Astronaut for Hire

Exploring the Oceans and Space

9/05/2010 02:01:00 AM

The two most compelling frontiers of exploration in the 21st century are the oceans and space. Humans have been exploring the surface of the sea for thousands of years and the edge of space for the past half-century, but technology developments are just beginning to allow for the exploration of the deep oceans and worlds beyond our own. In this post, I will offer some of my observations on the practical similarities between ocean and space exploration.

Safety on deck aboard the Okeanos Explorer

I imagine life at sea is very similar to life in space. In both cases, you live and work in close quarters with small crews. You rely upon each other's training and expertise to maintain the vessel’s complex systems including propulsion, navigation, life support, and equipment supporting the scientific mission. Clear divisions of responsibility are required so that everyone knows his or her job, but cross-training is also important so crewmembers can fill multiple roles. It is also critical that all crewmembers are trained and prepared for emergency situations like fires or abandoning the vessel. In fact, being fit enough to respond to a wide range of contingencies is the main reason medical requirements are so strict for astronauts.

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What's Been Mappenin'

9/03/2010 02:15:00 PM

By the time we pull into port in Hawaii, the Okeanos Explorer’s EM 302 multibeam system will have mapped more than 8000 linear kilometers of the seafloor during the summer 2010 transit cruises to/from Guam and Hawaii. The two cruise legs followed parallel, adjacent but non-overlapping tracks in order to maximize the possibility for finding new things.

I have had the pleasure of being on board for the second transit cruise from Guam to Hawaii for the past 11 days (3 to go). Below are three of the many features of interest I spotted along the transit path. Note that the preliminary interpretations I provide here are mine alone and do not necessarily represent the views of the Okeanos Explorer or the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research.

1. Landslides

Both transits passed over a large flat-topped guyot about 500 km east of the Mariana Trench. The feature is about 20 km wide at the top and 50 km across at the base in the east-west direction. The steep-walled cliffs seem to have have been shaped by numerous landslides. Large fault scarps, slump blocks, debris aprons, and boulder fields are visible on both sides of the feature. Landslides are the second most common cause of tsunamis, so understanding the processes that lead to slope failure in the submarine environment could have important natural hazard implications.

Landslide perspective view looking towards the southwest, vertical exaggeration 3. Image Credit: NOAA.

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Multibeam Time Warp

9/01/2010 04:39:00 AM

"Hello, Houston. This is Odyssey. It's good to see you again." --Tom Hanks as Astronaut Jim Lovell in Apollo 13

After a 6-day communications blackout, the Okeanos Explorer has emerged from the satellite coverage hole in the central Pacific.  Just past the halfway point of our cruise, we’ve traveled more than 2400 miles through two time zones.

Nobody likes Mondays, but we had the distinct privilege of repeating Monday this week as we crossed the International Date Line. The crew had a fun ceremony yesterday to mark the occasion and admit new inductees into the Order of the Golden Dragon.  We had to answer a series of trivia questions about the Okeanos Explorer.  For each one we got correct, we advanced a pace forward towards the symbolic International Date Line. The first to cross won a special prize.   Although I answered the most questions, a last-minute upset by the ship’s Chief Medical Officer denied me of the prize.  This is my second time standing on the International Date Line, but it is my first time doing so at sea.

My Golden Dragon certificate for crossing the International Date Line

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Getting my Sea Legs

8/25/2010 05:34:00 AM

Ahoy! I've had a very enjoyable first three days getting used to life at sea aboard the Okeanos Explorer.  I've gained a new appreciation for what it means to lead the life of a mariner and be a seafloor mapper.

As we sailed out of Guam's Apra Harbor, we spent the first half of day 1 conducting safety drills, which included fire, man overboard, abandon ship, and security. Man overboard was an interesting drill because everyone has to go outside and point to the victim no matter what direction the ship turned. A smaller boat was launched to go get the person, and that boat's driver uses everyone's pointing hands on the main ship to show him where to go. For the abandon ship drill, you have to don your life jacket, grab your survival suit, and meet at your designated life boat. We also tried on our survival suits to make sure they fit. Here's a photo of me wearing mine. You can see why people often call these "Gumby" suits. The purpose of the security drill was to prepare us for the event of a physical security breach like a pirate attack. I can't tell you what we did because that would reveal our secrets to the bad guys.

The other big thing that happened on the first day was the change of command ceremony. Commander Pica, who had captained the Okeanos since its commissioning in 2008, was succeeded by Commander Kamphaus, another highly competent NOAA Corps Commander. They had a brief ceremony on the ship's bow with Guam still in the background. Then, two crewmembers ferried Pica ashore in a small boat.  Typically, commands last about 2 years in the NOAA Corps.

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Okeanos Bound!

8/20/2010 03:11:00 PM

Bon voyage!  I'm off to go explore the seafloor!

Tomorrow I'll get on a plane bound for Guam where I'll rendezvous with the NOAA Okeanos Explorer and catch a ride back to Hawaii on the ship.  The trans-Pacific journey will last 14 days, during which time my job will be to help map the seafloor.  We will travel a 6100 km (3800 mi) great circle path from Guam to Oahu, crossing the Mariana Trench, the abyssal plain, seamounts and ridge systems.  In the process, I'll experience life on the vessel firsthand and report on it here on my blog.

Click for a wider view.  You can follow the actual position of the ship in real time here or  here.

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Okeanos Explorer

3/03/2010 05:08:00 PM

Space may be the final frontier, but 95% of the Earth's oceans remain unexplored. The deep ocean could hold the keys to the origin of life and studying it could enable technological and economic benefits to humanity. That's why the 2001 Presidential Panel on Ocean Exploration recommended that the "U.S. undertake a national program in ocean exploration in which discovery and the spirit of challenge are the cornerstones." NOAA responded by creating the Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, the great Ocean Explorer educational website, and the Okeanos Explorer ship. I had the priviledge of touring the Okeanos Explorer earlier today.

It's worthwhile to distinguish what NOAA means by "exploration" in this context. Exploration is the discovery of new things, not necessarily the detailed study of them. By focusing on exploration, the Okeanos Explorer ("EX" for short), is generating hypotheses rather than answering them. It takes systematic observations to identify new features of interest where scientists may want to later return for more detailed mapping and research. NOAA has a fleet of 19 survey and research vessels operated by NOAA Corps. However, only one of these ships, the EX, is a ship solely of exploration. In that regard, the ship is like the Enterprise from Star Trek, and the NOAA Corps crew is like Starfleet.

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