The first Mars Desert Research Station crew rotation of the fall 2002 season is now nearing its conclusion. MDRS crew # 7 was commanded by Franco-American geologist Charles Frankel and included Hilary Bowden (United Kingdom, journalist and health & safety officer); Stacy Cusack (USA, executive officer, CapCom and geologist); Pierre-Emmanuel Paulis (Belgium, educational liaison); Derek Shannon (USA, geobiologist); and Alain Souchier (France, engineer and CRV operator). In the course of their 14-day stint, the international crew brought the Desert Station up to speed, implementing a number of new systems added in the past few months by Frank Schubert, Jeff Zerr and co-workers. Most notable is the