22 October 2013 <\/p>\n
Old volcanic rock to represent Victoria in space flight <\/p>\n
A small piece of pumice that originatedduring the Taup eruption almost 1,800 years ago has been selected by aVictoria University of Wellington professor to go on a European space flight. <\/p>\n
The pumice will accompany European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Dr Alexander Gerst on a six-month mission to visit theInternational Space Station, which is currently orbiting Earth. <\/p>\n
Dr Gerst is a formerVictoria University student, who studied under geophysicsprofessor Martha Savage at the Institute of Geophysics several years ago. <\/p>\n
He will serve as a flight engineer on the mission, which is scheduled to leave Earth at the end of May 2014 and return six months later in mid-November. <\/p>\n
He invitedProfessor Savage to contribute an item to take on the journey to the International Space Station and she selected a small, rectangular piece of pumice, measuring two and a half centimetres in width and weighing just over 14 grams. <\/p>\n
I chose it because its lightweight andsmall, and beautifully represents the University and the highly regarded earthsciences programme we run here, which Dr Gerst was part of for a time, says Professor Savage. <\/p>\n
She says being able to provide an item for the flight provides an exciting opportunity for Victoria University to be part of Dr Gersts first-everspace exploration. <\/p>\n
Its also a reminder of the kind of things talentedstudents like Dr Gerst go on to achieve with a Victoria Universityeducation. <\/p>\n
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Old volcanic rock to represent Victoria in space flight<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 22 October 2013 Old volcanic rock to represent Victoria in space flight A small piece of pumice that originatedduring the Taup eruption almost 1,800 years ago has been selected by aVictoria University of Wellington professor to go on a European space flight. The pumice will accompany European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Dr Alexander Gerst on a six-month mission to visit theInternational Space Station, which is currently orbiting Earth Continue reading