Research through exploration and observation

Lucy Adams

December 18, 2012

I love the night sky. It is filled with mystery and magic. And the wonder of space, time, and Planet Earth - where she sits in her family and within the greater family, in a tiny area of the Milky Way Galaxy. I am a soil scientist by profession and initially entered the competition run by The Planetary Society to design a Mars Rover. I designed a sediment sampling arm that you appreciated and then forwarded my design to NASA. I haven't heard whether or not my design was used in the first Mars Rover. Nevertheless, this is where my passion is grounded - in the sediments of other bodies both unlike and like our own on Planet Earth. I am passionate that we continue searching the skies for any bodies on course for Earth; that we develop the sediment sampling arm known as PlanetVac; that we link up with private space faring groups for the value of their own research and the money they are able to put into space missions; and that we continually improve our understanding of our Sun, especially in terms of Solar Super Storms and the damage they can do to our highly techno communication and support network both on ground and in orbit around Earth. Now that we understand how dependent we are on extraterrestrial knowledge and understanding, we have no where to hide - we owe it to life on Earth to continue space exploration and to include any countries that wish to contribute. We need to become a global community in this regard, as soon as is practical.