BIG PICTURE: The Hole Truth

Kevin Hand ’97, deputy chief scientist for solar system exploration at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, was captured by National Geographic photographer Mark Thiessen while attempting to recover an under-ice rover from Alaska’s Sukok Lake last November. Such a rover could someday be deployed on a mission to Europa. “The shot was done at the end of a long, freezing day, after a big storm had blown in,” says Hand. The payoff came in the form of a Northern Lights sighting on the way back to their base. “Cold but beautiful,” he says.