A while ago, Donnie Reid said something to me that went something like this: “When there’s a camp cook, that’s when you’ve got a real field camp on your hands”. He said that to me as we cheerfully prepared a modest dinner of salad and spaghetti for a hungry band of about 8 people. He was volunteering his diving skills to our research efforts, and me, I had just started at NASA Ames and was keenly exploring my new research site of Pavilion Lake. That was August 2004.
August 2004. Early days of the project
Welcome to July 2009 – and guess what? We have a camp cook. Her name is Dana. And she now prepares a mean pasta dinner for a thriving (and still hungry) camp that has grown to almost 60 characters from all walks of life and from all over the world. Oh, and as for Donnie, well he is now the PLRP Logistics and Operations Manager and is in charge of organizing the activities of everyone from the astronauts to yep, the camp cook. I think he knew this was coming when he said what he said to me some years ago.
August 2005. A few more faces, but still no camp cook
August 2006. New graduate students and a camp cook join the team.
When I think back, I’m struck by the fact that the project has seen more faces come than go, and as a consequence, we’ve grown. Folks keep coming back, and bringing more folks with them. It’s great, because with each passing year the PLRP family gets larger. One reason for this phenomenon is that the lake is a scientific goldmine. As we answer the first round of questions we came to the lake to research, so many new, interesting questions surface for us to ponder. And as we’ve set out to answer questions, we’ve had the chance to select the best technologies, methodologies and protocols to help us accomplish our science objectives. And what we’ve learnt isn’t just relevant to us at Pavilion Lake, but also has bearing on how humans will conduct science on the Moon, Mars and beyond. And with this natural procession of scientific research has come the development of a new crop of researchers. Allyson Brady, Rebekah Shepard, Alex Forrest, Ben Cowie, Margarita Marinova, Weston Pike, Olivia Chan, and Carol Turse are all graduate students who joined the project early on and who are all now either completed or on the cusp of completing their degrees. Through their work at Pavilion Lake, we’ve learnt so much about the physical, chemical and biological processes that govern this remarkable environment. And now we are in the process of shepherding in a new crop of students to evolve their research and tackle the new questions ahead of us. To me, all this is the essence of the scientific endeavor – gain knowledge, give knowledge, and grow knowledge.
August 2007. Post-SCUBA dive debrief with the growing PLRP team.
This year we did 40 submersible flights in 10 days of operations. We cycled 9 scientist pilots (SPs) through a variety of rigorous sub flight plans that included contour mapping, detailed imaging, basin transects and deep sample collection activities. We gathered ground-breaking quantitative data to measure the efficiency, productivity, and discovery mindedness of each SP. We implemented a new Surface Data System (SDS) and communications plan that allowed us to view sub tracks and science notes in real time, and get voices from the deep up to the shore and into our Mobile Mission Control Center, or “The Hab[itat]“, much to the delight of an eagerly awaiting Science Backroom Team (SBT). We had underwater fluorometer experiments, water monitoring, and virology surveys taking place at the same time as the sub ops, as well as a very busy Education and Public Outreach schedule. Visitors came, visitors went, and there were a lot of boat trips to carry out everything we had to do to complete the science goals and objectives we set for the team and then some! It all got accomplished and happily, everyone made it home safely. Whew.
July 2008. First year of DeepWorker sub operations. Dana, our camp cook and raison d’etre, pictured bottom row, three from the left.
As a final note to all those who have been following our field season blogs, we’re planning on keeping our updates coming to you throughout the year, so definitely stay tuned. But for now, I just wanted to say thanks to all those who have been reading our entries, and by extension supporting our research efforts through the July 2009 field season. I’m looking forward to seeing the PLRP family again in 2010 and to meeting the new faces who will help to grow and evolve the project. Which leaves me to wonder what Donnie and Dana would have to say about having two camp cooks? Ah, but that’s a story for another time…
So long for now,
Darlene
July 2009. The 2009 PLRP family photo.
