Science Out of Africa

In this story a scientist describes his down-to-earth encounters with poisonous snakes, charging elephants and more ... as he tested a high-flying satellite from the wilds of Africa.

You're awake at 5 a.m. After dressing, you wait for the game guard to show up with his .50-calibre elephant rifle. He's going to escort you from the gate in the electrified fence -- the one that keeps the lions out at night -- to your waiting truck.

As you drive along, avoiding crater-like pot holes and reckless cab drivers, you spot a few zebras crossing the road ahead. To keep a safe distance you slow down -- but not for long. A few kilometres later, you're frantically accelerating to outrun a charging elephant.

Talk about rush hour traffic!

When you finally arrive at work (50 miles and a couple of detours later) you're careful to lock the truck. That way baboons can't get inside and tear things up.

There's not much time to lose now. The instruments have to be ready before 10:30 a.m. That's when the satellite passes overhead.

Despite a close encounter with a poisonous snake, you have everything assembled and ready to go half an hour early.

Then, one of the scientists from the airfield radios to say the reconnaissance planes are grounded -- bad weather strikes again. They've cancelled today's mission. Oh well, there's always tomorrow! Another day, another adventure for NASA researcher Mark Helmlinger.

Photos by Mark Helmlinger. Both of these photos were taken by Mark Helmlinger during his field research in Africa. The left image was taken while accelerating in reverse to escape the bull elephant's mock charge. Did you notice the snake in the image on the right? Mark didn't notice this poisonous snake either until a colleague pointed it out -- after Mark's head had passed within inches of the snake!

Mark, who works for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is one of hundreds of researchers involved in SAFARI 2000, an international campaign to study the impact of human activities on southern Africa's unusually self-contained environment. Using instruments on the ground, on airplanes, and on satellites, the scientists hope to understand how gases released into the atmosphere by industrial and biological sources affect phenomena ranging from regional crop productivity to global climate change.