Before departing the Eureka Weather Station this morning, the team realized the Ridge Lab was windy, but on route, the winds increased greatly. By the time the team made it to the lab, the weather was hostile. With wind speeds up to 72 km/h, it was difficult to stand outside. Roof access was deemed unsafe. Visibility was minimal due to clouds and a great deal of blowing snow. The temperature at the Ridge Lab was similar to at the Eureka Weather Station, around -25°C. The team decided to perform remaining non-measurement work while waiting to see how the weather changed throughout the morning.
Since solar measurements were impossible due to weather conditions, Joseph and Dan conducted ghost to parent ratio tests on the Bruker. The results looked good. Debora packed PARIS items which will not be needed during the extended phase of the campaign (e.g. equipment for background measurements). The IR Lab instruments are ready for the extended phase, should we be unable to access the Ridge Lab before we depart. Hopefully, that won't be the case.
Over in the UV-Vis Lab, PEARL-GBS and SAOZ worked nominally. The UT-GBS, however, is experiencing problems. Xiaoyi suspects the shutter may be broken again, and tried to modify the labview code to force it open. This did not work. After restarting it multiple times, the shutter continues to not function. Xiaoyi has decided to shut UT-GBS down, and to investigate further tomorrow.
By 10:30 AM, the team decided to pack up and head back to the Eureka Weather Station due to continuing weather concerns. We did not want to be stuck due to snow drifts, were unable to take solar measurements, and had completed preparations for the extended phase. Scattered sunlight and blowing snow created fascinating visual scenes during the trip back. We took a few photos and will post them to the daily photo journal.
Down at 0PAL, the CRL took measurements all day with the exception of one hour in the morning when Eureka winds were sustained at 25 knots (20 knots is the limit for the hatch).
While we've had a great campaign so far, we all hope to add to our success over the remaining two days and acquire more measurements. Let's hope for good weather!