One of the most challenging aspects of traveling alone is trying to make friends on the road. But, despite the conception that solo travel means you have to be alone all the time, it can actually be one of the best times to socialize and meet new people. Read on to learn our tips for it!

Stay in hostels

If you’re worried about feeling lonely while traveling solo, one of the best ways to solve this problem is to stay in hostels. Their friendly and open-minded atmosphere makes it easy to strike up conversations. No matter where you are, you’ll always have at least one thing in common with your fellow hostel-mates: a love of travel!

Take part in group tours and hiking

When you’re traveling alone, it’s all too easy to stick to your own routine. If you’re eager to break out of it, try signing up for a group tour or activity. Try using a service like Busabout, where you can book tours tailored to your interests, location, and time-frame. Alternatively, book an Airbnb Experience to learn a local’s trade or taste regional wines, or join a foodie-friendly activity through Eatwith.

Use an app

With the development of technology in the travel space, solo travel is a good opportunity to use tech to your advantage. And, if you’re someone who has trouble introducing yourself to strangers in person, travel apps can be a great way to facilitate friendships on the road. With apps like Backpack and Tourlina, it’s never been easier to find and make friends with fellow travelers online. All you have to do is pack your bags and swipe right!

Virginia, 70, is a massage therapist (按摩治疗师) from Canada who recently decided to transform a 2016 Ford Transit into her new home and take to 24/7 van (厢式货车) life! After a client introduced her to a television series about tiny house living, Virginia thought, “I could do that!” And that’s exactly what she did! After 38 years as a massage therapist, Virginia watched this show and thought about retirement for the very first time.

She enlisted the help of her daughter and friends to put all the bits and pieces of the van together, but Virginia made sure to have a hand in almost every part of the process. You can see her personality woven throughout the van in features like the ceiling, wood quilted doors, and even the tiny space reserved for her massage table!

One of Virginia’s favorite parts of van life is the accepting community, regardless of how old you are or where you come from. “There are young people and older people and they all seem to accept one another because age isn’t the priority — it’s that we’re in a van life and we have that similarity, so it’s quite lovely,” Virginia said. “I love it.”

This was a future Virginia never expected, but she wouldn’t trade any of it! “You don’t know what you’re going to be doing in four or five days,” Virginia explained. “Someone can say to you, ‘ Well, I’m going to Joshua Tree.’ And you go, ‘Joshua Tree! I never go to Joshua Tree.’ And that can be what you do next! I love that part of it.”

She hopes to encourage others not to let factors like age or “what if” questions keep them from running toward their goals. “Start! Don’t dream,” she said. “One foot in front of the other.”

Can we be Virginia when we grow up? What an incredible reminder that it’s never too late to pursue our dreams!

A small new NASA instrument may be able to help predict volcanic eruptions and monitor air quality.

Nicknamed NACHOS, which is short for the Nanosat Atmospheric Chemistry Hyperspectral Observation System, was launched from Virginia on Feb.19 aboard a NG resupply mission to the International Space Station. NACHOS will soon then be placed aboard a tiny CubeSat satellite positioned about 480 km above Earth, where NASA hopes it will be able to detect traces of gases like SO₂ and NO₂ in the atmosphere.

“A volcano just waking up may emit SO₂ before there is any detectable seismic (地震的) activity,” Los Alamos National Laboratory remote sensing researcher Steve Love explained in a news release. “That gives us a chance to identify a potentially erupting volcano before it actually blows.”

If successful, NACHOS will be the smallest and highest-resolution instrument of its kind in orbit. NASA says that could lead to new space-based systems that are able to monitor air quality for harmful gases in neighborhoods and individual power plants. “When we recognize that these gases are present and can localize their sources, we have the opportunity to take action and minimize negative health outcomes, ” said Love, who is a task lead on the NACHOS project.

In the past, NASA has created satellites to observe these kinds of gases. But Love said those traditionally required high-resolution images and sensitive instruments that were costly to produce and operate. Smaller devices, like NACHOS, could enable a wider use of the technology at a much lower cost. If it proves successful, the technology could also be used in Earth-based systems, NASA says. Love and his team expect NACHOS to orbit our planet for about a year. “That will give us enough time to test our instrument design and gather enough test data to ensure our technology concept is reasonable,” Love said. “More power and less weight set NACHOS apart and make it an excellent candidate for future atmospheric trace gas missions.”

On March 9, 2022, two manatees (海牛) arrived at the Aquarium’s off-site Animal Care Facility from SeaWorld Orlando for ongoing care until they are healthy enough for release back into the wild.

The orphaned young manatees, an approximately 160-pound male and 175-pound female, were rescued in December and have received rehabilitative (康复的) care at SeaWorld Orlando since then. The female was only 124 pounds when she was found suffering from cold stress in Blue Springs, Florida. The male was found near a Fort St. John, Florida power plant with a deceased female, most likely his mother, and was only 126 pounds. The two are now stable and have moved to the next phase of their recovery.

In 2021, 1,101 manatees died, primarily from starvation due to loss of seagrass in the Indian River Lagoon, a result of pollution and ongoing water quality issues. As of March 2022, over 400 manatees have already died. Other challenges manatees face include cold stress and boat strikes.

The MRP is a cooperative group of communities dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation, release, and monitoring of manatees. As part of this partnership, Georgia Aquarium designated additional rehabilitation areas at its Animal Care Facility, which offers new life support systems, access to medical care and monitoring, and large enough space. This facility is an additional recovery care space for manatees until they are healthy enough for release, and   for other animals in need of rehabilitation or quarantine (隔离). The manatees being cared for by Georgia Aquarium will not be on display to the public.

Vice president of zoological operations at Georgia Aquarium, Eric Gaglione, explained the Aquarium’s involvement with manatees, “Georgia Aquarium has been involved in manatee research and health assessments for several years, but this is the first time we have manatees under our care. We are honored to join our colleagues in the Manatee Rescue and Rehabilitation Partnership and give these two orphaned manatees a fighting chance. Manatees are in crisis, and it is our role as a responsible aquarium (水族馆) to do everything we can to change their fate in the wild.”

Once the manatees have reached sufficient size and become healthy enough to survive on their own, they will be returned to the care facility at SenWorld Orlando before being released back into the wild.