tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63243275101657315572024-03-14T08:21:44.390-07:00InterplanetSarahScience, Space, Politics, and Pop CultureIntrplnetSarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00838678674797383248noreply@blogger.comBlogger125125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6324327510165731557.post-51304727111398207342011-04-16T20:03:00.000-07:002011-04-22T03:34:42.195-07:00Countdown to Earth Day - part 8 of 8Happy Earth Day everyone!<br /><br />I hope you have enjoyed my little countdown. Today's quote, the final one, comes from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalpana_Chawla">Kalpana Chawla</a>, a shuttle astronaut that we tragically lost on Colombia's final flight (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS_107">STS-107</a>).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv3u7MIcTXsIrRQztGYLpx01arT5QaW-emu4cUc-ilwldHAx6Z46JJHP1DBj8HtOCjqW2YbxwmkoocIicyEdmUNqp_AVdsqxSyMrNhkt9emBl4c5BFOu4g-et6wiLp_1d7WlVx4jiLVinb/s1600/IMG_0976.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv3u7MIcTXsIrRQztGYLpx01arT5QaW-emu4cUc-ilwldHAx6Z46JJHP1DBj8HtOCjqW2YbxwmkoocIicyEdmUNqp_AVdsqxSyMrNhkt9emBl4c5BFOu4g-et6wiLp_1d7WlVx4jiLVinb/s400/IMG_0976.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5596882726992147634" /></a><br /><br /><br /><blockquote>"This planet below you is our campsite, and you know of no other campground."<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></blockquote><br /><br /><br />As a geologist, a former Girl Scout, and a member of an "outdoorsy" family, I have spent my fair share of time around a campfire, and maybe that's why this particular quote resonates so strongly for me. Even the smell of a campfire makes me feel warm and safe and loved. You know how you go into the woods to get more wood or find sticks for marshmallows and it's cold and dark and you don't know what's out there and there's bugs, and then you find that perfect stick and you head back, you break into the clearing and just ahead you can see the campfire and it's warm and inviting and surrounded by the people you love, a little oasis in the dark. That's the Earth, our little oasis in the vast darkness of space.<br /><br />Wanna celebrate Earth Day? Here are some <a href="http://dc.about.com/od/specialevents/a/EarthDay.htm">local activities for DC</a>, or <a href="http://www.earthday.org/earth-day-2011">find something happening near you</a>.<br /><br /><br />Countdown to Earth Day <a href="http://interplanetsarah.blogspot.com/2011/04/countdown-to-earth-day-part-1-of-8.html">part 1</a> <a href="http://interplanetsarah.blogspot.com/2011/04/countdown-to-earth-day-part-2-of-8.html">part 2</a> <a href="http://interplanetsarah.blogspot.com/2011/04/countdown-to-earth-day-part-3-of-8.html">part 3</a> <a href="http://interplanetsarah.blogspot.com/2011/04/countdown-to-earth-day-part-4-of-8.html">part 4</a> <a href="http://interplanetsarah.blogspot.com/2011/04/countdown-to-earth-day-part-5-of-8.html">part 5</a> <a href="http://interplanetsarah.blogspot.com/2011/04/countdown-to-earth-day-part-6-of-8.html">part 6</a> <a href="http://interplanetsarah.blogspot.com/2011/04/countdown-to-earth-day-part-7-of-8.html">part 7</a>IntrplnetSarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00838678674797383248noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6324327510165731557.post-46298062507164148322011-04-16T20:02:00.000-07:002011-04-21T03:37:22.593-07:00Countdown to Earth Day - part 7 of 8<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQQvyXVCJsEeI-INNiwkJoy6bDg1HjfDlD84kUrBbU6Hehw5vVoLxXMVcN77chleW1qdgVLbGEhdltqZmKx22fT6bN0peTCV-mptcwA8Z-7dv6pHv7IF6SLIpHz1EtT6V-DFwhSvr_norD/s1600/IMG_0973.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQQvyXVCJsEeI-INNiwkJoy6bDg1HjfDlD84kUrBbU6Hehw5vVoLxXMVcN77chleW1qdgVLbGEhdltqZmKx22fT6bN0peTCV-mptcwA8Z-7dv6pHv7IF6SLIpHz1EtT6V-DFwhSvr_norD/s400/IMG_0973.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5596882487557529090" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">I really believe that if the political leaders of the world could see their planet from a distance of 100,000 miles their outlook could be fundamentally changed. That all-important border would be invisible, that noisy argument silenced. The tiny globe would continue to turn, serenely ignoring its subdivisions, presenting a unified façade that would cry out for unified understanding, for homogeneous treatment. The earth must become as it appears: blue and white, not capitalist or Communist; blue and white, not rich or poor; blue and white, not envious or envied.</span></blockquote><br /><br />Today we come back to Michael Collins, Apollo 11, with a quote from his book <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrying_the_Fire:_An_Astronaut%27s_Journeys">Carrying the Fire: An Astronauts Journeys</a>. This one is a bit more profound than his quote about seeing the world in his window from <a href="http://interplanetsarah.blogspot.com/2011/04/countdown-to-earth-day-part-4-of-8.html">part 4</a>. I had a hard time deciding on today's' quote, Mike was certainly not the only one to note how from space, "borders" and "nations" don't exist, along with the sense of Earth's fragility, it is the most common sentiment expressed by those lucky few that have had the opportunity to take in this view.<br /><br />Here are a few other quotes that inspired this image...<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The first day or so we all pointed to our countries. The third or fourth day we were pointing to our continents. By the fifth day, we were aware of only one Earth.</span><br />— <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultan_bin_Salman_bin_Abdul-Aziz_Al_Saud">Sultan bin Salman Al-Saud</a>, STS-51G<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">You develop an instant global consciousness, a people orientation, an intense dissatisfaction with the state of the world, and a compulsion to do something about it. From out there on the Moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, "Look at that, you son of a bitch.</span><br />— Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14, People magazine, 8 April 1974<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">When you're finally up at the Moon looking back on earth, all those differences and nationalistic traits are pretty well going to blend, and you're going to get a concept that maybe this really is one world and why the hell can't we learn to live together like decent people.</span><br />— Frank Borman, Apollo 8, Newsweek, 23 December 1968.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">As I looked down, I saw a large river meandering slowly along for miles, passing from one country to another without stopping. I also saw huge forests, extending along several borders. And I watched the extent of one ocean touch the shores of separate continents. Two words leaped to mind as I looked down on all this: commonality and interdependence. We are one world.</span><br />— <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John-David_F._Bartoe">John-David Bartoe</a>, STS-51F<br /><br /><br />Countdown to Earth Day <a href="http://interplanetsarah.blogspot.com/2011/04/countdown-to-earth-day-part-1-of-8.html">part 1</a> <a href="http://interplanetsarah.blogspot.com/2011/04/countdown-to-earth-day-part-2-of-8.html">part 2</a> <a href="http://interplanetsarah.blogspot.com/2011/04/countdown-to-earth-day-part-3-of-8.html">part 3</a> <a href="http://interplanetsarah.blogspot.com/2011/04/countdown-to-earth-day-part-4-of-8.html">part 4</a> <a href="http://interplanetsarah.blogspot.com/2011/04/countdown-to-earth-day-part-5-of-8.html">part 5</a> <a href="http://interplanetsarah.blogspot.com/2011/04/countdown-to-earth-day-part-6-of-8.html">part 6</a>IntrplnetSarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00838678674797383248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6324327510165731557.post-41461166373124146892011-04-10T17:20:00.000-07:002011-04-20T03:54:10.938-07:00Countdown to Earth Day part 6 of 8<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJyxQLJEuqZchfU9esKE1BQebMWwNqxLz9CJ9QHUGk-jgeS-gVRRSjZHEpPtAsDENKvh95kCekL2wzmtRribLgGkRPTSgwRIyVCG6XS-OTy5fO9JqaSKjLOPARFpMb8lNZMJMPpB6OQinH/s1600/IMG_0977.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJyxQLJEuqZchfU9esKE1BQebMWwNqxLz9CJ9QHUGk-jgeS-gVRRSjZHEpPtAsDENKvh95kCekL2wzmtRribLgGkRPTSgwRIyVCG6XS-OTy5fO9JqaSKjLOPARFpMb8lNZMJMPpB6OQinH/s400/IMG_0977.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597437065252314770" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">"Frequently on the lunar surface I said to myself, 'This is the Moon, that is the Earth. I'm really here, I'm really here.'"</span><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></blockquote><br /><br />This quote from Alan Bean, Apollo 12, is from an interview he did soon after he returned from the Moon. I really love this one because I have the feeling that this would be my reaction - like, <span style="font-style: italic;">"I so want to be here in this moment, but I can't quite wrap my brain around what is going on. Is this really happening?"</span> <br /><br />I have many times walked out of the lab and seen the Moon hanging in the sky and thought about how the bits of rock and dust that I was just looking at come from up there, and even that thought sometimes seems inconceivable, but to be up there looking at the Earth in the distance must be mindboggling, utterly and completely mindboggling.<br /><br />Alan Bean, by the way became an amazing artist after his astronaut career ended. Here is a lovely painting he did of the view looking back at "<a href="http://www.alanbeangallery.com/mearth-new.html">Mother Earth</a>" and another he calls "<a href="http://www.alanbean.com/gallery1.cfm?id=2008-Skiing-the-Mountains-of-the-Moon">A jewel in the heavens</a>". You can find more of his work at <a href="http://www.alanbean.com/">www.alanbean.com</a>.<br /><br />Countdown to Earth Day <a href="http://interplanetsarah.blogspot.com/2011/04/countdown-to-earth-day-part-1-of-8.html">part 1</a> <a href="http://interplanetsarah.blogspot.com/2011/04/countdown-to-earth-day-part-2-of-8.html">part 2</a> <a href="http://interplanetsarah.blogspot.com/2011/04/countdown-to-earth-day-part-3-of-8.html">part 3</a> <a href="http://interplanetsarah.blogspot.com/2011/04/countdown-to-earth-day-part-4-of-8.html">part 4</a> <a href="http://interplanetsarah.blogspot.com/2011/04/countdown-to-earth-day-part-5-of-8.html">part 5</a>IntrplnetSarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00838678674797383248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6324327510165731557.post-5950610382120312472011-04-10T17:14:00.000-07:002011-04-19T04:18:41.121-07:00Countdown to Earth Day part 5 of 8<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib7ATQWEaqjHlc-YpLEstBO3u_Eu3ISv1F_7IuTedz-1qu4GNSPJsep4jqUgfsSe2Et8b1O5IhDnFMrVjoQ4AtnMqbMX_b7i7GQlgRJVMw6GbsoUGWB46Pzuwl0yIhnD4AL8c7AZsMzM44/s1600/IMG_0964.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib7ATQWEaqjHlc-YpLEstBO3u_Eu3ISv1F_7IuTedz-1qu4GNSPJsep4jqUgfsSe2Et8b1O5IhDnFMrVjoQ4AtnMqbMX_b7i7GQlgRJVMw6GbsoUGWB46Pzuwl0yIhnD4AL8c7AZsMzM44/s400/IMG_0964.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594112981822936930" /></a><br /><blockquote><br />"My view of our planet was a glimpse of divinity."<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></blockquote><br /><br />Today's quote comes from Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14. For several of the Apollo astronauts, seeing the Earth from the Moon was a profoundly spiritual moment. <br /><br />As far as I know, Edgar did not kneel and pray on the surface as I depict here (in fact, I'm not totally sure that would have been physically possible in one of those suits, they didn't bend well), but the rock-altar is based on a <a href="http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/mirrors/images/images/pao/AS14/10075626.jpg">real rock</a> at the Ap 14 site. <br /><br />It is true that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_8_Genesis_reading">a passage from Genesis was read aloud by the Apollo 8 crew</a>, the first crew to set eyes on the Earth from a distance. We do also know that Buzz Aldrin stopped to pray on the Moon and was, in fact, the first to <a href="http://www.snopes.com/glurge/communion.asp">celebrate holy communion on the Moon</a>. Apollo 15 astronaut James Irwin was so deeply moved by his experience that he left the astronaut corp to became the founding president of the <a href="http://highflightfoundation.org/">High Flight Foundation</a>, an inter-denominational evangelical organization, and devoted the rest of his life to "spreading the good news of Jesus Christ."<br /><br />Countdown to Earth Day <a href="http://interplanetsarah.blogspot.com/2011/04/countdown-to-earth-day-part-1-of-8.html">part 1</a> <a href="http://interplanetsarah.blogspot.com/2011/04/countdown-to-earth-day-part-2-of-8.html">part 2</a> <a href="http://interplanetsarah.blogspot.com/2011/04/countdown-to-earth-day-part-3-of-8.html">part 3</a> <a href="http://interplanetsarah.blogspot.com/2011/04/countdown-to-earth-day-part-4-of-8.html">part 4</a>IntrplnetSarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00838678674797383248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6324327510165731557.post-23885260905459704602011-04-10T09:48:00.000-07:002011-04-16T06:51:21.684-07:00Countdown to Earth Day - part 2 of 8<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp7ejmzV9tCsnD657GO0m2JMVXiEtR_mYysQsD16eBvUT1ik3egibDkYvR7jIS-H3b6KwlHAiE4T7TbYOf1b0TvFeT1bwWlwZFdliT499gUbe4bySIb9eLeTMgXpexDpmu8E2uEl2BfB9Q/s1600/IMG_0959.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 399px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp7ejmzV9tCsnD657GO0m2JMVXiEtR_mYysQsD16eBvUT1ik3egibDkYvR7jIS-H3b6KwlHAiE4T7TbYOf1b0TvFeT1bwWlwZFdliT499gUbe4bySIb9eLeTMgXpexDpmu8E2uEl2BfB9Q/s400/IMG_0959.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594109995889943810" /></a><br /><br /><blockquote><span style="font-style:italic;">"The Earth reminded us of a Christmas tree ornament hanging in the blackness of space. As we got farther and farther away it diminished in size. Finally it shrank to the size of a marble, the most beautiful marble you can imagine. That beautiful, warm, living object looked so fragile, so delicate, that if you touched it with a finger it would crumble and fall apart."</span></blockquote><br /><br />This quote comes from James Irwin, Apollo 15. Many of the astronauts have commented on how fragile the Earth appears, but I really liked the analogy to the Christmas tree ornament, maybe because I have broken enough of them in my day to understand just how fragile they are.<br /><br /><a href="http://interplanetsarah.blogspot.com/2011/04/countdown-to-earth-day-part-1-of-8.html"><br />Countdown to Earth Day part 1</a>IntrplnetSarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00838678674797383248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6324327510165731557.post-75873056470193159392011-04-04T16:31:00.001-07:002011-04-18T04:13:13.656-07:00Countdown to Earth Day - part 4 of 8<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEhJw1oomWX614pcBGzsQ6pTlRGEXGCq9tdBD1BXU1puYDj-1U41Ne9txm8fxrduWNniDSeb9A5lCPJTf0aPacWtiohgZHMT5zbYqVnVjXhKjkox_smzLY5ct04rN69b0GopKFItyfzd4-/s1600/IMG_0957.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEhJw1oomWX614pcBGzsQ6pTlRGEXGCq9tdBD1BXU1puYDj-1U41Ne9txm8fxrduWNniDSeb9A5lCPJTf0aPacWtiohgZHMT5zbYqVnVjXhKjkox_smzLY5ct04rN69b0GopKFItyfzd4-/s400/IMG_0957.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591875317232151026" /></a><br /><br /><blockquote><span style="font-style:italic;">"I've got the world in my window."</span></blockquote><br /><br />This quote comes from the other Apollo 11 astronaut, Michael Collins. Mike is the one that stayed in orbit while Neil and Buzz went down to the surface. This quote is not terribly profound, he was just talking to mission control about what he could see out the window. The full quote is "I've got the world in my window for a change and looking at it through the monocular, it's really something. I wish I could describe it properly, but the weather is very good. South America is coming around into view. I can see on the - what appears to me to be upper horizon, a point that must be just about Seattle, Washington, and then from there I can see all the way down to the southern tip - Tierra del Fuego and the southern tip of the continent." (Mission control responds - Roger. Sounds like you've got a beautiful view up there.) "Absolutely fantastic. I hope the pictures come out; we're rotating around where it's going out of view again." <br /><br />I guess I just really liked the idea that the whole world could fit into that tiny little window.<br /><br />Countdown to Earth Day <a href="http://interplanetsarah.blogspot.com/2011/04/countdown-to-earth-day-part-1-of-8.html">part 1</a> <a href="http://interplanetsarah.blogspot.com/2011/04/countdown-to-earth-day-part-2-of-8.html">part 2</a> <a href="http://interplanetsarah.blogspot.com/2011/04/countdown-to-earth-day-part-3-of-8.html">part 3</a>IntrplnetSarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00838678674797383248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6324327510165731557.post-69221459241677004582011-04-04T15:53:00.000-07:002011-04-17T04:30:38.813-07:00Countdown to Earth Day - part 3 of 8Today's quote comes from Apollo 17 astronaut and the one and only geologist to walk on the Moon, Jack Schmitt.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzDWNT6vijCF_p90U9ameKo7gL_w7Mz-KlNLccs7V6LRXUQhN7bXJ7Vkh08SjLeZ1S_dbssHK6I8CP6GDjIWe6t9jKS7BXjt3w90v3MfcRgfXBeHj7QxetsUh2KhgHoP6TlBA3VWZxQb-y/s1600/IMG_0968.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzDWNT6vijCF_p90U9ameKo7gL_w7Mz-KlNLccs7V6LRXUQhN7bXJ7Vkh08SjLeZ1S_dbssHK6I8CP6GDjIWe6t9jKS7BXjt3w90v3MfcRgfXBeHj7QxetsUh2KhgHoP6TlBA3VWZxQb-y/s400/IMG_0968.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591873663162952594" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">"Eh! You seen one Earth, you've seen them all."</span></blockquote><br /><br />A little context for this one...<br />The Apollo 17 crew had arrived at the Moon and had just finished their first major task, getting the rover assembled, when Gene Cernan was distracted by the view of the Earth in the distance. He called to his partner, "Hey Jack, just stop. You owe yourself thirty seconds to look up over the South Massif at the Earth." "What? The Earth?" Jack replied. "Just look up there," Gene insisted, and this quote was Jack's reply as he went about his business doing some soil observations (I took a little artistic license by putting a rock in his hands, which made a better visual counterpoint to the Moon then him staring at the ground).<br /><br />Gene notes in his book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Last-Man-Moon-Astronaut-Americas/dp/0312263511/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302478577&sr=8-1">Last Man on the Moon</a> that in that moment he was "almost disgusted with the blasé reaction" but I totally get it. They were already seven precious minutes behind schedule and with such limited time and an entire planet to explore, even 30 seconds wasted would mean one less sample collected or one less observation made. Besides that, Jack had spent most of the 3-day trip to the Moon looking back at the Earth working on a meteorology study, he had seen plenty of the Earth, this was his moment to see the Moon.<br /><br />Upon his return to Earth Jack was quite amused to find that this quote had actually been picked up and co-opted by the environmental movement and could be found on a wide array of t-shirts and bumper stickers.<br /><br />Countdown to Earth Day <a href="http://interplanetsarah.blogspot.com/2011/04/countdown-to-earth-day-part-1-of-8.html">part 1</a> <a href="http://interplanetsarah.blogspot.com/2011/04/countdown-to-earth-day-part-2-of-8.html">part 2</a>IntrplnetSarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00838678674797383248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6324327510165731557.post-80438099877061385112011-04-04T15:11:00.000-07:002011-04-15T03:30:21.864-07:00Countdown to Earth Day - part 1 of 8<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcelsdyfgCVpAvAPbp1giMKETS9LnLXaE56wSqcQ9z3UfOwryjen-tm23TD0l6SJsYSnamf1RSaN-opnFBNw-FXX2d2fT21fTFIf0ugU6aqLVgyV9eedqjmP3FncgXpERPLShO8UT5RQHK/s1600/socrates.jpeg.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 151px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcelsdyfgCVpAvAPbp1giMKETS9LnLXaE56wSqcQ9z3UfOwryjen-tm23TD0l6SJsYSnamf1RSaN-opnFBNw-FXX2d2fT21fTFIf0ugU6aqLVgyV9eedqjmP3FncgXpERPLShO8UT5RQHK/s200/socrates.jpeg.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591860086696876962" /></a><br />So Earth day is approaching and I have been thinking a lot lately about a quote from Socrates: <blockquote>"<span style="font-style:italic;">Man must rise above the Earth...to the top of the atmosphere and beyond...for only thus will he understand the world in which he lives.</span>"</blockquote><br /><br />And then that quote got me thinking about other quotes, from the astronauts who are among the lucky few that have risen above the Earth and beyond, and how that perspective changed them and the way they understand the world on which they live.<br /><br />I have created a series of paintings based on some of those quotes, and I'm going to post them here, one-a-day until Earth day. Some are deep and profound, some are not, but they all represent very human responses to (what I can only imagine) is an extraordinary experience. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpGlUmcb6LMOpKMo4P5yiWNX_pV660zmi6intTZfq766qJmFuUvfLKoL6NV0sXuqnUXBisX2rvZ2RpopUTgqL41_qnBHGqtj42Rv6wruOBA6yOhrXaYtFUgzj7-m7VwXe7dlsmEiAk6ukA/s1600/Ap8_1968.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpGlUmcb6LMOpKMo4P5yiWNX_pV660zmi6intTZfq766qJmFuUvfLKoL6NV0sXuqnUXBisX2rvZ2RpopUTgqL41_qnBHGqtj42Rv6wruOBA6yOhrXaYtFUgzj7-m7VwXe7dlsmEiAk6ukA/s200/Ap8_1968.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591860363041448978" /></a>People often ask me what is the value of space exploration, and there are so many answers to that question, but this is one that I often forget about. It was not a coincidence that the environmental movement started and the first Earth day celebrations happened soon after the Apollo program began returning images of the Earth from a distance, like this gorgeous view from Apollo 8. Seeing even a photograph of our world hanging there alone in the vastness of space made us instantly aware of how fragile it is, but for those that have seen that view in person, nearly all of them describe it as profound and life changing.<br /><br />So, here is the first one. This is probably my favorite quote among the bunch. It is from Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong, who I think is the most poetic of the astronauts.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrpIF0ikmvSSgs4AAu5xPtH1DLw1s9WjpXzOU-Hq7vJoNVY8abKrkQzdrmIBAmGWLmEYJFVDuiAw1aToDIZC0_aDHNBo20XVQY9QX6BuU6cZWwBAXHTGvM4xvJhM-TKjnlOg0UnMuweaJv/s1600/IMG_0963.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrpIF0ikmvSSgs4AAu5xPtH1DLw1s9WjpXzOU-Hq7vJoNVY8abKrkQzdrmIBAmGWLmEYJFVDuiAw1aToDIZC0_aDHNBo20XVQY9QX6BuU6cZWwBAXHTGvM4xvJhM-TKjnlOg0UnMuweaJv/s400/IMG_0963.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591861921687268594" /></a><br /><blockquote>"<span style="font-style:italic;">It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the plant Earth. I didn't feel like a giant, I felt very, very small.</span>"<br /></blockquote>IntrplnetSarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00838678674797383248noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6324327510165731557.post-31802199546756583952010-05-31T15:46:00.001-07:002010-05-31T15:51:03.428-07:00New PaintingsThis one is called "All Dressed Up"<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNVGmX2KbMHvB5pP4-l1kbew8T_G4aH1meWmWXw0T_ha9-cmSGLwZ5IpTlHrrFfPXehHCFDT0HTVzNU_oXbB2qXmjtMZXRV9fKZkewGb3lhvMGXIxnIYlELnFOVMXU8TONB9mI_tp3sOn9/s1600/All+Dressed+Up.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNVGmX2KbMHvB5pP4-l1kbew8T_G4aH1meWmWXw0T_ha9-cmSGLwZ5IpTlHrrFfPXehHCFDT0HTVzNU_oXbB2qXmjtMZXRV9fKZkewGb3lhvMGXIxnIYlELnFOVMXU8TONB9mI_tp3sOn9/s400/All+Dressed+Up.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477569936509839122" /></a><br /><br />And this one is "Beckoning"<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLMGXc7BWfbhGTCZA2AjNS90_IF22c02Bq2u9WprEc5NaMvX4lYErX3mCs1b21TbrXiEu03HEWnUVAIg6TLRs-GTj6Ei2mwDAL4mueG2A3yEZI4ZGN7bER9cMoLO8hhBnG3dm5L1gfnRLh/s1600/Beckoning.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 262px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLMGXc7BWfbhGTCZA2AjNS90_IF22c02Bq2u9WprEc5NaMvX4lYErX3mCs1b21TbrXiEu03HEWnUVAIg6TLRs-GTj6Ei2mwDAL4mueG2A3yEZI4ZGN7bER9cMoLO8hhBnG3dm5L1gfnRLh/s400/Beckoning.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477569617103960450" /></a>IntrplnetSarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00838678674797383248noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6324327510165731557.post-45265125137538579782009-08-21T11:37:00.000-07:002009-08-21T11:50:29.683-07:00Fun with Mathmatical ModelingHave you seen <a href="http://www.mathstat.uottawa.ca/%7Ersmith/Zombies.pdf ">this paper on modeling a zombie infection outbreak</a>? It's awesome. <br /><br /><blockquote>"In summary, a zombie outbreak is likely to lead to the collapse of civilisation, unless it is dealt with quickly. While aggressive quarantine may contain the epidemic, or a cure may lead to coexistence of humans and zombies, the most effective way to contain the rise of the undead is to hit hard and hit often. As seen in the movies, it is imperative that zombies are dealt with quickly, or else we are all in a great deal of trouble."</blockquote><br />Sure, having a published paper on Zombie attacks is like the coolest thing ever when you're a grad student, but I bet it raises a few eyebrows when these guys go up for tenure.<br /><br />via <a href="http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/18/zombie-mathematics/">Freakonomics</a> via <a href="http://theparkbencher.blogspot.com/2009/08/friday-odds-ends-statistical-zombies.html">The Park Bench</a>IntrplnetSarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00838678674797383248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6324327510165731557.post-71180949744158100332009-08-19T07:43:00.000-07:002009-08-19T07:55:08.648-07:00Galileo vs. NewtonFile this under "funny because it's true" or maybe "sad because it's true"?<br /><br /><a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2009/08/18/galileo-vs-newton/">"The point of the comparison is to contrast two competing modes of scientific communication, as embodied by our two heroes."</a><br /><br />Why is making science accessible such a crime in academia? Why are those who deign to speak to mere mortals looked down upon by so many of their colleagues?<br /><br />On a lighter note, my favorite part of this blog post is that the majority of the comments revolve around whether or not Newton died a virgin. Seriously.<br /><br />Thanks for the link <a href="http://www.planetary.org/blog/">Emily</a>!IntrplnetSarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00838678674797383248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6324327510165731557.post-61921390028492826282009-07-24T09:12:00.000-07:002009-07-24T09:19:47.666-07:00What are the aliens watching on TV?This is pretty cool.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRSq5vjXiiKw2nu_JRCrHHhw9RTCuK74slp5ybNQ0e3trBQCoe2wADG5mnaeOQqPOTkG6oQ7gZqHZ8RY7j0qP_HAVcnIW_35NoizFGyeN-hovbqpMMzD_pVNzxaZThbIeuvnL0sC4M9NZP/s1600-h/electromagnetic_leak.PNG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 241px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRSq5vjXiiKw2nu_JRCrHHhw9RTCuK74slp5ybNQ0e3trBQCoe2wADG5mnaeOQqPOTkG6oQ7gZqHZ8RY7j0qP_HAVcnIW_35NoizFGyeN-hovbqpMMzD_pVNzxaZThbIeuvnL0sC4M9NZP/s400/electromagnetic_leak.PNG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362061056281061842" /></a><br /><br />Courtesy of <a href="http://abstrusegoose.com/163">Abstruse Goose</a>IntrplnetSarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00838678674797383248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6324327510165731557.post-54493797440324099142009-07-17T15:51:00.000-07:002009-07-17T16:54:13.459-07:00Countdown to the Moon day at the Air & Space Museum<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKIobPFbH8d9bmdtdpxU45MfXOPt6RuO5eOnCFV43uVF9ZROqex-u3_olr9eOdMTerD8kiM5aWEKBb1iW-96VtnlsoN8pl1CESbJmLFarhK1QQnINp04YMXlbP5SpgY6CPQPjw4LIAo-gM/s1600-h/7+agglutinate+particle+anaglyph.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 226px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKIobPFbH8d9bmdtdpxU45MfXOPt6RuO5eOnCFV43uVF9ZROqex-u3_olr9eOdMTerD8kiM5aWEKBb1iW-96VtnlsoN8pl1CESbJmLFarhK1QQnINp04YMXlbP5SpgY6CPQPjw4LIAo-gM/s320/7+agglutinate+particle+anaglyph.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359580265679131714" /></a><br />Yesterday I spend the day manning a table at the National Air & Space Museum as a "Lunar Expert" to help them celebrate the 40th anniversary of the day that Apollo 11 launched. According to the little counter they gave me, over 800 people stopped by my booth to learn about "Moon dust". I had a bunch of images of soil grains from my own research, plus some lunar soil simulants and a handful of 3D analglyphs donated from a colleague at Lehigh (which were clearly the hit, man people really love those 3D images). I love doing these public outreach things, but I have to say I am always amazed by both the sophistication and the sheer ignorance of some of the questions I get asked.<br /><br />A few of the things I was asked yesterday:<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Is this real Moon dust?</span> - referring to the two jars of soil simulants I brought (yeah, I'm sure NASA would have no problem with me leaving half a pound of lunar soil on an table in the middle of a museum full of people).<br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><br />Was Night at the Museum II filmed here?</span> - turns out it was, I didn't know that at the time though, and also, <span style="font-weight:bold;">I'm not an information booth</span>. There was also a question about the new Transformers movie, although I'm pretty sure that one was not filmed in the museum.<br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><br />Is Moon dust radioactive?</span> - I get this question from time to time and I don't understand where that comes from or why people would think that.<br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><br />Have we figured out any good uses for Moon dust yet?</span> - There were at least a dozen people who asked me some version of this question, because apparently there is no reason to go back to the Moon unless we can mine it for something. I tried to turn their question into a discussion of in situ resource utilization and explain how the soil contains all the elements we need to survive and make rocket fuel, so if we can figure out how to extract it we can "live off the land," I think that worked with about half the question askers, the others just seemed disappointed, apparently "oxygen" was not the answer they were looking for.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Did you collect these samples yourself?</span> - I swear, I'm not making this up, there were two people, two, adults, at separate times, that genuinely thought I might have gone to the Moon myself and brought back my soil. One seamed really taken aback when I said that no one had been to the Moon in my lifetime, the other was like, "oh yeah, that's right". Wow, it's interactions like that that really scare the bejeezus out of me. How do these people function in normal life? It reminds me of a hairstylist I once had that thought the Sun and the Moon were the same thing, it just got dimmer at night (true story).<br /><br />Not to worry though, for every left field question, there were plenty of bright and curious types of all ages with good questions. There was one guy who stayed for like half an hour just firing one question after the other, he was awesome, he kept apologizing to the gathering crowd for monopolizing me and they were like, no, we're learning so much from your questions, keep going. And the kid who was allergic to dust and wanted to know if he would be allergic to Moon dust too - that's a great question. (For the record, probably not, most terrestrial dust allergies are due to dust mites, which lunar soil doesn't have, but at least two people during Apollo one astronaut and one flight surgeon, experienced "hayfever-like" symptoms after being exposed to lunar dust.) <br /><br />All in all, it was a good time. The museum was crowded, people mostly seemed interested and engaged. This was the first "Moon day" the museum has done, they normally do a "Mars day" but made an exception this year for the anniversary. I hope they don't wait until the next bit anniversary to do it again. I mean, Mars is cool and all, but come on, give the Moon some love too!IntrplnetSarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00838678674797383248noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6324327510165731557.post-51141480661204583712009-07-17T15:48:00.000-07:002009-07-17T15:51:41.216-07:00The Apollo 14 landing site from LRO<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNqIhNXiZlYJ8I-GdHLGhUToKQ0LKHSa9Y730ieaBNf00V9D2cqAKuwMNJY640J4CUoMPuAONwTujc0X4KdA4gtWDf2SNiatTnhuxIHyDeNQsz2uMKQ4hhjyfczxYjefBFtk6ANO6JNeFA/s1600-h/ap14fromLRO.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 253px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNqIhNXiZlYJ8I-GdHLGhUToKQ0LKHSa9Y730ieaBNf00V9D2cqAKuwMNJY640J4CUoMPuAONwTujc0X4KdA4gtWDf2SNiatTnhuxIHyDeNQsz2uMKQ4hhjyfczxYjefBFtk6ANO6JNeFA/s400/ap14fromLRO.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359565093624311506" /></a><br />This is just too cool! You can see where they walked! More images of some of the other landing sites can be found <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/multimedia/lroimages/apollosites.html">here</a>.IntrplnetSarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00838678674797383248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6324327510165731557.post-17149486896241731322009-06-23T19:15:00.000-07:002009-06-23T19:34:48.374-07:00LCROSS impact might upset the aliens<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQsEliW5HaG71xBVlchmtD5eIjco6cMGpNS4NQxyXaa9juQcOUl9S8ANuj3PtCs9A8VV7ySk5uupZznsbkygG_JPA4aodBvIxTfviOtDQK_Lz6enJGFN_YjPnwuVJTWJfCUJ_K5W0joi5p/s1600-h/IMG_0436.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 154px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQsEliW5HaG71xBVlchmtD5eIjco6cMGpNS4NQxyXaa9juQcOUl9S8ANuj3PtCs9A8VV7ySk5uupZznsbkygG_JPA4aodBvIxTfviOtDQK_Lz6enJGFN_YjPnwuVJTWJfCUJ_K5W0joi5p/s200/IMG_0436.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350716118965977330" /></a><br />According to <a href="http://www.examiner.com/x-2912-Seattle-Exopolitics-Examiner~y2009m6d19-NASA-moon-bombing-violates-space-law--may-cause-conflict-with-lunar-extraterrestrial-civilizations">this guy</a>, the <a href="http://lcross.arc.nasa.gov/">LCROSS</a> mission which launched last week (That's it in the picture. I was there! It was awesome!) and will impact into the Lunar South Pole on October 9th of this year (mark your calendars), breaks international law, and may rile up the Moon's alien colonists.<br /><br />I've got to tell you, the thing that bothers me most about this article is not the ridiculousness of the whole alien thing, it's that he talks about this supposed alien base being on the "dark" side of the Moon. <span style="font-weight:bold;">People, the Moon doesn't have a "dark" side!</span> It has a near side and a far side (or "backside" but I've been told that because "backside" had other connotations I should avoid using it). The far side has a two-week long night, followed by a two-week long day, just like the side we get to see.<br /><br />Also, and I realize this is a minor point in the scope of his overall arguments, but the US never signed the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_Treaty">Moon Treaty</a>, and therefore, even if LCROSS did violate it (which it doesn't), it still wouldn't matter.IntrplnetSarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00838678674797383248noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6324327510165731557.post-9349238500761395502009-06-07T14:56:00.001-07:002009-06-07T15:09:43.438-07:00New PaintingsSome recent paintings:<br /><br />Titan and Enceledus<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaeTISjH58kUCWkmFbgAX1NJQX5CH2rHrfJ0iCJiWQoTRpQ0K3bFYU5qX4KW-Pzltz6HelrST5AdW29lrmPYu5dYkGK0bS5f9EfQnRjDP7HmCucNMZkt1FIckVJxiZIIl8Z_58v00NNCDQ/s1600-h/IMG_0415.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 151px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaeTISjH58kUCWkmFbgAX1NJQX5CH2rHrfJ0iCJiWQoTRpQ0K3bFYU5qX4KW-Pzltz6HelrST5AdW29lrmPYu5dYkGK0bS5f9EfQnRjDP7HmCucNMZkt1FIckVJxiZIIl8Z_58v00NNCDQ/s400/IMG_0415.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344708223615698338" /></a><br /><br />Four Moons<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZaxg3fC1TWX32P-ZA9UkH6Y6Gur00Er5wRYqASTiXs12fbN2axzgEY6G1ObE7Qe7V2BF_SSs1XSInqsAuWwBzI0kfd6ZE-OOc5LGocxLlykE2wAZ2tX9n1mLMgR2ovKRpyGjbwbk8OWVM/s1600-h/Moonrepeated.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 310px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZaxg3fC1TWX32P-ZA9UkH6Y6Gur00Er5wRYqASTiXs12fbN2axzgEY6G1ObE7Qe7V2BF_SSs1XSInqsAuWwBzI0kfd6ZE-OOc5LGocxLlykE2wAZ2tX9n1mLMgR2ovKRpyGjbwbk8OWVM/s400/Moonrepeated.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344709663693756594" /></a><br /><br />Earth and Moon #4<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8vh46rNo80QOb7uF6ACZmYlhvKa9bDbtUqQSq-QcxU3lGwTIltrAHIagFHnnUggJ02QKzjuqID-2qqJWIqqZu0srYQUiJWRjrC73tD2ZWRlJ1vaq9hBoc65Fn2ccs4rJN2nJpX7xMeKoV/s1600-h/EarthandMoon4_small.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8vh46rNo80QOb7uF6ACZmYlhvKa9bDbtUqQSq-QcxU3lGwTIltrAHIagFHnnUggJ02QKzjuqID-2qqJWIqqZu0srYQUiJWRjrC73tD2ZWRlJ1vaq9hBoc65Fn2ccs4rJN2nJpX7xMeKoV/s400/EarthandMoon4_small.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344710792797741778" /></a>IntrplnetSarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00838678674797383248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6324327510165731557.post-31061748472843206372009-06-07T14:24:00.000-07:002009-06-07T14:53:16.640-07:00The Great Moon Rock HeistSo, <a href="http://gizmodo.com/5242736/how-an-intern-stole-nasas-moon-rocks">this article</a> came out about a month ago now, I'm a little behind (see previous post), but I just couldn't let it slip by.<br /><br />It's a rather entertaining read. It's the story of how an intern, Thad, stole some Moon rocks from JSC back in 2002, or I should say, it's Thad's version of the story. Although Thad and I never crossed paths, I too was an intern in building 31 and then a grad student and then a postdoc, and I can assure you that nearly every word of this account is totally fabricated, with the possible exception of this, my favorite line, "Sometime between the heist and its resolution, Tiffany and Thad arranged the Moon rocks on a bed—and had sex amongst them." Ugh, the contamination! Not to mention, that can't have been comfortable.<br /><br />The truth is that the safe Thad and his girlfriend stole was from a scientist's office not the vault, and the altruistic spin he tries to put on his escapades, that he was taking "returned samples" that no longer had any scientific value is ludicrous. All of the Moon rocks have scientific value, even samples that have been previously studied, and these particular samples had been allocated to the safe's owner for use in specific experiments.<br /><br />Thad has served his sentence and is apparently now trying to get a book deal. I wish him luck. No, on second though, I don't. What an ass.IntrplnetSarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00838678674797383248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6324327510165731557.post-58733515952892799592009-06-07T14:06:00.000-07:002009-06-07T14:24:21.717-07:00Life updateSo I haven't posted a blog entry in months. I blame Facebook and Twitter for eating up all my free internet time. Also, I moved across the country, again (for those keeping score, that's the 5th time in 6 years), and started a new job (not a "postdoc" or a "fellowship", an actual job - I know, I'm shocked too). Still working for NASA, but now I'm at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville Alabama. Alabama is one place I never thought I would end up living, and while I'm still adjusting to the Southern culture, I have to say that Huntsville is actually a great little city. So here's hoping I don't have to move again for a while, because moving sucks. In the meantime, I will try to get back to at least semi-regular posts here, and I also occasionally post at the <a href="http://womeninplanetaryscience.wordpress.com/">Women in Planetary Science blog</a>.IntrplnetSarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00838678674797383248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6324327510165731557.post-45045238748318488942008-10-25T13:10:00.000-07:002008-10-25T13:57:28.114-07:00What's a conference?So, by now most NASA civil servants have heard the news or at least heard rumors about the news that one of the provisions included in the NASA Authorization Act of 2008 eliminates or severely restricts all conference travel and pretty much any support for conferences from NASA. It's probably not going to end up being quite that bad, but until the lawyers figure out what exactly defines a "conference" NASA has, for now at least, put out a <a href="http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=29423">moratorium on using 09 funds for anything that even vaguely resembles a conference</a> (though apparently air shows are perfectly fine).<br /><br />My initial reaction to this was WTF? Why would Congress want to prevent NASA scientists from doing their job? As scientists, our job is to figure things out and then communicate our results with the rest of the community and the world, that's how science works. Yes, we publish our results in journals, but conferences are a vital part of the process. We get the opportunity for immediate feedback, we get exposed to new ideas, and find people to collaborate with.<br /><br />I could not figure out what the heck Congress, or specifically, Sen. Tom Coburn who wrote this provision, was thinking until I stumbled upon <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/15/cbsnews_investigates/main4525112.shtml">this article</a>. It talks about "NASA’s long-standing practice of honoring retirees and contractors with lavish award ceremonies costing millions of dollars a year" and it refers to these parties as "conferences". No wonder Congress is upset, I agree that that is wasteful spending, but it's not a conference. A conference is hundreds or thousands of scientists or engineers gathering together to discuss science. We don't get "gourmet food and wine receptions," we are lucky to get a mid-morning coffee break.<br /><br />(BTW - who are these special retirees? In my office at NASA HQ, when someone retires we take up a collection to buy a card and maybe some cake and chips and salsa and then we gather in the conference room for an hour to wish them well.)<br /><br />Anyway, I'm wondering who screwed up here, Congress for rushing this bill though and not catching this, or us, the science community for failing to properly explain what we do, how we do it, and why it's important?<br /><br />Whatever happened, it's going to be a tough year for civil servant scientists, they may have to find some "symposia" or "workshops" to attend this year instead of conferences. It's going to be tough on a lot of other folks too unfortunately, most of the NASA-sponsored funds for conferences, at least in planetary sciences, went towards student travel to those conferences. I hope that denying these opportunities to students was not Senator Coburn's intention.IntrplnetSarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00838678674797383248noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6324327510165731557.post-29176189789224575282008-08-29T06:07:00.001-07:002008-08-29T06:28:49.041-07:00This made me laugh today<a href="http://www.xkcd.com">xkcd</a> brings the funny...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/improvised.png"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/improvised.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>IntrplnetSarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00838678674797383248noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6324327510165731557.post-57052365385399871702008-08-27T03:56:00.000-07:002008-08-27T03:59:44.209-07:00Apollo Moon Hoax Mythbusters tonight!Don't forget to watch, or set the Tivo, for <a href="http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/mythbusters/mythbusters.html">Mythbusters</a> tonight and find out if we really did fake the Moonlandings!IntrplnetSarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00838678674797383248noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6324327510165731557.post-87670576971380669252008-08-13T07:34:00.000-07:002008-08-13T07:55:28.947-07:00Happy International Left-Handers Day!Hey fellow southpaws - <a href="http://www.lefthandersday.com/">Happy International Left-Handers Day</a>! And a special congrats to Barack Obama, 2008's <a href="http://www.lefthandersday.com/lefthander2008.html">Left Hander of the Year</a>.<br /><br />For all you rightys out there, today is a good day to try to do something left handed to get a sense for what us chosen few have to put up with day in and day out. I recall one Left-Handers day a number of years ago when a bunch of us were playing pool and I made all of the rightys shoot left-handed. Sadly, I was still the worst player there, but it did even the playing field somewhat.IntrplnetSarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00838678674797383248noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6324327510165731557.post-72430939993134440042008-07-29T10:47:00.000-07:002008-07-29T11:09:13.046-07:00Happy 50th Birthday NASA!It was on this date, July 29th, 1959, that Eisenhower officially signed into law the National Aeronautics and Space Act, creating NASA. <a href="http://www.space.com/news/080729-nasa-birth-anniv.html">Space.com</a> has a good summary of the events that led up to that moment.<br /><br />In honor of NASA's big day, I'd like to point out the new <a href="http://www.nasaimages.org/">NASAimages.org</a> site, a service of the internet archive, where you can easily search for just about any image NASA has ever taken. I've played with it a little, and I have to say the search engine is considerably better than other NASA image databases I've used. Try plugging in your favorite <a href="http://www.nasaimages.org/luna/servlet/view/search?q=purple&search=Search">color</a>, or your <a href="http://www.nasaimages.org/luna/servlet/view/search?q=Sarah&search=Search">name</a> (there were 86 hits on Sarah!), or your favorite <a href="http://www.nasaimages.org/luna/servlet/view/search?q=mimas&search=Search">moon</a>, just to see what pops up.<br /><br /><iframe id="widgetPreview" frameBorder="0" width="700px" height="350px" border="0px" style="border:0px solid white" src="http://www.nasaimages.org/luna/servlet/view/search?search=Search&embedded=true&q=Flag&res=1&pgs=50&widgetFormat=javascript&widgetType=thumbnail&controls=1&nsip=1" ></iframe>IntrplnetSarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00838678674797383248noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6324327510165731557.post-35298316615649680782008-07-17T06:08:00.000-07:002008-07-17T06:34:25.725-07:00Breaking News: Water Found on Mars, Again<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht53Cmj-PJODvtsr2FmV-SSUgFoHBybWBustDGwTq8euEotU2rDaWNvFrQfDstPy2xM3dxPUQ_PaXiP8_sHu4BZ2G6XdBfDroETY1y4Mt7tCVsFFEZRmPF2a1Oy_dJEqlOV3MZUg-qVBRq/s1600-h/WaterOnMars.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht53Cmj-PJODvtsr2FmV-SSUgFoHBybWBustDGwTq8euEotU2rDaWNvFrQfDstPy2xM3dxPUQ_PaXiP8_sHu4BZ2G6XdBfDroETY1y4Mt7tCVsFFEZRmPF2a1Oy_dJEqlOV3MZUg-qVBRq/s200/WaterOnMars.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223975573874573362" /></a><br />Lakes and Rivers and Deltas, oh my!<br /><br />OMG, they <a href="http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=25978">found evidence of water on Mars</a>! Can you believe it? And apparently, it's not just regular water, it's <a href="http://esciencenews.com/articles/2008/07/16/brown.papers.reveal.widespread.hardworking.water.ancient.mars">"hardworking" water</a>. None of that slacker, do-nothing water for Mars.<br /><br />Why do I have the strangest feeling of <a href="http://interplanetsarah.blogspot.com/2007/05/breaking-news-evidence-of-water-found.html">deja vu</a>?<br /><br />I don't mean to make fun of the research, it's actually pretty cool stuff, but seriously people, we get it, Mars was wet. Really wet. For a long time.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">image credit/copyright: Ellen Roper (GCC) </span>IntrplnetSarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00838678674797383248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6324327510165731557.post-59200633932193655702008-07-13T15:13:00.000-07:002008-07-13T15:20:10.973-07:00New PaintingI came across this anonymous quote somewhere recently:<br /><br />"Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the Moon."<br /><br />And it inspired this painting...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu9w-2kevYdeWhk-vmSBoP2hzBQHARnZLJs4tSGFaLy8nw11ddpJdxDDPebUC-duVgWUS8i6-1dVrs8ELb_d8J7nb5wGnXB2WnJTT3V-7uzUjAUlUOHWEWCkIisipL8CMnmnkoecYgglYj/s1600-h/footprints.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu9w-2kevYdeWhk-vmSBoP2hzBQHARnZLJs4tSGFaLy8nw11ddpJdxDDPebUC-duVgWUS8i6-1dVrs8ELb_d8J7nb5wGnXB2WnJTT3V-7uzUjAUlUOHWEWCkIisipL8CMnmnkoecYgglYj/s400/footprints.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5222626032449259234" /></a><br /><br />I think I'm going to use the quote as the title, which is a ridiculously long title, but for some reason it makes me happy.IntrplnetSarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00838678674797383248noreply@blogger.com1