

“Examining this relationship in environments with conditions that are similar to those thought to have been present on early Earth is greatly enhancing our understanding of the role of prokaryotic photosynthesis in maintaining low levels of oxygen through the Proterozoic eon.” “An intricate balance between oxygenic and anoxygenic photosynthesis may have played an important role in oxygenation of the atmosphere on early Earth,” she explained.
#Air doc nasa free#
Ultimately, she aims at determining the role of photosynthesis in the rise of oxygen on early Earth before, during and after the Great Oxidation Event, or when free oxygen (O2) first appeared in Earth’s atmosphere. Microorganisms leave very poor fossil records, so understanding the deposition of biosignatures is important. Formed thousands of years ago after the last ice age, Little Salt Spring is a karst sinkhole – formed from the dissolution of limestone – that is rich in artifacts that help researchers date human occupation in Florida.īy collecting samples from this field site, Hamilton hopes to learn about and increase our understanding of ancient life on Earth. Hamilton joined her mentor, Jenn Macalady, with the NAI team at Pennsylvania State University, though she spends much of her time at Little Salt Spring, her main field site in North Port, Fla. “We aim to better understand the co- occurrence of physiological strategies employed by microorganisms in early Earth analogs, and how and why signatures from these populations end up in the rock record.” “Understanding the role of biology in planetary evolution remains a daunting challenge to astrobiologists,” she said. Now, as a NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow with the NASA Astrobiology Institute, she brings her focus back to the ground to help expand our knowledge of the emergence of life on Earth. Humble beginnings in a one-room grade school in rural Montana led Trinity Hamilton to look to the stars. She has been awarded two Air Medals, two Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals, two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals and various unit commendations.NAI’s NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow Trinity Hamilton was featured in a recent issue of the NPP Newsletter: John Herrington was the first native American to travel to space in 2002. She has served as the T-38 Safety and Training Officer and as the Assistant to the Chief Astronaut for Exploration where she led the astronaut corps in the development of the Orion spacecraft, Space Launch System, and Exploration Ground Systems for missions to the Moon.Ĭurrently, she is currently scheduled to create history and launch to the International Space Station as commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 mission aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft no earlier than October 3, 2022. She completed astronaut candidate training in July 2015. Her astronaut candidate training included intensive instruction in International Space Station systems, spacewalks, Russian language training, robotics, physiological training, T-38 flight training, and water and wilderness survival training, as per NASA reports.
