the explorers journal - The Explorers Club
the explorers journal - The Explorers Club
the explorers journal - The Explorers Club
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
<strong>the</strong><br />
<strong>explorers</strong><br />
<strong>journal</strong><br />
EST. 1921<br />
<strong>the</strong><br />
far out issue<br />
spring 2010<br />
john gl e nn<br />
it’s all about having <strong>the</strong> right stuff<br />
michael be nson<br />
light from <strong>the</strong> dawn of time<br />
se t h shos ta k<br />
exploring <strong>the</strong> final frontier<br />
v ol . 88 no.1 I $ 8.00 I w w w.e x p l orers.org I
<strong>the</strong> <strong>explorers</strong> <strong>journal</strong><br />
Spring 2010<br />
<strong>the</strong> far out issue<br />
cover: <strong>The</strong> trapezium cluster and dense,<br />
coalescing clouds of ionized hydrogen<br />
gas in <strong>the</strong> rich star-forming regions<br />
of <strong>the</strong> Orion Nebula. Image courtesy<br />
HST/ESA/NASA<br />
one of many concepts put forth in <strong>the</strong> 1970s for future human settlement in space. image courtesy NASA.<br />
far out<br />
features<br />
regulars<br />
t he righ t s t uf f<br />
Jim Clash chats with astronaut John Glenn, p. 12<br />
a l a nd of<br />
a ncient v iol e nce<br />
Mars man Steven Squyres on <strong>the</strong> latest from <strong>the</strong> Red<br />
Planet, p. 18<br />
f inding M a rs<br />
text and images by Kate Harris, p. 22<br />
A s t ron a u t Reflections<br />
by LeroyChiao, p. 28<br />
p r e s i d e n t ’ s l e t t e r , p. 2<br />
e d i t o r ’ s note, p. 4<br />
e x p l o r at i o n ne w s , p. 8<br />
e x t r e m e Me d i c i n e , p. 54<br />
E x p l or ing t he<br />
F in a l F ron t ier<br />
by Seth Shostak, p. 32<br />
L igh t f rom t he<br />
D aw n of T ime<br />
by Michael Benson, p. 36<br />
Celestial Mech a nics<br />
catching up with Hubble repairman Mike<br />
Massimino, p. 48<br />
me t e or i t e me n<br />
by Jim Clash, p. 50<br />
e x t r e m e c u i s i n e , p. 56<br />
r e v i e w s , p. 58<br />
w h at w e r e t h e y t h i n k i n g , p. 64
<strong>the</strong> <strong>explorers</strong> <strong>journal</strong><br />
spring 2010<br />
president’s letter<br />
a new golden age<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>the</strong>me of ECAD 2010, “On <strong>the</strong> Cusp of Infinity: Exploring<br />
<strong>the</strong> Universes Out <strong>The</strong>re,” focuses on a very important topic<br />
to us all, which is especially relevant to those involved in <strong>the</strong><br />
discovery realm. Today, discovery is on <strong>the</strong> brink of a whole new<br />
“golden age” of exploration relating to <strong>the</strong> rapidly expanding<br />
boundaries of our universe. As space exploration continues to<br />
develop—along with <strong>the</strong> opportunities that it generates—<strong>the</strong>re<br />
remain many hurdles and concerns ahead. As a species, however,<br />
we must continue to explore space, not only from a discovery<br />
perspective but also as a means to seek out o<strong>the</strong>r habitable<br />
environments and possible life-forms. It is <strong>the</strong> discovery work<br />
undertaken by many <strong>Explorers</strong> <strong>Club</strong> members and <strong>the</strong>ir colleagues<br />
today—both on Earth as well as beyond—that may well<br />
help to ensure <strong>the</strong> chances of long-term survival of our species<br />
and help to protect us going forward by providing alternative<br />
planetary scenarios.<br />
Recent changes in federal funding focus, however, indicate<br />
a renewed emphasis on science and technology away from<br />
human space flight; instead it emphasizes robotic exploration,<br />
research, and International Space Station updates. Each day<br />
brings new discoveries, many of unknown planets orbiting o<strong>the</strong>r<br />
Sun-like stars, which have raised hope that some may prove<br />
habitable. New information has also helped to identify a number<br />
of previously known worlds that may once have been or may<br />
remain currently at least partially viable for life-forms. It is anticipated<br />
that humans will again return to <strong>the</strong> Moon and eventually<br />
to Mars. However, human space travel in <strong>the</strong> near term, at least,<br />
appears that it will increasingly fall within <strong>the</strong> realm of private<br />
enterprise. Although government funding will be available to<br />
encourage commercial endeavors interested in promulgating<br />
private space voyage, a concerted multinational approach is<br />
critical to maximize such undertakings. As exploration of our<br />
solar system and beyond continues to beckon, <strong>The</strong> <strong>Explorers</strong><br />
<strong>Club</strong> intends to be <strong>the</strong>re.<br />
Lorie Karnath, President
ensure a future for <strong>the</strong> world<br />
center for exploration!<br />
T h e L o w e l l T h o m a s B u i l d i n g<br />
p r e s e r v e a b r i c k c a m p a i g n<br />
Founded in 1904 “to promote exploration by<br />
all means possible,” <strong>The</strong> <strong>Explorers</strong> <strong>Club</strong> © has<br />
become <strong>the</strong> premier resource for expedition<br />
planning and research. This fabled venue has<br />
also played a primary role for those pushing<br />
<strong>the</strong> limits of knowledge and human endurance<br />
as a place to share <strong>the</strong> results of <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
expeditions with <strong>the</strong> greater public.<br />
Today, we have embarked on a multiphase<br />
restoration of our historic headquarters and<br />
<strong>the</strong> extraordinary archives it houses—phase 1<br />
will cost an estimated $1.5 million. To underwrite<br />
this effort, we are offering for sale “virtual<br />
bricks.” <strong>The</strong> purchase of bricks—which<br />
cost $50 each—will enable us to procure <strong>the</strong><br />
necessary materials and expertise to carry<br />
out this important project.<br />
To learn more, please contact President<br />
Lorie M.L. Karnath at 212-628-8383, or e-<br />
mail: president@<strong>explorers</strong>.org.<br />
<strong>the</strong> <strong>explorers</strong> club<br />
46 East 70th Street, New York, NY 10021<br />
212-628-8383 www.<strong>explorers</strong>.org<br />
<strong>the</strong> <strong>explorers</strong> <strong>journal</strong>
<strong>the</strong> <strong>explorers</strong> <strong>journal</strong><br />
Spring 2010<br />
editor’s note<br />
A star-studded issue<br />
For this edition of <strong>The</strong> <strong>Explorers</strong> Journal, we have<br />
embarked on a journey far from home in an attempt to<br />
gain a better understanding of our fragile world and its<br />
place in <strong>the</strong> unfathomable vastness of space and time.<br />
To guide us, we have brought toge<strong>the</strong>r some of <strong>the</strong><br />
best minds in space exploration—from astronauts who<br />
have traveled beyond Earth’s gravitational pull to those<br />
imagining <strong>the</strong> tools and technologies of tomorrow and<br />
contemplating what might be found on future forays<br />
out into <strong>the</strong> cosmos.<br />
In his essay “Light from <strong>the</strong> Dawn of Time,” Michael<br />
Benson provides a sobering reality check on just how<br />
much—and how little—we actually know about our<br />
universe. “We can see it, almost touch it,” he says,<br />
“but <strong>the</strong> totality of all that we can observe—<strong>the</strong> planets,<br />
moons, asteroids, comets, nebulae, and intergalactic<br />
gas—is but 4 percent of what’s out <strong>the</strong>re, <strong>the</strong> negligible<br />
part, <strong>the</strong> part ‘made of stuff.’”<br />
On <strong>the</strong> topic of stuff—<strong>the</strong> right stuff, that is—contributing<br />
editor Jim Clash recently caught up with astronaut<br />
John Glenn, who shares his thoughts on <strong>the</strong> future of<br />
manned space exploration. Glenn, who first orbited<br />
<strong>the</strong> Earth in February 1962, had <strong>the</strong> pleasure of returning<br />
to <strong>the</strong> heavens aboard <strong>the</strong> shuttle Discovery in<br />
1998, giving him a perspective few possess. Glenn’s<br />
experiences are complemented by those of Leroy<br />
Chiao, one of <strong>the</strong> first American astronauts to fly in <strong>the</strong><br />
Russian space program, and Mike Massimino, whose<br />
valiant efforts to repair <strong>the</strong> Hubble Space Telescope<br />
this past May will ensure that our view of <strong>the</strong> cosmos<br />
remains uncompromised in <strong>the</strong> years to come.<br />
We hope you enjoy <strong>the</strong> celestial delights!<br />
celestial bodies such as those in our own solar system make up but 4<br />
percent of <strong>the</strong> observable universe. Image courtesy NASA.<br />
Angela M.H. Schuster, Editor-in-Chief
R are cl assics of e xplor ation<br />
brought to you by<br />
Th e Explo r e r s C lu b<br />
&<br />
th e Lyo n s Pr e ss<br />
order online today!<br />
www.<strong>explorers</strong>.org/publications/books_club/classics/classics.php<br />
or call <strong>the</strong> <strong>Club</strong> to place an order at 212-628-8383<br />
also available through amazon.com<br />
$19.95<br />
$19.95<br />
$24.95 $16.95 $27.95<br />
$16.95
<strong>the</strong> <strong>explorers</strong> <strong>journal</strong><br />
spring 2010<br />
<strong>the</strong> <strong>explorers</strong> club<br />
President<br />
Lorie M.L. Karnath,<br />
MBA, Ph.D. hon.<br />
B o a r d Of D irec t ors<br />
Officers<br />
PAT RONS & S P ONSORS<br />
Honor a ry ch a irman<br />
James M. Fowler<br />
Honor a ry President<br />
Don Walsh, Ph.D.<br />
Honor a ry Direc tors<br />
Robert D. Ballard, Ph.D.<br />
George F. Bass, Ph.D.<br />
Eugenie Clark, Ph.D.<br />
Sylvia A. Earle, Ph.D.<br />
Col. John H. Glenn Jr., USMC (Ret.)<br />
Gilbert M. Grosvenor<br />
Donald C. Johanson, Ph.D.<br />
Richard E. Leakey, D.Sc.<br />
Roland R. Puton<br />
Johan Reinhard, Ph.D.<br />
George B. Schaller, Ph.D.<br />
Don Walsh, Ph.D.<br />
Speci a l Direc tor<br />
E.O. WIlson, Ph.D.<br />
CL A S S OF 2010<br />
Anne L. Doubilet<br />
William S. Harte<br />
Mark S. Kassner, CPA<br />
Daniel A. Kobal, Ph.D.<br />
R. Scott Winters, Ph.D.<br />
CL A S S OF 2011<br />
Capt. Norman L. Baker<br />
Jonathan M. Conrad<br />
Constance Difede<br />
Kristin Larson, Esq.<br />
Margaret D. Lowman, Ph.D.<br />
CL A S S OF 2012<br />
Josh Bernstein<br />
Joseph G. Frey, C.D.<br />
Gary “Doc” Hermalyn, Ed.D.<br />
Lorie M.L. Karnath, MBA, Ph.D. hon.<br />
William F. Vartorella, Ph.D., C.B.C.<br />
V ice President, Ch a p t ers<br />
Joseph G. Frey, C.D.<br />
V ice President, Membership<br />
Daniel A. Kobal, Ph.D.<br />
V ice President, Oper at ions<br />
Col. Donald T. Morley<br />
Vice President, Research & Education<br />
Julianne M. Chase, Ph.D.<br />
T r e a surer<br />
Mark S. Kassner, CPA<br />
A s sis ta n t T r e a surer<br />
Otto E. Roe<strong>the</strong>nmund<br />
Secreta ry<br />
Robert M.T. Jutson, Jr.<br />
A s sis ta n t Secreta ry<br />
Brian P. Hanson<br />
l e a der Of E x plor at ion<br />
($500,000+)<br />
Mabel Dorn Reader*<br />
benefactors Of E x plor at ion<br />
($250,000–$499,000)<br />
Richard H. Olsen*<br />
Robert H. Rose*<br />
Michael W. Thoresen<br />
Pat rons Of E x plor at ion<br />
($100,000–249,000)<br />
Daniel A. Bennett<br />
Donald L. Segur<br />
Corpor at e Pat ron Of E x plor at ion<br />
Rolex Watch U.S.A., Inc.<br />
Corporate Supporter Of Exploration<br />
National Geographic Society<br />
* Deceased<br />
<strong>the</strong> <strong>explorers</strong> <strong>journal</strong><br />
E D I T ORS<br />
President & publ isher<br />
Lorie M. L. Karnath,<br />
MBA, Ph.D. hon.<br />
Editor- in - Chief<br />
Angela M.H. Schuster<br />
Con t r ibu t ing Editors<br />
Jeff Blumenfeld<br />
Jim Clash<br />
Michael J. Manyak, M.D., FACS<br />
Milbry C. Polk<br />
Kristin Romey<br />
Carl G. Schuster<br />
Nick Smith<br />
Linda Frederick Yaffe<br />
Copy Chief<br />
Valerie Saint-Rossy<br />
A R T DEPA R T MENT<br />
A rt Direc tor<br />
Jesse Alexander<br />
<strong>the</strong> <strong>explorers</strong> <strong>journal</strong> © (ISSN 0014-5025) is published<br />
quarterly for $29.95 by THE EXPLORERS CLUB, 46 East 70th<br />
Street, New York, NY 10021. Periodicals postage paid at<br />
New York, NY, and additional mailing offices. Postmaster:<br />
Send address changes to <strong>the</strong> <strong>explorers</strong> <strong>journal</strong>, 46 East<br />
70th Street, New York, NY 10021.<br />
Subscrip t ions<br />
One year, $29.95; two years, $54.95; three years, $74.95;<br />
single numbers, $8.00; foreign orders, add $8.00 per year.<br />
Members of THE EXPLORERS CLUB receive <strong>the</strong> <strong>explorers</strong><br />
<strong>journal</strong> as a perquisite of membership. Subscriptions<br />
should be addressed to: Subscription Services, <strong>the</strong><br />
<strong>explorers</strong> <strong>journal</strong>, 46 East 70th Street, New York, NY<br />
10021.<br />
SUBMIS SIONS<br />
Manuscripts, books for review, and advertising inquiries<br />
should be sent to <strong>the</strong> Editor, <strong>the</strong> <strong>explorers</strong> <strong>journal</strong>,<br />
46 East 70th Street, New York, NY 10021, telephone:<br />
212-628-8383, fax: 212-288-4449, e-mail: editor@<br />
<strong>explorers</strong>.org. All manuscripts are subject to review. <strong>the</strong><br />
<strong>explorers</strong> <strong>journal</strong> is not responsible for unsolicited<br />
materials. <strong>The</strong> views and opinions expressed herein<br />
do not necessarily reflect those of THE EXPLORERS CLUB or<br />
<strong>the</strong> <strong>explorers</strong> <strong>journal</strong>.<br />
All paper used to manufacture this magazine comes from<br />
well-managed sources. <strong>The</strong> printing of this magazine is FSC<br />
certified and uses vegetable-based inks.<br />
THE EXPLORERS CLUB, <strong>the</strong> <strong>explorers</strong> journaL, THE EXPLORERS<br />
CLUB TRAVELERS, WORLD CENTER FOR EXPLORATION, and <strong>The</strong><br />
<strong>Explorers</strong> <strong>Club</strong> Flag and Seal are registered trademarks of<br />
THE EXPLORERS CLUB, INC., in <strong>the</strong> United States and elsewhere.<br />
All rights reserved. © <strong>The</strong> <strong>Explorers</strong> <strong>Club</strong>, 2010.<br />
50% RECYCLED PAPER<br />
MADE FROM 15%<br />
POST-CONSUMER WASTE
<strong>The</strong> President, Directors, and Officers of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Explorers</strong> <strong>Club</strong><br />
&<br />
dinner co-chairs<br />
Leroy Chiao FN’05 and Richard Garriott MN’98<br />
present<br />
<strong>The</strong> 106th <strong>Explorers</strong> <strong>Club</strong> Annual Dinner<br />
On <strong>the</strong> Cusp of Infinity<br />
Exploring <strong>the</strong> Universes Out <strong>The</strong>re<br />
master of ceremonies<br />
Dan Aykroyd<br />
we congratulate this year’s award winners<br />
Donald C. Johanson, Mabel Purkerson, James M. Chester, Steven Squyres<br />
an “out of this world” event<br />
March 20, 2010<br />
<strong>The</strong> Waldorf-Astoria<br />
for information: www.<strong>explorers</strong>.org<br />
image courtesy NASA/ESA/Hubble Collection
e xplor ation ne ws<br />
edited by Jeff Blumenfeld, www.expeditionnews.com<br />
Visionary submarine designer<br />
Graham Hawkes has just<br />
launched <strong>the</strong> latest in his innovative<br />
line of underwater flying<br />
machines, <strong>the</strong> DeepFlight<br />
Merlin, a three-person “open<br />
cockpit” winged submersible<br />
that operates within <strong>the</strong> limits<br />
of traditional SCUBA diving.<br />
With an overall length of<br />
4.57 meters, <strong>the</strong> Merlin, which<br />
can be launched from yachts<br />
or shore, is <strong>the</strong> smallest and<br />
lightest submersible available<br />
today, making it an ideal craft<br />
for overflying reefs and shipwrecks,<br />
and cavorting with<br />
marine mammals. “<strong>The</strong> only<br />
gear needed,” says Hawkes,<br />
“is a face mask, as <strong>the</strong> air tanks<br />
8<br />
L aunch of t he<br />
DeepFligh t Me r l in<br />
Richard Branson takes delivery of Graham Hawkes’ latest<br />
and regulators are mounted<br />
inside <strong>the</strong> submersible.”<br />
<strong>The</strong> flight controls, he says,<br />
are mechanical linkages for<br />
pitch, roll, and yaw, with a<br />
throttle lever for forward and<br />
reverse thrust. Although <strong>the</strong><br />
center seat is typically <strong>the</strong><br />
pilot position, <strong>the</strong> submersible<br />
can be flown from any of<br />
<strong>the</strong> three cockpits. <strong>The</strong> highly<br />
maneuverable craft, which<br />
cruises at a speed of 1 to 5<br />
knots, can be flown gently<br />
over <strong>the</strong> reef or dive nose-first<br />
to desired depths and return<br />
to <strong>the</strong> surface.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Merlin, which incorporates<br />
patented state-of-<strong>the</strong>-art<br />
safety systems, boasts a flight<br />
and navigation computer programmed<br />
to keep <strong>the</strong> positively<br />
buoyant craft inside preset<br />
depth limits and control <strong>the</strong><br />
rate of depth change.<br />
“Unlike conventional submersibles,<br />
which use ballast<br />
to rise and fall in <strong>the</strong> water<br />
column,” says Hawkes, “our<br />
positive buoyancy will never<br />
allow <strong>the</strong> craft to land on a<br />
reef.” According to Hawkes,<br />
<strong>the</strong> Merlin was designed with<br />
<strong>the</strong> lowest light and noise<br />
emissions, enabling environmentally<br />
responsible and unprecedented<br />
encounters with<br />
big animals.<br />
<strong>The</strong> first of <strong>the</strong> Merlin sport<br />
craft, puchased by Virgin<br />
Atlantic founder Richard<br />
Branson, will launch primarily<br />
from its mo<strong>the</strong>rship, Necker<br />
Belle, a 32-meter catamaran<br />
operated by Branson’s Virgin<br />
Limited Edition Group. <strong>The</strong><br />
luxury yacht is based for much<br />
of <strong>the</strong> year on Necker Island in<br />
<strong>the</strong> British Virgin Islands. For<br />
information on Hawkes Ocean<br />
Technologies, visit: www.<br />
deepflight.com. For booking<br />
information on <strong>the</strong> Necker<br />
Belle, e-mail: enquiries@virginlimitededition.com.<br />
B a d l u c k r e w a r d e d<br />
turning misadventures into dreams<br />
For years, we have brought<br />
you tales of woe from <strong>the</strong> expedition<br />
and adventure community.<br />
Now comes at least<br />
one way to turn those lemons<br />
image courtesy Hawkes Ocean Technologies.
into lemonade: Travel Guard’s<br />
World’s Unluckiest Traveler<br />
contest. Every month in 2010,<br />
<strong>the</strong> travel insurance company<br />
will give away a Flip MinoHD<br />
camcorder to <strong>the</strong> “unluckiest<br />
traveler,” <strong>the</strong> top entry voted<br />
on by <strong>the</strong> web-surfing public.<br />
At <strong>the</strong> end of <strong>the</strong> year, winning<br />
entries will compete for <strong>the</strong><br />
title of “World’s Unluckiest<br />
Traveler” and a grand prize<br />
$10,000 ultimate dream vacation.<br />
For information: www.<br />
worldsunluckiesttraveler.com.<br />
F o r E r i c L a r s e n ,<br />
O n e D o w n , T w o t o G o<br />
North Pole next on list<br />
On January 6, Eric Larsen, 38,<br />
reached <strong>the</strong> South Pole after<br />
a 47-day trek, completing <strong>the</strong><br />
first stage of his three-part<br />
“Save <strong>the</strong> Poles” expedition<br />
during which he plans to be<br />
<strong>the</strong> first ever to make it to <strong>the</strong><br />
North Pole, South Pole, and<br />
summit of Mt. Everest in a<br />
continuous 365-day period.<br />
Larsen, who hails from Grand<br />
Marais, MN, has just departed<br />
for <strong>the</strong> North Pole and, upon<br />
competion of phase 2, is<br />
targeting Everest for <strong>the</strong> fall.<br />
He hopes to travel to <strong>the</strong><br />
frontlines of global warming to<br />
document <strong>the</strong> changes occurring<br />
in what he calls “<strong>the</strong> last<br />
great frozen places.” Larsen<br />
will also use <strong>the</strong> expedition as<br />
a platform to advocate strategies<br />
for reducing carbon<br />
emissions and collect relevant<br />
scientific data on climate.<br />
In 2006, <strong>the</strong> explorer completed<br />
<strong>the</strong> first-ever summer<br />
expedition to <strong>the</strong> North Pole,<br />
where he pulled and paddled<br />
modified canoes over 960<br />
EXPLORATION NEWS<br />
kilometers (600 miles) of shifting<br />
sea ice and open ocean.<br />
In January 2009, Larsen successfully<br />
led an international<br />
team to <strong>the</strong> geographic South<br />
Pole, becoming one of only<br />
a few Americans to ski to<br />
both poles. For information:<br />
www.save<strong>the</strong>poles.com.<br />
A c r o s s A n t a r c t i c a<br />
u n a i d e d<br />
two-month traverse a success<br />
American Ryan Waters, 36,<br />
and Norwegian Cecilie Skog,<br />
35, became <strong>the</strong> first team to<br />
make an unsupported/unassisted<br />
traverse across <strong>the</strong><br />
Antarctic continent when <strong>the</strong>y<br />
reached <strong>the</strong> Ross Ice Shelf<br />
on January 21. <strong>The</strong> expedition,<br />
which covered 1,351<br />
kilometers (840 miles), began<br />
on November 14 at Berkner<br />
Island and ended 70 days<br />
later at <strong>the</strong> Ross Ice Shelf,<br />
with a stop at <strong>the</strong> South Pole<br />
along <strong>the</strong> way.<br />
<strong>The</strong> duo frequently had to<br />
deal with high winds, whiteout<br />
conditions, and bitter<br />
temperatures that sometimes<br />
dropped as low as -40ºC/F.<br />
As if dealing with <strong>the</strong> wea<strong>the</strong>r<br />
wasn’t challenging enough,<br />
<strong>the</strong>y also had to endure <strong>the</strong> altitude—Antarctica<br />
is <strong>the</strong> highest<br />
continent on Earth—and<br />
massive sastrugi, hard waves<br />
of drifting snow that form on<br />
top of <strong>the</strong> ice.<br />
Waters and Skog made <strong>the</strong><br />
journey on skis while dragging<br />
all of <strong>the</strong>ir supplies and<br />
gear behind <strong>the</strong>m in specially<br />
designed sleds. In order for<br />
this expedition to be classified<br />
as “unsupported” <strong>the</strong>y had<br />
to make <strong>the</strong> journey without<br />
receiving a supply drop along<br />
<strong>the</strong> way; to earn <strong>the</strong> distinction<br />
as “unassisted,” <strong>the</strong>y had to<br />
finish <strong>the</strong> trip completely under<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir own power. Previous<br />
traverses of Antarctic were<br />
done with dogsled teams<br />
or by using massive kites to<br />
pull <strong>the</strong> <strong>explorers</strong> across <strong>the</strong><br />
snow. For more information:<br />
www.cecilieskog.com.<br />
A p a s h e r p a<br />
g o e s f o r 2 0<br />
plans to break Everest record<br />
Widely recognized as one<br />
of <strong>the</strong> world’s greatest living<br />
mountaineers, Apa Sherpa<br />
has reached <strong>the</strong> summit of<br />
Everest a record 19 times.<br />
Now, <strong>the</strong> 50-year-old Nepali<br />
plans to top his record,<br />
aiming for a twentieth summit<br />
of <strong>the</strong> world’s highest<br />
peak this spring (see<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Explorers</strong> Journal, Fall<br />
2009). In addition to setting<br />
a new high, he is using his<br />
climbing career to improve <strong>the</strong><br />
lives of young children in his<br />
home village of Thame near<br />
Everest Base Camp, where he<br />
will travel this summer. As part<br />
of <strong>the</strong> project, <strong>the</strong> Apa Sherpa<br />
Foundation, with underwriting<br />
from summit bid sponsor<br />
Suunto, will construct a library<br />
for <strong>the</strong> people of Thame. To<br />
follow his expedition, visit:<br />
www.supersherpas.com.<br />
<strong>the</strong> <strong>explorers</strong> <strong>journal</strong>
EXPLORATION NEWS<br />
On January 16, New York City<br />
artist, adventurer, and sailor<br />
Reid Stowe accomplished his<br />
goal of remaining at sea for<br />
1,000 days (2 years, 7 months<br />
and 4 days) without re-supply<br />
or touching land while aboard<br />
his 70-foot gaff-rigged schooner<br />
Anne, and in <strong>the</strong> process<br />
broke four world records.<br />
Stowe, 57, and his girlfriend<br />
and first mate, Soanya<br />
Ahmad, departed Hoboken,<br />
New Jersey, on April 21,<br />
2007, to attempt <strong>the</strong> longest<br />
sea voyage in history. <strong>The</strong>y set<br />
sail with three years’ worth of<br />
food, solar panels for energy,<br />
large tarps to catch rainwater,<br />
a laptop, an Iridium satellite<br />
telephone, and a Metocean<br />
tracking unit that would verify<br />
<strong>the</strong> path of <strong>the</strong> 1000-day voyage<br />
(see Google map at<br />
www.1000days.net)<br />
As Stowe and Ahmad<br />
entered <strong>the</strong> rough Sou<strong>the</strong>rn<br />
Ocean on day 305, Ahmad<br />
10<br />
S a i l o r S t o w e B r e a k s R e c o r d<br />
longest voyage without landfall<br />
experienced debilitating<br />
nausea, which was believed<br />
to be seasickness. She was<br />
transferred off <strong>the</strong> coast of<br />
Australia to ano<strong>the</strong>r boat that<br />
ferried her to back to land<br />
where it was confirmed she<br />
was pregnant. She returned<br />
to New York to have her son,<br />
Darshen, now 19 months old.<br />
Prior to Stowe’s voyage, <strong>the</strong><br />
longest continuous time on<br />
record was 657 days held by<br />
Australian, Jon Sanders after<br />
his triple circumnavigation in<br />
1987. As Stowe approached<br />
Sanders’ solo record on day<br />
964, Sanders wrote, “Well<br />
done Reid. Good luck, mate.”<br />
Last month at an event<br />
for his friends and supporters<br />
held at <strong>the</strong> South Street<br />
Seaport Museum, Stowe,<br />
whose computer has been<br />
disabled by moisture, called<br />
in by sat phone to explain that<br />
instead of returning during <strong>the</strong><br />
stormy winter months, he has<br />
decided to sail with <strong>the</strong> variable<br />
winds and currents of <strong>the</strong><br />
Atlantic Doldrums, and plans<br />
to return on June 17, 2010, at<br />
which time he will have been<br />
ship-bound for an astounding<br />
1,151 days.<br />
“I’m nervous about coming<br />
back and dealing with <strong>the</strong> real<br />
world and things I haven’t had<br />
to think about for three years,”<br />
says Stowe. “None<strong>the</strong>less,<br />
I feel lucky to have accomplished<br />
this impossible goal<br />
I’ve set for myself.”<br />
F i r s t a n t a r c t i c<br />
p l a n e f o u n d<br />
Mawson craft buried in <strong>the</strong> ice<br />
Australian researchers have<br />
found <strong>the</strong> remains of <strong>the</strong><br />
first airplane ever taken to<br />
Antarctica, 99 years after<br />
it was brought <strong>the</strong>re by<br />
Australian polar explorer and<br />
geologist Douglas Mawson.<br />
Mawson led two expeditions<br />
to Antarctica in <strong>the</strong> early<br />
1900s, on <strong>the</strong> first one bringing<br />
along a single-propeller<br />
Vickers plane. <strong>The</strong> wings of<br />
<strong>the</strong> plane, built in 1911, had<br />
been damaged in a crash<br />
before <strong>the</strong> expedition, but<br />
Mawson hoped to use it as<br />
a kind of motorized sled suring<br />
<strong>the</strong> 1911–1914 Australian<br />
Antarctic Expedition.<br />
Unfortunately, <strong>the</strong> plane’s<br />
engine could not withstand<br />
<strong>the</strong> extreme temperatures and<br />
it was eventually abandoned.<br />
<strong>The</strong> plane, <strong>the</strong> first of its kind<br />
from France’s Vickers factory,<br />
had not been seen since <strong>the</strong><br />
mid-1970s when researchers<br />
photographed <strong>the</strong> steel<br />
fuselage nearly encased<br />
in ice. <strong>The</strong> Mawson’s Huts<br />
photo courtesy Reid Stowe.
EXPLORATION NEWS<br />
Foundation had been searching<br />
for remains of th craft for<br />
three Austral summers before<br />
stumbling upon metal pieces<br />
of it New Year’s Day at Cape<br />
Denison. For information:<br />
www.mawsons-huts.org.au.<br />
E x t r e m e I c e<br />
P r i m e t i m e<br />
time lapse captures glacier retreat<br />
icebergs melting at Jökulsárlón, Iceland. Photograph by James Balog.<br />
Acclaimed photographer,<br />
climber, and scientist James<br />
Balog has spent <strong>the</strong> past<br />
three years working with<br />
a dedicated team on <strong>the</strong><br />
Extreme Ice Survey (see<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Explorers</strong> Journal, Winter<br />
2008/2009). <strong>The</strong> project<br />
placed 33 time-lapse cameras<br />
at 16 sites during 32 expeditions<br />
to Greenland, Iceland,<br />
Alaska, and <strong>the</strong> Rockies to<br />
document glacier retreat and<br />
<strong>the</strong> realities of global climate<br />
change. His videos, taken by<br />
cameras sealed in Pelican<br />
cases modified with windows<br />
and powered by solar energy,<br />
show climate change in action,<br />
with glaciers calving<br />
and melting. Balog, author of<br />
<strong>the</strong> acclaimed book Extreme<br />
Ice Now, will have his work<br />
featured in a NOVA-National<br />
Geographic special scheduled<br />
to air on PBS March 24.<br />
“History will judge us as fools<br />
if we don’t rise to <strong>the</strong> occasion<br />
about this challenge,”<br />
he said during a recent interview.<br />
For more information:<br />
www.extremeicesurvey.org.<br />
<strong>the</strong> <strong>explorers</strong> <strong>journal</strong>
it’s all about having<br />
<strong>the</strong> right stuff<br />
As <strong>the</strong> Cold War with <strong>the</strong> Soviet Union intensified in<br />
<strong>the</strong> early 1960s, America found itself decidedly behind<br />
in <strong>the</strong> space race. Russia had already put a man (Yuri<br />
Gagarin) into orbit around <strong>the</strong> earth. And while America<br />
had sent two men suborbital (Alan Shepard and Gus<br />
Grissom), many of its rockets were exploding on <strong>the</strong><br />
launch pad. <strong>The</strong>n on Febrary 20, 1962, astronaut John<br />
Glenn came to bat for <strong>the</strong> U.S. and hit a home run, achieving<br />
three earth orbits in his Mercury-Atlas Friendship<br />
spacecraft. America pulled even with Soviets, never<br />
to fall behind again. Glenn retired from NASA shortly<br />
after, and served as senator from Ohio (Democrat)<br />
for three decades before returning to <strong>the</strong> heavens<br />
in 1998 aboard <strong>the</strong> Space Shuttle Discovery. At 77, he<br />
became <strong>the</strong> oldest man in space, a record that still<br />
stands. <strong>Explorers</strong> Journal Contributing Editor Jim<br />
Clash caught up with Glenn, now 88, to discuss his two<br />
flights and <strong>the</strong> current state of <strong>the</strong> U.S. space program.<br />
12<br />
JIM CLASH: Briefly set up <strong>the</strong> historical context<br />
for your pivotal Mercury flight in 1962.<br />
JOHN GLENN: What people forget is what prompted<br />
that flight, <strong>the</strong> rationale behind it. It was largely a<br />
part of <strong>the</strong> Cold War. <strong>The</strong> Soviets were claiming<br />
technical and research superiority to <strong>the</strong> United<br />
States. <strong>The</strong>y were bringing thousands of young<br />
people in from Third-World countries, giving <strong>the</strong>m<br />
an education in Moscow, <strong>the</strong>n sending <strong>the</strong>m to<br />
o<strong>the</strong>r places in <strong>the</strong> Soviet Union and back to<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir homes again, almost as little Communist<br />
emissaries.<br />
<strong>The</strong>ir claims of technical superiority were<br />
borne out by <strong>the</strong> fact that <strong>the</strong>y were launching<br />
things, while ours were too often blowing up on<br />
<strong>the</strong> pad. <strong>The</strong>y, of course, orbited before we did.<br />
We thought we were going to be first into space<br />
with Al Shepard on a suborbital flight in 1961,<br />
Astronaut John Glenn in a state of weightlessness, traveling at 17,500 miles per hour on February 20, 1962. image COurtesy NASA.
and lo and behold <strong>the</strong>y launched Gagarin orbital<br />
before Al. So <strong>the</strong>re was a catch-up thing we had<br />
to do. We certainly didn’t believe <strong>the</strong>y were superior.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y were good in that particular area getting<br />
started, but we knew for <strong>the</strong> long haul we were as<br />
good as—or better than—<strong>the</strong>y were.<br />
We look back now and say, “Oh, that was just<br />
a small incident,” but in those days <strong>the</strong>re were<br />
serious writings about <strong>the</strong> future of Communism<br />
around <strong>the</strong> world, whe<strong>the</strong>r it was going to be a<br />
dominant factor. We took this very seriously—<strong>the</strong><br />
Administration, President Kennedy and President<br />
Eisenhower, after he came around to believe in<br />
<strong>the</strong> importance of it. So at <strong>the</strong> time, we looked at<br />
this as representing our country in <strong>the</strong> Cold War.<br />
When you went off on a mission, was <strong>the</strong>re risk<br />
Yeah, <strong>the</strong>re were risks, and you wanted to minimize<br />
those—nobody was on a suicide mission—but<br />
at <strong>the</strong> same time you realized that maybe some<br />
risk was justified to achieve <strong>the</strong> purpose of what<br />
we had set out to do.<br />
JC: Tell me about <strong>the</strong> Mercury flight.<br />
JG: I remember it all vividly. It was a very impressiongenerating<br />
event at that time, so new. It seems it<br />
was just a few weeks ago instead of all those years.<br />
My feeling was we were dedicated to <strong>the</strong> program,<br />
we had all volunteered for it. <strong>The</strong> seven of us had<br />
come out of military test-flying, so we were accustomed<br />
to high-speed flight, small cockpits, things<br />
like that. We were competitive with each o<strong>the</strong>r to<br />
see who would get <strong>the</strong> early missions. I’ve always<br />
felt fortunate to do <strong>the</strong> one I did.<br />
Gus Grissom and Al Shepard had done <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
15-minute [suborbital] flights ahead of me. But on<br />
mine, we finally got up to full orbital speed, 17,500<br />
mph, which comes out to 4.8 miles (7.7 kilometers)<br />
a second. It is hard to believe that you’re traveling<br />
that fast, but <strong>the</strong>re we were. We had tried to foresee<br />
everything, take corrective measures ahead of<br />
time. Things happened we did not foresee, but we<br />
had planned around <strong>the</strong>m so you could keep going,<br />
and that’s exactly what we did.<br />
JC: <strong>The</strong>re were problems on your flight, one of<br />
which was a loose heat shield<br />
JG: <strong>The</strong> first was earlier in <strong>the</strong> flight. Some scientists<br />
wondered whe<strong>the</strong>r you could really control<br />
<strong>the</strong> spacecraft just being up <strong>the</strong>re yourself, looking<br />
outside and at your instruments, what your sensations<br />
might be. We had planned eventually to go<br />
over from automatic flight, which was on during<br />
launch. I was supposed to switch off one axis at a<br />
time—roll, pitch, and yaw—try those out separately,<br />
<strong>the</strong>n combine <strong>the</strong> axes and see whe<strong>the</strong>r I could<br />
control attitudes of all of <strong>the</strong>m toge<strong>the</strong>r.<br />
Well, at <strong>the</strong> end of <strong>the</strong> first orbit, one of <strong>the</strong> little<br />
thrusters stuck on and was wasting fuel. I had to<br />
cut it off. I was a bit unsure of what was going to<br />
happen with <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r thrusters, but I cut <strong>the</strong> whole<br />
thing off and just went to manual flight to save fuel;<br />
o<strong>the</strong>rwise we would have had to cut <strong>the</strong> mission<br />
short. That was really <strong>the</strong> first thing—I won’t say it<br />
was an emergency—we met we hadn’t planned on.<br />
Later, <strong>the</strong>re was <strong>the</strong> heat shield. Two different stations<br />
on <strong>the</strong> ground had radio telemetry signals from<br />
my spacecraft indicating <strong>the</strong> heat shield had come<br />
detached. Normally, it would not do that until you<br />
were on <strong>the</strong> main chute at <strong>the</strong> end of <strong>the</strong> flight. <strong>The</strong><br />
latches would pull, and it would drop down about<br />
four feet onto a rubber bag that acts like an air pillow<br />
to help attenuate <strong>the</strong> forces during landing.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y recommended I leave <strong>the</strong> heat shield<br />
locked in place by not throwing away <strong>the</strong> retro-pack<br />
after it had fired it for reentry. That pack sits right in<br />
<strong>the</strong> middle of <strong>the</strong> heat shield, and <strong>the</strong>re were three<br />
metal straps that held it to <strong>the</strong> main body of <strong>the</strong><br />
spacecraft. Normally, once those retro-rockets fire,<br />
<strong>the</strong>y are detached and tossed away into space,<br />
and you enter with a clean heat shield. What <strong>the</strong>y<br />
decided was if <strong>the</strong> heat shield really was loose, if<br />
those latches had already pulled, it would be better<br />
to leave <strong>the</strong> retro-pack in place to help hold <strong>the</strong><br />
shield in place until it had built up some aerodynamic<br />
force coming back in. You didn’t want it out<br />
<strong>the</strong>re banging around by itself; that probably would<br />
have let <strong>the</strong> whole thing burn up.<br />
So that was our big emergency. As it worked out,<br />
it was fine and I made reentry. But it made it unusual<br />
from where I was because when I looked up<br />
momentarily and glanced out, big blazing chunks<br />
of stuff were going by <strong>the</strong> window, and I couldn’t<br />
be sure whe<strong>the</strong>r it was <strong>the</strong> retro-pack or <strong>the</strong> heat<br />
shield. Obviously, it was <strong>the</strong> retro-pack burning off,<br />
and <strong>the</strong> heat shield was okay.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y talked about this down on <strong>the</strong> ground and<br />
<strong>the</strong>y didn’t tell me—that was <strong>the</strong> part I wasn’t too<br />
happy with after <strong>the</strong> flight. I thought NASA could<br />
have been more forthright with me and just stated<br />
what <strong>the</strong> problem was ra<strong>the</strong>r than wait until I was<br />
ready for reentry. Anyway, whe<strong>the</strong>r that was legitimate<br />
or not, I guess we’ll always have disagreement.<br />
<strong>the</strong> <strong>explorers</strong> <strong>journal</strong>
P r e p a r i n g f o r L a u n c h<br />
Glenn enters his Mercury Friendship capsule before launch<br />
on February 20, 1962. At 9:47 a.m. (EST), his Atlas vehicle<br />
lifted him into orbit for a flight lasting 4 hours, 55 minutes,<br />
23 seconds. Image courtesy NASA.
JC: How about your view from <strong>the</strong> Mercury capsule<br />
JG: In orbit you’re keyed up and aware of everything<br />
going on, every little noise, anything that may have<br />
special meaning because of where you are. My first<br />
view after I’d detached from <strong>the</strong> booster and <strong>the</strong><br />
capsule had turned around into orbital attitude was<br />
looking back at Earth. I could see <strong>the</strong> whole state<br />
of Florida and into <strong>the</strong> Gulf of Mexico toward New<br />
Orleans. It was just beautiful. You could see <strong>the</strong> horizon<br />
and <strong>the</strong> black sky above—you don’t see blue<br />
sky up <strong>the</strong>re. <strong>The</strong> blue we see on Earth is from light<br />
refracting as it comes through <strong>the</strong> atmosphere. <strong>The</strong><br />
higher you get, <strong>the</strong> darker <strong>the</strong> sky gets. <strong>The</strong>n you<br />
look back at Earth and <strong>the</strong>re it is, sunlit and beautiful<br />
underneath you.<br />
JC: <strong>The</strong>y gave you a ticker-tape parade when you<br />
returned. What’s that like<br />
JG: That’s something else again, I’ll tell you. I was<br />
fortunate enough to be in two of <strong>the</strong>m in New<br />
York: one after <strong>the</strong> flight in ‘62 and <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r after<br />
STS-95 in 1998. It’s just an experience to see all<br />
those people <strong>the</strong>re, <strong>the</strong>ir emotions directed toward<br />
you, proud of what <strong>the</strong> country was able to do with<br />
<strong>the</strong>se projects and what we’re learning from <strong>the</strong>m.<br />
It was a great experience both times.<br />
JC: Ever experience fear<br />
JG: I won’t say it’s fear. Fear connotes something<br />
that interferes with what you’re doing. Was <strong>the</strong>re<br />
apprehension Of course. You’d be numb if you<br />
didn’t have that. I’ve often called it “constructive<br />
apprehension.” Maybe that’s splitting meanings a<br />
bit. People will ask, “What do you think about when<br />
you’re afraid, when you’re just ready to launch”<br />
<strong>The</strong> standard answer in <strong>the</strong> astronaut corps—and I<br />
think everyone claims parentage of this statement—<br />
is, “How do you think you’d feel if you knew you<br />
were on top of two million parts built by <strong>the</strong> lowest<br />
bidder in a government contract”<br />
JC: Contrast your 1998 Shuttle flight to Mercury.<br />
JG: On Mercury, of course, I was <strong>the</strong> only one in<br />
<strong>the</strong> spacecraft. You could loosen <strong>the</strong> straps a bit<br />
to be more comfortable, but you didn’t get out and<br />
float because <strong>the</strong>re wasn’t space. On <strong>the</strong> 1998<br />
flight, it was completely different. You not only got<br />
out of your flight suit to change clo<strong>the</strong>s, you floated<br />
from one part of <strong>the</strong> spacecraft to ano<strong>the</strong>r. We had<br />
seven people on board. Between my two flights<br />
<strong>the</strong>re were some 120 manned flights, so it gave<br />
<strong>the</strong> <strong>explorers</strong> <strong>journal</strong>
me a lot more confidence that we had most of <strong>the</strong><br />
critical problems solved, had things under control.<br />
Back in ‘62 you always wondered whe<strong>the</strong>r we had<br />
really thought of all <strong>the</strong> things that might go wrong.<br />
JC: Maybe you could enjoy this one a little more<br />
JG: Oh, you could. <strong>The</strong> purpose of <strong>the</strong> whole<br />
program had changed. In ‘62 we were trying to<br />
determine if we could just make orbital spaceflight,<br />
and we proved we could. Through <strong>the</strong> years, as we<br />
took a preeminent position in <strong>the</strong> space program,<br />
<strong>the</strong> purpose was not just to catch up with <strong>the</strong><br />
Soviets but one where we’re doing research. In ‘62<br />
I had some little experiments, too—spectrometer<br />
readings of <strong>the</strong> sun, stuff like that—but by 1998<br />
<strong>the</strong> whole purpose was fundamental research. We<br />
had 83 projects on that one Discovery flight. Later,<br />
Columbia had 90. We split those up so each of us<br />
had our responsibilities and a strict schedule for<br />
carrying <strong>the</strong>m out. Every day’s mission was routine,<br />
but <strong>the</strong>y did make changes to schedules from <strong>the</strong><br />
ground if you needed more time on a particular<br />
project. Between experiments, too, you had time to<br />
get up and look out <strong>the</strong> window more and enjoy that<br />
16<br />
beautiful view, whe<strong>the</strong>r day or night.<br />
My altitude in ‘62 was 160 miles (257 km)<br />
down to a little more than 100 miles (160 km) on<br />
a slightly elliptical orbit—not as high as we were<br />
on Discovery, about 350 statute miles (563 km).<br />
You’re looking at whole countries and things like<br />
<strong>the</strong> Red Sea just laid out on a map below. You’re<br />
above big wea<strong>the</strong>r systems and you can see <strong>the</strong><br />
whole patterns stretching out in circular form.<br />
Sunsets and sunrises are very different. You’re going<br />
almost 18 times <strong>the</strong> normal rotational speed of<br />
<strong>the</strong> Earth, so <strong>the</strong> sun goes up and down rapidly.<br />
But you also see <strong>the</strong> Sun’s rays channel through<br />
<strong>the</strong> atmosphere following <strong>the</strong> curvature of <strong>the</strong> Earth<br />
down to a termination point, with very brilliant colors<br />
at <strong>the</strong> moment of sunset. <strong>The</strong> Earth’s atmosphere<br />
acts as a prism for <strong>the</strong> light coming to you, and<br />
for a few seconds you see a variance of <strong>the</strong> whole<br />
spectrum—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo,<br />
violet—at <strong>the</strong> same luminous intensity you see only<br />
with reds, oranges, and yellows at sunset on Earth.<br />
JC: Ever regret not landing on <strong>the</strong> Moon<br />
JG: I would liked to have been on one of those lunar<br />
STS-95 mission commander Curtis Brown and payload specialist John Glenn on <strong>the</strong> flight deck of Discovery, November 1, 1998. Image courtesy NASA.
flights, and I regret I was not. After my flight in ‘62,<br />
I wanted to get back into rotation. I talked to Bob<br />
Gilruth, <strong>the</strong> director, and he said no, that headquarters<br />
didn’t want me back in quite yet. So I kept<br />
requesting a number of times over <strong>the</strong> next year and<br />
a half. Finally, he couldn’t say when, or if, I was ever<br />
going back. It wasn’t that I had done a bad job, quite<br />
<strong>the</strong> opposite; <strong>the</strong>y said I had done an excellent job.<br />
I found out much later, years after I had left<br />
NASA, when one of <strong>the</strong> biographies of John<br />
Kennedy was published. It said [Kennedy] had indicated<br />
to NASA he’d ra<strong>the</strong>r I was not used again.<br />
I don’t know if it was because of all <strong>the</strong> outpouring<br />
and attention we had at that time, and what would<br />
happen if I had been bagged on ano<strong>the</strong>r flight or<br />
something. So I guess that was <strong>the</strong> reason I wasn’t<br />
used again. I finally left NASA and wound up running<br />
for <strong>the</strong> Senate, was <strong>the</strong>re for 24 years. So I<br />
have no complaints about my spot in <strong>the</strong> program<br />
and how it all worked out. But I would have liked to<br />
be on one of those lunar landings, that’s for sure.<br />
JC: What were you thinking as Apollo 11 landed on<br />
<strong>the</strong> lunar surface<br />
JG: Oh, that was a real cliff-hanger, because <strong>the</strong>y<br />
were down to <strong>the</strong>ir last few seconds of fuel, you<br />
know—somewhere between 15 and 30 seconds<br />
left when <strong>the</strong>y actually set down. I was in <strong>the</strong><br />
control center down <strong>the</strong>re in Houston at <strong>the</strong> time,<br />
watching from <strong>the</strong> observation area, and <strong>the</strong>y really<br />
had everybody holding <strong>the</strong>ir breath!<br />
JC: This is a critical time for <strong>the</strong> U.S. space program.<br />
Which direction do you think NASA should go<br />
JG: I think we should complete projects once<br />
<strong>the</strong>y’re started. When President [George W.] Bush<br />
arbitrarily reassigned space program priorities in<br />
2004, he announced that instead of concentrating<br />
on <strong>the</strong> space station, we were going back to <strong>the</strong><br />
Moon and to Mars, plus continue <strong>the</strong> station. At <strong>the</strong><br />
time, I thought <strong>the</strong>re would be more money for all<br />
that, but Bush said NASA had to do it on its existing<br />
budget. That’s ridiculous on its face, that you could<br />
do that additional stuff within <strong>the</strong> same budget.<br />
But NASA saluted smartly, and tried to carry<br />
out his orders. What it had to do was cut a lot of<br />
research money for <strong>the</strong> International Space Station<br />
(ISS). <strong>The</strong> station is a $100 billion investment, just<br />
now completed so we can put a full crew of six on<br />
it. For $3 to $5 billion a year, we could not only<br />
continue research, but also continue <strong>the</strong> shuttle.<br />
That’s <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r ridiculous part: <strong>The</strong>y are cutting<br />
<strong>the</strong> shuttle flights. So we’re going to be dependent<br />
on <strong>the</strong> Soviets to get back and forth to our own<br />
space station as <strong>the</strong>re will be a delay before our<br />
new launch vehicles are ready to go. This is very<br />
short-sighted.<br />
I don’t disagree with going to <strong>the</strong> Moon again,<br />
and Mars—if we’re willing to pay to do it. But it is just<br />
ridiculous to make a $100 billion investment and<br />
<strong>the</strong>n not maximize it. Instead of cutting ISS down,<br />
as <strong>the</strong>y’re planning to do in 2020, <strong>the</strong>y should figure<br />
out how to extend it so we get <strong>the</strong> major research<br />
benefit from it. <strong>The</strong> basis of <strong>the</strong> space program is<br />
to get research from <strong>the</strong> station that will benefit<br />
people on Earth. When <strong>the</strong>y see those benefits, it<br />
will lead to more support.<br />
JC: Your views on <strong>the</strong> <strong>The</strong> Right Stuff<br />
JG: I thought Tom Wolfe’s book was pretty good.<br />
Once Hollywood got hold of it, <strong>the</strong>y hammed it up,<br />
started inventing things. <strong>The</strong> movie made caricatures<br />
of everybody involved—expanded on whatever<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir normal traits were—and made a charade of <strong>the</strong><br />
whole thing. Back at that time, it was very serious<br />
business. As far as entertainment, <strong>The</strong> Right Stuff<br />
is a good movie. As far as a documentary of <strong>the</strong><br />
early space days, which <strong>the</strong>y purported it to be, it is<br />
not at all. <strong>The</strong> best space movie in my view is Apollo<br />
13. That’s just <strong>the</strong> way it happened.<br />
JC: What is <strong>the</strong> one thing about <strong>the</strong> Mercury flight<br />
that sticks in your mind most today<br />
JG: I can’t do that because <strong>the</strong> whole thing was<br />
so impressive. You think launch is going to be tremendous,<br />
and it was. <strong>The</strong>n to be up <strong>the</strong>re at night<br />
on <strong>the</strong> dark side of Earth able to see <strong>the</strong> lights of<br />
Perth, Australia…<strong>the</strong> uncertainties of reentry…all<br />
of those things are very, very vivid to me to this<br />
day. But I suppose if I had to pick one, it would be<br />
reentry because that’s when you have <strong>the</strong> highest<br />
heat and greatest number of physical factors<br />
operating on <strong>the</strong> spacecraft. You’re decelerating<br />
rapidly, and it’s a very focused-attention time.<br />
When you’ve come back into <strong>the</strong> atmosphere,<br />
you’re going straight down supersonic through<br />
about 27,000 feet, (8,230 meters) where <strong>the</strong> air<br />
resistance finally builds to slow you to subsonic<br />
speed. <strong>The</strong>n at about 10,000 feet (3,048 meters),<br />
<strong>the</strong> main chute comes out. When you see that<br />
through <strong>the</strong> window, you know you’re in great<br />
shape, and that you’re going to land okay.<br />
<strong>the</strong> <strong>explorers</strong> <strong>journal</strong>
a l a n d o f<br />
a n c i e n t<br />
v i o l e n c e<br />
Mars man Steven Squyres on <strong>the</strong><br />
latest from <strong>the</strong> Red Planet<br />
w h e r e t h e y a r e n o w<br />
<strong>The</strong> locations of <strong>the</strong> rovers Spirit and Opportunity, which<br />
have been exploring <strong>the</strong> Red Planet for six years, are shown<br />
on this Viking image of Mars, which has been enhanced<br />
by <strong>the</strong> addition of MOLA surface topographic information.<br />
Image courtesy NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific<br />
Visualization Studio.<br />
<strong>the</strong> <strong>explorers</strong> <strong>journal</strong>
It has been six years since <strong>the</strong> Mars rovers Spirit<br />
and Opportunity landed on opposite sides of <strong>the</strong> Red<br />
Planet, having traveled some seven months to get<br />
<strong>the</strong>re. On January 4, 2004 (UTC), Spirit touched down<br />
near <strong>the</strong> center of <strong>the</strong> Gusev Crater, a Connecticutsized<br />
depression once thought to have held water<br />
(located some 16 degrees south of <strong>the</strong> planet’s equator).<br />
Three weeks later, Opportunity came to rest at<br />
Meridiani Planum, a vast crater-pocked plain halfway<br />
around <strong>the</strong> Martian globe and where abundant deposits<br />
of grey hematite, detected during earlier missions,<br />
hinted at <strong>the</strong> past ACTION OF WATER.<br />
Initially, plans called for a 90-day sojourn during<br />
which <strong>the</strong> rovers—each weighing some 180 kilograms<br />
(400 lbs) and loaded with identical suites of scientific<br />
instruments—would probe <strong>the</strong>ir respective regions of<br />
<strong>the</strong> Martian landscape, collecting data and images and<br />
reporting back.<br />
Now entering <strong>the</strong>ir seventh year of operation, <strong>the</strong><br />
20<br />
rovers have far exceeded <strong>the</strong>ir warranties, having<br />
collectively traversed some 25 kilometers of Martian<br />
terrain since <strong>the</strong>ir arrival and having transmitted<br />
thousands of images and data that are shaping of our<br />
understanding of <strong>the</strong> fourth planet from our Sun.<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Explorers</strong> Journal recently talked to Cornell<br />
University’s Steven Squyres, principal investigator<br />
for <strong>the</strong> Mars rover project, about <strong>the</strong> status of <strong>the</strong><br />
mission and what we are learning.<br />
EJ: How has <strong>the</strong> rover project changed our view<br />
or understanding about Mars<br />
SS: We have found abundant evidence of a violent<br />
past preserved in <strong>the</strong> Martian rock. While initial<br />
exploration of Spirit’s Gusev Crater landing site<br />
revealed a more basaltic environment, <strong>the</strong> area<br />
around <strong>the</strong> Columbia Hills, where <strong>the</strong> rover is now,<br />
has variety of rocks suggesting that early Mars<br />
was bombarded by impacts and experienced<br />
Opportunity spies Block Island, an iron-rich meteorite of a type found on Earth. Image courtesy JPL/NASA.
elentless eruptions of magma and steam. We<br />
have found aqueous silicates around what may<br />
have been hot springs of volcanic fumaroles. At<br />
a place we call “Home Plate,” a circular feature in<br />
<strong>the</strong> Inner Basin of <strong>the</strong> Columbia Hills, Spirit found<br />
a collection of layered pyroclastic deposits (coarse<br />
grains lying beneath much finer material) which<br />
fits <strong>the</strong> pattern of accumulation of material raining<br />
down during a volcanic eruption. In contrast to <strong>the</strong><br />
steamy and violent environment encountered by<br />
Spirit, Opportunity, working halfway around <strong>the</strong><br />
planet, has found evidence of a wetter environment<br />
where acidic water once saturated <strong>the</strong> ground and<br />
occasionally flowed across its surface.<br />
EJ: So where are <strong>the</strong> rovers now<br />
SS: In April 2009—some 800 Sols, or Martian days,<br />
into <strong>the</strong> project and with more than 7.5 kilometers<br />
traveled—Spirit became trapped in deep, soft sand<br />
on <strong>the</strong> west side of Home Plate, eventually losing<br />
use of its right front wheel and right rear wheel in<br />
an attempt to free itself. After multiple attempts to<br />
dislodge <strong>the</strong> rover, we have decided for now to<br />
focus on experiments that will tell us information<br />
about its current location. As it turns out <strong>the</strong> “sand<br />
trap,” which we have nicknamed “Troy,” happens<br />
to be an excellent site for research purposes.<br />
Already, this has begun to yield interesting results.<br />
Just below <strong>the</strong> surface, <strong>the</strong> rover has found<br />
sulfate-rich deposits beneath its left wheels, which<br />
we believe were formed in steam vents associated<br />
with water-charged explosive volcanism. Spirit<br />
is sitting on <strong>the</strong> edge of a small crater, astride a<br />
boundary between crusty sulfate-rich deposits<br />
and soils with an average concentration of sulfur.<br />
We are also hoping that, from its stationary position,<br />
we can use radio tracking of Spirit to monitor<br />
any wobble in <strong>the</strong> planet’s axis of rotation, which<br />
could tell us whe<strong>the</strong>r Mars’ core is molten or solid.<br />
<strong>The</strong> biggest problem we face with Spirit now is<br />
that winter is setting in <strong>the</strong> sou<strong>the</strong>rn hemisphere<br />
and <strong>the</strong> rover’s solar array is tilted 9 degrees to<br />
<strong>the</strong> south, away from <strong>the</strong> Sun, ra<strong>the</strong>r than to <strong>the</strong><br />
north—as it would be if <strong>the</strong> rover were mobile—limiting<br />
its solar power supply. Spirit will go semi-dormant<br />
for <strong>the</strong> remainder of <strong>the</strong> Martian winter until<br />
<strong>the</strong> rover begins receiving enough solar power to<br />
recharge and resume operations.<br />
Opportunity, on <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand, has just<br />
wrapped up operations at <strong>the</strong> Victoria Crater<br />
some 19 kilometers from its landing site and is<br />
now en route to Endeavour Crater, 11 kilometers<br />
away. <strong>The</strong> craters, by <strong>the</strong> way, are named in honor<br />
of great ships of discovery. During <strong>the</strong> traverse,<br />
<strong>the</strong> rover has encountered several interesting features<br />
on <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>rwise barren plain. One, which<br />
we dubbed Marquette Island, is a strange basaltic<br />
rock about <strong>the</strong> size of a basketball that appears<br />
to have come from deep in <strong>the</strong> Martian crust. We<br />
think it is ejecta from a distant crater. <strong>The</strong> rover<br />
also found two iron-rich meteorites of a type we<br />
find on Earth, which we named Block Island and<br />
Shelter Island. En route, we are having <strong>the</strong> rover<br />
investigate Concepción Crater, a small, young<br />
crater from a more recent impact.<br />
Opportunity’s probe of <strong>the</strong> craters within <strong>the</strong><br />
Meridiani Planum has revealed that surface waters<br />
evaporated <strong>the</strong>re, leaving behind sulfate-rich<br />
sands that, over time, have been shaped by wind<br />
and solidified by groundwater.<br />
EJ: Tell us about <strong>the</strong> Mars Reconnaissance<br />
Orbiter (MRO), which recently spied depressions—thought<br />
to be lakes—with drainage patterns<br />
consistent with flowing water near <strong>the</strong> Ares Vallis,<br />
a great gorge that runs along <strong>the</strong> Martian equator.<br />
SS: From <strong>the</strong> information we have from <strong>the</strong> rovers,<br />
it seems clear that water of some sort once flowed<br />
across <strong>the</strong> Martian landscape. <strong>The</strong> new images<br />
seem to confirm that. <strong>The</strong> relationship is synergistic<br />
between <strong>the</strong> rovers and <strong>the</strong> MRO, which<br />
provides a global view of <strong>the</strong> planet versus <strong>the</strong><br />
detailed inspection we gain on <strong>the</strong> ground. Each<br />
informs <strong>the</strong> movements and operations of <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>rs.<br />
<strong>The</strong> MRO is a key component of rover planning<br />
activity. MRO will see something that may<br />
be worth a rover look. Also, MRO’s companion<br />
orbiter Odyssey provides an important communications<br />
relay between Earth-based operations<br />
and <strong>the</strong> rovers at times when <strong>the</strong>ir locations are<br />
on <strong>the</strong> far side of <strong>the</strong> planet from Earth.<br />
EJ: What are your future plans for <strong>the</strong> project<br />
SS: In addition to continuing to use <strong>the</strong> rovers as<br />
long as <strong>the</strong>y remain in service, we are also working<br />
on <strong>the</strong> Mars Science Laboratory, which is somewhat<br />
more robust than Spirit and Opportunity.<br />
More than twice as large as <strong>the</strong> current rovers,<br />
it will collect Martian soil and rock samples and<br />
analyze <strong>the</strong>m for organic compounds that might<br />
attest life of some sort. For more on <strong>the</strong> state of<br />
affairs on Mars, visit: mars.nasa.gov<br />
<strong>the</strong> <strong>explorers</strong> <strong>journal</strong>
Finding Mars<br />
here on Earth<br />
text and images by Kate Harris<br />
<strong>explorers</strong> club<br />
student grant recipient<br />
Solid as a rock, <strong>the</strong> saying goes.<br />
But rock as a reference point<br />
for stability is a geological fallacy.<br />
Rocks crack like ice floes<br />
and wrinkle like worn faces.<br />
Tectonic forces heave rock to<br />
heaven, building mountaintops<br />
out of ocean bottoms. Elemental<br />
forces dissolve stone into sand,<br />
sifting beaches from those same<br />
mountain summits. And in <strong>the</strong><br />
Andes, where volcanoes fume<br />
over <strong>the</strong> land like temper tantrums rendered<br />
topographic, rock explodes.<br />
I have spent years absorbing such facts in<br />
<strong>the</strong> classroom, but <strong>the</strong> heavy truth of geologic<br />
transience only sinks in on <strong>the</strong> slope of Aguas<br />
Calientes, a near 6,000-meter volcano in nor<strong>the</strong>rn<br />
Chile. It is late November and<br />
seven of us are climbing this<br />
peak as part of <strong>the</strong> High Lakes<br />
Project supported by NASA<br />
and <strong>the</strong> SETI (Search for<br />
Extraterrestrial Intelligence)<br />
Institute. On this expedition, an<br />
international team of scientists<br />
and engineers are probing this<br />
lava-paved landscape in South<br />
America for clues about whe<strong>the</strong>r<br />
Mars was habitable billions of<br />
years ago. In o<strong>the</strong>r words, we have come to <strong>the</strong><br />
Andes seeking <strong>the</strong> alien.<br />
<strong>The</strong> search for extraterrestrial life is guided<br />
by <strong>the</strong> search for water, a prerequisite for life as<br />
we know it. Mars is one of <strong>the</strong> most promising<br />
abodes for life in our solar system, with reservoirs<br />
22
<strong>the</strong> Crimson waters of Aguas Calientes’ Summit lake are teeming with organisms.<br />
of water ice on its surface today and evidence that<br />
shallow, salty seas soaked its surface in <strong>the</strong> past.<br />
Like ancient Mars, <strong>the</strong> Chilean Altiplano is a place<br />
of cruel cold and searing ultraviolet radiation, a<br />
parched high-altitude desert puddled here and<br />
<strong>the</strong>re with undrinkable brine. You might expect<br />
such conditions to militate against life, but <strong>the</strong><br />
salty lakes that speckle this Mars-like desert support<br />
a bounty of tiny, tough organisms. This means<br />
that while ancient Mars was probably too hostile<br />
for little green men, conditions might have been<br />
clement for little green microbes.<br />
<strong>The</strong> challenge of pursuing this research in<br />
<strong>the</strong> Andes is that <strong>the</strong> most intriguing lakes hide<br />
in <strong>the</strong> craters of colossal volcanoes like Aguas<br />
Calientes. For <strong>the</strong> past two weeks, <strong>the</strong> High Lakes<br />
Project team has been adjusting to altitude while<br />
conducting fieldwork on <strong>the</strong> Altiplano. For <strong>the</strong> past<br />
two days we have been crawling up a slide of broken<br />
basalt and ash. In a few minutes, we will reach<br />
<strong>the</strong> summit with a hard-earned if fleeting window<br />
of opportunity for observations and experiments.<br />
Such is <strong>the</strong> harsh arithmetic of a research expedition<br />
in <strong>the</strong> Andes: two weeks of acclimatization<br />
plus two days of arduous ascent equals a scant<br />
two hours for science on <strong>the</strong> summit.<br />
But as it turns out, even this basic math doesn’t<br />
compute. On a rest break before <strong>the</strong> final slog<br />
to <strong>the</strong> top, we receive a garbled message on <strong>the</strong><br />
radio: “Looks li gschhhhh Láscar gschhhh erup<br />
gssschhh!” Nathalie Cabrol, a planetary geologist<br />
with <strong>the</strong> SETI Institute and <strong>the</strong> leader of <strong>the</strong> expedition,<br />
grabs her radio. “We do not copy. Please<br />
repeat.” This time <strong>the</strong> message comes through<br />
loud and clear in meaning if not delivery: “Gschhhh<br />
looks like gschhhh Láscar gschhh erupting!”<br />
When you are stranded on <strong>the</strong> lid of a volcano<br />
in a landscape littered with dozens more, this is<br />
precisely <strong>the</strong> last thing you want to hear. Láscar<br />
and Aguas Calientes are volcanic Siamese twins,<br />
joined at <strong>the</strong> slope. But while Aguas Calientes<br />
has long been dormant, Láscar periodically stirs<br />
and spews its igneous guts across <strong>the</strong> Chilean<br />
Altiplano. <strong>The</strong> last eruption was just over a year<br />
ago, and since day one of <strong>the</strong> expedition we have<br />
noticed a phantasm of cloud above <strong>the</strong> volcano.<br />
But in a geologically prone place like <strong>the</strong> Andes,<br />
such sights are commonplace. You simply have to<br />
gamble on tectonics and timing.<br />
Today, however, <strong>the</strong> odds are stacked against<br />
us. Nathalie tries to glean fur<strong>the</strong>r details about<br />
<strong>the</strong> shaky state of Láscar through <strong>the</strong> static on<br />
our radios. We catch far -from-reassuring words<br />
like earthquake, landslide, cloud. Our normally<br />
unflappable porters glance nervously at <strong>the</strong> loose<br />
boulders heaped above us. Seeking a vantage<br />
less vulnerable to rock fall, <strong>the</strong>y guide us <strong>the</strong> final<br />
meters to <strong>the</strong> summit.<br />
<strong>the</strong> <strong>explorers</strong> <strong>journal</strong>
Crouched in <strong>the</strong> crater of Aguas Calientes is<br />
an implausibly crimson lake, its waters red as a<br />
wound. Silence holds sway over winds suddenly<br />
shuttered by stone. On <strong>the</strong> far side of <strong>the</strong> crater,<br />
a white cloud creeps above Láscar. Whe<strong>the</strong>r dust<br />
or smoke or sulfurous vapor, we can’t tell. But we<br />
don’t intend to stick around long enough to find<br />
out. <strong>The</strong> world has split open, <strong>the</strong> world is steaming<br />
at <strong>the</strong> seams. Solid as a rock.<br />
“Whatever science you planned to do in two<br />
hours, do it in two minutes!” commands Nathalie.<br />
“<strong>The</strong>n we’re getting <strong>the</strong> hell off this mountain.”<br />
<strong>The</strong> Chilean Altiplano is a riot of jumbled rocks,<br />
piled haphazardly and poised to tumble at <strong>the</strong><br />
slightest provocation. Entropy postponed, but<br />
just barely. Volcanoes like Láscar and Aguas<br />
Calientes are violent, vertical puckerings of <strong>the</strong><br />
planet, and basaltic scree drapes <strong>the</strong> land in a soft<br />
and shifting skin. But like <strong>the</strong> slack scruff of <strong>the</strong><br />
gato andino, <strong>the</strong> wildcat that prowls <strong>the</strong> Andes, all<br />
that looseness sheaths muscles taut with an unreckoned<br />
power, tensioned somewhere between<br />
grace and violence.<br />
I am blissfully oblivious to all of this on my first<br />
morning in <strong>the</strong> Andes, when I wake in a world<br />
still solid. Frozen solid. I check my watch, hoping<br />
24<br />
to postpone entry into <strong>the</strong> polar realm beyond<br />
my sleeping bag and tent. It reads 1:26 a.m. on<br />
January 1, year unspecified. Last time I checked,<br />
it was November. I have leapt forward who knows<br />
how far into <strong>the</strong> future, or tumbled back in time, but<br />
ei<strong>the</strong>r case gives me ample excuse for avoiding <strong>the</strong><br />
mean cold a little longer. For future reference, <strong>the</strong><br />
conditions conducive to time travel are as follows: a<br />
sleeping chamber at hypoxic heights, and nights so<br />
subzero <strong>the</strong>y freeze watches into confusion.<br />
We initially dub our adopted homestead on <strong>the</strong><br />
Altiplano “Hotel Chilefornia”, but soon amend this<br />
to “Hotel Chillyfornia” to more accurately reflect<br />
climatic conditions. This basecamp is <strong>the</strong> skeleton<br />
of an abandoned army building, somewhat lacking<br />
in aes<strong>the</strong>tic charm but sturdy as a wind shelter.<br />
Inside crumbling cinder block walls, we pitch a<br />
tent city that would do any desert nomad proud,<br />
complete with a kitchen, lab space, an office, and<br />
sleeping tents. One porter poetically refers to<br />
our camp as “<strong>the</strong> hotel of a billion stars,” since<br />
those who brave a midnight bathroom break are<br />
rewarded by a sky so salted with stars you expect<br />
<strong>the</strong> air to smell like <strong>the</strong> ocean.<br />
In fact, <strong>the</strong> air near <strong>the</strong> lakes we have come to<br />
explore reeks suspiciously of <strong>the</strong> sea. Lagunas of<br />
all shapes, salinities, and shades blink startled<br />
and electric out of <strong>the</strong> bleached desert. <strong>The</strong>se<br />
high-altitude flora surround indigo waters. Facing page, crossing an andean summit lake by inflatable.
hallucinogenic blue, red, and yellow waters<br />
cradle diverse communities of hardy critters like<br />
copepods, algae, and tiny shrimps and worms.<br />
Munching on <strong>the</strong>se minute organisms are flamingos,<br />
who slurp <strong>the</strong> briny broth through necks thin<br />
and hollow as straws. Neon as some of <strong>the</strong> candycolored<br />
lakes <strong>the</strong>y haunt, I suspect <strong>the</strong>se birds fly<br />
to <strong>the</strong> Andes to dye <strong>the</strong>ir fea<strong>the</strong>rs pink. Or perhaps<br />
<strong>the</strong> converse is true, and flamingo fea<strong>the</strong>rs<br />
leaching pigment are to blame for <strong>the</strong> bubblegum<br />
tints of certain lagunas.<br />
Ei<strong>the</strong>r way, <strong>the</strong>se birds are more than pretty-inpink.<br />
If <strong>the</strong> search for life on Mars is guided by<br />
<strong>the</strong> philosophy “follow <strong>the</strong> water,” <strong>the</strong> search for<br />
microorganisms at this altitude in <strong>the</strong> Andes is<br />
guided by <strong>the</strong> philosophy “follow <strong>the</strong> flamingos.”<br />
<strong>The</strong> sustenance of choice for Andean flamingos<br />
neatly coincides with Nathalie’s sample specimens<br />
of choice, making <strong>the</strong>se birds ideal signposts<br />
for interesting science. In <strong>the</strong> weeks before<br />
our Aguas Calientes climb, we drive across <strong>the</strong><br />
aching expanse of <strong>the</strong> Altiplano, scanning lakes<br />
for <strong>the</strong>ir spindly profiles. Once spotted, we shoo<br />
<strong>the</strong>m from <strong>the</strong>ir aqueous buffet, and Nathalie<br />
wades in with plankton net in tow. On shore, <strong>the</strong><br />
rest of <strong>the</strong> team waits with plastic bottles gaped<br />
wide to swallow samples of microbial muck, which<br />
we will scrutinize back at basecamp.<br />
When <strong>the</strong> water is too deep for hip waders,<br />
<strong>the</strong> team takes to <strong>the</strong> lakes in inflatable boats and<br />
scuba suits. Packing this gear on an expedition to<br />
<strong>the</strong> arid Altiplano might seem a lunatic proposition—at<br />
least tourists thought so when <strong>the</strong> High<br />
Lakes dive team practiced <strong>the</strong>ir moves in a hotel<br />
pool <strong>the</strong> previous year. Nathalie tells me that a<br />
Speedo-clad German queried, “Where, exactly,<br />
do you plan to scuba dive around here” She<br />
pointed at <strong>the</strong> Andes on <strong>the</strong> desert horizon and<br />
grinned. “See those volcanoes over <strong>the</strong>re”<br />
No diving is planned for this year’s expedition to<br />
<strong>the</strong> summit lake of Aguas Calientes, but Nathalie<br />
and Clayton Woosley, <strong>the</strong> expedition field engineer,<br />
plan to collect data on <strong>the</strong> depth of Laguna<br />
Lejía by traversing its waters in an inflatable raft.<br />
<strong>The</strong> idea is that learning more about <strong>the</strong> physical<br />
parameters and biogeochemical character<br />
of <strong>the</strong>se Andean lagunas will prime us to search<br />
for ancient lakebeds on Mars, <strong>the</strong> ideal sites to<br />
search for evidence of extraterrestrial life.<br />
For days we have waited for calm wea<strong>the</strong>r in<br />
order to launch <strong>the</strong> boat, but wind ricochets unceasingly<br />
around <strong>the</strong> Altiplano, sculpting dunes<br />
into indecipherable runes and whipping lake<br />
waters into a salty slurry. Eventually, <strong>the</strong> decision<br />
is made to capitalize on—or more truthfully,<br />
capitulate to—<strong>the</strong> elements. Propelled by paddles,<br />
<strong>the</strong> <strong>explorers</strong> <strong>journal</strong>
a whimpering motor, and a gusty tailwind, Nathalie<br />
and Clay surf across Lejía, <strong>the</strong>ir vessel a floating<br />
fleck of dust on <strong>the</strong>se wide, turbulent waters. An<br />
hour later, <strong>the</strong>y emerge exalted and salted on <strong>the</strong><br />
o<strong>the</strong>r side. One small step in Andes present, one<br />
giant leap toward understanding Mars past.<br />
Back at basecamp, I watch a copepod we caught<br />
squirm beneath <strong>the</strong> harsh glare of a microscope.<br />
<strong>The</strong> sight reminds me of film footage from <strong>the</strong> Apollo<br />
lunar missions, when astronauts shot <strong>the</strong> distant<br />
earth through a spaceship porthole. From <strong>the</strong> vantage<br />
of lunar space, through <strong>the</strong> narrow lens of an<br />
unsteady, floating video<br />
camera, our pale blue<br />
dot of a planet wobbled<br />
and jerked against <strong>the</strong><br />
black cosmos like a live,<br />
trapped thing magnified<br />
out of all proportion, a<br />
copepod scrabbling on<br />
a microscope slide. Is<br />
all life so vulnerable, so<br />
solitary, so crushingly<br />
oblivious<br />
Maybe so, but life abounds in defiance to apparent<br />
desolation, whe<strong>the</strong>r under a microscope or<br />
on <strong>the</strong> Altiplano. From a distance, a five o’clock<br />
shadow of grassy stubble covers <strong>the</strong> ruddy face<br />
of <strong>the</strong> desert, but close up <strong>the</strong> grass resolves into<br />
discrete clumps of botanical life islanded between<br />
barren straits of dirt. Plants boast punk fringes of<br />
blonde bristles, which camouflage gatos andinos<br />
and provide fodder for <strong>the</strong> llamas that roam <strong>the</strong><br />
region. And everywhere, both in lakes and on<br />
land, seen and unseen protean creatures eke out<br />
a contented existence. We scientists swaddle<br />
and cushion ourselves against <strong>the</strong> hostile Andean<br />
climate, but when we sample <strong>the</strong>se tiny life-forms,<br />
we must swaddle and cushion <strong>the</strong>m against <strong>the</strong><br />
relatively harsher realm of humans. What we call<br />
extreme, <strong>the</strong> flora and fauna of this high-altitude<br />
desert simply call home, and <strong>the</strong> converse holds<br />
as well.<br />
<strong>The</strong> history of this land is archived in volcanic<br />
rock, and Ingrid Peate, a volcanologist with <strong>the</strong><br />
High Lakes Project, is here to scrutinize it. A truck<br />
drops off Ingrid, Carlos Salazar, <strong>the</strong> expedition<br />
doctor, and myself in <strong>the</strong> open desert to hunt for<br />
compelling magmatic rocks, made of lava solidified<br />
26<br />
<strong>the</strong>n shattered. No stone stands a chance against<br />
Ingrid when she sets her formidable mind, biceps,<br />
and rock hammer to <strong>the</strong> task of sampling, and<br />
soon we are staggering under <strong>the</strong> weight of collected<br />
chunks of <strong>the</strong> world.<br />
As we hike along <strong>the</strong> vitreous lavascape, Ingrid<br />
describes in dramatic detail <strong>the</strong> origin and evolution<br />
of <strong>the</strong> terrain we are treading. Energy from<br />
<strong>the</strong> condensational origin of <strong>the</strong> Earth still broods<br />
internally, and every so often seeks surface expression<br />
in places such as <strong>the</strong> Andes, where volcanoes<br />
welt <strong>the</strong> land like a bad case of Archean<br />
acne. <strong>The</strong> gritty pumice<br />
underfoot once spilled<br />
inhumanly hot across<br />
<strong>the</strong> Altiplano. Proof<br />
of this flow is found in<br />
large-scale geomorphic<br />
features, like <strong>the</strong><br />
clown collars of solidified<br />
lava cinching <strong>the</strong><br />
necks of volcanoes,<br />
and small-scale mineral<br />
clues, like those<br />
contained in <strong>the</strong> rocks we are collecting.<br />
After a few hours of hiking and sampling, we get<br />
a call from Nathalie on our radios. “We found fossils,<br />
beautiful fossils!” she exclaims with <strong>the</strong> excitement<br />
of someone who has spotted a little green<br />
man on Mars. “Come check <strong>the</strong>m out!”<br />
Sure enough, lodged into <strong>the</strong> ancient shoreline<br />
of Laguna Lejía is a miniature forest of fossilized<br />
microbial mats. Water levels in Altiplano lakes<br />
have plunged dramatically over ages, stranding<br />
life that once thrived in shallow shores at higher,<br />
drier, harsher elevations. Again and again on <strong>the</strong><br />
Altiplano, <strong>the</strong> apparently static world is revealed<br />
as unstable. Lakes turn desert, habitable turns<br />
inhospitable, microbes turn mineral, and <strong>the</strong> Earth<br />
turns in space and time.<br />
While we are examining <strong>the</strong> fossil shoreline,<br />
Nathalie, still buzzing from <strong>the</strong> discovery, says to<br />
herself, “You know, I feel so strangely at home out<br />
here.” I look around: we are in a remote desert<br />
with no potable water or food for hundreds of<br />
kilometers. We are staring at samples of life long<br />
dead. <strong>The</strong> wind is pummeling us with savage,<br />
invisible fists. Mountains leer vast and volcanic<br />
all around us. <strong>The</strong>re is no refuge anywhere in this<br />
salt-glazed, wind-scoured, sun-blistered wasteland.<br />
Home<br />
Geysers blow off <strong>the</strong>ir steam. Facing page, descent from <strong>the</strong> mountain.
<strong>The</strong>re is something patently absurd about loving<br />
a landscape for its intrinsic resemblance to ano<strong>the</strong>r<br />
planet. Yet in <strong>the</strong> Andes, like Nathalie, I find<br />
myself falling in love with a pile of rocks because<br />
<strong>the</strong>y could conceivably be heaped and scattered<br />
just so on Mars. This is <strong>the</strong> calling and curse of<br />
nomads, who have eyes always for <strong>the</strong> land of beyond.<br />
And when <strong>the</strong> land of beyond happens to be<br />
ano<strong>the</strong>r planet, your feet are never wholly planted<br />
on this Earth. But for <strong>the</strong> High Lakes Project team,<br />
seeking <strong>the</strong> alien on Earth is less about escape,<br />
and more about connection, about seeing <strong>the</strong><br />
cosmic in <strong>the</strong> concrete.<br />
And sometimes, this<br />
means feeling most in<br />
our element precisely<br />
when we should feel<br />
most out of it.<br />
Back at Hotel<br />
Chillyfornia after a<br />
long day of fieldwork,<br />
<strong>the</strong> porters chuckle at<br />
our clo<strong>the</strong>s and faces<br />
crusted with fine desert<br />
dust. Fossilized ourselves, more mineral than<br />
mammal, we bear <strong>the</strong> telltale signs of sojourners<br />
in a land beyond time.<br />
Our few minutes on <strong>the</strong> summit of Aguas Calientes<br />
are up, and we must descend. We chuck science<br />
aside like so much excess baggage, and make a<br />
break for home.<br />
As we rush off <strong>the</strong> volcano, I am strangely<br />
void of panic over possible annihilation by eruption.<br />
Awe lodges in my throat like some kind of<br />
palpable immensity I can’t quite swallow. We skid<br />
down <strong>the</strong> scree slope, graceless as an avalanche,<br />
and inhale a rotten-egg atmosphere of sulfur. <strong>The</strong><br />
sun ignites <strong>the</strong> Altiplano below, and <strong>the</strong> desert<br />
blazes infernal beneath an indifferent indigo sky.<br />
Lakes gleam as lapidary and inscrutable as <strong>the</strong><br />
stars. In this raw slant of light and mood, <strong>the</strong><br />
world has never looked so awesome, so fiercely<br />
alien. Lurching down this unstable slope, I find<br />
myself flung far<strong>the</strong>r than ever before, far<strong>the</strong>r than<br />
<strong>the</strong> Andes, more remote than Mars, hurtled into<br />
orbit around <strong>the</strong> infinitely dense, infinitely absurd<br />
enigma that is our existence.<br />
Before I know it, this orbit swoops me back<br />
to Earth. A volcano that took two days to climb<br />
takes barely three hours to descend, and soon<br />
we are back on <strong>the</strong> relatively safe surface of <strong>the</strong><br />
Altiplano. At basecamp, we hear <strong>the</strong> full story<br />
from <strong>the</strong> porters, who are in radio contact with<br />
civilization: a Richter scale 7.7 earthquake rocked<br />
<strong>the</strong> coast of Chile just 150 kilometers away. <strong>The</strong><br />
concrete walls of Hotel Chillyfornia wobbled like<br />
wet noodles, Láscar belched a sulfurous cloud,<br />
and <strong>the</strong> quake triggered rockslides on all sides<br />
of Aguas Calientes except <strong>the</strong> very side we happened<br />
to be climbing. In <strong>the</strong> end, we were just<br />
plain lucky. Elsewhere, o<strong>the</strong>rs were less fortunate:<br />
two people in a nearby<br />
village were killed, and<br />
hundreds more injured<br />
by falling buildings.<br />
In this universe of<br />
fickle foundations,<br />
perhaps confusing<br />
poise for permanence,<br />
and rock for solid, is<br />
a necessary coping<br />
mechanism. Stone<br />
by cell, <strong>the</strong> world is<br />
unendingly transmuted by forces tectonic and<br />
microbial, temporal, and mineral. But even as<br />
<strong>the</strong> ground quakes beneath our feet, what else<br />
can we do but steel ourselves against dizziness<br />
and stumble on through <strong>the</strong> flux. <strong>The</strong>re are risks<br />
in wandering <strong>the</strong> volatile unknown, but <strong>the</strong>re<br />
are also chance sightings of <strong>the</strong> sublime in unabashed<br />
force, glimpses of gato andino grace<br />
in volcanic violence. Whe<strong>the</strong>r in <strong>the</strong> Andes or on<br />
Mars, whe<strong>the</strong>r voyaging to distant lands or remote<br />
reaches within ourselves, <strong>the</strong> goal of exploration is<br />
to emerge both shaken and stirred.<br />
Whatever high-altitude lakes and volcanoes in<br />
<strong>the</strong> Andes might ultimately teach us about life on<br />
ancient Mars, <strong>the</strong>y taught me an awful lot about life<br />
on Earth. Just before we scrambled off <strong>the</strong> summit<br />
of Aguas Calientes, I stole a glance into <strong>the</strong> volcanic<br />
crater lake. My reflection was warped in <strong>the</strong><br />
corrugated, ruby waters, but it revealed a truth so<br />
simple and so staggering that I am reeling still: <strong>the</strong><br />
only aliens in <strong>the</strong> Andes are <strong>the</strong> lot of us.<br />
b i o g r a p h y<br />
Kate Harris (SM ‘04) is a young scientist, wilderness conservationist,<br />
and writer. Her participation in this expedition was made possible by<br />
a Scott Pearlman Field Award from <strong>The</strong> <strong>Explorers</strong> <strong>Club</strong>.<br />
<strong>the</strong> <strong>explorers</strong> <strong>journal</strong>
A s t r o n a u t<br />
R e f l e c t i o n s<br />
a p e r s o n a l d r e a m c o m e t r u e<br />
I’ve been fascinated by flying and space exploration<br />
for as long as I can remember. Growing up<br />
during <strong>the</strong> Cold War and <strong>the</strong> space race, I spent<br />
much of my childhood building model airplanes<br />
and launching model rockets. And like many,<br />
I was inspired by <strong>the</strong> early astronauts. After<br />
watching <strong>the</strong> Apollo 11 Moon landing, I decided<br />
that I wanted to be one.<br />
Luckily, my childhood dream of spaceflight<br />
became a reality in January 1990 when I was<br />
selected by NASA to join <strong>the</strong> space astronaut<br />
corps. I had worked hard in school, earning<br />
three degrees in chemical engineering, from<br />
<strong>the</strong> University of California at Berkeley (B.S.)<br />
by Leroy Chiao<br />
and at Santa Barbara (M.S., Ph.D.). I applied<br />
to NASA while working as a research engineer<br />
at <strong>the</strong> Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.<br />
One day, I received <strong>the</strong> phone call out of <strong>the</strong><br />
blue, inviting me to Houston for an interview<br />
and medical testing. This was <strong>the</strong> beginning of<br />
<strong>the</strong> adventure!<br />
Since <strong>the</strong>n, I have flown four space missions,<br />
three aboard <strong>the</strong> Space Shuttle: STS-65 (July<br />
8–23, 1994), STS-72 (January 11–20, 1996),<br />
STS-92 (October 11–24, 2000), and most recently,<br />
as commander and NASA science officer<br />
aboard Expedition 10 (October 13, 2004–April<br />
24, 2005), a joint United States–Russian mission<br />
to <strong>the</strong> International Space Station (ISS).<br />
For <strong>the</strong> latter, I trained and flew as <strong>the</strong> copilot<br />
Leroy Chiao appears as a small reflection in his own helmet visor in <strong>the</strong> Pirs docking compartment of <strong>the</strong> international space station. Image courtesy NASA.<br />
28
of a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, launching from<br />
<strong>the</strong> Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. During<br />
Expedition 10, we performed two spacewalks,<br />
which offered me a unique opportunity to put on<br />
a Russian Orlan spacesuit and to compare <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
system with ours.<br />
i n t e r n a t i o n a l a p p r o a c h t o<br />
s p a c e E x p l o r a t i o n<br />
It was interesting for me to note that cultural differences<br />
extend into technical arenas. I found<br />
<strong>the</strong> Russian space hardware and methods to be<br />
effective, safe, and reliable. However, <strong>the</strong>ir approach<br />
is totally different from ours in <strong>the</strong> West.<br />
We Americans tend to engineer our systems to optimize<br />
performance. For example, even <strong>the</strong> power<br />
tool that NASA developed includes a microprocessor.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Russians, on <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand, use simple,<br />
often mechanical systems. <strong>The</strong> analogy I use is that<br />
American hardware is like a luxury car: comfortable,<br />
with many amenities, but also complicated.<br />
Russian hardware is like that old pickup truck:<br />
uncomfortable, free of amenities, but it starts and<br />
will get you to point B every time.<br />
When China launched its first astronaut, Yang<br />
Liwei, into space in October 2003, it became<br />
only <strong>the</strong> third nation in <strong>the</strong> world capable of human<br />
spaceflight. Three years later, I became<br />
<strong>the</strong> first American to be allowed to visit <strong>the</strong><br />
Astronaut Center of China (ACC), in Beijing.<br />
Over a series of visits <strong>the</strong>re, I met <strong>the</strong> ACC director,<br />
Chen Shanguang, and astronauts Yang<br />
Liwei, Fei Junlong, Nie Haisheng, and China’s<br />
first spacewalker, Zhai Zhigang. I was impressed<br />
with China’s space program, which has leveraged<br />
Russian technology and added sophistication in<br />
what appears to be a blend of <strong>the</strong> Russian and<br />
American engineering philosophies. Having flown<br />
only three crewed space missions, China lacks<br />
operational experience, not technological ability.<br />
M a g i c o f S p a c e f l i g h t<br />
Spaceflight is a magical, almost surreal experience.<br />
It is this basis that forms <strong>the</strong> special bond<br />
between astronauts and cosmonauts of all countries.<br />
What’s <strong>the</strong> best part Looking back at <strong>the</strong><br />
Earth and taking in <strong>the</strong> stunning beauty of our<br />
planet and being able to observe <strong>the</strong> same places<br />
on our planet throughout <strong>the</strong> seasons.<br />
A long mission to <strong>the</strong> ISS is quite different from<br />
a two-week shuttle flight. Perhaps a good analogy<br />
is <strong>the</strong> comparison of a marathon to a sprint. Just<br />
as <strong>the</strong> crew settles into a comfortable groove after<br />
four to six weeks, so does <strong>the</strong> human body. <strong>The</strong><br />
fluid shift from <strong>the</strong> lower extremities, which give<br />
people a “full-headed” feeling, subsides, as do<br />
o<strong>the</strong>r more subtle changes.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re’s nothing quite like living and working in<br />
microgravity. And as <strong>the</strong> largest space structure<br />
ever built, <strong>the</strong> ISS is <strong>the</strong> premier microgravity<br />
laboratory and thus presents an ideal environment<br />
in which to explore a host of research possibilities,<br />
including <strong>the</strong> development of future vaccines,<br />
which would improve life both on and off of <strong>the</strong><br />
Earth and beyond (see page 31).<br />
T h e S p a c e S h u t t l e P r o g r a m<br />
m a r k s a m i l e s t o n e<br />
Originally conceived as a low-cost, reusable orbital<br />
“truck,” <strong>the</strong> Space Shuttle was intended to fly almost<br />
weekly and offer inexpensive space access<br />
to both government and commercial users. It has<br />
been flying now for nearly three decades, but after<br />
134 flights and two fatal accidents, it has never approached<br />
<strong>the</strong> original goals on cost and turnaround.<br />
It is expensive to operate (around $500 million<br />
per mission) and carries more risk than originally<br />
thought. NASA’s own estimates place <strong>the</strong> fatality<br />
risk on <strong>the</strong> shuttle around one in one hundred.<br />
Never<strong>the</strong>less, it has been a magnificent flying<br />
machine. <strong>The</strong>re has been no o<strong>the</strong>r vehicle like it.<br />
It launches like a rocket and <strong>the</strong>n becomes an<br />
orbital platform capable of deploying satellites;<br />
supporting scientific instruments, investigations,<br />
and spacewalking astronauts; and performing<br />
rendezvous and docking with space stations. It<br />
<strong>the</strong>n reenters <strong>the</strong> Earth’s atmosphere to land on a<br />
runway like an airplane. Twenty-nine years of operations<br />
have produced numerous achievements,<br />
including <strong>the</strong> deployment and servicing of <strong>the</strong><br />
Hubble Space Telescope, <strong>the</strong> construction and<br />
support of <strong>the</strong> ISS, <strong>the</strong> rescue of several satellites,<br />
and <strong>the</strong> conducting of thousands of scientific experiments.<br />
We have learned much from <strong>the</strong> shuttle<br />
experience, both in space technology and engineering,<br />
as well as in operations. <strong>The</strong>se lessons<br />
<strong>the</strong> <strong>explorers</strong> <strong>journal</strong>
should be applied to future space vehicles.<br />
What will become of <strong>the</strong> Space Shuttle and<br />
<strong>the</strong> ISS This past summer I was invited to be a<br />
member of a ten-person White House “Review<br />
of United States Human Spaceflight Plans<br />
Committee” to study <strong>the</strong>se and o<strong>the</strong>r questions<br />
about <strong>the</strong> future of <strong>the</strong> American space program.<br />
Led by respected aerospace veteran Norm<br />
Augustine, we came to be know simply as <strong>the</strong><br />
Augustine Committee. Our charter was to evaluate<br />
<strong>the</strong> current NASA programs and to provide<br />
option sets for moving forward. We were specifically<br />
asked not to make<br />
recommendations.<br />
In all but one option<br />
set we put forth,<br />
<strong>the</strong> Space Shuttle<br />
would be retired after<br />
flying out <strong>the</strong> remaining<br />
manifest, which<br />
should occur within<br />
<strong>the</strong> next year. In most<br />
options, <strong>the</strong> ISS would<br />
continue operations<br />
through at least 2020.<br />
We also presented<br />
variations of forward exploration paths, which<br />
would lead us out of Low Earth Orbit, with <strong>the</strong><br />
eventual goal of sustainable human exploration<br />
of Mars. After <strong>the</strong> shuttle is decommissioned,<br />
<strong>the</strong> United States will be totally dependent on<br />
foreign—namely Russian—assets for astronaut<br />
access to space, before <strong>the</strong> next U.S. vehicle<br />
becomes operational. This gap will likely be at<br />
least five to seven years. Recent U.S. budget<br />
revelations indicate that <strong>the</strong>re will be an effort to<br />
encourage commercial efforts to launch astronauts<br />
into space, which is a significant departure<br />
from past American space policy. Although <strong>the</strong><br />
details are yet to be announced, this is an exciting<br />
change in paradigm, which should open up<br />
new opportunities.<br />
P r i v a t e S e c t o r a n d t h e F i n a l<br />
F r o n t i e r<br />
When I left NASA a few years ago, I became<br />
intrigued with <strong>the</strong> possibility of making <strong>the</strong> spaceflight<br />
experience available to more people. When<br />
Spaceship One (built by Burt Rutan’s Scaled<br />
30<br />
Composites team with financing from former<br />
Microsoft executive Paul Allen) won <strong>the</strong> Ansari X<br />
Prize in 2004, it proved that a privately built spacecraft<br />
could fly to space. Although that effort was<br />
a suborbital one, it was an important milestone.<br />
Orbital flight is much more difficult, but several<br />
individuals have flown commercially to space already<br />
through <strong>the</strong> Russian space program. Private<br />
commercial access to space is within sight, with<br />
several commercial companies already working<br />
toward that end (see <strong>The</strong> <strong>Explorers</strong> Journal, Fall 2008).<br />
In 2006, I joined Excalibur Almaz, a private,<br />
commercial space<br />
company based on<br />
proven, Russian hardware<br />
from <strong>the</strong> Soviet<br />
Almaz military space<br />
project. <strong>The</strong> Soviets<br />
successfully flew three<br />
manned Almaz military<br />
space stations, and<br />
were developing a reusable<br />
Almaz capsule<br />
spacecraft before it<br />
was canceled in favor<br />
of <strong>the</strong> Soyuz spacecraft.<br />
Excalibur Almaz has acquired <strong>the</strong> remaining<br />
hardware from this program, which has been<br />
flown on nine unmanned flight tests, and we are<br />
in <strong>the</strong> process of refurbishing and modernizing<br />
<strong>the</strong> spacecraft.<br />
In addition to offering individuals <strong>the</strong> experience<br />
of spaceflight, we are also working to become a<br />
research platform provider. Our goal is to begin<br />
offering one-week stays in Low Earth Orbit in a<br />
few years. As our operations mature, we will explore<br />
o<strong>the</strong>r flight profiles as well.<br />
Spaceflight is a life-changing experience. <strong>The</strong><br />
idea is to bring it to as many people as possible.<br />
A meaningful life involves dreams, challenge,<br />
and exploration. This is what <strong>the</strong> <strong>Explorers</strong> <strong>Club</strong><br />
is all about!<br />
b i o g r a p h y<br />
A Fellow of <strong>The</strong> <strong>Explorers</strong> <strong>Club</strong>, Leroy Chiao served as a NASA astronaut<br />
from 1990 to 2005. During his 15-year career, Chiao performed<br />
six spacewalks in both U.S. and Russian spacesuits, and has logged<br />
nearly 230 days in space. He is currently an executive vice president<br />
of Excaibur Almaz, a private commercial space venture.<br />
Chiao, in a Russian Orlan spacesuit, carries out a spacewalk during Expedition 10. Image courtesy NASA.
M i c r o b e s i n M i c r o g r a v i t y<br />
<strong>the</strong> pharmacy of <strong>the</strong> future<br />
By Ross von Burg<br />
It seems in a microgravity environment without a gravity<br />
bias bacteria grow faster, a lot faster; it is as if<br />
<strong>the</strong>y are hyper-adapted for it, almost a blob effect.<br />
In one of our first experiments, <strong>the</strong>y grew so fast in<br />
<strong>the</strong> nutrient solution we thought <strong>the</strong>y were going to<br />
burst out of containment.<br />
—T. Boone Pickens III, CEO Astrogenetix<br />
If astrobiology is a new discipline that looks for past life in<br />
<strong>the</strong> universe over deep time, astrogenetics is <strong>the</strong> future study<br />
of life beyond Earth under microgravity conditions. Since <strong>the</strong><br />
beginnings of manned space exploration, we have known that<br />
weightlessness is dangerous for fending off infection. Not<br />
only does microgravity weaken <strong>the</strong> human immune system, it<br />
increases <strong>the</strong> virulence of a range of microbes, making <strong>the</strong>m<br />
far deadlier in space than <strong>the</strong>y are on Earth.<br />
Viruses and bacteria in space grow as much as 1,000<br />
times faster, even in Low Earth Orbit. Disturbing as <strong>the</strong><br />
phenomenon may seem, such rapid cell growth and turnover<br />
may very well hold <strong>the</strong> key to curing a host of illnesses that<br />
plague us here on Earth. Microgravity conditions afford us<br />
<strong>the</strong> ability to prototype more potent and effective vaccines,<br />
speed up drug development and testing from decades to<br />
mere days, and to cultivate stem-cell lines in orbit.<br />
This extraordinary potential has not been lost on such<br />
space business entrepreneurs as T. Boone Pickens III,<br />
whose company Astrotech Space Operations (formerly<br />
known as SpaceHab) and its Astrogenetix subsidiary have<br />
flown more than 2,600 biological experiments on <strong>the</strong><br />
Space Shuttle and on <strong>the</strong> International Space Station<br />
(ISS) over <strong>the</strong> past two decades, sending <strong>the</strong>m aloft in<br />
modules developed at NASA’s Ames Research Center.<br />
Astrogenetix has created a unique toolkit of techniques<br />
needed to send and retrieve <strong>the</strong>se payloads as well those<br />
needed to function within NASA’s highly regulated manned<br />
space environment. Given that <strong>the</strong> ISS—recently completed<br />
and expensive to operate—is sitting out <strong>the</strong>re orbiting <strong>the</strong><br />
Earth every 90 minutes with mostly empty rack space<br />
for experiments such as <strong>the</strong>se make for an enticing, and<br />
potentially profitable, prospect. This underutilized asset<br />
was officially designated a national laboratory in 2007,<br />
allowing for commercial processes developed <strong>the</strong>re to be<br />
marketed on Earth.<br />
As those in <strong>the</strong> industry will tell you, part of <strong>the</strong> process<br />
“is knowing <strong>the</strong> process,” one of <strong>the</strong> reasons as yet very<br />
little science has been flown to <strong>the</strong> ISS. Its still takes<br />
around 7,000 pieces of paper or so to get an experiment to<br />
orbit but <strong>the</strong> process of working with NASA is obscure and<br />
known only to a few. Despite <strong>the</strong> red tape, justifying <strong>the</strong><br />
launch costs with a low-volume high-cost cargo is exactly<br />
what <strong>the</strong> industry needs and provides a profit margin ideal<br />
for a commercial space endeavor.<br />
A microgravity environment is especially good for developing<br />
and testing antibiotic strains for pathogens such as<br />
Methicillin-Resistant Staph Aureus (MRSA), an antibioticresistant<br />
superbug that is a common cause of infection in<br />
hospitals. “When you have 100 billion telephone numbers,”<br />
says Pickens, “finding <strong>the</strong> right one is key. We did it in<br />
three trips for <strong>the</strong> Salmonella vaccine, which will sell 200<br />
million doses worldwide.<br />
Beyond rapid cell turnover, huge spikes become more<br />
readily visible in <strong>the</strong> micro-array analysis. This provides<br />
more accurate information as to on what and where <strong>the</strong><br />
drugs are acting on and how much of a drug will be needed<br />
to accomplish a desired effect in clinical trials, making it<br />
possible to rapidly prototype <strong>the</strong> strongest cells. It also may<br />
be possible to carry out protein crystallization, a process<br />
that doesn’t work well on Earth because gravity distorts<br />
<strong>the</strong> crystalline matrix. To date, no one has successfully<br />
done it in orbit, namely because of <strong>the</strong> need for more time<br />
than has been available in <strong>the</strong> initial experiments.<br />
<strong>The</strong> space business is littered with companies that have<br />
gone bankrupt on cost overruns and disappointing service;<br />
it’s <strong>the</strong> second wave of guys that usually make <strong>the</strong> money.<br />
For <strong>the</strong> time being, however, Astrogenetix seems to have<br />
a leg up on getting access and in positioning itself to be<br />
a pathfinder for o<strong>the</strong>r researchers. <strong>The</strong> development of<br />
microgravity research for biologics is sure to be a game<br />
changer in <strong>the</strong> development and creation of vaccines and<br />
stem cell lines for <strong>the</strong> benefit of all humanity.<br />
b i o g r a p h y<br />
A Fellow of <strong>The</strong> <strong>Explorers</strong> <strong>Club</strong>, Ross Von Burg works as a consultant<br />
in <strong>the</strong> clean tech realm and as a public policy advocate.<br />
<strong>the</strong> <strong>explorers</strong> <strong>journal</strong>
Exploring <strong>the</strong><br />
final frontier<br />
a Quest for Life in <strong>the</strong> Cosmos<br />
by Seth Shostak<br />
<strong>The</strong> Allen Telescope Array. photo by Seth Shostak.<br />
It took humankind only 400 years to fill in <strong>the</strong><br />
globe—to map and chart all <strong>the</strong> important<br />
lands of Earth. That would be a long time to<br />
wait for a bus, but four centuries is a ra<strong>the</strong>r<br />
brief period of time when measured against<br />
<strong>the</strong> 200,000-year history of Homo sapiens.<br />
Outlining <strong>the</strong> continents was an interesting<br />
project, but was accomplished—relatively<br />
speaking—in a mere blink of an eye.<br />
Although <strong>the</strong> world has been mapped,<br />
<strong>the</strong>re are still plenty of remote locales to seduce<br />
<strong>the</strong> adventurous—<strong>the</strong> exotic nooks and<br />
crannies of terrestrial topography that are so<br />
frequently featured in <strong>the</strong> pages of this magazine.<br />
None<strong>the</strong>less, for many would-be <strong>explorers</strong>,<br />
<strong>the</strong> Earth’s been done. <strong>The</strong> big carrot is<br />
elsewhere: it is above us.<br />
Modern voortrekkers gaze upon <strong>the</strong> night<br />
sky and perceive a new terra incognita: outer<br />
space. <strong>The</strong> sirens of <strong>the</strong> firmament beckon<br />
with a hundred billion galaxies, each seeded<br />
with a hundred billion stars. An immense arena,<br />
untrodden and barely compassed, it’s <strong>the</strong><br />
final frontier: a limitless, three-dimensional<br />
landscape begging for reconnaissance.<br />
So when will it happen When will we cast<br />
our rocket-powered caravels into <strong>the</strong> dark<br />
voids beyond Earth Many folk think it’s just a<br />
matter of time, and maybe not so much time<br />
at that. Brought up on Star Trek and similar<br />
fictional fodder, <strong>the</strong>y confidently assume that<br />
in a century or three, space will be subdued<br />
as surely as were <strong>the</strong> wild places of Earth.<br />
Yes, today’s rockets have only managed to<br />
take humans to <strong>the</strong> Moon (and hopefully,<br />
some day to Mars). But looking down <strong>the</strong><br />
pike, most people feel confident we’ll invent<br />
warp drive or its equivalent a few generations<br />
hence, and cruise to <strong>the</strong> stars.<br />
Not so fast. Scientists are less than sanguine<br />
about being able to boldly tour <strong>the</strong> galaxy.<br />
Today’s rockets highball along at roughly<br />
7 miles (11.2 kilometers) per second—a<br />
speed that will get <strong>the</strong>se craft to <strong>the</strong> Moon in<br />
a day or so, and to Mars in half a year. <strong>The</strong>se<br />
are not intolerable flight times, although it’s<br />
worth considering how quickly you’d book<br />
an airline journey that confined you to a small<br />
compartment for six months.<br />
But comfy or no, going to <strong>the</strong> Moon or Mars<br />
is merely puttering around our backyard. <strong>The</strong><br />
big prize is to travel far beyond <strong>the</strong> bounds<br />
of our solar system, for only in those distant<br />
realms will we find truly unexplored planets—<br />
orbs that may be home to life. And on some of<br />
those worlds we might also uncover societies<br />
of sentient beings that could rival or exceed<br />
<strong>the</strong> accomplishments of humankind.<br />
Well, <strong>the</strong> nearest star is a million times far<strong>the</strong>r<br />
than Mars. Reaching Proxima Centauri,<br />
a piddling 4.3 light-years from where you’re<br />
sitting, would take our best spacecraft a hundred<br />
thousand years, a scheduled flight time<br />
that would surely tax <strong>the</strong> patience of Job. Of<br />
course, we’ll build faster rockets in <strong>the</strong> next<br />
dozen decades or so, <strong>the</strong>reby cutting <strong>the</strong> trip<br />
down by a factor of two, ten, or even a hundred.<br />
But we’re still talking about spending
centuries in a coach seat. And keep in mind that<br />
this is <strong>the</strong> nearest o<strong>the</strong>r star. To reach any stellar<br />
system with life might require a trip ten times<br />
longer or more.<br />
Could we beat this rap One possibility would<br />
be simply to accept that going to o<strong>the</strong>r suns is like<br />
Bolero—slow and soporific—and we’ll have to put<br />
<strong>the</strong> crew into suspended animation until shortly<br />
before arrival. <strong>The</strong> evident problem with this idea<br />
is that we don’t know how to successfully suspend<br />
<strong>the</strong> animation of anyone, despite what you<br />
see in <strong>the</strong> movies.<br />
A second possibility is to somehow construct<br />
a spacecraft that could cruise near <strong>the</strong> speed of<br />
light. This would greatly reduce<br />
<strong>the</strong> perceived travel time<br />
for <strong>the</strong> crew, thanks to special<br />
relativity. However, this approach<br />
runs afoul of some<br />
simple physics. Consider<br />
revving up a rocket—no bigger<br />
than <strong>the</strong> Saturn V that<br />
took men to <strong>the</strong> Moon—to 90<br />
percent <strong>the</strong> speed of light.<br />
<strong>The</strong> energy required is greater<br />
than <strong>the</strong> United States has<br />
consumed since its birth in<br />
1776. That’s a lot of fuel.<br />
In addition, barreling<br />
through space at such a velocity<br />
would turn grains of interstellar<br />
dust into deadly missiles. <strong>The</strong>se o<strong>the</strong>rwise<br />
innocuous bits of carbon would knife <strong>the</strong> length of<br />
<strong>the</strong> spacecraft in less than a millionth of a second,<br />
slicing and dicing <strong>the</strong> passengers en route.<br />
It seems that rocketing to <strong>the</strong> stars might be<br />
less than gratifying. But surely <strong>the</strong>re’s warp drive<br />
in our future After all, conventional rockets are so<br />
twentieth century.<br />
Well, it’s true that several inventive schemes<br />
have been proposed to bend space in such a<br />
way that our craft could take a shortcut from one<br />
part of <strong>the</strong> cosmos to <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r, reaching distant<br />
destinations in no time flat. <strong>The</strong>se distortions of<br />
space and time are commonly called wormholes.<br />
But while wormholes described on blackboards<br />
often look promising, it’s unclear <strong>the</strong>y will ever<br />
work in real life.<br />
<strong>The</strong> bottom line is simple: interstellar rocketry,<br />
while an established trope of science fiction, may<br />
be as much a pipe dream as fat-free doughnuts or<br />
34<br />
world peace.<br />
So what does this mean Will our ken ever<br />
extend beyond our cosmic front porch Is it hopeless<br />
to think that we might someday commune<br />
with o<strong>the</strong>r inhabitants of <strong>the</strong> galaxy, assuming<br />
such beings exist<br />
Some scientists think <strong>the</strong>re’s hope aplenty.<br />
It takes <strong>the</strong> form of a straightforward experiment<br />
called SETI, <strong>the</strong> Search for Extraterrestrial<br />
Intelligence. <strong>The</strong> idea is to aim large radio antennas<br />
at nearby star systems, and pick up broadcasts<br />
from o<strong>the</strong>r worlds. Detecting a signal beamed<br />
from space would be compelling evidence that<br />
somebody’s out <strong>the</strong>re, and allow us to learn about<br />
extraterrestrial sentients without<br />
fretting about ei<strong>the</strong>r highspeed<br />
rockets or wormholes.<br />
SETI is well known to many,<br />
being <strong>the</strong> subject of <strong>the</strong> popular<br />
movie Contact (based on<br />
<strong>the</strong> 1983 Carl Sagan novel of<br />
<strong>the</strong> same name). In <strong>the</strong> film,<br />
Jodie Foster—commanding an<br />
array of large antennas—dons<br />
a pair of headphones, tunes<br />
her receiver, and soon picks<br />
up an alien radio signal.<br />
Unfortunately, real-life<br />
SETI has failed to duplicate<br />
Foster’s success, despite 50<br />
years of listening.<br />
Indeed, given <strong>the</strong> length of time SETI researchers<br />
have been probing <strong>the</strong> skies, some people<br />
question whe<strong>the</strong>r this effort is worth <strong>the</strong> candle.<br />
After all, in a lifetime of surveillance, this project<br />
has yet to uncover a single peep from <strong>the</strong> cosmos.<br />
Could it be that <strong>the</strong>re simply aren’t any aliens <strong>The</strong><br />
universe, which astronomers know is desperately<br />
sparse, bitterly cold, and implacably hostile, might<br />
also be sterile—or at least bereft of <strong>the</strong> sort of selfaware<br />
biology that would amuse us in conversation.<br />
If we concluding that Homo sapiens is creation’s<br />
brightest bulb, this too would be ungratifying, unwarranted,<br />
and a bit self-serving. Despite <strong>the</strong> length<br />
of SETI’s search, its breadth has been shallow. This<br />
is a simple consequence of <strong>the</strong> lack of resources.<br />
A substantial NASA effort to make a systematic<br />
search, an enterprise that cost American taxpayers<br />
less than a nickel a year, was killed by Congress<br />
in <strong>the</strong> early 1990s, just as <strong>the</strong> NASA equipment<br />
was warming up. Since <strong>the</strong>n, SETI has been a<br />
Lakes of natural gas pool on Saturn’s moon Titan. Could <strong>the</strong>re be slow-moving, organic life in <strong>the</strong>se bodies of liquid Image courtesy Cassini Radar Mapper/JPL/ESA/NASA.
part-time activity mostly carried out on someone<br />
else’s antennas—a small-scale project by a handful<br />
of people, funded by private donations.<br />
<strong>The</strong> upshot is that <strong>the</strong> number of star systems<br />
carefully examined for radio signals is less than a<br />
thousand—a trifling tally in comparison to <strong>the</strong> total<br />
stellar complement of our galaxy. Indeed, SETI’s<br />
reconnaissance to date is analogous to an imaginary<br />
expedition to Africa in search of elephants.<br />
Suppose you examined one city block’s worth of<br />
real estate, and found it pachyderm-free. Would you<br />
conclude that <strong>the</strong> continent is devoid of elephants<br />
Given <strong>the</strong> limitations of <strong>the</strong> experiment, it’s<br />
hardly surprising that evidence for extraterrestrial<br />
life has eluded our grasp. But how many star<br />
systems do we have to examine in order to find a<br />
signal A conservative estimate is one million. <strong>The</strong><br />
trouble is, at <strong>the</strong> rate SETI has searched in <strong>the</strong><br />
past, surveying a million star systems will take ano<strong>the</strong>r<br />
50,000 years. That’s not much inducement<br />
to sign on to SETI’s ship of discovery.<br />
Fortunately, <strong>the</strong>re’s a truism for this experiment<br />
that’s important and largely unknown: <strong>the</strong> search<br />
is becoming faster. Indeed, it’s becoming exponentially<br />
faster, increasing in speed by 50 percent<br />
every year. This is a consequence of <strong>the</strong> rapid<br />
development of digital electronics. With more<br />
processing power, SETI experiments can examine<br />
star systems in batches, ra<strong>the</strong>r than one at a<br />
time. <strong>The</strong>y can also more quickly check out a wide<br />
range of radio frequencies.<br />
Consequently, lack of success shouldn’t be<br />
confounded with lack of progress, and it’s possible<br />
<strong>the</strong> scientists will find a signal in <strong>the</strong> next two<br />
dozen years, assuming that <strong>the</strong> monies can be<br />
found to execute <strong>the</strong> search.<br />
In o<strong>the</strong>r words, in this generation we might be<br />
able to accomplish what keeps Captain Kirk busy<br />
in <strong>the</strong> twenty-third century: finding cosmic company<br />
among <strong>the</strong> stars. And we could do it without confronting<br />
<strong>the</strong> daunting difficulties of interstellar travel.<br />
So what<br />
Let’s say it happens. Let’s imagine that researchers<br />
succeed in pulling a signal from <strong>the</strong><br />
dark voids of space. What happens next<br />
A common view is that <strong>the</strong> discovery would<br />
be kept under wraps, most likely by bureaucrats<br />
fearful of civil unrest. A SETI detection would be<br />
hushed up.<br />
While appealing to those who like to imagine<br />
that governments indulge in conspiracies, this<br />
is none<strong>the</strong>less a remarkable contention, given<br />
<strong>the</strong> widespread belief that at least some of <strong>the</strong><br />
thousands of unidentified lights seen each year in<br />
<strong>the</strong> night sky—so-called UFOs—are extraterrestrial<br />
craft. According to recent polls, approximately<br />
one-third of <strong>the</strong> populace is convinced that alien<br />
beings are visiting Earth, not to mention occasionally<br />
interfering in our personal lives. But if this<br />
supposed invasion hasn’t inspired <strong>the</strong> citizenry to<br />
grab <strong>the</strong>ir pitchforks and lanterns, <strong>the</strong>n why do we<br />
expect that <strong>the</strong> announcement of a radio signal,<br />
coming from hundreds of trillions of kilometers<br />
away, would provoke panic<br />
A cover-up is nei<strong>the</strong>r plausible nor necessary. In<br />
addition, <strong>the</strong>re’s no inclination for secrecy among<br />
<strong>the</strong> SETI researchers <strong>the</strong>mselves, so <strong>the</strong> detection<br />
of any extraterrestrial broadcast would soon<br />
be widely known.<br />
It’s far more likely that discovery of o<strong>the</strong>r<br />
thoughtful inhabitants of <strong>the</strong> galaxy would be received<br />
not with panic but with interest. We would<br />
want to know more: <strong>the</strong> nature of <strong>the</strong>ir biology,<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir planet, and <strong>the</strong>ir culture. Unfortunately, <strong>the</strong><br />
technical limitations of most SETI experiments<br />
preclude picking up any message attached to<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir signals. We would only know that <strong>the</strong>y were<br />
“on <strong>the</strong> air.” But that discovery would surely be an<br />
incentive to build far larger instruments to capture<br />
<strong>the</strong> message, followed by a massive attempt to<br />
decode and understand it.<br />
Imagine, <strong>the</strong>n, downloading a torrent of information<br />
from a society that is literally and figuratively<br />
alien. <strong>The</strong> eventual fallout might be profound, with<br />
sequelae now only dimly foreseen. After all, Spanish<br />
royalty could hardly have imagined what <strong>the</strong> longterm<br />
impact of Columbus’ voyages would be.<br />
But one consequence is easy to predict and<br />
certain to be true: we would have proof that <strong>the</strong><br />
long chain of biological development that began on<br />
this planet nearly 4 billion years ago was nei<strong>the</strong>r a<br />
miracle nor a fluke. And, as remarkable as we are,<br />
we’re not unique. Among <strong>the</strong> many discoveries by<br />
our species, that might be <strong>the</strong> greatest of all.<br />
b i o g r a p h y<br />
Seth Shostak, senior astronomer at <strong>the</strong> SETI Institute in Mountain<br />
View, CA, is <strong>the</strong> author of <strong>the</strong> recently released Confessions of<br />
An Alien Hunter: A Scientist’s Search for Extraterrestrial<br />
Intelligence, published by National Geographic Books.<br />
<strong>the</strong> <strong>explorers</strong> <strong>journal</strong>
light from<br />
<strong>the</strong> dawn<br />
of time<br />
by Michael benson
From its earliest pixel-sized billisecond, <strong>the</strong> universe<br />
was already a compound of extension and duration.<br />
Light, fired forth from its first galaxies, continues<br />
to extend to this day in a steady stream across its<br />
great expanse. Ever-replenished spheres of light,<br />
each centered on a source galaxy, are powered by<br />
<strong>the</strong> massed fires of billions of individual suns. <strong>The</strong>y<br />
wink on and off across <strong>the</strong> eons as <strong>the</strong> galaxies<br />
<strong>the</strong>mselves dance and merge. Some of <strong>the</strong>se stars<br />
shine for billions, o<strong>the</strong>rs for millions of years. Some<br />
have burned steadily since <strong>the</strong>y first ignited a few<br />
million years after <strong>the</strong> Big Bang, 13.7 billion years<br />
ago. <strong>The</strong>y’re individual cells in <strong>the</strong> bodies of galaxies,<br />
discrete components of aggregate bonfires<br />
shining across <strong>the</strong> blackness of deep time.<br />
<strong>The</strong> far<strong>the</strong>r out into space we look, <strong>the</strong> far<strong>the</strong>r into<br />
<strong>the</strong> past we peer. That’s because <strong>the</strong> incomparably<br />
zippy, but none<strong>the</strong>less finite speed of <strong>the</strong> photons<br />
issuing from <strong>the</strong> objects visible <strong>the</strong>re—those irreducible,<br />
massless subatomic particles of which light is<br />
composed—imposes a time lag. Enforced by <strong>the</strong><br />
universal speed limit of <strong>the</strong> cosmos, <strong>the</strong>se light rays<br />
function like ripples in a pond after a pebble has<br />
penetrated its glassine surface. Imagine a nocturnal<br />
pond of a scale so vast that <strong>the</strong> ripples extending<br />
out from each event take thousands, millions, or<br />
even billions of years to echo off its banks. You’re<br />
contemplating <strong>the</strong> scale of <strong>the</strong> known universe.<br />
It reminds me of something Arthur C. Clarke said<br />
one evening in Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka, in late 2001—a<br />
year he helped imbue with a futuristic sheen, even if<br />
what we actually got wasn’t cryptic monoliths and<br />
crewed Jupiter missions but a dismal millennial regression<br />
and a World Trade Center in ruins. “Have<br />
you heard about one of <strong>the</strong> greatest ideas in all of<br />
science fiction” Clarke asked, a gleam in his eye.<br />
“Slow glass.” And he sketched out <strong>the</strong> central concept<br />
of Bob Shaw’s 1968 novel, <strong>The</strong> Light of O<strong>the</strong>r<br />
Days, in which a clear material so dense that photons<br />
slow to a near standstill within it is developed. Those<br />
gazing through a pane of <strong>the</strong> stuff, Clarke observed,<br />
H e l i x N e b u l a<br />
At 700 light-years away, <strong>the</strong> Helix Nebula—formed by <strong>the</strong> death<br />
of a Sun-like star—is one of <strong>the</strong> closest “planetary” nebulae<br />
to Earth. <strong>The</strong> Helix’s cast-off shell is excited into florescence<br />
by <strong>the</strong> intense ultraviolet radiation emanating from a stellar<br />
remnant soon to be a white dwarf, visible at <strong>the</strong> center. Image<br />
courtesy Hubble Space Telescope (HST)/NASA/ESA.<br />
<strong>the</strong> <strong>explorers</strong> <strong>journal</strong>
would inevitably see not what is, but what once had<br />
been. He may as well have been describing <strong>the</strong> reality<br />
of <strong>the</strong> space-time continuum.<br />
If this sounds confusing it might help to consider<br />
<strong>the</strong> following dialectic. When we contemplate <strong>the</strong><br />
sprinkle of tiny orange and red glints spread liberally<br />
across <strong>the</strong> Hubble Ultra Deep Field image<br />
on page 46—an 11-day exposure constituting <strong>the</strong><br />
deepest look into space-time ever achieved in<br />
visible light—we’re looking at <strong>the</strong> earliest known<br />
galaxies. But while to us <strong>the</strong>y may seem incomparably<br />
ancient, in fact <strong>the</strong>y’re about as young as<br />
galaxies ever got. What we’re seeing is a real-time<br />
transmission from time’s edge. It’s a live feed, not<br />
a faded photograph. And <strong>the</strong>ir photons continue<br />
to shower in from all sides, impossibly faint: <strong>the</strong><br />
light of o<strong>the</strong>r days, uncut after its multibillion-year<br />
passage through <strong>the</strong> slow glass of <strong>the</strong> universe.<br />
Why are <strong>the</strong> youngest, most distant galaxies<br />
orange or red Because as <strong>the</strong>ir steady streams of<br />
photons pipe across space-time, <strong>the</strong>ir wavelengths<br />
shift due to <strong>the</strong> acceleration accompanying <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
great extension. Galaxies visible at time’s horizon,<br />
awash in <strong>the</strong> brilliant blue light of <strong>the</strong> giant, shortlived<br />
stars accompanying <strong>the</strong>ir birth, appear to<br />
change color with increasing distance—a phenomenon<br />
known as red shift. <strong>The</strong>ir light goes from blue<br />
to white, white to yellow, yellow to orange, orange<br />
to red, and finally from red to infrared. <strong>The</strong> most distant<br />
can only be discerned in infrared wavelengths—<br />
one reason why <strong>the</strong> upcoming James Webb Space<br />
Telescope, a successor to <strong>the</strong> Hubble, will operate<br />
exclusively in such frequencies. When even <strong>the</strong>se<br />
wavelengths go dark, it doesn’t necessarily mean<br />
that no galaxies are <strong>the</strong>re, only that <strong>the</strong>y’re so far<br />
away—and traveling so rapidly fur<strong>the</strong>r due to <strong>the</strong><br />
inexorable expansion of <strong>the</strong> universe—that it’s no<br />
longer possible to perceive <strong>the</strong>m. <strong>The</strong>ir piping has<br />
descended in register, finally merging with <strong>the</strong> surrounding<br />
rumble of space and time. <strong>The</strong>y’re lost in<br />
<strong>the</strong> craquelure of a very big picture.<br />
H o r s e h e a d N e b u l a<br />
<strong>The</strong> spectacular dark Horsehead Nebula, some 1,500 lightyears<br />
away, is actually a projection of <strong>the</strong> dense Orion<br />
Molecular Cloud. <strong>The</strong> gas and dust behind it is both illuminated<br />
and ionized, blazing from <strong>the</strong> five-star system known as Sigma<br />
Orionis, which causes <strong>the</strong> Horsehead to cast a shadow.Image<br />
taken by <strong>the</strong> Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT).<br />
38
If <strong>the</strong> red color of <strong>the</strong>se most distant galaxies accentuates<br />
our sense of <strong>the</strong>ir great age, we should<br />
remember that <strong>the</strong> reason <strong>the</strong>y’re visible in <strong>the</strong> first<br />
place is <strong>the</strong>ir youth—because <strong>the</strong> beacon-like intensity<br />
of <strong>the</strong>ir young stars has punched through all<br />
<strong>the</strong> innumerable furlongs of intergalactic gas and<br />
dust between. <strong>The</strong> same class of blue giant stars<br />
can be found powering many of <strong>the</strong> nebulae closer<br />
to our home. As for <strong>the</strong> latter—<strong>the</strong> comparatively<br />
close, fast-burning suns that actually appear blue<br />
because <strong>the</strong>y’re too close for <strong>the</strong>ir light to shift red—<br />
<strong>the</strong>y too are young, <strong>the</strong> product of stellar hatcheries<br />
within <strong>the</strong> galaxies of our epoch. Although ancient,<br />
<strong>the</strong> contemporaneous universe is still busy recycling<br />
materials and forging new stars.<br />
Since we’ve sprung so recently into sentience on<br />
<strong>the</strong> third rock from <strong>the</strong> Sun, we haven’t yet achieved<br />
<strong>the</strong> technologies necessary to choose various<br />
angles on a given nebula or galaxy. But we do have<br />
various gauge telescopes to provide different fields<br />
of view, and <strong>the</strong>se help supply both <strong>the</strong> wider context<br />
and <strong>the</strong> particulars of what we’re seeing.<br />
Our lack of freedom to move from our spacetime<br />
location is also partially ameliorated by <strong>the</strong><br />
fact that separated but similar phenomena can<br />
be oriented in many different ways vis-à-vis this<br />
panopticon, <strong>the</strong> Earth. For example, although we<br />
don’t have <strong>the</strong> ability to conduct comprehensive<br />
surveys of single galaxies by moving telescopes<br />
to various viewing angles, <strong>the</strong>re are enough spirals<br />
out <strong>the</strong>re to see individual examples face on,<br />
three-quarters and edge on, with most of <strong>the</strong> gradations<br />
in between. <strong>The</strong> many can inform <strong>the</strong> one,<br />
in o<strong>the</strong>r words, and <strong>the</strong> one illuminate <strong>the</strong> many.<br />
<strong>The</strong> images presented here contain examples of<br />
<strong>the</strong> tabulated, <strong>the</strong> measured, <strong>the</strong> flood-lit, <strong>the</strong> well<br />
figured-out—<strong>the</strong> things we’re reasonably sure of.<br />
Almost enough to obscure <strong>the</strong> predominance of<br />
<strong>the</strong> mysterious, <strong>the</strong> ineffable, <strong>the</strong> cryptic, <strong>the</strong> woefully<br />
unknown. Like a negative image of a smoke<br />
T a r a n t u l a N e b u l a<br />
<strong>The</strong> most active and brilliant region of <strong>the</strong> cosmos that can<br />
be studied from Earth, <strong>the</strong> Tarantula Nebula, some 200,000<br />
light-years away, is about 1,000 light-years across. As <strong>the</strong><br />
nebula is on <strong>the</strong> leading edge of <strong>the</strong> Magellanic Cloud, compression<br />
of <strong>the</strong> interstellar medium due to <strong>the</strong> forward motion<br />
of <strong>the</strong> galaxy may be responsible for its intense star-forming<br />
activity. Image courtesy European Sou<strong>the</strong>rn Observatory.<br />
<strong>the</strong> <strong>explorers</strong> <strong>journal</strong>
screen in which <strong>the</strong> smoke itself now provides a<br />
glowing nimbus of light, <strong>the</strong> latter category both<br />
illuminates our ignorance and more accurately<br />
reflects <strong>the</strong> true state of our knowledge. It also<br />
allows for a consideration of <strong>the</strong> “mystery.”<br />
<strong>The</strong> universe we know (or think we know) is 96<br />
percent composed of substances of which we<br />
know nothing. Appropriately enough, we’ve called<br />
some of this inexplicable stuffing “dark matter.” It’s<br />
not to be confused with “dark energy,” that o<strong>the</strong>r<br />
variety of interstellar squid ink about which we know<br />
only enough to say it exists—or so we think. <strong>The</strong> first<br />
supplies approximately 22 percent of <strong>the</strong> mass that<br />
visible objects such as galaxies must have, at least<br />
judging from <strong>the</strong>ir actions. <strong>The</strong> second, a hypo<strong>the</strong>tical<br />
form of energy said to suffuse <strong>the</strong> entire universe,<br />
supplies a fur<strong>the</strong>r 74 percent of <strong>the</strong> “mass-energy”<br />
of <strong>the</strong> cosmos; it’s considered both cause and culprit<br />
of space-time’s ever-accelerating expansion.<br />
Lately, astronomers, astrophysicists, and cosmologists<br />
have been debating whe<strong>the</strong>r or not <strong>the</strong><br />
first dark substance (of which we are entirely ignorant)<br />
is not perhaps lower in quantity than originally<br />
surmised, with <strong>the</strong> resulting gap filled by <strong>the</strong> second<br />
dark substance (of which we know nothing). This<br />
shuffling of unreadable cards contains a pleasing<br />
hint of surrealistic absurdity to it. For no matter how<br />
one juggles <strong>the</strong> percentages, it leaves a miserly 4<br />
percent of <strong>the</strong> universe that we can observe—<strong>the</strong><br />
negligible part, <strong>the</strong> part made of stuff: stars, planets,<br />
moons, asteroids, comets, nebulae, and intergalactic<br />
gas. Like a man who’s lost his keys somewhere<br />
in <strong>the</strong> darkness of <strong>the</strong> lawn and decided to look<br />
for <strong>the</strong>m under a nearby streetlight because that’s<br />
where <strong>the</strong> illumination is, we focus on what we can<br />
focus on, since we can’t read <strong>the</strong> rest.<br />
And yet even where <strong>the</strong> lighting is good, mystery<br />
reigns supreme. Tapping into millennia of research<br />
into ma<strong>the</strong>matics and geometry, we can identify<br />
and even find ways to parse <strong>the</strong> logarithmic spiral<br />
common to a galaxy, a typhoon, a chambered nautilus.<br />
We can discuss <strong>the</strong> equations behind <strong>the</strong>m,<br />
m e r g i n g g a l a x i e s i n c e n t a u r u s a<br />
Dust lanes of a spiral galaxy are superimposed across <strong>the</strong> brilliant<br />
amorphous glow of an elliptical one as <strong>the</strong>y merge in <strong>the</strong><br />
central region of Centaurus A some 12 million light-years away.<br />
<strong>The</strong> bright blue highlights are bursts of new star formation, triggered<br />
by <strong>the</strong> ongoing collision. Image courtesy HST/NASA/ESA.<br />
42
<strong>the</strong> golden ratio, <strong>the</strong> spira mirabilis, and even kid<br />
ourselves that we have a grasp of it all. But what<br />
about <strong>the</strong> pullulation of probabilities that brought<br />
forth each, <strong>the</strong> ineffable question of cause and<br />
effect, <strong>the</strong> diminishing nested scales, <strong>the</strong> seeming<br />
connections between, <strong>the</strong> positioning of one inside<br />
<strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r and both within <strong>the</strong> third It’s a miracle,<br />
it’s marvelous, it’s enthralling.<br />
As for that chambered nautilus, it’s among <strong>the</strong><br />
most durable designs life ever conceived—a living<br />
fossil unchanged since <strong>the</strong> Cambrian period, 500<br />
million years ago. Yet it floats, seemingly weightless,<br />
housed in a logarithmic spiral within Pacific<br />
currents to this day. It’s a living refutation of time,<br />
an example of counter-entropic determination on<br />
<strong>the</strong> part of <strong>the</strong> cosmos that we can’t pretend to<br />
understand. Each nautilus is a perfect replica of a<br />
perfect replica of a perfect replica, a representative<br />
of an unbroken chain of cephalopod iterations<br />
extending back through two full orbits by <strong>the</strong> Solar<br />
System of <strong>the</strong> Milky Way’s seething core—a span<br />
312,500 times longer than Homo sapiens has<br />
even existed, one of only 20 or so it has accomplished<br />
since our sun ignited.<br />
Here <strong>the</strong> metaphor of <strong>the</strong> photographic negative<br />
again turns, becoming a reversed transparency—a<br />
positive trope. What we see when we look<br />
into <strong>the</strong> night sky is both absence and presence,<br />
that which is illuminated by fireballs and swirls<br />
of incandescent energy and that which is not so<br />
fortuitously illuminated. If <strong>the</strong> profoundly mysterious<br />
blackness of <strong>the</strong> latter seems to outweigh <strong>the</strong><br />
glowing certitude of <strong>the</strong> former, it turns out it’s an<br />
accurate reflection of <strong>the</strong> true state of affairs—all<br />
<strong>the</strong> way down to <strong>the</strong> percentages.<br />
Positive or negative, it helps us measure <strong>the</strong> extent<br />
of our ignorance: to know what we don’t know<br />
and to recognize that, indeed, <strong>the</strong>re’s something<br />
in all that nothing. Even if we can’t explain how,<br />
it speaks of <strong>the</strong> supreme success of a struggle<br />
against time. And we know, in <strong>the</strong> words of William<br />
Blake, that “eternity must be in love with <strong>the</strong><br />
S t e p h a n ’ s Q u i n t e t<br />
Four of <strong>the</strong> five galaxies in Stephan’s Quintet are on a collision<br />
course with each o<strong>the</strong>r. A fifth, <strong>the</strong> undisrupted blue<br />
spiral, is actually a foregound galaxy not related to <strong>the</strong> group,<br />
which is 210 to 340 million light-years away. Image taken by<br />
<strong>the</strong> Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT).<br />
<strong>the</strong> <strong>explorers</strong> <strong>journal</strong>
productions of time”—just as we know that those<br />
very productions both defy and mirror eternity.<br />
Some of <strong>the</strong> images reproduced here depict<br />
vistas whose photons started <strong>the</strong>ir long journey<br />
toward us well before Homo sapiens arose on<br />
this miniscule mote of oxygenated, irrigated Earth.<br />
Some predate <strong>the</strong> very formation of <strong>the</strong> Earth itself,<br />
and <strong>the</strong> star about which it orbits, eventually to be<br />
received by us—products of a garden yet unformed<br />
at <strong>the</strong>ir journey’s start. It is slow glass indeed.<br />
And <strong>the</strong>re we end, at <strong>the</strong> beginning, a scene shimmering<br />
through deep time and interstellar dust. <strong>The</strong><br />
interacting galaxies of an early universe, glowworms<br />
of different colors, glint at <strong>the</strong> bottom of deep wells,<br />
reflected in perfectly polished concave mirrors encased<br />
within scrupulously machined tubes. This still<br />
water serves to ga<strong>the</strong>r far-traveled interstellar photons<br />
from time’s edge. <strong>The</strong> enlarging mirrors of our<br />
telescopes comprise material forged at <strong>the</strong> centers<br />
of <strong>the</strong> same generation of stars <strong>the</strong>y now record.<br />
Our gaze is irrevocably bound to <strong>the</strong> very fibers,<br />
tendons, muscles, synapses, and cognitive glints<br />
that would be impossible without <strong>the</strong> heavier<br />
elements, alien to <strong>the</strong> early universe, smelted by<br />
giant suns in time’s earliest epochs. And we—our<br />
physical selves and our earliest incarnations all<br />
<strong>the</strong> way back to <strong>the</strong> first bacterium—what did we<br />
do Rooted in temporality, we still managed to<br />
race ahead, like dolphins in a storm surge, intent<br />
on exploding out of <strong>the</strong> wave to intercept rays of<br />
archival starlight—fecund rays, alive with <strong>the</strong> DNA<br />
of a universe.<br />
b i o g r a p h y<br />
A Fellow of <strong>The</strong> <strong>Explorers</strong> <strong>Club</strong>, Michael Benson<br />
is a New York-based writer and filmmaker. He is<br />
<strong>the</strong> author of Beyond: Visions of <strong>the</strong> Interplanetary<br />
Probes and <strong>the</strong> recently released Far Out: A<br />
Space-Time Chronicle.<br />
D e e p - T i m e E x p o s u r e<br />
<strong>The</strong> Hubble Ultra Deep Field is <strong>the</strong> deepest picture ever taken of <strong>the</strong><br />
universe in visible light; <strong>the</strong> image represents a cumulative exposure<br />
time of more than 11 days. Among <strong>the</strong> 10,000 galaxies visible here<br />
are those that formed within some 800 million years of <strong>the</strong> Big Bang.<br />
<strong>The</strong>se earliest galaxies can be seen as small red forms, some appearing<br />
as mere dots. Image courtesy HST/NASA/ESA.<br />
46
C e l e s t i a l<br />
m e c h a n i c s<br />
Catching up with Hubble repairman<br />
Mike Massimino<br />
With <strong>the</strong> launch of <strong>the</strong> Hubble Space Telescope, aboard<br />
Space Shuttle Discovery in April 24, 1990, astronomers<br />
believed <strong>the</strong>y had entered a new age. For now <strong>the</strong>y had<br />
<strong>the</strong> power to peer out into space with a clarion view<br />
of <strong>the</strong> cosmos uncompromised by Earth’s atmosphere,<br />
or so <strong>the</strong>y thought. Not long after <strong>the</strong> telescope’s deployment,<br />
a flaw was discovered in Hubble’s 2.4-meter<br />
primary mirror. <strong>The</strong> outer edge had been ground too<br />
flat by a depth of 2.2 microns, a spherical aberration<br />
that produced images too soft in focus to be useful.<br />
Following <strong>the</strong> installation of corrective optics<br />
during STS-61 in December 1993—an effort undertaken<br />
by <strong>Explorers</strong> <strong>Club</strong> fellow Jeffrey A. Hoffman—Hubble<br />
finally began to deliver on its promise in unimaginable<br />
ways. Hovering some 570 kilometers (360 miles) above<br />
48<br />
<strong>the</strong> Earth, Hubble has produced thousands of images,<br />
which have provided us with an unprecedented look<br />
into <strong>the</strong> universe, and, consequently, into deep time.<br />
Af ter nearly t wo decades of service—and sever al<br />
maintenance missions—however, this magnificent<br />
feat of engineering was once again in need of repair<br />
with weakened bat teries and t wo failed instruments.<br />
This past May, <strong>the</strong> seven astronauts of STS-125<br />
undertook a now-or-never mission aboard <strong>the</strong> Space<br />
Shut tle Atl antis to save <strong>the</strong> crippled Hubble. <strong>The</strong>ir<br />
valiant efforts were recorded for posterit y via<br />
an IMA X camer a mounted in <strong>the</strong> shut tle cargo bay.<br />
<strong>The</strong> footage will be included in an extr aordinary<br />
new film Hubble 3D, which is sl ated for nation-wide<br />
release on March 19.<br />
STS-125 spacewalkers refurbishing <strong>the</strong> Hubble, Image courtesy NASA.
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Explorers</strong> Journal recently caught up with STS-<br />
125 astronaut Mike Massimino, 47 and a native<br />
New Yorker, to talk about his mission’s record-setting<br />
extra vehicular activity (EVA)—at 36 hours and<br />
56 minutes, <strong>the</strong> longest, and perhaps most complex<br />
in NASA history—and what <strong>the</strong> future holds<br />
for one of astronomy’s most precious assets. This<br />
recent foray into space was Massimino’s second<br />
Hubble servicing mission. During his first, aboard<br />
STS-109 in March 2002, he and his colleagues<br />
upgraded <strong>the</strong> instrument’s power supply; installed<br />
a new camera, new solar arrays, and a new cooling<br />
system; and replaced a series of gyro stabilizers.<br />
EJ: From what we hear, <strong>the</strong> mission set a new<br />
record for endurance.<br />
MM: We did. Four of us—John M. Grunsfeld, Michael<br />
T. Good, Andrew J. Feustel, and myself—carried out<br />
<strong>the</strong> repair during five spacewalks over a five-day<br />
period. We set a record of 35 hours 55 minutes on<br />
STS-109. On this mission, my two walks totaled 15<br />
hours, 58 minutes. I guess you could say it was a<br />
couple of long days at <strong>the</strong> office.<br />
EJ: We assume you were under a bit of pressure<br />
to “get it right”<br />
MM: We had practiced <strong>the</strong> maneuvers over and<br />
over again in <strong>the</strong> pool over <strong>the</strong> course of two and<br />
a half years. Every time we missed something or a<br />
task took longer than initially estimated, we would<br />
go back and refine <strong>the</strong> maneuver or <strong>the</strong> tool kit used<br />
to carry it out. I constantly kept a mental checklist<br />
of all of <strong>the</strong> things that could go wrong. <strong>The</strong> idea<br />
was to minimize <strong>the</strong> number of things that could go<br />
wrong. And <strong>the</strong>n, of course, <strong>the</strong>re is <strong>the</strong> worry that<br />
you accidentally break something. Can you imagine<br />
coming back and having to tell your family, your colleagues,<br />
<strong>the</strong> whole world, “Yeah, that’s me, I’m <strong>the</strong><br />
guy who broke <strong>the</strong> Hubble,” or having astronomy<br />
books that said, “We would know <strong>the</strong> answer to<br />
this important such-and-such a question if it weren’t<br />
for Mike screwing up <strong>the</strong> Hubble…” I guess you<br />
could say it adds an element of pressure.<br />
EJ: How hard was it to carry out <strong>the</strong> work<br />
MM: It is probably far more tedious than difficult.<br />
One access panel had 117 small fasteners that had<br />
to be removed—and <strong>the</strong>n put back. When you have<br />
so much to do, you have to focus on just one task at<br />
a time, removing one bolt, disconnecting one wire.<br />
You cannot get ahead of yourself or allow yourself<br />
to get distracted. If you do, it will bite you.<br />
EJ: After all of that practice, did you encounter any<br />
surprises once <strong>the</strong> actual repair was underway<br />
MM: At <strong>the</strong> beginning of <strong>the</strong> first spacewalk, one of<br />
<strong>the</strong> handle bolts on <strong>the</strong> wide-field camera, which<br />
we were replacing, just wouldn’t give. Ultimately,<br />
we decided to just break <strong>the</strong> handle off. I have told<br />
Jeff [Hoffman] it was “all his fault” since he put<br />
<strong>the</strong> camera handle bolts in so tightly during <strong>the</strong><br />
first Hubble servicing mission in 1993. Actually,<br />
he just did his job. I just had to undo his overly<br />
efficient job. On <strong>the</strong> second spacewalk, one of<br />
<strong>the</strong> replacement gyros wouldn’t fit inside <strong>the</strong> telescope.<br />
Luckily we had ano<strong>the</strong>r one that did fit.<br />
EJ: What all did <strong>the</strong> STS-125 mission accomplish<br />
MM: We put in two new scientific instruments:<br />
a cosmic origins spectrograph, which collects<br />
ultraviolet photons, and a new wide-field camera,<br />
which will allow us to see even deeper into <strong>the</strong><br />
universe. We repaired two failed instruments: <strong>the</strong><br />
space telescope imaging spectrograph and <strong>the</strong><br />
advanced camera for surveys. We also put in new<br />
batteries, new gyroscopic stabilizers, a new computer,<br />
a refurbished guidance sensor, and replaced<br />
<strong>the</strong> insulation around several instruments. We also<br />
installed a device to aid in de-orbiting, when <strong>the</strong><br />
telescope is eventually decommissioned.<br />
EJ: So after all of your hard work, what is <strong>the</strong> future<br />
of Hubble<br />
MM: I think we will get ano<strong>the</strong>r ten years out of<br />
Hubble, because of <strong>the</strong> repairs and because of what<br />
we have learned about rationing its power and rotating<br />
<strong>the</strong> use of its gyros so <strong>the</strong>y will last longer. <strong>The</strong>re<br />
are six [gyros] on Hubble but it can be manipulated<br />
using only two. Hubble has been a great project to<br />
be associated with as <strong>the</strong> information it is providing<br />
is for everyone, not just for a privileged few.<br />
EJ: Tell us about <strong>the</strong> IMAX film.<br />
MM: When I did my first spacewalk eight years ago,<br />
I came back thinking, “It just doesn’t get any more<br />
beautiful than that.” Because <strong>the</strong> shuttle orbits <strong>the</strong><br />
Earth every 90 minutes, <strong>the</strong> transition from day to<br />
night is really dramatic. <strong>The</strong> view of <strong>the</strong> Earth is fantastic.<br />
It is as close as one can get to seeing heaven,<br />
only better. With this most recent mission, I feel <strong>the</strong><br />
same. I just wanted <strong>the</strong> whole world to see what I<br />
had <strong>the</strong> privilege of seeing. Now <strong>the</strong>y can.<br />
<strong>the</strong> <strong>explorers</strong> <strong>journal</strong>
a date with <strong>the</strong><br />
meteorite men<br />
Sometimes all <strong>the</strong> high-tech stuff in <strong>the</strong> world is no<br />
match for experience, luck, and a sharp eye.<br />
I’m standing where blue sky meets <strong>the</strong> yellow<br />
sand of a west Texas oil desert and where<br />
a chance encounter with <strong>the</strong> extraterrestrial<br />
changed forever <strong>the</strong> shape and texture of this<br />
landscape.<br />
Some 63,000 years ago, a school bus-sized<br />
mass of molten iron and nickel from <strong>the</strong> asteroid<br />
belt between Mars and Jupiter plunged to<br />
Earth here, leaving a hole 30 meters deep and<br />
170 meters across. <strong>The</strong> explosion, equivalent to<br />
three times that of <strong>the</strong> atom bomb dropped on<br />
Hiroshima, spewed shrapnel over a 2.5-kilometer<br />
by Jim Clash<br />
radius, scouring four more smaller craters nearby.<br />
I had never heard of Odessa until recently.<br />
Flipping through cable channels one night, I<br />
came across a Discovery Science show called<br />
Meteorite Men. Geoffrey Notkin and Steve<br />
Arnold, <strong>the</strong> stars, stood in a barren Kansas<br />
cornfield while a Hydratrek tractor pulled an<br />
odd-looking, Rube-Goldberg assortment of<br />
wires and pipes behind it. <strong>The</strong> giant metal detector<br />
made alternating high- and low-pitched alien<br />
sounds as it bumped along.<br />
As with most shows like this (MonsterQuest,<br />
Ghost Lab, UFO Hunters), I expected an<br />
entertaining buildup but was pretty sure that<br />
nothing would be found. I was wrong. Two giant<br />
extraterrestrial gold is found in <strong>the</strong> oddest places. Photo by Suzanne Morrison ©aerolite meteorites. Facing page, <strong>the</strong> tell-tale reddish-black patina is a good sign that this is a meteorite. Photo by Jim Clash.<br />
50
meteorites—one weighing 123.8 kilograms (273<br />
lbs.), <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r 104.3 kg(230 lbs.)—were unear<strong>the</strong>d<br />
just 2.5 meters beneath <strong>the</strong> surface! Who<br />
knew Exotic locales like Antarctica, Namibia,<br />
and Siberia are <strong>the</strong> only places you find <strong>the</strong>se<br />
things, right<br />
In fact, in 2005, en route to <strong>the</strong> South Pole by<br />
ski, my group was told to keep our eyes peeled for<br />
anything dark on <strong>the</strong> snow. A rock resting on <strong>the</strong><br />
isolated 2,743-meter (9,000-ft.) polar ice plateau<br />
was almost certainly from space (how else could<br />
it have gotten <strong>the</strong>re). Early on I saw something,<br />
unclipped from my sled, and skied over. My guide<br />
snickered, and soon I discovered why: In front of<br />
me was something <strong>the</strong> Chinese expedition, a few<br />
days ahead of us, should have scooped into its<br />
“dispose of” bag.<br />
After watching <strong>the</strong> Discovery show, I contacted<br />
Notkin. He said more episodes of Meteorite Men<br />
soon would be filmed and, sensing my enthusiasm,<br />
asked if I wanted to tag along.<br />
So here we are, just off Route 20, 8 kilometers<br />
west of Odessa at <strong>the</strong> second largest recognized<br />
meteorite crater in <strong>the</strong> United States (<strong>the</strong> largest<br />
is in Arizona). Over <strong>the</strong> centuries it has partially<br />
filled with silt, and most of <strong>the</strong> obvious meteorites<br />
rusted away or were hunted before <strong>the</strong> area<br />
became a protected national natural landmark a<br />
half-century ago.<br />
We have special permission from Tom Rodman,<br />
who owns <strong>the</strong> land, to hunt any undiscovered<br />
underground remnants with metal detectors—<strong>the</strong><br />
proviso being that anything found will be donated<br />
to his on-site Odessa museum.<br />
Meteorites are rare. <strong>The</strong> known world inventory<br />
is less than <strong>the</strong> annual production of gold in one<br />
year (2,500 tons), according to Darryl Pitt, a New<br />
York collector. (When we spoke, Pitt was on his<br />
way to hunt down debris from a fireball sighted<br />
over Michigan.) What actually falls to Earth, however,<br />
is a much bigger number.<br />
A 1996 study on meteorites found in deserts<br />
(P. A. Bland, “Monthly Notices of <strong>the</strong> Royal<br />
Astronomical Society”) concluded that between<br />
36 and 166 space rocks larger than 10 grams per<br />
million square kilometers of desert fall annually<br />
(that translates to 18,000 to 84,000 falls worldwide).<br />
But because water makes up more than 70<br />
percent of <strong>the</strong> Earth’s surface, most meteorites<br />
end up at <strong>the</strong> bottom of oceans, lakes, and rivers.<br />
Arnold and Notkin are often called <strong>the</strong> “odd<br />
couple” of space rock hunters. Notkin, <strong>the</strong> elder<br />
at age 49 (<strong>the</strong>y have <strong>the</strong> same birthday, February<br />
1), is a staunch vegetarian and hunts more for<br />
passion. He is also methodical and scientific in<br />
his approach. Arnold, 44, loves meat (on our trip<br />
<strong>the</strong> <strong>explorers</strong> <strong>journal</strong>
he snapped up large quantities of beef jerky) and<br />
collects mainly for money. He goes more on his<br />
gut. Arnold’s discovery in 2005 of <strong>the</strong> 648.6 kg<br />
(1,430-lb.) Brenham Meteorite makes him legend<br />
among hunters.<br />
Not surprisingly, a big secondary market exists<br />
for space rocks, because of <strong>the</strong>ir rarity. Collectors<br />
pay from $100 for small fragments to hundreds of<br />
thousands of dollars for large pieces displayed in<br />
museums. Meteorites from <strong>the</strong> asteroid belt between<br />
Jupiter and Mars (<strong>the</strong> most common, and<br />
<strong>the</strong> ones in Odessa) average a few dollars per<br />
gram, while those from Mars and <strong>the</strong> Moon (yes,<br />
<strong>the</strong>y can identify origination by chemical composition<br />
and structure) command $1,000-$2,000 per<br />
gram. Prices, as with any collectible, vary with<br />
condition, type, and age (see “Know Your Space<br />
Rocks,” facing page).<br />
<strong>The</strong>re are <strong>the</strong> celebrity collectors of <strong>the</strong>se<br />
things, too. Musician Sting of <strong>The</strong> Police was<br />
given a 40-kg (88-lb.) shield-shaped Campo del<br />
Cielo meteorite for his birthday in 2008.<br />
While “stones” by far are <strong>the</strong> most prevalent<br />
falls (some 90 percent), <strong>the</strong> majority of finds are<br />
metallics (some 6 percent of falls) because of<br />
52<br />
electronic devices like hand-held metal detectors<br />
and ground penetrating radar (GPR), both of<br />
which we have in Odessa. Hunting for metallics<br />
still can be frustrating, though, as we quickly discover.<br />
More often than not, <strong>the</strong> fruits of our digging<br />
turn out to be nails, bullet shells, bottle caps,<br />
wire—what <strong>the</strong>y call “meteor-wrongs” for obvious<br />
reasons.<br />
Hunting in Odessa is generally safe, with a few<br />
exceptions. Because of <strong>the</strong> arid climate and sandy<br />
shrub geography, myriad snakes inhabit <strong>the</strong> area.<br />
Most are nonpoisonous (of <strong>the</strong> bull variety), so we<br />
take <strong>the</strong> warning with a grain of salt. Later, though,<br />
I almost step on a diamondback rattler which, with<br />
a good bite, can kill a human sans medical treatment<br />
in under an hour.<br />
<strong>The</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r thing to beware of here in oil country<br />
is pipeline. Sarah Cervera, a graduate student<br />
at <strong>the</strong> University of Texas El Paso, hauls out <strong>the</strong><br />
school’s $300,000 ground-penetrating radar<br />
machine—good at identifying and mapping submerged<br />
metal down to about 5 meters (15 feet).<br />
Our team is excited to have such a sophisticated<br />
piece of equipment at its disposal. But time after<br />
time, after identifying metal, our Bobcat digger<br />
Geoff Notkin and Steve Arnold set off in search of more. Photo by Jim Clash.
meteorites from top: a Sikhote-Alin, which fell over Siberia in 1947; interior of a Seymchan pallasite found in Russia in 1967; and a Franconia stone found in Arizona in 2004. Photos by Suzanne Morrison and Geoff Notkin © Aerolite meteorites.<br />
unearths rusted cans (some riddled with bullet<br />
holes), pipe fittings—even working gas pipelines<br />
which, had we punctured <strong>the</strong>m, could have had us<br />
playing <strong>the</strong> role of meteorites in reverse.<br />
After a few days of major disappointment with<br />
our electronic equipment, good old luck and <strong>the</strong><br />
sharp eyes of Arnold turn out to be our greatest asset.<br />
While driving on an unpaved access back road,<br />
southwest of <strong>the</strong> big crater, he spies something and<br />
asks <strong>the</strong> driver to stop <strong>the</strong> truck. Everyone laughs,<br />
thinking Arnold is hallucinating out of frustration.<br />
Sure enough, though, once we get out we<br />
see telltale reddish-black stones, pitted with <strong>the</strong><br />
typical rusted Odessa texture, right <strong>the</strong>re, in <strong>the</strong><br />
roadbed! Some aren’t even buried. Shovel-picks<br />
materialize from <strong>the</strong> back of <strong>the</strong> truck, and digging<br />
up <strong>the</strong> road quickly commences. Eventually we find<br />
more than 27 kg (60 lbs.), and all of it attracts <strong>the</strong><br />
test magnet, ano<strong>the</strong>r indication it is <strong>the</strong> real thing.<br />
Notkin’s <strong>the</strong>ory is that <strong>the</strong> roadbed rock, mined at a<br />
quarry nearby, contained <strong>the</strong> samples, but workers<br />
spread <strong>the</strong>m out on <strong>the</strong> roadbed decades ago not<br />
knowing what <strong>the</strong>y were.<br />
Later that week, <strong>the</strong> dig results are taken to be<br />
formally analyzed by Laurence Garvie at Arizona<br />
State University and Arthur Ehlmann, curator<br />
of <strong>the</strong> Oscar E. Monnig Meteorite Collection in<br />
Dallas. Verdict <strong>The</strong> samples, indeed, are Odessa<br />
meteorites (a coarse octahedrite composed of 90<br />
percent iron, 7 percent nickel, 1 percent cobalt,<br />
with trace metals mixed in). As per <strong>the</strong> agreement<br />
we donate our find, but Rodman lets us keep a few<br />
small samples.<br />
A few weeks later, I had drinks with Apollo 11<br />
astronaut Buzz Aldrin and his wife, Lois. Aldrin<br />
told me once that none of <strong>the</strong> Apollo astronauts<br />
were given personal Moon rocks despite <strong>the</strong> fact<br />
that more than 360 kg (800 lbs.) were hauled<br />
back to Earth on <strong>the</strong> Apollo missions. So I offered<br />
him one of my meager “samples” from Odessa.<br />
He inspected it quizzically, asked if I knew about<br />
<strong>the</strong> Tunguska explosion over Siberia (I did), pocketed<br />
<strong>the</strong> rock and thanked me with a big smile.<br />
Later when I told my story to Pitt, <strong>the</strong> New York<br />
collector, he laughed. “Do you know how many<br />
of my friends have given Buzz meteorites—really<br />
NICE ones” I let that sink in for a minute, <strong>the</strong>n<br />
had to smile myself. <strong>The</strong> moonwalker is as gracious<br />
as he is a true American hero.<br />
(For more on Notkin and Arnold, visit www.<br />
meteoritemen.com.)<br />
K n o w Y o u r<br />
S p a c e R o c k s !<br />
Meteorites come in three basic flavors: metallics,<br />
stony-irons, and stones. Within <strong>the</strong>se categories<br />
are several substrata, but here are <strong>the</strong> basics:<br />
Me ta l l ics<br />
· less than 6% of falls, but majority of finds<br />
· 90% iron, 7% nickel, with trace elements<br />
· strongest attraction to magnets<br />
· easily found with metal detectors and by sight<br />
· remnants from core of asteroids<br />
· find sites: Sikhote-Alin (Siberia); Odessa (Texas);<br />
Campo del Cielo (Argentina); Canyon Diablo<br />
(Arizona)<br />
S t on y- Irons<br />
· rarest, with less than 3% of falls<br />
· attracted to magnets (roughly 50% iron/nickel)<br />
· beautiful interiors (pallasite substrata contain olivine<br />
crystals)<br />
· remnants from mantle of asteroids<br />
· find sites: Atacama Desert (Chile); Brenham (Kansas)<br />
S t ones<br />
· more than 90% of falls but smaller number of finds<br />
· hard to identify because resemble terrestrial rocks<br />
· weak attraction to magnets (up to 23% iron/nickel)<br />
· remnants from surface of asteroids and planets<br />
· Mars and Moon meteorites in this category<br />
· find sites: African deserts, Antarctica, Australia,<br />
Gold Basin (Arizona), Buzzard Coulee (Canada)
E x t r e m e m e d i c i n e<br />
your health and safety in <strong>the</strong> field<br />
He alth in <strong>the</strong><br />
final Frontier<br />
zero gravity and o<strong>the</strong>r challenges<br />
by Michael J. Manyak, M.D., FACS<br />
Long before <strong>the</strong> first manned space flight, humanity<br />
dreamed about civilian space travel. As this sci-fi<br />
fantasy nears reality, major concerns about safety<br />
persist. <strong>Explorers</strong> <strong>Club</strong> Fellow Richard Williams, M.D.,<br />
NASA’s Chief Health and Medical Officer, addresses<br />
some major issues of space travel health. Williams has<br />
extensive experience in health care for U.S. astronauts<br />
and development of public policy regarding space<br />
health and travel, and discovered a syndrome related<br />
to balance problems during high G-force flight.<br />
MJM: What are <strong>the</strong> unique medical problems associated<br />
with space travel<br />
RW: Microgravity, space radiation, and isolation<br />
and confinement all can produce changes<br />
in physiology and behavioral health. Adaptive<br />
physiological changes after exposure to <strong>the</strong><br />
space environment can increase <strong>the</strong> risk of<br />
pathologic conditions on Earth. Some examples<br />
54<br />
are transient adaptations of neurologic and balance<br />
systems (resolved within days of return),<br />
bone-mineral density loss in microgravity,<br />
muscle strength loss in microgravity, possible<br />
immune compromise, and cataract development<br />
years earlier than expected. O<strong>the</strong>r problems related—and<br />
possibly unique—to space travel may<br />
emerge as knowledge and evidence grows.<br />
MJM: Aside from normal exclusions for remote<br />
travel (i.e., cardiopulmonary instability, unstable<br />
diabetes, etc.), are <strong>the</strong>re o<strong>the</strong>r medical conditions<br />
that may not impede terrestrial travel that<br />
would preclude space travel<br />
RW: Our experience so far shows that travelers<br />
can experience <strong>the</strong> space environment for short<br />
durations (minutes to days) with medical conditions<br />
acceptable for travel to remote and extreme<br />
terrestrial environments. But like in extreme<br />
Andromeda galaxy, 2.5 million lightyears away. Image courtesy CalTech Palomar observatory.
Earth environments, <strong>the</strong> longer <strong>the</strong> duration of<br />
stay, <strong>the</strong> higher <strong>the</strong> risk of an underlying medical<br />
disorder causing untoward consequences.<br />
MJM: Isolation and stress could certainly create<br />
psychological problems, especially in someone<br />
with an underlying predisposition or susceptibility.<br />
How do you screen for psychological stability<br />
for long-duration space flight<br />
RW: NASA employs a team of psychiatrists<br />
and psychologists to provide behavioral health<br />
screening, through interview and testing, prior<br />
to selection as an astronaut. NASA behavioral<br />
health personnel support astronauts, and <strong>the</strong><br />
flight surgeons taking care of <strong>the</strong>m, throughout<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir careers. This behavioral health support intensifies<br />
before, during, and after missions—especially<br />
long-duration missions—with scheduled<br />
opportunities for crew members to interact with<br />
behavioral health specialists.<br />
MJM: Ionizing radiation is more intense in outer<br />
space. How much of a problem will this be and<br />
what measures are being entertained to protect<br />
travelers<br />
RW: Space radiation is different from most terrestrial<br />
sources of ionizing radiation. Space<br />
radiation consists of particles (protons, electrons,<br />
neutrons, and <strong>the</strong> nuclei of elements)<br />
traveling at light- and near-light-speed. <strong>The</strong>se<br />
particles cause damage at <strong>the</strong> cellular level as<br />
<strong>the</strong>y pass through tissues. <strong>The</strong> biological effects<br />
of this unique radiation are not well known,<br />
and research is being pursued to delineate <strong>the</strong><br />
short- and long-term risks better. Spacecraft<br />
<strong>the</strong>mselves afford some protection from space<br />
radiation, and spacecraft like <strong>the</strong> International<br />
Space Station (ISS) contain areas where <strong>the</strong><br />
crew members can take shelter in <strong>the</strong> event of<br />
a space radiation event (such as a solar particle<br />
event). Research for effective shielding materials<br />
and techniques is a priority.<br />
MJM: What are <strong>the</strong> long-term effects of microgravity<br />
and how will those be addressed or<br />
minimized<br />
RW: <strong>The</strong> known long-term effects of microgravity<br />
relate mainly to loss of bone-mineral density, cardiovascular<br />
deconditioning, and loss of muscle<br />
strength. <strong>The</strong>se are minimized by aggressive<br />
aerobic and resistive exercise regimens on<br />
orbit, and aggressive rehabilitation upon return.<br />
Evidence concerning long-duration space flight<br />
is still in its early stages, though, and o<strong>the</strong>r conditions<br />
and microgravity related health liabilities<br />
might surface.<br />
MJM: How do nutritional requirements for space<br />
travel differ from terrestrial requirements<br />
RW: Nutrition remains one of <strong>the</strong> great challenges<br />
of human spaceflight. Many astronauts<br />
find that foods taste more bland in space. Some<br />
crewmembers experience weight loss. A great<br />
deal of effort is spent on providing a diet that is<br />
as interesting and varied as possible, while still<br />
fulfilling nutritional requirements.<br />
MJM: What medical issues occur with high-G<br />
forces encountered on launch and reentry<br />
RW: Space Shuttle crew members are exposed<br />
to a maximum G force three times that of gravity.<br />
Despite microgravity deconditioning, crew members<br />
tolerate reentry well. Long-duration crew<br />
members return lying recumbent to minimize <strong>the</strong><br />
untoward effects of G forces. <strong>The</strong> longer <strong>the</strong><br />
duration in space, <strong>the</strong> more difficult G forces are<br />
to tolerate.<br />
MJM: What technologies will be utilized to monitor<br />
astronaut health<br />
RW: On <strong>the</strong> ISS, we can remotely monitor vital<br />
signs and ECG, perform video telemedicine<br />
activities, perform ultrasonography, and accomplish<br />
limited laboratory work. We are developing<br />
advanced ultrasonic, colorimetric, chromatographic,<br />
video, and o<strong>the</strong>r technologies to monitor<br />
astronaut health in real time.<br />
MJM: If an adverse medical event occurs, will<br />
<strong>the</strong>re be instant communication back to earth<br />
to inform and receive instruction on medical<br />
management<br />
RW: Communication delays in low Earth orbit<br />
(LEO) are minimal, though periodic short communications<br />
blackouts can occur. Real time<br />
telemedicine is our primary medical practice<br />
and routinely performed. With exploration<br />
beyond LEO, communications delays ranging<br />
from seconds to 20 minutes will challenge us.<br />
Development of near-autonomous health care<br />
systems to support long-duration flight beyond<br />
LEO is a major goal.<br />
<strong>the</strong> <strong>explorers</strong> <strong>journal</strong>
A FAR OUT ISSUE SPECIAL<br />
E x t r e m e C u i s i n e<br />
food for <strong>the</strong> epicurean adventurer<br />
F u t u r e F o o d s<br />
dining well beyond <strong>the</strong> van allen belt<br />
"Among <strong>the</strong> challenges for interplanetary missions is<br />
that food will have to be resistant to degrading due<br />
to exposure to radiation," says Charles T. Bourland,<br />
former director of NASA's space food program and coauthor<br />
of <strong>the</strong> recently releASED ASTRONAUT'S COOKBOOK<br />
(SEE PAGE 59). SPACE FOODS, HE NOTES, MUST ALSO be loaded<br />
with antioxidants to counter <strong>the</strong> effects of radiation<br />
on <strong>the</strong> crew and have plenty of calcium to arrest<br />
bone loss. ANOTHER THING HE SUGGESTS WE CONSIDER IS<br />
THAT THESE FOODS WILL BE MADE primarily FROM PLANTS<br />
AND CELLULAR MATRICES PROPAGATED IN SPACE, WHICH WILL<br />
RESULT IN A LARGELY VEGETARIAN DIET. NONETHELESS, SAYS<br />
BOURLAND, IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THE COMPUTER-CONTROLLED<br />
FOOD SYNTHESIZERS MADE POPULAR BY SCIENCE FICTION<br />
MAY ONE DAY OFFER A HOST OF TEXTURED PRODUCTS, which<br />
will PROVIDE TASTE SENSATIONS we fondly ASSOCIATE WITH<br />
FAVORITE DISHES HERE ON EARTH.<br />
56<br />
Such offerings are already taking hold in <strong>the</strong> culinary<br />
world in <strong>the</strong> form of "molecular gastronomy," a scientific<br />
discipline launched in 1988 by Oxford physicist<br />
Nicholas Kurti and Hervé This, now scientific director<br />
of <strong>the</strong> Fondation Science & Culture Alimentaire in<br />
Paris. Its purpose: to use <strong>the</strong> tools of physics, chemistry,<br />
and biology to investigate <strong>the</strong> process of culinary<br />
transformation—why, for instance, a soufflé swells.<br />
"Take an egg for example," says This. "If we heat it,<br />
water evaporates and <strong>the</strong> proteins denature and polymerize<br />
to enclose water. <strong>The</strong> result is a cooked egg.<br />
But is <strong>the</strong>re ano<strong>the</strong>r way to do this <strong>The</strong> answer is yes,<br />
with alcohol, which also denatures proteins. If you put<br />
a whole egg in alcohol, and you are patient enough, <strong>the</strong><br />
ethanol will permeate <strong>the</strong> shell and promote coagulation.<br />
After a month, <strong>the</strong> result is a strange coagulated<br />
egg called a Baumé, after <strong>the</strong> French chemist Antoine<br />
1970s artist's concept of human settlement in space. image courtesy NASA
Baumé (1728–1804). It is simple science, but it can<br />
help us make new and better foods. If we are able to<br />
understand why a certain food is tasty and pleasurable,<br />
we can describe its preparation scientifically."<br />
Molecular gastronomy as it is practiced in some of<br />
<strong>the</strong> foremost kitchens in <strong>the</strong> world—at Ferran Adrià's El<br />
Bulli in Spain, at Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck in <strong>the</strong><br />
United Kingdom, and at Pierre Gagnaire's eponymous<br />
restaurant in France—has come to include many ingredients<br />
common in industrial food manufacturing but<br />
seldom seen in a professional kitchen: hydrocolloids,<br />
emulsifying agents, and a host of reactive ingredients.<br />
Among <strong>the</strong>se are calcium chloride (a firming agent<br />
for canned goods) and sodium alginate (a gum product<br />
made from seaweed often used in candy making).<br />
Toge<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong>y form a stable gel that can be flavored in<br />
all manner of ways. Techniques in large part involve<br />
gellification, emulsification, and spherification—<strong>the</strong><br />
mixing of liquids with small amounts of alginate and<br />
dripping <strong>the</strong> concoction into a bath of calcium chloride.<br />
For <strong>the</strong> latter, <strong>the</strong> chemical reaction produces<br />
caviar-like pearls with liquid centers.<br />
Here are a couple of recipes that rely on some of<br />
<strong>the</strong>se techniques and elements so that you get <strong>the</strong> idea.<br />
<strong>The</strong> specialized ingredients <strong>the</strong>y contain may be obtained<br />
from: www.albertyferranadria.com/eng/texturas<br />
-info.html or www.koerner-co.com —AMHS<br />
Stefa n D. Cz a pa l ay 's<br />
Tom ato & Goat Cheese<br />
rollups<br />
ingredients:<br />
• 200 ML TOMATO JUICE<br />
• 550 ml distilled water<br />
• 2 grams sodium alginate*<br />
• 8 grams calcium lactate*<br />
• 100 grams soft goat cheese<br />
• HANDFUL FRESH BASIL LEAVES<br />
• GRAPESEED OIL, FOR FRYING basil leaves<br />
• PARMIGIANO REGGIANO, CHILLED IN THE FREEZER<br />
Utensils:<br />
• ~ 20 × 30 cm cookie sheet<br />
• spray bottle<br />
• pastry bag with cake-decorating nozzle or a small ziplock bag, one<br />
bottom corner cut to make 2 cm opening<br />
1. BLEND TOMATO JUICE, 50 ML DISTILLED WATER, AND SODIUM ALGINATE<br />
AND ALLOW TO REST FOR A few OF HOURS FOR AIR TO DISSIPATE.<br />
2. MIX 500 ML WATER AND CALCIUM LACTATE toge<strong>the</strong>r AND PUT IN A<br />
SPRAY BOTTLE. SPRAY COOKIE SHEET WITH CALCIUM SOLUTION.<br />
3. POUR TOMATO MIXTURE ONTO COOKIE SHEET IN A THIN LAYER. SPRITz<br />
tomato mixture WITH MORE CALCIUM SOLUTION. ALLOW TO REST FOR<br />
10 MINUTES. YOU NOW HAVE A FLEXIBLE TOMATO GELée.<br />
4. Put softened goat cheese in bag and pipe along one of <strong>the</strong> long<br />
edges of <strong>the</strong> gelée. Roll up. Garnish with fried basil leaves and<br />
shaved frozen parmigiano reggiano.<br />
Stefa n D. Cz a pa l ay 's<br />
Spik ed space candy<br />
ingredients:<br />
• 450 grams sucrose*<br />
• 50 grams isomalt*<br />
• 170 grams water<br />
• 200 grams of your favorite liquor, such as Grand Marinier<br />
• box of corn starch<br />
Utensils:<br />
• cookie sheet<br />
• non-reactive sauce pan<br />
• candy <strong>the</strong>mometer<br />
• two clean non-reactive dishes<br />
• dehydrator or oven set to lowest possible temperature<br />
1. place sucrose, isomalt, and water in sauce pan and bring to a<br />
rolling boil, 117ºc/242ºF, continuing to clean <strong>the</strong> sides down<br />
with a spoon.<br />
2. upon reaching 117º/242ºF, add liquor, kill heat, and cover with a<br />
clean dish cloth to trap all alcohol and eliminate evaporation.<br />
3. after a few minutes, pour mixture into one of <strong>the</strong> clean nonreactive<br />
dishes and <strong>the</strong>n into <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r to make sure <strong>the</strong><br />
mixture is well combined. DO not use a spoon to stir or <strong>the</strong><br />
sugar will crystalize.<br />
4. cover cookie sheet with loosely packed corn starch and pour<br />
mixture on top.<br />
5. place in dehydrator at 40ºc/104ºF for 45 minutes. If you do not<br />
have a dehydrator, use <strong>the</strong> lowest possible setting on your<br />
oven , heating it for five minutes, killing <strong>the</strong> heat, and placing<br />
cookie sheet inside for 2 hours. <strong>The</strong> result is small crunchy<br />
candy balls with liquid liquor inside.<br />
El Bulli's<br />
Fiz z y Lyor a spberry<br />
rocks<br />
ingredients:<br />
• 250 grams sugar<br />
• 100 grams water<br />
• 50 grams fizzy*<br />
• grated peel of 1 lime<br />
• 10 grams powdered Lyoraspberries*<br />
utensils:<br />
• candy <strong>the</strong>rmometer<br />
• nonreactive sauce pan<br />
• silpat-lined container<br />
1. Mix <strong>the</strong> water and <strong>the</strong> sugar in a saucepan and cook at<br />
130°C/266ºF until sugar dissolves.<br />
2. Remove from heat and let sit until it reaches 140°C/284ºF.<br />
3. Add Fizzy, powdered Lyoraspberries, and <strong>the</strong> grated lime peel<br />
and stir so that everything dissolves completely.<br />
4. Pour quickly into silpat-lined container and leave to cool & harden.<br />
5. Break <strong>the</strong> rocks as desired.<br />
* ingredients and a video showing preparation of <strong>the</strong> recipe above and more<br />
can be found at www.albertyferranadria.com/eng/videos-and-recipes.html
e v i e w s<br />
edited by Milbry C. Polk<br />
328 pp • New York: Harry n. Abrams, 2009<br />
• ISBN: 978-0-8109-4948-5 • $55 • Reviewed<br />
by Angela M.H. Schuster<br />
In his latest literary offering,<br />
Far Out: A Space-Time<br />
Chronicle, visionary writer/<br />
filmmaker Michael Benson<br />
takes us on an extraordinary<br />
journey through both<br />
space and time—a whirlwind<br />
tour of sorts from nearby<br />
F a r O u t :<br />
A s p a c e - t i m e C h r o n i c l e<br />
by Michael Benson<br />
nebulae only a few hundred<br />
light-years away—and well<br />
within our own Milky Way<br />
galaxy—to <strong>the</strong> infant stars<br />
of an early universe, still<br />
cradled at <strong>the</strong> edge of time,<br />
more than 13 billion years<br />
in <strong>the</strong> past. <strong>The</strong> visually rich<br />
coffee table volume is illustrated<br />
with more than 200 of<br />
<strong>the</strong> finest astronomical images—captured<br />
not only by<br />
Hubble but several powerful<br />
and well-known land-based<br />
telescopes, including <strong>the</strong><br />
3.6-meter optical/infrared<br />
Canada France Hawaii<br />
Telescope, perched atop<br />
<strong>the</strong> summit of Mauna Kea.<br />
<strong>The</strong> chapters in <strong>the</strong> book are<br />
meant to be read ei<strong>the</strong>r front<br />
to back or back to front, for<br />
<strong>the</strong> far<strong>the</strong>r out one goes, <strong>the</strong><br />
closer one gets to <strong>the</strong> beginning<br />
of <strong>the</strong> story.<br />
Along with essays on <strong>the</strong><br />
state of astronomical observation<br />
and current <strong>the</strong>ories<br />
of cosmology, Benson offers<br />
us myriad chronological waypoints<br />
that tell us just what<br />
was going on Earth when<br />
<strong>the</strong> light we now observe<br />
was issued forth. For some<br />
of <strong>the</strong> images, astronomers<br />
of <strong>the</strong> Renaissance were on<br />
trial for herasy. In <strong>the</strong> case<br />
of Giordano Bruno, he was<br />
burned at <strong>the</strong> stake in 1592<br />
for believing that <strong>the</strong> stars<br />
in <strong>the</strong> sky were suns like our<br />
own, orbited by satellites.<br />
Benson tells us that <strong>the</strong> sunlight<br />
that touched Bruno’s<br />
face on that May day will<br />
not reach <strong>the</strong> Pleiades for<br />
ano<strong>the</strong>r three decades. For<br />
those worried about intelligent<br />
life out <strong>the</strong>re judging us<br />
and our culture from early I<br />
Love Lucy episodes, Benson<br />
says, worry not. What <strong>the</strong>y<br />
are sure to see is a primordial<br />
Earth—as chronologically<br />
primitive as it is distant from<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir vantage point.<br />
58
A d a m ’ s T o n g u e<br />
How Humans Made Language,<br />
How Language made Humans<br />
by Derek Bickertone<br />
304 pp • New York: Hill and Wang,<br />
2009 • iSBN-10: 0809022818 ISBN-13: 978-<br />
0809022816 • $27.50<br />
Derek Bickerton, professor<br />
emeritus of linguistics at <strong>the</strong><br />
University of Hawaii, writes a<br />
compelling, if irreverent, analysis<br />
of <strong>the</strong> various <strong>the</strong>ories of<br />
<strong>the</strong> development of language<br />
in his new book, Adam’s<br />
Tongue, How Humans Made<br />
Language, How Language<br />
made Humans. He takes into<br />
account <strong>the</strong> recent discoveries<br />
that humans are not alone<br />
in <strong>the</strong> ability to communicate:<br />
elephants, sea lions, parrots,<br />
great apes, dolphins, ants,<br />
bees, and many o<strong>the</strong>r species<br />
use a variety of methods<br />
to transmit information. Yet,<br />
somehow it is only ourselves<br />
who have developed a communication<br />
system that has<br />
allowed us to remain in <strong>the</strong><br />
driver’s seat on Earth.<br />
“If humans got language,”<br />
Bickerton writes, “<strong>the</strong>y can<br />
only have gotten it because<br />
REVIEWS<br />
<strong>the</strong>y had some pressing need<br />
for it.” But what was <strong>the</strong> need<br />
Bickerton debunks most <strong>the</strong>ories<br />
because <strong>the</strong>y do not meet<br />
<strong>the</strong> criteria of uniqueness<br />
(why did only our ancestors<br />
develop this ability), ecology<br />
(what was happening in <strong>the</strong><br />
environment that produced<br />
<strong>the</strong> spark), credibility (<strong>the</strong> first<br />
sounds had to have meaning<br />
beyond grooming or alarm<br />
for it to evolve), and selfishness<br />
(using language had to<br />
benefit <strong>the</strong> speaker and <strong>the</strong><br />
group). Bickerton offers some<br />
thought-provoking scenarios<br />
as to how and why language<br />
developed based on how species,<br />
especially our own, are<br />
affected by and also change<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir environment, which in<br />
turn causes speciation.<br />
T h e A s t r o n a u t ’ s<br />
C o o k b o o k<br />
by Charles T. Bourland &<br />
Gregory L. Vogt<br />
220 pp • New York: SPringer, 2010 •<br />
ISBN: 978-1-4419-0623-6 • $29.95 • reviewed<br />
by Angela M.H. Schuster<br />
In this delightful compendium—penned<br />
by Charles<br />
T. Bourland, former head of<br />
NASA’s space-food program,<br />
and Gregory Vogt, a NASA<br />
educator and writer—we are<br />
presented with all manner of<br />
things about space-food from<br />
how dishes are prepared for<br />
astronauts to <strong>the</strong> challenges<br />
of designing food delivery<br />
systems that function in zero<br />
gravity. Along with numerous<br />
recipes that have nourished<br />
our space program participants,<br />
<strong>the</strong> volume is peppered<br />
with trivia and profiles of various<br />
astronauts and <strong>the</strong>ir favorite<br />
delights—shrimp cocktail a<br />
hands-down favorite.<br />
K 2<br />
Life and Death on <strong>the</strong> World’s<br />
Most Dangerous Mountain<br />
by Ed Viesturs with David Roberts<br />
352 pp • New York: Broadway Books,<br />
2009 • ISBN-10: 0767932501, ISBN-13: 978-<br />
0767932509 • $26<br />
Known as <strong>the</strong> “savage mountain,”<br />
K2 is <strong>the</strong> second highest<br />
mountain in <strong>the</strong> world and one<br />
of <strong>the</strong> most lethal, claiming one<br />
in four climbers who attempt its<br />
summit. Located in Pakistan’s<br />
<strong>the</strong> <strong>explorers</strong> <strong>journal</strong>
Karakoram Range, K2 is so remote<br />
it is not visible even from<br />
<strong>the</strong> nearest village. Since its<br />
discovery in 1856 by a survey<br />
team, its height and difficulty<br />
have lured <strong>the</strong> best and bravest<br />
of mountaineers, including<br />
Ed Viesturs, <strong>the</strong> first American<br />
to summit all fourteen of <strong>the</strong><br />
world’s 8,000-meter peaks<br />
and author of <strong>the</strong> recently released,<br />
K2, Life and Death on<br />
<strong>the</strong> World’s Most Dangerous<br />
Mountain. Viestures picked six<br />
K2 expeditions, (1938, 1939,<br />
1953, 1954, 1986, and 2008)<br />
to lay bare <strong>the</strong> “story behind<br />
<strong>the</strong> story” in order to explore<br />
<strong>the</strong> basic tenets of mountaineering:<br />
“risk, ambition, loyalty<br />
to one’s teammates, self-sacrifice,<br />
and <strong>the</strong> price of glory.”<br />
He begins his story in<br />
August 2008, when several<br />
international expeditions were<br />
poised for <strong>the</strong> final slog to K2’s<br />
summit. Echoing <strong>the</strong> Everest<br />
disaster of 1996, things began<br />
to go wrong early on—a<br />
late start by oxygen-deprived<br />
climbers; a pile-up at a narrow<br />
“bottleneck,” where everyone<br />
waits <strong>the</strong>ir turn; bad wea<strong>the</strong>r<br />
moving in; and <strong>the</strong> usual problems<br />
of miscommunication.<br />
When <strong>the</strong> climbers reached<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir prescribed turnaround<br />
time, many were still waiting to<br />
ascend. <strong>The</strong>n disaster struck.<br />
An enormous serac (suspended<br />
glacier) hanging above <strong>the</strong><br />
bottleneck, which had been<br />
stable for decades, calved,<br />
roaring down <strong>the</strong> mountain<br />
and cascading down on <strong>the</strong><br />
climbers.<br />
Veisturs recounts <strong>the</strong> events<br />
of that climb and helps us understand<br />
that <strong>the</strong>re was no one<br />
event that claimed 11 lives. He<br />
60<br />
REVIEWS<br />
also looks at his own experience<br />
climbing K2 and honestly<br />
recounts events that his previous<br />
book, No Shortcuts to <strong>the</strong><br />
Top, glossed over. <strong>The</strong> book is<br />
packed with little-known acts<br />
of incredible heroism, stupidity,<br />
selfishness, profound<br />
friendship, bitter life-long enmity,<br />
feats of daring, amazing<br />
rescues, and horrific loss. He<br />
says he wanted to “imagine my<br />
way into <strong>the</strong>ir company, where<br />
I can ponder <strong>the</strong> what-mighthave-been<br />
of <strong>the</strong>ir dilemmas.”<br />
In addition to being a great<br />
read, <strong>the</strong> book examines <strong>the</strong><br />
hubris we all carry with us and<br />
how we come to terms with it.<br />
N o t e b o o k s f r o m<br />
N e w G u i n e a<br />
by Vojtech Novotny<br />
256 pp • Oxford: Oxford University<br />
Press, 2009 • ISBN-10: 0199561656, ISBN-<br />
13: 978-0199561650 • $34.95<br />
When field ecologist Vojtech<br />
Novotny, a professor of ecology<br />
at <strong>the</strong> Czech Academy<br />
of Sciences, settled in New<br />
Guinea to study tropical<br />
forests, he had no idea what<br />
<strong>the</strong> foray would bring over<br />
<strong>the</strong> course of a decade. For<br />
in addition to <strong>the</strong> region’s<br />
extraordinary environmental<br />
diversity, he found abundant<br />
culturaldiversity with distinct<br />
groups speaking more than<br />
1,000 languages. His experiences<br />
<strong>the</strong>re are recorded in<br />
Notebooks from New Guinea,<br />
a charming and insightful, if<br />
unusual, riff on <strong>the</strong> world he<br />
encounters.<br />
Soon after his arrival,<br />
Novotny finds that magic and<br />
spirits permeate local belief<br />
systems, which impact his<br />
own work. He finds he has to<br />
move his entomological lab<br />
because <strong>the</strong> swamp where it<br />
was built sat atop a masalai<br />
(spirit), which was believed to<br />
be causing sickness in <strong>the</strong> lab.<br />
When discussing cannibalism,<br />
he tells us “one might argue on<br />
humanitarian grounds against<br />
ideologies that view neighbors<br />
as canned meat on two legs,<br />
(but) eating <strong>the</strong> deceased<br />
was actually a highly civilized<br />
custom.” Novotny is interested<br />
in <strong>the</strong> edges of populations,<br />
where he says <strong>the</strong> most<br />
change is occurring. Whe<strong>the</strong>r<br />
speaking of plants, insects,<br />
or people, he talks about a<br />
landscape that is in constant<br />
flux as volcanoes bury and<br />
tsunamis wash away villages,<br />
rivers change course, and mining<br />
companies strip <strong>the</strong> land.<br />
What Novotny discovered is a<br />
people with a profound sense<br />
of place who have a deep<br />
understanding of <strong>the</strong>ir natural<br />
environment, which is being<br />
crunched by “<strong>the</strong> big yellow<br />
tractor.” His book is a delight,<br />
an ode to a unique part of <strong>the</strong><br />
world.
T HE E X PL OR E RS CLUB chap t e r chairs<br />
46 east 70th street, New York, NY 10021 I 212-628-8383 I www.<strong>explorers</strong>.org<br />
National chapter chairs<br />
interNational chapter chairs<br />
A l a sk a<br />
John J. Kelley, Ph.D.<br />
Tel: 907-479-5989<br />
Fax: 907-479-5990<br />
ffjjk@uaf.edu<br />
Atl a nta<br />
Roy Alexander Wallace<br />
Tel: 404-237-5098<br />
Fax: 404-231-5228<br />
awallace3@bellsouth.net<br />
Chicago / Gre at L a k es<br />
James S. Westerman<br />
Tel: 312-671-2800<br />
Fax: 312-280-7326<br />
jimw@carbit.com<br />
Florida<br />
Jim Thompson<br />
Tel: 727-204-4550<br />
otexplorer@gmail.com<br />
George Rogers Cl a rk<br />
Joseph E. Ricketts<br />
Tel/Fax: 937-885-2477<br />
jer937@aol.com<br />
Gre ater Piedmont<br />
John Adams Hodge<br />
Tel: 803-779-3080<br />
Fax: 803-765-1243<br />
jhodge@hsblawfirm.com<br />
Ne w Engl a nd<br />
Gregory Deyermenjian<br />
Tel: 978-927-8827, ext. 128<br />
Fax: 978-927-9182<br />
paititi@alumni.clarku.edu<br />
North Pacific A l a sk a<br />
Mead Treadwell<br />
Tel: 907-258-7764<br />
Fax: 907-258-7768<br />
meadwell@alaska.net<br />
Nor<strong>the</strong>rn Californi a<br />
Alan H. Nichols, J.D., D.S.<br />
Tel: 415-789-9348<br />
Fax: 415-789-9348<br />
nicholsalan9@gmail.com<br />
Pacific Northwest<br />
Ed Sobey, Ph.D.<br />
Tel: 206-240-1516<br />
ed.sobey@gmail.com<br />
Phil a delphi a<br />
Doug Soroka<br />
Tel: 215-257-4588<br />
dsoroka@errc.ars.usda.gov<br />
Rock y Mounta in<br />
Karyn Sawyer<br />
Tel: 303-717-8863<br />
karyn@msbasset.com<br />
S a n Diego<br />
Capt. Robert “Rio” Hahn<br />
Tel: 760-723-2318<br />
Fax: 760-723-3326<br />
rio@adventure.org<br />
Sou<strong>the</strong>rn Californi a<br />
David A. Dolan, FRGS<br />
Tel. 949-307-9182<br />
daviddolan@aol.com<br />
Sou<strong>the</strong>rn Florida<br />
Rosemarie Twinam<br />
Tel: 772-219-1970<br />
Fax: 772-283-3497<br />
RTwinam@aol.com<br />
Southwest<br />
Brian Hanson (Chapter Liaison)<br />
Tel: 512-266-7851<br />
brianphanson@sbcglobal.net<br />
St. Louis<br />
Mabel Purkerson, M.D.<br />
Tel: 314-994-1649<br />
purkerm@msnotes.wustl.edu<br />
Te x a s<br />
C. William Steele<br />
Tel: 214-770-4712<br />
Fax: 972-580-7870<br />
speleosteele@tx.rr.com<br />
Wa shington, DC<br />
Polly A. Penhale, Ph.D.<br />
Tel: 703-292-7420<br />
Fax: 703-292-9080<br />
papenhale@yahoo.com<br />
A rgentin a<br />
Hugo Castello, Ph.D.<br />
Fax: 54 11 4 982 5243/4494<br />
hucastel@mail.retina.ar<br />
Austr a lia-Ne w Ze a l a nd<br />
Christopher A. Bray<br />
Tel: 61-403-823-418<br />
chris@chrisbray.net<br />
Canadi a n<br />
Amanda S. Glickman<br />
Tel: 250-202-2760<br />
amanda@paparumba.org<br />
www.<strong>explorers</strong>club.ca<br />
E a st A si a<br />
Steven R. Schwankert<br />
Tel: 86 1350 116 3629<br />
steven@sinoscuba.com<br />
Gre at Brita in<br />
Barry L. Moss<br />
Tel: 44 020 8992 7178<br />
barola2780@aol.com<br />
Norway<br />
Sturla Ellingvag<br />
post@explicofund.org<br />
Pol a nd<br />
Monika M. Rogozinska<br />
Tel: 48-22-8484630<br />
Fax: 48-22-8-484630<br />
m.rogozinska@rp.pl<br />
South A si a<br />
Mandip S. Soin<br />
Tel: 91-11- 26460244<br />
Fax: 91-11-26460245<br />
mandipsinghsoin@gmail.com<br />
W estern Europe<br />
Robert E. Roe<strong>the</strong>nmund<br />
Tel: 49-173-611-66-55<br />
rroeth1@attglobal.net
H a l f M o o n<br />
Henry Hudson and <strong>the</strong> Voyage that<br />
redrew <strong>the</strong> map of <strong>the</strong> New World<br />
62<br />
by Douglas Hunter<br />
329 pp • New York: Bloomsbury Press,<br />
2009 • ISBN-13: 978-1-59691-680-7 • $28 •<br />
reviewed by Carl G. Schuster<br />
If you want to read about<br />
Englishman Henry Hudson’s<br />
1609 New World voyage in<br />
<strong>the</strong> Dutch ship, Half Moon<br />
(Haelf Maen), this is by far <strong>the</strong><br />
best iteration, measuring well<br />
above myriad o<strong>the</strong>r offerings<br />
that commemorate <strong>the</strong> 400th<br />
anniversary of <strong>the</strong> explorer’s<br />
jaunt up <strong>the</strong> Hudson River.<br />
Drawing on new primary<br />
research materials, Douglas<br />
Hunter recounts <strong>the</strong> voyage<br />
and delves into its purported<br />
purpose in this colorful and<br />
reasoned narrative. Although<br />
Hunter cites important sources,<br />
he falls short of completing <strong>the</strong><br />
narrative by extracting from <strong>the</strong><br />
materials what <strong>the</strong>y say about<br />
Hudson, but missing <strong>the</strong> larger<br />
picture: what <strong>the</strong>se say about<br />
Hudson’s close ties to <strong>the</strong><br />
English crown.<br />
Hunter mentions <strong>the</strong><br />
REVIEWS<br />
oddness of <strong>the</strong> Dutch hiring<br />
Hudson, but says little of <strong>the</strong><br />
fact that <strong>the</strong> navigator actually<br />
hijacked <strong>the</strong> Half Moon,<br />
returning it not to Holland as<br />
per his contractual orders but<br />
to Dartmouth, <strong>the</strong> English naval<br />
station to which privateers<br />
delivered <strong>the</strong>ir prizes for assay.<br />
While Hunter does not<br />
state directly that <strong>the</strong> 1609<br />
venture was a black bag<br />
job, this is <strong>the</strong> inescapable<br />
conclusion. Hudson was not<br />
a self-employed “explorer/adventurer,”<br />
going hat in hand to<br />
wealthy merchants looking for<br />
sponsorship. Instead, he was<br />
part of a well-oiled exercise<br />
in <strong>the</strong> emerging science of<br />
geography, sponsored by <strong>the</strong><br />
court—and <strong>the</strong> highest levels<br />
of English intelligence—and involving<br />
<strong>the</strong> brightest and most<br />
enlightened minds of <strong>the</strong> age.<br />
T h e B e t t e r t o E a t<br />
y o u W i t h :<br />
Fear in <strong>the</strong> Animal World<br />
by Joel Berger<br />
360 pp • Chicago: University of Chicago<br />
Press, 2008 • ISBN-10: 0226043630, ISBN-<br />
13: 978-0226043630 • $29<br />
More than 125 years ago,<br />
Alfred Russell Wallace<br />
recognized that we live in “a<br />
zoologically impoverished<br />
world.” In his book, <strong>The</strong> Better<br />
to Eat You With: Fear in <strong>the</strong><br />
Animal World, wildlife conservationist<br />
Joel Berger examines<br />
how this impoverishment came<br />
to be and <strong>the</strong> conservation<br />
policies needed to redress<br />
it. Berger reminds us that <strong>the</strong><br />
purpose of conservation is to<br />
“hold on to what we have and<br />
to build what we have lost.”<br />
To do this, he says, we have<br />
to “understand animals, <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
natural history, and <strong>the</strong> threats<br />
to <strong>the</strong>ir existence.” Among <strong>the</strong><br />
examples he gives is that of<br />
<strong>the</strong> reintroduction of wolves to<br />
Yellowstone after a 70-year absence.<br />
Before <strong>the</strong> wolves were<br />
released, many wondered how<br />
<strong>the</strong> moose, elk, birds, and o<strong>the</strong>r<br />
animals would react when <strong>the</strong>y<br />
first encountered <strong>the</strong>ir ancient<br />
enemy Would <strong>the</strong>y even<br />
remember<br />
Berger recounts an experiment<br />
that involved playing<br />
sounds of unfamiliar animals to<br />
gauge reactions. Buffalo hardly<br />
reacted to <strong>the</strong> sounds of an<br />
ancient predator, lions. When<br />
roars of a more recent predator<br />
filled <strong>the</strong> air, however, fear was<br />
evident in <strong>the</strong> animals’ levels of<br />
stress hormones and <strong>the</strong>ir rush<br />
to protect <strong>the</strong>ir own.<br />
Berger roamed across<br />
North America, Russia, Asia,<br />
Patagonia, and <strong>the</strong> Arctic,<br />
seeing a landscape that has<br />
changed profoundly in <strong>the</strong> last<br />
century as large animals have<br />
disappeared. If we continue<br />
to kill an average of 300,000<br />
predators every year, he warns,<br />
this will have an adverse effect<br />
on <strong>the</strong> natural world, and ultimately<br />
on us.
THE EXPLORERS CLUB LEGACY SOCIE T Y<br />
“I joined <strong>the</strong> Legacy Society<br />
because it is an integral part<br />
of <strong>The</strong> <strong>Explorers</strong> <strong>Club</strong> and<br />
vital to ensuring its future<br />
success. Join us!”<br />
—Roland R. Puton, MR’87<br />
Roland Puton at a mountain pass during <strong>the</strong> Minya<br />
Konka trek, Tibet, September 2006.<br />
Robert J. Atwater<br />
Capt. Norman L. Baker<br />
Barbara Ballard<br />
Robert D. Ballard, Ph.D.<br />
Samuel B. Ballen<br />
Mark Gregory Bayuk<br />
Daniel A. Bennett<br />
Josh Bernstein<br />
John R. Bockstoce, D.Phil.<br />
Bjorn G. Bolstad<br />
Capt. Bruce M. Bongar, Ph.D.<br />
Garrett R. Bowden<br />
Harry Davis Brooks<br />
Lt. Col. Jewell Richard Browder*<br />
August “Augie” Brown<br />
John C.D. Bruno<br />
Lee R. Bynum*<br />
Virginia Castagnola Hunter<br />
Julianne M. Chase, Ph.D.<br />
Maj. Gen. Arthur W. Clark,<br />
USAF (Ret.)<br />
Leslie E. Colby<br />
Jonathan M. Conrad<br />
Ca<strong>the</strong>rine Nixon Cooke<br />
Constance Difede<br />
Mr. & Mrs. James Donovan<br />
Col. William H. Dribben, USA<br />
(Ret.)*<br />
Sylvia A. Earle, Ph.D.<br />
Amelia Earhart*<br />
Lee M. Elman<br />
Michael L. Finn<br />
Robert L. Fisher, Ph.D.<br />
John W. Flint<br />
Kay Foster<br />
James M. Fowler<br />
W. Roger Fry<br />
Alfred C. Glassell, Jr.<br />
George W. Gowen<br />
Randall A. Greene<br />
Jean Charles Michel Guite<br />
Capt. Robert “Rio” Hahn<br />
Allan C. Hamilton<br />
Scott W. Hamilton<br />
O. Winston “Bud” Hampton,<br />
Ph.D.<br />
Brian P. Hanson<br />
James H. Hardy, M.D.<br />
Judith Heath<br />
Robert A. Hemm<br />
Gary “Doc” Hermalyn, Ph.D.<br />
Sir Edmund P. Hillary, KG,<br />
ONZ, KBE*<br />
Lotsie Hermann Holton<br />
Charles B. Huestis<br />
Robert Edgar Hyman<br />
J.P. Morgan Charitable Trust<br />
Robert M. Jackson, M.D.<br />
Kenneth M. Kamler, M.D.<br />
Prince Joli Kansil<br />
Lorie M.L. Karnath<br />
Anthony G. Kehle, III<br />
Anne B. Keiser<br />
Kathryn Kiplinger<br />
Thomas R. Kuhns, M.D.<br />
Hannah B. Kurzweil<br />
Carl C. Landegger<br />
Robert M. Lee<br />
Michael S. Levin<br />
Florence Lewisohn Trust<br />
J. Roland Lieber<br />
Michael Luzich<br />
James E. Lockwood, Jr.*<br />
Jose Loeb<br />
John H. Loret, Ph.D., D.Sc.<br />
Margaret D. Lowman, Ph.D.<br />
Robert H. Malott<br />
Leslie Mandel<br />
Robert E. McCarthy*<br />
George E. McCown<br />
Capt. Alfred S. McLaren,<br />
Ph.D., USN (Ret.)<br />
Lorus T. Milne, Ph.D.<br />
James M. Mitchelhill*<br />
Arnold H. Neis<br />
Walter P. Noonan<br />
Martin T. Nweeia, D.D.S.<br />
Dr. John W. Olsen<br />
Kathleen Parker<br />
Alese & Morton Pechter<br />
William E. Phillips<br />
Prof. Mabel L. Purkerson, M.D.<br />
Roland R. Puton<br />
Mabel Dorn Reader*<br />
Dimitri Rebikoff*<br />
John T. Reilly, Ph.D.<br />
Adrian Richards, Ph.D.<br />
Bruce E. Rippeteau, Ph.D.<br />
Merle Greene Robertson, Ph.D.<br />
Otto E. Roe<strong>the</strong>nmund<br />
James Beeland Rogers, Jr.<br />
Rudy L. Ruggles, Jr.<br />
Gene M. Rurka<br />
Avery B. Russell<br />
David J. Saul, Ph.D.<br />
Willets H. Sawyer, III<br />
A. Harvey Schreter*<br />
Mr. & Mrs. Donald Segur<br />
Walter Shropshire, Jr., Ph.D.,<br />
M.Div.<br />
<strong>The</strong>odore M. Siouris<br />
William J. L. Sladen, M.D.,<br />
D.Phil.<br />
Susan Deborah Smilow<br />
Sally A. Spencer<br />
Pamela L. Stephany<br />
Ronnie & Allan Streichler<br />
Arthur O. Sulzberger<br />
Vernon F. Taylor, III<br />
Mitchell Terk, M.D.<br />
C. Frederick Thompson, II<br />
James “Buddy” Thompson<br />
Marc Verstraete Van de Weyer<br />
Robert C. Vaughn<br />
Ann Marks Volkwein<br />
Leonard A. Weakley, Jr.<br />
William G. Wellington, Ph.D.<br />
Robert H. Whitby<br />
Julius Wile*<br />
Holly Williams<br />
Francis A. Wodal*<br />
* Deceased<br />
A s l on g a s t h e r e i s Th e Ex pl or e r s Clu b,<br />
your n a m e w i l l b e li s ted a s a m e m b e r of Th e Legac y Societ y.<br />
THE LEGACY SOCIET Y COMMIT TEE<br />
<strong>The</strong>odore M.Siouris (Chairman), Robert J. Atwater,<br />
August “Augie” Brown, George W. Gowen, Scott W. Hamilton,<br />
Brian P. Hanson, Peter Hess, Helen Kahn, Kathryn Kiplinger,<br />
William E. Phillips, Mabel L. Purkerson, Jack Rinehart, and Jim Thompson<br />
for additional<br />
information<br />
contact<br />
<strong>the</strong> <strong>explorers</strong> club<br />
46 East 70th Street<br />
New York, NY 10021<br />
212-628-8383<br />
development@<strong>explorers</strong>.org
W H A T W E R E T H E Y T H I N K I N G <br />
great moments in exploration as told to Jim Clash<br />
last man on <strong>the</strong> moon<br />
Gene Cernan<br />
On December 14, 1972, Apollo 17 astronaut Gene Cernan<br />
stepped up from <strong>the</strong> lunar surface onto <strong>the</strong> Lunar<br />
module ladder. He left behind a world not visited since<br />
by humans. He was <strong>the</strong> twelfth and final astronaut to<br />
walk on <strong>the</strong> moon. Now a retired Navy captain, Cernan,<br />
76, recalls <strong>the</strong> event like it was yesterday.<br />
JC: Tell us about stepping on <strong>the</strong> Moon.<br />
GC: Unless you do it, you haven’t done it. Having<br />
come close on Apollo 10, it was important to<br />
cover that last 47,000 feet. Once I finally stepped<br />
on <strong>the</strong> Moon, no matter what was to come of <strong>the</strong><br />
next three days—or <strong>the</strong> rest of my life—nobody<br />
could take those steps from me. People ask how<br />
long will <strong>the</strong>y be <strong>the</strong>re and I say forever, however<br />
long forever is, like my daughter’s initials [TDC]<br />
that I scribbled in <strong>the</strong> sand.<br />
JC: You’re best known for your last step.<br />
GC: <strong>The</strong> more nostalgic, perhaps, were those final<br />
steps. I looked back at Earth in all its splendor—I<br />
think of it as sitting on God’s front porch looking<br />
home—<strong>the</strong>n down at my last footprint and<br />
realized, “Hey, I’m not coming this way again.”<br />
It’s not like going to grandma’s farm and coming<br />
back next summer. I hesitated, asking what was<br />
64<br />
<strong>the</strong> meaning of <strong>the</strong> last three days, not just to me,<br />
but to you, and all who would follow. I didn’t have<br />
an answer <strong>the</strong>n, and I don’t now.<br />
JC: Any regrets about your time on <strong>the</strong> Moon<br />
GC: I left my Hasselblad camera <strong>the</strong>re, with <strong>the</strong><br />
lens pointing up, <strong>the</strong> idea being someday someone<br />
would come back and find out how much<br />
deterioration solar cosmic radiation had on <strong>the</strong><br />
glass. Going up <strong>the</strong> ladder, I never took a photo<br />
of my last footstep. Wouldn’t it have been better<br />
to take <strong>the</strong> camera with me, get <strong>the</strong> shot, take <strong>the</strong><br />
film pack off, and <strong>the</strong>n throw <strong>the</strong> camera away<br />
JC: It is interesting that <strong>the</strong> first and last men on<br />
<strong>the</strong> Moon are Purdue alumni.<br />
GC: Neil [Armstrong] and I shared an office before<br />
we flew. And we’ve become pretty good friends<br />
since. He has been hassled a bit for being less<br />
free with his personal life and <strong>the</strong> media. <strong>The</strong>re<br />
are lots of people who could have been first on<br />
<strong>the</strong> Moon. But nobody could have handled <strong>the</strong><br />
after-effects with more dignity than Neil.<br />
More of Jim Clash’s columns and videos can be found at www.<br />
forbes.com/to<strong>the</strong>limits or www.youtube.com/jimclash.<br />
Eugene A. Cernan walks toward <strong>the</strong> Lunar Rover at <strong>the</strong> Taurus-Littrow, landing site of NASA’s sixth and<br />
final Apollo lunar landing mission. Photograph by Harrison H. Schmitt, courtesy NASA.
<strong>the</strong> <strong>explorers</strong> <strong>journal</strong><br />
<strong>The</strong> official quarterly of<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Explorers</strong> <strong>Club</strong> since 1921<br />
www.<strong>explorers</strong>.org<br />
Dare to go<br />
where no one<br />
has gone before!<br />
subscribe online to <strong>The</strong> <strong>Explorers</strong> Journal today!<br />
From vast ocean depths to<br />
<strong>the</strong> frontiers of outer space,<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Explorers</strong> Journal offers<br />
firsthand reporting from<br />
those pushing <strong>the</strong> limits<br />
of knowledge and human<br />
endurance.<br />
Founded in 1904 to promote<br />
exploration “by all means<br />
possible,” <strong>The</strong> <strong>Explorers</strong><br />
<strong>Club</strong> is an international<br />
organization dedicated to<br />
<strong>the</strong> advancement of field<br />
exploration and scientific<br />
inquiry. Among our members<br />
are leading pioneers in<br />
oceanography, mountaineering,<br />
archaeology, and <strong>the</strong> planetary<br />
and environmental sciences.<br />
image by Cristian Donoso, diving in western patagonia