tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11307123056506495762012-02-16T11:59:22.742-08:00ingeloeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687955068850811515noreply@blogger.comBlogger351100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130712305650649576.post-18950955012030545412011-09-10T05:02:00.000-07:002011-09-13T05:24:06.321-07:00

VAPoR is packed up and ready to be shipped back to Goddard. To wrap up this field test's blog, some final nice pictures. See you next time! just cute The Grand Canyon Desert RATS Desert flowers Desert Skies Waputki ruins  Sedona Lowell's telescope 

ingeloeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687955068850811515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130712305650649576.post-5718344760588672692011-09-09T17:42:00.000-07:002011-09-11T06:51:16.594-07:00

On the last day, finally some results. The last sample of the 15 we analyzed was a red rock, most likely the Moenkopi sandstone, with lichens growing on the outside - the grayish layer in the picture. Although the title of the plot is not correct (this was not a soil sample), the data are. The plot below shows a compilation of some of the masses we are interested in (please note which trace

ingeloeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687955068850811515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130712305650649576.post-68731417614102102972011-09-08T21:05:00.000-07:002011-09-08T21:05:10.491-07:00

After the cleanly collected samples from the crew reach us, we have to prepare it for analysis. The cartoon below shows how: First we chip off a fragment with a vice. Technically the vice should be cleaned in between samples, but by brushing it we hope to get at least the mineral cross contamination down.  The fragments are collected in aluminum foil, to prevent exposure to any organic

ingeloeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687955068850811515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130712305650649576.post-26167838746035473962011-09-07T17:00:00.000-07:002011-09-08T17:41:44.125-07:00

Jake Bleacher is doubling as crew and VAPoR team member. As part of the crew he is involved in all steps of the simulation, from collecting samples to processing them in the GeoLab to living in the DSH, simulating a planetary habitat. Here he describes his adventures during the sampling collection (also on the official NASA blog).  Jake Bleacher:  One of the great advantages to sending humans to

ingeloeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687955068850811515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130712305650649576.post-49457742232519141752011-09-06T16:48:00.000-07:002011-09-08T17:07:03.239-07:00

Danny and Inge got interviewed as well. Here the result: And some action shots of Danny and me being interviewed

ingeloeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687955068850811515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130712305650649576.post-12398203039934638722011-09-01T19:09:00.000-07:002011-09-04T10:18:18.209-07:00

This year the VAPoR team has brought its own geologist, Jim Rice. Jim is here only for a few days and amongst his duties was observing the crew in their efforts of clean sampling (more about that in a next post) and organically clean collecting some more samples for VAPoR.  After we ran our second sample of the day he took us out for a field trip first to SP Crater and then to Sunset Crater (for

ingeloeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687955068850811515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130712305650649576.post-90891037788437985042011-08-31T22:06:00.000-07:002011-09-01T22:09:37.145-07:00

VAPoR is running very smoothly, no pump or SMS hick-ups anymore and the instrument seems to be happy. We tried cooling the oven with an extra fan, but analysis of the cool-down data teaches us that the only measurable effect is more dust inside the SMS. Oven cool down is ~180 mins and we will have to live with that.  Today was marked by several highlights, starting with a dust storm carrying in

ingeloeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687955068850811515noreply@blogger.com0Black Point Lava Flow, Flagstaff, AZ, United States35.67798177024409 -111.4717074960938734.305588770244086 -112.77345649609387 37.05037477024409 -110.16995849609387tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130712305650649576.post-87261027770073207142011-08-30T15:02:00.000-07:002011-08-30T15:02:39.225-07:00

The second day started good, pump turned on, no strange overheating anymore, pressure (eventually) down to workable values (10^-6 mbar), so to make sure VAPoR stays happy we decorated it again with some lucky charms. This year the theme is Dutch wooden shoes. Another close up of the SMS, wrapped up in foil to prevent dust from creeping in. It is not as dusty as it was in Hawaii, but still we

ingeloeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687955068850811515noreply@blogger.com0Flagstaff, United States35.70140456407732 -111.3714572519531934.32901156407732 -112.67320625195319 37.073797564077324 -110.06970825195319tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130712305650649576.post-4507231008836920512011-08-30T14:55:00.000-07:002011-09-02T22:32:05.856-07:00

The area where we are located varies quite a bit from green (with lovely yellow flowers) and full of pine trees - to very desert like at the actual site. An overview of the site, on the edge of the lava flow. Very dry compared to the area closer to Flagstaff, we are 40 miles out. VAPoR lives in the big tent in the middle of the picture. This video explains what Desert RATS is: The current

ingeloeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687955068850811515noreply@blogger.com1Black Point Lava Flow, Flagstaff, United States35.69248240601552 -111.3714572519531934.32008940601552 -112.67320625195319 37.064875406015524 -110.06970825195319tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130712305650649576.post-49568456203875378672011-08-28T22:24:00.000-07:002011-08-28T22:24:54.147-07:00

First day on the site. Arrived at 9 AM to unpack the boxes, cut through Danny's bubble wrap & lots of tape artwork, and set up VAPoR. Just a short refresher - VAPoR stands for Volatile Analysis by Pyrolysis of Regolith, and is a pyrolysis mass spectrometer or evolved gas analyzer. The concept is that small soil samples are heated in one of VAPoR's ovens to at least 1000 °C at a fixed heating rate

ingeloeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687955068850811515noreply@blogger.com0Black Point Lava Flow, Flagstaff, AZ35.65518817984622 -111.3593933261719334.28279517984622 -112.66114232617193 37.02758117984622 -110.05764432617192tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130712305650649576.post-74042914549828026992011-08-27T11:03:00.000-07:002011-09-01T22:17:38.433-07:00

VAPoR is on the move again! This time to participate in the NASA Desert RATS campaign: NASA's Desert Research and Technology Studies. Desert RATS takes place at the Black Point Lava Flow near Flagstaff, AZ, (image credit Jim Rice/ASU, taken from here). This is the 14th Desert RATS campaign. The Desert RATS team will conduct integrated mission simulations to evaluate different conditions that

ingeloeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687955068850811515noreply@blogger.com0Phoenix, AZ, USA33.4483771 -112.0740372999999933.133222100000005 -112.27304229999999 33.7635321 -111.87503229999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130712305650649576.post-13615466016447236912010-08-25T23:03:00.000-07:002010-09-12T13:28:01.407-07:00

... Svalbard Longyearbyen

ingeloeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687955068850811515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130712305650649576.post-83769656082738876632010-08-24T23:56:00.000-07:002010-09-12T12:21:17.035-07:00

Last night, so AMASE hosted a party for AMASERs and locals in an old house at the shore. It was a bit a broken-up event, since half of the people were still running around either packing their own stuff or helping others, but in between the running around the light led to some nice pictures. Party house Eckhard and Jean-Luc Antonio Jen Keyong Dave Long shadows Longer shadows The fjord

ingeloeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687955068850811515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130712305650649576.post-30121976433985045362010-08-24T23:29:00.000-07:002010-09-12T11:50:42.628-07:00

Since all our stuff was packed and the weather was great, Jen, Kjell-Ove and I decided to go for one more hike in the direction of the blue glacier I've been staring at for the past two weeks. We made a to about a third of the way there, but still close enough to hear the rumble of parts breaking off.

ingeloeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687955068850811515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130712305650649576.post-3672312739607503302010-08-23T22:11:00.000-07:002010-09-12T11:29:02.339-07:00

I just ran the last samples and unfortunately had to decleare the second oven dead as well. But, it only gave up in the last 100 °C of the heating profile, so all in all the oven worked perfectly fine for the duration of the full AMASE and I got all the results I needed. Happy me and a million thanks to Marvin, Vince, Ray and Eric, who put this oven together December 2009 and made it run all the

ingeloeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687955068850811515noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130712305650649576.post-51092226257153581142010-08-22T21:49:00.000-07:002010-09-12T10:05:08.530-07:00

After two days running samples in the lab, with a still very happily running oven and everything else still working as well, some of us got the heebie-beebies and needed to get out again. Since we didn't have too much time, we decided to go for the quick ultracold polar experience...  a swim in the fjord. Some of us were Tor the Rock Crusher, Mads the pilot and myself. Kjell-Ove joined us for

ingeloeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687955068850811515noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130712305650649576.post-56618456929126908442010-08-20T18:00:00.000-07:002010-09-12T09:44:15.031-07:00

After running one sample in the morning, I totally lucked out and got a change to fill up and empty seat in the helicopter to Troll Springs, AND the helicopter actually left as well! (Previous attempts to go into the field by several other people were either canceled or results in a 3-hour airtour of Svalbard, because it was too foggy to depart or land). Troll Springs is a thermal spring

ingeloeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687955068850811515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130712305650649576.post-62108446756536012022010-08-19T21:30:00.000-07:002010-09-12T09:31:08.320-07:00

After a day well-spent in the lab Liane had to go out sampling again, this time glacier ice and mud, so we took a boat onto the fjord, towards the blue ice. Amy Liane  Guillermo Kjell-Ove and myself Liane had to sample and I made myself useful by serving as her counter balance (all pictures below by Kjell-Ove). Then it was Guillermo's and my turn. As newbies we had to sample clear glacier ice

ingeloeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687955068850811515noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130712305650649576.post-72011691521209361482010-08-18T23:30:00.001-07:002010-09-12T09:20:06.094-07:00

One of the AMASE traditions is the Men in Black picture. The pictures speak for themselves, Kjell-Ove, our incredible photographer took them, so credits to him. The whole crew The Goddard girls The organic people

ingeloeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687955068850811515noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130712305650649576.post-26357212419200348842010-08-17T21:00:00.000-07:002010-08-20T01:20:11.333-07:00

After a day of running samples in the lab, we got another change to get out. This time we hiked to the glacier to sample snow algae in the red circle. The day before our hike a polar bear had been seen in the area, so we were with a small group of 9 people and 2 guns. Four people  (including myself) were constantly looking around for any sign of polar bear activity, the other five were staring

ingeloeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687955068850811515noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130712305650649576.post-9419008779297255312010-08-16T12:30:00.000-07:002010-08-16T12:30:42.946-07:00

After a few days of orientation, playing around, and getting used to the cold and group and everything else, it was time to get some samples analyzed! We started off with two unknown calibration samples and then it's time for the real real samples. Everybody will run the same samples so we will get the most extensive data set possible. It looks like it will be a really fruitful expedition for me,

ingeloeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687955068850811515noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130712305650649576.post-79690709174107678222010-08-15T00:47:00.000-07:002010-08-15T00:47:13.282-07:00

Today we went for a 5 hour hike, partly for us to get to see the surroundings, partly for the expedition leads to get an idea our hiking capabilities.  The pictures will tell the rest of the story. The usual shot of blue ice. Amy: On the airport: Marilyn teaching: About this:  Ivar, our hike lead and safety lead, Marily, Amy and Tor:  Local flora: Local wildlife:(Dave and Dick, who was also in

ingeloeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687955068850811515noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130712305650649576.post-69191008730399490322010-08-13T13:37:00.000-07:002010-08-13T13:37:09.623-07:00

Today the focus was on safety, so we started the day with a 3-hour briefing about polar bears, rifles, what to bring in the field, how to behave in the field, how to dress in the field, and how to not be stupid in the field. It was kind of a long sit, but better safe than sorry and I must say the part about the polar bears helped me feeling less uncomfortable about them. In about 99% of the

ingeloeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687955068850811515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130712305650649576.post-49123809541340847402010-08-12T23:30:00.000-07:002010-08-13T12:49:25.797-07:00

23.00 / 11 PM (the last one needs a bit better photoshopping, this was my camera's attempt to stitch a panorama, but just to get a feel)

ingeloeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687955068850811515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130712305650649576.post-13260793355118973552010-08-12T12:46:00.000-07:002010-08-12T12:46:00.676-07:00

Hello world :) Luckily, I brought my airplane mask and had a very good, though bit short night of sleep. Today started with a 9AM briefing about the plans for the next two weeks, shortly summarized as - there are several samples sites and we will go there when safety allows it (read - no polar bears, no fog that prevent helicopter landing - no bad weather in general). So hopefully weather and

ingeloeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687955068850811515noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130712305650649576.post-4489571714129436652010-08-11T23:32:00.001-07:002010-08-12T12:04:05.858-07:00

VAPoR is on it's way again to discover more of the world. This time the trip led us to Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, Norway, were we participate in AMASE. AMASE is the Arctic Mars Analog Svalbard Expedition. To quote from the website, this is the reason for us to go there: "With a unique combination of volcanoes, hot springs and permafrost, the BVC on the Arctic islands of Svalbard is the only place on

ingeloeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687955068850811515noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130712305650649576.post-15375995907349866752010-02-07T20:00:00.000-08:002010-02-16T11:58:50.873-08:00

Naniloa has nice rooms, but after being on the mountain for a week we got so spoiled with the quietness that the tiled floors in the corridors were a horror. What a noise.View from Mauna Kea from Naniloa.View of Mauna Kea from Hilo, with the beautiful telescopes on top.We decided to go to the farmers' market in "down town" Hilo and get some fruit and rice to eat for breakfast, and we had

ingeloeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687955068850811515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130712305650649576.post-43722112961522509652010-02-06T20:00:00.000-08:002010-02-16T11:58:50.876-08:00

Pack-up day today, so the last hike down to the dust bowl. Finally, I saw one of the native protected nene-birds!The weather was great, crisp and only a slight breeze, ideal packing conditions. We started off right away and with a 15 minute interruption for the morning meeting we were done around 9 AM. That went a lot quicker than anticipated.After saying goodbye to everybody we worked with and

ingeloeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687955068850811515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130712305650649576.post-6994311274752741822010-02-04T18:30:00.000-08:002010-02-16T11:58:50.879-08:00

Today is our last day of testing VAPoR and analyzing samples, so we made ourselves quite a vigorous program. Which of course started off with the daily hike to the field site and the daily morning picture of the clouds below us.Everything was still up and running when we got to the site and the PISCES people had already filled up our generator, so we could get started right away. On today's list:

ingeloeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687955068850811515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130712305650649576.post-52268611213165211292010-02-03T18:47:00.000-08:002010-02-16T11:58:50.882-08:00

It was Danny's turn yesterday night to check on the equipment, so I finally got my 8 hours of sleep again. Did not notice anything shaking around me, so either I slept really well, or the volcano was quiet again. Jorge and I took the high route into the side, so instead of Mauna Loa I "woke up" with Kohala this morning.Goodmorning KohalaThe setup was nice and warm and happily pumping so time to

ingeloeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687955068850811515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130712305650649576.post-15781043522805755972010-02-02T17:15:00.000-08:002010-02-16T11:58:50.884-08:00

Even though we decided not to go the field site today, the alarm went off at 5.45. Still dreaming very vividly, wondering if it's the altitude or field excitement. Apparently there was some shaking going on last night, but I think I missed that.Our initial plan was to pack up quickly on Friday and go to Volcano Nat'l Park, but since we didn't have instrument today and had to pick up our spares in

ingeloeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687955068850811515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130712305650649576.post-61610066515759253912010-02-01T18:45:00.000-08:002010-02-16T11:58:50.886-08:00

Waking up is getting tougher (maybe I should go to bed before midnight if my alarm goes off at 5.45), especially with a pair of knees that won't work. So for the first time this week I drove to the site. First thing on site was a visit to Dr. Lou, who confirmed my knees were just sore and gave me a bunch of ibuprofens and told me everything would be fine.Next thing was the instrument. Everything

ingeloeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687955068850811515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130712305650649576.post-89213415584003553502010-01-31T20:50:00.000-08:002010-02-16T11:58:50.889-08:00

Day 3 started nicely with a pretty moon and a the regular hike up to the test site.We're staying in the Hale Pohaku observatory lodges. Rooms are nice, food less... Shouldn't complain, but will: why can our field chef haul fresh everything to a dusty site and tastes/looks the canteen food here likes it's grown in the can it came from.. Well, shouldn't be too picky I guess.Hale Pohaku Lodge, 7:10

ingeloeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687955068850811515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130712305650649576.post-8954544542464700242010-01-30T18:41:00.000-08:002010-02-16T11:58:50.892-08:00

Around 12 o'clock (midnight) the alarm in my room went off, which nearly got me a heart attack, especially since I was sure I had checked it was off.The second attempt at 6 AM was more successful and after quick breakfast it was time to get going.Becky and Danny hiking to the test site.Some, probably native, plant.Another, probably native, plant.Very NON-native plant, to be removed by field

ingeloeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687955068850811515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1130712305650649576.post-58969111165241744702010-01-29T18:10:00.000-08:002010-02-16T11:58:50.895-08:00

Around 6 o'clock my internal alarm decided I had enough sleep, so time to get up and get going. 6 o'clock is my regular EST wake-up time, so no noticeable jet lag yet, in contrast to Danny, who was wide awake around 4AM.After a very pretty drive up we arrived at the Hale Pohaku lodges at 9ish, found our rooms and headed for the Visitors Center where our equipment was already happily waiting for

ingeloeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687955068850811515noreply@blogger.com0