We Came Back From the Moon!

Emmylou is overwhelmed with the moment

So - our brave astronauts are back from The Moon.

First, I abso-@#$%ing-lutely bawled my eyes out when the parachutes popped and I knew the crew was going to be safe.  Wasn't expecting that emotional reaction at all - but I guess the risks were larger in my mind than I'd wanted to express.  But more than that - it's been so long since it seems like people wanted to try for something bigger than pettiness and cruelty and, frankly, just helping one another survive.  And Artemis II brought that back in ways I haven't felt in a long, long time.

beyond The Moon

NASA's page has plenty of great photography, and I highly encourage folks to take a look.  

It's also a chance to see some of the faces that helped our astronauts from Houston, Florida and around the world.  Some poor Project Manager has a rough idea of how many hours went into this, but its impossible for me to conceive of all the parts needed and all the hearts and minds.

I've written before about how I see the exploration of space as a good, well beyond the immediate research.  Spaceflight, by it's heavy lifting, complex needs and worldwide map, lets us dream beyond dollars and borders.  It doesn't just promote math and science for its own good, its shows the beauty of the application of human ingenuity.  The rest of the universe is out there for us to find if we look up instead of down or peer with suspicion over walls.  

So, yeah, seeing four people so brave and brilliant they were placed in a capsule the size of a GMC van leave the safety of our planet and travel beyond the closest cosmic body - is not nothing.  We got to live in a time where this happened, and when those astronauts could share what they saw in vivid detail through images and their own words.  And still human enough to name a crater for someone's wife who'd passed.

I was so excited, I started taking pictures of my TV - my personal record to say "I was watching.  I watched while the astronauts came home".  

There's never any guarantees in space.  And there's even fewer in that six minute window where Houston loses communication with the capsule - the heat generated as the Integrity returned isn't exactly a warm hug and a hell of a "welcome home".  

As expected, the capsule landed off San Diego and bobbed for a while as recovery teams came and readied the capsule for astronaut extraction.  

Anyway, Jamie and I watched until the astronauts were safely aboard the naval vessel and walked in for their medical evaluation.  

It's been a long 9 days, 1 hour, 32 minutes and 15 seconds.  But we got them back, safe and sound.

Pilot Glover and Mission Specialist Koch safely aboard the USS John P. Mutha

Now the plan is to do another mission, Artemis III - which is really similar in plan to the Gemini missions.  And with Artemis IV, maybe put feet on The Moon once again.  

I get romantic about very few things, but like for so many of my generation, its a first and eternal love.  I truly think it makes us better.