Moon Trekking IV: Back To Earth

The rush of the Artemis II rocket hurtling into space....

The wonder of the crew as they ventured out over 252,000 miles into space....

The awe of seeing the up close Moon and the distant Earth like never before....

The exhilaration as the Orion spacecraft Integrity blazed across the sky....

The relief as the capsule gently came to rest in the Pacifc Ocean, it's 4 intrepid travellers safely delivered back to Earth...

All of that is behind us.

But let's cling to those memories for a little while longer if we can.

What Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen did was incredibly awesome in the dangerous and adventurous mission to plunge deeper into the void of space than any other human has ever gone.

But the most important accomplishment was to remind us that we can be so much more than our human limitations if we work together and trust in each other.   

As North Carolina native and NC State graduate Christina Koch said about what it means to be part of a crew, we are all part of Earth's crew.

I'm going to cop to being a fan of Christina during this mission. Her enthusiasm and near limitless good spirits while in space were inspiring.

And Christina proudly wore the mantle of "Space Plumber" as the mission specialist charged with fixing the problematic space toilet.

What we called here on Earth the "Wolowitz Zero Gravity Waste Disposal System".  

Speaking of Big Bang Theory, Astronaut Mike Massimino who played "Astronaut Mike Massimino" on the show was on hand as one of the commentators on CNN during Orion's return to Earth and splashdown.  

I think the crew naming their Orion spacecraft Integrity may have produced some awkward phrasing by reporters.

When Christina exited the craft, someone on TV said "Christina Koch is out of Integrity".  

What? We can no longer trust Christina? (Ha. Ha.) 

Well, I thought it was funny. Anyway...

Look, I needed to relieve some tension. I was emotionally overcome in the moments through the Orion craft's descent through the atmosphere and it's eventual safe landing in the Pacific and the all clear that the crew was fine.

That was a LOT! 

I think for all the seriousness of their mission and the inherent risks involved, we connected with the core humanity of these daring adventurers into space and their very real and mundane problems.   

Some random nonsense like a jar of Nutella floating by or the way the smiling plushy named Rise would bob in the gravity-less air of the Integrity module. 

The absurd next the awesome infinity that surrounded them.

And for all that we found amusing in this journey, it was never lost on me the enormity of what was happening way out there in space.

In one direction of the hurtling spacecraft lies the endless mysteries of cosmic existence.

In the other direction is our home, a bright and fragile ball of life hanging in the void.  

The exploration of space leads us forward to the unknown but it also anchors us to where we come from, a reminder of how small and precious our world is and our responsibility to protect it.

Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen were so much a part of our lives from their home in the deep blackness of space for over a week and I'm going to miss the joy of seeing their video messages back to Earth.  

Now they are home and probably will be making the rounds of the news programs and talk shows for interviews.  

And eyes are already on the next mission, Artemis III.

But let's try to hold on to the feeling we had from last week, the wonder of exploration, the thrill of discovery and perhaps most importantly, the warm and abiding wisdom that humanty can accomplish great things when work together.

When we remember that we are all part of Earth's crew.