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Pacifica Sommers

@sommerspacifica

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Biologist. Explorer. Storyteller.
Views are my own.

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Two years ago I heard about the possibility of this trip. One year ago I committed and started planning for it. Paragliding in East Greenland, including during a solar eclipse, was an unforgettable experience. Thank you @nunatakadventures for making it happen. Even more amazing was that with the exception of one long late-night hike down, this trip was entirely Type I Fun.

I'll share more later but here are a sampling of some of my favorite photos from my phone camera across the 10 days.

What a treat to share it with @nicco_guide, @barrett_ferguson, @cindail85, @norrisniman, @wildmikereid, and Darko, Jana, and Sara. by @sommerspacifica

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2 months ago

by @sommerspacifica

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5 months ago

Follow up to my last post but this time an archery hunt instead of rifle season.

Previous post caption: Each year @the_real_nickluivn and I make a peeps diorama of some outdoor adventures we do together. This year the peeps went big game hunting. For chocolate bunnies. Colorado hunters, remember primary draw closes this Tuesday! 😉 by @sommerspacifica

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6 months ago

Each year @the_real_nickluivn and I make a peeps diorama of some outdoor adventures we do together. This year the peeps went big game hunting. For chocolate bunnies. Colorado hunters, remember primary draw closes this Tuesday! 😉 by @sommerspacifica

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6 months ago

I hope Crew-11's early departure from #ISS for medical reasons this weekend goes safely. I know they have lots of medical diagnostic equipment up there and are always developing new ways to enable diagnostics remotely, which can also provide benefits to rural and remote places here on Earth.

During the Mars simulation mission I participated in last month at @themarssociety 's #mdrs as a research subject, the researchers from #cuboulder filled our schedules throughout the week by giving us the chance to participate in additional studies. One of those studies, run by Vicky Hurd, focused on how well we could quickly learn to acquire diagnostic quality apical four chamber views of our own hearts using ultrasound, with and without telemedicine guidance.

We received a really thorough and engaging training from our Crew Medic, @drchintandave, who uses cardiac ultrasound regularly as an ICU physician. I learned how much you can tell about all sorts of organs in the body using this technology, and man is it cool to look inside your own body and watch your own heart beat! by @sommerspacifica

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9 months ago

Have you ever had to navigate a decision with you and a teammate bringing conflicting information to the situation? What factors played into the decision making, especially in the context of your relationship with that person? This was the main focus of the research being conducted in the Mars mission simulation I participated in last week.

The research team had us as crew physically navigate in pairs in daily extravehicular activities (EVAs) outside our simulated Mars habitat to a target they provided, but with conflicting information sources provided to each partner. We experienced physical cues of being actually on Mars like the red Utah landscape, crackly radio communication, and a fan blowing cold air down our necks (or in our ears) inside the bulky simulated EVA suits. We had time pressure with limited Personal Life Support System (PLSS) minutes assigned to each mission.

It took us about an hour to prep for each EVA, donning the multiple devices for tracking audio, visual, location, and physiological responses such as glasses to record our eye movements and sensors to measure frontal lobe activity in our brains. I'm looking forward to seeing what all that data tells the researchers as they analyze it and start presenting and publishing results in the months and years to come!

To fill our schedules outside the daily EVA missions to simulate the fatigue and pressure of a real Mars mission, we also participated in a few other studies that I will share more about in the coming days by @sommerspacifica

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10 months ago

Just returned from being a research subject in a week-long analog Mars mission. Huge thanks to the research team from @cuboulder that selected me to participate and organized a great mission, and to the @themarssociety for the operational support at MDRS. More to come on the studies our crew participated in and my experience and lessons learned!

@erin_richardson @drchintandave @kaleyvb @ggautel by @sommerspacifica

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10 months ago

During my visit to Interlaken, the weather was great.... for visiting cafes, waterfalls, and castles. Not so much for paragliding. Never did see the mountains allegedly hiding behind those clouds. I'm grateful I got to sneak in a few short flights during a break in the rain! And even more grateful to have spent time with Claudia and Happy 😍🥰 What wonderful people by @sommerspacifica

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a year ago

The second part of my recent flying adventure trying to keep up with the big girls in the sky (I was the newest pilot in the group) was in Slovenia, featuring the beautiful blue of the Soca River. Thanks @skysistersparagliding ! by @sommerspacifica

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a year ago

Landing my glider in random fields in Italy. Also finding fun hats, old citadels, fireworks concerts, and affogato by @sommerspacifica

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a year ago

Girls On Rock expedition 2025 got underway yesterday! Thanks to everyone who contributed to make this possible for these young women by @sommerspacifica

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a year ago

Pretty rad remote office in the @white.whale.camper for last week leading up to the Firecracker 50 miler, bookended by big rides with @i_go_where_the_trees_go, @btheandventure, @littletreeeeeeeee, @the_real_nickluivn and with shorter after-work mountain bike rides too. Plus rainbows, trolls, dogs, baby moose, a bear walking right behind me during a work video call, fancy cocktails, beer yoga, and plenty of rain by @sommerspacifica

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a year ago