Packing to go!
I’ve been working very very hard on a project for NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory, the next rover going to Mars. It consisted of evaluating the physical characteristics of rock outcrops at one of four potential landing sites, the one in the Mawrth Vallis region. At the community landing site workshop earlier this week, I presented a new model that suggests the site was heavily influenced by impacts from meteorites or comets. You can see the landing site evaluations at http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov including the slides from my talk.
This project consumed so much time that I didn’t start packing until today, and I leave tomorrow! Luckily, already shipped my scientific equipment (much more this year - I’ll provide a list later). Also, I have my personal packing list from last year. I’ve adjusted it a bit, so here it is again:
▼ ❑ Clothing
▼ ❑ Head
• ❑ 1 Helly Hanson hood
• ❑ 1 scarf
• ❑ 1 neck gaiter (thin and soft) (NEW)
• ❑ 2 synthetic baseball caps
• ❑ 1 synthetic stocking cap
• ❑ 1 wool stocking cap
• ❑ 2 pairs sunglasses
• ❑ 1 wind proof balaclava (NEW)
• ❑ (NSF - hat, neck gaiter, balaclava, ski goggles)
▼ ❑ Torso
• ❑ 2 light weight pile hoodies
• ❑ 1 zip front pile sweater (NEW)
• ❑ 1 wind proof pile sweater
• ❑ 1 windshirt with insulated hood
• ❑ 2 light weight merino wool long underwear tops
• ❑ 1 medium weight merino wool top (NEW)
• ❑ 2 light-weight silk long underwear tops
• ❑ ~12 pairs underwear (all travel underwear)
• ❑ 3 sports tops
• ❑ 2 swim suit tops
• ❑ (NSF - outer jacket; pile jacket(s); 1 pair long underwear)
▼ ❑ Hands
• ❑ 2 pairs pile glove liners (I almost wore one pair out last year)
• ❑ 1 pair pile mittens
• ❑ 1 pair insulated over mittens
• ❑ 1 pair German wool finger gloves
• ❑ (NSF - 2 pairs leather gloves, wool mittens with leather overmits)
▼ ❑ Legs
• ❑ 3 pairs wool long underwear bottoms
• ❑ 2 pairs thin silk long underwear bottoms
• ❑ 2 thick pile pants
• ❑ 1 pair snowboarding pants (NEW I bought a nice pair of Burtons on sale at the end of winter)
• ❑ 1 pair overalls (NEW I bought a used pair, I didn’t like the NSF ones)
• ❑ 1 pair wind pants (brought last year, but didn’t make it on the list)
• ❑ (NSF - outer pants; pile pants(s); 1 pair long underwear)
▼ ❑ Feet
• ❑ 1 pair Sorels (insulated boots, plenty big)
• ❑ 1 pair spare boot liners (NEW)
• ❑ 1 pair hiking boots
• ❑ 12 pairs synthetic socks
• ❑ 2 pairs heavy wool socks
• ❑ (NSF - thermal boots; 2 pairs wool socks)
▼ ❑ Other
• ❑ 1 swim suit
• ❑ 3 100% cotton bandanas, 1 poly mix bandana
• ❑ 1 camp towel
• ❑ lots of stuff sacks to hold things
▼ ❑ In Transit & McMurdo
• ❑ 2 pair pants (wear one on the plane)
• ❑ 3 shirts (wear one on the plane)
• ❑ 2 bras
• ❑ 3 pairs socks that aren't white (wear one on the plane)
• ❑ 1 rain coat
• ❑ 1 pair flip flops
• ❑ 1 pair pajamas (NEW - I forgot them last year!)
• ❑ 1 regular towel (NEW - none provided at McMurdo)
▼ ❑ Hygiene & Health
▼ ❑ Sun
• ❑ SPF 50 sun screen
• ❑ 2 sun screen chap sticks
▼ ❑ Hygiene
• ❑ 100 wet wipes (in small packages so they are easy to thaw out)
• ❑ panty liners
• ❑ tampons
• ❑ 2 GoGirl pee funnels or equivalent
• ❑ 1 roll toilet paper (more ordered for camp)
• ❑ 1 diaper rash cream
• ❑ (NSF - hand sanitizer)
▼ ❑ Medication
• ❑ 3 months worth of prescription medication, carnitine
• ❑ Ibuprophen
• ❑ Benedryl / sleeping pills (diphenhydramine HCl)
• ❑ antibiotics
• ❑ anti-motion sickness medicine
• ❑ yeast infection treatment
• ❑ athletes foot treatment
▼ ❑ Teeth & Hair
• ❑ tooth paste (small tubes so it is easy to thaw out)
• ❑ tooth brushes
• ❑ dental floss
• ❑ hair brush
• ❑ hair bands
▼ ❑ Other
• ❑ 60 Q-tips
• ❑ 1 Nineva cream
• ❑ 1 Johnson's Baby Wash
• ❑ 1 stick deodorant
• ❑ ear plugs
• ❑ nail clippers
• ❑ safety pins (NEW)
• ❑ sewing kit (NEW to list, but I had one last year)
• ❑ first aid tape (NEW)
▼ ❑ Camping
• ❑ 1 down sleeping bag (taking a warmer extra sleeping bag)
• ❑ 1 camp pillow (NEW)
• ❑ 1 water bottle
• ❑ 1 day pack (carry on luggage)
• ❑ 1 LED headlamp
• ❑ pocket knife
• ❑ (NSF - batteries)
▼ ❑ Entertainment
• ❑ 6 books
• ❑ 2 pencils
• ❑ 3 pens
• ❑ 1 pad engineering paper
• ❑ 2 diary notebooks
▼ ❑ 1 iPod
• ❑ noise isolation headphones
• ❑ 1 iPod connection cable
• ❑ music
• ❑ poetry
• ❑ pod casts
• ❑ 1 watch (wear)
▼ ❑ Work & Documentation
• ❑ 2 sharpies
• ❑ field notebook
▼ ❑ 1 Computer
• ❑ 1 laptop
• ❑ 1 laptop charger
• ❑ 1 microphone/headphones combination
• ❑ 1 flash drive
• ❑ 3 extra hard drives
▼ ❑ 2 digital cameras
▼ ❑ Panasonic 28-105
• ❑ battery charger & extra battery
• ❑ connection cable
▼ ❑ Nikon SLR digital camera - D90
• ❑ battery charger & extra battery
• ❑ connection cable
• ❑ card reader
• ❑ zoom lens
• ❑ 55 mm lens
• ❑ extension tube
• ❑ 8 extra camera memory cards (8 GB each)
• ❑ 3 tripods - one heavy, one light, one mini (some NEW)
My luggage seems smaller this year. I think I’m taking less science gear with me because I shipped so much earlier! I can hardly wait to leave.
This project consumed so much time that I didn’t start packing until today, and I leave tomorrow! Luckily, already shipped my scientific equipment (much more this year - I’ll provide a list later). Also, I have my personal packing list from last year. I’ve adjusted it a bit, so here it is again:
▼ ❑ Clothing
▼ ❑ Head
• ❑ 1 Helly Hanson hood
• ❑ 1 scarf
• ❑ 1 neck gaiter (thin and soft) (NEW)
• ❑ 2 synthetic baseball caps
• ❑ 1 synthetic stocking cap
• ❑ 1 wool stocking cap
• ❑ 2 pairs sunglasses
• ❑ 1 wind proof balaclava (NEW)
• ❑ (NSF - hat, neck gaiter, balaclava, ski goggles)
▼ ❑ Torso
• ❑ 2 light weight pile hoodies
• ❑ 1 zip front pile sweater (NEW)
• ❑ 1 wind proof pile sweater
• ❑ 1 windshirt with insulated hood
• ❑ 2 light weight merino wool long underwear tops
• ❑ 1 medium weight merino wool top (NEW)
• ❑ 2 light-weight silk long underwear tops
• ❑ ~12 pairs underwear (all travel underwear)
• ❑ 3 sports tops
• ❑ 2 swim suit tops
• ❑ (NSF - outer jacket; pile jacket(s); 1 pair long underwear)
▼ ❑ Hands
• ❑ 2 pairs pile glove liners (I almost wore one pair out last year)
• ❑ 1 pair pile mittens
• ❑ 1 pair insulated over mittens
• ❑ 1 pair German wool finger gloves
• ❑ (NSF - 2 pairs leather gloves, wool mittens with leather overmits)
▼ ❑ Legs
• ❑ 3 pairs wool long underwear bottoms
• ❑ 2 pairs thin silk long underwear bottoms
• ❑ 2 thick pile pants
• ❑ 1 pair snowboarding pants (NEW I bought a nice pair of Burtons on sale at the end of winter)
• ❑ 1 pair overalls (NEW I bought a used pair, I didn’t like the NSF ones)
• ❑ 1 pair wind pants (brought last year, but didn’t make it on the list)
• ❑ (NSF - outer pants; pile pants(s); 1 pair long underwear)
▼ ❑ Feet
• ❑ 1 pair Sorels (insulated boots, plenty big)
• ❑ 1 pair spare boot liners (NEW)
• ❑ 1 pair hiking boots
• ❑ 12 pairs synthetic socks
• ❑ 2 pairs heavy wool socks
• ❑ (NSF - thermal boots; 2 pairs wool socks)
▼ ❑ Other
• ❑ 1 swim suit
• ❑ 3 100% cotton bandanas, 1 poly mix bandana
• ❑ 1 camp towel
• ❑ lots of stuff sacks to hold things
▼ ❑ In Transit & McMurdo
• ❑ 2 pair pants (wear one on the plane)
• ❑ 3 shirts (wear one on the plane)
• ❑ 2 bras
• ❑ 3 pairs socks that aren't white (wear one on the plane)
• ❑ 1 rain coat
• ❑ 1 pair flip flops
• ❑ 1 pair pajamas (NEW - I forgot them last year!)
• ❑ 1 regular towel (NEW - none provided at McMurdo)
▼ ❑ Hygiene & Health
▼ ❑ Sun
• ❑ SPF 50 sun screen
• ❑ 2 sun screen chap sticks
▼ ❑ Hygiene
• ❑ 100 wet wipes (in small packages so they are easy to thaw out)
• ❑ panty liners
• ❑ tampons
• ❑ 2 GoGirl pee funnels or equivalent
• ❑ 1 roll toilet paper (more ordered for camp)
• ❑ 1 diaper rash cream
• ❑ (NSF - hand sanitizer)
▼ ❑ Medication
• ❑ 3 months worth of prescription medication, carnitine
• ❑ Ibuprophen
• ❑ Benedryl / sleeping pills (diphenhydramine HCl)
• ❑ antibiotics
• ❑ anti-motion sickness medicine
• ❑ yeast infection treatment
• ❑ athletes foot treatment
▼ ❑ Teeth & Hair
• ❑ tooth paste (small tubes so it is easy to thaw out)
• ❑ tooth brushes
• ❑ dental floss
• ❑ hair brush
• ❑ hair bands
▼ ❑ Other
• ❑ 60 Q-tips
• ❑ 1 Nineva cream
• ❑ 1 Johnson's Baby Wash
• ❑ 1 stick deodorant
• ❑ ear plugs
• ❑ nail clippers
• ❑ safety pins (NEW)
• ❑ sewing kit (NEW to list, but I had one last year)
• ❑ first aid tape (NEW)
▼ ❑ Camping
• ❑ 1 down sleeping bag (taking a warmer extra sleeping bag)
• ❑ 1 camp pillow (NEW)
• ❑ 1 water bottle
• ❑ 1 day pack (carry on luggage)
• ❑ 1 LED headlamp
• ❑ pocket knife
• ❑ (NSF - batteries)
▼ ❑ Entertainment
• ❑ 6 books
• ❑ 2 pencils
• ❑ 3 pens
• ❑ 1 pad engineering paper
• ❑ 2 diary notebooks
▼ ❑ 1 iPod
• ❑ noise isolation headphones
• ❑ 1 iPod connection cable
• ❑ music
• ❑ poetry
• ❑ pod casts
• ❑ 1 watch (wear)
▼ ❑ Work & Documentation
• ❑ 2 sharpies
• ❑ field notebook
▼ ❑ 1 Computer
• ❑ 1 laptop
• ❑ 1 laptop charger
• ❑ 1 microphone/headphones combination
• ❑ 1 flash drive
• ❑ 3 extra hard drives
▼ ❑ 2 digital cameras
▼ ❑ Panasonic 28-105
• ❑ battery charger & extra battery
• ❑ connection cable
▼ ❑ Nikon SLR digital camera - D90
• ❑ battery charger & extra battery
• ❑ connection cable
• ❑ card reader
• ❑ zoom lens
• ❑ 55 mm lens
• ❑ extension tube
• ❑ 8 extra camera memory cards (8 GB each)
• ❑ 3 tripods - one heavy, one light, one mini (some NEW)
My luggage seems smaller this year. I think I’m taking less science gear with me because I shipped so much earlier! I can hardly wait to leave.
