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April
10, 2009: Steve "Ark" Vander Ark takes
a deep breath at the foot of the stairs in a lonely, dusky
stairwell, then turns and heads up ten long flights of steps
– for the eighth time. He'll repeat this ritual thrice more,
for a total of 100 flights of stairs, in the NASA Johnson
Space Center building where he works. And to top it all off,
he's wearing a fully-laden backpack.
Why?
He's
getting ready to climb Mount Everest.
Why?
Because
it's there – and because he wants to do a NASA research project
along the way to benefit future space travelers.
Vander
Ark (Section Manager for Wyle's Behavioral Health & Performance
group at JSC) and some of his colleagues, along with Jake
Maule of Marshall Space Flight Center and several other adventurous
NASA and non-NASA souls, share a passion for exploration and
a love of beautiful scenery. They also share a burning desire
to see the Himalayas, and in mid-April they'll get the chance,
paying for this non-work related trip out of their own pockets
but dedicated enough to still do some work along the way.
Above:
A group shot of NASA's unofficial 2008 Mt. Everest Expedition.
This year's climb will mix in some serious research. [Larger
image]
"This
trip will be fun, but Jake and I will do some serious research
to help astronauts," says Vander Ark. "Mount Everest
provides a good space analog; it's similar to the austere,
challenging environment of space. So our hike will be comparable
in some ways to what astronauts face while engaged in a long
spacewalk or an excursion on the surface of the Moon or Mars.
Like astronauts, we'll spend long hours doing strenuous work
without an abundance of oxygen."
"Mission
planners will need to know how long periods in extreme environments
affect sleep. Quality sleep is crucial to daytime alertness
and performance on critical tasks, and can also impact long-term
health. Lack of sleep could even affect safety."
So
Vander Ark is taking a device up Mount Everest to monitor
what happens with the sleep/wake cycle when the human body
is subjected to long periods in challenging environments.
"The
device is called an Actiwatch," says Vander Ark. "It
resembles a wristwatch and records the wearer’s sleeping and
waking movements. It also measures light exposure. Several
members of our group will be wearing an Actiwatch during the
hike. In general, these devices will show how well the hikers
sleep during the trip."
Maule
will be conducting a separate experiment during the Mount
Everest trip. He'll be using a mini-lab called LOCAD-PTS that
resembles a Star Trek tricorder. Short for Lab-On-a-Chip Application
Development–Portable Test System, this small tool with a big
name has been used to detect bacteria and fungi on surfaces
inside the International Space Station. On the climb, Maule
will use it to look for snow algae, a cold-tolerant algae
that grows on snow, and upon blooming, makes the snow look
red.
Right:
In 2006, Jake Maule (inside the spacesuit) tested LOCAD-PTS
during the Arctic Mars Analogie Svalbard Expedition (AMASE)
in Svalbard, at 80N latitude. Mt. Everest is LOCAD's next
challenge. Image courtesy of Kjell Ove Storvik and AMASE,
2006.
"This
kind of research can help scientists develop efficient procedures
for future field studies on the Moon and Mars," says
Maule. "They'll need to know how to collect and analyze
samples in extreme environments."*
Another
NASA team member, EVA (extra-vehicular activity) flight controller
Sabrina Singh, whose parents were born and raised in India,
is organizing the Everest journey for the group. She arranged
and participated in a similar event last year but can't go
this year.
Not
getting to go hasn't dampened Singh's zeal for the venture.
"I've
lived in the Indian Himalayas, and it's a breathtaking part
of the world!" says Singh. "This will be quite an
expedition for my coworkers and friends. It reflects NASA's
theme of exploration and adventure."
To
prepare for the trek, all the hikers are training on their
own rigorous schedules – some climbing stairs like Vander
Ark and others getting up at 6 a.m. to do "boot camp"
drills and/or run. A few members of the group are even hiking
parts of the Appalachian Trail to get used to the rigors of
mountain treks.
"We'll
have to be in shape to reach our destination – the base camp,
18,000 feet up," says Vander Ark. "We've purposely
timed our trip so we can meet up with another very fit adventurer
– mountaineer, medical doctor, former astronaut and spacewalker
Scott Parazynski.
He'll be at base camp when we arrive."
That's
where Parazynski will be taking a planned break during his
second attempt to scale the majestic mountain all the way
to the top – over 29,000 feet up – the same elevation where
commercial airplanes cruise. He tried last year to make it
to the summit, but was waylaid by a back injury a mere 24-hour
hike from the top. If this year's attempt is successful, he'll
become the first person ever to have gazed up at space from
the pinnacle of Earth's tallest mountain, and gazed down on
that same pinnacle from the black vacuum of space.
Above:
Mt. Everest and the Himalayas photographed from Earth orbit
by astronauts onboard the International Space Station. [more]
"Like
others of us, he's wearing an Actiwatch during his expedition.
When our paths cross at base camp, we'll give him care packages
and letters from family, friends, and well-wishers,"
says Vander Ark. "And chocolate expresso beans. He likes
those!"
Singh
adds: "Scott will have the following of a lot of readers,
but the members of our group are just everyday people. The
non-NASA hikers will see how enthusiastic and adventurous
this NASA family is."
"During
rest days, they'll use the 'climb high, sleep low' strategy
to help prevent altitude sickness," says Singh.
That
means they'll gain some altitude daily, then descend a bit
and spend the night at a slightly lower altitude to adjust
to the reduced oxygen levels gradually. They'll do this vertical
zig-zagging more than once. Base camp is as about as high
as most of them will go**, but this special strategy is still
essential.
Before their mountain challenge, several of the trekkers plan
to visit Kathmandu's PA Nepal Orphanage, established by former
teacher Indira Rana Magar. (Parazynski will visit the orphanage
too, at some point during his time in Nepal.) This orphanage
cares for Nepalese village children whose parents have passed
away, been imprisoned, disappeared, or are too poor to feed
and educate them.
"We
want our visit to be special for the kids," says Vander
Ark. "We're gathering gifts and supplies to take to them
from the NASA community."
Right:
In 2008, NASA engineer Adam Gilmore performs as 'science advisor'
to children at Kathmandu's PA Nepal Orphanage. [Larger
image]
Singh
adds, "One member of our group, Dr. Keith Manuel, who
performed the eye exams for astronauts for a number of years,
is doing an eye clinic for close to 100 kids at the orphanage.
He’ll get their prescriptions, and later we’ll mail glasses
to the kids who need them. Hikers Court Manuel, Jenna Andrews,
and Rob Rist [all NASA employees] will help with the eye exams.
My mother, Dr. Manjeet Singh, is a dentist and a member of
the expedition. She’ll do dental exams on all the children."
Adam
Gilmore, a NASA engineer who is not a member of the trekking
group, serves as science advisor to this orphanage. He provides
the children a few supplies and a lot of lesson plans, including
some ideas for science experiments. For one experiment, Jake
Maule will show the children the LOCAD-PTS device he'll use
on the trek.
"The
children idolize astronaut Suni Williams, who has relatives
in India, and they know that Suni did a LOCAD experiment on
the space station," says Singh. "They'll be thrilled
to see and touch the hardware Suni used in space. These children
love to learn about the cosmos. They even helped paint stars
and planets on the ceiling and walls of the orphanage."
Rana
Magar and her space-savvy kids will greet the hikers at the
Kathmandu airport with flower garlands and a traditional Nepalese
flower ceremony.
"The
ceremony and the visit to the orphanage will make this adventure
even better," says Vander Ark.
But,
hold on Ark, there's still work to do before you leave. You
have to get your sea level body ready for the trek to 18,000
feet. (JSC's elevation is only about 30 feet!)
He
takes another deep breath and heads back up the stairs.
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Author: Dauna Coulter
| Editor: Dr.
Tony Phillips | Credit: Science@NASA
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NOTES
*Maule
is doing this experiment in collaboration with Norm
Wainwright (Charles River Laboratories, Charleston,
SC), Lianne Benning (University of Leeds, England),
and Jen Eigenbrode (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center,
Greenbelt, MD) to complement some tests he they did
during the Arctic Mars Analog Svalbard Expeditions (AMASE).
**The
highest elevation the team will reach is called Kala
Patar, which means "Black Rock." It is at
18,500 feet and provides some of the best views of Everest.
Base Camp is in a highland valley, so the hikers wouldn't
be able to see the Everest summit as well there. Singh
built the itinerary such that the group can do this
side trek to Kala Patar and view a sunrise and sunset.
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