NASA Arctic Mars Analog Svalbard Expedition Field Report: Pre-Trip – 25 July 2006
Week and a Half Out
After weeks of gathering supplies, everything from sterile purple gloves to power strips and a space blanket, nearly all the final details for our expedition have been taken care of. Our supplies have been shipped to Norway and even all the problems getting our small helium tanks through Norwegian customs appear to be resolving. Now I wait anxiously trying to think of possible show stoppers: What crucial item did I forget? Will all our glass vials break on transit? What if none of our helium tanks arrive? What if our instrument falls out of the plane en route? What if we all get eaten by polar bears? What if what if… eventually worries become so ridiculous you just have to let go and hope for the best.
Kirsten Fristad
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
About Kirsten Fristad in her own words…
My name is Kirsten Fristad. I am a budding planetary scientist working in the highly talented Sample Analysis of Mars (SAM) Lab at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. I graduated from Macalester College in 2005 with a major in geology and core in astronomy knowing I wanted to pursue a research career in planetary science. Through summer internships with several planetary scientists, I developed a background in analyzing martian and lunar planetary remote sensing data and Mars analog field work in Alaska. Since starting at Goddard in May, I have been organizing the Goddard/SAM Team contribution to AMASE 2006. I will continue working in the SAM lab until fall 2007 when I will commence graduate studies in a yet to be decided location to pursue a PhD in planetary science.
Before starting at Goddard in May 2006, I worked and traveled around Australia, coached high school hurdlers, and pondered the mysteries of the universe. Aside from pondering, I love to laugh, dance, listen to music from the ’80s, and travel to remote locations. I’m really hoping I can make a career of this expedition thing.
