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8.2.6 A Day in the Life of an Exploration Team Member
Conray Tseng, La Cañada High School

Finally, after all this time of preparing for the mission, STS-81 is finally here! However, it's not all fun and games. Sure, I get to miss some school because I need to make explorations from the latest images, but there's a lot of work, too. No one truly realizes all the sweat and grit that go into making a great exploration. First, I have to find a great image. I'm not only referring to an image that stands out with bright colors and interesting terrain, such as mountains and rivers. When I talk about "a great image," I also mean an image that has historical, geographical or cultural significance. What is the use of having a great picture of some location with no information to write about?

Once I finally have a good image, I research the image location. Usually, I try finding some interesting and unique feature about the image. I might find this feature by looking up the picture's geography, history, or any other aspect. Finding this information is not that simple, however. I must use a wide variety of resources to make sure that my information is correct. After all, the explorations I make are going on the Internet for the public to read and enjoy. So, for this reason, I use the Internet, encyclopedias, the people I work with, educational books, and magazines to research an image. More often than not, I strike gold by finding that elusive "interesting feature."

Once I have found an interesting feature, I analyze the image. I look at the image's geographical features, such as the terrain or the types of clouds. Sometimes I get really lucky by spotting a natural disaster, such as a fire! It's funny how something as mundane as land color can tell so much about an image. For example, reddish land is usually deserts, while green land is grass and forest. The unique ecosystem in that particular environment can be inferred from the type of land seen in the picture.

With all these data stored in my brain, I finally start writing the exploration. Using HTML format, I include the information I found from my research in a fun, but educational way. Then, when my masterpiece is complete, I wipe the sweat from my brow and relax for about ten minutes. After I settle into a state of tranquility-wouldn't you know-another stack of images has been downloaded! Oh well, that's life. So, off I go to start the entire process again and write another exploration.

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[[caption]] Figure 63: The STS-86 crew: Top row, from left, Chrétien, Titov, Parazynski, Foale; bottow row, from left, Bloomfield (KidSat Payload Officer), Wetherbee, Lawrence.
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