Copy: Moon Joy
Making the Most of April, the Artemis II moon mission, and more
In our home this week, we are all Artemis II Moon Mission all the time. Four astronauts traveled further away from earth than humans have ever been, going around the far side of the moon before heading back to Earth.
This is our moon moment, a climactic experience for NASA nerds like us. We have the livestream going all the time, and I’m following the important players where it matters. Many things happen while we’re sleeping in Europe, so I catch what I can during the day.
Here is a list of things I have loved while experiencing this incredible mission to the moon. My personal Moon Joy, if you will.
Moon Joy
Can’t stop won’t stop. “You cannoOoOt stop this.” War, corruption, antisemitism, inflation, oil crisis and other division-causing problems will not stop us from Space exploration, discovery, and awe.
The zero-gravity indicator, a plushie designed by an eight year old, is called Rise, because he was inspired by the original earthrise image. He’s just happy to be along for the ride.
The crew was trained to “tell it like you see it.” Making detailed observations about what they saw, we learned more about the color, meteors, craters on the moon, bright spots lit up like a pin-pricked lampshade. Still, they’re only humans and they resorted to words like “indescribable.”
Science and inspiration go hand in hand.
This quote from another astronaut:
The way this team talks to each other is so inspiring. Politeness is not dead, the art of language and speaking on the fly is a skill still honed by people in all disciplines, and we are enjoying it. They are kind, professional, and engaging with one another. “We wish you could see it.” We know. Thanks to you, we’ll come as close as we can.
The crew’s suggestion to name two yet unnamed craters on the moon Integrity, for their spacecraft, and Carroll, for their Commander’s late wife, plus the tears and the group hug once they had made the suggestion.
Victor Glover: “We call amazing things that humans do ‘moonshots’ for a reason, because this brought us together and showed us what we can do when we bring our differences together.”
Jim Lovell woke the crew up on day 6 with an inspiring message and an admonishment. “I know how busy you’ll be today. But don’t forget to enjoy the view.”
The emotion, passion, delight, and joy of discovery: “You know, I’m not one for hyperbole, but it’s the only thing I could come up with,” [Reid Wiseman] said. “Just seeing Tycho. There’s mountains to the north. You can see Copernicus, Reiner Gamma. It’s just everything from the training, but in three dimensions and absolutely unbelievable. This is incredible.”
In mission control, Jacki Mahaffey, relaying messages to the astronauts, chuckled. “Copy, moon joy,” she said.Leah Cheshier Mustachio has my dream job.
This from Threads that reminds us of all the things that satellites can’t do, as useful as they are for space exploration.
We sent humans because satellites don’t call earth and describe the colors of the craters in sunset tones. Satellites don’t call home and, through tears, name a shining bright spot on the moon after a crewmate’s late wife. Satellites don’t show the friendship-braceleted heart hands 🫶 of a moonbound girl dad to his Swiftie daughters watching. Satellites don’t say “hey baby love ya from the moon!” to watching wives. Satellites don’t have a group hug 250,000 miles from home and weep together over loss of life and love.
Over and over again, the crew is calling down to earth, and mission control is asking them the most human question possible: Tell us about it.
And so they do. Like coworkers describing a trip after they return. Like kids describing meeting Moana at Disney. Like landlocked visitors describing the ocean for the first time. Like how Narnia and Middle Earth are described in the stories. In breathless, human words of curiosity and wonder, they tell us about it.
We could just send the robots and take the pictures. We have, for half a century. But satellites don’t tell stories. Robotic cameras don’t look towards color and warmth and light. Humans do.
This nifty fact: the spacecraft will follow a similar flight path to the one that saved the Apollo 13 astronauts.
The crew named their Orion spacecraft Integrity. We love to hear it.
This is REAL.
Earthset. Image Credit: NASA
making much of myself✨
:: Hopefully I will have more to share at the end of April. In March I didn’t collage, I didn’t write very many any essays, and I certainly haven’t been published anywhere interesting recently. I did have a lot going on in my regular life, including a kids camp, Easter egg hunt for kids and teens, and lot’s of teaching.
:: I finished all the published volumes (there are 8 so far) of The Unselected Journals of Miss Emma M. Lion and I was so sad to finish them. Very much looking forward to more. (The link is EU Amazon so you can buy them for me if you want).
:: I’m finishing The Sun Sister and starting The Great Alone for a new English book club Chris and I are hosting in April. He already finished and wants to talk about it so I need to get started.
:: What I wore recently. I love the way Caroline Saunders talks about clothes on Instagram. Her style and her attitude inspire me. She always ends her videos with “the most important thing about my outfit is that I am clothed in Christ.” I try to carry this attitude into every outfit choice I make.
making much of others✨
“So he can’t be protected from that reality [that his father and primary caregiver is in prison]. What he can be is companioned and loved within that reality. So, what can happen is that his father can still be a source of delight and support and affirmation in his life. The whole family can rally to help that happen.”
:: This quote is from What Do You Do When a Family Member Commits a Terrible Crime, which can be read or listened to. The tagline mentions “…the complexity of maintaining relationships with family members who have done unthinkable things.” After I posted about this on social media, a few people responded they would like to know more of my story. I would like to try.
making food✨
During our spring break, Austin participated in a soccer camp for three days, which definitely took him a little outside his comfort zone. He was gone from 9-2 and came home starving, so I made his favorite meals each day: salmon with rice, crispy orange chicken, and ramen.
On the first day that he didn’t have camp, we went to Madrid just for authentic tacos at Takos, and as a family we ate 30 of them! Every time I decide a different kind is my favorite. I always say it’s the tacos al pastor, but then I eat more arrachero (steak). Yesterday I was raving about the cochinita pibil (pulled pork). All I got was this one photo of the steak tacos, but you get the idea.
making a difference✨
The world is crazy right now, and some places are suffering more than others. You can make an immediate difference in the lives of women rescued from human trafficking just by choosing to buy Fair Trade jewelry.
making memories✨
Susanna and I are watching the show Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist on Netflix. It’s not perfect, but the show is funny, the characters regularly break out in flashmobs and musical numbers, and the main character is a successful woman in STEM. But also, it deals with intense themes like grief, loss of a parent, relationships, extreme work stress, PTSD, deafness, and more, in palatable ways for my young lady. This show has helped us approach some hard things, including processing our own grief about my father-in-law’s death. We’ve shed some tears, but we’ve also laughed and sang along. A favorite memory is when a deaf character sings/signs Fight Song. I said that I wished there were subtitles, because I don’t know all the words, and Susanna sang along for me.