Half Are Gone

With the death of Gene Cernan last week, there are only six people alive that walked on the Moon—half are gone. Granted, we all know these heroes are not immortal, but each death from this exclusive group brings us closer to a day without any of them. The heroes of the Apollo era are slipping away from us, and it is our responsibility to soak up every drop of wisdom the remaining moonwalkers (they made it famous long before Michael Jackson) can share with humanity.

NASA’s Apollo Program made seven trips to the Moon intended for a landing, and six of them were successful. Apollo 13 standing as the now infamous successful failure.  There were more missions planned, but budget cuts forced NASA to cancel some flights. Twelve men had the distinct honor of kicking up lunar dust and spending time on another world. These men are symbols of a project that challenged an entire nation to accomplish something that was once considered science fiction. Astronauts in general, and the moonwalkers in particular, were considered the heroes of their day. Many Apollo astronauts never walked on the Moon because they were in lunar orbit or on Earth, but their work should be celebrated as well. As the world searches for the wisdom of true visionaries, the remaining Apollo astronauts—especially the moonwalkers—stand as an ultimate reminder of humanity’s best qualities.  

I do not know when humanity will travel back to the Moon, or push the boundaries of knowledge to explore another world. Yet, I am confident that we will. Until then, we must learn everything we can from the brave adventurers that became our first ambassadors to another heavenly body. Buzz Aldrin, Alan Bean, Dave Scott, John Young, Charles Duke, and Harrison Schmitt can continue to share the vision of Apollo—and we should listen.   

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Ad Astra, Gene Cernan.

America and the world lost another hero today. Captain Eugene “Gene” Cernan, the last person to walk on the Moon, has passed away. After graduating from Purdue University, Cernan became a pilot for the United States Navy where he gained the experience that would eventually take him to the Moon. He was selected for the NASA Astronaut Corps in 1963 with the third group of astronauts (nicknamed “The Fourteen”). Gene Cernan flew in space three times during his NASA career—Gemini 9, Apollo 10, and Apollo 17. My condolences and thoughts are with his family during this difficult time. Thank you and ad astra, Gene Cernan.

Learn more about Gene Cernan’s life through the link below, or by watching the documentary “The Last Man on the Moon” available now on Netflix.

https://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/cernan-ea.html

Welcome to The Space Endeavor!

If you are reading this, you must have been invited or stumbled upon my new enterprise (notice the space pun) called The Space Endeavor. The premise of this project is simple—educate, promote, and inform the public about space exploration events and history. Space has always been a great passion of mine, and I have been looking for a way to share and advocate for this passion. 

Posts will include short bits about important missions or topics in space history, sharing of thoughtful space news articles, and occasionally my opinion on a space related topic. Hopefully, The Space Endeavor will allow me to advocate for space exploration in a substantial manner. Another goal of this project is admittedly selfish—I want to learn more about space exploration along with you. Continuing to learn about space exploration promises to be an adventure we can all share, but some people are skeptical.

Why space? On a personal level, nothing elicits more passion than space exploration. Yes, I was the kid who watched NASA TV and built model space shuttles instead of “normal” childhood activities, which brought about many years of bullying and mockery on various playgrounds. However, I never stopped learning about space exploration. Having said that, trying to find an educational path with space was difficult considering my limitations in mathematics. Luckily, I stumbled upon studying the politics and history of space exploration in college. Most of my college professors will say they have endured many papers with at least a loose reference to space exploration. Space has been, and will continue to be, the foremost passion of mine.

Many people understand why space is important to me, but are still wary about how space exploration benefits them. Listing all the advances in technology, science, and education seems like a logical place to begin. But, creating a laundry list of that nature does not capture the real reason why space is important to all of us. Space exploration reminds us of our common humanity, and can unite us to pursue the worthy endeavor of exploring the final frontier.

To close, I have included one of my most treasured photographs. That is me standing next to former NASA astronaut Scott Altman. Before becoming a NASA astronaut, Captain Altman was one of the F-14 Tomcat stunt pilots for the movie Top Gun—and yes, that was Altman flipping the bird at the beginning of the film. Captain Altman went on to fly the space shuttle four times (STS-90, STS-106, STS-109, and STS-125). He was the mission commander for two of those trips into space—including the final Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission (STS-125). During his NASA career, he flew and commanded Space Shuttle Atlantis and Columbia.

There will be some growing pains with this page/blog, but I hope you will join The Space Endeavor!

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