The annual Arctic winterhike took us to the Pyhä-Luosto National Park in Lapland, an area that we started exploring back in 2009. This park is one of the southernmost Arctic tundra plains. Southernmost is relative, it is still located 100 kilometers North of the Arctic Circle. To reach it we fly from Amsterdam via Helsinki to Rovaniemi. There we take the skibus to the Luosto ski resort, on the foot of the ‘Tunturi’, the treeless hills that form the National Park. We spend the first night in a very comfortable and typical Lappish cabin, which is part of the the Luostotunturi Hotel.
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Countries
Blogposts about specific countries
Greenland 2012 blog – Ice
The title really describes the essence of Greenland: Ice. We know it was a big mistake to call Greenland green. Even Iceland is greener than Greenland. If you like green you go to Ireland. But if you like white, this is your destination. 82% percent of the vast landmass of Greenland is permanently covered by a thick icesheet. Glaciologists don’t refer to this ice as a glacier, but rather call it an icesheet. Officially this refers to an ice covered area larger than 50,000 km2. There are only two icesheets on the planet: one in Antarctica and one here in Greenland. Continue reading
Greenland 2012 blog – Icebergs in Ilulissat
As you have seen in my previous post, it takes a while to get here. But it is totally worth the long trip. Ilulissat is the center of Greenland tourism for a reason. The third largest city in the country is located on the shores of the famous Icefjord, a Unesco World Heritage site. The iceberg-laden ocean is clearly visible from every corner of the small town. Continue reading
Greenland 2012 blog – Traveling to Greenland
In the summer of 2012 a colleague and I were asked to organize a tour to Greenland for a children’s TV show. They wanted to see global warming in the Arctic in action and visit the top locations where climate change is most visible. We had organized a similar tour in 2010, so no problem. We had six days for the entire trip, in which five episodes of the show had to be filmed, each with a different theme: language, icebergs, life of the Inuit, the inland icesheet, and sea level rise. So we proposed an itinerary to the world capital of Icebergs: Ilulissat, followed by a real Arctic expedition to the inland icesheet at Kangerlussuaq. I will divide this blog in similar parts. Continue reading
The Russians always launch
Extreme weather no objection for Soyuz
Circumstances at Baikonur were perfect when cosmonaut André Kuipers was launched into space last December: Temperatures around -30 degrees Centigrade and crystal clear skies. Why do the Russians continue using their remote base in the middle of Kazachstan’s endless steppe? Continue reading
SpaceTweeps meet in Cologne: #SpaceKoelsch
After the great success of the first European #SpaceTweetup, a bunch of European spacetweeps, led by DLR social media editor @HenningKrause, decided to start the new year with a new tweetup. More a networking event than a tweetup, it became the sequel to #SpaceKoelsch. Last September this was the pre-party to the ESA/DLR #Spacetweetup. Now the event in a typical Cologne beerhall became the main event itself. #SpaceKoelsch 2 was born! Continue reading
Baikonur blog – launch day!
More launch pads, SoyuzTweetup and a Launch!
Baikonur, 21 December 2011 – Finally. Today is the day we have been living up to for a long time. The launch of Soyuz TMA-03M, with ‘the’ Dutch astronaut André Kuipers on board. It is still dark outside when I wake up around 8 o’clock. Today our program consists of two major visits. First we will go to the furthest launch location at the cosmodrome: the Proton launch facility. Then we have some time in the city before going to launch pad 1 for the launch in the early evening.
Baikonur blog – space history and more space history
Launch Pads, Shuttles and Public Outreach
Baikonur, 20 December 2011 – After breakfast at our hotel we are greeted again by our guide Elena and driver Said. The uncomfortable van is heated up and waiting for us, this time with the Tsenki security lady already inside. When we leave she hands us two “cosmodrome rules” forms and asks us to sign a list with our names on it. No idea why this was not needed yesterday, but we happily comply. We are waved past the city exit checkpoint, and easily pass the cosmodrome entrance checkpoint. Then again a long empty road to the cosmodrome facilities. This time we go straight on, towards the far end of this middle section at site 250. This launch pad is no longer active, but of great historical importance, as it was built for the Russian space shuttle Buran in the 1980’s.
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Baikonur blog – A Soviet city
A week in one day
Baikonur, 19 December 2011 – At the moment I write this I have spent 28 hours in Baikonur. That is 26 more than when I wrote my blog yesterday. But it feels like more, way more. A day with a full schedule and weird coincidences, which can turn an ordinary trip into a great adventure! It definitely turned these 26 hours into an experience that feels like a week. It started with the alarm clock at 7:30 this morning… Continue reading
Baikonur blog – getting to Baikonur
A late night arrival in Baikonur
Baikonur, 18 December 2011 – I write this blog on my first evening in Baikonur. Actually, I crossed the border checkpoint from Kazakhstan less than two hours before writing this. So far I have experienced Baikonur city as dark, remote and extremely cold. When our local guide Elena Sadykova picked us up at the Tyuratam railway station, she herself said that at -25°C even the locals consider it very cold. Continue reading