On the 14th of July, BETA team members Dr. Joshua Sebree, Angela Weepie, and Katie Patrick set out for the east coast. After a flight delay due to rocky weather in the D.C. area, the team safely arrived. The majority of the trip was spent at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. At NASA, the team met Dr. Jennifer Stern and Dr. Shawn Domagal-Goldman, who will be collaborating on this project, along with Dr. Eric Hebard- Dr. Domagal-Goldman's post-doc. While this was Angela and Katie’s first time at NASA, not everyone was a new face. Angela had met Dr. Stern when she was a guest lecture for Dr. Sebree’s Astrochemistry course last year!
Pcitured: Dr. Jennifer Stern, Angela, and Katie working together at NASA
Much of the trip consisted of meetings at NASA in order to discuss the finer details of the project, such as how to prepare rock samples before sending them to NASA for analysis. This critical first step in the project was a success and the team came back with the knowledge to start the sample preparation after using our samples to see what worked and what did not work.
Pictured: one of the aerosol samples brought from UNI to NASA in order to set up a game plan
While the majority of the trip was spent at NASA, the team made sure to take a little time to tour the sights as well. In Washington D.C. they visited the National Mall, Thomas Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, FDR Memorial, WWII Memorial amongst many others. In Maryland, where they stayed, they saw the Aquarium and Zoo.
With such an eventful trip, it wasn’t surprising that each team member had a different favorite moment.
Getting back to my old stomping grounds and seeing what had and had not changed. -Dr. Sebree
I enjoyed meeting people at NASA and being able to put faces to the names I see on the journal articles I read. I also really enjoyed our time walking around the National Mall seeing all of the amazing monuments. -Angela
I liked going to see the Space Shuttle at Air and Space Museum by Dulles Airport. I also really liked going to Baltimore. -Katie
One of the most phenomenal components of this trip is how much of a learning experience it is for the students. Angela and Katie both shared similar sentiments on what they took from the trip.
From the trip, I got a better understanding of what a career in scientific research is like. Seeing people who research for a living, but don’t work in the academic field, gave me a better idea of what kinds of opportunities are out there for those majoring in scientific fields. I also learned that I know next to nothing about chemistry. -Katie |
I learned that there is still SO MUCH to learn when it comes to planetary atmosphere research. We will be very busy during the school year. -Angela
Dr. Sebree considers the visit a success, not just for the quality of the NASA visit, but for one simple fact...
“Two students there, two students back. Haven’t lost anyone yet.”
And that is a very great way to start off the first of this three year project!
NASA, we'll see you soon!