"...do you believe in gravity?"

The title of my post is a direct quote from a climate change lecture we heard today by Dr. Barry Lefer. Someone a few years ago had asked him if he believed in global warming, and his response was: "Do you believe in gravity?" ;)

Day one and two of my internship consisted of many introductory lectures at the NASA Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility (DAOF). We received our temporary badges on Monday, but we aren't allowed to keep them. We also aren't allowed to wear them in public. I'm not even sure if I was supposed to post a picture of it on Facebook!

Tomorrow we get to pick our groups! There are four groups and each group will have 8 students. I am shooting for the air quality group, but there is also an ocean group (remote sensing/kelp beds), land group (evapotranspiration/water conservation), and a second air group (whole air sampling/dairy emissions). I think the second air group will be my second choice. The only group I don't want to be in is the ocean group because it seems like it's mostly biology and I'm not a fan of biology! The land group would also be good but I studied groundwater and surface water a lot during my undergrad (hydrology emphasis), so it'd be nice to try something new and more related to the atmospheric sciences!

Yesterday we got a tour of the DAOF. We met the two ER-2s, which fly upwards of 70,000 feet! The pilots actually have to wear spacesuits because they're up so high. It's also dark up there! We also met SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy. She is a modified 747 (a previous commercial plane) with a telescope inside! A giant door literally slides open and they use the telescope while in flight! They are hoping to get it connected to autopilot so the plane can keep the telescope automatically fixed on whatever object in the sky they are studying. Proof that science is SO cool. Outside, we visited another modified 747--the Shuttle Carrier. This plane is mostly gutted out to reduce weight. It also burns 20 gallons of fuel every 1 mile while flying with a shuttle attached! As far as attaching the shuttle, the plane is guided underneath the shuttle, which is lifted and then placed on the plane and attached onto three points.

I tried to add pictures for you all but my computer just froze really bad during the upload process so I will have to try again later! :(

Besides all the science, I have now officially been to a Panera Bread. I have to say that it was super yummy and it will definitely be a regular lunch location for me. We are also spending plenty of bonding time at the pool and hot tub. As I first discovered at AGU, Earth scientists really love to drink!

Will update tomorrow with my group info and hopefully with some pictures! :) Thanks for reading!