space dad,space son, and space adopted adult child

And I’d like to say thank you to those who liked the last one!

Week Two: Moon

Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy have been very busy today!

As we have been making our journey, my friends usually have several things to do each day on board the Orion, but today has been different. They seem super excited, and have been running around the ship making lots of preparations. Our temporary little home has been full of energy today; so much so that it's made me feel extra energetic, too!

But I know why they’ve been acting this way. Today is the day we’re going to the moon!

They have been preparing for this for years. When they have taken questions from fellow humans on Earth during our trip, they always end up talking about the whole point of our expedition out into space: getting so close to the moon again. Everyone is excited, not just my crew, and for good reason!

Now, we have reached our destination: the moon itself! We are only about four thousand miles away from it, and I am amazed. The moon is huge! Not as big as Earth, but so much bigger than how it looks in Earth’s sky. The moon has texture, and different colors, and a terrain all its own.

I am fascinated!

I have been told that I look like the moon. I am the same color as it, and I have little patterns modeled after craters on me. I was made to look like the place I and my friends were all meant to go.

I like to think my lunar appearance is an inspiration. For my crew, to remind them of where we are headed and what we are planning to do, but also for those on Planet Earth who are taking part in our mission by taking it all in with us. No matter where we are, our moon is a unifying thing. We all can see it in the sky, and we all have thoughts and feelings about it. I think that’s so special!

Yes, I am like the moon. I am a similar shape and color as the moon. When people see me, they often compare me to the moon. But the truth is, I’m only just enough like the moon for people to notice the resemblance. I’m really not very much at all like the moon.

The moon is a place, as I’ve heard my friend Christina say. It’s a place unlike any I’ve seen before. It’s got craters and all sorts of features that my crew can describe way better than I can. Honestly, I really don’t have the words to describe it as I look at it, but my friends do. They describe it in great detail for those who are listening down on Earth. I don’t know all the words they are saying, but what I do know is I can hear pure awe and amazement in their voices.

And that amazement is well deserved! There are so many words we can use to describe the moon. So many scientific ways to convey what we are seeing when we look at it. Those are so important! But, I think my favorite word of all to describe the moon would be beautiful. It was beautiful when we were on Earth, and even more so as we approached it so my crew could take pictures. It was definitely beautiful during the stunning eclipse!

It’s beautiful when we can see it far away or up close, and it's beautiful when we can’t see it at all. It’s beautiful not just because of how it looks, but because of what it means, too!

Week One: Launch!

I am Rise, the Zero Gravity Indicator for the Artemis 2 mission!

As such, it is my job and privilege to make sure Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen know when they are or are not experiencing microgravity. Pretty cool!

The only thing is, I’ve never experienced microgravity myself…

So on launch day, as my crew makes their final pre-launch statements and the countdown begins, I don’t know what to expect! All I had known at that point was Earth and many of the wonderful things inside of it. And though I was around for a lot of the training my crewmates went through, the NASA team didn’t fill me in with quite as much detail as they did my friends.

My mind was full of thoughts during the countdown:

Three…

What is space like? Is it big? Is it small? Is it vivid and wonderful, mysterious and scary, or a little bit of everything?

Two…

What is microgravity like? Will it be fun? Will it be confusing? Will I do my job right?

One…

What about my crew? Are they ready?

Am I ready?

Booster ignition, and lift off!

I am stowed in a little cubby onboard the ship, only feet away from my friends. I am sitting nicely in my spot, when all of a sudden after I hear the words “lift off”, I am pushed way back into the back of my cubby until I can’t go any further.

It’s pretty loud inside our ship, the Orion capsule, and it’s dark in my little space. But still, I wait. I stay strong even despite the pressure I can feel building and continuing to push me back into the cubby.

Honestly, right now, I am not very comfortable. But, I am patient and resilient, just like the four humans I am travelling with!

We wait, though the four of them are waiting in their seats and I’m in my spot. Then, I notice a change. I slowly slide forward, away from the back of my cubby. My body doesn’t feel so uncomfy anymore. It feels…light.

I feel light a lot of the time on Earth, because I am small and soft. I am made to be easy to carry. But this kind of lightness is different. I feel like I don’t weigh anything at all!

I feel my little circular body ease off of the bottom of my cubby. I feel myself drift into the air, unhindered by anything that may surround me.

I’m floating! I’m really doing it! I’m indicating Zero Gravity for the first time!

I know my friends may not be thinking about the fact that I’m doing this. I know they have other, bigger things to think about than me. But I’m sure once they make it through the end of the launching sequence, they will come and let me out of my holding space so I can do my job for them to see. And I can’t wait!

After all, they chose me to go to space with them. Out of all the design options they had, they looked at me and decided that I should be created and tag along. I am grateful. I am excited!

And one more time, just because I can’t believe it is happening…

Reid: Reid is honestly just a sweetheart. Like he’s such a big teddy bear. If a group hug happens, a lot of the time it’s him initiating it. He can even be heard praising his crewmates or seen patting their shoulders when they give an answer to a question that he likes. He seems like such a happy dude, too. His smiles are always so big! It’s really hard not to enjoy seeing how much joy he gets from being around those he loves. Reid is very good at conveying the emotion or intensity behind whatever he is explaining. Like if he’s describing a complex concept or a serious moment, you’ll always know it, because you can hear it in his voice. But what’s also true is that that ability to convey the emotion/intensity is also one way he spreads so much joy!

Victor: One of my favorite things about Victor Glover is the way he explains things. He has such a detailed yet understandable way of explaining the things he has experienced, seen, or done in space. It was amazing to hear him describe what he was seeing during the Lunar Flyby. Ngl I can’t exactly remember what he said, but I just remember being so amazed by his descriptions. Victor also stated shortly after the mission was over that he was taking his time to process what he saw up there, and I know they all have been, but I appreciated that he was adamant about taking his own time with the experience before sharing it with the world. Also, Victor has made it very clear that he is a man of faith, and I am personally always so moved to hear him give glory to God on account of his experiences or what he saw while on the Artemis 2 mission. It’s so inspiring to know that you have a mutual faith with someone who has done something so incredible and who is using his platform to share about that faith for all the world to hear.

And I love too that even though all the members of the integrity team have their own ways of looking at the world, they all respect each other’s personal perspectives, even if they don’t exactly align. They are all respectful when Victor speaks about his faith. Victor is respectful when a different view is presented by one of his teammates. They really are such an embodiment of what it means for their work to represent all mankind.

Christina- Christina genuinely seems like such a fun person! I love how she has this sort of whimsical nature, like how she seemed to be the most eager to demonstrate exactly how much fun she was having on the Artemis 2 mission. I love how she often turned upside down to wave to interviews when they were done speaking with the team. I love the picture of her where she’s beaming at the Earth as her little braid floats beside her. So yeah, whimsy is the word I associate with her. She is of course brilliant, and is making history with the work she is doing for NASA. But I love how she is also quick to say she is not only representing women, or making history for women, but for all humankind as well. As a woman, it’s wonderful to see another woman showing that we can achieve such incredible things. But it’s also wonderful to hear the woman making such achievements say that what she’s doing represents everyone and is for everyone.

Last but certainly not least, Jeremy! It has been so much fun to see someone experience going to space for the first time and bringing back such amazing stories for the rest of us. And to know that he is Canadian, and that he was a part of the effort to send people further from the Earth than they have ever gone before, showing that this was not just an American endeavor but an endeavor for the whole world to enjoy. Jeremy has this very chill, calm demeanor, and I always enjoy listening to him explain things because he always just seems so at ease. Imo Reid seems to treat Jeremy like a little brother- they were asked during one interview who would play them in a movie, and they weren’t really sure on that one, except Reid said Jeremy would be played by Buzz Lightyear hehe. So yeah, I like the wonder Jeremy brings to the team, and I like how easygoing he is!

I love the Integrity team, and I’m so happy they were the ones chosen to go on that mission. I love how they are like four siblings that are so eager to not only share their space discoveries with the world, but also their love and companionship, too. I love their humility and how they want all those who’ve been impacted by their work to feel like they are a part of it, too.