Technology drives exploration at NASA's Ames Research Center

NASA/Tiffany Blake

Seaman Jr. here! I visited NASA in Silicon Valley, California! Silicon Valley is known for cool technology that’s changing the world and NASA’s Ames Research Center, over its 80-year history, has inspired the area to be what it is today! Some of the research I got to see while here includes biology experiments that will be sent to the space station to study tiny organisms that help us learn more about how to live and stay healthy in space, and also space robots that will float around the space station to help astronauts do experiments.

For over 80 years, NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley has inspired cool technology that is changing the world! During my visit, I learned first-hand about this fascinating robot, Astrobee, and how it will help scientists and engineers on the International Space Station develop and test technologies that will improve living and researching in space. Fun fact: Astrobee can buzz around and do experiments in the space station without astronaut supervision!

NASA/Tiffany Blake

It’s amazing what tiny flies can tell us about human biology in space! Here I am with a microscope that belongs to the Fruit Fly Lab team at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley. I hung out with scientists as they observed flies that were sent to the International Space Station to show us how bugs change in zero gravity – and what that could mean for human health!

Traveling in the spirit of a Newfoundland dog that became one of the most famous members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Seaman Jr. will enjoy the sights of our home planet from the International Space Station,including amazing views of our national trails, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the National Trails Actand NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration 60th anniversary.

The National Park Service and Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail invite you to learn more about Seaman, Jr.’s space journey! Follow his blog (go.nps.gov/NewfieNews) for special updates to see all of the missions in space and flashbacks to his training adventures at NASA centers and on the national trails.