The golden age of exploration never ended. There are still parts of the world we’ve never visited, depths we haven’t ventured to, heights we haven’t obtained, and people striving to unlock the secrets of Earth and space. Exploration is alive and well, and if you’ve ever wanted a front-row seat then welcome aboard, you’ve found the right place!
Here are answers to some questions you might have:
What is this thing?
Explore and Observe is simply an email message from me to you covering the latest and greatest in modern-day exploration and the science that comes from it. It’s easy to forget that we’re still living in a golden age of exploration, and this project is my attempt to share exciting stories from the field that are often missed in the chaos of the 24hr news cycle.
The newsletter is sent out every other week, typically on Sunday morning. It contains curated links relating to a wide array of current events in exploration ranging from deep sea to deep space, and sometimes delving into other areas like field anthropology and paleontology. I’m not picky. Anything that involves people in the field gaining knowledge and sharing stories is fair game.
If you’re still not sure, you can check out past issues in the archives.
Who are you anyway? And why are you doing this?
My name is Evan Hilgemann, you can learn more about me on my personal website. I am an engineer, educator, and occasional public speaker and writer based in the Los Angeles area.
I grew up in the midwest and always had an eye on the space program as a kid. I never could put my finger on why though.
After a number of years in college, I interned at NASA/JPL in southern California and was struck by something new. The motivation at JPL is not to make money or sell a product, but to explore the solar system and bring back new knowledge. I had never realized exploration could be a job, and it turns out that’s what was motivating my career path all along.
I’m at JPL full time now. Through interactions with people of all sorts during public talks and a side job at Griffith Observatory, I’ve come to realize that exploration isn’t just a topic for scientists and engineers. It’s for you too.
So this newsletter is simply a small gift. It contains articles about modern-day exploration that I find motivating and fascinating, and I think you will too.
Photo Credit: Watchonista / Liam O’Donnell
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This website was produced as a private venture and not in the author’s capacity as an employee of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory/California Institute of Technology or of Griffith Observatory. Any views and opinions expressed herein or on exploreandobserve.com are his own and not those of his employers.