We largely stayed "parked" in place this week. We have 12 thrusters beneath the ship that use GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite data to keep us perfectly in one spot as we drill under the ocean. That's important because if the ship got pushed around by waves, the drill might get pulled out of the ocean floor or broken.
I've traveled about 4,100 miles by plane from Pittsburgh to Barcelona. I then drove another 60 miles by bus between Barcelona and Tarragona to board the ship. Since I've been on the ship, we've sailed 1,200 nautical miles from Tarragona, Spain, to Greece. A nautical mile is a little bit longer than a mile on land, which means we've covered around 1,300 regular miles.
I do a lot of walking and stair-climbing to get to different areas of the ship, but as a passenger aboard a working research vessel at sea, I'm confined to the ship itself. When it's time to move, the entire expedition team travels by ship. The ship is our mode of transportation, our living space, and our work "office", all in one!
