Exploration Is Wired Into Our Brains. If We Can See The Horizon, We Want To Know What’s Beyond.

Historic Milestone in Space Flight Technology

Today, March 30, 2017, marks a significant and critical step in making affordable space travel more possible than ever.

Last April, the whole scientific community worldwide was watching as Elon Musk’s SpaceX successfully launched and landed the Falcon 9 rocket booster, proving for the first time in space flight history that it was possible to save and collect rockets after being launched into space. This March, SpaceX aims to up its standards by relaunching and re-landing the same rocket booster, which will deliver a communications satellite into orbit for a Luxembourg-based telecommunications company. 

Why is this important? Simply put, rocket boosters are the most expensive part to build for any type of rocket. While SpaceX claims to have the most affordable rocket launches in the world, solidifying the concept of 100% reusable rocket boosters can save space programs $18 million per launch and open more doors for cost-effective commercial space travel.

If 100% reusable rocket boosters become a reality, the cost of launching rockets, experiments, and people into space can be significantly lowered to the point where non-scientific commercial space travel can be a common occurrence.

I can only wonder, then, how much and how far this development will impact not only the space industry, but the whole world itself. If this pushes through,  there can be few excuses, then, for not recognizing the potential in looking beyond our own orbit and planet. With incredible scientific progress and discoveries happening almost every day, I think it’s only a matter of time before everyone sets their sights on the stars and starts pushing for interstellar travel.

We are no longer limited to our own solar system, and the possibilities that come with recognizing and answering to that are as unfathomable as space itself.

A Quick Q&A

Ever my first post, I’ve had some great comments and questions from people who’ve stopped by my blog, and I’m going to respond to them all in this post to keep things organized! 

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Q1: In reference to the Emirates’ plans to build a Mars city by the end of the century - do you think they can do it? (question by krrizal)

A: I definitely think anything is possible. With the current rate of technological advancements and rise of interest in space exploration globally, I think there is a lot of support for those who want to go space - and more specifically Mars. Really, there has never been a better time for space to take the forefront of global topics. If Emirates stays on track with their plans, I believe they can build a city on Mars.

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Q2: cute theme! where did you get it from? (question anonymous)

A: Hello! The theme is made by this wonderful person, I just added my own code to it for editing and personalizing purposes.

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Q3: lol high 5 from UCF! (comment made anonymous)

A: Go Knights! :D

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Q4: Do you have any experience working in space?

A: I wish! I am doing undergraduate research right now in the field of environmental engineering, since I also want to go into sustainable energy. I’m waiting on internship responses from NASA, so fingers crossed! My dream is to do astrobiology research in space and sustainable urban development down on Earth. 

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Thank you everyone for your questions and comments! Please feel free to stop by my ask box at any time.

My Constellation

I was born with stars in my eyes.

I mean this in a very literal sense! I was born in an island village that didn’t have any electricity, on a clear moonless night when millions of bright stars unfurled across the dark sky. And (according to my baby pictures) my hospital cradle was right next to the window which afforded a wide view of the ocean waves and – yep, that’s right – the stars. One of my earliest memories is that of the stars, though I’m not sure if that is from when I was a baby, or when I was slightly older.

Nevertheless, the night sky and its bright inhabitants have been constants in my life for as long as I can remember. From as early as my toddling years, I would always make it a point to my parents to let me stay outside long enough to stargaze. I didn’t know why I was so fascinated with the night sky – it was just instinctive to look up and be in wonder. My love for the stars became so apparent that my grandparents, aunts, and uncles decided to save enough money to buy me a secondhand telescope, a gift that I cherished until I had to move to the United States and leave it behind to my younger relatives.

That telescope opened up a new world for me, one where I only had to look through a pair of simple lens to excitedly meet my nighttime friends face-to-face. While the telescope wasn’t very advanced, it was strong enough to show me the faint outlines of neighboring planets, the tail-ends of occasional comets, and the blurry but beautiful glows of twinkling stars. “There’s stuff out there! STUFF!” I remember saying to my family after my first time looking through the telescope, “there’s a bunch of stuff! So much stuff!”

From there, it was inevitably easy to fall in love with outer space and all of its complications and mysteries. My curiosity and questions about the “stuff” I saw grew in leaps and bounds, propelling me to – in essence – attack our local library to get my hands on anything related to space. I was overjoyed to see an entire shelf dedicated to space science and astronomy. But when I finished devouring the texts there a few weeks later, I was devastated. Surely there was more to read, more to learn more out there?

Can you imagine, then, how I reacted when I was told that my parents and I were moving to America? The America that had sent people to the moon, built incredible spacecrafts and satellites that were currently circling the globe in low orbit, and helped found the International Space Station? I was ecstatic, and my hopes for the future far outweighed my reservations about leaving the only home I had ever known.

If there were any reservations, though, they disappeared the moment I woke up at some point during the 22-hour flight, looked out my tiny plane window, and saw with wide eyes…

… the stars – right there – right in front of me – right within my reach. At eight years old, I genuinely thought the plane was flying in a sea of stars, and kept my face mushed against the glass until a plane attendant asked me to close the window (I did close the window, but I opened it again after she left.)

It’s funny, looking back at that starry-eyed eight-year-old. I want to tell her that there’s only so much more to look forward to. I want to tell her that when she’s ten, she’s going to visit a place called Kennedy Space Center and firmly declare to everyone in the tour group that she will become an astronaut one day. I want to tell her that when she’s thirteen, she’ll visit another place called the Orlando Science Center and peek through an enormous telescope that will show her the distant planet of Saturn in color, and she’ll be so shocked that she’ll ask if the picture was a sticker on the lens. I want to tell her that when she’s eighteen, she’ll gain two mentors who will encourage her to pursue her love for the stars, and help her get started on the path to getting there… I want to tell her that the next eleven years won’t be easy, and there will be times when she’ll feel as if the stars could never be more far away or unreachable.

But I think she’ll end up just fine. She was born with stars in her eyes, after all.

Hey Dianne. I love love love this theme! It is sooo cool. I have no idea how you did it (was it witchcraft?!?!). I love that you have this calming music playing as well. everything is just awesome --Jennifer Holden

Hi Jennifer, thank you so much for visiting my blog! The theme took forever to edit and format, but I think it’s totally worth it :D 

Beautiful! Would like to visit all of these places someday <3

World’s largest salt flat: Salar de Uyini, Bolivia

A Personal Update

Hello everyone! This is just a quick behind-the-blog update from me.

I’ve been applying to NASA internships for the past three months, and I’m sad to say that I was not chosen for any of them. 

I must admit it broke my heart a little bit to see the positions I applied for fill up with no offer extended to me. I really thought I had a good shot at a few of them this time around. I really thought I had a chance.

I’m writing this because I want everyone to know that is natural to feel frustrated and disappointed, and that whatever setback you may encounter is not the end of the world. Just as there are countless stars in the night sky, there are just as many opportunities still waiting for you to find them.

Yes, my heart is heavy from this, but I know I’ll bounce right back. Rejection is a part of life, after all, and no one ever made it to the stars after giving up because of a few rejections.

I’m going to keep moving forward, with my eyes on the stars, doing what I love to do, and I know I’ll get where I want to be someday.

Until then, ad astra!

Beautiful photo! This reminds me of the time my family and I went to Yellowstone National Park around four years ago. We arrived at the park around midnight and were treated to the clearest star-filled night sky we had ever seen. It was stunning - the stars stretched from one horizon to the next, and there was no end to them. It made me feel very small in the grand scope of the universe, and just how much we miss out when we become accustomed to city lights and the urban sprawl. Makes me want to go camping in some remote place again.

The Milky Way from Acadia National Parks Thunder Hole

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Thoughts on the ISS Water Systems

Recently, I was asked by my research mentor to conduct a literature review on the drinking water systems aboard the International Space Station. Let me say this: the technology and the people aboard the ISS really know how to recycle water!

Here are some cool facts I discovered while doing this research:

- Sweat, pee, and tears are all recycled through intensive chemical and physical processes

- There is no way to recycle/reuse solid waste like brine yet, so it is packaged and sent back down to Earth through payloads

- The ISS has a motherboard-like program called the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) that basically outlines in detail all the processes that need to be in order to sustain life aboard the spacecraft

- The ISS is currently able to support six living crewmembers aboard, but it is not 100% sustainable because chemical resources (oxygen, water, etc.) are invariably lost over time

Just some things I found interesting. I was glad to do this kind of literature review because it gives me an outlook on how much progress we still need to make in trying to achieve long-term space travel and habitation. 

The beautiful Milky Way taken in one of the most darkest skies in the world over Boa Vista in the Cape Verde Islands. photo by James Atkinson

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Apollo 11 Launch