Blogs

California Trip - Day 7

I realized today, that I didn't make a post last night regarding day 7 of the Astro-Geek week that Gord and I are undertaking.  This isn't so much a big deal, other than this probably ranks up there with being one of my favorite days of our trip so far.

You may be asing why what was so special?  The answer is simple; we visited NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.  One of the pre-eminent robotics labs in the United States, if not the world.

Our tour was provided by Steven J. Edberg, a scientist who has worked on the Galileo and Cassini missions.  He gave a very thorough tour of the JPL campus.  From the Space Flight Operations Facility (where we were unable to get past the front reception desk) to the Space Flight Assembly Facility, where we got to see parts of the upcoming Mars Science Laboratory staged for assembly.  We got to see some scientists and technicians working on the Free Spirit operations in a simulated Mars environment, as well as the Mars simulation yard.  Our tour also included an inside view of the "baking" room, where spacecraft are subjected to real-space conditions (such as the vacuum and near-absolute-zero temperatures) while being bombarded with the intense light and heat of the sun. 
All in all it was all very very cool...

In the afternoon, Gord and I decided to check out the La Brea Tar pits, which for all intents in purpose is a single remaining pit, and spent some time touring the associated museum, which is plunked right in the middle of downtown LA.  What a contrast.

Ordered some pizza for dinner, watched the new TV drama 'FlashForward', and hit the sack early, in order to get a good night's rest for Friday's AstroImaging Workshop.