Cooped Up? Get Uncooped.

Photo: Rupert Taylor-Price

One would think that being among the few souls to leave the atmosphere and enter space would quell the desire to climb new heights. This is not the case for former astronaut Scott Parazynski, who is a medical doctor and a dedicated mountaineering and outdoor enthusiast. After being on five separate missions into space, beginning with STS-66 ATLAS 3 in 1994, Parazynski (47) is currently underway to becoming the first man to conquer both space and Mount Everest. He first tried summiting Everest last year, but with the summit within reasonable grasp, just several thousand feet above, he had to turn back due to a back injury. His current expedition convened on May 7.

Sponsored by the Challenger Center for Space Education, Parazynski hopes to use his Everest climb as an educational tool to outline the similar challenges and rewards of exploration on Earth and space. The expedition will also go to support the Challenger Center for Space Science Education, Autism Speaks® and The Explorers Club, an international multidisciplinary professional society dedicated to the advancement of field research and exploration which he is a member of. Parazynski will serve as the team physician for the Washington-based Team IMG (International Mountain Guides).

During the excursion, Parazynski will be carrying a SPOT messenger system, following in suit of other outdoor athletes and figures such as Karl Meltzer and Les Stroud (Survivorman). In addition to being an important safety device, integral in rescue operations, SPOT will allow him to send out live tracking data, which can be used in conjunction with Google Maps to track his journey at SPOT Adventures.  Updates on the trip will also be provided on a variety of websites including OnOrbit.com/Everest, http://milesobrien.com, Flickr®, Twitter Facebook and YouTube.

If this mission goes as planned, those are two pretty big notches under Parazynski's belt. Log onto Spot Adventures to see how he's fairing.

• Everest
• SPOT
• mountaineering
• climbing