\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t always grow up knowing that I was going to be working for NASA. It was just the way my life unfolded, and I couldn\u2019t be more grateful and lucky to have this opportunity to be here. I think hiking is what really got me into my passion for wanting to have this outdoors kind of career. I\u2019ve always pursued environmental science and geology, and still at that point in time, I had no idea that I could apply that kind of science to outer space and work for NASA one day.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t until I had these amazing mentors in front of me who were showing me, \u2018Hey, what you\u2019re doing, you can apply this to, for instance, Mars.\u2019\u00a0And that\u2019s what sparked my inspiration \u2014 [realizing] Mars had these ancient lakes and [wondering], \u2018How can I use what I\u2019m doing here on Earth to understand what was going on with those ancient lakes on Mars?\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m kind of lucky. It\u2019s less of a job and more of this exciting career opportunity where I get to go out into the field and even hike for a good portion of [my workday]. For instance, I just got back from Iceland where I was for 10 days. On these field trips, I\u2019m in my comfort zone wearing a flannel and winter hat, backpacking with my rock hammer and shovel, hiking for a few hours to pick up samples, and then\u00a0come back\u00a0home to\u00a0analyze them in the lab. I couldn\u2019t have written a better story for me to continue doing\u00a0the\u00a0stuff that I enjoyed as a child and now to be doing it now for NASA is something I couldn\u2019t have even dreamed of.<\/p>\n
\u201cHiking and being in the field is the fun part. But then I get to come back to the lab and compare it to what Martian rovers are doing. They\u2019re our hikers, our pioneers, our explorers, our geologists who are collecting samples for us on other planets.\u00a0 It\u2019s remarkable, often mind-blowing,\u00a0to\u00a0be able to\u00a0work directly with our planetary geologists\u00a0as well as\u00a0the amazing\u00a0people on the\u00a0rover teams\u00a0from around the globe\u00a0to understand the surface of Mars and then eventually, compare it to what I see in the field\u00a0here\u00a0on Earth.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, I\u2019m still that young boy at heart with my backpack and flannel on and headed out into the field.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013\u00a0Dr. Michael Thrope, Sedimentary and Planetary Geologist, NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center<\/p>\n