Across the Pacific - USA Trip 2019

This March I had the privilege to participate in the Caltech Space Challenge 2019 held in Pasadena. It is one of the toughest space challenges for graduates held every 2 years. I had applied for the 2017 challenge but could not get through the 1st round. I didn't accept defeat and applied for the 2019 challenge. I was more confident this time as the topic of the challenge was closely related to my PhD research. I cleared all the stages and got selected as one of the 32 successful participants from a pool of 567 applicants of 264 universities around the world. I was super excited when I got the news of my selection, however, I had to wait for more than 7 weeks to get my US tourist visa since it was put under administrative processing. I was not sure of making it till I finally got the visa only a day before my flight to Los Angeles! United States of America was my 20th country and 4th continent, first time to the Western Hemisphere.

After a tiring 21 hours journey across the Pacific ocean, I landed in Los Angeles. It was sunny and warm. We had a wonderful reception and opening ceremony where we were introduced to each other.

We were divided into 2 teams - Voyagers and Explorers, given a set of requirements & constraints to plan a mission to Saturn's moon Enceladus. I was part of  Team Voyager and worked as the communications engineer. Our team consisted of scientists, engineers and managers. It was an intense week of literally no sleep, arguing, storming and trade offs! I learnt so much about the icy worlds of our solar system during that week. We would sometimes take turtle breaks to play with the brooding Caltech turtles. We worked incredibly hard to till the last moment and emerged as the winning team. We proposed a very compelling mission complying to all the requirements and constraints of a NASA New Frontiers Program with detailed cost and risk management. Team Explorer did a great job presenting a breakthrough proposal with many innovative and out-of-the-box ideas.

The jury who judged our proposals were from NASA JPL, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Aerospace Corporation, etc. 

It was ofcourse a dream come true to go to Caltech, visit JPL & see the Mars2020 spacecraft, work with an outstanding team, be mentored by amazing space-cialists, visit JWST, see the SpaceX Falcon returned booster and extend my space network. Special thanks to the organizers for making it all happen. I hope to go back again for my PhD or future research to NASA JPL/Caltech. It is an awesome place with smart geniuses walking around.

Soon after the challenge was over, I flew  to Las Vegas where I met up with my old buddy Rachit. It was incredible to meet him after so long and realise he has not changed a bit! We immediately took-off where we left 6 years ago with our geeky gossips. We rented a car to see around the city and outskirts. First day we visited the Red Rock Canyon and drove through the scenic drive, stopped numerous times to click pictures and took a short hike. The area is marked by beautiful red sandstone and limestone rock formations.

Hoover Dam built over the Colorado River

The next day we drove towards Arizona to visit the Hoover Dam, an engineering marvel built during the Great Depression to provide employment and solve the water issues of the desert area. 

From there we continued towards the Grand Canyon West Rim, one of seven Natural Wonders of the World. The beauty of the place cannot be fathomed by words. It was the best part of my entire trip. The area is maintained by the indigenous Hualapai Indian tribe. To view this magnificent art of nature that I only read in my Geography text books was an overwhelming feeling. The views from the Skywalk, Eagle viewpoint and the Guano point were breathtaking. The area is not secured by any fence and open to the public. We saw some daring tourists trying to take pictures from dangerous spots. It was clear why we heard about the accidents of people falling down the Grand Canyon cliffs just days before our trip.

Evenings were dedicated to the city of Vegas. We walked along the Las Vegas Strip, ate dosas just like old Bangalore internship days and went up on the High Roller and Stratosphere Tower to have a bird's eye view of the vibrant city. Vegas is a unique city, one of its kind full of glitz and glamour. The city is strewn with beautiful replications of the most famous landmarks and cities of the world like Paris, Rome, Venice, New York, etc. Even though being a non-smoker and teetotaler, it was inevitable to not passively smoke pots/weeds on the Vegas streets. True to the Vegas spirit, we visited some casinos and gambled. We betted for $2 and won $0.15!! Yeayy we rock😎! We also competed against each other in mega Jenga which I won 🏆. 

Special credits to Rachit for planning the trip so perfectly and clicking my pictures that I can sustain on for next few months!

Golden Gate Bridge

My next destination was the beautiful city of San Francisco. I was welcomed by my dear ISU space friends and we visited the iconic Golden Gate Bridge overlooking the SF Bay. 

Stanford University campus

While in the city, I visited the Silicon Valley landmarks like Google, Facebook, Apple, NASA Ames Research Centre and Stanford University. I was mesmerized by the beautiful Stanford campus and the hisory of excellence that echoes from its walls and fountains. 

At NASA Ames Research Park

With Vinay and Sai

In SF too I met up with my old buddies Vinay and Sai Fai and spent the evenings having Gol Gappas and Indian dinner. We also visited the Exploratorium to learn more about science. 

Space Shuttle Endeavour

The last leg of my trip before returning to Japan was 1 day at Los Angeles. I decided to end it in my space-tacular manner. My local space friend Poonam offered to take me to California Science Center to see the Space Shuttle Endeavor that has made 25 trips to space. The shuttle is looks majestic and I was surprised by how gigantic it actually is!

Hollywood sign in the backdrop

We then went up to Mount Hollywood to visit the Griffith Observatory. This observatory has made countless contributions to Space science. The picturesque view of the Hollywood hills and the Los Angeles city is a visual treat.

The trip ended with the sumptous and spicy Mexican dinner and 26 hours later I was back to Japan losing one full day from my life :(.

My trip turned out to be amazing because of all the new friends I made and reconnecting with my old friends! It would not have been so much fun without them.

P.S: I missed the perfect Japan and European public transport system in the USA

P.P.S: I was impressed by how responsibly and respectfully people drive in the states that I visited.

P.P.P.S: Food portions in US are huge and I could never finish a meal at once, always had to pack in a go-to box!