Running Samples

Now that we're no longer flying, I thought our schedule would relax a bit. Nope -- we're still moving forward, full force. Between ground sampling of air and running the samples, this has been a full week.

Taking samples

Water treatment facility

At the intersection of two of the most polluted regions
in terms of air quality, on the way back from taking samples

Back at the lab, in groups of two, we ran the samples to determine the concentrations of methane, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide in each canister.

Running snakes for CO/CO2

Running a canister for CH4

The methane was the most fun, although my hands were blistered after a few hours of knob turning and screw tighening. The CO/CO2 was much easier on my skin, but each canister took 10 minutes to run, so everything was slow-going.

Friday morning, though, had some extra excitement: we all gathered in the main classroom at 8am to watch the final shuttle launch together on the big screen.

Waiting for Atlantis to launch

After working on our own little NASA project, I gained an even greater respect for the scientists and engineers entrusted with making this final shuttle mission a success. Not only was I absorbed in the momentousness of this historic moment, but I also felt connected to people all over the country, from my colleagues back at MIT sending emails about their own showing to the dedicated people standing at Cape Canaveral to see Atlantis launch live. It reminded me why we Americans tend to idealize NASA and why, more importantly, they kind of deserve it.