New astronaut reaching for the stars

Next stop Mars?

Jessica Meir’s future could be that far out. She’s about to begin astronaut training at NASA, which is considering manned missions to the red planet and to asteroids. At the very least, there’s a good chance Meir will explore the dark ether of space.

“It’s surreal,” said Meir, who earned a doctorate in physiology at the University of California’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography four years ago. “I’ve wanted to be an astronaut since I was in first grade.”

The odds seemed against her: She was one of 6,000 applicants for NASA’s eight training spots. But like fellow Scripps graduate Megan McArthur, who has flown on a space shuttle, Meir has the sort of diverse research background that the agency prizes.

Meir looks ahead

Meir, 35, has lived in a sea-floor habitat as an aquanaut. She has made five trips to the Antarctic, where she mostly did research dives beneath the ice to study the physiology of emperor penguins. She also has trained geese to fly in a wind tunnel so she can study how they use oxygen, work that could help space travelers.

Meir is currently a faculty member at Harvard University, a job she’ll leave behind for the two-year NASA training program.

U-T San Diego recently asked Meir to describe key moments from her career and reflect on what may lie ahead. The following are excerpts of her comments.

Antarctic dives

“On the surface, it is so pristine and austere and dramatic, and almost devoid of any color other than white. But then when you plunge into the water, you can see for hundreds of feet. (There’s) such astonishing visibility that it plays tricks with your mind, and you feel as if you are looking through air, not water, and finally you realize where all the color is.

“The sunlight comes through the holes and cracks in the ice, shooting toward the sea floor, which is teeming with life. Bright red sea stars, yellow sea spiders, big piles of multicolored ribbon worms, giant white sponges, not to mention the occasional Weddell seal cruising by. The view is simply astounding.”

NASA is considering a manned mission to an asteroid. Artist's rendering by Lockheed Martin

Emperor penguins

“During my Ph.D. (process), I studied diving physiology, trying to understand how elite divers, like emperor penguins and elephant seals, are able to dive so deep and for so long. These animals are air-breathing, breath-hold divers just like us. Yet an emperor penguin can dive for almost 30 minutes, and an elephant seal can dive for two hours on a single breath.

“We learned that emperor penguins drop their heart rates dramatically during diving, at times as low as six beats per minute sustained over a five-minute period. And remember, these birds are actively swimming around, exercising and pursuing and catching fish while they are underwater.

“We also learned that both emperor penguins and elephant seals are extremely efficient in how they manage their oxygen stores and that they can tolerate much lower levels of oxygen than can humans or other terrestrial animals.

“I really enjoyed the combination of the mental and physical challenge of working in the Antarctic. First, you have to catch the penguins and bring them to camp so we can later outfit them with recorders. After encircling them in one spot, you basically slide in behind them on your knees and give them a big bear hug. They’re incredibly strong though, so the key is to hold tight. And of course you’re very happy to have your big, red, padded parka to protect your body from their stiff, pummelling wings.”


