My Apollo Moment
I’ve always wondered what it would’ve been like to witness the Apollo missions live. To listen to the communications between the Earth and the Moon, to look up at the Moon in the sky and fathom that there are people there. I’ve always wondered what I would’ve felt in that moment.
I got the answer to my question today.
A few hours ago, the crew of Artemis II’s Integrity were conducting lunar observations prior to loss of signal and perilune. I was on my morning run, listening to NASA’s broadcast through my headphones. During the last kilometre of my run, pilot Victor Glover was relaying his observations to Mission Control in Houston. He described that he felt as if he were on the surface already, off-roading across the lunar terrain. Following his report, this interaction between Houston and Glover took place:
Houston: I also wanna let you know that we have Dionna Glover with us in the viewing gallery. She’s all smiles.
Glover: Well you just got a bunch of cheers up here! Hey babe — I love ya, from the moon.
Houston: We love that we got a “Hey babe” too, and we also have one of your lovely daughters here watching you guys work
In that moment, I couldn’t help but laugh and notice the Moon, which was hanging above the trees of the bushland that surrounds my neighbourhood. I felt a pure and simple joy, and I couldn’t stop smiling for the next hundred metres.
Between the mythical experiences of launch, and the mundane glitches of Microsoft Outlook, this will become my enduring memory of Artemis II. A moment of joy.
I suppose folks felt that during the 60s and 70s, too.
There’s one more moment from today’s events that I should share. If nothing from this mission has made you shed a tear yet, watch this.
