Eclipse Drill controls and "Bag Drag"
After yesterday‘s shakedown of the Eclipse three–inch drill, one of the control boxes was in need of some TLC. Mike and I could not figure out what the problem was so we brought the box to Crary‘s resident electronics whiz, Micheal Claeys. In no time at all Micheal had figured out what the problem was and had already fixed it! We all breathed a sigh of relief. It is thanks to people like Micheal that much of the science in Antarctica gets done, we owe him a great deal of thanks.
While the control box was being fixed, Andrei, Joe and Lora made sure that the remaining three–inch drill boxes had TCNs and were safely in the cargo system. After this, the entire McMurdo crew, except for the two Dans, prepared their gear for Bag-Drag and tomorrows flight to Taylor Dome. Bag-Drag is kind of like a practice check–in for the flight. The MCC (Movement Control Center) staff ask that you come in the day before the flight with all of your luggage to be weighed. They then know exactly how much extra cargo they can load into the aircraft.