From Spacecrafts to Submarines

My career in the commercial spaceflight industry has long afforded meaningful intersections with the broader exploration community. Organizations like The Explorers Club have helped to connect like-minded explorers, where two camps inevitably arise: space vs. sea.

While the space community extols the enormity of the unexplored universe, it is not uncommon for oceanic lectures to begin with a comment about more people have walked on the Moon than have reached the deepest point in the sea, or how we know far more about the surface of the Moon than the ocean floor. To the those who suggest space is the Final Frontier, submarine designer Graham Hawkes goes as far as to offer his infamous advice: “your rockets are pointed in the wrong goddamn direction!”

Admittedly, I’ve spent more time following Hawking than Hawkes. I’ve spent the past few years working to advance mankind’s footprint in the solar system, puzzling over the particulars of interplanetary life. I’ve worked alongside industry, academia, and government organizations in the pursuit of space exploration, and I’ve spent weeks at a time in isolation at a prototype Martian research facility, studying in situ resource utilization techniques in the hopes of advancing mankind’s ability to live off-Earth. Beyond the inherent desire to explore space myself, my dedication has always been rooted in the simple fact that Earth will one day cease to support life, and that a future without space exploration is no future at all.

Still, I have always rejected the either/or approach to exploration. As an experienced scuba diver, I’ve always been intrigued by the mysteries of Earth’s vast oceans—an anomaly within our known universe. From hostile environments to extreme lifeforms, it seems evident that dividends from the exploration of both sea and space are critical to our advancement and ultimate survival as a species. So earlier this summer when Blue Marble Exploration founder, Guillermo Söhnlein, invited me to participate in an expedition on board OceanGate’s Antipodes submersible, I jumped at the opportunity.

Stockton Rush—OceanGate's founder, CEO, and sub pilot—utilized advanced sonar to navigate Antipodes in the murky visibility of the ocean floor, allowing our group to explore the remains of the Al-Ind-Esk-A-Sea, a 336-foot fish processing ship that caught fire and burned for several days before sinking off the coast of Seattle in 1982. While I was prepared for the advanced technology that enabled our navigation, I was wholly unprepared for the thrill of submerging hundreds of feet to the ocean floor. Light from the surface dimmed as we descended, and bioluminescent creatures came to life in its absence. Staring out at the alien environment ahead of me, I couldn’t help but wonder if this was the same overwhelming sensation experienced by astronauts upon their first glance through the cupola of the International Space Station.

Intellectually, I appreciated the diversity of our planet. But having the opportunity to explore the ocean floor drove home the magnificent uniqueness of Earth within our universe, and how little we truly know about the “blue marble” we call home. The tenacity of life to flourish at those dark depths, and the potential of what we might find even deeper, reminds me how lucky we are to call this planet home, and how much we still have to explore, both on Earth and beyond.

While I remain an evangelist for space exploration, I have a newfound passion for exploring the sea. In 2016, I’ll be joining Blue Marble Exploration on the world’s first crewed submersible expedition to the bottom of Dean’s Blue Hole in the Bahamas, an exploration event which will be broadcast live around the world.

While I’m fond of proclaiming that this is the first time in four billion years that it’s possible for life to become interplanetary, I now realize that this is also the first time in four billion years that we have the knowledge and know-how to study the unique features of our own planet. Blue Marble Exploration will offer a path to take advantage of this unique window in history, and I feel privileged to join the mission.

---

Contributed by Kellie Gerardi Emerging Explorer Blue Marble Exploration New York, NY, USA

Primal Instinct to Explore

One of the most common questions explorers face is: "Why?"

WHY do you explore?

WHY is exploration important?

WHY do human beings have a history of exploration?

Perhaps it is simply in our nature to do so. Perhaps we have a deeply ingrained survival instinct that our animal brains cannot shake despite thousands of years of evolution. Or perhaps we are simply following our destiny as "wanderers".

Carl Sagan was one of the biggest proponents of our sense of exploration. Now Swedish digital artist Erik Wernquist has created a powerful video to try capturing that wanderlust. Regardless of whether you believe the viability of humanity ever existing beyond Planet Earth, Wanderers is still a visually compelling piece of art. Enjoy!

Wanderers - a short film by Erik Wernquist from Erik Wernquist on Vimeo.

Becoming The Youngest Person in Space

I am 17 years old and will start my senior year of high school in the fall. Like most kids, space has always been something that excited and amazed me. Even as a young child, I would stare up at the stars, wondering what was out there and how I could find it.

Unfortunately, growing up in my generation I began to face the reality that being an astronaut was not exactly a realistic career choice. People told me that it was almost impossible to work for NASA and that the space program had almost no budget so what was the point in trying anyways. This was really hard for me to take in, but I moved on and began to accept the reality that I would just have to become a doctor or lawyer when I grew up.

However, after an incredibly unexpected turn of events last year, my dream of going to space was reignited, when I was able to create a position for myself at XCOR Aerospace, a commercial space company based out of Mojave, California.

The biggest perk of working for XCOR is that every employee gets a free trip into suborbital space aboard our spacecraft, Lynx. When I found this out, I could not have been more excited: since Lynx is set to start flying within the year, that would mean that I would become the youngest person ever to visit space!

As XCOR’s Communication and Youth Outreach Associate, I have taken this excitement with me and spoken to over a thousand students and teachers about the possibilities of commercial space exploration and how they all can get involved. I have developed a presentation and classroom materials, and I have seen how inspired kids are by space and all that it holds.

Through all of this, I have thought a lot about what exploration really means to me.

Some people dismiss XCOR because we are only going to suborbital space, and that is somehow unimportant in the grand scheme of exploration since we have already gone to the Moon as a species. However, what that notion fails to take into account is that each flight will be a new experience and chance to explore for each individual. Not only will we be conducting research that has never done before, but we will also be bringing space, the most extreme environment we know of, and its beauty to thousands of people, while inspiring millions more. The commercial space market as a whole is pushing the limits of how we explore and making our universe more accessible to everyone in the process.

I want to go to space not because it will be a first for humanity but because I will get to expand the boundaries of what I have experienced and share that knowledge with as many students as I can. I truly hope that my record of being the youngest person in space does not stand for long and that space becomes something accessible for everybody on the planet, especially kids. The future of exploration relies on the youth of today. We have as a whole become more interested in looking at our phones than looking up at the sky or down into the ocean, but this can be changed. It is our job as individuals, as communities, and as a society to reignite a passion for exploration and make it exciting for future generations once again.

---

Contributed by Zach Oschin Student Explorer Blue Marble Exploration Los Angeles, CA, USA

Mars One and the Mars 100

Earlier this week, the team at Mars One announced their "Mars 100". This is a pool of 50 men and 50 women for what the organization hopes will be the first effort to establish a human colony on Mars starting in the next decade. These finalists were selected through a rigorous screening process from over 200,000 applicants. Ultimately, 24 "Martians" will be chosen for the initial six 4-person missions to the Red Planet.

Although this is certainly not the first time anyone has planned a manned mission to Mars, what makes the Mars One approach unique (and media-grabbing) is the fact that it is a colonization mission. This means that every one of these individuals is signing up for a one-way trip. No return voyage is planned.

For some reason, the general public, fueled by a voracious media, continues to focus on what it perceives to be the suicidal nature of this mission. The headlines always seem to echo the question on everyone's minds, "Don't these people know they are going to die doing this?!"

However, this question is baffling.

It seems to presume that the alternative to dying on this mission is to live forever NOT doing the mission. It seems to presume that if these would-be Martians would just stay on Earth, they would be immortal. Of course, this is clearly not the case. Whether a human being dies on Mars or on Earth is simply a matter of geography. One way or another, that human being WILL die. There is no avoiding the natural fate of our mortality.

So ... perhaps the better question should be, "Out of 7 billion people on this planet today, why did ONLY 200,000 apply for this glorious historic opportunity?"

Perhaps one possible answer is that it takes a deep-seeded spirit of exploration to drive a human being to explore an environment as extreme and hostile as deep space, or another planet. While homo sapiens are a naturally curious animal species, this type of drive is quite rare in individual members of the species. This is why the rest of us hold explorers in such high regard ... because most of us could never do what they do, and yet we know that we all benefit from their efforts.

All of the Mars 100 know they are risking their lives, but they willingly do so out of a sense of higher purpose: to push the bounds of humanity's knowledge. And to do so by boldly going where no one has gone before. These are not crazy nuts blindly following a cult toward personal or group suicide. Instead, they are heroes and role models.

One of the Mars 100 said, "When people ask me why I am going to Mars to die, I say we are all going to die, but it's important what you do before you die." Or, as Mel Gibson's William Wallace said in Braveheart, "Every man dies, but not every man really lives."

Perhaps it is time for the media to stop focusing on the one-way aspect of this mission as an act of suicide and instead as a 100% commitment to the colonization of another world?

Not all of us have what it takes to join this mission, but the rest of us are truly fortunate that at least these 100 are up to the task. Let us support their efforts and hope for their ultimate success.

Europa Report

This year, audiences flocked to see the science fiction sensation, Insterstellar, starring Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway. Besides being a wildly popular movie with general audiences, it was also a hit with the science community, which applauded director Christopher Nolan for the film's scientific accuracy and integrity.

For the exploration community, last year's Europa Report provided similar authenticity. Using video footage and still images from NASA and JPL and leveraging technical consultants from both, it was an amazingly accurate depiction of a future private expedition to one of Jupiter's moons.

As you celebrate the holiday season and prepare to close out 2014, try to carve out some time to enjoy this movie (either for the first time or for a repeat viewing). It will thrill your "inner explorer".

Exploration Live!From the Deep Sea to Outer Space

Want to explore the depths of the ocean or the far reaches of the universe without leaving home? Researchers and explorers are increasingly offering ways to join their expeditions around the world in real time, no matter your location.

Thanks to video streaming from robots and submersibles and live videoconferencing with astronauts and aquanauts, all you need is an internet connection to experience first-hand the thrill of discovery!

---

NAUTILUS LIVE

With a mission to bring the deep sea into homes and classrooms around the world, the Ocean Exploration Trust operates the E/V Nautilus in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. Led by founder Dr. Robert Ballard, a rotating team of scientists guides expeditions from onboard the ship and through “telepresence,” allowing for researchers to collaborate from afar.

Video captured by ROVs streams to the Inner Space Center at the University of Rhode Island where it is examined and simultaneously broadcast live to the public. This month, the Nautilus is exploring seafloor ecosystems with active seismic and volcanic activity near the West Indies.

---

NOAA OKEANOS EXPLORER

It may come as a surprise that some of this summer’s most popular reality television was streamed live…from the deep! The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration made a media splash with their expedition on the Okeanos Explorer off the coast of the Northeastern US, hooking tens of thousands of viewers.

With daily coverage and live analysis by biologists, geologists and oceanographers likened to sports commentary, NOAA succeeds in getting a whole new audience excited about their daily deep sea squid sightings.

---

SLOOH SPACE CAMERA

Connecting land-based observatories to the internet, Slooh offers live broadcasts of events in space including spacecraft transits and asteroid and comet sightings. In 2011, Slooh’s footage of the total lunar eclipse was streamed live through Google, reaching billions of viewers, and this week streamed the fly-by of NASA’s Juno spacecraft on the way to Jupiter.

Making outer space even more accessible, Slooh engages a citizen scientist network to crowd-source broadcasts and recently released an iPad app allowing anyone to capture photos remotely using their observatory’s telescopes!

---

NASA

NASA has also engaged a wider audience through live-streaming events from the International Space Station. Astronauts host Google+ Hangouts, fielding questions from viewers around the world, and even teach mini lessons about gravity and physics from the ISS.

On Earth, NASA recently partnered with privately funded Orbital Sciences to live broadcast their Cygnus rocket launch, carrying supplies to the ISS.

---

With less than 5% of our world’s oceans explored and a whole universe outside of our planet, human exploration is at an exciting peak. Now, live streaming expeditions and events help make otherworldly landscapes accessible to anyone with an internet connection!

---

Contributed by Samantha Wishnak Education and Outreach Coordinator Blue Marble Exploration Brooklyn, NY, USA

Explorer-In-Residence: Scott Parazynski

Astronaut.
Physician.
Mountaineer.
Pilot.
Diver.

All of these titles apply to Scott Parazynski. As a Blue Marble Exploration Explorer-in-Residence, Scott keeps us thinking about the diverse challenges humans face in exploring extreme environments.

Over his 17-year career as a NASA Astronaut, Scott completed 5 Space Shuttle Missions and conducted 7 spacewalks. Mission highlights included participating in the first US-Russian spacewalk and serving as Senator John Glenn’s crewmate and personal physician. During Scott’s last mission in 2007, he ventured farther from the airlock than any other astronaut to perform a risky repair, a challenging spacewalk that was likened to an “Apollo 13 moment.”

In addition to exploring the extreme limits of space, Scott is an accomplished mountaineer, summiting Mt. Everest in 2009, as well as a lifelong SCUBA diver, conducting a NASA-sponsored expedition to the world’s highest lake in the Andes in 2005. With academic training at Stanford and Harvard, Scott’s expertise- perhaps unsurprisingly- focuses on human performance in stressful environments. Currently, Scott serves as Chief Medical Officer and Director of University of Texas Medical Branch Health Center for Polar Medical Operations focused on the US Antarctic Program, and as Chairman of the Board of the Challenger Center for Space Science Education.

Follow Scott's expeditions on Twitter @AstroDocScott or visit his website!


Getting to Know Scott Parazynski

1. Why do you explore? How are you continually inspired to explore?
   
   As the son of a rocket scientist – my Dad helped design the Saturn V boosters that first took men to the moon in the late 60’s and early 70’s – I was fascinated by everything to do with exploration as a kid. All the books I read had something to do with pressing the boundaries of human experience, from Lewis and Clark to Cousteau, Sir Roger Bannister to Yuri Gagarin, Mallory and Irvine to John Glenn and the Mercury 7. I wanted to be the first man to set bootprints down on Mars, and was bound and determined to make it come true.
   
   Although the space program took some different paths in the subsequent years and I didn’t get a chance to visit the Red Planet, I certainly have no regrets at the way things transpired! There’s so much more to discover, on, over and under our planet’s surface – and even within the human body itself.


2. Is there one expedition in the past or future that you consider to be the culmination of your career?
   
   My best day on the job – ever – was supporting the repair of a live solar array during Space Shuttle mission STS-120, while docked to the International Space Station. It’s a lengthy but exciting story to tell some other time, but being a part of a team that took on such a difficult task and succeeded, it just doesn’t get any better than that.
   
   In terms of future goals, I’d certainly love to visit Challenger Deep in the Marianas Trench, the deepest part of our oceans. The technical and operational challenge of getting there is enormous. While 12 men walked on the moon, only two expeditions have successfully visited, and we have so much more to learn about our own oceans as we develop the technologies to repeatedly visit and characterize our uncharted ocean depths.


3. Most people think explorers are daredevils and risk-takers- how do you perceive risk?
   
   I approach risk with great respect. Although many would look at my life’s endeavors and conclude I’m a daredevil of sorts, nothing could be further from the truth. I recognize and prepare for risk in earnest. I do my best to understand the environment I’ll be working in, the technology I’ll need to rely upon, and then mentally and physically prepare myself to handle whatever might possibly go wrong when there. There’s an old adage that there are bold pilots and old pilots, but no old, bold pilots. The same can be said for astronauts, mountaineers and other high risk pursuits. Those with longevity probably took similar approaches, else were extremely lucky!


4. What are the greatest personal or professional challenges you face as an explorer?
   
   I’m naturally inquisitive and creative, and seek challenge in new and exciting environments like those found in space travel, the high mountains, the polar regions, in exotic lands and deep beneath our oceans. The greatest challenges are sometimes calming the nerves of one’s family and friends when heading off to the next big adventure…


5. Do you have one piece of advice for anyone of any age who dreams of exploring space or land or sea?
   
   Read all you can about those that came before you, and then set out on your own path. I’d certainly avoid the naysayers who’d imply that the path is too tough, or that there’s nothing left to explore or discover. Those without vision will hold you back, and they are just plain wrong… Finally, don’t get overly fixated on the summit, whether that summit is a true summit or just a lofty goal of yours, instead focusing on a series of steps that will eventually lead you to where you want to go. Any lofty goal can be intimidating and daunting when you first set out, but taking it one day at a time, one figurative rope length at a time, even a footstep at a time, makes it possible to achieve with tenacity and preparation.

Why Extreme Environments?

Since Blue Marble Exploration focuses exclusively on "extreme environments", we are often asked "why?".

There are many answers, but the bottom line is that putting humans in environments that are hostile to our very existence forces us to solve immensely complex problems. In order to accomplish our exploration objectives for each mission, we have to push the limits of technology, science, and human endurance. This in turn promotes innovation and creativity, which help us move humanity forward.

These types of expeditions also have a unique capacity to inspire millions of people around the world. They have a special combination of powerful visuals and dramatic storylines that capture imaginations across cultures, languages, and generations. This can be used to promote education, innovation, and conservation, as well as collaboration among countries, industries, and organizations.

Within the past 12 months, we have been fortunate to witness three very different expeditions to extreme environments. Below (in chronological order) is a brief summary of each one and some of its major contributions.

---

OCEANS - DeepSea Challenge [March 2012]

On March 26, 2012, James Cameron broke the world solo dive record by becoming only the third person ever to see the deepest point in the ocean. Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench, plunges to nearly 11,000 meters (~37,000 feet), which is much deeper than Mt. Everest is tall. Prior to Cameron's dive, the only humans to ever successfully complete this dive were Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh, who made the trip in the U.S. Navy-sponsored bathyscaphe Trieste on January 23, 1960.

In order to accomplish his mission objectives, Cameron had to develop a whole slate of new technologies, including his submersible, DeepSea Challenger. Besides his core team, the project relied on a diverse international group of small industry specialists, large corporate partners, and university departments. The expedition will be the subject of a documentary and a 3D film.

---

ALTITUDE - Red Bull Stratos [October 2012]

On October 14, 2012, Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner broke several world records, including the highest altitude jump (39 km / 24 mi) and the fastest freefall (1357 kmh / 844 mph). He also became the first human to break the sound barrier without a vehicle. Several of these records were previously held by Joe Kittinger, who made his jump on August 16, 1960, as part of experiments conducted by the U.S. Air Force. He worked as an advisor and Capsule Communicator for Red Bull Stratos, watching Baumgartner break all but one of his records (longest freefall of 4 minutes 36 seconds).

[Even though it was dubbed "Mission to the Edge of Space", Baumgartner never even came close to approaching the internationally accepted boundary of 100 km (62 mi).]

To successfully complete the mission, Baumgartner's international team had to develop multiple new technologies, including the suit, helmet, capsule, balloon, parachute, and life support systems. Because of the extreme pressures on his body, the medical team collected immensely valuable physiological data.

Perhaps the greatest impact was on mass media. The project was sponsored by Red Bull, which not only provided financing but also used its marketing muscle to make the skydive one of the most popular current events in recent history. The jump's YouTube livestream drew a record 8 million concurrent views across 56 countries, and its Facebook posts reached over 50 million users. The resulting [inaccurately named] documentary, Space Dive, was produced by the BBC in partnership with National Geographic and Red Bull Media House.

---

POLAR - The Coldest Journey [March 2013]

This is an ongoing expedition to make the first crossing of Antarctica during the winter. Starting in March 2013, the 3,200 km (2,000 mi) traverse will take six months and will be done mostly in complete darkness and in temperatures as low as -90C (-130F). This project has been led for the five years of planning and preparation by Sir Ranulph Fiennes, one of the world's greatest explorers. Unfortunately, he developed a severe case of frostbite during the preposition phase, and on February 25, 2013, he announced that he would be leaving the expedition team. The remaining 5 members are set to continue the expedition without him, expecting to complete their journey in September 2013.

For this expedition, the team is relying on technological advances in land transportation, fuel, clothing, and communications. In addition to accomplishing its mission objectives, the project hopes to raise US$10 million for its partner charity, Seeing is Believing.

---

Exploration of Extreme Environments

Ernest Shackleton, Roald Amundsen, Robert Peary & Richard Byrd.
Edmund Hillary & Tenzing Norgay.
Don Walsh, Jacques Piccard & James Cameron.
Neil Armstrong & Buzz Aldrin.
Joe Kittinger & Felix Baumgartner.

These explorers are well known to most of us, but what sets them apart from many others is their exploration of extreme environments: polar, high altitude, space, deep ocean. This is precisely our focus at Blue Marble Exploration.

We push the limits of technology, science, and human endurance to pursue scientific discovery and raise public awareness of Planet Earth (our "Blue Marble").