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Nathan Williams

@bluebirdadventures.bsky.social

390 followers 250 following 120 posts

PhD Planetary Scientist & Applied Science Systems Engineer @NASA/JPL-Caltech. He/Him/His Personal account; all views are my own. I think I'm quite ready for another adventure! Join me, won't you?

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Nathan Williams @bluebirdadventures.bsky.social · Feb 1

Welcome! Amidst the endless stream of social media doomscrolling, I invite you to please join me here for a deep breath, some measure of sanctuary, and a little adventure along the way!

Pictured: hobbit hole on the film set in New Zealand, caught in a sunshower. Down from the door where it began...

Actual hobbit hole on the film set in New Zealand, with sunlight shining through an afternoon rain shower. Photo by Nathan Williams, all rights reserved.

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Nathan Williams @bluebirdadventures.bsky.social · 13d

A good day for reflection

#photography #banff

A mountain reflects off the still water of Emerald Lake
Banff, Canada
© 2025 Nathan Williams

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Nathan Williams @bluebirdadventures.bsky.social · 18d

Here specifically if you really want the deets: maps.app.goo.gl/KP3btPS2ci1Q...

Nathan Williams @bluebirdadventures.bsky.social · 18d

Beautiful!

Nathan Williams @bluebirdadventures.bsky.social · 18d

My last photo from Norway, just so beautiful and serene! I greatly look forward to returning someday and exploring more.

#photography #norway 🇳🇴

Diffuse lighting over a lush farm in a glacially carved valley at 10pm whilst the sun slowly sets.
Stryn, Norway
© 2025 Nathan Williams

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Nathan Williams @bluebirdadventures.bsky.social · 20d

Take the road less traveled.

#photography #norway 🇳🇴

The start of the Gamle Strynefjellsvegen, a stunning old road running through tundra above Geiranger.
Stryn, Norway
© 2025 Nathan Williams

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Nathan Williams @bluebirdadventures.bsky.social · 27d

A moment of peace and serenity.

#photography #norway 🇳🇴

Serene blue lake in a lush glacial valley surrounded by mountains.
Boverdalen, Norway
© 2025 Nathan Williams

Nathan Williams @bluebirdadventures.bsky.social · Sep 6

“The world is not in your books and maps. It's out there.”

#norway 🇳🇴 #landscape 🏔️ #photography 📷

Snow-capped mountains rise up above the living tundra, as ominous clouds linger overhead.
Boverdalen, Norway
© 2025 Nathan Williams

Nathan Williams @bluebirdadventures.bsky.social · Sep 2

The thaw commences

Meltwater from the thawing snowpack
Tindevegen, Norway
© 2025 Nathan Williams

Nathan Williams @bluebirdadventures.bsky.social · Sep 1

Summer finally starting to thaw the snowpack, with runoff streaming across the tundra

Seasonal thawing of the tundra, with the snow pack parting ways to streams and mossy ground
Tindevegen, Norway
© 2025 Nathan Williams

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Nathan Williams @bluebirdadventures.bsky.social · Aug 26

Sitting at the snow line lingering into the summer

Snow melts away to reveal the living tundra
Tindevegen, Norway
© 2025 Nathan Williams

Nathan Williams @bluebirdadventures.bsky.social · Aug 20

Jotunheimen: the mythical home of giants in ancient Norse lore. Even in summer, its rugged icy mountains feel almost otherworldly, vast and primal.
#photography #Norway 🇳🇴

A barren snow and ice covered landscape with a rocky mountain rising above
Jotunheimen, Norway
© 2025 Nathan Williams

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Nathan Williams @bluebirdadventures.bsky.social · Aug 18

Up up up in elevation, the cold maintains its grasp late into summer, yet here still eventually gives way and thaws.

Snow lingers on mountains well into the summer, but begins to melt off the rocky landscapes
Norway
© 2025 Nathan Williams

Nathan Williams @bluebirdadventures.bsky.social · Aug 15

Now far ahead the road has gone,
And I must follow if I can

A very straight road continuing into the distance towards mountains
Norway
© 2025 Nathan Williams

Nathan Williams @bluebirdadventures.bsky.social · Aug 14

Feeling a little sheepish in a big world
#photography

Two lambs overlooking the steep valley walls of eastern Sognefjord, with snow-capped mountains in the distance
Tindevegen, Norway
© 2025 Nathan Williams

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Nathan Williams @bluebirdadventures.bsky.social · Aug 12

Pining for the fjords #photography

Sognefjord, Norway
© 2025 Nathan Williams

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Nathan Williams @bluebirdadventures.bsky.social · Aug 9

What a gem of a bird! This Bluethroat was as curious and friendly of me as I was for it. 🪶 #birds #photography

An aptly-named Bluethroat
Norway
© 2025 Nathan Williams

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Nathan Williams @bluebirdadventures.bsky.social · Aug 7

Feeling hungry, with room to grow 🪶 #birds

Recently hatched baby birds in a nest made of sticks and moss, unknown species (possibly Fieldfare?)
Norway
© 2025 Nathan Williams

Nathan Williams @bluebirdadventures.bsky.social · Aug 7

HQ sent a high priority email asking for feedback “as we conclude [MSR]”. However, we have not been given any direction to actually closeout MSR work.
AFAIK this is notional posturing by HQ to plan to the FY26 PBR until/unless a congressional appropriation bill is passed that says otherwise.

Nathan Williams @bluebirdadventures.bsky.social · Aug 7

Strike a pose! #birds 🪶 #photography

Eurasian Nuthatch
Oslo, Norway
© 2025 Nathan Williams

Nathan Williams @bluebirdadventures.bsky.social · Aug 5

Take a deep breath and let the stress gently flow away down the stream

Rocky stream with small waterfalls
Norway
© 2025 Nathan Williams

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Nathan Williams @bluebirdadventures.bsky.social · Aug 5

Hidden in a forested valley carved by glaciers in prehistoric times, the village of Borgund 🇳🇴 retains its epic stave church built circa 1200 C.E. Wooden carvings of stylized dragon heads adorn the gables on the roof, and the wood is darkened by a protective tar.

Borgund Stave Church, Norway
© 2025 Nathan Williams

Highlight of ancient Norse stylized dragon head wood carvings adorning gables on the roof.
Borgund Stave Church, Norway
© 2025 Nathan Williams

Looking out the covered passageway encircling the church, with the black tar protecting the exterior wood from the elements.
Borgund Stave Church, Norway
© 2025 Nathan Williams

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Nathan Williams @bluebirdadventures.bsky.social · Aug 2

Often is history obscured, but sometimes it’s boldly preserved and allows you to step back in time to the ancient past.

Exterior of the Gol Stave Church
Oslo, Norway
© 2025 Nathan Williams

Interior of the Gol Stave Church
Oslo, Norway
© 2025 Nathan Williams

Wood carvings on the Gol Stave Church
Oslo, Norway
© 2025 Nathan Williams

A stave pillar inside the Gol Stave Church
Oslo, Norway
© 2025 Nathan Williams

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Nathan Williams @bluebirdadventures.bsky.social · Jul 25

More would needed a bigger entry vehicle, but 6 can fit in and reuse the same size / design as Perseverance’s backshell, parachute and heat shield without needing to do a complete redesign so that’s easiest/cheapest/greatest heritage.

Nathan Williams @bluebirdadventures.bsky.social · Jul 25

Plus we know we can land these helis autonomously with good reliability; Ingenuity did it safely 71 times in a row despite more primitive capabilities. So the likelihood that all 6 upgraded helis might fail is extremely low.

Nathan Williams @bluebirdadventures.bsky.social · Jul 25

The helis are also easily maneuverable and have active hazard avoidance. Adding hazard avoidance to a big cumbersome lander would be very complex, more mass, and more expensive. And a lander would be a single point failure, whereas mid-air deploy of 6 helis gives a lot of redundancy by itself.