A few days ago (April Fools Day), we all saw the Artemis II rocket blast off from Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 6:35 p.m. EDT. It was the first crewed mission toward the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972, carrying NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch, and Victor Glover, along with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, on a 10-day journey around the Moon. I don’t know about you, but it sure did bring back memories for me of how in the 1960s and early 1970s we all sat and watched this sort of launch with eager anticipation, thinking about outer space, the moon, Mars and beyond. In the intervening 50 years, we’ve learned not to be quite so anxious about space launches thanks to accidents like the Challenger disaster and the routine comings and goings of regular space shuttle missions, and then the proliferation of private rocket missions from SpaceX , Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic. That whole “billionaire in space” nonsense was a real turn-off to many of us. We’ve heard about the Russians and the Chinese and even the Japanese sending up missions, but without the old US/Soviet space race, I’m not sure we focus too much on the competitive aspects of going into space. I’m also not so sure that there’s been an attachment of a lot of national pride associated with these launches. But this Artemis II launch somehow seemed different. It seemed like we were recapturing some of that lost excitement and thrill of hurtling humans into the cosmos.
From the days of John Glen, we’ve seen lots of pictures taken of the Earth from space and then from the moon and we’ve become somewhat immune to the wonder of it all. Today I was reading about Artemis II and there was a link to a real time website from NASA that showed a simulation view on a 360° basis from the Artemis II capsule. You could manipulate the view to look back at Earth or you could look towards the moon in the front headlights… all based on the exact geospatial location of the Artemis II spaceship. And you could even look at the sun and all the other stars around you. It was pretty cool, and I’m sure 50 years ago we would’ve been amazed at such technology, just as we were with those first views of our blue planet. As I understand it, this NASA website will give us the ability to see the Earth and the moon pretty much like those four astronauts will see them, and we’ll be able to build some excitement once again as we approach the moon, go round to the dark side that we can’t normally see, go as far away from earth as man has ever gone beyond the moon, and then watch as earth approaches when the astronauts bring their mission back home. I plan on checking in with that website regularly over the 10 days because, quite frankly, I miss the excitement that we had when we were kids about the wonders of space travel.
I also learned a new term from that article about Artemis II, and that was the word Overview. Apparently Overview is what they call looking back on the planet from outer space or looking at the moon when you’re up close. It’s a great word because it somehow reminds us that watching such feats of scientific glory as spaceflight provides us, elevates our view of our own world and our otherwise humble lives.
I think it would be wise for us all to have an Overview approach to life in general. I’ve often said that it’s important for us to be thankful each and every day for the blessings we have in life and do our best not to focus on our troubles or the negative aspects of the world around us. In all honesty, that is sometimes a very hard thing to do, but you stand a better chance of getting there if you are determined to stare and wonder at the Overview. I know I do a lot of that out the window to the east to the west almost every morning, watching the sunrise or the Maritime layer recede gracefully. I’m sure all four of these astronauts on this mission have very busy schedules. Just based on the amount of preparation they’ve had for such a flight. I’ll bet their dance card is programmed in it by minute. Hopefully they get time to look out the windows d take an Overview.
I saw a piece on the fact that this is the first spaceship that has a separate and private toilet for the crew. That’s probably all the more important given the mixed gender nature of the crew. On prior flights, badly functions have been dealt with somehow or another within the space suits or with some form of containment devices at this time, they actually have a door and the ability to have a rare moment of solitude on otherwise cramped, crowded, and busy flight. I mentioned this last because of an interest in bodily functions which I’ve assumed have always been apart of man space flight, but more because of the issue of the alone time for the astronauts to ponder their circumstances. It seems a shame that they weren’t able to design the Artemis two spacecraft so that the small toilet facility had a window. Who doesn’t like being able to look out the window when one is sitting on the can, right?
Alas, NASA has said they already have had a problem with the toilet and had to spend a few, hopefully not too anxious hours fixing it. What a great metaphor for life. Just when you’re ready to look out the window and take a much needed Overview moment, life puts you back in the toilet with your head up your ass rather than staring out and pondering the Overview of the universe. Onward to the moon…. Oh, yeah, and Happy Easter and Passover…and belated Eid.