That night the class were invited to the NASA golf club to speak with Dr. Pete Worden (who is the boss here at NASA Ames) and other NASA employees. The next day was the life science department assignment presentations. 

A full day on Monday was dedicated to a field trip to Napa valley for the life science department. The purpose was to take some soil samples from a volcanic region and test for micro organisms back at NASA. 

After approximately three hours sleep, it was time to sit the core lectures examination on Monday morning. As everything was brand new for me and a lot of the students are experts in the space sector, I felt the need to study that bit harder. 

 This was the week that our life science department would start commencing with field trips. The first was to the main research centre through the private gates on campus at NASA Ames. 

NASA Ames

The main event at NASA Ames was the fortieth anniversary of Apollo: the first landing on the moon! There were a lot of events organised throughout the week to celebrate this remarkable part of history. 

Arriving at NASA was even more fascinating than my expectations. From the abundance of NASA police officers fashioning the NASA police uniform, to the NASA shuttle bus which transports us around to necessary events. Obviously organisaton and codes of conduct are priority here, even down to the timing of the lectures. 

 This is the first log from Patrick Crowley who is currently participating in the Space Studies Program at the NASA International Space University in Ames, California. Patrick was accepted on to the programme after winning the “Young Lighter of the Year 2009”. His winning paper, “A Study of Photosynthesis under Artificial Lighting”, explained how photosynthesis occurs under artificial lighting and outlined the types of artificial lighting best employed for plant growth.