Click here to view the embedded video.

I’m sure many of you have heard the old adage ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’. Well, sometimes you learn the most when you take something apart and have to put it back together again. We knew that moving to Kelly Lake from Pavilion would provide some challenges and yesterday as our first day of DeepWorker flight operations, we certainly faced a few hiccups. The navigation software had a few bugs and wasn’t talking to the subs. This was problematic as it meant that although we’d still be able to get video from the subs, we wouldn’t be able to track them as they moved around the lake. One of our main goals at Kelly is to map the distribution and morphological variation of the microbialites at the lake and without the ability to track the subs, we wouldn’t be able to identify the location of images that are collected in order to build our map. But, the scientist pilots themselves are also a valuable source of observational information that should not be overlooked and so we decided to go ahead with the flight of at least one of the subs so that we could gather some input about the microbialites and proceed with our science. With that decision made, Sub 7 was away and happily exploring the eastern shore of Kelly Lake. The flight started off under cloudy weather but soon the sun cleared and it must have brought some good luck with it as the navigation software also starting working shortly thereafter and we were able to get tracking for the majority of the flight path. In the end, we didn’t complete our DeepWorker missions quite as planned and Sub 6 was unfortunately not launched. Sometimes science doesn’t go as planned and you need to roll with the punches, we learned a lot and Day 2 of the DeepWorker operations is expected to benefit from these lessons learned and is expected to go a lot smoother. Stay tuned!

Jeff Heaton in the MMCC

CHECK OUT a visual of the ops here.

It takes more than a quick drop in the lake to get the DeepWorker’s ready to go. Check out this video for some behind the scene action won what it takes to get the subs ready for flight.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Tyler, one of the MarsLIfe crew is so excited about PLRP that he is writing about his experiences in his own blog here

We’re up and almost running. A 16 km drive down the Kelly Lake Road with crane, barge, DeepWorker submersibles and Nuytco crew in tow – the barge is assembled and ready to go! The Nuytco and PLRP crew worked hard piecing together the barge, which will serve as a platform to launch the DeepWorkers. Subs due to launch around noon tomorrow. Check the barge assemble process in the photos below.

Mars life crew went back to Pavilion Lake to confirm preliminary data from last season. The divers sampled surface water in the central basin of the lake, and the 3 poles transect at 85 feet; both water and microbialites. These samples will be examined for total community analysis, metabolic potential and metabolic function. Check out the sample collection photos below. The Sea Monkey’s are a favorite.

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Just down the canyon and a little to the side, from Pavilion Lake to Kelly Lake – Welcome! Another year has flown by and I find myself heading east again to see some of the crew that I have had the pleasure to kick out of the kitchen over the past 5 years, and meet some new friends as well. This year I do not have a blue Volkswagon Vanagon or orange Westfalia jammed to the roof with food for the team. I am somewhat pleased with not having to drag a weighed down VW on a long road trip and am impressed with the minimal equipment necessary for my new position as the EPO coordinator. In less than 24 hours, simply myself and my mac-apple-mac laptop (and road bike of course) will step off the plane and into the 2011 field season.

When Darlene Lim offered me the EPO position my first instinct was “ I do sport nutrition, not twitter – no thanks.” Always up for the learning opportunities of a new challenge I accepted the position and have been mostly thrilled ever since.  Now I can’t wait to continue to share the amazing science and exploration activities of 2011 with you. This field season will be full of great discoveries, and will highlight some of the best space science and exploration activities that happen on Earth!

Not only have we expanded to a new location and new community, but we welcome some talented new folks: The JSC Timeliners/Robotics group, Liza Coe from NASA-Ames and Sean Maday from Google.Check their bio’s out here.

Jessica Parsons from JSC, Raffy Pendery from Studio98 and I will be working hard to keep you updated from the field – with blogs like this one, tweets, facebook posts, photos and videos from the team’s daily science and exploration activities. We welcome questions about our research through any of these channels, and will endeavor to answer questions from you as soon as we can! You can also submit questions to Henry Bortman through Astrobiology Magazine.

Stay tuned for some great media coverage by BC Magazine, Discovery’s Daily Planet Series, New York Times, Earth Periodical and much more. Thanks for your interest in our project, and welcome back to the Pavilion Lake Research Project at Kelly Lake.

Once I land in field camp I will update on the DeepWorker arrival, barge set up and the first DW flight of 2011. Keep checking in.

It takes more than just pasta and sauce to keep this crew running. Even though all the personnel at PLRP have high-energy days, as a dietitian I am most concerned with fueling the scuba divers and DeepWorker pilots. The caloric needs and metabolic demands of DeepWorker pilots have not been researched, but those of scuba divers have. The diving crew here is in the water for an average of 3-4 hours per day and it is imperative that they are well fed with a diet high in complex carbohydrates, moderate protein and adequate fluids. Keeping them fed well not only prevents an accumulated energy deficit, but ensures they are operating at their mental peak.The aerobic stresses of scuba diving can be quite physiologically demanding… especially when you are in cold water for up to 4 hrs a day for 2 weeks straight like the PLRP diving crew.

Dana showing off her pizza tossing skills. (Photo: Jeffrey Berman)

Some of these environmental stress here which increase the divers energy needs include:

• Cold stresses from submersion in cold water
• Themoclimes
• Currents
• Increased ambient pressure
• Raised partial pressure of O2
• Increased resistance to movement
• Weight and drag of diving equipment (my bike weighs 14 lbs, diving equipment is way too heavy, if you ask me)
• Higher breathing resistance

Research estimates energy expenditure to be about 300 kcal per 30 minute dive in 30-60 feet of water. Energy needs are higher for very recreational divers (like myself) who thrash around for 30 minutes just getting flippers on. For the PLRP diving crew this may add up to an additional 1200 calories per day expended from the time in the water!

As for feeding a crew of 40-60 people from a residential kitchen with one cook (me), no grocery store within a 50-kilometer radius… stay turned for details on organizing this kind of food service.

-Dana