Mission Journal 1a -Mark Ward: Mission Day 1: Thursday, April 24, 2003

We gathered at the dock and after watching a soft dawn grow into day, boat loaded, we sped out to sea. On board - the crew of the next Aquarius mission, Jim, Billy, John, Lew and me. Supporting us, Mike Smith, Thor Dunmire at the helm, and Mark Hulsbeck our Poseidon for the past few days of training.

Arriving at the Life Support Buoy marking the spot where Aquarius lies, Jim and Billy dove in with two transfer pots containing last minute items. Forty minutes later they had finished performing final checklists and radioed that they were ready to receive the rest of the crew.

Geared up and eager to dive, the rest of us splashed down, heading first to a newly placed way station for a quick tour, then on to Aquarius and an exterior tour. All the way I was firing off photos, tinged with a different perspective, that of an ocean dweller, not merely a visitor.

Entering Aquarius, we "de-gear" and climb up and out of the moonpool - the seamless interface between sea and undersea lab. Jim and Billy are waiting for us and so the requisite introductory tour and safety briefing ensues, concluding with a simulated evacuation drill to the nearby "gazebo," a small, white, air-filled refuge just big enough for the five of us.

Jim continues the briefing, interrupted by five curiously inquisitive angelfish. Apparently, Jim explains, these critters respond more eagerly to divers who are stripped down to swimsuits rather than to those in wet suits. We were left to ponder what could possibly prompt such behavior. Maybe before the missions over, we'll find out in the end.

Back inside we begin to chill by the window. The view is spectacular with action, colors and flashes every bit as entertaining as Times Square, except here no traffic jams clog the flow. Fish of every size dart from every direction in an anonymously choreographed kaleidoscope of undersea life. With a window on such sights, the lure of TV is exposed as a virtual fraud. This is reality at its best!

Numerous tasks occupy Jim and Billy. John and Lew slip out for a tethered dive around Aquarius and I prepare my video and photo equipment for recordings to come. Jim obliges with an on-camera tour of the habitat, so landlubbers can get a taste for life in the lab. Then we get ready for a videoconference test with BECON, an educational broadcast facilitator in Fort Lauderdale, the Orlando Science Center, and the Fort Lauderdale Museum of Discovery and Science.

Even though we're miles off-shore and even further away from our vidcon partners, technology has magically brought us altogether. Tomorrow we will all connect and hopefully the educational event will give the participating students some new motivation to pursue ocean related studies.

We grab dinner in the midst of the testing and before long it's past nine. Time enough for me to tap out these thoughts and gaze out the window once more in anticipation of tomorrow's adventures.