What intrigues you most in life? For me, it’s always been space. The concept that we live in a universe where our imagination can just scratch the surface of what really exists… this has been a kind of fuel for me.
It's a little-known fact that I am the discover of the planet Saturn and the four large moons of Jupiter. Well, I and the thousands of others who have dutifully brought their telescope out at night pointed it at something bright, worked on their focus, and then proceeded to be shocked beyond their wildest dreams when they saw something real out there. Seeing Saturn’s rings was like magic. Yes, I had seen pictures of Saturn in the encyclopedia, and so on. But how could you be sure any of that was actually real? Many of the things adults talked about obviously weren’t, or at least weren’t verifiable. Now, sitting alone on my roof, with a small not particularly great refractor telescope, I was seeing the thing with my own eyes. This led ultimately, to a love of science, and - maybe even more - exploration. The only ways great things are learned is by people making effort, little by little pushing the boundaries.
While space in general has always enticed me, the real draw was, and is, Mars. Im 1997 I saw an article in National Geographic magazine about the early work happening on Devon Island - a place that has been called Mars on Earth. It was about the first NASA supported field season there and I remember wondering, how might a person get themself up there? Then In 1998, really on a whim, I submitted a paper to a new space science group called the Mars Society. The paper was accepted and I delivered it to a packed room in Boulder CO a few months later. The Mars Society timed their arrival perfectly with NASA’s delightful Pathfinder mission - and a renewed interest in the Red Planet. In Bay Area, with much support from the NASA Ames Research Center, we had a particularly strong chapter.
And through some just ridiculous fate and luck, 10 months later I was packing my bags to head north to Devon Island for National Geographic, my first of many assignments with them and my first of three field seasons on the island.
For me, the idea that I could be directly involved with cutting edge humans to Mars research was a dream come true. I spent the next many years dedicating as much of my time as I could to following this story, and contributing a bit as well. Each of my trips to Devon Island became a program for National Geographic, culminating in 2003 with my final show showing more the emotional side of exploration and why people dedicate their lives to something so elusive.