Moon Trekking VI: 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.  

Moon Trekking IV: The Voyage Home

After a journey of over 252,000 miles, the Artemis II mission is back on Earth.

Watching the Orion spacecraft's descent to a safe splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off  San Diego, I will admit I was overcome with emotion, overwhelmed by the enormity of what has been accomplished and the exultant relief that these four explorers have returned safely.

I will have more to say later but for now, welcome home Reid Wiseman,Victor Glover,  Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen.

Welcome back to Earth. 

Moon Trekking III: Your Friday Video Link

More adventures in space with Your Friday Video Link.

As the Artemis II mission to the moon winds it's way back home, here are some videos what the crew saw and experienced in their journey in outer space.

We start of with a video that captures the Earth, the Moon and the Sun (vis a vie, a solar eclipse).

More moon stuff? Why not! More moon stuff! 

Here is the story of how a little boy created Rise, the Zero Gravity Indicator. 

Here's a video of life on the Orion space craft called Integrity and you can see Rise in action. 

And finally here is a video about the return of the mission to planet Earth.

Integrity will be splashing down off the coast of California this evening.

The return of a space craft through Earth's atmosphere can be nerve racking and I will be super stressed until the craft is safely bobbing in the waters of the Pacific.

God bless the crew of the Artemis II mission and welcome back to Earth. 

Moon Trekking II - Electric Boogaloo - IN SPACE!!!!

The Artemis II mission boldly goes where no one has gone before.

On Monday, the Orion capsule carrying 4 astronauts ventured out further than any humans have ever gone before.

Well, that we know of.

There is alleged testimony of cousin Elroy Elmore who swore he was abduted "by them thar aliens" who took him in their spaceship to Saturn for several sessions of anal probing.

He claimed it was a horrific experience but he would get a wistful smile on his face when he mentioned the anal probing.

But for the official record, the Artemis II mission went  the furtherest humankind has gone into outer space, breaking a record set by Apollo 13.  

Here's what  Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman had to say about that:   "As we surpass the furthest distance humans have ever traveled from planet Earth, we do so in honoring the extraordinary efforts and feats as our predecessors in human space exploration. We will continue our journey even further into space before mother Earth succeeds in pulling us back to everything we hold dear. While, we most importantly choose this moment to challenge this generation and the next to make sure this record is not long lived."

NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen captured a slew of photos of the moon’s rugged terrain, sprawling impact craters and vast, dark plains.

Here is the Earth setting over the Moon's horizon.

In the middle of all this wonder, tragedy struck.

Donald Trump called.

Well, he is allegedly the President and Presidents get to do shit like this. 

Back in the 1960's, it was John F. Kennedy who got to kick off the space race to get humans to the moon but it was RIchard Nixon of all people who got to make the phone call. 

Li'l Donnie surprisingly behaved himself but when he heard one of the astronauts was Canadian, he went off on a ramble about hockey player Wayne Gretzky.  

The crew smiled politely but I can't help but wonder if the problematic space toilet with the space toilet was now the 2nd worse thing about the trip.

OK, back to space stuff! 

Here is a solar eclipse when the moon is up close.

And here's the crew watching the eclipse.

Safety first! 

Here's another spectacular shot of the moon! 

Look to the bottom of this image for the 5th member of this screw, a soft li'l plushie named Rise.

Rise is no mere toy but a ZGI, a zero gravity indicator.

In case Christine Koch's floating hair is not sufficent evidence of the absence of gravity.  

Rise is part of a tradition for other space missions to take a long a little stuffed critter to serve as a ZGI.   

So we're on the back half of the journey now as the Orion spacecraft makes it's way back to Earth. 

Check out this week's Your Friday Video Link for some videos about the Artemis II mission.  

Moon Trekking - The Artemis II Mission

The Artemis II Mission to the moon continues.

Below is a photo taken of the Earth from the Orion space module.

We're actually looking at the night side of the planet with the sun on the far side. Hence the halo effect on the edge of the globe.

The Earth is visible as it is being lit by moonlight. 

This image provided by NASA shows a downlink image of Earth taken by NASA’s Artemis II astronaut commander Reid Wiseman inside the Orion capsule on Friday, April 3, 2026.

Below is a video from the Artemis crew as they discuss among other things some issues they are having with the space toilet.  

Which is what they get for installing the Howard Wolowitz Zero-Gravity Waste Disposal System. (Yes, that is a Big Bang Theory reference.)

Here is another video of our space people in their space ship doing space stuff in SPACE!  

As noted in the video, the capsule has the space of approximately 2 mini-vans.  

Not exactly the expansive carpeted wood paneled bridge of the Enterprise 1701-D but a bit more wiggle room than the old Apollo capsules.   

Still a bit tight for my claustrophobia.  

This has been a most interesting experience to follow as humankind ventures out 250,000 miles from planet Earth.

Can't wait for those close up shots as the Orion capsule goes' round the moon. 

Your Friday Video Link: It's SCIENCE!

The theme for today's Your Friday Video Link is SCIENCE!

SCIENCE that asks the hard hitting questions and SCIENCE that provides the provocative mind blowing answers.

Such as...

What if the Earth suddenly stopped spinning?

“First, nearly everyone would die; second, things would get interesting”

This video explains the rest.

Would a Submarine Work as a Spaceship?

I've wondered about that myself.

Let's find out.

Hey, who is this guy doing this thing?

Randall Munroe is the author of the New York Times bestsellers What If?, How To, What If? 2, and Thing Explainer.

He also writes the science question-and-answer blog What If?

A former NASA roboticist, he left the agency in 2006 to draw comics on the internet full time.

Hey, have you ever wondered what if we teleported the oceans to Mars?

Apparently a LOT of people have this question.

Randall has an answer for that.  

Here's a question that may be eating at you: what if we all just started eating each other?

How long could the human race survive if we had to rely on cannibalism?

Yep, Randall has answers.

We all learned something today and yes, we shared a laugh or two.

We're back with Movie Time tomorrow with another pre-code horror film starring Bela Lagosi that is NOT Dracula.   

Until next time, remember to be good to one another.   

Perseverance On Mars

 

The NASA Mars rover Perseverance safely landed on Mars last week.  It is without a doubt a major scientific achievement hurtling machinery from Earth across the void of space successfully aim it at another planet without wrecking it in the process.

But part of me wonders if we shouldn't be further along in our exploration of space. 

The main American impetus for putting humans on the moon in the 1960s was to be sure the Soviet Union didn't get there first. Once we proved that yes we can get to the moon and damn it, we did it first, the wind seemed to go out of our sails. 

Once we made it to the moon, we pulled back our goals to explore the space just outside of our atmosphere. And even then, we endured losses that were tragic, the loss of lives with two shuttle accidents. 

Then even those modest attempts were curtailed. We mothballed our shuttle fleet. 

Yep, we sent people into space to the International Space Station but we were hitching rides from the Russians. 

Again, getting Perseverance safely to Mars is no small accomplishment and is worthy of praise and respect.

But am I wrong to think we should've been here before now?  Did we lose our collective will to explore? Did we lose our sense of wonder? 

Do our Earth bound problems rooted in poverty, racism, ignorance and more root us too firmly to the Earth that we cannot see the value of imagination, of exploration?