Mission Journal 26 — Ryan Snow: Day 12: Friday, June 27th, 2003
It’s been a grand mission and one that I will remember fondly. The teamwork that went on was great and it allowed us to overcome many challenges. A lot of attention is always paid to the specific goals and tasks of the mission. This is done before during and after the mission takes place. Of course this makes perfect sense, to plan everything out. The NEEMO topside crew puts a lot of work into creating the timeline and coordinating the logistics with the Aquarius topside team. All the preparation certainly paid off and has had direct influence on the success of this mission.
However, what is success, or even failure for that matter, if it is not shared with others? The mission objectives are the focus, but the camaraderie is the real reward. Some friendships made here may be lifelong while others may fade quickly, but what won’t be forgotten is the time shared when we were in the Aquarius Habitat. It’s been a mixture of being at work, college, and summer camp, all at the same time.
The place in which we live, the Habitat, seems to come alive and have the real feeling of a home. During a mission it takes on a personality that is not there at other times. During non-mission operations, when we are doing maintenance, we can only come down for ninety minutes at a time before we need to return to the surface. Otherwise we’d end up starting an unwanted saturation mission. Since we don’t keep the Habitat running all the time, the first group of divers that come down to do work must power up everything. Essentially someone must open up and turn the lights on. It’s dark and lifeless. Soon power is turned on and everything is up and running. It may look the same as during a mission but it doesn’t have the same feel. It’s not only missing the physical presence of the six aquanauts but it doesn’t have everything else that comes along with them. It may be the knowing that there are people watching you 24 hours a day, or that someone else has planned out your next meal, or that you have to tell someone when you go to the bathroom. It’s the people with whom you’re down here that make this experience great. The crew of NEEMO 5 performed with excellence and still had a great time doing so.
It’s been an honor and a pleasure to live and work with my five crewmates over the past two weeks. Aquarius has delivered us safely through another mission and I will be sad to leave. To everyone involved with Aquarius and NEEMO, it has been a wonderful experience and I am thankful for the opportunity to participate.