Extreme Environments Rock

Here is how the journey is going so far, life has been wonderfully busy the last three months. Not all has been rosy, but I am from the belief that there are silver linings for every gray cloud. I've experienced some extreme moments these past few months and so far, all is moving in the right direction.

Check out this very cool image on Mars that a Facebook friend created for me: Courtesy of Dmitriy Ivashchenko

Last time I checked in, I was just getting started on a new path with Spaceward Bound at NASA Ames. Work has definitely heated up with deadlines coming soon. The support I am getting there is amazing and of course top notch resources made up of the most qualified individuals that I have ever come across. So far, one of my favorite parts of the Space Science Research Lab is the machine shop. I find it so amazing that you can come up with an idea, design it, and then create it all in one place. The current project is taking me to all the robotics groups around the Ames research campus. My last visit was to the Intelligent Robotics Group (IRG) where I learned about their software to track, document, and archive scientific data in the field and in real time. I have also had some extreme excursions as well, and more are to come. I'll touch on a few below.

Sandstorm at Googleplex in Mountain View, CA

After October, the holidays hit and like everyone else, life gets busy with family, travel, and visits. I was on my way to England to do just that. It was incredibly cold and luckily mine was not one of the planes to be delayed or canceled and I made my destination without incident. I did have to however cut my winter holiday short as I was accepted as part of the Mars Society's Mars Desert Research Station's Crew 97. I was able to enjoy a white Xmas in England and spent my New Year's on Mars. I was there for both the Mars Society, to make sure crews were started off on the right foot, and had what they needed to begin a successful season at MDRS. I was also there to test our NASA/NorCal Rover, Sandstorm. She is a tele-operated rover equipped with GPS and a camera. She will eventually reside at MDRS. I tested her range, gps software, and camera abilities at MDRS. She was a show stopper and became a part of the crew. She now has two more missions at MDRS this year as she was requested by the EuroMoonMars teams and may go back for a fourth near the end of the season. Here's a picture of her on the right at Googleplex in Mountain View when the NASA/NorCal team checked and maintained her systems before going back to analog Mars at MDRS.

At the Mars Society's Mars Desert
Research Station (MDRS) in Utah

During my rotation at MDRS from Jan.1 to Jan. 16th, our main website at www.marssociety.org went down. Our server had a double hardware failure that we could not immediately recover from. So while I was at MDRS doing my crew responsibilities and rover testing, I was also building a new website with our WebDev team. At the time, it only consisted of three individuals in different parts of the nation, while I was on analog Mars. We were able to go live a few days after my return to Earth and are continuing the build up user services. Thankfully, our team has now grown to over fifteen volunteers from all over the world. In the meantime, my work at NASA with Spaceward Bound continues. 

I am fortunate to be able to have these experiences and welcome the challenges. I was happy to be home and focus on work when I was offered to attend an expedition with the Spaceward Bound folks heading to Dubai. First though, will be a stop in France at the International Space University. There, Dr. McKay will give a talk and hopefully I will have an opportunity to collaborate and network with representatives from ISU and other space .orgs. It is part of my mission to have the Mars Society collaborate more with other space organisations. Spaceward Bound in Dubai will be an excellent opportunity to learn and do field science in extreme environments. We will be meeting other scientists and teachers from this part of the world and learn more about the geology as well. 

Apollo 14 emblem on the airstream aboard the USS Hornet

In collaborating with other space .orgs, a couple I'd like to mention that are, in my opinion, fighting the good fight for the human exploration of space are The Space Frontier Foundation (SFF) and Yuri's Night (YN). Both have bright, new, young talented teams of organizers ready to inspire the general public about space. SFF's core conference team are developing another gathering at NASA Ames this year  called NewSpace 2011 which will be held at the end of July shortly before our own Mars Society convention in Dallas at the beginning of August. The Mars Society and Spaceward Bound will be there to show off its rovers. I also urge you to create and/or attend your local YN party that celebrates the 50th Anniversary this year on April 12th to commemorate Yuri Gagarin as the first human in space. Another worthy mention is Apollo 14th's 40th year anniversary on their touchdown this past February 5th. Pictures taken at the USS Hornet museum, one of my favorite places to visit in the Bay Area and where the Apollo astronauts were first picked up to be quarantined on board this aircraft carrier. Next step - Mars!

USS Hornet in Alameda, CA

Living on Earth.

Life on Earth certainly has its surprises. This is a place where anything is possible, teamed with humans willing to make it happen. Well, most humans are willing. That is my personal belief anyway, for the most part. I want to focus on my contribution to making things happen. Mostly because that is what I know best, my passions for space abounds, and that's why I am Spaceward Bound.

My life here on Earth has taken a 180º turn around, for the better. It was like yesterday I was in an unhappy relationship, left my job as a science teacher that I missed, and in limbo with no place to live. Decisions needed to be made. I laid low for a while. Got involved in a major Mars space outreach event and experienced one door closing and another one opening. I entered.

I am unemployed, yet I am not jobless. I have four jobs with one tie-in to all of them, I am a Marsonaut. Everything I do revolves around Mars. I've been Mars-focused since I was in high school. I remember friends buying me books on Mars with colorful images. It wasn't until 2002 when I became active in Mars advocacy. Eight years later supporting the humans to Mars cause has paid off. I have a foot in the door. I am now working at Mars central, NASA Ames - space sciences division - specifically, outreach to the general public about Mars. Gosh, I love my life. my four jobs are: 1) MSc student at the University of Glasgow with a 20,000 word dissertation due in March, 2011, 2) CEO of a new app company called Fearless LeaderZ, Inc.,  3) Executive Director of The Mars Society, and 4) Spaceward Bound fundraiser, education and outreach coordinator for NASA's Mars analog science fieldwork project that taught teachers and created future field scientists through the development of curriculum from crew rotations aboard the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS).

It has been eight years of hard work. All volunteer (I consider teaching a vocation where most of my salary went back to my student's learning). Currently I continue to volunteer in a big way, but this time it has real potential to become something permanent and paid. It didn't happen overnight, it has been eight years in the making.

Currently I am situated at NASA. I am there to work on the collaboration between the Mars Society and Dr. Chris McKay's Spaceward Bound project that puts teachers in the field to do science and create a science curriculum to then teach their students. It is Mars education and outreach with hands-on experience that takes place at MDRS in Hanksville, Utah.

Funding for this program has come to a halt with the current economic climate. But I am now thinking perhaps things have changed with this news: Mars, Here We Come! Congress Approves $19 Billion NASA Budget.

Well, that money I'm sure is going to programs badly in need of funding to keep them going, like the shuttle. My job now is to venture out and seek for new sources as well as look at creating a different model for funding to spur collaboration with local tech businesses and universities. Some not so local too. For universities, I am focused on those with space science departments who might want to send a crew out to MDRS, or perhaps a science education degree program that wants to give pre-certified or certified teachers a leg up on field science and how that may be conducted on another planet! This is a new path that I am paving to create a course that gives everyone, the general public, an opportunity to do Mars 101 - An Introduction to Field Science on Mars. Welcome to the MDRS and thank you Mars Society, NASA, Spaceward Bound, and all those organisations, VC's, and tech companies who want to be a part of shaping the future of education.

My journey begins...