors - Bill Todd & Marc Reagan - who are also Space Shuttle and Space Station Simulation Supervisors), have done an amazing job of setting up computers and communications to be "flight-like." On the team, we also have an ISS Mission Planner (Michelle Lucas) and Expedition Training Coordinator (Monika Schultz), who (all together) have done everything imaginable to parallel ISS operations with this mission. It's working! I feel like I'm in a real-life version of our Space Station simulator.

With reality comes problems, and we had the opportunity to practice real-time work-arounds today. Our plan was to study the range and effectiveness of our underwater comm system with a link-up through Aquarius back to Mission Control in Houston. The idea of working underwater down here while speaking to Houston is just amazing! Hopefully it will work tomorrow, but today there were a few minor problems. We did a quick coordinated re-plan with our local mission control team on the surface, and decided to work on coral data collection. Danny and I were first out the door, and headed to the NE waystation, almost 800 feet away. With reels, tapes, video equipment, and slates, we pulled ourselves for about 20 minutes against a sizable current. Having been in some serious currents before, I knew that this was at the limit of what we could handle. We called off the coral science, and our only remaining goal for the dive was getting back safely. It was the right call, and a good experience for all of us in recognizing when to abandon the timelined objectives. MCC concurred, and we've reshuffled for another day. Not atypical at all for what can happen on a space flight. Hopefully, the potential contingencies are anticipated, and the work can continue with minimal interruption. Regardless, though, safety is paramount, and we cannot allow the mission objectives to compromise safety.

The snapping shrimp are still at it. Speaking of which, earlier today I found one of my favorite tiny sea creatures. There were a few barber pole shrimp hiding in a crevice on an unused diving bell. Find an upside down place to hide, see a white 'whisker' sticking out, and predictably, there they are. These are like tiny banded lobsters, and they immediately assume the lobster-attack position - with almost invisible 0.5 mm claws facing your finger tip, ready to strike. It was neat to see how all the animals deal with the current. Under the Hab was basically a formation of Tarpons, Snapper, Permits, Trunkfish, Barracuda, and divers, all facing "upwind." They seemed skeptical about how we fit into the picture, but didn't seem to mind if we joined their formation.

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