Hey everybody, just checking in from Palestine with a quick update from the past few days. The integration of your favorite cosmic ray detecting instrument is going quite smoothly. The shell passed the pressure-leak test with flying colors. The detectors are working with the DC-DC converter that will be used during the flight. Calibration of the pulse height amplitude is complete for one board. We’ve been running the instrument every night to collect more data for our analysis. This data has been used to better understand the detectors in the instrument, as well as to verify that the internal measurements are consistent with direct measurements, amongst other things.

Sunset over the launch pad

Outside of the hanger, we’ve been keeping our sanity intact by exploring Palestine’s vast nightlife. This past

Saturday, a local bar hosted an outdoor screening of a nature

A beacon of hope

documentary about the wildlife of Texas. Pierre-Simon was particularly interested in learning about ocelots, while I myself couldn’t get enough of the bats. We are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Paul, who will complete our team upon his arrival tonight.

Stayed tuned for more updates on AESOP-Lite, as well as my amateur attempts at bat-watching.

–Scott Martin