Aquanaut training starts tomorrow! We begin a grueling week-long training program off the Florida Keys tomorrow, including intensive fitness tests, acclimating our bodies to underwater living (much like astronauts train for space), and learning to handle the specialized equipment we'll use on the Mission.
Liz Magee (Northeastern scientist) and I traveled from Boston to Miami this morning. We met Fabien Cousteau (and his seven cases with 350lbs of camera equipment!) at the airport. He introduced us to team members Kip Evans, who'll live in Aquarius at the beginning of June, and Billy Snook, a dive shop owner and member of topside crew.
We packed into SUVs provided by Mission sponsor Ford and headed to Costco. We had an extensive shopping list from the team at the base, including food, various batteries and extension cables.
Liz Magee (Northeastern scientist) and I traveled from Boston to Miami this morning. We met Fabien Cousteau (and his seven cases with 350lbs of camera equipment!) at the airport. He introduced us to team members Kip Evans, who'll live in Aquarius at the beginning of June, and Billy Snook, a dive shop owner and member of topside crew.
We packed into SUVs provided by Mission sponsor Ford and headed to Costco. We had an extensive shopping list from the team at the base, including food, various batteries and extension cables.
The crew at Costco, stocking up for mission headquarters. Left to right: Liz Magee, me, Fabien Cousteau, and Billy Snook.
After lunch we traveled to Mission headquarters on Islamorada. It's been a crazy week. In the past two days I finished my undergraduate studies with a final exam in Mechanics & Materials II on Friday, packed all my belongings into three bags, prepped the Edgertronic high-speed camera, and said goodbye to many friends.
Mission headquarters is a house converted into a warehouse/meeting space/lodging. It's fascinating to see some of the equipment Fabien Cousteau's film production team, Bonnet Rouge, will use. I saw the underwater housing (about the size of a microwave) for the RED digital camera (the same type of camera Peter Jackson used to film The Hobbit), and looked at dozens of underwater lights, tripods, and other equipment.
Mission headquarters is a house converted into a warehouse/meeting space/lodging. It's fascinating to see some of the equipment Fabien Cousteau's film production team, Bonnet Rouge, will use. I saw the underwater housing (about the size of a microwave) for the RED digital camera (the same type of camera Peter Jackson used to film The Hobbit), and looked at dozens of underwater lights, tripods, and other equipment.
 I finally got to try on the Mission 31 Doxa watch!  Among the M31 equipment, I spotted this light labeled by famous ocean explorer Sylvia Earle (who'll be visiting us in Aquarius in just a few weeks!). It's from one of her previous missions with Kip Evans. She works closely with the Cousteaus. |  I've never seen so many boxes of canned soup! Campbell's, one of our mission sponsors, delivered dozens of boxes of juice, soup, and Pepperidge Farm products to the dive headquarters.  What better way to end the day than with a beautiful sunset over palm trees. Hopefully this is a good sign. |
Tomorrow we start training, so we all need a good night's sleep!
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