Mission Journal 1 — Jim Hench: Mission Day 1: Wednesday, July 13th, 2005
At 1:00 pm this afternoon we looked up at the beautiful Florida sky one last time, then headed down to Aquarius for the next nine days. This experiment literally started four years ago when Greg was a graduate student and wrote a proposal for this project. Our lab has been working towards today since then, with the pace picking up in the past year, and reaching a “whirlwind” (forgive the hurricane pun!) of activity the past couple weeks getting ready. Finally getting in the water this afternoon reminded me of taking a long, sometimes bumpy, airplane flight. Then hopping in the ocean, with the water quickly erasing the stress and worry of the trip, and replaced by the wonder of a new place.
Today was my first time inside Aquarius. If you’re wondering what it’s like, it’s sort of like being in the school bus you always wanted to have when you were in 3rd grade — your friends, a can of Pringles potato chips, and an ocean swimming by in the lights.