Let’s Be A Crew.
I don’t know if you were paying attention to the mission of Artemis II in its voyage beyond the moon and back?
If so, were you as amazed as I was at the precision of the entire 10 day mission, and then the jaw-dropping re-entry and splash down on Friday?
Wow. Stunning. Breath-taking.
Actually, those words don’t even come close to the level of awe inspired in me as I continue to try and wrap my brain around how this journey of almost 695,000 miles actually happened.
When the Integrity capsule returned back into the earth’s atmosphere, it was traveling at around 25,000 miles per hour. What?
The capsule contained all 4 astronauts in a space measured about 16.5 feet wide and 11 feet long. They say about the equivalent of 2 minivans. What?
And as they hurtled toward earth, the exterior of the capsule withstood a temperature over 5,000°F What?
It is hard to imagine how much combined human scientific brilliance had to come together for this mission to be accomplished, almost flawlessly.
I have memories of my excitement as a 7 year old while watching Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin setting foot on the moon.
It was 1969 and my parents were space geeks and instilled in us all of its wonder. They kept me and my brothers up late so we could watch the landing on TV as a family of geeks! (Just as an aside, my daughter now shares in the geek-ness!)
Ever since then, the vastness of the universe has moved me to my core.
When I think about how small our planet is in comparison to that, and how our human existence on this level is so insignificant, I can feel myself gasp.
And at the same time, I also recognize how inseparable we are from each other, traveling together on this speeding blue spaceship that we call Earth.
Looking back at the planet from the astronauts’ perspective, there are no demarcations, no borders, no differentiation to separate us.
It’s a strange feeling. To feel so tiny, and yet so integral.
I loved hearing Commander Christina Koch describe how she now understands what it means to be a member of a crew.: “...everyone…working together, sharing the same purpose, and sacrificing for one another.”
The entire 10 days of their journey has put things in a certain kind of perspective that can be forgotten so easily in the world we inhabit today.
Watch here, and see if you too can be reminded that we are all in this together.
Much love,
Carol
PS The icing on the cake for me is that there is now a crater on the dark side of the moon named after me. That’s pretty cool.
Watch Commander Koch’s Statement:
