Our crew was excited as we left Flagstaff the morning of Sept. 12th. After a quick breakfast we headed to Black Point Lava Flow where NASA's Desert Rats program was testing the LER, or Lunar Electric Rover. Tri-ATHLETE was also there, drilling in the side of a crater and moving around the desert very slowly. It was a beautiful day for filming. Johnny Alonso had his lines down and we shot some stand-ups around the LER and Tri-ATHLETE. With some time left in the day, we headed North to the Grand Canyon's south rim. Our crew enjoyed the views while Tom shot some 3D footage for NASA. Johnny shot some promo's and bumps for 360. What a view!

 LER   Johnny wrapping a shot     

Day 2 consisted of rain, lots of it. We fit some filming in between and got what we needed. We interviewed astronaut Mike Gernhardt and geologist Brent Garry through the com-link while they sat in the LER. After lunch, which consisted of Pop Tarts and beef jerky, we did some Facebooking and Tweeting while inside the Media vault. With storm clouds looming, the LER pulled up to home base for the last time. Hard rain forced it in the tent as Mike and Brent emerged after a 2 week stint inside.  As Mike jumped off the LER, Johnny was the first to give him a high five and congratulations. (We'll post a clip on the NASA 360 facebook page.) After the LER was cleaned and photo's taken, Johnny and camerman Mike Bibbo went inside to interview astronaut Mike Gernhardt. Johnny sat on the right, with Mike on the left. It was fantastic, what a thrill. Mike said he would do it all over again and hopes to drive the LER on the Moon one day. A big thanks to Mike for the interview, and to the entire Desert Rats team for allowing us to join them for this historic event. Look for the show coming up in a month or so. Check out more photos of the shoot at 

www.webshots.com/user/nasa360

 Mike Gernhardt, Johnny Alonso  

Our crew just retuned from NASA Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. We had a successful shoot with the folks from the X-48 team. We arrived early in the morning and filmed the sunrise over the mountains. Tom set up the camera on the truck while X-48 team members walked below to the building. We joined the team for morning meeting and soon headed out to the field closely following the X-48 scale model in tow. The lake bed was vast and beautiful. The ground cracked slightly and had a fine powder on top. While the crew set up the model for flight, we filmed from every angle and took in the beauty surrounding us. With the wind kicking up we had a feeling the flight might be scrubbed. 30 minutes later we were heading back, flight cancelled. But we had a great day, filming around the center with Johnny was fun. No lack of background shots - planes were everywhere, thanks to Dryden for helping us out. Look for this show in a few months. Next stop, "Desert Rats" in Arizona. See you then.

On the lake bed - X-48 in the background

747 Shuttle carrier

Michael Bibbo and Kevin Krigsvold

It was the 51st Annual Capital Region Emmy Awards. NASA 360 won the Emmy for Editing in a Non-News televised program. Both our hosts attended the ceremony. Over 600 entries were submitted with 169 nominations and only 77 winners. The Ritz-Carlton hotel was buzzing when Oprah Winfrey made a surprise appearance to celebrate a lifetime achievement award with a former co-worker.  Johnny and Jen celebrated with the crew into the early morning hours. We had a blast. We love producing this program, stay tuned for more next month.

For more pictures go to:

http://community.webshots.com/user/NASA360

Oprah Winfrey                                                        Jennifer Pulley and Johnny Alonso

We also filmed how Shuttle tiles are created from a slurry mix to a solid brick, ready for installation. And finally, we witnessed first hand how NASA packs and creates parachutes for Earth and Space missions.

Head over to our 360 page and download the program. Let us know what you think, and enjoy the show!

NASA 360 crew