Helicopter flight over Brooks mountains!

Today was a day off at the rocket range, and so we decided to take some time off too, and do other things than just work (after all, it is Presidents day!).. So what is there to do in Toolik, apart from skiing and enjoying the sauna?

Well, you can always take a ride on the snow scooters, or in the helicopter!!! That is exactly what we did today! Two other scientists were taken out by helicopter together with a portable fieldstation (?!!) to do measurements in nowhere for a couple of days, and the pilot got back and asked if we wanted to go for a ride, since he had to go and fill up the tank anyway! Of course we didn't say no to that!!

Me, in front of the Bell 206 helicopter

The view was magnificent, we went up to the Brooks range and to a gas station up there. The pilot, Scott, was really great, and showed us how a helicopter works... and even let both of us fly for a while!!! That is, he was still in charge, we got to do the steering for a bit. It was quite hard as the helicopter was very sensitive and would tilt immediately as you moved the joystick. It's a bit like playing videogames though!

The Brooks mountains

The pilots! I had things under control until Tobbe insisted on trying a triple Mollberger..

Happily exhausted we came back to the camp, rested a while and then decided it was time to go for a ride on the snow scooters! Joe came with us, and took us to the other side of the lake, where we walked up a small hill, for a better view. Since it's a nature reserve out here, we're only allowed to drive on the roads, and on the lake.. But the lake is big enough and you can really get some speed there, and fly over huge snow piles!

Joe and Tobbe, on our scooter trip

Right now Joe is cooking us dinner and has heated the sauna for afterwards... Life at Toolik really isn't too bad!

Well, just to show you we've done some work here as well, I will put out some random pictures here:

ALVIS and BLVIS, piled up and pointing towards Kaktovik, for observations there at a low elevation. This is why it's slightly difficult to move the boxes around during the 1 minute of warning we get about where to point them once the rocket is in the air. It takes a lot of practise!

We had some wonderful aurora the other night! The whole sky was lit up by it. Unfortunately they couldn't launch the rocket into this, of various other reasons. They did do tests of the instruments on the payload, and SMILE was behaving properly! We also had a test-run with all optical equipment, which went well in the end, although it started out quite chaotic before I had a good system. It was really good to practise, I'm glad that wasn't the real thing!

It's not so cold here anymore (about -10C) but we found out that the bunny boots are really comfortable and great at keeping our feet warm, so now we wear them constantly when going outside! And, for being that large, they're not that heavy either. It really is like the insulation is made of Helium instead of air...

Bunny boots with a Tobbe attached to them

We're now hoping for some more stars soon, so we can focus the cameras properly, and check with the stars where we're actually pointing. We've had some problems with cameras not working, as well as not being able to see anything through filters, but hopefully we're on our way to solve those problems... would be nice if we could solve it before the rocket gets launched, and not afterwards!

Exploring the surroundings

The last two days we've been busy setting up all the systems, installing software and pointing cameras... Here's a photo of the portable observatory, placed and pointed outside our building. Alvis and Blvis will be put next to it soon.

Dome set up for guppies (not there yet in the photo)

... so we decided it was time to take a break and try the skis we brought! Of course the weather didn't cooperate, when we went out the wind had picked up quite a bit... but that couldn't stop us! Apart from the wind it was a gorgeous day, and we had a really good time! We went across Toolik lake and up a small mountain on the other side.

View from just outside our building

Going on skis to the mountain on the other side of the lake

The wind made the snow blow around our feet in the same way as I'm used to from Svalbard.. There are no trees here either to stop the drifts. Going uphill and against the wind was hard work, but once we got up to the top it was really worth it! And going down was just brilliant! So was the sauna afterwards...

Our camp, seen from the top of the hill

Late in the evening we got some more company here, two other scientists arrived, and with them they brought Alvis!! Finally, now we have everything to set up the systems, I was particularly happy to find the inclinometer there, best thing there is! First thing tomorrow morning will be to put everything outside. I really hope the wind has died a bit until then, setting up Blvis outside in the snowstorm today wasn't very nice to do.

Today was Lemacher's 2nd day of their rocket window. We are going to track their TMA (trimethylaluminium) releases with the cameras from here, so we're on call when they drop their count to T-10 min. They will launch 4 rockets, with 15 minutes apart, and we're going to try to track the drifts of their TMA clouds. Since we still have a lot of work to do on pointing the systems and setting them up, I hope it will take at least one more day before any rockets are going into the air.. We need clear skies to be able to focus and point the cameras properly, and we haven't had that for a while. There should be some more activity tomorrow too, so we're hoping to see some more aurora from here then! For more news on the rocket campaign, have a look at www.spp.ee.kth.se/res/tools/gb/alvis/index.html.

First day at Toolik Lake

We made it to Toolik, so right now me and Tobbe have been dropped in the middle of nowhere in northern Alaska (actually the latitude is just 68deg, which is close to the latitude of Kiruna, but it feels more remote!). The drive up here took 10 hours, but was ok, since the landscape was beautiful (we crossed the Brooky Mountains, saw some moose and raindeer on the way) and our driver Joe played really good music! =)

Our truck, loaded with boxes, cameras, computers.. as well as two excited scientists!

We stopped at Yukon River for a short break, before we got up to the higher mountain passes. Up here no trees are growing, and there are mountains in the distance.. It reminds me a bit about Svalbard, but perhaps just because the wind really aches in my face when going out in -35 deg C! One nice change though is that we don't have to bring a rifle when we go out! Here are some more photos from our drive:

The Alaskan pipeline, that brings down oil from the north coast of Alaska. It's more than 1000 km long!

The view along the road was spectacular, even if it wasn't a very clear day. Too bad it got dark in the end, but the full moon was up, throwing a spooky light on the mountains.

So, today was the first day here, and we were busy trying to set up the guppy cameras, placing the portable observatory outside and trying to pull cables in through windows, without cooling down the whole building. Toolik field station is actually really big, in the summer time they sometimes host more than 120 people here! Right now it's just me and Tobbe though... and 4 station staff. So most buildings are closed. But it's a really nice place to be, it's warm and cosy, there's lots and lots of snacks and drinks available at any time and we have a nice lounge to ourselves, with video/DVD, computers, coffee machine etc.. We'll have no problems surviving here! The toilet is in a shed outside, but at least it is heated!

Toolik Lake Field Station

The staff told us before coming here that there's normally not that much snow here, so skiing could be hard, but we're glad we brought our skis, since this year it's been snowing lots, as you can see below! Tobbe was happy, as he immediately found a pile of snow to play in! We even had to ask Scott to remove some of the snow for us, so it wouldn't block the field of view of the cameras!

The king of the snow pile!

One of my concerns before coming here was that I wouldn't be able to do any sports, but I couldn't be more wrong! I didn't realise snow-basketball is a big sport in northern Alaska! Hm, but perhaps I'll stick to skiing instead... the surroundings are made for daytrips, so I'm longing to get the time to go out!

..and all we have to do is to dig out the ball!

We turned one of the bedrooms into our control room, and within seconds it was filled with bubble wrap, cables, computers and other stuff that just seemed to come from nowhere and wanted to join in in the general mess! After pulling cables through the window we had to seal it properly, as you can see on the photo.

Toolik groundbase control station

After dinner the guys had heated the sauna for us, so we finished the day by sitting in a hot sauna, and then running out in -35 to cool for a while (hm, wonder what the body really thinks about a quick temperature change of about 100 degC...)! My other big concern about Toolik was the restriction of only 1 shower per week, but we were allowed to have proper bucket showers in the sauna, so I think I'll make it into a habit, to use the sauna often.. it's so great to heat up properly too!

Our wood heated sauna, just next to a frozen Toolik Lake

Last day before Toolik

Wohoo, we finally had some equipment delivered! After spending two entire days on the phone, setting up weird arrangements and waking people up in Germany in the middle of the night we managed to close a deal so that Meghan and I could go out to the dodgy industrial areas in town at midnight on Friday, to meet someone who would perhaps be there to hand over the packages... We were expecting anything and regreted that we didn't bring our sunglasses to wear to better melt in with the Fairbanks mafia, but when we got there it was actually the two Norwegian boxes that were waiting for us! The packages turned out to be enormous, weighing 150 kg, so we considered hijacking a fork lift at GI, but we managed to get it out of the car and into the garage in the end anyway, hurrah!

Today was also Tobbes first day in Alaska, and I dragged him out to the campus early in the morning to help go through the equipment (and to get us some skis to bring to Toolik!). We soon got things set up, and you can see the mess we made on the photo below..

A very messy lab, but if you look closely you can find a jetlagged Tobbe somewhere in the chaos!

It turned out there is still a lot of work that needs to be done on one of the computers, but we will deal with it from Toolik. Right now it was a matter of getting everything we need before going, so we set up the guppy cameras in the portable observatory, to check that we had all cables etc.

Guppys attached on the steerable mount in the portable observatory

By the end of the day we had packed everything, and Joe came to pick it up for us. We are now ready to set off to Toolik, a 9 hour drive straight north, over the mountains, tomorrow morning. It's going to be so exciting to finally see what it's like up there! (For those concerned, I've got a lot of survival chocolate in my bag right now, so no need to worry!).

I've been bad at putting out photos lately, so here are a few more from my stay in Fairbanks.

This is the Geophysical Institute (GI) at the university in Fairbanks, and where I've been the last couple of days.

One great thing about being here is that I've been able to meet up with Anna Liljedahl, whom I hadn't seen for 11 years! She's just as happy and energetic as back then, and has really helped me out with all sorts of things here, like finding me warm clothes, gloves, driving me around, lending me all sorts of things, including skis... I didn't have to worry about a thing, thanks so much Anna! She lives with her husband Jeff in a little cottage in the forest, that is really cosy! They don't have running water and the toilet is in a shed with three walls... which makes it slightly cold at wintertime! I'm so impressed that they live like that, and that they seem to enjoy it so much!

Anna and Jeff's house




Anna cooking salmon for us in her kitchen, before heading out to the jam session

On Monday night we went to their house for dinner, and then out to Dave's cottage, for a jam session (Anna plays the drums, and get together with some people once a week to jam a bit). This was the true alaskan experience, we were out in a cottage heated by only an iron stove, playing jazz and blues (well, Anna and Dave were playing, I was mostly humming along). A weird, wonderful and totally unforgettable experience!

Anna and Dave, jamming in Dave's cabin

Fairbanks is really beautiful, I love how the sky turns pink in the morning and afternoon, and the snow glistening from the trees! Here's a photo from our forest walk last Saturday. Tomorrow during the drive up north I hope I'll get to see lots more of the Alaskan nature.. and the mountains!

Sekvenstest

Här kommer lite bilder från sekvenstesterna. Det är häftigt hur man kan knalla runt i hangaren och passera diverse raketdelar som ligger spridda lite här och var! Den här maniken på bilden kommer skjutas loss från raketen så man får separation mellan mätinstrumenten. Den är lindad med en trådbom, som håller en prob som mäter elektriska fältstyrkan. Bäst att inte röra...

Och dagen efter kan man hitta hela nyttolasten uppslängd på ett bord! Den här dagen skulle vi testa att alla instrument fungerar som de ska, så vi tog oss upp till TM byggnaden där allt data kommer ut. Givetvis var det problem, den här gången med en bandspelare som inte ville fungera, så jag passade på att lära de andra spela gabon under tiden... efter några timmar var det äntligen dags att se om SMILE verkligen klarat lödningen.

Bilden här under är från TM-byggnaden, med Jim Diehl som ser till att allt data kommer ut som det ska. Det gjorde det förstås inte, vilket bidrog till många rynkade pannor och trötta miner. Inte ens Smile ville uppföra sig, men det kan bero på att Z-axeln var helt saturerad för att nyttolasten låg ner.

Efter en låååång dag var vi äntligen klara med testerna, mer eller mindre nöjda. Från nu kommer jag mest hålla till på universitetet, för att fokusera på optiken för fullt istället.

Sledding video!

Last week Steve literally pulled out inner tubes from his sleeve and got me, Meghan, Erik and Dave to come with him sledding during a somewhat slow afternoon... which was a great break! We made a track from the mountain, and then the sledding was much faster. The last run me and Meghan decided to go both on the same tube (to not have to walk down, we were 5 people and 3 tubes), which the others thought would slow us down, but on the contrary! It was so much fun, we just kept spinning and spinning, and in the end we just flipped out of the tube! You can see it all here!

Super Bowl day = Day off!

Today I think I've experienced one of the most american things there is... Super Bowl! Meghan and I found out that almost 100 million people watch it every year, and so it was no surprise there was a wish for a day off today from all Poker Flat guys! :) Me and Dave spent the morning (after going to the gym) in down town Fairbanks, and in the evening, after watching some Super Bowl (I was cheering for the pink ones, but the yellow guys beat them, grr!), Erik and Steve came by with a board game, the Settlers! That was hilarious, and the best part was watching Steve and Dave communicating their cunning plans with sign language instead of words, to not give their plans away (they were on the same team)!

Downtown Fairbanks

Steve and Dave planning their next move!

Such a brilliant way to spend a day off, very relaxing and lots of fun!

On Saturday I dug out all the bunny boots they have at Poker Flat, and brought two pairs home for Tobbe to try out. Tobbe, this is what they look like:

Bunny boots (to the left!) and my normal shoes (to the right!) These should keep us warm in Toolik... if not, we can always use them to defend ourselves against a polar bear or two!