Blog

BLOG

12/10/2022 3:47pm

Finally checked off a bucket list item today! Riding in the World's Largest Hot Air Balloon. As you all know, ballooning is my favourite hobby, and I've had my eye on the Ultramagic N-500 for a while. For Christmas one of my Coworkers at NASA gifted me an Arizona Balloon Safari voucher, so this morning at the crack of dawn my partner and I got to experience a 45 minute flight over the Sonoran Desert. I saw some beautiful landscapes and even got a chance to take the reins for a bit

It was an amazing experience and I would recommend it to anyone, even if you're not into ballooning! If you ever have the chance to ride in this balloon, or any large balloon, definitely take it.

13/09/2022 10:34pm

NASA has no idea what's going on. They've never heard of anything like this before. I'm not sure what to do next. I feel like I'm losing my mind. Maybe I should talk to a psychiatrist?

11/09/2022 11:17pm

I've been talking to some of the other astronauts, and it turns out that a few of them have had similar experiences. One of them even saw a UFO! I'm starting to think that there's something going on here that we don't understand. I'm going to try and talk to NASA about this, and see if they can shed any light on the situation.

01/09/2022 11:41pm

I can't stop thinking about that night in Bell Rock. I genuinely think I was contacted by other lifeforms. My last mission to the International Space Station was in March. Is it possible that I was affected by some sort of extra-terrestrial force along the way? Science knows so little about the workings of the universe and what lies beyond our solar system. I feel like I've been given a gift, and I have to find out more.

31/07/2022 3:15am

I've just had one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I made the decision to hike up Bell Rock just as the sun set, so I could camp at the top. I laid down on my back, watched the stars come out, and felt myself… dissolving? I looked up, and my vision was blurred around the edges, like I was looking through water. Suddenly I was inside a tunnel, and rushing towards a bright light. I saw hundreds, thousands of beings all around me. They were… not like me, but not like anything else I'd seen before either. They were pure energy, and they were… laughing? I don't know how long I was in the tunnel, but when I came out the other side I was in the middle of a huge desert, under a night sky that looked nothing like home. I saw two moons in the sky, and so many stars… I don't even have the words to describe it. I just laid there and stared up at the sky, tears streaming down my face, for hours. When I finally went to sleep, I had the most amazing dreams. I don't even know how to describe them, but they were so beautiful, and so… real. I woke up this morning feeling… different. I can't explain it, but I feel like I've been… transformed. I don't know what happened to me, but I know that it was something… special. Thank you, Bell Rock, for showing me the way.

17/07/2022 11:23pm

It's been a long day of hiking, but we've finally made it to our campsite for the night. We've just settled down and are about to have dinner, when we hear a rustling in the bushes. We all tense up, not knowing what to expect. And then, out pops a gigantic...

bear.

We all scream and start running in different directions, but the bear manages to corner me. I'm completely panicked, but then I remember what my dad always told me: "When you're faced with a bear, just act confident and try to scare it off."

So, I stand up straight, look the bear in the eye, and start growling at it.

Amazingly, it works! The bear gets scared and runs off into the woods.

Phew, that was a close one. I'm just glad that my dad's advice came in handy.

16/07/2022 4:03pm

We've been camping in the desert for about a day now and I've never felt so at peace. Waking up to the sun just peeking over the horizon and the sound of the birds has been amazing. It's so quiet out here and it's really helping me to clear my head. I think I'm going to spend a lot more time hiking and camping from now on. Yesterday on the Munds Wagon Trail I came across these strange flowers that I've never seen before. I don't even know what they're called but they smell amazing! I'm going to have to look them up because I want to plant some in my garden.

I was also able to get out and stargaze last night. I haven't done that in years! The stars are so bright out here and there are so many of them. I saw a shooting star and made a wish. I can't tell you what it was because it won't come true but I'm hoping it will. I feel like I've been able to think more clearly out here and I'm really starting to see things in a new light. I'm not sure what the future holds but I'm excited to find out.

Thank you for following my adventure!

*View of Sedona from the lower trailhead*

16/07/2022 1:11am

It's absolute bliss just looking up at the universe Reflecting on myself I am reminded of something I studied in Science class - that time doesn't really exist. Sure, at a surface level it helps us to describe the sequence of events and our existence in this world, but it's actually an illusion. Time is just our experience of change happening in the universe around us. How bizarre is that!?

15/07/2022 9:45pm

I've just arrived at the campsite. I was driving through the national park when I saw a sign for 'Sedona Campsite'. I thought it would be fun to camp out and get away from civilisation for a bit. How naive of me. I've sent up the tent and I'm currently sitting next to the campfire microwaving an MRE Cheese Tortellini. The campfire is pleasing, but I can't help but wonder how old it really is. How long ago did a previous traveller build it and how many people have sat where I'm sitting looking up at the night sky?

14/07/2022 3:15pm

Bright and early tomorrow morning I head off on a two-day hiking trip through the Sedona Desert. I'm a bit worried about my fitness levels after spending so much time at an office desk, but it should be a walk in the park compared to the NASA training I did a few years ago now. I'm most excited for the spectacular views and stargazing I'll be able to enjoy at night while camping.

I've taken two cases of water, plenty of healthy snacks and a whole load of sunscreen, so I think I'm pretty prepared for anything the desert will throw at me. On this trip I'll be camping in a spot that offers no data or cell signal, so it's a perfect opportunity to disconnect from all the hustle and bustle of the world and just appreciate nature.

12/09/2021 4:21pm

Have started a new project. I'm going to dehydrate some of my favorite meals and take them camping with me. Often times I have trouble finding food that I can eat when I'm camping and I need food that won't spoil. This will be perfect for that. Not only will I have food that I can eat, but I'll also have food that I know I like and won't have to worry about getting sick from it.

*Starting out easy with some kale chips*

2/08/2020 11:01pm

Last week at the office was fun. We spent the whole week sorting through old documents from the Hubble Telescope's early days. 31 years ago Hubbl was rolled out of lockheed martin's workshop and shipped out to outer space to add to NASA's growing fleet of satellites. Now, 31 years later, it is the longest lasting satellite in orbit. We spent the week sorting through its logs, from when it was launched in 1989 to when its final servicing mission was completed in 2009. It was amazing to see the names of all the astronauts who had worked on it over the years, and the engineers who had helped keep it operational. We even found some of the original blueprints for the telescope.

But the best part of the week was when we found a box of old photographs. Most of them were of the telescope itself, but there were a few of the astronauts who had worked on it. We even found a few of the original engineers who had worked on the project. It was amazing to see all the people who had been a part of the Hubble Telescope's history.

One of the things that struck me was how many of the documents were in binary code. I asked one of the NASA guys why that was, and he said it was because the computer system on the Hubble was so old, it didn't have enough memory to store all the data in text form. So they had to store it in binary.

But then I thought, why not just store it in base 2? That way you could store twice as much data in the same amount of space. And you wouldn't need to convert it back to text when you wanted to read it.

So I asked the NASA guy why they didn't just store the data in base 2, and he said it was because the computer system on the Hubble was so old, it couldn't handle base 2 math.

So I asked him why they didn't just store the data in base 10, and he said it was because the computer system on the Hubble was so old, it couldn't handle base 10 math.

So I asked him why they didn't just store the data in base 16, and he

's amazing to think about how much has happened in those 20 years, and how much we've learned about the universe.