I'm moonscrolling

Updated to livestream during fossil labs! Discussing Artemis II with my students is a TREAT! Best moment was the realization that we could see how they’re getting closer by the size of the earth.

#ArtemisII

What’s lab work without Artemis II??

Oregon State University Oregon State University delivers exceptional, accessible education and problem-solving innovation as Oregon's largest and statewide public research university.

Today I learned that my story is featured on OSU’s home page! Scroll to the bottom and there I am. Seriously, this is SUCH a cool opportunity to highlight #disability advocacy in STEM, and particularly for me, the geosciences.

oregonstate.edu

On a black background of space, a blue and white Earth just before 'setting' behind the Moon, in foreground, seen from Artemis II, 6 April 2026

Totality seen from lunar orbit, the Moon eclipses the Sun, revealing a view few humans have ever witnessed, a dark disc surrounded by a pale solar corona.

✅ #Artemis II update: 'Earthset', 6 April 2026, and 'totality', 7 April, seen from lunar orbit, the Moon eclipses the Sun, a view few humans have ever witnessed (pics: NASA)

🔗 www.nasa.gov/gallery/jour...

@exploration.esa.int l

Another incredible shot from Artemis II. This is a solar eclipse from the moon.

Spectacular high-resolution image of our home planet viewed through the Orion Crew Module window by the Artemis II astronauts as they continue their journey to the Moon on Flight Day 2, 3 April 2026 (pic: NASA)

A full disc image of Earth, as seen from the Orion Crew Module. The planet is a pale blue, swirling with white clouds and glowing slightly lighter blue in place from reflected light. At lower left, a large brown landmass is Africa, with Spain and Portugal with twinkling lights where the planet curves. At top right, auroras glow in a thin green glow, just barely separated from the planet's surface. Earth is set against the black of space (pic: NASA/R.Wiseman)

😮 Awesome views from Day 2 of #Artemis II this morning.

@exploration.esa.int @esaearth.esa.int

I love science so much. WHAT AN EXCITING TIME!!!!

Whole office is glued to my monitor for Artemis II launch!

#NoKings in Corvallis, OR- photo doesn’t do it justice, stretching for several blocks and into Central Park!

Spring break in Oregon means hiking Smith Rock in the high desert and then skiing Mt. Bachelor the next day. So much love for these opportunities to explore the Oregon country (shoutout OPRD & USFS!!)

(Not pictured, the 11 hour lab day I pulled to go adventure for two days lol)

Not 0.5s but worth the post!

1. Tillamook Creamery
2. Cannon Beach (on a very soggy day)
3. Behind South Falls
4. Reading at Bald Hill!

1. Double Falls, Silver Falls State Park
2. Yaquina Head
3. Devil’s Punchbowl
4. Rocky Creek

After a term of forgetting my hobbies, my cousin came to visit me for spring break and it was SO. MUCH. FUN!! Enjoy our 0.5 tour of Oregon!

1. Rocky Creek, Oregon Coast
2. Lower North Falls, Silver Falls State Park
3. Multnomah Falls
4. Mt. Hood

Go Rachel!!

Spring is here in Oregon, and I’m attempting a garden for the first time since I was a kid!

Always!

perhaps the best thing to ever happen to me while TA-ing

Oh this is so fun!! Love seeing what everyone is up to now.

Happy International Women and Girls in Science Day- I wouldn’t where I am without the amazing women scientists who’ve paved the way and continued to show me exactly what being a scientist looks like!

Now, some highlights of why I love being a #womeninscience!

It’s my birthday and my family hit it OUT of the park with this one! Holds true now and forever (and very apt when I’m in the depths of two proposals ;)

A musician playing a guitar in sugarcane that is somehow in the middle of a football field

First shot: sugarcane

The backbone of Puerto Rico's agricultural economy since colonial times

Still used to make rum of course!

One of my favorite parts of grad school has been living in a bikeable community for the first time. A sunny day in the PNW means taking a ride to soak up that vitamin D!

It was a core lab day today! Can you guess how many meters of sediment core I moved today? (Spoiler: enough to count as my workout of the day!)

Last sunrise in the Lone Star State! Love being home, but ready (ish?) to get back in the groove.

Soaking in the couple days of sun I get while home in Texas before heading back to Oregon!

Happy new year! May this year be kind and everything you want it to be!

Very exciting day to wake up and see my name as a PUBLISHED author for the first time! As someone who is #DisabledinSTEM it was such an honor to be a part of this collaborative work on #selfdetermination!

Also shoutout Sofia and Isabel for their AWESOME work!! It’s always fun finding your friends and hearing about their research- especially when it’s not in your field!

#AGU2025

That’s a wrap on #AGU2025 for me- about a million steps later and mentioning methane seeps and marine sediment cores every other sentence.