Back in the field for Spaceward Bound....this time a little closer to home at the CSU Desert Studies Center in Zzyzx, California!

This year's Spaceward Bound: Mojave will again be split up into two, non-consecutive weeks: 21-25 March and 18-22 April. For this first week, we'll be exploring Mojave National Monument, Death Valley National Park, and the surrouding regions including Amboy Crater and the Kelso Dunes.

During these trips teachers and education majors from California Polytechnic State University, California State University, San Bernardino, and San Francisco State University will be learning how to evaluate microbes in the desert soil crusts; make batteries out of 'dry' lake bed muds, launch earth observing balloons, remotely control rovers, in addition to other geology and soil experiments.

There are several ways you can follow along with Spaceward Bound Mojave:

Follow our GPS tracks on Everytrail:
http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1007079

Search Twitter for the hashtag #SBM1 (meaning Spaceward Bound Mojave week 1)
http://search.twitter.com/search?q=SBM1

Look for photos on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/motorbikematt/sets/72157626188853553/

Stay tuned here for more!