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Last Post 3/7/2006 9:49 AM by  Laura Peticolas
Career
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3/7/2006 8:29 AM
    From, LeAnn S, Do you do any traveling involving your work?

    Kris Sigsbee



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    Posts:415
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    3/7/2006 8:53 AM

    Hi LeAnn,

    One of the things I like most about being a scientist is that I get to travel for my job. I have been to scientific meetings in a number of places in the U.S., including Santa Fe, New Mexico, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, California. I have also attended meetings around the world, in places like Japan, the United Kingdom, and France. I even went to a scientific conference held in Finnish Lapland, which is above the arctic circle. Not many people can say that they have been there!

    Sometimes space scientists also travel to work on their research. While I was in graduate school, I had the opportunity to travel to Fairbanks, Alaska, where the ground station that received data from the Fast Auroral Snapshot (FAST) satellite was located. We were able to watch the aurora, and examine the data recorded by the satellite in real-time, as the data were transmitted to the ground station and recorded for further analysis. It was quite interesting to see the big satellite dish and other equipment used to receive transmissions from the satellite. We had our own "mission control" where we could send commands to the satellite and talk to the NASA engineers over an intercom.

    I also know scientists who have launched sounding rockets to study the aurora borealis from Alaska and Canada, and scientists who participate in laboratory plasma experiments in California, even though they live in the Midwest. Travel can be a big part of a scientist's job!

    Kris


    Laura Peticolas



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    3/7/2006 9:49 AM

    Hi LeAnn,

    I agree 100% with Kris. Traveling is a huge benefit of our jobs as scientists. We do not get paid as well as dentists, doctors, lawyers, or computer programmers, but our jobs allow us to travel the world, interact with people from many different countries, and allow for a lot of flexibility in terms of when and how we work.

    Laura



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