Planetary Science with Beach Sand and Reduced Gravity Adventures

Beach sand is a decent approximation for other-worldly regolith. I learned this while in grad school conducting an experiment with a team at Kennedy Space Center. Specially made regolith simulants are best, of course. But for simple mechanics, any granular material will do. We live on the Space Coast of Florida. Why not beach sand as a rough analog for the Moon, Mars, or asteroids? Properly sieved to remove seashells and debris and baked to remove excess moisture.

Collecting sand for science at Cape Canaveral - November 12, 2015

A simple instrument for coarse sieving, but it works - November 12, 2015

Larger, commercial-sized jets aren't the only option for flying reduced gravity parabolas. Smaller planes, such as this Piper Seminole at Florida Institute of Technology's School of Aviation in the Melbourne Airport, are also capable of maneuvering the dives and climbs of a parabolic trajectory. Of course, in a plane that small, passengers can't unbuckle their seat belts and do somersaults.

The hanger at FIT Aviation, Melbourne Airport - November 13, 2015

Getting ready for takeoff - November 13, 2015

It was a lovely morning at way-too-early-o'clock today for a quick reduced gravity flight. Although there was room for me in the tiny aircraft and the thrill lover in me was ready to go, my 7.5 month pregnant self decided to remain on terra firma. To become a spacefaring species, we will someday need to conduct studies on fetal development in variable gravity conditions. But not with my baby. If nothing else, I wanted to avoid a repeat of my first trimester's morning sickness.

Waving goodbye to my team before take-off. - November 13, 2015

Being the scientist-on-the-ground has its perks. I set up a beach chair beside the hanger and enjoyed the morning with 40-some planes in front of me: parked, taking off, taxiing, and landing.

Enjoying the warm Florida November morning - November 13, 2015

I won't go into the details about the experiment at this time. This is a very preliminary experiment to hopefully kick off a larger, higher fidelity experiment in the future. The data we collected is a good start and the planetary scientist in me is excited. Also, I got to play with beach sand.