Arizona's Lunar Legacy and Chasing Dreams
Fifty years ago on July 20, 1969, I joined people around the world in watching Neil Armstrong walk on the moon and heard him utter these historical words, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
I was eight and got to stay up past my bedtime.
I spent the 50th Anniversary weekend at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff learning of Arizona's role in the lunar legacy. A few days later, Kevin and I listened to Kevin Schindler--a 20-year employee of Lowell Observatory--when he spoke at Sunset Library in Chandler as part of the Our Speaker Series put on by Arizona Humanities.
In reflecting on that time in history, you have to remember two things:
1. The United States was in a Cold War with Russia where dominance in space equaled military might. Three things had already happened.
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- First satellite? Russia with Sputnik.
- First animal to orbit the Earth? Laika the dog on Sputnik Two.
- First man in space? Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin.
President John F Kennedy was determined to get America to the moon first and NASA was born.
2. Astronauts were basically test pilots with a 25% chance of dying from their former jobs--not that flying to the moon realistically increased their life expectancy. They were not necessarily scientists.
Enter Geologist Gene Shoemaker.
Gene had a dream to be the first geologist to walk on the moon. When a health problem prevented that from becoming a reality, Gene Shoemaker was determined for the United States to do more than plant a flag in lunar dust, get back in the rocket, and fly home. Gene was instrumental in convincing NASA of the importance of training this group of fighter pilots in the knowledge of obtaining geological samples and traveling on lunar terrain. Gene pitched Arizona as the perfect geological training ground as our state is the home of Meteor Crater, Sunset Crater and the Grand Canyon.
His persistence paid off. Of the twelve men who eventually walked on the moon, all trained in Arizona, a bragging point for our state and the city of Flagstaff.
"Gene in effect stole the planets from the astronomers and gave them to the geologists," author Susan W Kieffer wrote in Gene's biographic memoir.
I love this quote about Gene Shoemaker in regard to dreams.
It's one thing to view a dream through a telescope. Distant. Elusive. It's quite another to break down a dream into attainable steps until you hold a moon rock in your hands.
83% of us don't set goals and only 3% of us have a plan that we write down, bumping up our chance of reaching those goals by 75%. (Thanks Chandler Chamber Women in Leadership Luncheon for that statistic.)
Gene went on to became the founder of a new field of science --astrogeology. To honor his part in sending humanity to the moon, NASA sent a portion of his ashes to the moon on the Lunar Prospector probe in 1998.
So, let me ask you. Where are you in chasing your dreams? Have you stolen any planets recently? Do you have plans to hold a moon rock in your hands?
What is one small step you can take today in reaching your goals that may become a giant leap into your future?
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Speaking of goals: registration is open to the next group of brave storytellers!!!
Have you been touched by cancer in some way? Are you interested in getting your experiences on paper? Do you want encouragement as you write and interaction with a published author of a cancer memoir (that's me!) Writers of all skill levels are welcome!!
Registration is open for the Fall Session of Reclaim Your Scattered Story: a 6-Week Online Workshop for Those Touched by Cancer.
I would love to welcome you into the next group of brave storytellers.
The class begins on Sept 6, so don't delay.