The Girlies are in Space!
Written By : Grace Weidenhamer
I couldn’t resist myself. If you’ve been following along with the Artemis ll mission, you’ll understand my sentiments. I am absolutely obsessed with Artemis ll. Not just because of the historical achievements, but because of the people. So, of course, I have to write about it.
It’s really amazing to see the culmination of decades of research, and hundreds, if not thousands, of minds coming together to solve a problem. Christina Koch (hey girl) was the first woman to travel into deep space, but she was able to safely do so because of the collaboration and research of those who came before her.
Artemis l provided the research and data needed to better protect Christina from harmful, cancer-causing radiation during her journey, as females are more prone to this radiation (University of Virginia, 2026).
We’re looking out for one another, whether it feels like it or not.
The crew also carried a piece of history with them on their mission. A reminder of how this mission is even possible in the first place.
A piece of the wing of the 1903 Wright Flyer was on board with the crew as they travelled further than any other humans in history. Yes, the Wright Flyer, aka, the first airplane created by the Wright brothers!
In the midst of great scientific feats and genius minds working tirelessly behind the scenes, there’s something so innately human about including this small piece of the world’s first plane. They had the sentiment to think about that little piece of plane that paved the way for not only air travel and space exploration, but for things we take for granted every day. They wanted to take that plane further than it’s ever been.
If you haven’t already, you should watch the Artemis ll remarks the day after splashdown. Each astronaut, after being as far from human life as anyone ever has, shared a common theme.
They were looking at a part of the universe no human eyes have ever seen, yet they were thinking of their families. They’ve seen the world in a way very few have seen before, yet they looked at the Earth as a whole being. An “oasis” in a sea of darkness.
Christina leaves us with a final thought: we are a crew. Every one of us. The good, the bad. Ugliness and struggle included. We’re all here, on one planet. One human race. Just trying to survive together.
It’s interesting this is the first message they wanted to convey to us. Not their achievement. Not their records. Us. They wanted to remind us who we truly are at our core. They wanted to remind us that at the end of the day, it's the people you love and the relationships you build that make it all worth it.