“I gave myself permission to care, because there are a lot of people in this world who are afraid of caring, who are afraid of showing they care because it’s uncool. It’s uncool to have passion. It’s so much easier to lose when you’ve shown everyone how much you don’t care if you win or lose. It’s much harder to lose when you show that you care, but you’ll never win unless you also stand to lose. I’ve said it before. Don’t be afraid of your passion, give it free reign, and be honest and work hard and it will all turn out just fine.” ― Tom Hiddleston
The Artemis II Orion spacecraft has launched, and the mission is underway!
There is also a livestream from Orion itself (claustrophobes need not apply), but availability is spotty due to bandwidth and popularity. Because space!
The countdown has begun! Tomorrow is the first April launch date for the Artemis II flight. (If the weather or tech doesn’t cooperate, the mission will be pushed forward, so the next couple of days could be interesting!)
The countdown for NASA’s Artemis II test flight is underway at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with members of the launch team arriving at their consoles inside the Rocco Petrone Launch Control Center. The onsite countdown clock started ticking down at 4:44 p.m. EDT to a targeted launch time of 6:24 p.m. on Wednesday, April 1.
The Americans who blazed the trail to the moon more than half a century ago were white men chosen for their military test pilot experience. This first Artemis crew includes a woman, a person of color and a Canadian, products of a more diversified astronaut corps.
Speaking of the comparison to Apollo, what else is different, how are they similar, is that an excellent graphic showing time and trajectory (yes!) and more:
NASA has announced that Artemis II’s journey around the Moon will be available to track online and via a downloadable app called Artemis Real-time Orbit Website (AROW).
And here’s what it will be like inside Firing Room 1 a.k.a. Mission Control:
…who has the Artemis II astronauts’ backs as they make the 10-day, roughly 685,000-mile journey around the moon, aboard a rocket and spacecraft that haven’t carried humans before? And what does it take to work in the high-stakes, behind-the-scenes roles that keep astronauts safe and the mission on track?
Because astronauts are just the most visible part of what it takes to get a project like this off the ground. Here’s to the engineers, adventurers, and dreamers too!
This is one of those quotes I may have posted before, but I don’t see it in a search and (importantly) it’s the sort of advice you can’t hear too much of as a writer, I think!
“If you’re going to be a writer, the first essential is just to write. Do not wait for an idea. Start writing something and the ideas will come. You have to turn the faucet on before the water starts to flow.” ― Louis L’Amour
Those of us who support libraries, freedom, and history may find this project as fascinating as I did: The Uncensored Library.
There are a lot of ways to preserve information now, and to send a message to the future. As I mentioned here a few years ago, you can write a letter to be delivered later with FutureMe. You could bury a time capsule and register it with the International Time Capsule Society. I even wrote a story about a woman facing down the end of humanity by preserving some of its most beautiful creations for the next intelligent race.
Reporters Without Borders took a different approach. They created a virtual library inside Minecraft. Before you laugh, it’s hard to think of a better place to store and disseminate uncensored information than the world’s best-selling video game.
Providing access to independent information to young people around the world through a medium they can playfully interact with.
Here’s to knowledge, and to our future.
“We cannot shut the windows and pull down the shades; we cannot say, “I have learned all I need to know; my opinions are fixed on everything. I refuse to change or to consider these new things.” Not today. Not any more.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt
Today I’d like to share one of those minor household hacks that is super low stakes but has made our kitchen-related lives much easier.
Have multiple kitchen sponges? We have four: Dish, Sink, Counter and Kitty. And because I have Opinions about sponges, they are often the same brand and style. How to keep them all straight?
Wait until your sponge is dry, then write its intended use on the end with a Sharpie. (Best use of a Sharpie on record, I’m convinced.)
That’s it.
Adds a little personality and you’ll never have to wonder if you’re using the counter sponge for your cat!
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