A woman with local ties blasted off Monday, headed for outer space and the Hubble Telescope.
UC San Diego grad Megan McArthur is one of seven astronauts onboard space shuttle Atlantis. This will be the first space flight for the 37-year-old, who was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 2000 while she was still a graduate student at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
"I think it's important to the human spirit," McArthur said in an interview for the NASA. "It's something we have always done: pushed beyond the boundaries of what we know, what we can do, what we can build.”
McArthur is said to have taken a rock from the Scripps Oceanographic Collections with her. The plan is for that rock to eventually be displayed in an exhibit about the deep ocean at Birch Aquarium at Scripps.
McArthur was born in Hawaii, grew up in Northern California and studied engineering at UCLA before coming to San Diego. As a graduate student in San Diego, McArthur spent a lot of time underwater studying ocean acoustics. She received her PhD in oceanography in 2002.
"She's a great person. She's very enthusiastic, and very committed to what she's doing," said Scripps Institution of Oceanography faculty member Bill Hodgkiss, who was McArthur’s thesis advisor.
The Atlantis crew is expected to make repairs and upgrades to the Hubble Telescope, preparing it for another five years or more of research. During the mission, McArthur will operate robotic arms used to stabilize and assist astronauts servicing the Hubble during spacewalks. Experts say it’s like doing brain surgery in orbit.
Local
"I'm extremely excited for Megan and proud to see her involved in such a significant mission," Scripps Oceanography Director Tony Haymet said.
While in San Diego, McArthur also volunteered as a diver at Birch Aquarium at Scripps and participated in educational dive shows from inside the aquarium's exhibit tank of the California kelp forest.
"To see one of our previous volunteers travel so high, both literally and figuratively, she's really come a long way," said Birch Aquarium Curator Bob Burnhans.
