Mission Journal 6 — Kea Foreman: Mission Day 4: Monday, December 12th, 2005
I am working the onshore, night shift for this mission and, as one might expect, there isn’t a great deal of activity in the habitat that holds our attention once all the aquanauts have gone to bed. Nonetheless, here in the Watch Desk, we continually monitor the video feed from in and around Aquarius and regularly record life support readings that might alert us to any unfavorable changes. I’ve had the honor of saturating two times since joining the Aquarius crew in 2003, and as an aquanaut, I can say that I took a great deal of comfort in knowing there is an entire crew on shore dedicated to making absolutely certain each and every aquanaut is safe.
When we are not manning the Watch Desk, we take turns through the night working on various projects, usually related to equipment maintenance. For the last few nights, while Joe March took the “Watch”, I have been collecting data from all the previous Aquarius missions completed here at Conch Reef. With this saturation, Aquarius logs a total of seventy–eight missions in thirteen years. On a personal level, I realized that this month marks my eighth year with the National Undersea Research Center, and during that time I have had the pleasure of helping support forty–three of those missions. It never ceases to amaze me how much quality research is generated with each and every one of the Aquarius missions, and with the additional support of our Dayboat crew, this facility can boast the most outstanding record for successful scientific marine research.
I have seen many changes over the years and one of the most notable is the cooperative effort with the Navy. On these last two missions and over the last few months in fact, the Navy has expended a tremendous amount of man power to help us complete repairs resulting from a debilitating hurricane season. Over the last few years, the Navy’s participation has made a marked difference in how much the program has been able to accomplish in terms of scientific research. Thank you Navy Divers and especially Bob Barth for making both your vision a reality, and that huge pot of chili!