Two days ago I watched Artemis II splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, California. Wow! The emotions I felt were beyond words and are difficult to express. To think about what the four amazing astronauts did is hard to process. What a wonderful journey that must have been for them and now a safe return.
I started watching the broadcast about an hour before they were to reenter the earth’s atmosphere. The numbers I heard were mind boggling. They went 252,756 miles from earth; the farthest any humans have ever traveled from our beautiful planet. They went around the moon and as they went behind it there was a loss of communication for forty minutes. Can you say tense? My goodness!
On day ten and the last day of the mission, Integrity, the name of the capsule which was the home of the astronauts for the mission and about the size of a mini-van, was set to splashdown at its designated area in the Pacific, I was astounded by some facts. It would reenter the atmosphere at approximately 24,661 miles per hour. It had traveled a total of 1,117,659 kilometers and came within 6,545 kilometers of the moon. Incredible numbers, if you ask me.
I can’t imagine the emotions those astronauts must have felt when they saw the Earth from far, far away. Has anyone ever taken a bad picture of our planet from outer space? I seriously doubt it. What a beautiful rock we live on. The whites and blues are ever changing and I don’t think anyone can deny seeing planet Earth from outer space would leave one breathless. And, for those of you who have seen the covers of my books, you would have noticed I have an illustration of Earth on some of my covers. Why? Because the subtle messaging in my first three books and the fifth one are about saving this planet. I have eternal hope the young people of today will hear that message and will do everything they can to preserve the place we live. Go youth!
I’m curious as to some of the thoughts that may have gone through the minds of those four astronauts when they viewed Earth from a distance. I would probably think about how a planet so lovely could be living in so much turmoil. It’s a valuable piece of property we live on, and as far as I’m aware there are no alternatives. Let’s take care of it. No, the Earth didn’t change in the ten days of the mission. If anything, the news probably got worse. There are still wars going on, people killing people. People starving. People not being kind to each other. Leaders who are weak and only think about themselves. We should all try to imagine viewing Earth from a distance. We should try to imagine a planet living in peace and harmony. We should all try to imagine everyone being kind to each other and seeing life through the eyes of a child. I’ve said it a thousand times before and I will continue to say it: Think of the children. What are we doing to make the world a better place for them to live in? As I mentioned above, I am so impressed with the youth of today and their positive energy. I think the majority of them understand the urgency of the matter and the consequences if we don’t do what it takes to reverse climate change and global warming. Go youth! Save this planet for your younger siblings and the children you may have yourself one day in the future. You give us old folks hope and thank you for everything you do in your attempt to make this planet a better place to live. Carry on.
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