A small step for man, a giant leap for Mike Penn
The airplane was dark inside and the light outside was so bright that I really couldn't see outside until I was out of the airplane. The cold air…
Ice Flight
The day started at 4 AM wake-up. Then was a shuttle ride to the USAP at 5:45. We then were weighed and checked in our bags. Then...we were delayed.
USAP participants in "bag drag…
Extreme Cold Weather Clothing Issue
Today we went to the United States Antarctic Program's facilities here in Christchurch to be sized and be issued our Extreme Cold Weather (ECW) gear. We also…
WOW
Students have made hundreds of comments on my journals. Many students wrote letters of support for my expedition.
Dozens of classes, groups, and individuals have given me things to take to…
Landed in Christchurch
This story starts with my first step onto the ground in Christchurch, New Zealand, from the airplane that I took from Houston. An Air New Zealand airplane at the Christchurch…
PolarTREC Polly
This little lego figure is PolarTREC Polly. She is hidden here in McMurdo and her location is known only to PolarTREC teachers!
Bridget Ward, a fellow PolarTREC teacher, who had…
I started thinking about what to pack months ago.
Ich habe vor Monaten darüber nachgedacht, was ich packen soll.
Those of you that know me, know that we have some German family. I thought it would…
The things I am most looking forward to while I am in Antarctica… aren’t there. Let me explain.
Smells
Once I get away from the coast and open water, there will be no
smells. Organic, both living…
Are you nervous about anything?
Mike, trying to look nervous.
Nope. Maybe I should be… but I’m not.
Aren’t you worried about the cold?
Not really. It will be cold. Okay, it will be really…
I got my airplane tickets for going to Antarctica!
This is my 15 hours flight from Houston to Auckland, NZ the dates show that this flight will cross the International Dateline)!
My Visa…
As many of you know, I’ve been working toward being a PolarTREC teacher
and deploying to Antarctica for almost two years. It has been getting
more and more real with each step. The first time it…
One of the responsibilities of a PolarTREC teacher is OUTREACH! At the orientation in Alaska, we were told how to plan to get the word out about the researchers and science we are working with and…
