| Summary: | A front row seat on top (and bottom) of the world Imagine flying across some of the most beautiful and majestic ice structures in the world every day and doing it for a living. UND alumna and NASA project manager Christy Hansen gets to do just that for her job as a project manager of an airborne geophysical project called “Operation IceBridge.” IceBridge is a six-year NASA mission, the largest airborne survey of Earth’s polar ice ever flown, in which data is collected to help scientists “bridge the gap” when it comes to polar observations after the death of the old polar-orbiting satellite “IceSat 1” and before the new “IceSat 2” launches in 2016. Based at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., Hansen’s field work is mainly in Greenland and Antarctica. Twice a year, the Operation IceBridge team travels to Earth’s Polar Regions collecting data on the changing ice sheets, glaciers and sea ice. While on location, Hansen’s team, which consists of polar scientists, instrument engineers, educational/outreach teams, logistics teams, data specialists, and aircraft personnel examine the most extreme reaches of the plant to record how they are changing. “If somebody would have told me that 2012 would bring with it a deployment to Greenland, Chile, and possibly Antarctica, I never would have believed them,” Hansen said. On Wednesday, Oct. 17, Hansen will get a chance to share her passion with students around the world via a special “Google + Hangout” interactive online presentation from her location near Antarctica. As part of “Earth Science Week (Oct. 14-20), NASA will use forums like Google+ Hangouts, Twitter chat, and blogs to introduce students of all ages to an incredible group of NASA Earth Explorers such as UND’s own Hansen. The week’s focus is on modern-day explorers who are contributing to our understanding of the planet. All are invited to take part in this adventure by asking questions during the live events or sending in questions beforehand. Hansen, 37, a native of suburban Philadelphia, attributes her ...
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