I had tears in my eyes as I watched the Artemis rocket lift off the pad on April 1st. To leverage the sum of all human knowledge and leave the only place we have evolved to live – it gets me every time.
Then, to not only leave the planet, but propel our way to the Moon, slingshot around it, and fall back to Earth within 1 mile of the estimated splashdown zone – incredible. It required excellent people doing excellent things to achieve, and gave us a remarkable example of how the impossible can be made possible by working together. They shot for the Moon, and they did not miss.
Christina Koch, Jeremy Hansen, Victor Glover, and Reid Wiseman went farther than any humans have ever gone from our world – some 252,760 miles away – and their narrations of the Earth and the Moon held me spellbound over their ten day mission. Human eyes can see the immense detail and context that a simple camera view cannot capture, and to hear them describe the contrast of colour along the terminator of the moon, impact flashes on the lunar surface, and the experience of looking back on Earth as shock of blue against the inky black, was captivating. I’m sure words cannot describe what they felt and saw, but they did an admirable job of trying to convey their otherworldly experience.
I felt immense Canadian pride seeing Jeremy Hansen up there, after all his many years of training, as well as Jenni Gibbons at CAPCOM. They represented our nation so brilliantly, delivering excellence with humility and presence. Plus, Kelsey Young, Christine Birch, and all the many women in the Control and Science Evaluation rooms that provided a noticeable counterpoint to the male-heavy Apollo missions. They really reflected the best of us.
Perhaps even more emotional than seeing a total solar eclipse from the Moon, the small sphere of the Earth in the darkness, or the floating “Rise” Zero-G indicator carrying my name on it, was when Jeremy Hansen announced they would name a crater after Commander Reid Wiseman’s late wife, Carroll. Seeing such a human moment so far from Earth was beautiful to witness. Plus, we got a live view of how tears well up in Zero-G, since there’s no gravity to make them fall.
The whole mission was truly emblematic of what is possible when we put our minds, efforts, and abilities towards achieving a common purpose. When we care deeply not only about what we are doing, but who we are doing it with. Striving for individual excellence, while also uplifting those around us and supporting one another. It has been a refreshing reminder of what co-operation, dedication, and commitment can lead to.
Looking at video of the capsule’s return to Earth, it is almost impossible to comprehend that the tiny blue sphere bobbing in the inky black is us. To marvel at where we are all currently confined. What a privilege it has been to gain the perspective so few have seen before, and appreciate how small and fragile we are in the endless cosmos.
Thank you, Artemis II. You went for all, by all, and I am so grateful that you did.
