Additional Report Day 5

by Alex Diaz

April 6, 2007
EVA Report


EVA Support Task-4:

Context: NDX-1 Suit Test
Duration: 05:57-07:22
Weather: Clear (dawn)
Maximum distance from Hab: 800m

Participants: EVA Support Task Team-4 (Alex Diaz, Marcus Medley, Irene Schneider Puente, Chip Shepherd), NDX-1 Crew (Pablo De Leon, Ana De Leon, and Fabio Sau), and State University of New York, Buffalo student (Amanda Schmidt). Media from ABC-TV/Houston, Telemundo, and independent documentary covered the event.

Equipment: NDX-1 Spacesuit and supporting equipment (i.e. ATV, compressor, and generator), video camera, digital camera, GPS, radios, rock hammer, and notepad/pen.

Route: NDX-1 suit subject (Fabio Sau) headed north on Lowell Highway to perform several mobility tests.

Objectives - Work Done: The objective was to assess the mobility of the NDX-1 suit. Major tasks included NDX-1 donning, Thermal Garment donning, walking w/ backpack, sample collection with rock hammer, cart moving, and sample flag planting. All operations were conducted successfully.

Lessons Learned:
· Starting early (before dawn) is very important to avoid overheating of pressurized suited crew.
· NDX-1 suit mobility is very good. Test subject is able to get on one knee comfortably to collect samples, able to use rock hammer, able to walk up a low sloping hill, and able to maneuver around rocks of various sizes.