Heading Out on a Journey Before the Map is Complete After the President’s Vision for Space Exploration (VSE) was announced in 2004 a series of preliminary efforts lead to a […]
Keith Cowing
Posted inAstrobiology (general)
Saving Astrobiology at NASA (Part 1) Origins
Origins and Epiphanies In August 1996, while working at a large meeting of biologists in Seattle, I got a startling email from back east. Within minutes I was at a […]
Posted inAstrobiology (general)
Continued Confusion Over Astrobiology Funding by NASA
Editor’s note: What follows below is the strange sequence of steps NASA Headquarters has decided to take with regard to funding for NASA’s Astrobiology Program. In a nutshell, NASA officials […]
Posted inArctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Polar / Alpine Expeditions
Mountaineering And Climbing On Mars
by Keith Cowing Originally published: JBIS, Vol. 57, pp.113-125, 2004 ABSTRACT Initial human missions to Mars will be a precious commodity wherein a maximum amount of information is gathered by […]
Posted inPress Release
NASA Administrator’s Symposium Examines Exploration and Risk
Have you ever been into space, in a research submarine, or been a part of a remote polar research base? Whether it’s exploring the depths of our oceans or reaching […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Status Report
Keith Cowing’s Devon Island Journal 24 July 2003: Homeward Bound – In Slow Motion
We have been cooling our heels in Resolute for three days now. I am clean, have eaten 9 real meals and more or less adjusted to civilization – even if […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Status Report
Keith Cowing’s Devon Island Journal 21 July 2003: Departure – and One Last Dedication
I had one last thing to do before I left Devon Island. I stood on the runway and watched the Twin Otter, on which I would soon depart, swoop in […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Astronauts and Explorers, Away Teams & Field Reports, Exploration Gear & Tech, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, People Of Astrobiology, Polar / Alpine Expeditions
Keith Cowing’s Devon Island Journal 20 July 2003: Arctic Memorials and Starship Yearnings
Today I went out on an unusual traverse on Devon Island. Leading the way was Haughton–Mars Project (HMP) Principal Investigator Pascal Lee. Following him was “Qimmiq”, our polar bear guide […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Status Report
Keith Cowing’s Devon Island Journal 19 July 2003: Illness, Good Food, and Morale
I got sick a few days after arrival. Dysentery. As is often the case here, you just ignore a lot of things that you’d use as an excuse to take […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Status Report
Keith Cowing’s Devon Island Journal 17 July 2003: Rover Arrival
Today is the day. After a traverse across Devon Island The HMP’s Mars-1 Humvee rover is due to arrive in Base Camp later today. Earlier this season the rover was […]