Artemis II

This week, I’ve found myself captivated by the Artemis II NASA mission. While I live a rather tame and safe life myself, I find myself drawn to instances where humans push the boundaries of comfort and find themselves in high-stakes situations. Thus, as 4 humans are traveling farther from Earth than any others, I’ve eagerly followed the updates.

The most high-stakes day so far was this past Monday, April 6, when the 4 astronauts aboard Integrity had their lunar observation day. This day marked the furthest point from Earth, approximately 252,757 miles, and the first time surpassing the previously held record for distance traveled of 248,655 miles, set by the Apollo 13 mission. This day also had a roughly 40-minute “blackout” period during which we lost communication with the astronauts as the moon blocked radio signals from the NASA Deep Space Network.

So throughout the day, we kept the livestream on in the background while went about our day.

And believe it or not, while these expected highlights were exciting to watch, they were not what captivated me the most. Instead, it was towards the beginning of their lunar observation, when Astronaut Jeremy Hansen announced the dedication of a bright, newly observed crater to be named “Carroll”, in honor of fellow astronaut and commander of Integrity Reid Wiseman’s wife, who passed away in 2020 from cancer. This dedication time ended with a group hug among all 4 astronauts as they all cried.

When I put myself in the shoes of these astronauts, I can only imagine the wealth of emotions that they encounter on this mission. But on this day, with all of the record-setting and newfound territory being discovered, I didn’t expect to witness grief.

And yet there it was.

And I just sat there, as these humans over 250,000 miles away from me are still spectacularly human. As messy, unpredictable, and wild as it can be, there they were. Setting records, paving new territory, and still riding the waves of all the emotions we humans get to experience.

So, if you find yourself overwhelmed by the broad spectrum of emotions that come your way, that’s a valid emotion to feel. But, if you wonder, if you should be feeling differently, I’d reckon that no, you aren’t wrong or being too much for what you are feeling. Rather, no matter where you are on Earth, and as we now know, no matter where you are in space, even emotions will be there for you to feel, to name, to ride the wave of their highs and lows, and to sit with. All in the name of being wonderfully human.