#NASATweetup #exo #EPICWIN

Recipe for an epic day:

• Learn something new.
• Meet someone famous.
• Make a new friend.
• Go on an adventure.
• Visit Mars.

Now you might be thinking to yourself - yeah, that would be epic!! But totally impossible.

Except yesterday, I checked each and every one of those boxes.

I was invited to NASA Ames' tweetup, along with 90ish other guests. We spent the day touring the facilities (some usually off-limit to civilians), listening to lectures from astrobiologists, physicists, and even an astronaut! The day had a few hiccups, but the organizational team handled everything professionally.

I learned that there may yet be life on Mars, deep down under the surface. I met Karol "Bo" Bobko, an astronaut three times over. I met Joanna, an absolutely love girl originally from London. I tromped all over NASA's campus, in awe of the gargantuan buildings and content employees.

Oh, and I visited Mars! Or at least, I was surrounded by 360 views of the planet, thanks to the control tower simulator. So barren, and yet so beautiful.

I'm still processing everything that happened, but I came away with a modified idea for a scifi short story, and a wealth of information. Thank you to NASA for organizing this amazing tweetup!

edit: and NASA posted some photos here and here! I'm on the far left in both.